Solution--Integration of PCC in the IMS

from Huawei

 

How does the IMS provide differentiated services with application-based end-to-end QoS? How to define a charging mode and policy control mode that comply with market requirements in regards to charging? The answers to these questions are of prime importance to carriers who wish to rid themselves of the role of providing only an "information pipeline".


Integration of Policy and Charging Control in the Future

As an integrated control platform at the network layer that provides multimedia services over IP bearer networks, the IMS should be able to manage IP flows, as well as help carriers to manage an all-IP network. The management of IP flows is represented by QoS policy control and charging control.

• Requirements of Differentiated Services
  
  With a booming market for multimedia broadband data services, carriers need to increase the value of services and provide differentiated services to attract more subscribers. For current broadband data services, subscribers are charged by monthly fee mode. In the early years when network resources are relatively abundant, such a charging mode helps to attract more subscribers. However, as the number of subscribers increases exponentially and point-to-point (P2P) software becomes more prevalent, transmission broadband resources are becoming more limited. In addition, because the consumption pattern of network resources varies considerably among subscribers generally charged the same flat rate, carriers are not able to guarantee QoS for all subscribers.
  
  Therefore, carriers should apportion the construction cost and other expenses to individual broadband data users. Furthermore, carriers should provide different QoS for subscribers who are charged different rates. Carriers also need to guarantee the QoS of the bearer resources of services, and should provide differentiated services, based on the QoS levels they provide to subscribers and the agreements they sign with the SPs. In this way, carriers can direct subscribers and SPs to services with a QoS guarantee.
  
• Requirements of Dominant Value Chain
  
  With the proliferation of internet services, the number of broadband subscribers enjoying broadband services is increasing sharply. In the near future, the dominance of traditional voice services will be superseded by broadband data services. So, what would constitute a reasonable charging mode for broadband data service, and how can carriers avoid becoming a cheap transmission pipeline for all SPs during the transition process?
  
  First of all, flowed-based charging appears in the course of competition between carriers and SPs for the value chain. To charge according to contents, carriers first need to analyze the data packet sent to (or received from) subscribers, in order to identify and distinguish the content type of such data as, audio, video, or text. Then the related information can be sent to the online and offline charging system, where subscribers are charged a flexible rate, according to the contents of their data.
  
  Carriers used to play a predominant role in the value-chain for traditional voice services, and because they provided both the network and all the services, carriers at their own discretion could determine how much to charge subscribers. However, with the participation of SPs and CPs, carriers found that SPs and CPs benefited considerably from the data service, while carriers only served as an "information pipeline provider" for them. Therefore, it is important for carriers to recapture the initiative when determining the charging policy, the focus of which is content-based charging. The integration of a charging policy and QoS control supports the provision of more differentiated transmission channels for different SPs and CPs, which can help carriers take the initiative in the whole value chain.
  
• Requirements of Cost Reduction
  
  In order to reduce cost and improve efficiency, the structure of the network must be simple. The integration of policy and charging control reduces operation expenditure (OPEX) and capital expenditure (CAPEX), by simplifying the network structure and requiring less maintenance staff and cost.

PCC: Integration of Policy and Charging Control in the IMS

The policy and charging control (PCC) structure is defined in 3GPP R7. Based on the flow based control (FBC) structure defined in 3GPP R6, the PCC structure adopts the session-based local policy (SBLP) function. In this case, integration of the QoS policy and charging control is achieved.

• QoS Policy Control
  
  The session-based QoS local policy control is defined in 3GPP R5. According to different applications of subscribers, as well as the local control policy defined by carriers, the IMS can control the IP network resources occupied by a specific application. For example, the IMS can control and manage the bandwidth allocated to the application and define its priority.
  
  The process of resource control by the IMS is as follows:
  
  During the setup of a session, user equipment (UE) requests to the network for related media parameters (such as codec, media type, and bandwidth), via the Session Description Protocol (SDP) contained in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).
  
  The proxy-CSCF (P-CSCF) then forwards the SDP parameters to the policy decision function (PDF), through the Gq interface.
  
  The PDF then authorizes the related media parameters, according to the users' media messages and the local policy.
  
  After authorization, the authorized media parameters are returned to the UE and the resources for setting up the transmission bearer are reserved.
  
  The PDF then forwards the related IP QoS control parameter to the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), through the Go interface.
  
  As a device that executes the QoS control policy, the GGSN analyzes the source and destination IP addresses, and then controls and filters the IP flow.
  The QoS policy is controlled by the PDF. By configuring the policy stored in the PDF, carriers are able to implement the QoS policy control flexibly for different applications in various IP networks.
  
• FBC
  
  The FBC structure is defined in 3GPP R6. The FBC structure solves the problem of charging at the bearer layer. The CDR at the application layer is generated in the CSCF and related application servers. Gy/Gz is used to send charging data to both online and offline charging systems. The charging data include: session type, start time, end time, and service flow information.
  
  The process is as follows:
  
  The UE sends an SIP message to the CSCF.
  
  The P-CSCF notifies the Charging Rule Function (CRF) of the information related to the data flow by way of the Rx interface, including the IP flow identifier, bandwidth, and QoS type.
  
  The CRF then sends the flow information to the GGSN, including the IP flow detail and charging key (i.e. the charging rule).
  
  The GGSN then sends data needed for charging to the charging system, according to the charging key.
  
• PCC Integration Solution
  
  Comparing the two structures mentioned above, when policy control and FBC are used as two separate systems, they have their own functional entities and interfaces. However, both their functional entities and the contents of the messages at the interfaces are similar. Separation of policy control and FBC will increase the complexity of the network structure and message flow (due to the interworking of NEs such as GGSN, P-CSCF with entities like CRF and PDF), as well as worsen real-time performance and efficiency. Therefore, the CRF and PDF can be integrated into one device, and the message interface can be extended. 
  
  As shown in Fig.1, the PDF and CRF are integrated into one device which is called the PCRF. The Policy Enforcement Point (PEP) and Traffic Plane Function(TPF) are realized in the GGSN. The Gq interface and the Rx interface are integrated as the Rx+ interface, and the Go interface and Gx interface are integrated as the Gx+ interface. Further, the SPR function is added, which sends the subscription information to the PCRF through the Sp interface. The addition of the SPR function can enhance the ability of the PDF to control the QoS. The PDF cannot only provide service-based QoS control, but also the subscription information-based QoS control for some non-realtime services.

PCC-Based Integrated Control Point in the IMS

Through the PCC, the integration of QoS policy and charging rule can be realized in the IMS network. The effect of such integration goes beyond the simple addition of the two (i.e. 1 + 1 > 2), and can fulfill carriers' need to meet the rapid development of multimedia data service.

As an enhanced QoS policy control function, the PCC can implement the QoS policy control, not only according to the service information, but also the charging rate of the service flows, and the subscription data obtained from the SPR such as, current cell location of the subscriber, subscriber identifier, IP address of the UE, QoS information, and subscriber group type.

In the PCC structure, the QoS decision is based on charging related information, so that the charging rule is consistent with the QoS policy. By spending a little more, subscribers can obtain better QoS. For example, a prepaid service subscriber and a postpaid service subscriber will enjoy different QoSs (that is, bandwidth and priority) when using real-time or non-realtime services. In addition, different charging rates will be adopted for different time segments (that is, busy hours and non-busy hours), which results in various QoS policies.

The end-to-end IMS solution provided by Huawei adopts the PCC structure. Through the integration of QoS control and charging rule, Huawei's IMS solution can provide flexible differentiated services for carriers, which can help to improve the competitiveness of carriers, while at the same time promoting the development of the whole value chain along a correct path.