Method, system and related device for charging mobile local area network services

Abstract

A method for charging processing of mobile local area network (LAN) service, comprising: sending, by a charging trigger device, LAN charging information to a charging processing device, the LAN charging information being charging information related to the mobile LAN service, the mobile LAN service being a service of intra-group communication provided by at least one user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device for a mobile LAN group based on a telecom operator; receiving, by the charging processing device, the LAN charging information and performing charging processing thereon, and sending, by the charging processing device, a charging processing result of the LAN charging information to the charging trigger device. The method can perform fine charging processing of the mobile LAN service, and help improve the accuracy of charging and flexibly support various charging requirements.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication, and in particular to a method and system for charging processing of mobile local area network services and related equipment. BACKGROUND

[0002] A traditional local area network (LAN) refers to a communication network formed by interconnecting a plurality of user devices, servers, etc. in a specific geographical area, which can implement file management and data sharing between a plurality of user devices, and has the advantages of high data transmission efficiency and low error rate, but the geographical coverage is usually small, for example, it can only cover an enterprise park, and the user devices therein lack mobility.

[0003] A wireless local area network (WLAN) has greater improvement in the mobility of user devices than the traditional LAN, but is limited by the transmission power and networking scale of wireless access devices (such as wireless routers), and has a small geographical coverage, such as only covering a workshop or a floor.

[0004] A virtual private network (VPN) can implement interconnection between components and resources of different networks, can create a tunnel for users by using the infrastructure of the Internet or other public interconnected networks, can cover a large range, such as a province or even a country, and can provide the same security and functional protection as a private network. However, this is a connection technology built on a public communication infrastructure, and the control of network resources by the operator is weak, and it is difficult to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of communication between user devices, and it is increasingly difficult to meet market demand.

[0005] Recently emerging mobile local area networks, for example, 5th Generation local area networks (5G LAN), can provide internet protocol (IP) type or non-IP type (such as Ethernet type) communication for any two or more user equipment in a group of user equipment by means of data exchange or routing forwarding capability of a core network device of a telecom operator, and realize point-to-point or point-to-multipoint data transmission between user equipment; such a communication service can cover a very wide geographical range, such as a province or even a country, and thus is suitable for enterprise office, factory manufacturing, Internet of Vehicles, power grid maintenance, home communication and other scenarios. For example, hundreds of industrial control devices of a certain multinational factory located in different provinces or countries can form an "industrial control device group", and the industrial control devices belonging to the group can send Ethernet data packets to each other; for another example, thousands of office equipment (such as mobile phones, computers, notebook computers, etc.) of a certain large enterprise located in different offices can form an "office equipment group", and the office equipment belonging to the group can send IP data packets to each other. In these scenarios, the operator has control capability over the user plane data gateway, which can better guarantee the QoS of data transmission between user equipment, and thus is superior to traditional LAN, WLAN and VPN as a whole.

[0006] However, existing charging processing devices, such as Charging Function (CHF) devices defined in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard specifications, can only independently perform charging processing on communication services of a single user equipment. How to perform charging processing on communication services between member user equipment in a mobile local area network is a technical problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0007] In view of this, it is necessary to provide a method for charging processing of mobile local area network services, to solve the problems of inaccurate charging, inability to flexibly support various charging requirements, etc. caused by using a traditional charging processing method to perform charging processing on mobile local area network services.

[0008] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for charging processing of mobile local area network services, applied to a charging trigger device, the charging trigger device being in communication with a charging processing device, the charging trigger device managing at least one user plane data gateway, the mobile local area network service being a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, and the method comprising:

[0009] sending a charging request message to the charging processing device, the charging request message containing the local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service;

[0010] receiving a charging response message from the charging processing device, the charging response message containing a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains a result of charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session by the charging processing device; wherein the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session contains first service indication information, and the first service indication information indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session contains group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local area network group.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further contains first charging data, and the first charging data contains usage amount and / or quota application amount of the member data connection session; and the charging processing result contains a result of charging processing of the first charging data by the charging processing device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further contains an intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data; wherein the intra-group forwarding mode is any one of the following: local exchange forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further contains an intra-group communication mode of the member user equipment, and the intra-group communication mode is any one of the following: unicast, multicast, and broadcast.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains identification of the charging resources created by the charging processing device for the member data connection session.

[0018] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains an update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains a deletion result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0020] The charging processing method of the first aspect enables the charging trigger device to collect and report charging information related to each member data connection session of the mobile local area network group, and enables the charging processing device to better measure the contribution of the telecommunication operator network to the group communication, and to perform fine charging processing on the mobile local area network service. This helps to improve the accuracy of charging, and can also flexibly support various charging requirements, for example, charging according to end-to-end usage.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result contains a result of charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by the charging processing device; the data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel includes information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes second service indication information, and the second service indication information indicates that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for the group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes a group identifier, and the group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group.

[0024] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes second charging data, and the second charging data includes usage through the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the charging processing result contains a result of charging processing of the second charging data by the charging processing device.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result contains an identifier of the charging resources created by the charging processing device for the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the billing request message is used to request the billing processing device to update the billing resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, and the billing processing result includes the update result of the billing resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the billing request message is used to request the billing processing device to delete the billing resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel, and the billing processing result includes the deletion result of the billing resources of the inter-data gateway tunnel.

[0028] The aforementioned billing processing method in the first aspect enables the billing triggering device to further collect and report billing information of data gateway tunnels related to intra-group communication in the mobile LAN group. This allows the billing processing device to more comprehensively measure the contribution of the operator's network to intra-group communication (supplementing the contribution of data gateway tunnels) and to perform more refined billing processing for mobile LAN services. This helps to further improve the accuracy of billing and can also support more billing needs, such as billing based on the usage of network resources (such as data gateway tunnels).

[0029] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a method for billing mobile local area network (MLAN) services, applied to a billing processing device, wherein the billing processing device communicates with a billing triggering device, and the MLAN service refers to a service that provides intra-group communication for a MLAN group. The method includes:

[0030] The billing request message is received from the billing triggering device. The billing request message contains local area network billing information obtained by the billing triggering device. The local area network billing information is billing information related to the mobile local area network service.

[0031] A billing response message is sent to the billing triggering device. The billing response message contains a billing processing result, which is the result of the billing processing device performing billing processing on the local area network billing information.

[0032] In one possible implementation, if the LAN billing information includes billing information for member data connection sessions, then before sending a billing response message to the billing triggering device, the method further includes: performing billing processing on the billing information of the member data connection sessions, wherein the billing processing result includes the result of performing billing processing on the billing information of the member data connection sessions; wherein the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment using the mobile LAN service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises first service indication information, and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: determining, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: authenticating, based on the first service indication information, whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local area network service, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the authentication.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises any one of the following:

[0036] determining, based on the group identification, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or

[0037] recording, in a charging bill of the member data connection session, the group identification, or

[0038] accumulating, with the group identification as an association identifier, a usage amount of the mobile local area network group, or

[0039] querying, based on the group identification, an external group identification corresponding to the mobile local area network group, to perform the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identification.

[0040] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises first charging data, and the first charging data comprises a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: performing charging processing on the first charging data, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the charging processing on the first charging data.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises an intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data, and the intra-group forwarding mode is any one of the following: local exchange forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding, and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: determining a rate of the first charging data according to the intra-group forwarding mode, or recording, in a charging bill of the member data connection session, the first charging data and the intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data.

[0042] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises an intra-group communication mode of the member user equipment, the intra-group communication mode being any one of unicast, multicast and broadcast; and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: determining a rate of the first charging data according to the intra-group communication mode, or recording the intra-group communication mode in a charging bill of the member data connection session.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the member data connection session; and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: creating charging resources for the member data connection session, and the charging processing result comprises an identifier of the charging resources.

[0044] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resources of the member data connection session; and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: updating the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result comprises an update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the member data connection session; and the charging processing of the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: deleting the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result comprises an update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

[0046] In a possible implementation, the local area network charging information comprises charging information of a data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel; and before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the method further comprises: performing charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel; wherein the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel comprises information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel further comprises second service indication information; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel comprises: determining that the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group based on the second service indication information.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises a group identifier, the group identifier being an identifier of the mobile local area network group; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel comprises any one of the following:

[0049] determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, or

[0050] recording the group identifier in a charging bill of the data gateway inter-tunnel, or

[0051] querying an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, and performing the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel based on the external group identifier.

[0052] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises second charging data, the second charging data comprising a usage amount transmitted through the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises: performing charging processing on the second charging data, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the charging processing on the second charging data.

[0053] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel comprises: creating charging resources for the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises an identifier of the charging resources.

[0054] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel comprises: updating the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises an update result of the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0055] In a possible implementation, the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel comprises: deleting the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises a deletion result of the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0056] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a charging processing system for charging processing of a mobile local area network service, comprising: a charging trigger device and a charging processing device, the charging trigger device being in communication with the charging processing device, the charging trigger device managing at least one user plane data gateway, the mobile local area network service being a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, and wherein:

[0057] The charging trigger device is configured to send a charging request message to the charging processing device, the charging request message containing local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service.

[0058] The charging processing device is configured to receive the charging request message from the charging trigger device and send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, the charging response message containing a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device.

[0059] The charging trigger device is further configured to receive the charging response message from the charging processing device.

[0060] In one possible implementation, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, and the charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the member data connection session, wherein the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0061] In one possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, and the charging processing device is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the charging processing device is further configured to authenticate whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local area network service based on the first service indication information, and the charging processing result includes a result of the authentication.

[0063] In one possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session further includes a group identifier, the group identifier being an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device is further configured to:

[0064] determine, based on the group identifier, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or

[0065] record the group identifier in a charging bill of the member data connection session, or

[0066] accumulate usage of the mobile local area network group with the group identifier as a correlation identifier, or

[0067] query an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, to perform charging processing on charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session includes first charging data and an intra-group forwarding mode, the first charging data includes usage and / or quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding mode is any one of the following: local switching forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding. The charging processing device is further configured to:

[0069] determine a rate of the first charging data according to the intra-group forwarding mode, or

[0070] record the first charging data and the corresponding intra-group forwarding mode in a charging bill of the member data connection session.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, and the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel. The charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel before sending a charging response message to the charging trigger device. The charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing device performing charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel. The data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel includes information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0072] In one possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes second service indication information. The charging processing device is further configured to determine that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used to provide a mobile local area network service based on the second service indication information.

[0073] In one possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes a group identifier, and the group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group. The charging processing device is further configured to:

[0074] determine an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, or

[0075] The group identifier is recorded in the billing call detail records of the data gateway tunnel, or...

[0076] Based on the group identifier, query the external group identifier corresponding to the mobile LAN group, and perform billing processing on the billing information of the data gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier.

[0077] Fourthly, this application provides a charging triggering device for charging mobile local area network (MLAN) services. The charging triggering device communicates with a charging processing device. The charging triggering device manages at least one user plane data gateway. The MLAN service refers to a service that provides intra-group communication for MLAN groups based on the at least one user plane data gateway. The charging triggering device includes an acquisition module, a sending module, and a receiving module, wherein:

[0078] The acquisition module is used to acquire local area network (LAN) billing information, which is billing information related to the mobile LAN service.

[0079] The sending module is used to send a billing request message to the billing processing device, the billing request message containing the local area network billing information;

[0080] The receiving module is used to receive a billing response message from the billing processing device. The billing response message contains a billing processing result, which is the result of the billing processing device performing billing processing on the local area network billing information.

[0081] In one possible scheme, the local area network billing information includes billing information for member data connection sessions, and the billing processing result includes the result of the billing processing device performing billing processing on the billing information of the member data connection sessions; wherein, the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment using the mobile local area network service and the corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0082] In one possible implementation, the billing information of the member data connection session includes first service indication information, which indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0083] In one possible implementation, the billing information for the member data connection session includes a group identifier, which is the identifier of the mobile local area network group.

[0084] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises first charging data and an intra-group forwarding mode, the first charging data comprises a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding mode is any one of local exchange forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding and data network forwarding.

[0085] In a possible implementation, the charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, the local area network charging information comprises charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises a result of charging processing of the charging trigger device on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel; wherein the data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel comprises information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0086] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises second service indication information, and the second service indication information is used to indicate that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0087] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises a group identifier, and the group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group.

[0088] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging processing device for performing charging processing on a mobile local area network service, the charging processing device is in communication with a charging trigger device, the mobile local area network service is a service for providing intra-group communication of a mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device comprises a receiving module, a processing module and a sending module, wherein:

[0089] The receiving module is configured to receive a charging request message from the charging trigger device, the charging request message comprises local area network charging information, and the local area network charging information is charging information related to the mobile local area network service.

[0090] The processing module is configured to perform charging processing on the local area network charging information to obtain a charging processing result.

[0091] The sending module is configured to send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, and the charging response message comprises the charging processing result.

[0092] In a possible implementation, the local network charging information comprises charging information of a member data connection session, and the processing module is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the charging processing performed by the processing module on the charging information of the member data connection session, wherein the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment using the mobile local network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway.

[0093] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises first service indication information, and the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local network group.

[0094] In a possible implementation, the processing module is further configured to authenticate, based on the first service indication information, whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local network service.

[0095] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local network group, and the processing module is further configured to:

[0096] determine, based on the group identification, an account corresponding to the mobile local network group, or

[0097] record the group identification in a charging bill of the member data connection session, or

[0098] accumulate, with the group identification as an association identification, a usage amount of the mobile local network group, or

[0099] query, based on the group identification, an external group identification corresponding to the mobile local network group, to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identification.

[0100] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the member data connection session comprises an intra-group forwarding mode, the first charging data comprises a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the intra-group forwarding mode is any one of the following: local exchange forwarding, gateway tunnel forwarding, and data network forwarding, and the processing module is further configured to:

[0101] determine, based on the intra-group forwarding mode, a rate of the first charging data, or

[0102] record, in a charging bill of the member data connection session, the first charging data and a corresponding intra-group forwarding mode of the first charging data.

[0103] In a possible implementation, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and before the sending module sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the processing module is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel; the data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel includes information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0104] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes second service indication information, and the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the second service indication information, that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device is further configured to:

[0106] determine, based on the group identification, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or

[0107] record the group identification in a charging bill of the data gateway inter-tunnel, or

[0108] query an external group identification corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identification, and perform charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel based on the external group identification.

[0109] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging trigger device, including a processor and a memory, wherein:

[0110] the memory is configured to store program instructions;

[0111] the processor is configured to invoke and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the charging trigger device performs the method of charging processing in any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0112] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a charging processing device, including a processor and a memory, wherein:

[0113] the memory is configured to store program instructions;

[0114] the processor is configured to invoke and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the charging processing device performs the method of charging processing in any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0115] In an eighth aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium, including instructions, when running on a computer, causing the computer to perform the method of the first aspect, the second aspect, the method of the first aspect in any possible implementation solution, or the method of the second aspect in any possible implementation solution. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0116] Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of an existing communication system;

[0117] Figure 2A is an architecture diagram of a first communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0118] Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of an intra-group forwarding manner provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0119] Figure 3A is an architecture diagram of a second communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0120] Figure 3B is a flowchart of a first charging processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0121] Figure 3C is a flowchart of a second charging processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0122] Figure 4A is an architecture diagram of a third communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0123] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of a first intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0124] Figure 4C is a schematic diagram of a second intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0125] Figure 4D is a schematic diagram of a third intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0126] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a third charging processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0127] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a fourth charging processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0128] Figure 7A is a schematic diagram of a first networking of multiple CHF devices provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0129] Figure 7B is a schematic diagram of a second networking of multiple CHF devices provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0130] Figure 8 a schematic diagram of a hardware structure of a charging processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] Figure 9 a schematic diagram of a logic structure of a charging processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] Figure 10 a schematic diagram of a logic structure of a charging processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0133] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0134] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, " / " represents that the objects before and after the " / " are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can represent A or B; "and / or" in the present application is a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, which means that there can be three relationships, for example, A and / or B, which can represent three cases of A alone, A and B together, and B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more than two. In addition, in order to clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, the same items or similar items with basically the same functions and effects are distinguished by using "first", "second", etc. The skilled in the art can understand that "first", "second", etc. do not limit the quantity and execution order, and "first", "second", etc. also do not necessarily mean different.

[0135] Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of a kind of existing communication system, which includes user equipment 103, wireless access equipment 104, user face data gateway 105, data network 106, charging trigger device 102 and charging processing device 101;User equipment 103 establishes data connection session 103P through user face data gateway 105 to communicate with the server or other communication equipment in data network 106;Charging trigger device 102 is combined with control face data gateway and is deployed, collects the information of the usage (flow or time length) in data connection session 103P of user equipment 103, and sends it to charging processing device 101, so that charging processing device 101 carries out charging processing to user equipment 103.In this charging processing method, the data connection session of each user equipment is independent of each other, and the creation of its charging resource, charging processing (including online charging and offline charging) process is also independent of each other and does not interfere with each other.

[0136] However, if this charging processing method is applied to the mobile local area network group, the diversified market demand cannot be met. First, the internal communication mechanism of the mobile local area network group is described below Figures 2A-2B , and the problems of the existing charging processing method are explained; then, how to charge the internal communication of the mobile local area network group is described below Figures 3A-3C .

[0137] Figure 2A is the architecture diagram of the first communication system provided by the embodiments of the present application; the communication system includes a control plane data gateway 202 and user plane data gateways 203-205 managed by the control plane data gateway 202, access devices 206-209, and member user devices 210-213 of the mobile local area network group; in addition, the communication system also includes other devices, such as an access management device, etc., which will not be described one by one.

[0138] In order for those skilled in the art to understand the embodiments of the present application, the components and related concepts shown in Figure 2A are briefly explained below.

[0139] User device (user device): the device of the end user; the device can have wireless communication capability, and can be connected to a wireless access device (such as the access device 206) through an air interface; the device can also have wired communication capability, and can be connected to a wired access device (such as the access device 207) through a wired interface; from the product form, the device can be a smart phone, a laptop with wireless communication function, a tablet computer, a wearable device, an AR (Augmented Reality) device, an IoT (Internet of Things) device, a desktop computer on an office desktop, etc.

[0140] The user device can be a UE (user equipment) defined in the 3GPP standard specification, such as the UEs 410-413 in Figure 4A .

[0141] Note that the "connection" or "connection" described in the embodiments of the present application includes direct connection or indirect connection, the latter refers to connection through one or more intermediate network devices, which will not be described again.

[0142] Data network (Data Network, DN): a network composed of data switches for transmitting data, such as the Internet, which contains application servers (not shown in Figure 2A ). The DNN (data network name) is usually used as the identifier of the data network.

[0143] Mobile local area network: refers to a virtual local area network implemented based on a mobile communication network (such as a 5G network), mainly including at least one user plane data gateway, such as Figure 2A The user plane data gateway 203-205 are connected with the control plane data gateway (for example, the user plane data gateways 203-205 are connected with the control plane data gateway 202) to accept the management of the control plane data gateway; when the mobile local area network includes multiple user plane data gateways, the different user plane data gateways are connected with each other (for example, the user plane data gateway 203 is connected with the user plane data gateway 204, and the user plane data gateway 203 is connected with the user plane data gateway 205 through the data network 216) to provide services for the communication between the member user equipment of the mobile local area network group. Multiple mobile local area network groups can share the same user plane data gateway.

[0144] It should be understood that Figure 2A The topology relationship between the user plane data gateways is exemplary and is not limited. For example, the control plane data gateway can also trigger the establishment of a data gateway inter-tunnel between the user plane data gateway 204 and the user plane data gateway 205, so that the data packet sent by the user equipment 212 to the user equipment 213 does not need to be forwarded by the user plane data gateway 203, but can be directly sent from the user plane data gateway 204 to the user plane data gateway 205.

[0145] It should be understood that in some application scenarios, part of the user equipment in the mobile local area network can also be wired communication equipment, such as a desktop computer.

[0146] The mobile local area network can be a 5G local area network (5G LAN-Virtual Network, 5GLAN VN) defined in the 3GPP standard specification. The 5G local area network can provide point-to-point data transmission between UEs, and an association needs to be established between the protocol data unit (PDU) sessions of the two UEs before data transmission. The PDU sessions of all member UEs in the same 5G local area network group can be controlled and managed by the same session management function (SMF) device, or can be controlled and managed by multiple SMF devices. The technical solution is described by taking the example of the PDU sessions of all member UEs in the same 5G local area network group being controlled and managed by the same SMF device. For the scenario of being controlled and managed by multiple SMF devices, the related operations of each SMF device can be referred to the embodiments of the present application. The transmission of data packets between UEs is based on the routing rules on the user plane function (UPF) device, which are issued by the SMF device to the UPF device.

[0147] Mobile local area network group: refers to a set of member user equipment that can access a mobile local area network, each member user equipment in the set can be connected to a respective user plane data gateway through a respective access device, such as user equipment 210 connected to user plane data gateway 203 through access device 206; based on the data exchange or routing forwarding service of the user plane data gateway, the different member user equipment can communicate with each other in IP type or non-IP type; different member user equipment in the set can be distributed in different geographical areas.

[0148] The member user equipment of the mobile local area network group can be added or deleted. The member user equipment of the mobile local area network group does not necessarily access the mobile local area network at the same time. Figure 2A For example, there are four member user equipment accessing the mobile local area network, it should be understood that in actual application, the member user equipment in the mobile local area network group can access or leave the mobile local area network as needed.

[0149] In the embodiments of the present application, the mobile local area network group has two identifiers; one is an external group identifier, mainly used in the external system of the mobile network operator; the other is an internal group identifier, allocated by a unified data management (UDM) device, mainly used in the internal system of the mobile network operator; the unified data management device establishes a mapping relationship between the external group identifier and the internal group identifier. Unless otherwise specified, "group identifier" in the embodiments of the present application refers to the internal group identifier of the mobile local area network group.

[0150] The mobile local area network group can be a 5G local area network group (5G LAN Group) defined in the 3GPP standard specification.

[0151] In-group communication: also known as "local area network internal communication" or "private communication", refers to the communication between at least two member user equipment of the mobile local area network group.

[0152] Mobile local area network service: refers to a service that provides in-group communication for member user equipment of a mobile local area network group based on at least one user plane data gateway; the group identifier of the mobile local area network service refers to the identifier of the mobile local area network group; the 5G local area network type service (5G LAN-Type service) defined in the 3GPP standard specification belongs to a mobile local area network service.

[0153] Usage: refers to the number of transmission or consumed service units reported to the charging processing device for charging processing within a certain time range, in the embodiments of the present application, the usage information includes the number of service units, the transmission direction, etc., wherein the service unit can be traffic or time length, etc.

[0154] Uplink traffic: refers to the number of bytes flowing from the member user equipment to the user plane data gateway in a certain time range.

[0155] Downlink traffic: refers to the number of bytes transmitted from the user plane data gateway to the member user equipment in a certain time range.

[0156] Intra-group communication mode: the data exchange mode between member user equipments in the mobile local area network service. Specifically, there are at least three different intra-group communication modes:

[0157] (1) Unicast, which refers to the communication between two member user equipments, also known as "1:1 communication", "one-to-one communication" or "point-to-point communication", etc.

[0158] (2) Multicast, which refers to the communication between one member user equipment and multiple other member user equipments, i.e., one member user equipment sends data packets to multiple member user equipments at the same time. To achieve this, the user plane data gateway distributes the data packets sent by one member user equipment to multiple other member user equipments, also known as "1:N communication", "one-to-many communication" or "point-to-multipoint communication", etc.

[0159] (3) Broadcast, which refers to the communication between one member user equipment and all other member user equipments accessing the mobile local area network, i.e., one member user equipment sends data packets to all online member user equipments in the mobile local area network group.

[0160] Control plane data gateway: used for selecting user plane data gateways for member user equipments of the mobile local area network group to use the mobile local area network service, managing data connection sessions of the member user equipments, and instructing the establishment of tunnels between user plane data gateways, and issuing forwarding rules of data flows to the user plane data gateways.

[0161] The control plane data gateway can be a PGW-C (packet data network gateway for control plane) or an SMF (session management function) device (such as the SMF device 402) defined in the 3GPP standard specification. Figure 4A

[0162] It should be understood that in actual applications, there can be multiple control plane data gateways in a communication system, and each control plane data gateway can manage the intra-group communication of multiple mobile local area networks.

[0163] ​Data connection session: refers to an association between a user equipment and a user plane data gateway, used to provide connection service for communication between the user equipment and a visited network or other user equipment; its creation process can be initiated by the user equipment, and its removal process can be initiated by the user equipment or other network equipment. Embodiments of the present application sometimes also refer to the data connection session as "data session" or "session" for short.

[0164] The data connection session can be an IP-CAN (IP-connectivity access network) session, a protocol data unit (PDU) session (such as PDU session 410P in Figure 4A ), or other forms of sessions, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0165] The data connection session in the embodiments of the present application refers to a data connection session that needs to be charged, and does not include free or non-chargeable data connection sessions.

[0166] Mobile local area network data connection session: refers to a data connection session used for intra-group communication of a mobile local area network group, such as 210P-213P in Figure 2B ; for the convenience of description, the mobile local area network data connection session is referred to as "intra-group session" in the embodiments of the present application.

[0167] QoS flow: refers to the minimum granularity of forwarding processing differentiated by QoS in a data connection session, and a QoS flow is usually identified by a QFI (QoS Flow identifier).

[0168] User plane data gateway: refers to a core network element that provides intra-group communication service for a mobile local area network group, and is used to create an intra-group session for a member user equipment of the mobile local area network group; for example, see Figure 2BUnder the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 establishes an intra-group session 210P and 211P for the user equipment 210 and 211 respectively, the user plane data gateway 204 establishes an intra-group session 212P for the user equipment 212, and the user plane data gateway 205 establishes an intra-group session 213P for the user equipment 213. On this basis, in order to realize the intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group, the user plane data gateway is further used to forward data packets between different intra-group sessions (such as between the intra-group session 210P and the intra-group session 213P); for the convenience of description, the way of transmitting the data packets of an intra-group session to another intra-group session by the user plane data gateway of the intra-group session is referred to as the intra-group forwarding mode of the intra-group session, and the user plane data gateway 203 will be taken as an example for further description, see Figure 2B .

[0169] The user plane data gateway can be a PGW-U (packet data network gateway for user plane) or PSA (PDU session anchor) UPF (User Plane Function) device defined in the 3GPP standard specification (such as the PSA UPF 403-405 in Figure 4A ).

[0170] Figure 2B The intra-group forwarding mode provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown in the following modes:

[0171] (1) Forwarding through local data exchange service: under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 provides a local data exchange service LS-210-211, so that the data packets in the intra-group session 210P are forwarded to the intra-group session 211P or the data packets in the intra-group session 211P are forwarded to the intra-group session 210P, so that the user equipment 210 can communicate with the user equipment 211; for the convenience of description, the way or way of forwarding data packets between two intra-group sessions belonging to the same user plane data gateway through the local data exchange service of the user plane data gateway is referred to as forwarding through the local data exchange service, and is referred to as local exchange forwarding.

[0172] (2) Through data gateway inter-tunnel forwarding: under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the user plane data gateway 203 interacts with the user plane data gateway 204, establishes a data gateway inter-tunnel TN-203-204, so that the data packets in the intra-group session 210P are forwarded to the intra-group session 212P, or the data packets in the intra-group session 212P are forwarded to the intra-group session 210P, so that the user equipment 210 can communicate with the user equipment 212. For the convenience of description, the application embodiment will refer to this way or approach of forwarding data packets between two intra-group sessions (or data services therein) belonging to two user plane data gateways through a tunnel between the two user plane data gateways as through data gateway inter-tunnel forwarding, simply referred to as gateway tunnel forwarding.

[0173] The data gateway inter-tunnel can be an N19 tunnel defined in the 3GPP standard specification (such as Figure 4A N19 tunnel N19-403-404 in the middle).

[0174] (3) Through data network forwarding: under the management of the control plane data gateway 202, the data packets in the intra-group session 210P are transmitted to the data network 216, and then forwarded to the intra-group session 213P by the data network 216, or the data packets in the intra-group session 213P are transmitted to the data network 216, and then forwarded to the intra-group session 210P by the data network 216, so that the user equipment 210 can communicate with the user equipment 213. For the convenience of description, the application embodiment will refer to this way or approach of forwarding data packets between two intra-group sessions of two user plane data gateways as through gateway network interface forwarding, simply referred to as data network forwarding.

[0175] The interface between the user plane data gateway and the data network can be an N6 interface defined in the 3GPP standard specification (such as Figure 4A N6 interfaces N6-403-DN and N6-405-DN in the middle).

[0176] It should be understood that in actual application, there can be more or less user plane data gateways in a mobile local area network, and the specific number is related to the number of member user equipment of the mobile local area network group, geographical location and user demand, which belongs to the prior art in the field.

[0177] For example, a mobile local area network can be composed of user plane data gateway 203, access device 206-207, user equipment 210-211, etc. There is only one user plane data gateway in the local area network, there is a local data exchange service, but there is no data gateway inter-tunnel and gateway network interface.

[0178] For another example, a mobile local area network can be composed of user plane data gateway 203-204, access device 206-208, user device 210-212, etc. In this local area network, there are two user plane data gateways, there is a local data exchange service, there is a data gateway inter-tunnel, but there is no gateway inter-network interface.

[0179] For another example, a mobile local area network can be composed of user plane data gateway 203, user plane data gateway 205, access device 206-207, access device 209, user device 210-211, user device 213, etc. In this local area network, there are two user plane data gateways, there is a local data exchange service, there is a gateway inter-network interface, but there is no data gateway inter-tunnel.

[0180] Access device: can be a wireless access device, or a wired access device. Among them, the wireless access device is usually the NG-RAN defined in the 3GPP standard specification, including but not limited to eNB (evolved NodeB), gNB (gNodeB, 5G base station).

[0181] The following describes the end-to-end transmission path of the data packet when the user device 210 communicates in the group, as shown in Table 1.

[0182] Table 1

[0183]

[0184] The meanings of the data in Table 1 are explained as follows:

[0185] The first row: when the user device 210 communicates with the user device 211 in the group, the data packet is transmitted (one-way or two-way) between the user device 210, the data connection session 210P, the local data exchange service LS-210-211 of the user plane data gateway 203, the data connection session 211P and the user device 211;

[0186] The second row: when the user device 210 communicates with the user device 212 in the group, the data packet is transmitted (one-way or two-way) between the user device 210, the data connection session 210P, the tunnel TN-203-204 between the user plane data gateway 203 and the user plane data gateway 204, the data connection session 212P and the user device 212;

[0187] Third line: When user equipment 210 and user equipment 213 communicate within the group, data packets are transmitted (one-way or two-way) between user equipment 210, data connection session 210P, interface IF-203-DN between user plane data gateway 203 and data network, interface IF-205-DN between data network and user plane data gateway 205, data connection session 213P and user equipment 213.

[0188] In summary, compared to Figure 1 The communication system shown, Figure 2A The data packet transmission in the communication system shown has at least the following characteristics:

[0189] a) The data packets transmitted by different user equipment are related, and therefore their usage is also related. For example, when user equipment 210 and user equipment 211 communicate within a group, the uplink data packets of the former eventually become the downlink data packets of the latter. Thus, the uplink usage of the former is equal to the downlink usage of the latter.

[0190] b) User equipment data packets pass through more stages of the operator's communication network. For example, when user equipment 210 and user equipment 212 communicate within a group, the data packets transmitted between them not only pass through their data connection sessions 210P and 212P, but also through the data gateway tunnel TN-203-204. This requires the operator to invest additional network resources.

[0191] c) User equipment data packets are forwarded to a wider range. For example, when the group communication mode of user equipment 210 is multicast or broadcast, the user plane data gateway 203 will need to forward the data packets from user equipment 210 to multiple user equipments, which also requires the operator to invest more network resources.

[0192] Therefore, if directly Figure 1 The billing processing method of the communication system shown is applied to Figure 2A The communication system shown has at least the following three problems.

[0193] 1) Figure 1The billing method shown cannot determine whether the usage of each member user device is used for intra-group communication, thus making it impossible to apply the corresponding rate for pricing. Furthermore, it cannot obtain the identifier of the corresponding mobile LAN group, making it impossible to correlate the usage of different member user devices. In certain billing scenarios, this will lead to inaccurate billing. For example, when the billing requirement is based on end-to-end transmission services, it will result in duplicate billing because for the same usage, billing is processed once on one member user device (e.g., user device 210), and then again on another member user device (e.g., user device 211) that communicates with it within the group, due to the inability to determine the correlation between the two.

[0194] 2) Figure 1 The billing method shown can only bill the usage of each user device's session, but cannot bill the usage of the forwarding stage. In some billing scenarios, this will also lead to billing inaccuracies. For example, when billing is based on network transmission services, the lack of usage information for the forwarding stage will result in a mismatch between the billing results and the operator's contribution to ensuring the QoS of intra-group communication, which is also a manifestation of billing inaccuracies.

[0195] 3) Figure 1 The billing method shown does not determine the rate based on the intra-group communication method of each user device; it is equivalent to defaulting to unicast rate.

[0196] Therefore, this application embodiment adds a billing trigger module and a billing processing module to the communication system shown in Figure 2, and their functions are briefly described below.

[0197] The functions of the charging trigger module include, but are not limited to: reporting LAN charging information (i.e., information used for charging the intra-group communication of the mobile LAN group, such as usage information related to intra-group communication and quota application information related to intra-group communication) to the charging processing module, and managing intra-group communication based on the LAN charging processing results returned by the charging processing module (i.e., the results of charging the LAN charging information); these functions can be superimposed on the CTF (Charging Trigger Function) defined by the 3GPP standard specification, or they can be independent of the CTF and become modules or components such as "Mobile LAN Charging Trigger Function".

[0198] The billing processing module's functions include, but are not limited to: processing the LAN billing information reported by the billing trigger module, such as deducting account balances and generating Charging Data Records (CDRs) based on usage information related to intra-group communication, granting corresponding quotas based on quota application information related to intra-group communication, and returning the billing processing results to the billing trigger module, such as indications of successful usage processing, indications of successful CDR writing, and granted quotas. These functions can be superimposed on the CHF defined in the 3GPP standard specification, or they can be independent of the CHF, becoming modules or components such as "Mobile LAN Billing Processing Function". In addition, the billing processing module can also include a billing output function for outputting bills for the mobile LAN group.

[0199] This application does not limit the deployment method of these two modules. For example, they can be deployed as follows: Figure 3A The deployment method shown can also be used in other ways, such as deploying the multiple functions included in the billing processing module to different physical devices. In one possible scenario, the billing processing module can be deployed on an existing billing processing device that performs billing processing for a single user device, or it can be deployed on a device specifically designed for billing processing of mobile LANs, such as a "mobile LAN billing processing device".

[0200] Figure 3A This is an architectural diagram of a second communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication system is... Figure 2A Based on the communication system shown, a charging trigger module is deployed to the control plane data gateway 202, and a charging processing device 201 containing a charging processing module is added. This communication system includes the first charging processing system provided in this application embodiment, used for charging processing of mobile local area network services. The charging processing system includes a control plane data gateway 202 and a charging processing device 201, wherein the control plane data gateway 202 provides charging information related to mobile local area network services to the charging processing device 201, enabling the charging processing device 201 to perform charging processing for mobile local area network services. It should be noted that... Figure 2B and 3A All based on Figure 2A Therefore, in order to simplify the topology, the embodiments of this application hide (rather than remove) the access devices, user equipment, data networks, etc.

[0201] For ease of description, the embodiments of this application will include devices that include a billing trigger module, such as... Figure 3A Control plane data gateway 202 and Figure 4A SMF devices 402, collectively referred to as "billing trigger devices," include devices containing billing processing modules, such as... Figure 3A Billing processing equipment 201 andFigure 4A The CHF device 401 is collectively referred to as a "charging processing device". The number of charging trigger devices and charging processing devices in the embodiments of the present application is exemplary and is not limiting. In actual applications, one communication system can include multiple charging trigger devices and multiple charging processing devices.

[0202] The interaction process between the charging trigger device and the charging processing device is further described below in combination with the specific content of the local area network charging information.

[0203] In a possible solution, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, wherein the member data connection session is a data connection session of a member user equipment, and the member user equipment is a user equipment in a mobile communication local area network group. The interaction process between the charging trigger device and the charging processing device is as shown in Figure 3B .

[0204] Figure 3B A flowchart of a first charging processing method provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown in FIG. 4. The charging processing method is used for charging processing of a mobile local area network service and mainly includes the following steps.

[0205] Step 310: The charging trigger device acquires charging information of a member data connection session.

[0206] Specifically, the charging trigger device constructs charging information of a member data connection session or acquires charging information of a member data connection session from a user plane data gateway when a charging reporting trigger condition is met, for example, when a data connection session is created or when a timing reporting time point is reached. The charging information includes one or more of the following:

[0207] 1) first charging data, including usage and / or quota application amount in the member data connection session;

[0208] 2) first service indication information, used for indicating that the data connection session of the member user equipment is used for in-group communication;

[0209] 3) group identifier, an internal group identifier of a mobile local area network group corresponding to the in-group communication;

[0210] 4) in-group forwarding mode, an in-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data;

[0211] 5) in-group communication mode, i.e., an in-group communication mode of the member user equipment;

[0212] Optionally, the charging trigger device can send the charging trigger condition to the user plane data gateway. In this way, the user plane data gateway can send information related to the usage of the member data connection session to the charging trigger device when the charging trigger condition is met.

[0213] Step 311: the charging trigger device sends a charging request message to the charging processing device, the request message containing the charging information of the member data connection session.

[0214] Specifically, the charging trigger device constructs a charging request message, which carries the charging information of the member data connection session; in the scenario where the charging processing device provides a service-oriented interface, the request message can be a charging resource creation request message (ChargingResourceCreateRequest), a charging resource update request message (ChargingResourceUpdateRequest) or a charging resource deletion request message (ChargingResourceDeleteRequest).

[0215] Step 312: the charging processing device performs charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session.

[0216] Specifically, the charging processing device receives the charging request message of step 311, parses the charging information of the member data connection session therefrom, and then performs one or more of the following operations.

[0217] 1) The charging processing device determines, based on the first service indication information, that the data connection session of the member user device is used for intra-group communication, and then performs access authentication on the member user device, that is, authenticates whether the member user device can use mobile local area network services or determines whether to allow the member user device to perform intra-group communication; optionally, the charging processing device can also determine a rate based on the first service indication information, and then apply the rate to the charging processing of the first charging data, including: account deduction based on the usage, account freezing based on the rate and the quota application amount, writing the usage and the rate into a charging bill, etc.; optionally, the charging processing device saves the first service indication information, for example, stores the first service indication information in correspondence with the identifier of the data connection session of the member user device, or stores the first service indication information in correspondence with the identifier of the charging resource of the data connection session of the member user device;

[0218] 2) The charging processing device determines an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group in which the member user equipment is located according to the group identifier, or records the group identifier in the charging bill of the member data connection session, or accumulates the usage of the mobile local area network group with the group identifier as the associated identifier, or queries an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier (for example, from the unified data management device), so as to charge the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier (for example, determine the account according to the external group identifier, or associate the charging bill to associate the application layer charging information or the customer information of the mobile local area network service, or record the external group identifier in the charging bill of the member data connection session); optionally, the charging processing device saves the group identifier, for example, stores the group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the member data connection session, or stores the group identifier corresponding to the identifier of the charging resource of the member data connection session;

[0219] 3) The charging processing device charges the first charging data based on the intra-group forwarding mode; for example, the charging processing device applies a rate determined according to the intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data to the charging processing of the first charging data, including: account deduction based on the rate, account freezing based on the rate and the quota application amount; for another example, the charging processing device records the first charging data and the corresponding intra-group forwarding mode in the charging bill of the member data connection session.

[0220] 4) The charging processing device charges the first charging data based on the intra-group communication mode; for example, the charging processing device applies a rate determined according to the intra-group communication mode to the charging processing of the first charging data, including: account deduction based on the rate, account freezing based on the rate and the quota application amount; for another example, the charging processing device records the intra-group communication mode in the charging bill of the member data connection session.

[0221] The charging processing device generates the charging processing result of the member data connection session based on one or more of the above operations; for example, the charging processing result includes the result of authentication (indication information of successful authentication or indication information of failed authentication), the granted quota, the usage deduction result (indication information of successful deduction or indication information of failed deduction), the result of writing the charging bill (indication information of successful writing or indication information of failed writing), etc.

[0222] Step 313: The charging processing device sends a charging response message to the charging trigger device, and the response message contains the charging processing result of the above-mentioned member data connection session.

[0223] Specifically, the charging processing device constructs a charging response message carrying the charging processing result of the member data connection session, and sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device. Subsequently, the charging trigger device receives the charging response message.

[0224] The charging trigger device and the charging processing device can repeatedly perform the process similar to steps 310-313 to continuously perform charging processing on the data connection session of the member user device and the data connection session of other member user devices.

[0225] Step 349: The charging processing device performs charging processing on the mobile local area network group.

[0226] This step is optional. In the case of offline charging, the charging processing device saves the charging bills of the data connection sessions of different member user devices in different time periods through the above process, and associates the charging bills according to the group identifier to generate the charging bill of the mobile local area network group.

[0227] Specifically, in a preset time period, the charging processing device obtains the charging bills of the data connection sessions of the mobile local area network member user devices generated previously, and performs association operation on the charging bills of the data connection sessions of different member user devices or the same user device to obtain the aggregated charging bill of the mobile local area network; wherein the association operation includes vertical association and horizontal association:

[0228] - Vertical association: refers to the charging processing device associating the charging information of the data connection sessions of the same member user device at different time points, and specifically, the identifier of the user device can be used as the association identifier;

[0229] - Horizontal association: refers to the charging processing device associating the charging information of the data connection sessions of different member user devices of the same mobile local area network group, and specifically, the group identifier can be used as the association identifier.

[0230] Optionally, the charging processing device can also trigger the user plane data gateway to control the QoS of the data connection sessions of the member user devices according to the result of the account deduction.

[0231] Figure 3B The charging processing method shown enables the charging processing device to perform charging processing on the first charging data in the data connection session based on the related information of the mobile local area network, can perform fine charging processing on the mobile local area network service, improve the accuracy of charging, and flexibly support various charging requirements; for details, further reference can be made to other embodiments of the present application, such as Figure 5 The corresponding method.

[0232] In another possible scenario, in addition to the billing information for member data connection sessions, the LAN billing information also includes billing information for data gateway inter-tunnel (such as TN-203-204). The interaction process between the billing triggering device and the billing processing device is as follows: Figure 3C As shown.

[0233] Figure 3C This is a flowchart of a second billing processing method provided in an embodiment of this application. This billing processing method is used to perform billing processing for mobile local area network services and mainly includes the following steps:

[0234] Steps 350-353: The billing triggering device and the billing processing device perform billing processing on the billing information of the member data connection session. This process is similar to steps 310-313 and will not be described again. Depending on the billing requirements, this process may not be executed in this method flow.

[0235] Step 360: The billing trigger device obtains the billing information of the tunnel between data gateways.

[0236] Specifically, when the billing reporting triggering conditions are met, such as when a tunnel between data gateways is created or when the scheduled reporting time arrives, the billing triggering device constructs billing information for the tunnel between data gateways or obtains billing information for the tunnel between data gateways from the user plane data gateway. This billing information includes one or more of the following:

[0237] 1) Second billing data, including usage transmitted through data gateway tunnels;

[0238] 2) Tunnel information, namely, information about tunnels between data gateways, such as tunnel identifiers;

[0239] 3) Second service instruction information, used to indicate that the tunnel between data gateways is used for intra-group communication;

[0240] 4) Group identifier, i.e., the internal group identifier of the mobile LAN group corresponding to intra-group communication;

[0241] 5) Transmission direction, i.e., the direction in which the data packet corresponding to the second billing data is transmitted in the tunnel between data gateways.

[0242] Optionally, the billing triggering device can send the billing triggering conditions to the user plane data gateway. In this way, when the billing triggering conditions are met, the user plane data gateway can send the billing information of the inter-gateway tunnel to the billing triggering conditions.

[0243] Step 361: The billing triggering device sends a billing request message to the billing processing device. The request message contains the billing information of the tunnel between the aforementioned data gateways.

[0244] Specifically, the charging trigger device constructs a charging request message carrying the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel; in the scenario where the charging processing device provides a service-oriented interface, the request message can be a charging resource creation request message, a charging resource update request message, or a charging resource deletion request message.

[0245] Step 362: The charging processing device performs charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel.

[0246] Specifically, the charging processing device receives the charging request message of step 361, parses the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel therefrom, and then performs one or more of the following operations.

[0247] 1) The charging processing device determines, based on the tunnel information, that the charging request message contains the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel (to distinguish from the charging information of the member data connection session);

[0248] 2) The charging processing device determines, based on the second service indication information, that the inter-data-gateway tunnel is used for intra-group communication, and then determines the rate corresponding to the inter-data-gateway tunnel, and applies the rate to the charging processing of the second charging data; optionally, the charging processing device saves the second service indication information, for example, stores the second service indication information in correspondence with the identifier of the inter-data-gateway tunnel, or stores the second service indication information in correspondence with the identifier of the charging resource of the inter-data-gateway tunnel;

[0249] 3) The charging processing device determines, according to the group identifier, the account corresponding to the mobile local area network group served by the inter-data-gateway tunnel; or, the charging processing device records the group identifier in the charging bill of the inter-data-gateway tunnel; or, the charging processing device queries the external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, to perform charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier (for example, records the external group identifier in the charging bill of the inter-data-gateway tunnel); optionally, the charging processing device saves the group identifier, for example, stores the group identifier in correspondence with the identifier of the inter-data-gateway tunnel, or stores the group identifier in correspondence with the identifier of the charging resource of the inter-data-gateway tunnel;

[0250] 4) Perform charging processing on the second charging data based on the transmission direction, for example, use the rate corresponding to the transmission direction in the account deduction process (assuming that the rate is different for different transmission directions), or write the usage and the transmission direction into the charging bill, or write the usage and the rate determined based on the transmission direction into the charging bill.

[0251] The charging processing device generates a charging processing result of the data gateway inter-tunnel based on the one or more operations described above. For example, the charging processing result includes a granted quota, an indication of successful usage deduction, an indication that the usage has been written into a charging bill, and the like.

[0252] Step 363: The charging processing device sends a charging response message to the charging trigger device, where the response message includes the charging processing result of the data gateway inter-tunnel described above.

[0253] Specifically, the charging processing device constructs a charging response message and sends the message to the charging trigger device, where the response message carries the charging processing result of the data gateway inter-tunnel described above. Subsequently, the charging trigger device receives the charging response message.

[0254] The charging trigger device and the charging processing device can repeatedly perform the process of steps 360-363 described above, so as to continuously perform charging processing on the data gateway inter-tunnel and other data gateway inter-tunnels in the mobile local area network.

[0255] Step 399: The charging processing device performs charging processing on the mobile local area network group.

[0256] This step is optional. In the case of offline charging, through the process described above, the charging processing device saves the charging bills of the data connection sessions of different member user devices in different time periods, and the charging bills of different data gateway inter-tunnels in different time periods. The charging processing device associates these charging bills according to the group identifier, and generates a charging bill of the mobile local area network group.

[0257] The charging processing device performs various association operations according to the group identifier, for example, associating the charging bills of the data gateway inter-tunnels with the same group identifier.

[0258] For the association operation of the charging bills of the data connection sessions of different member user devices, refer to the related description in step 349, which will not be repeated here.

[0259] Figure 3C The illustrated charging processing method enables the charging processing device to further perform charging processing on the second charging data of the data gateway inter-tunnel based on the related information of the mobile local area network, which can further improve the accuracy of charging and realize charging based on used network resources. For details, further refer to other embodiments of the present application, such as Figure 6 The corresponding method flow.

[0260] Figure 4AThis is an architecture diagram of a third communication system provided in an embodiment of this application; the communication system includes a CHF device 401, an SMF device 402, and a 5G local area network managed by them; the 5G local area network includes PSA UPF devices 403-405 and wireless access devices 406a-409a. Figure 4A (Not shown in the text) and the 5G LAN group, which includes UEs 410-413; UE 410 and UE 411 communicate within the group through the local switching and forwarding service of PSA UPF device 403, see details. Figure 4B Related description: UE410 and UE412 achieve intra-group communication through the N19 tunnel N19-403-404 between PSA UPF devices 403 and 404. See details... Figure 4C The relevant description states that UE 410 and UE 413 communicate within the group via the N6 interface N6-403-DN between PSA UPF device 403 and DN (Data Network) 416, and the N6 interface N6-405-DN between DN 416 and PSA UPF device 405. See details in the original text. Figure 4D The relevant description is as follows: SMF device 402 includes CTF (equivalent to a charging trigger module), which manages the 5G LAN and is responsible for triggering CHF devices to perform charging information processing for its intra-group communications. Therefore, CHF device 401 is equivalent to the charging processing device described above, and SMF device 402 is equivalent to the charging trigger device described above. Thus, this communication system includes the second charging processing system provided in this application embodiment, used for charging processing of 5G LAN services; this charging processing system includes SMF device 402 and CHF device 401.

[0261] Figure 4A In this context, the N4 session is a session between the SMF device and the PSA UPF device. The SMF device manages the PDU session and the N19 tunnel through this session. For ease of distinction, in this embodiment, the N4 session used to manage the PDU session is referred to as the "ordinary N4 session", and the N4 session used to manage the N19 tunnel is referred to as the "tunnel N4 session".

[0262] Figure 4A The 5G LAN topology shown is exemplary and not limiting; in practical applications, a 5G LAN may contain more or fewer PSA UPF devices and more or fewer UEs, and the connection relationships between PSA UPF devices may also be different. For example, PSA UPF device 404 may also be connected to PSA UPF device 405 through the N19 tunnel. In some cases, "UPF device" is also referred to as "UPF network element".

[0263] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of a first intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by an embodiment of the present application; wherein the UE 410 and the UE 411 both belong to the PSA UPF device 403, and the PDU session of the UE 410 and the PDU session of the UE 411 exchange data packets through the local data exchange service of the PSA UPF device 403, so that the transmission path of the data packets used for intra-group communication between the UE 410 and the UE 411 is: UE 410<->(R)AN 406a<->I-UPF device 406i<->PSA UPF device 403<->I-UPF device 407i<->(R)AN 407a<->UE 411.

[0264] Figure 4C is a schematic diagram of a second intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by an embodiment of the present application; wherein the UE 410 and the UE 412 belong to the PSA UPF device 403 and the PSA UPF device 404 respectively, and the PDU session of the UE 410 and the PDU session of the UE 412 exchange data packets through the N19 tunnel between the PSA UPF device 403 and the PSA UPF device 404, so that the transmission path of the data packets used for intra-group communication between the UE 410 and the UE 412 is: UE 410<->(R)AN 406a<->I-UPF device 406i<->PSA UPF device 403<->PSA UPF device 404<->I-UPF device 408i<->(R)AN 408a<->UE 412.

[0265] Figure 4D is a schematic diagram of a third intra-group forwarding manner in a 5G local area network provided by an embodiment of the present application; wherein the UE 410 and the UE 413 belong to the PSA UPF device 403 and the PSA UPF device 405 respectively, and the PDU session of the UE 410 and the PDU session of the UE 413 exchange data packets through the DN 416, so that the transmission path of the data packets used for intra-group communication between the UE 410 and the UE 413 is: UE 410<->(R)AN 406a<->I-UPF device 406i<->PSA UPF device 403<->DN 416<->PSA UPF device 405<->I-UPF device 409i<->(R)AN 409a<->UE 413.

[0266] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a third charging processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which is used for charging processing of a 5G local area network service; wherein, unless otherwise specified, “SMF” refers to the SMF device 402 in Figure 4A , and “CHF” refers toFigure 4A CHF device 401 in FIG. 4, "5G LAN group" refers to Figure 4A 5G LAN group in FIG. 4, "UE" refers to UE 410, "UPF" refers to PSA UPF device 403, and "PDU session" refers to PDU session 410P; the method mainly includes the following steps:

[0267] Step 501: The SMF receives a PDU session establishment request message sent by the UE and determines that the PDU session is used for group communication in the 5G LAN group.

[0268] Specifically, when the 5G LAN application in the UE runs and causes the UE to access the 5G LAN, the UE sends a first PDU session establishment request message to the AMF (Access Management Function) device to request the creation of a PDU session; the AMF device then sends a second PDU session establishment request message to the SMF based on the received first PDU session establishment request message. Examples of the two request messages are as follows:

[0269]

[0270] Among them: "S-NSSAI" is Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information, which carries the identifier of the network slice corresponding to the 5G LAN.

[0271] Optionally, the UE can read Dnn51 and S-nssai51 from the locally saved configuration information about the 5G LAN to construct the first PDU session establishment request message.

[0272] Specifically, the SMF receives the second PDU session establishment request message, parses the UE ID, Dnn51 and S-nssai51 from it, and then queries the subscription information of the UE from the unified data management device using the UE ID, Dnn51 and S-nssai51 as query conditions, and further determines that the PDU session requested to be created is used for group communication in the 5G LAN according to the subscription information.

[0273] The process of the SMF triggering the UPF to create the PDU session is a prior art and will not be described in detail.

[0274] Step 502: The SMF sends a charging resource creation request message to the CHF, which carries SesId51, UEId51, SrvInd51 and GrpId51.

[0275] Specifically, the SMF constructs a charging resource creation request message (such as ChargingDataRequest[Create] or ChargingResourceCreateRequest) and sends it to the CHF to request the CHF to create a charging resource for the PDU session, the request message carrying the SesId51, the UEId51, the SrvInd51, and the GrpId51; wherein the SrvInd51 is first service indication information generated by the SMF and is used to indicate that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication, and the GrpId51 is an identifier allocated by the SMF for the 5G local area network group; both the SrvInd51 and the GrpId51 are optional.

[0276] An exemplary charging resource creation request message is as follows:

[0277]

[0278] The UEId51 is a 5G local area network group member identifier, which can be a generic public subscription identifier (GPSI) or a subscription permanent identifier (SUPI).

[0279] Step 503: The CHF creates a charging resource and saves the SrvInd51 and the GrpId51.

[0280] Specifically, the CHF receives the above charging resource creation request message, parses the SesId51, the UEId51, the SrvInd51, and the GrpId51 therefrom, and then performs the following operations:

[0281] 1) Determine that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication based on the SrvInd51; if the above charging resource creation request message does not contain the SrvInd51, the CHF can query the subscription information of the UE according to the UEId51, and determine that the PDU session is used for intra-group communication according to the subscription information, and generate the SrvInd51 indication information;

[0282] 2) Optionally, access authentication is performed on the UE to determine whether the UE is allowed to use the group communication service provided by the 5G local area network; for example, the CHF can query the subscription information of the UE according to the UEId 51, and then determine whether the UE is allowed to use the group communication service provided by the 5G local area network; for another example, the CHF looks up the account corresponding to the 5G local area network group according to the GrpId 51, and then determines whether the UE is allowed to use the group communication service provided by the 5G local area network according to the balance of the account; if the GrpId 51 is not included in the charging resource creation request message, the CHF can query the subscription information of the UE according to the UEId 51, and determine the identifier GrpId 51 of the 5G local area network group according to the subscription information.

[0283] 3) Create a corresponding charging resource for the PDU session, and allocate an identifier ResId 51 for the charging resource.

[0284] Optionally, the CHF also saves the SrvInd 51 and GrpId 51 received or determined above, for example, stores the SrvInd 51, GrpId 51 and ResId 51 correspondingly.

[0285] Step 504: The CHF sends a charging resource creation response message to the SMF, and the response message carries the ResId 51.

[0286] Specifically, the CHF constructs a charging resource creation response message (such as ChargingDataResponse[Create] or ChargingResourceCreateResponse) and sends it to the SMF, and the response message carries the ResId 51.

[0287] An exemplary charging resource creation response message is as follows:

[0288] ChargingResourceCreateResponse{

[0289] "RESID":"RES410P" / / ResId 51, identifier of the charging resource of the PDU session

[0290] }

[0291] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the charging resource creation response message, parses the ResId 51 from the message, and reports the usage of the PDU session based on the ResId 51. The SMF can also confirm the successful access authentication of the UE according to the response message, that is, the CHF allows the UE to perform intra-group communication based on the network device in the 5G local area network. Then, the SMF sends a charging rule to the UPF through a normal N4 session (that is, an N4 session for a PDU session, which is different from an N4 session for an N19 tunnel), and the charging rule includes a PDR (packet detection rule) and a URR (usage reporting rule). In a possible solution, the PDR and the URR indicate that the UPF detects and reports the usage of local forwarding, forwarding through an N6 interface, or forwarding through an N19 tunnel.

[0292] Step 505: The SMF determines the quota application amount RSU 51, the intra-group forwarding manner Fwd 51, and the intra-group communication manner Com 51.

[0293] Specifically, the SMF determines the quota application amount RSU 51 (for example, 5M) according to local configuration information or a charging policy provided by a policy control device, to generate quota application information.

[0294] Optionally, the SMF further determines the intra-group forwarding manner Fwd 51 of the data packet corresponding to the quota application amount RSU 51. Exemplary values and corresponding meanings of the intra-group forwarding manner Fwd 51 are as follows: “Local” indicates local forwarding through a PSA UPF, “N19” indicates N19 tunnel forwarding between PSA UPFs, and “N6” indicates N6 interface forwarding between a PSA UPF and a DN.

[0295] Optionally, the SMF further determines the intra-group communication manner Com 51 of the UE. Exemplary values and corresponding meanings of the intra-group communication manner Com 51 are as follows: “Unicast” indicates unicast, “Multicast” indicates multicast, and “Broadcast” indicates broadcast.

[0296] Step 506: The SMF sends a charging resource update request message to the CHF, and the request message includes the ResId 51, the RSU 51, the SrvInd 51, the GrpId 51, the Fwd 51, and the Com 51.

[0297] In particular, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message (e.g. ChargingDataRequest[Update], or ChargingResourceUpdateRequest) based on the quota request amount RSU51 determined in step 505, and sends the message to the CHF to request the CHF to update the charging resource for the PDU session, the message containing the ResId51, RSU51, Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com51.

[0298] An exemplary charging resource update request message is as follows:

[0299]

[0300] The parallel relationship between RSU51 and Fwd51 in the above charging resource update request message is only an example and is not limiting, and other structural relationships can be used in actual applications, for example, Fwd51 can be placed outside the RSU-INF data structure and parallel to SrvInd51.

[0301] If the CHF has already saved SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in step 503, the above charging resource update request message can optionally not contain SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in order to avoid redundant transmission of information.

[0302] Corresponding to step 505, in one possible technical solution, the above charging resource update request message can also not contain Fwd51 and Com51.

[0303] Step 507: The CHF grants the quota GSU51 corresponding to the quota request amount RSU51.

[0304] In particular, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message in step 506 and parses the ResId51, RSU51, Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com51 from the message, and then grants the quota GSU51 corresponding to RSU51.

[0305] In particular, the CHF can perform pricing based on any one or any combination of Fwd51, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com51, and then grant the corresponding quota GSU51; the CHF can also determine the account corresponding to the 5G local network group based on GrpId51, and use the account in the process of granting the corresponding quota GSU51 based on RSU51.

[0306] If the received charging resource update request message does not contain SrvInd51 or GrpId51, the CHF can obtain the previously stored SrvInd51 or GrpId51 from the local according to ResId51.

[0307] Step 508: The CHF sends a charging resource update response message containing ResId51 and GSU51 to the SMF.

[0308] Specifically, the CHF constructs and sends a charging resource update response message (such as ChargingDataResponse[Update] or ChargingResourceUpdateResponse) containing ResId51 and GSU51 to the SMF.

[0309] An exemplary charging resource update response message is as follows:

[0310]

[0311] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the above charging resource update response message, parses ResId51 and GSU51 therefrom, and manages the use of GSU51, i.e., manages the consumption of PDU session to GSU51. In one possible solution, the SMF sends GSU51 to the UPF, which manages the consumption of PDU session to GSU51.

[0312] It should be noted that if the charging mode of the PDU session is offline charging, the SMF and the CHF do not perform the process (i.e., the process of applying for a quota) of steps 505-508.

[0313] Step 509: The SMF determines the usage USU51, the intra-group forwarding manner Fwd52, and the intra-group communication manner Com52.

[0314] Specifically, the SMF obtains the usage USU51, the corresponding intra-group forwarding manner Fwd52, and the intra-group communication manner Com52. Wherein, Fwd52 can be the same as Fwd51, or can be different, and Com52 can be the same as Com51, or can be different.

[0315] The SMF can obtain the usage USU51 through a normal N4 session, for example, the SMF generates corresponding PDR and URR based on PCC (Policy and Charging Control) rules, and sends the PDR and URR to the UPF through a normal N4 session, and the UPF reports the usage USU51 corresponding to the URR through the normal N4 session.

[0316] Step 510: The SMF sends a charging resource update request message to the CHF, which contains ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com52.

[0317] Specifically, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message based on the USU51, Fwd52 and Com52 determined in step 509, and sends it to the CHF, which contains ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com52.

[0318] An exemplary charging resource update request message is as follows:

[0319]

[0320] The parallel relationship of USU51 and Fwd52 in the above charging resource update request message is only an example and is not limited. In actual applications, other structural relationships can be used, for example, Fwd52 can be placed outside the USU-INF data structure and parallel to SrvInd51.

[0321] In addition, if the CHF has already saved SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in step 503, the above charging resource update request message can optionally not contain SrvInd51 and GrpId51 in order to avoid redundant transmission of information.

[0322] In a possible technical solution, the above charging resource update request message can also not contain Fwd52 and Com52.

[0323] In a possible technical solution, the above RG51 can be replaced by an identifier of a data connection service of other granularity in a PDU session, such as an identifier of a QoS flow.

[0324] Step 511: The CHF performs charging processing on USU51.

[0325] Specifically, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message of step 510, parses ResId51, USU51, Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com52 from it, and then performs charging processing on USU51.

[0326] Specifically, CHF can determine the rate based on any one or any combination of Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52, and determine the account corresponding to the 5G LAN group based on GrpId51. If the billing mode is online billing, CHF will deduct the account amount based on the determined rate and USU51. If the billing mode is offline billing, CHF will record any one or any combination of Fwd52, SrvInd51, GrpId51, and Com52, as well as USU51, in the billing call detail record of the PDU session.

[0327] If the received billing resource update request message does not contain SrvInd51 and GrpId51, CHF can retrieve the previously stored SrvInd51 and GrpId51 from the local machine based on ResId51.

[0328] Optionally, CHF can accumulate the total usage of the 5G LAN group using GrpId51 as the associated identifier in this step or in a subsequent step. This total usage can be used to control the QoS of intra-group communication of the 5G LAN group, for example, to control the QoS of individual PDU sessions. For example, assuming that the "GRPID" value in multiple ChargingResourceUpdateRequests received by CHF is "GRP414", CHF will accumulate the usage in the PDU sessions of these ChargingResourceUpdateRequests to obtain the usage of the 5G LAN group.

[0329] Step 512: CHF sends a billing resource update response message to SMF, which includes ResId51 and the billing processing result ChgRst51.

[0330] Specifically, CHF constructs a billing resource update response message and sends it to SMF. This billing resource update response message contains ResId51 and the billing processing result ChgRst51. Its exemplary values ​​and corresponding meanings are: "SucInDeduction" - indicating that the account deduction was successful, and "SucInRecording" - indicating that the billing call detail record was successfully written.

[0331] An example billing resource update response message is as follows:

[0332]

[0333] Accordingly, the SMF receives the charging resource update response message, parses the charging processing result from it, and manages the PDU session accordingly, such as maintaining the PDU session to maintain the UE's intra-group communication services.

[0334] It should be understood that the process between step 505 and step 512 above can be repeatedly performed until it is determined that the PDU session will be released, and step 513 is turned to.

[0335] Step 513: The SMF determines to delete the charging resource, determines the usage USU52, determines the intra-group forwarding manner Fwd53 and the intra-group communication manner Com53.

[0336] Specifically, the SMF receives a request message for releasing the PDU session sent by the UE or other devices (such as PCF devices), and determines to trigger the CHF to delete the previously created charging resource according to the request message; since there is unreported usage, the SMF obtains the usage USU52 (assuming 3M) before the PDU session is released, the corresponding intra-group forwarding manner Fwd53 and the intra-group communication manner Com53. Among them, Fwd53 can be the same as Fwd51 or Fwd52, or can be different, and Com53 can be the same as Com52 or Com51, or can be different. The SMF can refer to the related description in step 510 for the manner of obtaining USU52, which will not be described here.

[0337] Step 514: The SMF sends a charging resource deletion request message to the CHF, and the request message contains ResId51, USU52, Fwd53, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com53.

[0338] Specifically, the SMF constructs a charging resource deletion request message based on USU52, Fwd53 and Com53 determined in step 513, and sends the message to the CHF to request the CHF to delete the charging resource for the PDU session. The request message contains ResId51, USU52, Fwd53, SrvInd51, GrpId51 and Com53.

[0339] An exemplary charging resource update request message is as follows:

[0340]

[0341]

[0342] Similarly, the charging resource deletion request message can not contain SrvInd51 and GrpId51.

[0343] In one possible technical solution, the charging resource deletion request message can also not contain Fwd53 and Com53.

[0344] Step 515: The CHF performs charging processing on USU52 and deletes the charging resource.

[0345] Specifically, the CHF receives the charging resource deletion request message of step 514, parses ResId 51, USU 52, Fwd 53, SrvInd 51, GrpId 51 and Com 53 therefrom, and then performs charging processing on USU 53. For details, refer to the related description in step 511.

[0346] If the received charging resource deletion request message does not contain SrvInd 51 and GrpId 51, the CHF can obtain the previously stored SrvInd 51 and GrpId 51 from the local according to ResId 51.

[0347] After completing the charging processing on USU 52, the CHF deletes the charging resource corresponding to ResId 51 created previously, so as to recycle the computing resources such as memory, CPU resources and the like occupied by the charging resource on the CHF.

[0348] Step 516: The CHF sends a charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, which contains ResId 51, charging processing result ChgRst 52 and charging resource deletion result DelRst 51.

[0349] Specifically, the CHF constructs a charging resource deletion response message and sends it to the SMF, which contains ResId 51, charging processing result ChgRst 52 and resource deletion result DelRst 51. The exemplary values and corresponding meanings of ChgRst 52 are the same as those of ChgRst 51, and will not be described again. The exemplary values and corresponding meanings of DelRst 51 are as follows: "SucInDeleting" - indicates that the charging resource corresponding to the PDU session is successfully deleted.

[0350] An exemplary charging resource deletion response message is as follows:

[0351]

[0352] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the charging resource deletion response message, parses ChgRst 52 and DelRst 51 therefrom, and manages the PDU session according to this, such as releasing the PDU session, so as to terminate the group communication service of the UE.

[0353] In one possible solution, the SMF can determine RSU 51 and / or USU 51 before step 502, and make the created charging resource request message of step 502 carry RSU 51 and / or USU 51, so that in step 504, the SMF obtains GSU 51 and / or ChgRst 51 from the charging resource creation response message sent by the CHF.

[0354] The above steps 501-516 are the charging processing procedure of the group communication of the UE 410. Optionally, the method flow can also include the charging processing procedure of the group communication of other UEs in the 5G local area network group, for example:

[0355] Steps 521-536: Charging processing procedure of the group communication of the UE 411.

[0356] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform the charging processing of the group communication of the UE 411, which can be specifically referred to the procedure of steps 501-516.

[0357] Steps 541-556: Charging processing procedure of the group communication of the UE 412.

[0358] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform the charging processing of the group communication of the UE 412, which can be specifically referred to the procedure of steps 501-516.

[0359] Steps 561-570: Charging processing procedure of the group communication of the UE 413.

[0360] Optionally, the SMF triggers the CHF to perform the charging processing of the group communication of the UE 413, which can be specifically referred to the procedure of steps 501-516.

[0361] It should be understood that the order of the charging processing procedures of the group communication of the above multiple UEs is not fixed, and can be different from the above order. The charging processing procedures of the group communication of different UEs can also be performed in parallel.

[0362] Step 599: CHF performs charging processing on the 5G local area network group.

[0363] In the case that the charging mode of the PDU session is offline charging, through the above procedure, the CHF saves the charging invoices of the PDU sessions of different UEs in different time periods, and the CHF device associates the USUs in these charging invoices according to the GrpId 51, and outputs the bill for the 5G local area network group. For example, the following is given.

[0364] Suppose the group communication is as follows:

[0365] (1) The UE 410 performs group communication in broadcast mode with the UE 411, the UE 412, and the UE 413. The data packets transmitted in the PDU session (410P) are 5M, and the forwarding modes include local exchange forwarding, forwarding through N19 tunnel, and forwarding through N6 interface.

[0366] (2) UE 411 performs group communication with UE 410 and UE 412 in a multicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (411P) are 3M, and the forwarding manner includes forwarding through local exchange and forwarding through N19 tunnel;

[0367] (3) UE 412 performs group communication with UE 411 in a unicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (412P) are 2M, and the forwarding manner includes forwarding through N19 tunnel;

[0368] (4) UE 413 performs group communication with UE 411 in a unicast manner, the data packets transmitted in the PDU session (413P) are 1M, and the forwarding manner includes forwarding through N6 interface.

[0369] Therefore, in a certain time period, the charging information of the charging record written by the CHF is as shown in Table 2, and the charging information is associated together through the common group identifier "GRP414":

[0370] Table 2

[0371] Number Group Identity UE Usage Direction In-Group Forwarding Mode In-Group Communication Mode 1 GRP 414 410 5M UL Local Broadcast 2 GRP 414 411 5M DL Local - 3 GRP 414 410 5M UL N19 Broadcast 4 GRP 414 412 5M DL N19 - 5 GRP 414 410 5M UL N6 Broadcast 6 GRP 414 413 5M DL N6 - 7 GRP 414 411 3M UL Local Multicast 8 GRP 414 410 3M DL Local - 9 GRP 414 411 3M UL N19 Multicast 10 GRP 414 412 3M DL N19 - 11 GRP 414 412 2M UL N19 Unicast 12 GRP 414 411 2M DL N19 - 13 GRP 414 413 1M UL N6 Unicast 14 GRP 414 411 1M DL N6 -

[0372] Wherein, "UL" represents uplink, "DL" represents downlink, "Local" represents local exchange forwarding, "N19" represents forwarding through N19 tunnel, and "N6" represents forwarding through N6 interface. It is assumed that the operator sets the charging rate of Local as R, the charging rate of N6 as 2R, and the charging rate of N19 as 3R.

[0373] If the end-to-end usage is charged, the CHF charges the uplink usage, that is, the usage in Table 2 numbered 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and the cost is:

[0374] 5M*R+5M*3R+5M*2R+3M*R+3M*3R+2M*3R+1M*2R=50MR

[0375] If the N19 tunnel usage is charged, the CHF charges the usage through the N19 tunnel, that is, the usage of the group communication forwarding manner "N19" in Table 2, and the cost is:

[0376] 5M*3R*2+3M*3R*2+2M*3R*2=60MR

[0377] Figure 6 FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a fourth charging processing method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which is used for charging processing of a 5G local area network service; unless otherwise specified, "SMF" refers to the SMF device 402 in Figure 4A , and "CHF" refers to the CHF device 401 inFigure 4A CHF device 401 in FIG. 4, "5G local area network group" refers to Figure 4A the 5G local area network group in FIG. 4, "UPF 403" refers to the PSA UPF device 403, and "UPF 404" refers to the PSA UPF device 404; the method mainly includes the following steps:

[0378] Steps 601-676: Charging processing of PDU sessions of UEs 410-413; the process is similar to the process of steps 501-576, and will not be repeated here; according to the charging requirements, this process can not be performed in this method.

[0379] Step 681: The SMF establishes an N19 tunnel between the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404, and generates tunnel information TunInf61.

[0380] Specifically, the SMF determines that an N19 tunnel needs to be established between the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 according to the configuration information of the 5G local area network, to support intra-group communication of the 5G local area network, and then respectively issues indication information for establishing an N19 tunnel to the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404, to trigger the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404 to interact and establish an N19 tunnel.

[0381] Further, the SMF generates tunnel information TunInf61, which at least contains an identifier TEId61 allocated by the SMF for the N19 tunnel.

[0382] Regarding the management of the SMF and the N19 tunnel and the reporting of the charging information, further explanation is as follows:

[0383] Specifically, if the SMF device manages two UPF devices (for 5G local area network communication), in other words, the UPF device set of the 5G local area network contains two UPF devices, and if an N19 tunnel is established between the two UPF devices, the SMF device requests the CHF to create a special charging resource for the N19 tunnel. When generating the charging information of the N19 tunnel, the SMF device can obtain the charging information of the N19 tunnel from any one of the two UPF devices, or can obtain the charging information of the N19 tunnel from the two UPF devices respectively, and then obtain the charging information of the N19 tunnel after merging and deduplicating them.

[0384] Specifically, if the SMF device manages two or more UPF devices (for 5G LAN communication), in other words, the UPF device set of the 5G LAN contains two or more UPF devices, assuming that an N19 tunnel is established between any two UPF devices, at this time, the same UPF has established an N19 tunnel with multiple UPF devices, that is, the SMF device may manage multiple N19 tunnels, the SMF device can request the CHF to create a corresponding charging resource for each N19 tunnel, or request the CHF to create a common charging resource for all these N19 tunnels. For each N19 tunnel, the method of generating charging information is the same as the above paragraph, and will not be repeated here.

[0385] It should be understood that in the scenario of creating a special charging resource for the N19 tunnel, the method of creating a charging resource corresponding to the PDU session is the same as the method flow of the corresponding method. Figure 5 Optionally, after the creation of the charging resource corresponding to the PDU session, the SMF issues PDR and URR (usage reporting rule) to the UPF device through a normal N4 session, which only contains charging rules for local switching forwarding and forwarding through the N6 interface, and does not contain charging rules for forwarding through the N19 tunnel. The PDR and URR issued to the UPF device through the tunnel N4 session contain charging rules for forwarding through the N19 tunnel.

[0386] Step 682: The SMF sends a charging resource creation request message to the CHF, which carries TunInf61, SrvInd61 and GrpId51.

[0387] Specifically, the SMF determines that the usage amount transferred in the N19 tunnel needs to be charged according to the FAR (Forwarding Action Rule) and PDR (Packet Detection Rule) issued by the PCF (Policy Control Function) device or the locally configured charging policy, constructs a charging resource creation request message and sends it to the CHF, which contains TunInf61, SrvInd61 and GrpId51. SrvInd61 is the second service indication information, which is used to indicate that the N19 tunnel corresponding to TunInf61 is used for 5G LAN group communication, and GrpId51 has been explained in the corresponding method flow, and will not be repeated here. In one possible scheme, the request message can not carry SrvInd61. Figure 5

[0388] ​Specifically, the SMF can send the request message to the CHF when instructing the UPF to establish the N19 tunnel, and also when the UPF returns that the N19 tunnel is successfully established.

[0389] An exemplary charging resource creation request message is as follows:

[0390]

[0391] Step 683: The CHF creates a charging resource, and saves the TunInf61, SrvInd51 and GrpId51.

[0392] Specifically, the CHF receives the above charging resource creation request message, parses the TunInf61, SrvInd61 and GrpId51 from it, and then performs the following operations:

[0393] 1) Based on the SrvInd61, it is determined that the N19 tunnel corresponding to the TunInf61 is used for group communication in the 5G local area network; if the above charging resource creation request message does not contain SrvInd61, the CHF can default that the N19 tunnel is used for group communication in the 5G local area network, and generate the SrvInd61 indication information;

[0394] 2) Create a corresponding charging resource for the N19 tunnel, and allocate an identifier ResId61 for the charging resource.

[0395] Optionally, the CHF saves the TunInf61 and GrpId51, and also saves the SrvInd61 received or determined above, for example, stores the TunInf61, SrvInd61, GrpId51 and ResId61 in correspondence.

[0396] Optionally, the SMF, after creating the charging resource corresponding to the N19 tunnel, issues PDR and / or URR to the UPF devices (such as the UPF device 403 and the UPF device 404) at both ends of the N19 tunnel, to instruct the UPF to collect charging data in the N19 tunnel.

[0397] Note that the charging resource created for the N19 tunnel is shared across PDU sessions, and the usage amount caused by communication between different UEs and transmitted in the N19 tunnel is reported to the charging processing device through the charging resource, i.e., through a charging request message (such as a charging resource update request message or a charging resource deletion request message) carrying the charging resource identifier to report the usage amount.

[0398] Step 684: The CHF sends a charging resource creation response message to the SMF, which carries the ResId61.

[0399] Specifically, the CHF constructs a Charging Resource Create Response message and sends it to the SMF, which carries ResId61.

[0400] An exemplary Charging Resource Create Response message is as follows:

[0401] ChargingResourceCreateResponse{

[0402] "RESID":"RES403-404" / / ResId61, the identifier of the charging resource of the N19 tunnel

[0403] }Step 689: The SMF determines the usage USU61 and the transmission direction Dir61.

[0404] Specifically, the SMF interacts with the UPF device 403 and / or the UPF device 404 through the tunnel N4 session (Group N4 for N19) respectively, and obtains the usage USU61 transmitted through the N19 tunnel from the UPF.

[0405] Specifically, for the usage reported by the UPF device (such as the UPF 403) at both ends of an N19 tunnel respectively, if there is repetition (i.e. the time period, the identifier of the UPF device at both ends, and the number of service units of the two usages are all the same), the SMF can report it to the CHF after merging and deduplicating, or the CHF can merge and deduplicate after the SMF reports it.

[0406] For example, assuming that the N19 tunnel is between the UPF1 and the UPF2, the following two usages are repeated usages:

[0407]

[0408] "Deduplication" means selecting one of the above two usages and discarding the other.

[0409] Optionally, the SMF also determines the direction Dir61 in which the data packet corresponding to USU61 is transmitted in the N19 tunnel, and exemplary values and corresponding meanings thereof are as follows: "403-404" - indicating that it is sent from the UPF device 403 to the UPF device 404, "404-403" - indicating that it is sent from the UPF device 404 to the UPF device 403.

[0410] Step 690: The SMF sends a Charging Resource Update Request message to the CHF, which contains ResId61, USU61, Dir61, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0411] Specifically, the SMF constructs a charging resource update request message based on the USU 61 and the Dir 61 determined in step 689, and sends the charging resource update request message to the CHF, where the charging resource update request message contains the ResId 61, the USU 61, the Dir 61, the TunInf 61, the SrvInd 61, and the GrpId 51.

[0412] An exemplary charging resource update request message is as follows:

[0413]

[0414] The parallel relationship between the USU 61 and the Dir 61 in the charging resource update request message described above is only an example and is not limited. In actual applications, other structural relationships can be used, for example, the Dir 61 can be placed outside the USU-INF data structure and placed in parallel with the SrvInd 61.

[0415] In addition, if the CHF has already saved the TunInf 61, the SrvInd 61, or the GrpId 51 in step 683, optionally, to avoid redundant transmission of information, the charging resource update request message described above can not contain the TunInf 61, the SrvInd 61, or the GrpId 51.

[0416] In one possible technical solution, the charging resource update request message described above can also not contain the Dir 61.

[0417] Step 691: The CHF performs charging processing on the USU 61.

[0418] Specifically, the CHF receives the charging resource update request message of step 690, parses the ResId 61, the USU 61, the Dir 61, the TunInf 61, the SrvInd 61, and the GrpId 51 from the charging resource update request message, and further performs charging processing on the USU 61.

[0419] Specifically, the CHF can determine a rate based on any one or any combination of the TunInf 61, the Dir 61, the SrvInd 61, and the GrpId 51, and determine an account corresponding to the 5G local network group based on the GrpId 51; if the charging mode is online charging, the CHF performs account deduction on the determined account based on the determined rate and the USU 61, and if the charging mode is offline charging, the CHF records any one or any combination of the TunInf 61, the Dir 61, the SrvInd 61, and the GrpId 51 and the USU 61 in a charging bill corresponding to the N19 tunnel.

[0420] If the received Charging Resource Update Request message does not contain TunInf61, SrvInd61 or GrpId51, the CHF can obtain the previously stored TunInf61, SrvInd61 or GrpId51 from local according to ResId61.

[0421] Optionally, the CHF can accumulate the total usage of the 5G local area network group with GrpId51 as the associated identifier in this step or in subsequent steps, for example, assuming that the "GRPID" values in the multiple ChargingResourceUpdateRequest received by the CHF are all "GRP414", the CHF accumulates the usage transmitted through the N19 tunnel in these ChargingResourceUpdateRequest to obtain the usage of the 5G local area network group.

[0422] Step 692: The CHF sends a Charging Resource Update Response message to the SMF, which contains ResId61 and charging processing result ChgRst61.

[0423] Specifically, the CHF constructs a Charging Resource Update Response message and sends it to the SMF, which contains ResId61 and charging processing result ChgRst61, and its exemplary values and corresponding meanings are as follows: "SucInDeduction" - indicates that the account deduction is successful, "SucInRecording" - indicates that the charging bill writing is successful.

[0424] An exemplary Charging Resource Update Response message is as follows:

[0425]

[0426] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the Charging Resource Update Response message, parses the charging processing result therefrom, and manages the N19 tunnel accordingly, for example: tearing down or releasing the tunnel.

[0427] It should be understood that the process between the above steps 689-692 can be repeatedly performed until it is determined that the N19 tunnel is to be torn down or released, and the process proceeds to step 693.

[0428] Step 693: The SMF determines to delete the charging resource, determines the usage USU62, and determines the transmission direction Dir62.

[0429] Specifically, the SMF determines to release the N19 tunnel according to the communication between the member UEs in the 5G local area network group (e.g., the N19 tunnel has been continuously without traffic for T seconds), and determines to trigger the CHF to delete the charging resource previously created for the N19 tunnel; since there is unreported usage, the SMF determines the usage USU62 transmitted through the N19 tunnel by interacting with the UPF 403 and / or the UPF 404; optionally, the SMF also determines the direction Dir62 of the data packet corresponding to USU62 transmitted in the N19 tunnel.

[0430] Step 694: The SMF sends a charging resource deletion request message to the CHF, and the request message contains ResId61, USU62, Dir62, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0431] Specifically, the SMF constructs a charging resource deletion request message based on USU62 and Dir62 determined in step 693, and sends the message to the CHF, and the request message contains ResId61, USU62, Dir62, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0432] An exemplary charging resource update request message is as follows:

[0433]

[0434] Similarly, the charging resource deletion request message can not contain TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51.

[0435] In a possible technical solution, the charging resource deletion request message described above can also not contain Dir62.

[0436] Step 695: The CHF performs charging processing on USU62 and deletes the charging resource.

[0437] Specifically, the CHF receives the charging resource deletion request message in step 694, parses ResId61, USU62, Dir62, TunInf61, SrvInd61, and GrpId51 from the message, and then performs charging processing on USU62, which can be referred to the related description in step 691.

[0438] If the received charging resource deletion request message does not contain TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51, the CHF can obtain the previously stored TunInf61, SrvInd61, or GrpId51 from the local according to ResId61.

[0439] After the charging process on the USU 62 is completed, the CHF deletes the charging resource corresponding to the ResId 61 created previously to recover the computing resources, such as memory, CPU resources, and the like, occupied by the charging resource on the CHF.

[0440] Step 696: The CHF sends a charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, and the response message contains the ResId 61, the charging processing result ChgRst 62, and the resource deletion result DelRst 61.

[0441] Specifically, the CHF constructs and sends a charging resource deletion response message to the SMF, and the charging resource deletion response message contains the ResId 61, the charging processing result ChgRst 62, and the resource deletion result DelRst 61. The exemplary values and corresponding meanings of ChgRst 62 are the same as those of ChgRst 61, and will not be described again. The exemplary values and corresponding meanings of DelRst 61 are as follows: "SucInDeleting" indicates that the charging resource corresponding to the N19 tunnel is successfully deleted.

[0442] An exemplary charging resource deletion response message is as follows:

[0443]

[0444]

[0445] Correspondingly, the SMF receives the charging resource deletion response message, parses ChgRst 62 and DelRst 61 therefrom, and accordingly closes the N19 tunnel, for example, to terminate the in-group communication service of the UE.

[0446] Figure 6 In the corresponding method flow, the CHF creates a charging resource A for a PDU session and a charging resource B for an N19 tunnel, and then the SMF reports the usage in the PDU session, the usage forwarded by a local exchange service, and the usage forwarded by an N6 interface through the identifier of the charging resource A, and reports the usage transmitted through the N19 tunnel through the identifier of the charging resource B, so that the contribution of the operator communication network to the 5G local area network group communication can be more comprehensively measured, and the accuracy of charging can be improved.

[0447] In a possible solution, the CHF can also create charging resource A for the PDU session respectively, create charging resource B for the UPF device local exchange service forwarding path, create charging resource C for the UPF device forwarding path through the N6 interface, and create charging resource D for the UPF device through the N19 tunnel. Then, the SMF reports the usage in the PDU session through the identifier of the charging resource A, reports the usage of the PDU session through the UPF device local exchange service forwarding path through the identifier of the charging resource B, reports the usage of the PDU session through the N6 interface forwarding path through the identifier of the charging resource C, and reports the usage of the PDU session through the N19 tunnel forwarding path through the identifier of the charging resource D. For details, refer to Figure 6 The corresponding method flow is not described here.

[0448] It should be understood that the above "reporting usage through the identifier of the charging resource X" means that the identifier of the charging resource X, the usage to be reported, and the related information of the usage are carried in the charging resource update request message or the charging resource deletion request message.

[0449] The above embodiment assumes that the charging information (usage information and / or quota application information) of all UEs in a 5G local area network is processed by the same CHF device.

[0450] In a possible solution, the charging information of all UEs in a 5G local area network is processed by different CHF devices (one of the benefits of this is to reduce the burden of a single CHF device, thereby reducing the latency of intra-group communication), so each CHF device only masters the charging information of part of the member UEs. For charging processing of the entire 5G local area network group, the method shown in Figure 7A may also be used. Figure 7B The method shown in

[0451] Figure 7A The above embodiment provides a schematic diagram of a first network of multiple CHF devices. In this network, the SMF device 402 is connected with the CHF device 401 and the CHF device 401a respectively, and the CHF device 401 is connected with the CHF device 401a. The SMF device reports the charging information of part of the UEs in the 5G local area network group to the CHF device 401 for processing, and reports the charging information of another part of the UEs to the CHF device 401a for processing. In order to perform charging processing (such as outputting a bill) on the entire 5G local area network group, the CHF device 401 can send the charging information of the part of the UEs it receives to the CHF device 401a for combined processing, or the CHF device 401a can send the charging information of the part of the UEs it receives to the CHF device 401 for combined processing.

[0452] Figure 7BA schematic diagram of a second group network of multiple CHF devices provided by the embodiments of the present application; wherein the SMF device reports charging information of part of UEs in the 5G local area network group to the CHF device 401 for processing, and reports charging information of another part of UEs to the CHF device 401a for processing; in order to perform charging processing on the entire 5G local area network group, the CHF device 401 and the CHF device 401a respectively send the charging information of the part of UEs received by themselves to the CHF device 401b for combined processing.

[0453] The above-mentioned in the merging process includes using the identifier of the 5G local area network group as an association identifier, and the different charging information with the same 5G local area network group identifier is summarized and counted.

[0454] Figure 8 The schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the charging trigger device and the charging processing device provided by the embodiments of the present application. All the charging trigger devices (or SMF devices, for example, 402 of the present application) and the charging processing devices (or CHF devices, for example, 401 of the present application) can be implemented by using the general computer hardware structure shown in Figure 4A Figure 4A Figure 8 The general computer hardware structure shown in

[0455] Specifically, the memory 802 can include computer storage media in the form of volatile and / or non-volatile memory, such as read-only memory and / or random access memory. The memory 802 can store operating systems, application programs, other program modules, executable code and program data.

[0456] The input device 804 can be used to input information, facilitate system administrators to operate and manage the charging trigger device and the charging processing device, etc., such as configuring charging parameters on the charging processing device, setting default usage amount acquisition method or default quota application amount on the charging trigger device; the input device 804 can be a keyboard or a pointing device, such as a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, a microphone, a joystick, a game pad, a satellite television antenna, a scanner or the like, which can be connected to the processor 801 through the bus 803.

[0457] ​​The output device 805 can be used to output information, facilitate system administrators to operate and manage the charging trigger device, the charging processing device, etc. For example, displaying the charging policy on the charging processing device, displaying the default usage acquisition method or the default quota application amount on the charging trigger device, etc. In addition to the monitor, the output device 805 can also be other peripheral output devices such as a speaker and / or a printing device, which can also be connected to the processor 801 through the bus 803.

[0458] The charging trigger device and the charging processing device can be connected to the network, for example, connected to the Internet, through the network interface 806. In a networked environment, the computer execution instructions stored in the charging trigger device and the charging processing device can be stored in a remote storage device, not limited to being stored locally.

[0459] When the processor 801 in the charging trigger device executes the executable code or application program stored in the memory 802, the charging trigger device performs the method steps corresponding to the charging trigger device (or SMF device) in all the above embodiments, such as steps 310, 311, 360, 361, 501, 502, 505, 681 and 682, etc. The specific execution process is described in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0460] When the processor 801 in the charging processing device executes the executable code or application program stored in the memory 802, the charging processing device performs the method steps corresponding to the charging processing device (or CHF device) in all the above embodiments, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691 and 695, etc. The specific execution process is described in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0461] Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the logical structure of the charging processing device provided by the embodiments of the present application is provided. The charging processing device communicates with the charging trigger device and is used for charging processing of a mobile local area network service. The mobile local area network service is a service provided by a user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device for a mobile local area network group for intra-group communication based on a telecommunication operator network. Specifically, the charging processing device includes a receiving module 901, a processing module 903 and a sending module 902, wherein:

[0462] The receiving module 901 is configured to receive a charging request message from the charging trigger device. The charging request message contains local area network charging information. The local area network charging information is charging information related to the mobile local area network service. The specific execution process is described in the step description of the charging processing device (or CHF device) side in the above embodiments, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691 and 695, etc.

[0463] - a processing module 903, configured to perform charging processing on the received local area network charging information to obtain a charging processing result, details of which can be referred to the step descriptions of the charging processing device (or CHF device) side in the foregoing embodiments, such as steps 312, 362, 503, 507, 683, 691 and 695, etc.

[0464] - a sending module 902, configured to send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, the charging response message containing the obtained charging processing result, details of which can be referred to the step descriptions of the charging processing device (or CHF device) side in the foregoing embodiments, such as steps 313, 363, 504, 508, 512, 516 and 684, etc.

[0465] Figure 10 A schematic diagram of a logical structure of a charging trigger device provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown, the charging trigger device being in communication with a charging processing device, configured to perform charging processing on a mobile local area network service, the mobile local area network service being a service provided by a telecommunication operator for a mobile local area network group to communicate within the group based on at least one user plane data gateway managed by the charging trigger device. Specifically, the charging trigger device comprises an obtaining module 1003, a sending module 1001 and a receiving module 1002, wherein:

[0466] - the obtaining module 1003 is configured to obtain local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service, details of which can be referred to the step descriptions of the charging trigger device (or SMF device) side in the foregoing embodiments, such as steps 310, 360, 361, 501, 505, 681 and 689, etc.

[0467] - the sending module 1001 is configured to send a charging request message to the charging processing device, the charging request message containing the obtained local area network charging information, details of which can be referred to the step descriptions of the charging trigger device (or SMF device) side in the foregoing embodiments, such as steps 310, 311, 360, 361, 501, 502, 505, 681 and 682, etc.

[0468] - the receiving module 1002 is configured to receive a charging response message from the charging processing device, the charging response message containing a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the local area network charging information, details of which can be referred to the step descriptions of the charging trigger device (or SMF device) side in the foregoing embodiments, such as steps 313, 363, 504, 508, 512, 516 and 684, etc.

[0469] Figure 9 the charging processing device,Figure 10 The billing triggering device shown is presented in the form of a functional module. Here, "module" can refer to an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a circuit, a processor and memory executing one or more software or firmware programs, integrated logic circuits, and / or other devices that can provide the above-mentioned functions. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will understand that these devices can also be implemented in other ways. Figure 8 The form shown is illustrated. For example, receiving module 901, transmitting module 1001, transmitting module 902, and receiving module 1002 can all be implemented using... Figure 8 The functions of receiving module 901 (receiving billing request messages) and sending module 1001 (sending billing request messages) can be implemented by processor 801 executing the code stored in memory 802.

[0470] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the components and steps of the various examples have been generally described in terms of functionality in the foregoing description. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0471] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0472] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the division of units is merely a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For instance, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the couplings or direct couplings or communication connections shown or discussed may be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices, or units, or they may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms of connection.

[0473] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network units. Part or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the application.

[0474] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the application can be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit can be physically present alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0475] The integrated unit, if realized in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, can be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the application essentially or the part of the prior art that contributes to the technical solutions, or all or part of the technical solutions can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a plurality of instructions for causing a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the application. The foregoing storage medium includes a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and various program code storage media.

[0476] The above is only a specific embodiment of the application, but the protection scope of the application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the application, and these modifications or replacements should be covered within the protection scope of the application. Therefore, the protection scope of the application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for billing mobile local area network services, applied to a billing triggering device, wherein the billing triggering device communicates with a billing processing device, characterized in that, The charging trigger device manages at least one user plane data gateway, the mobile local area network service refers to a service of providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, and the method comprises the following steps: sending a charging request message to the charging processing device, wherein the charging request message contains local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, the local area network charging information is charging information related to the mobile local area network service, and the local area network charging information comprises charging information of a member data connection session, the charging information of the member data connection session contains a group identifier, the member data connection session is a data connection session between a member user equipment of the mobile local area network group using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, and the group identifier contained in the charging information is used to associate other charging information having the same group identifier; receiving a charging response message from the charging processing device, wherein the charging response message contains a charging processing result, the charging processing result is a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device, and the local area network charging information containing the group identifier in the charging request is associated with other charging information containing the same group identifier.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session contains first service indication information, and the first service indication information indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

3. The method of any one of claims 1-2, wherein: The charging information of the member data connection session further contains first charging data, and the first charging data contains a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session. The charging processing result contains a result of charging processing of the first charging data by the charging processing device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein The charging information of the member data connection session further contains an intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data.

5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session further contains an intra-group communication mode of the member user equipment, and the intra-group communication mode is any one of unicast, multicast, and broadcast.

6. The method of any one of claims 2-5, wherein: If the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the member data connection session, the charging processing result contains an identifier of the charging resources created by the charging processing device for the member data connection session; or If the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resources of the member data connection session, the charging processing result contains an update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session; or If the charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the member data connection session, the charging processing result contains a deletion result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, The charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, the local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result includes a result of charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by the charging processing device. The data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel includes information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes second service indication information, and the second service indication information indicates that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

9. The method of claim 7 or 8, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further includes group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local area network group.

10. The method of any one of claims 7-9, wherein: The charging information of the member data connection session further includes second charging data, and the second charging data includes a usage amount transmitted through the data gateway inter-tunnel. The charging processing result includes a result of charging processing of the second charging data by the charging processing device.

11. The method of any one of claims 7-10, wherein: The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result includes identification of the charging resources created by the charging processing device for the data gateway inter-tunnel; or The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result includes an update result of the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel; or The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result includes a deletion result of the charging resources of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

12. A method for charging processing of a mobile local area network service, applied to a charging processing device, wherein the charging processing device is in communication with a charging trigger device, and the mobile local area network service refers to a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group, characterized in that, The method comprises: receiving a charging request message from the charging trigger device, the charging request message including local area network charging information obtained by the charging trigger device, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service; the local area network charging information includes charging information of a member data connection session, the charging information of the member data connection session including group identification, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user equipment of a mobile local area network group using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, and the group identification included in the charging information being used to associate other charging information having the same group identification; sending a charging response message to the charging trigger device, the charging response message including a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device, and the local area network charging information including the group identification included in the charging request being associated with other charging information including the same group identification.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, Before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the method further comprises: charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session, wherein the charging processing result comprises a result of charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session. 14.The method of claim 13, wherein: The charging information of the member data connection session comprises first service indication information, and the charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: determining, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: authenticating, based on the first service indication information, whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local area network service, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the authentication. 16.The method of any one of claims 13-15, wherein: The group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session comprises any one of: determining, based on the group identifier, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or recording the group identifier in a charging bill of the member data connection session, or accumulating, with the group identifier as an association identifier, a usage amount of the mobile local area network group, or querying, based on the group identifier, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group, to charge process the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier.

17. The method of any one of claims 14-16, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session comprises first charging data, and the first charging data comprises a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session comprises: charging processing the first charging data, and the charging processing result comprises a result of charging processing the first charging data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein The charging information of the member data connection session further comprises an intra-group forwarding mode corresponding to the first charging data, and the charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: determining a rate of the first charging data according to the intra-group forwarding mode, or recording the first charging data and the intra-group forwarding mode corresponding thereto in a charging bill of the member data connection session.

19. The method of claim 17 or 18, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session further comprises an intra-group communication mode of the member user equipment, and the intra-group communication mode is any one of: unicast, multicast, and broadcast, and the charging processing the charging information of the member data connection session further comprises: determining a rate of the first charging data according to the intra-group communication mode, or recording the intra-group communication mode in a charging bill of the member data connection session. 20.The method of any one of claims 13-19, wherein: The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resources for the member data connection session, and the charging information of the member data connection session is processed by charging, including: creating charging resources for the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains the identification of the charging resources; or, The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging information of the member data connection session is processed by charging, including: updating the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains the update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session; or, The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging information of the member data connection session is processed by charging, including: deleting the charging resources of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result contains the update result of the charging resources of the member data connection session.

21. The method of claim 12, wherein, The local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and before sending the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the method further includes: processing the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging, and the charging processing result contains the result of processing the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging. The data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel contains information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further contains second service indication information, and the processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging includes: determining that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group based on the second service indication information.

23. The method of claim 21 or 22, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further contains a group identifier, and the group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group; and the processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging includes any one of the following: Determining an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, or, Recording the group identifier in a charging bill of the data gateway inter-tunnel, or, Querying an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identifier, to process the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging based on the external group identifier.

24. The method of any one of claims 21-23, wherein: The charging information of the member data connection session further contains second charging data, and the second charging data contains a usage amount transmitted through the data gateway inter-tunnel; and the processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by charging further includes: processing the second charging data by charging, and the charging processing result contains the result of processing the second charging data by charging.

25. The method of any one of claims 21-24, wherein: The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to create charging resource for the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel is processed by the charging processing device, including: creating charging resource for the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result contains the identification of the charging resource; or, The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to update charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel is processed by the charging processing device, including: updating charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result contains the update result of the charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel; or, The charging request message is used to request the charging processing device to delete charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel is processed by the charging processing device, including: deleting charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result contains the deletion result of the charging resource of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

26. A billing processing system for performing billing processing for mobile local area network services, comprising: A charging triggering device and a charging processing device, the charging triggering device communicates with the charging processing device, characterized in that: the charging triggering device manages at least one user plane data gateway, and the mobile local area network service refers to a service for providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, wherein: The charging triggering device is configured to send a charging request message to the charging processing device, the charging request message containing local area network charging information obtained by the charging triggering device, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service, the local area network charging information including charging information of a member data connection session, the charging information of the member data connection session containing a group identifier, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user equipment of the mobile local area network group using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, and the group identifier contained in the charging information being used to associate other charging information having the same group identifier; The charging processing device is configured to receive the charging request message from the charging triggering device and send a charging response message to the charging triggering device, the charging response message containing a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device, and the local area network charging information containing the group identifier in the charging request being associated with other charging information containing the same group identifier; The charging triggering device is further configured to receive the charging response message from the charging processing device.

27. The charging processing system of claim 26, wherein: The charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session, and the charging processing result includes a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the member data connection session.

28. The billing process system of claim 27, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session comprises first service indication information, and the charging processing device is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

29. The billing process system of claim 28, wherein, The charging processing device is further configured to authenticate, based on the first service indication information, whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local area network service, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the authentication.

30. A charging handling system as in any of claims 27-29, characterized by The group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device is further configured to: determine, based on the group identifier, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or record the group identifier in a charging bill of the member data connection session, or accumulate, with the group identifier as an association identifier, a usage amount of the mobile local area network group, or query, based on the group identifier, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group, and perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier.

31. A charging handling system as in any of claims 27-30, characterized by The charging information of the member data connection session comprises first charging data and an intra-group forwarding mode, and the first charging data comprises a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the charging processing device is further configured to: determine, according to the intra-group forwarding mode, a rate of the first charging data, or record the first charging data and the corresponding intra-group forwarding mode in a charging bill of the member data connection session.

32. The billing process system of claim 26, wherein, The charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, and the local area network charging information comprises charging information of an inter-data-gateway tunnel, and the charging processing device is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel before sending a charging response message to the charging trigger device, and the charging processing result comprises a result of the charging processing performed by the charging processing device on the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel. The inter-data-gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel comprises information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel.

33. The billing process system of claim 32, wherein, The charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel further comprises second service indication information, and the charging processing device is further configured to determine, based on the second service indication information, that the inter-data-gateway tunnel is used to provide a mobile local area network service.

34. The billing process system of claim 32 or 33, wherein, The group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device is further configured to: determine, based on the group identifier, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or record the group identifier in a charging bill of the inter-data-gateway tunnel, or query, based on the group identifier, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group, and perform charging processing on the charging information of the inter-data-gateway tunnel based on the external group identifier.

35. A charging trigger device for charging processing of mobile local area network service, the charging trigger device being in communication with a charging processing device, characterized in that, The charging trigger device manages at least one user plane data gateway, the mobile local area network service refers to a service of providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group based on the at least one user plane data gateway, and the charging trigger device comprises an obtaining module, a sending module and a receiving module. The obtaining module is configured to obtain local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service; The sending module is configured to send a charging request message to the charging processing device, the charging request message containing the local area network charging information, the local area network charging information comprising charging information of a member data connection session, the charging information of the member data connection session containing a group identifier, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user equipment of the mobile local area network group using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, and the group identifier contained in the charging information being used to associate other charging information having the same group identifier; The receiving module is configured to receive a charging response message from the charging processing device, the charging response message containing a charging processing result, the charging processing result being a result of charging processing of the local area network charging information by the charging processing device, and the local area network charging information containing the group identifier included in the charging request being associated with other charging information containing the same group identifier.

36. The charging trigger device of claim 35, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session contains first service indication information, and the first service indication information indicates that the member data connection session is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

37. The charging trigger device of any of claims 35-36, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session contains first charging data and an intra-group forwarding mode, and the first charging data contains a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session.

38. The charging trigger device of claim 35, wherein, The charging trigger device manages two or more user plane data gateways, the local area network charging information comprises charging information of a data gateway inter-tunnel, and the charging processing result comprises a result of charging processing of the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel by the charging processing device. The data gateway inter-tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel contains information of the data gateway inter-tunnel.

39. The charging trigger device of claim 38, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further contains second service indication information, and the second service indication information is used to indicate that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group.

40. A charging processing device for charging processing of mobile local area network service, the charging processing device being in communication with a charging trigger device, characterized in that, The mobile local area network service refers to a service of providing intra-group communication for a mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device comprises a receiving module, a processing module and a sending module. The receiving module is configured to receive a charging request message from the charging trigger device, the charging request message containing local area network charging information, the local area network charging information being charging information related to the mobile local area network service, the local area network charging information including charging information of a member data connection session, the charging information of the member data connection session containing a group identifier, the member data connection session being a data connection session between a member user equipment of a mobile local area network group using the mobile local area network service and a corresponding user plane data gateway, the group identifier contained in the charging information being used to associate other charging information having the same group identifier; The processing module is configured to perform charging processing on the local area network charging information to obtain a charging processing result; The sending module is configured to send a charging response message to the charging trigger device, the charging response message containing the charging processing result, the local area network charging information containing the group identifier included in the charging request being associated with other charging information containing the same group identifier.

41. The charging process apparatus of claim 40, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session contains first service indication information, and the processing module is further configured to determine, based on the first service indication information, that the member data connection session is used for intragroup communication of the mobile local area network group.

42. The charging process apparatus of claim 41, wherein, The processing module is further configured to authenticate, based on the first service indication information, whether the member user equipment can use the mobile local area network service.

43. The charging handling device of any of claims 41-42, wherein, The group identifier is an identifier of the mobile local area network group, and the processing module is further configured to: determine, based on the group identifier, an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group, or record the group identifier in a charging bill of the member data connection session, or accumulate, using the group identifier as an association identifier, a usage amount of the mobile local area network group, or query, based on the group identifier, an external group identifier corresponding to the mobile local area network group, to perform charging processing on the charging information of the member data connection session based on the external group identifier.

44. The charging handling device of any of claims 40-43, wherein, The charging information of the member data connection session contains an intragroup forwarding mode and first charging data, and the first charging data contains a usage amount and / or a quota application amount of the member data connection session, and the processing module is further configured to: determine a rate of the first charging data according to the intragroup forwarding mode, or record the first charging data and the corresponding intragroup forwarding mode in a charging bill of the member data connection session.

45. The charging process apparatus of claim 40, wherein, The local area network charging information includes charging information of a data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel, and before the sending module sends the charging response message to the charging trigger device, the processing module is further configured to perform charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel; The data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel is a data transmission tunnel between two user plane data gateways managed by the charging trigger device, and the charging information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel contains information of the data gateway-to-data gateway tunnel.

46. The charging process apparatus of claim 45, wherein, The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises second service indication information, and the processing module is further configured to determine that the data gateway inter-tunnel is used for intra-group communication of the mobile local area network group based on the second service indication information.

47. The charging process apparatus according to claim 45 or 46, wherein The charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel further comprises group identification, and the group identification is identification of the mobile local area network group, and the charging processing device is further configured to: determine an account corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identification, or record the group identification in a charging bill of the data gateway inter-tunnel, or query an external group identification corresponding to the mobile local area network group based on the group identification, and perform charging processing on the charging information of the data gateway inter-tunnel based on the external group identification. 48.A charging trigger device, comprising a processor and a memory, and characterized in that: the memory is configured to store program instructions; the processor is configured to invoke and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the charging trigger device performs the charging processing method of any one of claims 1-11. 49.A charging processing device, comprising a processor and a memory, and characterized in that: the memory is configured to store program instructions; the processor is configured to invoke and execute the program instructions stored in the memory, so that the charging processing device performs the charging processing method of any one of claims 12-25.

50. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, wherein: when it is running on a computer, it makes the computer perform the charging processing method of any one of claims 1-25.

Images