Method and system for detailed accounting of packet data

• US 7,606,877 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2005
• Issued: 10/20/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KT Corporation
• Original Assignee: KT Corporation
• Inventors: Lee, Ji-Woong, Choi, Un-Hae, Yang, Dong-Gi, Choi, Byung-Cheol
• Primary Examiner(s): Neurauter, Jr., George C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fearer, Mark D
• Application Number:
  US11/269,279
• Publication Number:
  US 20060056415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,442 Days
• Field of Search: 709/219
• US Class Current: 709/219
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications

Abstract

A method and apparatus for detailed accounting of packet data are disclosed. According to one embodiment of the present invention, on receiving a duplicated HTTP request from a packet duplication apparatus, a billing apparatus extracts an access address to generate a first hash value. Then, on receiving a converted HTTP response from the packet duplication apparatus, the billing apparatus extracts a second hash value from the duplicated HTTP response to compare with the first hash value. If the first hash value and the second hash value are the same, the billing apparatus sets the HTTP REQUEST and the converted HTTP response as a transaction to generate billing data. Thus, the billing apparatus can generate accurate billing data.

Claims

1. A method of recognizing a transaction for a billing apparatus, comprising:

receiving a duplicated hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) request from a packet duplication apparatus, wherein the duplicated HTTP request is a duplication data of a HTTP request being transmitted from a user terminal to a proxy server via the packet duplication apparatus and is duplicated by the packet duplication apparatus;

extracting an access address from the duplicated HTTP request;

generating a first hash value based on the access address and a predetermined hash function;

receiving a duplicated HTTP response from the packet duplication apparatus, wherein the duplicated HTTP response is a duplication data of a converted HTTP response being transmitted from a content server to the user terminal via the packet duplication apparatus and is duplicated by the packet duplication apparatus;

extracting a second hash value from the duplicated HTTP response;

comparing the first hash value with the second hash value; and

determining the HTTP request and the converted HTTP response as a transaction if the first hash value is the same as the second hash value, wherein the transaction is a pair of the HTTP request and the converted HTTP response;

wherein in order to generate the converted HTTP response including the second hash value, the proxy server is configured to;

receive the HTTP request;

generate the second hash value based on the access address and the predetermined hash function;

transmit the HTTP request to the content server corresponding to the access address;

receive an original HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request from the content server; and

insert the second hash value into a header of the original HTTP response so as to generate the converted HTTP response.

2. The method in claim 1, wherein the access address is a uniform resource locator (URL).

3. The method in claim 1, wherein the converted HTTP response is transmitted to the user terminal via a data service apparatus, wherein the data service apparatus is one of the following:

an interworking function (IWF), a packet data serving node (PDSN), a serving GPRS supporting node (SGSN), and a gateway GPRS supporting node (GPRS).

4. A method of recognizing a transaction for a billing apparatus, comprising:

receiving a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) request from a data service apparatus;

extracting an access address from the HTTP request;

generating a first hash value based on the access address and a predetermined Hash function;

transmitting the HTTP request to a proxy server;

receiving a converted HTTP response from the proxy server, wherein the converted HTTP response comprises a second hash value and an original HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request;

extracting the second hash value from the converted HTTP response;

comparing the first hash value with the second hash value;

determining the HTTP request and the converted HTTP response as a transaction if the first hash value is the same as the second hash value, wherein the transaction is a pair of the HTTP request and the converted HTTP response; and

transmitting the converted HTTP response to the data service apparatus, wherein in order to generate the converted HTTP response the proxy server is configured to;

receive the HTTP request;

generate the second hash value based on the access address and the predetermined hash function;

transmit the HTTP request to the content server corresponding to the access address;

receive the original HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request from the content server; and

generate the converted HTTP response based on the second hash value and the original HTTP response.

11. The method in claim 4, wherein the data service apparatus is one of the following:

an interworking function (IWF), a packet data serving node (PDSN)), a serving GPRS supporting node (SGSN)), and a gateway GPRS supporting node (GPRS).

5. A method of generating a billing data at a billing apparatus for use of mobile data services, the method comprising:

(a) recognizing a transaction based on packet data transmitted between a data service apparatus and a proxy server, wherein the transaction is a pair of a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) request and a HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request;

(b) generating a basic Internet protocol detail record (IPDR) per a transaction, wherein the basic IPDR comprises a start time and an end time of the transaction, an amount of packet data, and an access address;

repeating (a) and (b) until the end of a transmission control protocol (TOP) session between the user terminal and the proxy server; and

generating a combined IPDR from aggregating a plurality of basic IPDRs, wherein the basic IPDRs, classified as a same service group, are combined together, wherein the generating of the combined IPDR comprises;

recognizing an end of a TCP session;

(c) checking an end error in one of transactions based on the basic IPDR;

(d) redefining the start time or the end time of the transaction if there exists the end error;

(e) classifying the basic IPDR into one of predetermined service groups based on the access address included in the basic IPDR;

repeating (c) to (e) for all basic IPDRs generated during the connection of a TCP session;

and

generating the combined IPDR from aggregating the amount of service use time for each service group, wherein the aggregated service use time is a sum of differences between the end time and the start time of transactions in each service group, wherein the end error is either a first error in which an end of transaction is not recognized or a second error in which when plural transactions occur during one TCP session connection, the end time of preceding transaction occurs after the start time of following transaction, and wherein the redefining the start time or the end time of the transaction if there exists the end error is to set the end time of preceding transaction to be the same as the start time of following transaction.

6. The method in claim 5, wherein the billing apparatus is configured to perform (a) and (b) based on the packet data if the data service apparatus, the billing apparatus and the proxy server are located on a transmission line of the packet data.

7. The method in claim 5, wherein the billing apparatus is configured to perform (a) and (b) based on the packet data being duplicated by the packet duplication apparatus if the data service apparatus, the packet duplication apparatus and the proxy server are located on a transmission line of a packet data and the packet duplication apparatus and the billing apparatus are coupled to each other.

8. The method in claim 5, wherein the access address is a uniform resource locator (URL).

9. The method in claim 5, further comprising:

calculating the total amount of service use time of the user terminal during the TCP session connection;

calculating a connection time of the TCP session;

calculating an idle time by subtracting the total service time from the connection time of a TCP session; and

billing the service use time and the idle time at a different rate.

10. The method in claim 9, wherein the calculating a connection time of the TCP session comprises:

calculating the connection time of a TCP session by subtracting a start time of the TCP session from an end time of the TCP session if the end time of the TCP session is recognized;

calculating the connection time of the TCP session by subtracting the start time of the TCP session from an end time of a PPP connection if the end of the TCP session is not recognized but the end time of the PPP connection is recognized; and

calculating the connection time of the TCP session by subtracting the start time of the TCP session from an end time of final transaction of the TCP session connection if the end time of the TCP session connection and the end time of the PPP connection are not recognized.

12. A billing apparatus for generating billing data for using mobile I data services, the apparatus comprising:

a recognizing portion configured to recognize a transaction based on a packet data transceived between a data service apparatus and a proxy server, wherein the transaction is a pair of a HTTP request and a HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request;

a basic Internet protocol detail record (IPDR) generating portion configured to generate a basic IPDR per a transaction, wherein the basic IPDR comprises a start time and an end time of the transaction, an amount of packet data, and an access address; and

a combined IPDR generating portion configured to generate a combined IPDR from aggregating a plurality of basic IPDRs, wherein the basic IPDRs, classified as a same service group, are combined together, wherein the combined IPDR generating portion comprises;

a session manager configured to recognize an end of a TCP session;

a checking portion configured to check if there is an end error in one of transactions based on the basic IPDR;

an error correcting portion configured to redefine the start time or the end time of the transaction if there exists the end error;

a transaction classifying portion configured to classify the basic IPDR into one of predetermined service groups based on the access address included in the basic IPDR; and

a use time aggregating portion configured to generate the combined IPDR from aggregating the amount of service use time for service groups, wherein the aggregated amount of service use time is a sum of differences between the end time and the start time of transactions in each service group, wherein if the end error is either a first error in which an end of transaction is not recognized or a second error in which when plural transactions occur during one TCP session connection, the end time of preceding transaction occurs after the start time of following transaction, and wherein the error correcting portion sets the end time of the transaction to be the same as the start time of following transaction.

13. The billing apparatus in claim 12, further comprising an idle time calculating portion configured to generate an idle time by subtracting a total amount of service use time from a connection time of a TCP session.

14. A computer-readable medium including program containing computer-executable instructions for performing a method of generating a combined billing data for each of service groups at a billing apparatus, the method comprising:

(a) recognizing a transaction based on a packet data being transmitted between a data service apparatus and a proxy server, wherein the transaction is a pair of a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) request and a HTTP response corresponding to the HTTP request;

(b) generating a basic Internet protocol detail record (IPDR) per a transaction, wherein the basic IPDR comprises a start time and an end time of the transaction, an amount of packet data, and an access address;

repeating (a) and (b) until the end of a transmission control protocol (TCP) session between the user terminal and the proxy server;

generating a combined IPDR from aggregating a plurality of basic IPDRs, wherein the basic IPDRs, classified as a same service group, are combined together;

recognizing an end of the TCP session;

(c) checking an end error in one of transactions based on the basic IPDR;

(d) redefining the start time or the end time of the transaction if there exists the end error;

(e) classifying the basic IPDR into one of predetermined service groups based on the access address included in the basic IPDR;

repeating (c) to (e) for all basic IPDRs generated during the connection of TCP session; and

generating the combined IPDR from aggregating the amount of service use time for each of service groups, wherein the aggregated amount of service use time is a sum of differences between the end time and the start time of transactions in each service group, wherein if the end error is either a first error in which an end of transaction is not recognized or a second error in which when plural transactions occur during one TCP session connection, the end time of preceding transaction occurs after the start time of following transaction, and wherein the error correcting portion sets the end time of the transaction to be the same as the start time of following transaction.