Microservice Charging and Collection Function Decomposition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional 3GPP charging and collection systems face challenges in life cycle management due to their monolithic nature, which complicates the management of tightly linked components, even in cloud environments.
Innovation Solution
A microservice-based approach is introduced to decompose the Charging and Collection Function (CCF) into individual, loosely coupled component functions with well-defined input and output flows, enabling modular applications like charging data collection, generation, and distribution services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a monolithic charging and collection system is used, then the system maintains traditional architectural stability, but life cycle management becomes complicated and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monolithic charging and collection system into separate microservices including a charging data function (CDF) microservice, a charging gateway function (CGF) microservice, and an offline charging microservice. Each microservice handles specific charging operations independently, transforming the tightly coupled monolithic architecture into loosely coupled modular components that are easier to manage through standard microservice deployment and orchestration mechanisms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a microservice-based approach is used, then life cycle management is simplified and flexibility is enhanced, but system integration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an event bus as an intermediary component that facilitates communication and coordination between the CDF microservice, CGF microservice, and offline charging microservice. The event bus publishes and subscribes to charging events, enabling loose coupling between microservices while maintaining system-wide coordination, thus reducing integration complexity compared to direct point-to-point connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the microservices to handle multiple charging scenarios through a unified event-driven interface. The CDF microservice can process both online and offline charging events, the CGF microservice can collect data from multiple sources, and the offline charging microservice can handle various billing requirements, making the system universally applicable to different charging contexts without requiring separate specialized components.
3Reliability
If charging data is processed in real-time, then operational requirements are met, but processing time and system load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic routing of charging data based on service type. The system automatically directs online charging events to the CDF and CGF microservices for immediate processing, while offline charging events are routed to the offline charging microservice for batch processing. This dynamic approach ensures real-time processing for time-critical operations while allowing non-urgent data to be processed asynchronously, optimizing overall system response time.
Data Source
AI summary
Various methods for a 3GPP defined Charging and Collection Function are employed that may use a microservices approach. The microservice approach may decompose the function of the network elements into component level functions that may be deployed as separate functional elements.