Methods and apparatus for performing resource tracking and accounting at an end node

• US 20060036518A1
• Filed: 08/13/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Neill, Alan
• Granted Patent: US 7,610,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/12 Discriminative metering , charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/28 with meter at substation or with calculation of charges at terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/41 Billing record details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure of call data record [CDR]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/43 Billing software details
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/825 based on the number of used channels, e.g. bundling channels, frequencies or CDMA codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/84 Types of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/88 Provision for limiting connection, or expenditure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0116 Provision for limiting expenditure, e.g. limit on call expenses or account
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/0164 Billing record, e.g. Call Data Record [CDR], Toll Ticket[TT], Automatic Message Accounting [AMA], Call Line Identifier [CLI], details, i.e. parameters, identifiers, structure
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2026 Wireless network, e.g. GSM, PCS, TACS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/22 Bandwidth or usage-sensitve billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/32 Involving wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/7853 Based on the number of used channels, e.g. bundling channels or frequencies or CDMA codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/81 : Notifying aspects, e.g. notifications or displays to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/8129 : Type of notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 : Accounting or billing

Abstract

Utilization of resources used to provide a service, and/or costs associated with providing system resources for a service, are tracked in a system where the available resources vary depending on a variety of conditions including resource utilization by other users. The methods are well suited for systems such as mobile communications systems, where the amount of resources and/or costs to a system of providing a service are dynamic and can change on a relatively rapid time scale. Resource unitization is tracked on a per subscriber basis. Service charges can be determined as a function of both the amount of resources consumed and the amount of data delivered, with the amount of resources being used to deliver a fixed amount of data units varying as a function of environmental and/or other conditions. Service charges are sometimes determined as a function of the impact of providing the service to a first user on other system users.

Claims

1. A method of operating an end node which communicates using resources assigned to said end node by an access node, the method comprising:

maintaining a plurality of resource counts, each resource count corresponding to a different flow classifier and tracking resources used by any flows matching said classifier; and

communicating said plurality of resource counts corresponding to different flow classifiers to an accounting system via a wireless communications link.

2. The method of claim 1 where the accounting system includes at least one of:

i) an accounting client module located in an access node;

ii) an accounting server module located in an access node; and

iii) an accounting server module located in another node which is different from said end node.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a plurality of cost components, at least one of said cost components being associated with at least one of said resource counts.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of said plurality of cost components is received by the end node from the accounting system.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

generating a chargeable cost component as a function of said at least one of said cost components.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

communicating said chargeable cost component to said accounting system via said communications link.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining information indicating an amount of allocated resources used by said end node which were requested for a first flow associated with a first flow classifier but were reallocated to and used by said end node for a second flow associated with a second flow classifier.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining information indicating costs associated with allocated resources used by said end node which were requested for a first flow associated with a first flow classifier but were used by said end node for a second flow associated with a second flow classifier.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

maintaining in said end node information indicating a plurality of reallocation priority levels including a first reallocation priority level associated with the first flow classifier and a second reallocation priority level associated with the second flow classifier;

operating the end node to reallocate a spare resource to a flow associated with one of said first and second flow classifiers as a function of at least one of the first and second reallocation priority levels; and

maintaining information about the reallocation of resources which was performed as a function of at least one of said first and second reallocation priority levels.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said information about the reallocation of resources includes information indicating a priority level associated with the reallocation of resources, the method further comprising;

communicating said amount of a reallocated resource to an accounting system via a wireless communications link along with said information indicating a priority level associated with the reallocation of resources.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

maintaining a plurality of pre-emption priority levels including a first preemption priority level associated with the first flow classifier and a second preemption priority level associated with the second flow classifier;

operating the end node to reallocate a resource that would be used by a flow associated with the first flow classifier to a flow associated with the second flow classifiers as a function of at least one of the first and second preemption priority levels; and

maintaining preemption priority reallocation information as a function of at least one of said first and second reallocation priority levels.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising;

communicating said amount of reallocated resources and said preemption priority reallocation information to an accounting system via a wireless communications link.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said access node is part of an operator network identified by a first operator identifier, and said plurality of resource counts are stored in the end node in persistent memory that is associated with said first operator identifier, said end node further including a home operator identifier associated with the home operator of the end node, the method further comprising:

operating the end node to communicate said first operator identifier to the accounting system when the accounting system is associated with at least one of;

i) the first operator identifier;

ii) the home operator identifier; and

iii) another operator identifier.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein said access node is part of an operator network identified by a first operator identifier, and said amount of reallocated resources and said reallocation priority information are stored in the end node in persistent memory that is associated with said first operator identifier, said end node further including a home operator identifier associated with the home operator of the end node, the method further comprising:

operating the end node to communicate said first operator identifier to the accounting system with said amount of reallocated resource and said reallocation priority information when the accounting system is associated with at least one of;

i) the first operator identifier;

ii) the home operator identifier; and

iii) another operator identifier.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein said access node is part of an operator network identified by a first operator identifier, and said chargeable cost component is stored in the end node in persistent memory that is associated with said first operator identifier, said end node further including a home operator identifier associated with the home operator of the end node, the method further comprising:

operating the end node to communicate said first operator identifier to the accounting system with the chargeable cost component when the accounting system is associated with at least one of;

i) the first operator identifier;

ii) the home operator identifier; and

iii) another operator identifier.

16. The method of claim 1, where each of the first and second flow classifiers are pre-allocated resources on the communications link to be used by flows matching said classifiers and:

wherein the amount of pre-allocated resources for at least one of said first and second flow classifiers is communicated to the end node by the access node.

17. The method of claim 1, where each of the first and second flow classifiers are pre-allocated resources on a wireless communications link to be used by flows matching said classifiers, and the total amount of resources available on the wireless communications link varies with physical conditions, wherein the initial amount of pre-allocated resources for at least one of said first and second flow classifiers is communicated to the end node via the access node, the method further comprising:

operating the end node to modify the amount of pre-allocated resources for at least one of said first and second flow classifiers as a function of the total amount of resources available on the wireless communications link.

18. The method of claim 17, where the amount of pre-allocated resources is modified for the first flow classifier, and

wherein the amount of pre-allocated resources includes an amount of pre-allocated sidelink slot resources to be used for transmitting flows matching the first flow classifier to another end node.

19. The method of claim 17 where the amount of pre-allocated resources is modified for the second flow classifier, and

wherein the amount of pre-allocated resources includes an amount of pre-allocated multicast slot resources to be used for transmitting flows matching the first flow classifier to at least one end node.

20. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

generating the chargeable cost component as a function of at least one reallocation priority level associated with the reallocation of pre-allocated resources from a first flow classifier to a second flow classifier.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising;

maintaining classification information in the end node indicating at least one of;

i) at least one flow that is acceptable for reception by the end node, and

ii) at least one flow that is not acceptable for reception by the end node.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

modifying a resource count associated with resources used by unacceptable flows when a flow is received that;

i) does not match any classification information indicating acceptable flows, or

ii) matches classification information indicating at least one unacceptable flow.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising;

receiving said classification information from an accounting system over a wireless communications link.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

transmitting said classification information to an accounting system over a wireless communications link.

25. A wireless terminal which communicates with an access node using resources assigned by said access node, the end node comprising:

memory including a plurality of resource counts indicating resources used to communicate information in a flow;

flow identification information including at least one flow identifier;

means for updating a resource count indicating resources used to communicate information corresponding to said at least one flow; and

means for reporting at least one of said resource counts to an accounting system.

26. The wireless terminal of claim 25, wherein said wireless terminal maintains at least two separate resource counts corresponding to flows associated with different service providers.

27. The wireless terminal of claim 26, wherein said flows are packet flows.

28. The wireless terminal of claim 26, wherein said wireless terminal includes a resource count including resource information indicating information about a resource which was allocated by said access node in response to a request for a resource corresponding to a first flow but which was reallocated by said wireless terminal to a second flow.

29. The wireless terminal of claim 26, wherein said wireless terminal maintains a resource count corresponding to a resource which was allocated by said access node in response to a request for a resource corresponding to a first flow but which was reallocated by said wireless terminal to a second flow.

30. The wireless terminal of claim 26, wherein said wireless terminal includes stored information indicating a number of data units directed to said wireless terminal which successfully received by said wireless terminal but which were intentionally dropped by said wireless terminal.

31. The wireless terminal of claim 30, wherein said stored information indicating a number of data units is a count of data units dropped by a firewall included in said wireless terminal.