Subscriber Data Flow Control via Charging Policy Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data flow control mechanisms in 3G networks struggle to perform precise policy control based on subscriber account-related information and charging accumulation, leading to increased burden on gateway devices and inefficient resource management.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that collect charging-related information to formulate a control policy for data flow, allowing for richer policy control and precise management by integrating a policy generating unit, a charging function unit, and a gateway device to enforce control policies based on collected data, including QoS, bandwidth, and charging control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the gateway device performs traffic accumulation and policy control for all subscriber services, then policy control based on traffic accumulation can be achieved, but the burden on the gateway device increases and it cannot perform policy control based on subscriber account information
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the policy control function into two parts: the gateway device performs traffic accumulation and basic policy control, while the PCRF performs policy control based on subscriber account information and charging accumulation. This segmentation allows each device to focus on specific tasks, reducing the gateway device burden while maintaining comprehensive policy control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The PCRF acts as an intermediary between the gateway device and the charging system. It receives charging accumulation information from the charging system and combines it with traffic accumulation data from the gateway device to perform comprehensive policy control, thereby enabling policy control based on subscriber account information without increasing gateway device burden.
2Measurement precision
If the gateway device performs comprehensive policy control including subscriber account information, then precise policy control can be achieved, but the gateway device performance is significantly affected
Solution Approach 1:
The function of performing policy control based on subscriber account information and charging accumulation is extracted from the gateway device and assigned to the PCRF. The gateway device only performs traffic accumulation and basic policy control, which significantly reduces its processing burden and maintains high performance while still enabling comprehensive policy control through the PCRF.
3Measurement precision
If the PCRF generates dynamic control policies based on real-time charging information, then precise data flow control can be achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The PCRF pre-generates static control policies and stores them in the PCEF. When real-time charging information is received, the PCRF activates or adjusts the pre-generated policies rather than creating new policies from scratch. This preliminary action reduces system complexity while maintaining the ability to perform precise dynamic data flow control.
Data Source
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AI summary
An apparatus for controlling a data flow of a subscriber service includes: a charging function unit, configured to receive a charging request, determine, according to a configured information collection rule, an information collection rule related to the charging request, or determine an information collection rule related to a charging session corresponding to the charging request, collect charging related information of a subscriber service according to the related information collection rule, and send to a policy generating unit a collection result of the charging related information of the subscriber service; the policy generating unit, configured to generate a control policy of a data flow of the subscriber service according to the collection result, and deliver and install the control policy to a gateway device unit; and the gateway device unit, configured to perform corresponding policy control on the data flow of the subscriber service according to the control policy. A related method and apparatus for controlling a data flow of a subscriber service are further disclosed. Precise control and policy formulation for the data flow of the subscriber service may be implemented.