Policy Control via Status-Condition Pairing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing policy and charging control systems experience a signaling traffic peak due to frequent message exchanges when policy counter statuses change, leading to network overload and difficulties in meeting regulatory requirements for high time accuracy in tariff changes.
Innovation Solution
The system identifies and provides status-condition pairs for policy-controlled objects, allowing network entities to apply corresponding rules based on valid conditions, reducing the need for frequent message exchanges and enabling efficient policy updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the OCS sends policy counter status changes to the PCRF every time a status change exceeds a threshold, then the policy control is accurate and up-to-date, but a signalling traffic peak is caused overloading the network interfaces and elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the OCS send a single notification message to the PCRF containing multiple policy counter status changes that occur simultaneously or within a short time window. This allows the PCRF to proactively receive and process multiple status changes in advance, avoiding the need to send separate notification messages for each individual status change, thereby reducing signalling traffic peaks while maintaining accurate policy control.
2Reliability
If the PCRF updates PCC rules for all user sessions when a general condition changes, then the policy control is comprehensive and consistent, but a flush of messages is caused on both Sy and Gx interfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining multiple policy counter status changes into a single notification message sent from the OCS to the PCRF. Instead of updating PCC rules for each user session individually through separate message exchanges, the system merges the status changes and sends them collectively, reducing the number of messages on both Sy and Gx interfaces while ensuring consistent policy control across all affected user sessions.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the OCS provides policy counter status change information in a deferred mode indicating a time, then the network overload is reduced, but the time accuracy of tariff change may not meet regulatory requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies feedback by implementing a mechanism where the PCRF receives notification messages from the OCS containing policy counter status changes with associated timestamps. The PCRF then processes these status changes and applies the corresponding PCC rules with precise timing control, ensuring that tariff changes are applied at the exact moment they should take effect. This feedback loop maintains time accuracy while reducing network overload by consolidating status change notifications.
Data Source
AI summary
It is provided an apparatus, comprising condition determining means adapted to determine a currently valid condition; selecting means adapted to select a rule-condition pair for a policy controlled object of a user based on the currently valid condition and a received message comprising a first rule-condition pair and a second rule-condition pair for the user, and wherein each of the first and second rule-condition pairs comprises a respective policy rule and a corresponding condition when the respective policy rule is to be applied; rule setting means adapted to set the policy rule comprised in the selected rule-condition pair for the policy controlled object of the user; rule applying means adapted to apply the set policy rule to the policy controlled object of the user.