WO2007143940A1

WO2007143940A1 - A policy and charging control method, system and equipment when the user is roaming

Info

Publication number: WO2007143940A1
Application number: PCT/CN2007/070066
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chengzhen Sun; Huadong Hu; Xiaoqin Duan
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-05-30
Filing date: 2007-05-30
Publication date: 2007-12-21
Also published as: CN101047988A; CN101047988B

Abstract

A policy and charging control method when the user is roaming, includes that: the policy and charging execution function of the visited network PCEF receives the request of setting up service bearer from the user equipment UE, and requests the policy and charging control rules to the policy and charging rules function PCRF of the visited network (101); the PCRF of the visited network requests the information needed for constituting the policy and charging control rules to the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and receives the information needed for constituting the policy and charging control rules which isreturned by the first PCRF (102); the visited PCRF constitutes the policy and charging control rules of the visited network according to the returned information and sends the policy and charging control rules to the visited network PCEF (103).

Description

Strategy and charging control method, system and device in user roaming state

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to a policy and charging control method, system and apparatus in a user roaming state. Background of the invention

In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the implementation of Internet Protocol (IP) Flow Based Charging (FBC) is discussed, because the granularity of IP flow based charging is much smaller than the PDP based context. Billing, therefore, can provide operators or service providers with more abundant billing methods.

According to the current 3GPP functional partitioning of the FBC, the TPF carries the IP data stream. When the IP bearer is established or the bearer is modified (the QoS is renegotiated), the TPF can send a charging rule request to the CRF through the Gx interface. Carry user and terminal related information (such as mobile station international ISDN number MSISDN, international mobile subscriber identity IMSI), bearer characteristics (such as QoS information, etc.) and network related information (such as mobile network code MNC, mobile country code MCC), CRF According to the information carried in the TPF charging rule request message, an appropriate charging rule is selected and returned to the TPF. The charging rule includes a charging mechanism (using online charging or offline charging), and charging type (based on the duration or the time). Traffic-based charging), charging keys (rate-related parameters), traffic data flow filters, and the charging rule priority.

The CRF can provide an Event trigger to the TPF to notify the TPF that a new charging rule needs to be requested from the CRF when certain events occur. For example, the CRF requires the TPF to request a new CRF when certain bearer modification events occur. Billing rules. The event trigger defined in the current specification that can cause the TPF to re-request the charging rules includes SGSN change (SGSN change), QoS change, RAT type change, and TFT change; In addition, the CRF can determine the selected charging rule according to the input information of the TPF, and the CRF can also accept the input information of the AF or OCS to determine the selected charging rule. For example, the AF notifies the CRF of what service the current user is using, so that the CRF selects a charging rule corresponding to the service.

Corresponding to the GPRS network, the TPF is the GGSN, the AF is a service gateway in the PDN, or the service server, and the CRF is a new logical entity. The function of the TPF is the charging rule execution point, and the CRF is the control point of the charging rule. For the Rel6, a session-based policy control scheme (SBLP) and an SDF (Service Data Flow)-based charging scheme (FBC) have been provided, and the two schemes have certain functional overlap (for example, the FBC can already provide some kind of Degree of policy control function). At the same time, the information transmitted by the reference point interface used by the two mechanisms is also highly repetitive. Therefore, this repetition increases the complexity of the system and reduces the efficiency of the system. In addition, this mechanism that separates policy and billing information will also increase system operation.

The delay (for example, bearer establishment).

In order to improve the efficiency of the system, reduce the operation, and reduce the delay, it is necessary to consider the integration of policy control and charging control. At the same time, this fusion is also possible. The mechanism after the integration is PCC. In the new Rel7 PCC, these two functional solutions are completely integrated into a new functional architecture. This combination facilitates better provisioning of an optimized real-time interoperability system in the GGSN (and other access network GWs). PCC provides a more general operating platform for the implementation of more new applications. In the PCC, the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) contains the functions of the PDF in the SBLP and the CRF in the FBC to provide QoS authorization information and charging rules.

In order to ensure the competitiveness of the 3GPP system in the future, the work of an access technology evolution is being carried out within the 3GPP organization. The core network of the wireless evolution network mainly includes three logical function modules: MME, UPE, and Inter AS Anchor, where the MME is a mobility management module. The block corresponds to the control plane part of the current SGSN of the UMTS system; the UPE is a user plane entity corresponding to the data plane part of the current UMSN system SGSN and GGSN; and the Inter AS Anchor acts as a user plane anchor point between different access systems. The function and existence of each interface are still not finalized, and whether the three functional modules of MME, UPE, and Inter AS Anchor are combined in one entity is also undetermined.

It can be seen that PCC is also required to perform policy control and charging operations in the evolved network architecture. However, the current location of the PCEF has not been determined, and may be on the MME/UPE entity or on the Inter-AS Anchor. . Regardless of how the location of the PCEF changes, the current PCC architecture is essentially unchanged.

However, the current specification does not specify which network entity the PCEF is located in. Therefore, when the user is in a roaming state, the policy and charging control of the UE cannot be implemented. Summary of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a policy and charging control method in a user roaming state, so as to implement policy and charging control for the UE in a roaming state of the user.

Another main object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a policy and charging control system in a user roaming state, and a visited network PCEF, a PCRF, and a home network PCRF, so as to implement policy and charging control for the UE in a user roaming state. .

To achieve the above objective, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is implemented as follows: A policy and a charging control method in a user roaming state, including:

The policy of the visited network and the charging execution function PCEF receives the establishment of the service bearer request of the user equipment UE;

The PCEF visiting the network requests the policy and charging control rules from the policy and charging rule function PCRF of the visited network; The PCRF of the visited network requests the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network to request information required for the policy and the charging control rule, and receives the information required by the first PCRF to generate the policy and the charging control rule. ;

The PCRF of the visited network formulates the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the returned information, and sends the formulated visited network side policy and charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network.

A policy and charging control system in a user roaming state, comprising: a visited network PCEF of the UE, and a visited network PCRF of the UE;

The visited network PCEF is configured to receive a request for establishing a service bearer sent by the UE, request a policy and charging control rule from the visited network PCRF, and receive a visited network side policy and a charging control rule returned by the visited network PCRF ;

The visited network PCRF is configured to request, according to the request of the visited network PCEF, the information required by the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network to formulate a policy and a charging control rule, and formulate the information according to the returned information. The network side policy and charging control rules are visited and sent to the visited network PCEF.

A UE visited network PCEF, including a UE interface unit, a PCRF interface unit, and a control unit,

The UE interface unit is configured to receive a request for the UE to establish a service bearer, and send the request to the control unit;

The control unit is configured to generate a policy and a charging control rule request of the visited network side according to the request received by the UE interface unit, and send the request to the PCRF interface unit, and further, according to the policy returned by the PCRF interface unit And charging control rules, performing policy and charging control;

The PCRF interface unit is configured to send a policy and charging control rule request sent by the control unit to the visited network PCRF, and the received policy and charging control rule Forwarded to the control unit.

A UE visited network PCRF, comprising a PCEF interface unit, a control unit and a PCRF interface unit,

The PCEF interface unit is configured to receive a request for a policy and a charging control rule of the visited network sent by the visited network PCEF, and send the request to the control unit; and a policy and a method for returning the control unit The fee control rule is sent to the visited network PCEF;

The control unit is configured to: after receiving the policy and charging control rule request on the visited network side, generate a request for formulating information required by the policy and the charging control rule, and send the request to the PCRF interface unit And receiving information required for formulating the policy and the charging control rule returned by the PCRF interface unit, and formulating a policy and charging control rule, and sending the policy to the PCEF interface unit;

The PCRF interface unit is configured to send, by the control unit, a request for the information required by the control unit and the charging control rule to the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and receive the return of the home network PCRF Information is forwarded to the control unit.

A home network PCRF of the UE, including a PCRF interface unit and a control unit, where the PCRF interface unit is configured to receive a request for information required by the network PCRF to formulate a policy and a charging control rule, and send the request to the The control unit is further configured to receive information required by the control unit to formulate a policy and a charging control rule, and send the information to the visited network PCRF;

The control unit is configured to receive a request sent by the PCRF interface unit, and return information required to formulate a policy and a charging control rule to the PCRF interface unit.

As can be seen from the foregoing technical solution, in the embodiment of the present invention, first, the UE requests the PCEF from the visited network and the charging execution function PCEF to establish a service bearer, and the PCEF of the visited network visits the network and the charging rule function PCRF Requesting policy and charging control rules; then visiting the PCRF of the network to the first of the UE's home network determined by the visited network The PCRF requests the information required by the policy and the charging control rule, and the first PCRF of the UE home network returns the information required by the policy and the charging control rule to the PCRF of the visited network, and the PCRF of the visited network is determined according to the returned information. The network side policy and the charging control rule are visited, and the established network side policy and charging control rule are sent to the PCEF of the visited network. Similarly, the present invention also implements that the PCRF of the UE home network determined by the home network returns the home network side policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the home network. Therefore, after applying the embodiment of the present invention, the policy and charging control for the UE in the roaming state of the user is implemented. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

1 is a general flowchart of a policy and a charging control method of a user in a roaming state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy and a charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a schematic flow chart showing policy and charging control of a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a specific structural diagram of a policy and a charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart diagram of policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

6 is a schematic flow chart showing policy and charging control of a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a detailed structural diagram of a policy and charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart diagram of policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Mode for carrying out the invention

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a general flowchart of a policy and a charging control method of a user in a roaming state according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, the method includes:

Step 101: The PCEF of the visited network receives the establishment service bearer request of the UE, and requests the policy and charging control rule from the PCRF of the visited network.

Step 102: The PCRF of the visited network requests information required for the policy and the charging control rule from the first PCRF of the home network of the UE determined by the visited network, and receives the formulation policy returned by the first PCRF to the PCRF of the visited network. And the information required for the billing control rules.

In this step, the manner in which the visited network determines the first PCRF of the UE's home network may be: determining the PCRF according to related information (such as network identifier, NAI, etc.) of the UE.

Step 103: The PCRF of the visited network formulates a visited network side policy and a charging control rule according to the returned information, and sends the formulated visited network side policy and charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a policy and a charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system can be used to implement the method illustrated in Figure 1 above. As shown in FIG. 2, the system includes: a visited network PCEF of the UE and a visited network PCRF of the UE.

In the system, the visited network PCEF is configured to receive a request for establishing a service bearer sent by the UE, request a policy and charging control rule from the visited network PCRF, and receive a visited network side policy and a charging control rule returned by the visited network PCRF.

The visited network PCRF is configured to request, according to the request of the visited network PCEF, the information required for the policy and the charging control rule to be requested by the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and formulate the visited network side policy according to the returned information. And the charging control rule is sent to the visited network PCEF. The embodiment of the present invention further provides a visited network PCEF of the UE, a visited network PCRF, and a first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and may be applied to the system shown in FIG. 2 above. The visited network PCEF provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a UE interface unit, a PCRF interface unit, and a control unit.

In the visited network PCEF, the UE interface unit is configured to receive a request for the UE to establish a service bearer, and send the request to the control unit. a control unit, configured to generate a policy and a charging control rule request of the visited network side according to the request sent by the UE, and send the request to the PCRF interface unit, and is further configured to perform, according to a policy and a charging control rule returned by the PCRF interface unit, Policy and billing control. The PCRF interface unit is configured to send a policy and a charging control rule request sent by the control unit to the visited network PCRF, and forward the received policy and charging control rule to the control unit.

The visited network PCRF provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a PCEF interface unit, a control unit, and a PCRF interface unit.

In the visited network PCRF, the PCEF interface unit is configured to receive a policy and charging control rule request of the visited network side sent by the visited network PCRF, and send the request to the control unit; and is further used to return the control unit The policy and charging control rules are sent to the visited network PCEF. a control unit, configured to: after receiving the policy and charging control rule request on the visited network side, generate a request for preparing information required by the policy and the charging control rule, and send the request to the PCRF interface unit; Receiving the information required by the PCRF interface unit to formulate policies and charging control rules, and formulating policies and charging control rules, and sending them to the PCEF interface unit. a PCRF interface unit, configured to send, by the control unit, a request for the information required by the control unit and the charging control rule to the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and receive the first PCRF returned by the home network Information is forwarded to the control unit.

The first PCRF of the home network provided by the embodiment of the present invention includes a PCRF interface unit and control unit.

In the home network PCRF, the PCRF interface unit is configured to receive a request for information required by the network PCRF to formulate a policy and a charging control rule, and send the request to the control unit; and further, receive the control unit to return The information required to formulate policies and billing control rules is sent to the visited network PCRF. And a control unit, configured to receive a request sent by the PCRF interface unit, and return information required to formulate a policy and a charging control rule to the PCRF interface unit.

The foregoing is a general overview of a policy and charging control method, system, and device in a user roaming state according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen from the above that the method and system provided by the embodiments of the present invention can obtain the policy and charging control rules of the visited network side, and implement the policy and charging control of the UE on the visited network side.

Further, after obtaining the policy and the charging control rule of the visited network, the embodiment of the present invention may further initiate a bearer setup request to the PCEF of the home network to trigger the home network side policy and the charging control rule of the UE. Formulation and implementation.

Preferably, after step 103, the PCEF of the visited network requests to establish a service bearer from the PCEF of the UE home network determined by the visited network; the PCEF of the home network requests the policy and the charging control rule determined by the PCRF of the home network, and receives The home network side policy and the charging control rule returned by the PCRF determined by the home network.

In this way, the PCEF of the home network obtains the policy and charging control rules of the home network side, and can perform policy and charging control.

In the foregoing process, the PCRF determined by the home network is specifically: the PCRF of the home network of the UE determined by the home network according to the related information of the UE, for example, the user identifier, the IP address, and the APN (access point name). Here, the PCRF determined by the home network may be the same PCRF as the first PCRF mentioned in the previous step 102, or may be a different PCRF. Below Detailed instructions in one step.

In the first two embodiments, the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network is the same PCRF as the PCRF determined by the home network.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart of policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the method includes:

Step 301: The UE requests to establish a service bearer from the PCEF (visit PCEF) of the visited network. Step 302: The PCEF of the visited network requests the policy and charging control rule from the PCRF ( Visit PCRF) of the visited network. Preferably, the request carries the user identification and the service identification.

Step 303: The PCRF of the visited network determines, according to the user identifier, whether the home network user where the UE is located can use the network service, and if not, returns a reject response message and ends the process; otherwise, according to the UE related information (NAI, network identifier) And so on) addressing the first PCRF of the UE's home network and requesting the correlation required for policy and charging control rules

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Step 304: After receiving the related information request required by the PCRF of the visited network and the charging control rule, the PCRF of the home network of the UE determines whether the user can use the requested information in the visited network according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR. The service, if available, returns the relevant information required to formulate the policy and the charging control rule to the PCRF of the visited network; otherwise, returns a response message rejecting the user to use the service and ends the process;

The information required for the policy and the charging control rule may be one or any combination of the following information: service information of the PCRF sent by the AF to the home network; service information modified by the home network PCRF; PCRF of the home network Developed policies and charging rules; part of the policies and charging rules established by the PCRF of the home network (for example, only policy rules, or only charging rules, or only authorized QoS information); All or part of the user subscription information obtained by the PCRF of the network from the SPR.

Step 305: The PCRF of the visited network determines the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the information returned by the PCRF of the UE home network, and the network resource condition, and sends the corresponding PCEF policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network.

When the PCRF of the visited network formulates the visited network side policy and the charging control rule, it is based on the information returned by the PCRF of the home network and the resources of the network. Specifically, if it is a rule, then the PCRF of the visited network needs to re-create or supplement/modify these policies and charging control rules according to the network situation and other information. If the information sent by the PCRF of the home network does not include any policy and charging control rules, the PCRF of the visited network needs to generate the final policy and charging control rules according to the related information. Here, related information includes: information sent by the PCRF of the home network, local policy configuration information, and roaming protocols.

At this point, the policy and charging control rules on the visited network side have been completed and sent to the PCEF of the visited network.

Preferably, the policy and charging control rules of the home network side need to be formulated. Following the above process, the following describes the process of formulating the policy and charging control rules on the home network side.

Step 306: The PCEF of the visited network sends a service bearer setup request to the PCEF of the home network of the UE determined by the visited network.

In this step, the visited network may determine the PCEF of the UE's home network according to the access point name (APN) resolution, and/or the user's subscription data, and/or the network configuration;

Step 307: The PCRF request policy and the charging control rule determined by the PCEF of the home network to the home network;

Step 308: The PCRF of the home network determines, according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR, whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network, and if so, to the home network. The network PCEF returns to perform the home network side policy and charging control rule; otherwise, returns a response message rejecting the user to use the service and ends the process;

Step 309: The PCEF of the home network returns a bearer setup response message to the PCEF of the visited network, and establishes a bearer.

Step 310: The PCEF of the visited network returns a signaling bearer setup response message to the UE, and establishes a bearer.

Step 311: The bearer is successfully established, and the service data is transmitted.

In the above process, step 310 may also be performed after step 305, and the order of execution of step 310 in the present invention is not particularly limited.

4 is a detailed structural diagram of a policy and charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The system is a specific implementation of the system shown in Figure 2 and can be used to implement the method flow shown in Figure 3 above. Specifically, the system includes: a PCEF of the visited network, a visited network PCRF, a home network PCRF, and a home network PCEF. The home network PCRF corresponds to the visited network PCRF, and the home network PCEF corresponds to the visited network PCEF.

The visited network PCEF is configured to request a policy and charging control rule from the visited network PCRF, and receive the visited network side policy and charging control rule returned by the visited network PCRF; and is used to request the establishment of the service bearer from the home network PCEF.

The visited network PCRF is configured to request, according to the request of the visited network PCEF, the information required for formulating the policy and the charging control rule to the home network PCRF, and formulating the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the returned information, and sending the Visit the network PCEF.

a home network PCRF, configured to receive a request for visiting the network PCRF, and return information required for formulating the policy and the charging control rule; receiving the request sent by the home network PCEF, and returning the home network side policy and charging control rule .

The home network PCEF is used to receive the service bearer sent by the visited network PCEF. And requesting, by the home network PCRF, a policy and charging control rule, and receiving the returned home network side policy and charging control rule.

In the foregoing method and system description of the first embodiment of the present invention, the PCEF of the visited network may be located on the UPE of the visited network, or on the MME/UPE, or on the Inter AS Anchor, or other network entity; likewise, the home network The PCEF may be located on the UPE or MME/UPE of the home network, or on the Inter AS Anchor of the home network, or on other network entities.

For example, FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart diagram of policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 5, the method includes:

Step 501: The UE requests to establish a service bearer to the Inter AS Anchor ( visit Inter AS Anchor) of the visited network.

Step 502: The Inter AS Anchor of the visited network requests a policy and charging control rule from the PCRF ( Visit PCRF) of the visited network. Preferably, the request carries the user identifier and the service identifier.

Step 503: The PCRF of the visited network determines, according to the user identifier, whether the home network user where the UE is located can use the network service, and if not, returns a reject response message and ends the process; otherwise, performs a corresponding PCRF request to the UE's home network. Relevant information required for policy and billing control;

Step 504: After receiving the related information request required by the PCRF of the visited network to perform policy and charging control, the PCRF of the visited network of the UE determines whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR. If yes, return the relevant information required for policy and charging control to the PCRF of the visited network; otherwise, return a response message rejecting the user to use the service and end the process;

Step 505: The PCRF of the visited network returns information according to the PCRF of the UE home network. And the network resources, the corresponding network side policy and charging control rules are formulated and sent to the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network;

At this point, the policy and charging control rules for visiting the network side have been completed and sent to the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network.

Step 506: The Inter AS Anchor of the visited network sends a service bearer setup request to the corresponding Inter AS Anchor of the UE's home network.

Step 507: The Inter AS Anchor of the home network requests the policy and the charging control rule from the PCRF of the home network.

Step 508: The PCRF of the home network determines, according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR, whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network, and if yes, returns the home network side policy and charging control rule to the PCRF of the visited network; otherwise, Return a response message rejecting the user to use the service and end the process;

Step 509: The Inter AS Anchor of the home network returns a bearer setup response message to the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network, and establishes a bearer;

Step 510: The Inter AS Anchor of the visited network returns a signaling bearer setup response message to the UE, and establishes a bearer.

Step 511: The bearer is successfully established, and the service data is transmitted.

In the above process, step 510 may also be performed after step 505, and the order of execution of step 510 is not particularly limited.

The method flow shown in FIG. 5 above can also be implemented in the system shown in FIG. 4. Specifically, the visited network PCEF in the system shown in FIG. 4 is located in the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network.

In the above two embodiments, the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network is the same PCRF as the PCRF determined by the home network. Therefore, during the implementation of the program, only A home network PCRF is involved. In the following two embodiments, the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network and the PCRF determined by the home network are different PCRFs. The first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network is the PCRF A of the default home network of the UE.

6 is a schematic flow chart showing policy and charging control of a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the PCRF of the visited network requests the home UE PCRF A of the default UE when obtaining relevant information required for policy and charging control. As shown in Figure 3, the method includes:

Step 601: The UE requests to establish a service bearer from the PCEF of the visited network.

Step 602: The PCEF of the visited network requests a policy and charging control rule from the PCRF of the visited network. Preferably, the request carries a user identifier and a service identifier.

Step 603: The PCRF of the visited network determines, according to the user identifier, whether the home network user where the UE is located can use the network service, and if not, returns a reject response message and ends the process; otherwise, requests the home network PCRF A of the default UE. Relevant information required for policy and billing control;

Step 604: After receiving the related information request required by the PCRF of the visited network for policy and charging control, the PCRF A of the visited network of the UE determines whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR. If yes, return the relevant information required for policy and charging control to the PCRF of the visited network, and return the PCEF node identifier of the home network to which the visiting network PCEF should access, wherein the PCEF node identifier is preferably an internet protocol. (IP) address, or network node number; otherwise, return a response message rejecting the user to use the service and end the process;

Step 605: The PCRF of the visited network determines the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the information returned by the PCRF A of the home network of the UE and the network resource, and sends the corresponding network side policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network, and returns to the visited network PCEF. Return should be returned The PCEF node identifier of the network;

Step 606: The PCEF of the visited network sends a service bearer setup request to the PCEF of the home network of the UE determined by the visited network according to the received PCEF node identifier of the home network. Step 607: The PCEF of the home network requests the policy from the PCRF B determined by the home network. And billing rules;

Here, at this time, PCRF B may be PCRF A or another PCRF. In this embodiment, PCRF B and PCRF A are different PCRFs.

Step 608: The PCRF B of the home network determines, according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR, whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network, and if yes, returns the home network side policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the home network; Return a response message rejecting the user to use the service and end the process;

Step 609: The PCEF of the home network returns a bearer setup response to the PCEF of the visited network, and establishes a bearer.

Step 610: The PCEF of the visited network returns a signaling bearer setup response to the UE, and establishes a ^^ load;

Step 611: The bearer is successfully established, and the service data is transmitted.

In the above process, step 610 may also be performed after step 605. The order of execution of step 610 is not particularly limited.

FIG. 7 is a detailed structural diagram of a policy and charging control system of a user in a roaming state according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The system is a specific implementation of the system shown in FIG. 2, and can be used to implement the method flow shown in FIG. 6 above. Specifically, the system includes: visiting the network PCEF, Visit the network PCRF, the home network PCRF A, the home network PCRF B, and the home network PCEF. The home network PCRF A is the default home network PCRF of the UE, that is, the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network, and the home network PCRF B is the PCRF determined by the home network.

The network PCEF is used to request a policy and charging control rule from the visited network PCRF, and receives the visited network side policy and charging control rule returned by the visited network PCRF; and is used to represent the received home network PCEF node identifier The home network PCEF requests to establish a service bearer.

The visited network PCRF is configured to request, according to the request of the visited network PCEF, the information required by the policy and the charging control rule to be generated from the home network PCRF A, and formulate the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the returned information, and The rule and the home network PCEF node identifier that the visited network PCEF should access are sent to the visited network PCEF.

The home network PCRF A is configured to receive the request of the PCRF of the visited network, and return the information required to formulate the policy and the charging control rule and the home network PCEF node identifier that the visited network PCEF should access.

The home network PCRF B is configured to receive the request sent by the home network PCEF, and return the home network side policy and the charging control rule.

The home network PCEF is configured to receive a request for establishing a service bearer sent by the PCEF of the visited network, and request a policy and charging control rule from the home network PCRF B, and receive the returned network side policy and charging control rule.

In the above system, the home network PCRF A and the home network PCFR B are different PCRFs.

In the foregoing method and system description of the third embodiment of the present invention, the PCEF of the visited network may be located on the UPE of the visited network, or on the MME/UPE, or on the Inter AS Anchor, or other network entity; likewise, the home network PCEF can be located in the UPE of the home network Or on MME/UPE, or on Inter AS Anchor, or on other network entities.

For example, FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart diagram of policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 8, the method includes:

Step 801: The UE requests to establish a service bearer from the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network. Step 802: The Inter AS Anchor of the visited network requests the policy and the charging control rule from the PCRF of the visited network. Preferably, the request carries a user identifier and a service identifier.

Step 803: The PCRF of the visited network determines, according to the user identifier, whether the home network user where the UE is located can use the network service, and if not, returns a reject response message and ends the process; otherwise, the home network PCRF of the default UE is addressed. A, and request relevant information required for policy and charging control;

Step 804: After receiving the related information request required by the PCRF of the visited network for policy and charging control, the PCRF A of the home network of the UE determines, according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR, whether the user can use the request in the visited network. The service, if available, returns relevant information required for policy and charging control to the PCRF of the visited network, and returns a PCEF node identifier of the home network to which the visited network Inter AS Anchor should access, wherein the PCEF node identifier is preferred Is the Internet Protocol (IP) address, or network node number; otherwise, returns a response message rejecting the user to use the service and ends the process;

Step 805: The PCRF of the visited network determines the visited network side policy and the charging control rule according to the information returned by the PCRF A of the UE home network, and the network resource situation, and sends the corresponding network side policy and the charging control rule to the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network, and returns the visit. The PCEF node identifier of the home network to which the network Inter AS Anchor should access;

Preferably, the policy and charging control rules of the home network side need to be formulated. Following the above The following describes the process of formulating the policy and charging control rules on the home network side. Step 806, the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network according to the Inter AS Anchor node identifier of the received home network to the corresponding Inter AS of the home network of the UE. Anchor sends a service bearer setup request;

Step 807: The Inter AS Anchor of the home network requests a policy and a charging rule from its corresponding PCRF B.

Here, at this time, PCRF B may be PCRF A or another PCRF. In this embodiment, PCRF A and PCRF B are different PCRFs, wherein PCRF B is a PCRF determined by the home network.

Step 808: The PCRF B of the home network determines whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network according to the user-related authorization information obtained from the SPR. If yes, the home network side policy and the charging control rule are returned to the PCRF of the visited network; otherwise, Return a response message rejecting the user to use the service and end the process;

Step 809: The Inter AS Anchor of the home network returns a bearer setup response to the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network, and establishes a bearer.

Step 810: The Inter AS Anchor of the visited network returns a signaling bearer establishment response to the UE, and establishes a ^^ carrier;

Step 811: The bearer is successfully established, and the service data is transmitted.

In the above process, step 810 may also be performed after step 805. The order of execution of step 810 is not particularly limited.

The method flow shown in FIG. 8 above can also be implemented in the system shown in FIG. 7. Specifically, the visited network PCEF in the system shown in FIG. 7 is located in the Inter AS Anchor of the visited network.

It can be seen from the foregoing specific embodiments of the present invention that the method and system provided by the embodiments of the present invention can implement policy and charging control for a UE in a roaming state of a user. The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and scope of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claim

A policy and charging control method in a user roaming state, characterized in that the method comprises:

The PCEF visiting the network requests the policy and charging rule function PCRF to request the policy and charging control rules;

The PCRF of the visited network requests the first PCRF of the UE home network determined by the visited network to request information required for the policy and the charging control rule, and receives the information required by the first PCRF to generate the policy and the charging control rule. ;

The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the method further comprises: after the PCRF of the visited network sends the visited network side policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network, the method further comprises:

The PCEF of the visited network requests the PCEF of the UE home network determined by the visited network to establish a service bearer;

The PCEF of the home network requests a policy and a charging control rule for the PCRF determined by the home network, and receives a home network side policy and a charging control rule returned by the PCRF determined by the home network.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the request sent by the PCEF of the visited network to the PCRF of the visited network carries a user identifier, and the PCRF direction of the visited network Before the first PCRF of the home network requests the information, the method further includes: The PCRF of the visited network determines whether the home network user where the UE is a protocol user according to the user identifier. If the determination result is yes, the PCRF that continues to execute the visited network requests the information from the first PCRF of the home network.

The method and the charging control method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein after the PCRF of the visited network requests the information from the first PCRF of the home network, the method further includes:

The first PCRF of the home network determines whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network according to the user authorization information obtained from the SPR. If yes, the first PCRF of the home network returns a policy to the PCRF of the visited network. And the information required by the charging control rule, and the PCRF that continues to execute the visited network receives the information required by the first PCRF to formulate the visited network side policy and the charging control rule.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 2, wherein after the PCEF of the home network requests the policy and the charging control rule from the PCRF determined by the home network, the method further includes:

The PCRF determined by the home network determines, according to the user authorization information obtained from the SPR, whether the user can use the requested service in the visited network, and if so, continues to perform the PCRF determined by the home network and returns the home network to the PCEF of the home network. The operation of the policy and charging control rules.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 2, wherein when the first PCRF of the home network returns the information required for formulating the policy and the charging control rule to the PCRF of the visited network, further The PCEF node identifier of the home network to which the PCEF carrying the visited network should access;

When the PCRF of the visited network sends the established network side policy and the charging control rule to the PCEF of the visited network, the PCEF node identifier of the home network that the PCEF of the visited network should access is further carried.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 6, wherein the PCEF of the UE home network determined by the visited network is determined according to the PCEF node identifier of the home network to which the PCEF of the visited network should access. PCEF.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the first PCRF of the home network is the same PCRF as the PCRF determined by the home network.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the PCRF determined by the home network is different from the home network of the first PCRF of the home network. Second PCRF.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the PCEF node identifier is an internet protocol IP address or a network node number.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the information required for formulating the policy and the charging control rule in step B is one or any of the following Combination: the service information of the first PCRF sent by the AF to the home network, the service information modified by the first PCRF of the home network, all or part of the policy and charging rules formulated by the first PCRF of the home network, the home network All or part of the user subscription information obtained by the first PCRF from the SPR.

12. The policy and charging control method according to claim 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the PCRF of the visited network further makes a visit according to a network configuration and/or a roaming agreement of the visited network. Network side policy and charging control rules.

The policy and charging control method according to claim 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7, wherein the PCEF of the visited network is located at the Inter AS Anchor of the user interface anchor between the access systems, or The user plane entity is on the UPE or on the mobility management module MME.

A policy and charging control system in a user roaming state, the system comprising: a visited network PCEF of the UE and a visited network PCRF of the UE; The visited network PCEF is configured to receive a request for establishing a service bearer sent by the UE, request a policy and charging control rule from the visited network PCRF, and receive a visited network side policy and a charging control rule returned by the visited network PCRF ;

The policy and charging control system according to claim 14, wherein the system further comprises: a home network PCEF of the UE determined by the visited network and a PCRF determined by the home network;

The visited network PCEF is further configured to request the establishment of a service bearer from the home network PCEF;

The home network PCEF is configured to receive a request for establishing a service bearer sent by the visited network PCEF, and request a policy and a charging control rule for the PCRF determined by the home network, and receive the returned home network side policy and charging control rule;

The PCRF determined by the home network is configured to receive a request sent by the home network PCEF, and return a home network side policy and a charging control rule.

The policy and charging control system according to claim 15, wherein the system further comprises a first PCRF of the home network determined by the visited network;

The first PCRF of the home network is configured to further return the home network PCEF node identifier that the visited network PCEF should access when returning the information required for the policy and the charging control rule to the visited network PCRF. ;

The visited network PCRF is configured to further return a home network PCEF node identifier that the visited network PCEF should access when returning the visited network side policy and charging control rule to the visited network PCEF; The home network PCEF of the UE determined by the visited network is the PCEF corresponding to the home network PCEF node identifier that the visited network PCEF should access.

The policy and charging control system according to claim 16, wherein the first PCRF of the home network is the same PCRF as the PCRF determined by the home network, or is a different PCRF.

18. A UE visited network PCEF, wherein the PCEF comprises a UE interface unit, a PCRF interface unit, and a control unit.

The PCRF interface unit is configured to send a policy and a charging control rule request sent by the control unit to the visited network PCRF, and forward the received policy and charging control rule to the control unit.

19. A visited network PCRF of a UE, wherein the PCRF comprises a PCEF interface unit, a control unit, and a PCRF interface unit.

The control unit is configured to: after receiving the policy and charging control rule request on the visited network side, generate a request for formulating information required by the policy and the charging control rule, and send the request to the PCRF interface unit And also used to receive information required by the PCRF interface unit to formulate policies and charging control rules, and formulate policies and charging control rules, and send Giving the PCEF interface unit;

20, a home network PCRF of the UE, wherein the PCRF includes a PCRF interface unit and a control unit,

The PCRF interface unit is configured to receive a request for information required by the network PCRF to formulate a policy and a charging control rule, and send the request to the control unit, and further configured to receive a policy for returning by the control unit And the information required by the charging control rule is sent to the visited network PCRF;