Online Charging Engine Local Debiting for Cluster Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing online charging system (OCS) in a cluster manner experiences low debiting efficiency due to repeated interactions between online charging engines (OCEs) and the data center, affecting real-time performance.
Innovation Solution
The method involves parsing credit control requests to obtain event types and charging information, sending data load requests to the data center, receiving subscriber data, performing rating and debiting, and aggregating SQL operation instructions to reduce interactions by localizing debiting operations and returning aggregated instructions to the data center.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If OCEs repeatedly report change information to the remote data center during debiting, then data consistency is maintained, but debiting efficiency decreases and real-time performance is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the debiting process into local execution (OCE) and remote synchronization (data center) components. The OCE independently executes debiting operations locally using cached subscriber data, while the data center periodically synchronizes updates. This segmentation reduces repeated interactions and improves debiting efficiency while maintaining data consistency through controlled synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-loading subscriber data into the OCE's local cache before debiting operations begin. The OCE retrieves and caches necessary subscriber information in advance, allowing subsequent debiting operations to execute locally without repeated remote communications. This preliminary data preparation significantly reduces interaction frequency and improves real-time performance.
2Measurement precision
If OCEs access the remote data center for each debiting operation, then accurate subscriber data is ensured, but interaction frequency increases and performance decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary data retrieval by loading subscriber information into the OCE's local cache before debiting operations. This cached data is used for subsequent local debiting, reducing the need for repeated remote access. The data center only communicates when data updates occur, significantly reducing interaction time while maintaining data accuracy through periodic synchronization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a local copy of subscriber data in the OCE's cache memory. Instead of repeatedly accessing the original remote data center, the OCE uses this local copy for debiting operations. The copy is updated periodically from the data center, balancing data accuracy with reduced interaction frequency and lower latency.
3Device complexity
If the data center stores all subscriber data remotely, then data management is centralized, but access latency increases and debiting speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data storage and processing across multiple levels: the data center maintains centralized data management and stores master subscriber data, while OCEs maintain local caches of frequently accessed data. This segmentation allows centralized control to be preserved while enabling fast local access for debiting operations, thus improving speed without sacrificing data management structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements local quality by placing copies of subscriber data locally in OCE caches, closer to where debiting operations occur. This local data presence eliminates remote access latency for routine operations. The data center maintains the master copy for updates and synchronization, ensuring data integrity while allowing fast local processing.
Data Source
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Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and a device for cluster online charging. The method includes: parsing an acquired credit control request CCR to obtain an event type, a usage quota, and charging identifier information, where the usage quota includes a used quota and/or a quota applied for; sending a data load request to a data center, where the data load request carries the event type and the charging identifier information; receiving subscriber data information that is returned by the data center and related to the event type and the charging identifier information; performing rating and debiting according to the usage quota and the related subscriber data information; and returning operation information about a change operation performed for the related subscriber data information during the debiting process to the data center. In the embodiments of the present invention, debiting efficiency of an OCS is improved and real-time performance of the OCS is enhanced.