Method and apparatus for adaptive charging and performance in a software defined network

• US 10,511,724 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2019
• Issued: 12/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shaw, Venson, Dowlatkhah, Sangar
• Primary Examiner(s): Figueroa, Marisol
• Application Number:
  US16/367,912
• Publication Number:
  US 20190230228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 264 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1417 Advice of charge with threshold, e.g. user indicating maximum cost
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8353 during the communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/852 Low balance or limit reached
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/858 Request users acknowledgement prior to use
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method including instantiating a virtual network function to provide a network resource in the network, accessing data usage information associated with facilitation of a service to a communication device via the network, determining whether the communication device exceeds a data limit threshold according the data usage information, accessing a data limit instruction associated with the communication device responsive to determining that the communication device exceeds the data limit threshold, determining a modification to the virtual network function associated with the facilitation of the service according to the data limit instruction, and communicating with the network to cause the modification to the virtual network function. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

instantiating a first virtual network function to provide a network resource in a network;

accessing a first data limit instruction associated with a first communication device responsive to determining that facilitating a service to the first communication device exceeds a data limit threshold;

transmitting a notification to the first communication device that the data limit threshold has been exceeded according to the first data limit instruction;

receiving, from the first communication device, a response to the notification that the data limit threshold has been exceeded; and

communicating with the network to cause a modification to the first virtual network function according to the response to the notification, wherein the modification to the first virtual network function comprises a change in a priority of the service at the first virtual network function.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the change in the priority results in a reduced data flow to the first communication device.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise determining whether the first communication device is authorized for the service.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first data limit instruction is accessed from a policy database.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the modification to the first virtual network function is determined from the policy database.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first data limit instruction is accessed from a profile associated with the first communication device.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the first communication device is one of a plurality of communication devices, and wherein the first data limit instruction differs from a second data limit instruction associated with a second communication device of the plurality of communication devices.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the notification includes charging information associated with facilitation of the service while the data limit threshold is exceeded.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise receiving, from the first communication device via the network, a request to facilitate the service to the first communication device.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise accessing data usage information associated with the first communication device.

11. A method comprising:

instantiating, by a processing system including a processor, a first virtual network function to provide a network resource in a network;

accessing, by the processing system, a first data limit instruction associated with a first communication device responsive to determining that facilitating a service to the first communication device exceeds a data limit threshold;

transmitting, by the processing system, a notification to the first communication device that the data limit threshold has been exceeded according to the first data limit instruction;

receiving, by the processing system from the first communication device, a response to the notification that the data limit threshold has been exceeded; and

transmitting, by the processing system, a directive over the network to cause a modification to the first virtual network function according to the response to the notification, wherein the modification to the first virtual network function comprises a change in a priority of the service at the first virtual network function.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the change in the priority results in a reduced data flow to the first communication device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the first data limit instruction is accessed from a policy database.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first communication device is one of a plurality of communication devices, and wherein the first data limit instruction differs from a second data limit instruction associated with a second communication device of the plurality of communication devices.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the notification includes charging information associated with facilitation of the service while the data limit threshold is exceeded.

16. A device comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations comprising;

instantiating a first virtual network function to provide a network resource in a network;

accessing a first data limit instruction associated with a first communication device of a plurality of communication devices, responsive to determining that facilitating a service to the first communication device exceeds a data limit threshold;

transmitting a notification to the first communication device that the data limit threshold has been exceeded according to the first data limit instruction;

receiving, from the first communication device, a response to the notification that the data limit threshold has been exceeded; and

transmitting a directive over the network to cause a modification to the first virtual network function according to the response to the notification, wherein the modification to the first virtual network function comprises a change in a priority of the service at the first virtual network function.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the first data limit instruction is accessed from a profile associated with the first communication device.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein the first data limit instruction is accessed from a policy database, and wherein the modification to the first virtual network function is determined from the policy database.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein the first data limit instruction differs from a second data limit instruction associated with a second communication device of the plurality of communication devices.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein the notification includes charging information associated with facilitation of the service while the data limit threshold is exceeded.