METHOD OF AND A SESSION MANAGEMENT FUNCTION FOR PROVISIONING A USER PLANE FUNCTION, A METHOD OF AND A USER PLANE FUNCTION FOR PROCESSING USER TRAFFIC AND A METHOD OF AND CHARGING FUNCTION FOR CHARGING USER TRAFFIC

Abstract

A method of and a Session Management Function, SMF, for provisioning processing rules for user traffic at a User Plane Function, UPF, in a core network of a telecommunication network are disclosed. The core network comprises an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF and a Policy Control Function, PCF. The SMF first transmits to the PCF a request for obtaining processing rules for user traffic; the SMF then receives from the PCF processing rules enabling at least one of a Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, level processing policy and a Server Name Indication, SNI, level processing policy for the user traffic and provision the received processing rules with the UPF. The UPF can then process user traffic based on the provisioned processing rules, differentiating the user traffic at the more detailed URI and/or SNI level.

Claims

1-19. (canceled)

20. A method of provisioning, by a Session Management Function, SMF, processing rules for user traffic at a User Plane Function, UPF, in a core network of a telecommunication network, said core network comprising an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF and a Policy Control Function, PCF, said method comprising the steps of: transmitting, by said SMF, to said PCF a request for obtaining processing rules for user traffic; receiving, by said SMF, from said PCF processing rules enabling at least one of a Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, level processing policy and a Server Name Indication, SNI, level processing policy for said user traffic, and provisioning, by said SMF, said received processing rules with said UPF.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said transmitting step is performed in response to receiving, by said SMF, a request for establishing a user traffic session from said AMF.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein said URI level processing policy and SNI level processing policy are comprised in policy data preconfigured in a Unified Data Repository, UDR.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein said policy data comprises an indication that at least one of said URI level processing policy and said SNI level processing policy is applicable to predefined processing rules, said provisioning comprises a step of configuring, by said SMF, said processing rules as pre-defined processing rules with said UPF.

24. The method according to claim 20, wherein said provisioning step is performed during a Packet Forwarding Control Protocol, PFCP, session establishment procedure and comprises provisioning an enforcement action associated with a Packet Detection Rule, PDR, with said processing rules, said PFCP session related to said user traffic.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein said enforcement action comprises a Usage Reporting Rule, URR, a bit in a URR related data item at said PFCF session establishment procedure is used to indicate provisioning of said processing rules with said URR.

26. The method according to claim 20, further comprising the following step prior to said transmitting step: receiving, by said SMF, a report on supporting at least one of URI level processing policy and SNI level processing policy from said UPF, in particular by using a data item of UP Function Features.

27. A method of processing, by a User Plane Function, UPF, user traffic in a telecommunication network, said method comprising the steps of: receiving, by said UPF, user traffic from a User Equipment, UE; classifying, by said UPF, said user traffic according to a predefined Packet Detection Rule, PDR; processing, by said UPF, said classified user traffic, in accordance with said processing rules enabling at least one of said URI level processing policy and SNI level processing policy.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein said processing policy is a Usage Reporting Rule, URR, said processing step comprises recording a volume and optionally a timestamp of said classified traffic on at least one of URI and SNI basis.

29. The method according to claim 27, further comprising reporting said recorded volume and optional timestamp when a report condition is triggered.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein said reporting is based on at least one of a URI and SNI data item comprised in a usage report data item of a PFCP session report request.

31. The method according to claim 27, further comprising forwarding, by said UPF, said classified user traffic to a destination node.

32. A method of charging, by a Charging Function, CHF, user traffic in a telecommunication network, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, by said CHF, from a Session Management Function, SMF, a charging request including at least one of URI and SNI information, said at least one of Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, and Server Name Indication, SNI information comprises a volume and optionally a timestamp for said user traffic based on at least one of per URI and SNI basis, and charging, by said CHF, said user traffic by applying a logic reflecting said at least one of URI and SNI information.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a service-based reference architecture for a 5G system as defined by 3GPP.

[0074] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a 3GPP 5G core network architecture for policy, charging and analytics.

[0075] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a packet processing flow in a User Plane Function, UPF, in accordance with 3GPP TS 29.244.

[0076] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates, in a sequence diagram, a method of provisioning Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, and/or Server Name Indication, SNI level reporting policy for user traffic in a UPF by a Session Management Function, SMF, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a method of processing user traffic by a UPF and a method of charging user traffic by a charging function, CHF, in a telecommunication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0078] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an example of an SMF in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0079] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an example of a UPF in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0080] FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example of a CHF in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0081] Embodiments contemplated by the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the illustrated embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0082] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a service-based reference architecture 10 for a 5G System as defined in the 3GPP standard TS23.501, “System Architecture for the 5G system”, the contents of which are included herein, by reference.

[0083] The 5G system architecture 10 of FIG. 1 illustrates a User Equipment 11 accessing a data network 12 via a 5G network. The system architecture 10 comprises a plurality of network functions, NFs, which comprises a control plane function group 13 and a User Plane Function, UPF, 14. NFs in the control fiction group 13 that are specially relevant to the present disclosure are an Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF, 15, a Session Management Function, SMF, 16 and a Policy Control function, PCF, 17.

[0084] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a 3GPP 5G core network architecture 20 for policy, charging and analytics. Of the NFs illustrated in FIG. 2, the following NFs are especially relevant to the present disclosure:

[0085] Charging Function, CHF 21: the CHF supports offline and online charging functionality and exposes the Nchf interface towards consumers of the CHF, for example, a Session Management Function, SMF 16

[0086] The PCF 17: the PCF supports unified policy framework to govern network behaviour. Specifically, the PCF 17 provides Policy and Charging Control, PCC, rules to the SMF 16.

[0087] The SMF 16: the SMF is responsible for enforcement of session management related policy decisions from the PCF 17, such as decisions related to service flow detection, QoS, charging, traffic usage reporting, for example. The SMF supports different functionality, such as session establishment, modify and release, and policy related functionalities such as termination of interfaces towards PCF 17, charging data collection, support of charging interfaces and control and coordination of charging data collection at a user plane function, UPF 14.

[0088] Specifically, the SMF 16 supports requesting and receiving PCC rules from the PCF 17 and deriving rules from the PCC rules and providing or configuring those rules to the UPF 14 accordingly through N4 reference point, that i.e., Packet Forwarding Control Protocol, PFCP.

[0089] The UPF 14: the UPF supports handling of UP traffic based on the rules received from SMF 16. Specifically, for the present disclosure, the UPF 14 supports packet inspection through Packet Detection Rules, PDRs and different enforcement actions, such as traffic steering, charging/reporting through Forwarding Action Rules, FARs, QoS Enforcement Rules, QERs, and/or Usage Reporting rules, URRs.

[0090] FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a packet processing flow 30 in the UPF 14 in accordance with 3GPP TS 29.244.

[0091] In accordance with FIG. 3, on receipt 31 of a user plane packet, the UPF 14 performs a lookup of provisioned PDRs. Specifically, the UPF 14 first identifies 32 a PFCP session to which the packet corresponds, and then finds 33 a first PDR 34 matching the incoming packet, among all PDRs provisioned for this PFCP session, starting with the PDRs with the highest precedence and continuing then with PDRs in decreasing order of precedence. Thereafter, a number of rules or enforcement actions 35 associated with the matched PDR 34, including for example FARs, QERs, and URRs are applied to the packet matching the PDR 34. The processed packet may then leave 36 the UPF 14

[0092] For the purpose of differentiating user traffic at more detailed level, the above described PFCP protocol requires provisioning of a large number of PDRs, which will result in low processing performance.

[0093] In the following, a method of provisioning a UPF with processing rules, in particular, traffic reporting rules, by a SMF will be described. It can be contemplated that the method of the present disclosure may also be used for provisioning other rules at the UPF.

[0094] FIG. 4 schematically illustrates, in a sequence diagram, a method 40 of provisioning Uniform Resource Identifier, URI, and/or Server Name Indication, SNI level reporting policy for user traffic in a UPF 1 by a SMF 16, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0095] It is noted that a precondition for the method 40 of FIG. 4 is that URI and/or SNI level reporting policy for user traffic, such as default traffic, is pre-configured in a Unified Data Repository, UDR, 18 as subscriber policy data.

[0096] Steps 401 and 402 illustrate a PFCP Association setup procedure between the UPF 14 and the SMF 16. A PFCP Association shall be set up between the CP function, that is, the SMF 16, and the UPF 14 prior to establishing a PFCP session for user traffic on that UPF 14. The PFCP Association procedure in FIG. 4 is illustrated to be initiated by the UPF 4. Those skilled in the art will understand that the PFCP Association procedure may also be initiated by the SMF 16.

[0097] At step 401, the UPF 14 UPF initiates the PFCP Association Setup procedure by sending a “PFCP Association Request” to the SMF 16, to request setting up an PFCP association towards the SMF 16. The UPF 14 sends the PFCP Association Setup Request including a Node ID of the UPF and information of all supported optional features in the UPF, including a new capability of URI/SNI level reporting.

[0098] In sending the PFCP association request, the UPF 14 reports its capabilities, in particular, the capability of URI/SNI level reporting, USRU, to the SMF 16. This allows the SMF 16 to know which UPFs support this capability and thus can influence on UPF selection.

[0099] Support for the new capability USRU is indicated in UP function features as illustrated in Table 1. Information elements of the UP Function Features use each bit to indicate that a corresponding feature is supported. In Table 1, bit 8/4, expressed in bold, is used to indicate that URI/SNI level reporting is supported by the UPF 14.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 UP Function Features Feature Octet/Bit Feature Interface Description 5/1 BUCP Sxa, N4 Downlink Data Buffering in CP function is supported by the UP function. 5/2 DDND Sxa, N4 The buffering parameter ‘Downlink Data Notification Delay’ is supported by the UP function. 5/3 DLBD Sxa, N4 The buffering parameter ‘DL Buffering Duration’ is supported by the UP function. 5/4 TRST Sxb, Sxc, Traffic Steering is supported N4 by the UP function. 5/5 FTUP Sxa, Sxb, F-TEID allocation/release in N4 the UP function is supported by the UP function. 5/6 PFDM Sxb, Sxc, The PFD Management procedure N4 is supported by the UP function. 5/7 HEEU Sxb, Sxc, Header Enrichment of Uplink N4 traffic is supported by the UP function. 5/8 TREU Sxb, Sxc, Traffic Redirection Enforcement N4 in the UP function is supported by the UP function. 6/1 EMPU Sxa, Sxb, Sending of End Marker packets N4 supported by the UP function. 6/2 PDIU Sxa, Sxb, Support of PDI optimised signalling Sxc, N4 in UP function (see clause 5.2.1A.2). 6/3 UDBC Sxb, Sxc, Support of UL/DL Buffering Control N4 6/4 QUOAC Sxb, Sxc, The UP function supports being N4 provisioned with the Quota Action to apply when reaching quotas. 6/5 TRACE Sxa, Sxb, The UP function supports Trace Sxc, N4 (see clause 5.15). 6/6 FRRT Sxb, N4 The UP function supports Framed Routing (see IETF RFC 2865 [37] and IETF RFC 3162 [38]). 6/7 PFDE Sxb, N4 The UP function supports a PFD Contents including a property with multiple values. 6/8 EPFAR Sxa, Sxb, The UP function supports the Sxc, N4 Enhanced PFCP Association Release feature (see clause 5.18). 7/1 DPDRA Sxb, Sxc, The UP function supports Deferred N4 PDR Activation or Deactivation. 7/2 ADPDP Sxa, Sxb, The UP function supports the Sxc, N4 Activation and Deactivation of Pre-defined PDRs (see clause 5.19). 7/3 UEIP N4 The UPF supports allocating UE IP addresses or prefixes (see clause 5.21). 7/4 SSET N4 UPF support of PFCP sessions successively controlled by different SMFs of a same SMF Set (see clause 5.22). 7/5 MNOP Sxa, Sxb, UPF supports measurement of Sxc, N4 number of packets which is instructed with the flag ‘Measurement of Number of Packets’ in a URR. See also 5.2.2.2.1. 7/6 MTE N4 UPF supports multiple instances of Traffic Endpoint IDs in a PDI. 7/7 BUNDL Sxa, Sxb, PFCP messages bunding (see clause Sxc, N4 6.5) is supported by the UP function. 7/8 GCOM N4 UPF support of 5G VN Group Communication. (See clause 5.23) 8/1 MPAS N4 UPF support for multiple PFCP associations to the SMFs in an SMF set (see clause 5.22.3). 8/2 RTTL N4 The UP function supports redundant transmission at transport layer. 8/3 VTIME Sxb, N4 UPF support of quota validity time feature. 8/4 USRU Sxb, Sxc, URI/SNI level reporting is supported N4 by the UP function.

[0100] At step 402, when receiving the “PFCP Association Request”, the SMF 16 stores the Node ID of the UPF 14 as an identifier of the PFCP association, if the SMF 16 accepts the request. The SMF 16 further sends a “PFCP Association Response” with a successful cause, its Node ID, and information of a list of optional features the SMF 16 supports which may affect the UP function behaviour, if any.

[0101] By the above steps the SMF 16 is notified of the URI/SNI level reporting supported by the UPF 14.

[0102] At step 403, a UE 11 triggers PDU session establishment, by sending a “PDU Session Establishment Request” to an AMF 15. The AMF 15 selects an SMF to manage the PDU session, that is, a SMF selection function in the AMF 15 selects an SMF instance based on available SMF instances obtained from Network Repository Function, NRF, or based on configured SMF information in the AMF 15 and triggers 404 “Nsmf PDU Session Create” to the SMF 16.

[0103] The example as described herein refers to a scenario where a PFCP session corresponds to a PDU session initiated by a subscriber via his or her UE. It is also possible that the PFCP session is a standalone PFCP session not tied to any PDU session used e.g. for forwarding RADIUS, Diameter or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, DHCP, signalling between the SMF 16 and a DN 12 or for forwarding End Marker packets from the SMF 16 to a downstream UPF or next generation Radio Access Network, NG-RAN.

[0104] Note the sequence diagram 40 in FIG. 4 does not include all the signalling messages involved in the PDU Session Establishment procedure. Instead, only signalling messages relevant to the present disclosure are described in subsequent steps.

[0105] At step 405, the SMF 16 triggers “Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create Request” message, to a PCF, 17 to request creation of a corresponding session management, SM, policy association with the PCF 17 and to retrieve SM policies for the user PDU session. Specifically, the “Npcf_SMPolicyControl_Create” procedure enables provisioning of PCC rules by the PCF 17 to the SMF 16, of which charging related information of PDU sessions may be provisioned.

[0106] The PCF 17 may receiving charging related information from a Unified Data Repository, UDR, 18 as part of policy data subscription information which is preconfigured in the UDR beforehand.

[0107] In the present example, at step 406, the PCF 17 triggers a “Nudr_Query Request” message, to the UDR 18, including a subscriber identifier to retrieve the policy data for this subscriber's PDU session.

[0108] At step 407, the UDR 18 answers with a “Nudr_Query Response” message including the Subscriber Policy Data, which includes a URI and/or SNI level reporting policy, which may be applied, for example towards, all kind of user traffic, such as default traffic.

[0109] In the example of the sequence diagram in FIG. 4, the solution proposed in the present disclosure is enabled on a per subscriber basis, that is, the URI/SNI level reporting is specifically enabled for this subscriber's PDU session. Moreover, the URI/SNI level reporting is enabled on a per PCC rule basis, that is, specifically for the default PCC rule, and not for the other PCC rules.

[0110] It can be contemplated by those skill in the art that the URI/SNI level reporting may also be enabled on a per group of subscribers basis or on a per node basis, which can be implemented by adapting the signalling procedure accordingly.

[0111] The PCF 17 generates corresponding PCC rules based on the subscriber policy data retrieved from the UDR 18. In particular, the PCF 17 generates a default PCC rule with URI/SNI level reporting enabled. In this example, the subscriber policy data retrieved by the PCF 17 from the UDR 18 may include an indication, such as a flag, to enable the solution described in the present disclosure only for the default PCC rule.

[0112] It can contemplated by those skilled in the art that the PCC rules may also be configured as other rules, not necessarily as the default PCC rule.

[0113] Although the PCC rules may be configured as dynamic PCC rules, in order to minimize the impacts on PCF, it is proposed to use pre-defined PCC rules, as follows:

[0114] PCC rule #X is the default pre-defined PCC rule when the solution of the present disclosure is disabled.

[0115] PCC rule #Y is the default pre-defined PCC rule when the solution of the present disclosure is enabled.

[0116] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the PCF 17 will activate the PCC rule #Y based on the UDR flag described above.

[0117] It can be contemplated by those skilled in the art that the generated PCC rules for other actions and processing may also be configured accordingly. At step 408, the generated PCC rules are transmitted to the SMF 16 by sending a “Npcf Policy Response” message.

[0118] At step 409, the SMF 16 triggers “PFCP Session Establishment” procedure towards the UPF 14 to provision or configure the PDRs, and the corresponding enforcement actions, FARs, URRs and the like, for the PDU session. The UPF 14 creates the PDRs accordingly and, at step 410, responds with a “PFCP Session Establishment Response” message.

[0119] Specifically, when receiving from the PCF 17 the default pre-defined PCC rule #Y, the SMF 16 locally configures that this rule #Y refers to enabling the solution proposed in the present disclosure. Based on this information, the SMF 16 will provision a default PDR, including both UL PDR and DL PDR, with lowest precedence for the purpose of matching all user traffic. The default PDR may be associated to a URR with URI/SNI reporting enabled.

[0120] The above provision may be implemented by extending the PFCP protocol by adding a new flag, that is, a bit, in Measurement Information IE at “PFCP Session Establishment/Modification Request” in “Create/Update URR IE”, as shown in Table 2 in bold.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Create URR IE within PFCP Session Establishment Request Octet 1 and 2 Create URR IE Type = 6 (decimal) Octets 3 and 4 Length = n Appl. Information Sx Sx Sx elements P Condition/Comment a b c N4 IE Type URR ID M This IE shall uniquely identify the URR among all the X X X X URR ID URRs configured for this PFCP session. Measurement M This IE shall indicate the method for measuring the X X X X Measurement Method network resources usage, i.e. whether the data volume, Method duration (i.e. time), combined volume/duration, or event shall be measured. Reporting Triggers M This IE shall indicate the trigger(s) for reporting network X X X X Reporting resources usage to the CP function, e.g. periodic Triggers reporting or reporting upon reaching a threshold, or envelope closure. Measurement C This IE shall be present if periodic reporting is required. X X X X Measurement Period When present, it shall indicate the period for generating Period and reporting usage reports. Volume Threshold C This IE shall be present if volume-based measurement is X X X X Volume used and reporting is required upon reaching a volume Threshold threshold. When present, it shall indicate the traffic volume value after which the UP function shall report network resources usage to the CP function for this URR. Volume Quota C This IE shall be present if volume-based measurement is — X X X Volume Quota used and the CP function needs to provision a Volume Quota in the UP function (see clause 5.2.2.2) When present, it shall indicate the Volume Quota value. Event Threshold C This IE shall be present if event-based measurement is — X X X Event Threshold used and reporting is required upon reaching an event threshold. When present, it shall indicate the number of events after which the UP function shall report to the CP function for this URR. Event Quota C This IE shall be present if event-based measurement is — X X X Event Quota used and the CP function needs to provision an Event Quota in the UP function (see clause 5.2.2.2) When present, it shall indicate the Event Quota value. Time Threshold C This IE shall be present if time-based measurement is X X X X Time Threshold used and reporting is required upon reaching a time threshold. When present, it shall indicate the time usage after which the UP function shall report network resources usage to the CP function for this URR. Time Quota C This IE shall be present if time-based measurement is — X X X Time Quota used and the CP function needs to provision a Time Quota in the UP function (see clause 5.2.2.2) When present, it shall indicate the Time Quota value Quota Holding C This IE shall be present, for a time, volume or event- — X X X Quota Holding Time based measurement, if reporting is required and packets Time are no longer permitted to pass on when no packets are received during a given inactivity period. When present, it shall contain the duration of the inactivity period. Dropped DL C This IE shall be present if reporting is required when the X — — X Dropped DL Traffic Threshold DL traffic being dropped exceeds a threshold. Traffic When present, it shall contain the threshold of the DL Threshold traffic being dropped. Quota Validity C This IE shall be present if reporting is required when the — X — X Quota Validity Time Quota Validity time for a given Quota is over. Time Monitoring Time O When present, this IE shall contain the time at which the X X X X Monitoring Time UP function shall re-apply the volume or time threshold. Subsequent O This IE may be present if the Monitoring Time IE is X X X X Subsequent Volume Threshold present and volume-based measurement is used. Volume When present, it shall indicate the traffic volume value Threshold after which the UP function shall report network resources usage to the CP function for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Subsequent Time O This IE may be present if the Monitoring Time IE is X X X X Subsequent Threshold present and time-based measurement is used. Time Threshold When present, it shall indicate the time usage after which the UP function shall report network resources usage to the CP function for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Subsequent O This IE may be present if Monitoring Time IE is present — X X X Subsequent Volume Quota and volume-based measurement is used (see clause Volume Quota 5.2.2.2). When present, it shall indicate the Volume Quota value which the UP function shall use for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Subsequent Time O This IE may be present if Monitoring Time IE is present — X X X Subsequent Quota and time-based measurement is used (see clause Time Quota 5.2.2.2) When present, it shall indicate the Time Quota value which the UP function shall use for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Subsequent Event O This IE may be present if the Monitoring Time IE is — X X X Subsequent Threshold present and event-based measurement is used. Event Threshold When present, it shall indicate the number of events after which the UP function shall report to the CP function for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Subsequent Event O This IE may be present if Monitoring Time IE is present — X X X Subsequent Quota and event-based measurement is used (see clause Event Quota 5.2.2.2). When present, it shall indicate the Event Quota value which the UP function shall use for this URR for the period after the Monitoring Time. Inactivity C This IE shall be present if time-based measurement is — X X X Inactivity Detection Time used and the time measurement need to be suspended Detection Time when no packets are received during a given inactivity period. When present, it shall contain the duration of the inactivity period. Linked URR ID C This IE shall be present if linked usage reporting is — X X X Linked URR ID required. When present, this IE shall contain the linked URR ID which is related with this URR (see clause 5.2.2.4). Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to represent multiple linked URRs which are related with this URR. Measurement C This IE shall be included if any of the following — X X X Measurement Information flag is set to 1. Information Applicable flags are: Measurement Before QoS Enforcement Flag: this flag shall be set to 1 if the traffic usage before any QoS Enforcement is requested to be measured. Inactive Measurement Flag: this flag shall be set — X — X to 1 if the measurement shall be paused (inactive). The measurement shall be performed (active) if the bit is set to 0 or if the Measurement Information IE is not present in the Create URR IE. Reduced Application Detection Information Flag: — X — X this flag may be set to 1, if the Reporting Triggers request to report the start or stop of application, to request the UP function to only report the Application ID in the Application Detection Information, e.g. for envelope reporting. Immediate Start Time Metering Flag: this flag may — X X X be set to 1 if time-based measurement is used and the UP function is requested to start the time metering immediately at receiving the flag. . Measurement of Number of Packets Flag: this flag X X X X may be set to 1 when the Volume-based measurement applies, to request the UP function to report the number of packets in UL/DL/Total in addition to the measurement in octet. URI/SNI reporting Flag: this flag may be set to — X X X 1 if URI/SNI reporting is required Time Quota C This IE shall be present if time-based measurement — X — — Time Quota Mechanism based on CTP or DTP is used. Mechanism Aggregated URRs C This IE shall be included if the URR is used to support a — X — — Aggregated Credit Pool. URRs Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to provide multiple aggregated URRs. FAR ID for Quota C This IE may be present if the Volume Quota IE and/or — X X X FAR ID Action the Time Quota IE and/or Event Quota IE is provisioned in the URR and the UP Function indicated support of the Quota Action feature. When present, it shall contain the identifier of the substitute FAR the UP function shall apply, for the traffic associated to this URR, when exhausting any of these quotas. See NOTE 1. Ethernet Inactivity C This IE shall be present if Ethernet traffic reporting is — — — X Ethernet Timer used and the SMF requests the UP function to also report Inactivity Timer inactive UE MAC addresses. When present, it shall contain the duration of the Ethernet inactivity period. Additional O When present, this IE shall contain the time at which the X X X X Additional Monitoring Time UP function shall re-apply the volume or time or event Monitoring Time threshold/quota provisioned in the IE. Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to provide multiple Monitoring Times. NOTE 1: The substitute FAR used when exhausting a Volume Quota or Time Quota may be set to drop the packets or redirect the traffic towards a redirect destination as specified in clause 5.4.7.

[0121] The above describes the provisioning of the UPF 14 by the SMF 16 with the URI/SNI level reporting for the user traffic.

[0122] With the URI/SNI level reporting configured as the URR at the UPF, after the PDU session is successfully established, the UE 11 may start sending application traffic. FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a method of processing user traffic by the UPF 14 and a method of charging user traffic by a charging function, CHF, in a telecommunication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] At step 501, the UE 11 transmit application traffic such as a Transport layer Security, TLS, Client Hello including SNI=X to the UFP 14.

[0124] At steps 502, the UPF 14 classifies this traffic in the default UL PDR, as the traffic in this example does not match any other UL PDR with higher precedence. The UPF 14 also retrieves and stores the SNI value X and a timestamp to record a start time T1 when the traffic with SNI=X was accessed. The SNI level reporting is enabled for the above traffic, which is indicated by SNI=X.

[0125] At step 503, the traffic is forwarded by the UPF 14, according to an associated FAR rule for example, towards its destination application server, AS, 51.

[0126] At step 504, the UE 11 continues sending application traffic, such as a TLS Client Hello including SNI=Y.

[0127] At step 505, the UPF 14 classifies this traffic in the default UL PDR, as the traffic in this example does not match any other UL PDR with higher precedence. The UPF 14 also retrieves and stores the SNI value Y and a timestamp to record a start time T2 when the SNI=Y was accessed. The SNI level reporting is enabled for the above traffic, which is indicated by SNI=Y.

[0128] At step 506, the traffic is forwarded by the UPF 14, according to an associated FAR rule towards its destination AS 51.

[0129] At step 507, when a URR threshold as configured in an associated URR, such as a periodic or volume threshold, is reached, the UPF 14 generates or triggers a usage report for the related URR, including a volume, and optionally the timestamp, on a per SNI basis and sends the usage report to the SMF 16 at step 508 by initiating a PFCF Session Report procedure.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Usage Report IE within PFCP Session Report Request Octet 1 and 2 Usage Report IE Type = 80 (decimal) Octets 3 and 4 Length = n Appl. Information Sx Sx Sx elements P Condition/Comment a b c N4 IE Type URR ID M This IE shall identify the URR for which X X X X URR ID usage is reported. UR-SEQN M This IE shall uniquely identify the Usage Report for X X X X UR-SEQN the URR (see clause 5.2.2.3). Usage Report M This IE shall identify the trigger for this report. X X X X Usage Report Trigger Trigger Start Time C This IE shall be present, except if the Usage Report X X X X Start Time Trigger indicates ‘Start of Traffic’, ‘Stop of Traffic’ or ‘MAC Addresses Reporting’. When present, this IE shall provide the timestamp when the collection of the information in this report was started. End Time C This IE shall be present, except if the Usage Report X X X X End Time Trigger indicates ‘Start of Traffic’, ‘Stop of Traffic’ or ‘MAC Addresses Reporting’. When present, this IE shall provide the timestamp when the collection of the information in this report was generated. Volume C This IE shall be present if a volume measurement X X X X Volume Measurement needs to be reported. Measurement Duration C This IE shall be present if a duration measurement X X X X Duration Measurement needs to be reported. Measurement Application C This IE shall be present if application detection — X X X Application Detection information needs to be reported. Detection Information Information UE IP address C This IE shall be present if the start or stop of an — — X X UE IP address application has been detected and no UE IP address was provisioned in the PDI. See NOTE 1. Network C This IE shall be present if the start or stop of an — — X X Network Instance application has been detected, no UE IP address was Instance provisioned in the PDI and multiple PDNs with overlapping IP addresses are used in the UP function. See NOTE 1. Time of First C This IE shall be present if available for this URR. — X X X Time of First Packet Packet Time of Last C This IE shall be present if available for this URR. — X X X Time of Last Packet Packet Usage C This IE shall be present if the UP function reports X X X X Usage Information Usage Reports before and after a Monitoring Information Time, or before and after QoS enforcement. When present, it shall indicate whether the usage is reported for the period before or after that time, or before or after QoS enforcement. Query URR C This IE shall be present if this usage report is sent as a X X X X Query URR Reference result of a query URR received in an PFCP Session Reference Modification Request and the Query URR Reference IE was present in the PFCP Session Modification Request. When present, it shall be set to the Query URR Reference value received in the PFCP Session Modification Request. Event Time C This IE shall be present, if the report is related to an — X X X Event Time Stamp event. Stamp When present, it shall be set to the time when the event occurs. Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to report multiple occurrences for an event for this URR ID. Ethernet Traffic C This IE shall be present if Ethernet Traffic Information — — — X Ethernet Traffic Information needs to be reported. See Table 7.5.8.3-3. Information URI/SNI C Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to — X X X URI/SNI Information report multiple occurrences for an event for this URR Information ID. NOTE 1: This is the case for unsolicited application reporting by the TDF. The Network instance is required when the UE IP address cannot be used to determine the corresponding PDN connection.

[0130] Specifically, according to the present disclosure, the PFCP protocol is extended by adding a new URI/SNI Information IE, as shown in bold in the following Table 3, in a Usage Report IE within PFCP Session Report Request message.

[0131] The URI/SNI information IE within the Usage Report IE may be defined as shown in Table 4.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 4 URI/SNI information IE within Usage Report IE Octet 1 and 2 Usage Report IE Type = 80 (decimal) Octets 3 and 4 Information Length = n elements P Condition/Comment IE Type URI/SNI ID M This IE shall identify the URI/ URI/SNI ID SNI. NOTE: The full URI/SNI is only sent once. URI/SNI C The URI/SNI URI/SNI Uplink C This IE shall be present if a Uplink Volume uplink volume measurement needs Volume Measurement to be reported. Measurement Downlink C This IE shall be present if a Downlink Volume downlink volume measurement Volume Measurement needs to be reported. Measurement Start Time C Indicates when the URI/SNI was Start Time accessed. Several IEs with the same IE type may be present to report multiple occurrences for an event for this URR ID.

[0132] At step 508, the UPF 14 sends a “PFCP Session Report Request” message to the SMF 16, to report the traffic usage on per SNI basis.

[0133] Specifically, the PFCF Session Report message identifies a PFCP session for which the report is sent and includes information to be reported, such as volume and start time for each recorded SNI. As an example, the usage report includes SNI=X, vol=A, start time=T1; SNI=Y, vol=B, start time=T2 and so on.

[0134] At step 509, the SMF 16 sends a “PFCP Session Report Response” message to the UPF 14. The SMF 16 also processes the information reported by the UPF 14.

[0135] With the usage report received from the UPF 14, at step 510, the SMF 14 triggers online/offline charging including volume and optionally timestamp on a per SNI basis. At step 511, the SMF 14 triggers a “Nchf Charging Request” message including all the information in URI/SNI Information IE, to the CHF 20. For the above example, the “Nchf Charging Request” message includes SNI=X, Volume A, Start

[0136] Time=T1; SNI=Y, Volume B, Start Time=T2, showing usage information for each SNI.

[0137] At step 512, the CHF 20 confirms receipt of the URI/SNI Information by sending a “Nchf Charging Response” message to the SMF 14.

[0138] Following that, at step 513, the CHF 20 applies a corresponding logic, which for example reflects the SNI volumes and optionally timestamps in the charging record for the subscriber.

[0139] As an example, the following format may be used in CDRs as applicable for URI. It can be contemplated by those skilled in the art that the following format can be easily extended for SNI.

TABLE-US-00005           URI ::= SEQUENCE       {       count     [1] INTEGER OPTIONAL,       uri     [2] IA5String OPTIONAL,       uriIdentifier  [3] INTEGER OPTIONAL,       uriDataVolumeUplink [4] INTEGER OPTIONAL,       uriData VolumeDownlink [5] INTEGER OPTIONAL,       listOfUriTimeStamps [6] SEQUENCE OF TimeStamp OPTIONAL }

[0140] The sequence diagrams in FIGS. 4 and 5 show an example on URI and/or SNI level reporting enabled for the default PDR. However, URI and/or SNI level reporting can be enabled for any PDR other than the default PDR.

[0141] It will be understood that the solution described in the present disclosure applies not only to 5G network architecture, but also to 4G systems, just by replacing: the PCF by a Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF, the SMF by a Packet Data Network Gateway control plane function, PGW-C, or a Traffic Detection Function Control plane function, TDF-C, and the UPF by a Packet Data Network Gateway user plane function, PGW-U, or a Traffic Detection Function userl plane function, TDF-U.

[0142] FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an example of an SMF 60 in accordance with the present disclosure. The SMF 60 comprises a receiver 61, 62 arranged to receive messages, such as processing rules, from other network functions, NFs, such as a PCF in the core communication network. The SMF 60 also comprises a transmitter 63, 64 arranged to transmit messages, such as the processing rules, to other NFs, such as a UPF in the core communication network. It may be understood by a skilled person that the receiver 61, 62 and transmitter 63, 64 are separately shown merely for illustrative purposes. The combined functionality may be achieved by a transceiver, for example.

[0143] The SMF 60 further comprises a provision equipment 65 arranged for provisioning a NF such as the UPF. Specifically, the provision equipment 65 provisions the processing rules enabling URI and/or SNI level processing with the UPF.

[0144] The SMF 60 further comprises a processor 66 and a memory 67. The memory 67 may be arranged to store a computer program product which when executed by the processor 66 causes the SMF 60 to perform a method according to the present disclosure. The internal components communicate with one another using an internal bus 69.

[0145] FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an example of a UPF 70 in accordance with the present disclosure. The UPF 70 comprises a receiver 71, 72 arranged to receive messages, such as processing rules, from other network functions, NFs, such as the SMF 60 in the core communication network. The UPF 70 also comprises a transmitter 73, 74 arranged to transmit messages, such as usage report, to other NFs, such as the SMF 60 in the core communication network. It may be understood by a skilled person that the receiver 71, 72 and transmitter 73, 74 are separately shown merely for illustrative purposes. The combined functionality may be achieved by a transceiver, for example.

[0146] The receiver 71, 72 may further be arranged for receiving user traffic from a UE, for example.

[0147] The UPF 70 further comprises a classify equipment 75 arranged for classifying the user traffic received from the UE according to a predefined PDR.

[0148] The UPF 70 further comprises a processing equipment 76 arranged for processing the user traffic in accordance processing rules enabling URI and/or SNI level processing policy.

[0149] The UPF 70 further comprises a processor 77 and a memory 78. The memory 78 may be arranged to store a computer program product which when executed by the processor 77 causes the UPF 70 to perform a method according to the present disclosure. The internal components communicate with one another using an internal bus 79.

[0150] FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example of a CHF 80 in accordance with the present disclosure. The CHF 80 comprises a receiver 81, 82 arranged to receive messages, such as a charging request including at least one of URI and SNI information, from other network functions, NFs, such as the SMF 60 in the core communication network. The CHF 80 also comprises a transmitter 83, 84 arranged to transmit messages, such as a charging response, to other NFs, such as the SMF 60 in the core communication network. It may be understood by a skilled person that the receiver 81, 82 and transmitter 83, 84 are separately shown merely for illustrative purposes. The combined functionality may be achieved by a transceiver, for example.

[0151] The CHF 80 further comprises a charging equipment 85 arranged for charging, user traffic by applying a logic reflecting the at least one of URI and SNI information.

[0152] The CHF 80 further comprises a processor 86 and a memory 87. The memory 87 may be arranged to store a computer program product which when executed by the processor 86 causes the CHF 80 to perform a method according to the present disclosure. The internal components communicate with one another using an internal bus 89.

[0153] The present disclosure is not limited to the examples as disclosed above, and can be modified and enhanced by those skilled in the art beyond the scope of the present disclosure as disclosed in the appended claims without having to apply inventive skills and for use in any data communication, data exchange and data processing environment, system or network.