Charging Quota Migration in 5G User Plane Sessions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current charging mechanisms in 4G and 5G networks struggle to accurately process charging for service data flows when they migrate between user planes or when a PDU session has multiple user planes, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies in billing.
Innovation Solution
A method where the control plane determines the need for quota migration and obtains charging information from the original user plane before switching, then delivers and manages quotas on the new user plane, ensuring continuous and accurate charging by interacting with the online charging system through Diameter or service-based interfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the control plane manages quota for multiple user planes independently, then charging accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the quota management by creating separate quota instances for each user plane (UP1, UP2, etc.) while maintaining a unified control plane. The control plane divides the overall charging task into multiple sub-tasks, each handled by a specific user plane's quota instance, thereby improving charging accuracy without overwhelming the system with monolithic complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control plane acts as an intermediary that coordinates between multiple user planes and the online charging system. It receives service data flow information, determines quota requirements, and manages the interaction between multiple user plane quota instances and the charging system, simplifying the overall architecture while maintaining accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If the control plane obtains charging information from all user planes before migration, then charging accuracy is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control plane performs preliminary actions by obtaining charging information from user planes in advance of actual migration events. It proactively collects service data flow information, determines quota requirements, and prepares quota instances before migration is needed, ensuring accuracy while minimizing time loss during actual migration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent ensures continuous quota management across user plane migrations by maintaining active quota instances on multiple user planes simultaneously. The control plane continuously monitors and manages quota usage across all user planes, ensuring uninterrupted charging accuracy during migration transitions without requiring complete information gathering at migration moments.
Data Source
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AI summary
A charging method includes: determining, by a control plane function entity CP, that a data flow that is transmitted by user equipment UE on a first data session needs to be migrated to a second data session, where the first data session is a data session between the UE and a first user plane function entity UP, the second data session is a data session between the UE and a second UP, the first UP and the second UP are UPs corresponding to the CP, and the first data session and the second data session correspond to a same PDU session; charging, by the CP, the data flow on the first UP through a first charging session between the CP and a charging system; obtaining, by the CP, charging information of the data flow before the migration that is counted by the first UP; and determining, by the CP, a quota that is used for the data flow after the migration is necessary to be delivered to the second UP, and delivering the quota to the second UP, thereby charging a service data flow of a user in a case of migration between user planes when a user plane of a PDU session switches or when a PDU session has a plurality of user planes.