Enhanced policy capabilities for mobile data services

• US 8,185,628 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2008
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hu, Q. James, Eng, Douglas, Figurelle, Terry, Britt, Michael, McKnight, Jie
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, VIET D
• Application Number:
  US12/116,896
• Publication Number:
  US 20090227228A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,476 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/227, 709/228, 709/229, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/225
• 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: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing

Abstract

A system and method for a mobile data access network to make policy control and charging decisions based on domain name queries. A mobile device sends a query about a domain name associated with a service a user of the mobile device wishes to engage. The access network carries the domain name query from a mobile device to a domain name server. The access network detects the domain name query and copies the queried domain name. The access network uses the queried domain name to make an incomplete policy decision. The policy decision is incomplete because one or more service data flow filters in the decision lack addresses for providers of the service. The access network detects a response to the domain name query and copies a service provider address from the response. The access network uses the service provider address to complete the policy decision.

Claims

1. A method for an access network to make a policy decision based on a domain name query comprising:

detecting the domain name query for a domain name sent by a mobile device to a domain name server through an access gateway, the detecting of the domain name query being performed by a policy enforcement engine in the access gateway;

sending a copy of the domain name copy to a policy server;

making an incomplete policy decision based on the domain name;

sending the incomplete policy decision from the policy server to the policy enforcement engine;

detecting, by the policy enforcement engine, a domain name response sent from the domain name server to the mobile device through the access gateway, the domain name response including an address for a service provider associated with the domain name that is queried;

completing the policy decision by using the address for the service provider to add service provider address information to the incomplete policy decision; and

applying the policy decision to a service data flow between the mobile device and the service provider.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the making the incomplete policy decision further comprises making a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where the service provider address information comprises the address for the service provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting the domain name query further comprises examining packets passing through the access gateway, and detecting packets that have header destination addresses that match a regular expression, where the regular expression is based on a destination address for the domain name server.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the making the incomplete policy decision further comprises making a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where the service provider address information comprises a regular expression based on the address for the service provider.

4. An access network for making a policy decision based on a domain name query comprising:

an access gateway configured to provide an access bearer to connect a mobile device to a service provider;

a policy enforcement engine, being part of the access gateway, configured to detect the domain name query for a domain name sent by the mobile device to a domain name server, the policy enforcement engine configured to copy the domain name that is queried;

a policy server logically linked with the policy enforcement engine, configured to make an incomplete policy decision based on the domain name that is queried;

the policy enforcement engine further configured to detect a response sent from the domain name server to the mobile device through the access gateway, the response including an address for a service provider associated with the domain name that is queried;

the policy enforcement engine further configured to copy the address for the service provider in the response;

the policy enforcement engine further configured to complete the policy decision by using the address for the service provider to add service provider address information to the incomplete policy decision; and

the policy enforcement engine further configured to apply the policy decision to a service data flow between the mobile device and the service provider.

5. The access network of claim 4, wherein the policy server configured to make the incomplete policy decision further comprises making a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where service provider address information comprises the address for the service provider.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the policy enforcement engine configured to detect the domain name query further comprises the policy enforcement engine configured to detect the domain name query by examining packets passing through the access gateway, and detecting packets that have header destination addresses that match a regular expression, where the regular expression is based on a destination address for the domain name server.

11. The access network of claim 4, wherein the policy server configured to make the incomplete policy decision further comprises configuring the policy server to make a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where the service provider address information comprises a regular expression based on the address for the service provider.

7. An access network for making a policy decision based on a query comprising:

a policy enforcement engine configured to detect the query about a domain name, the query sent from a mobile device to a domain name server through an access gateway;

a policy server logically linked with the policy enforcement engine, configured to make an incomplete policy decision based on the domain name that is queried;

the policy enforcement engine further configured to detect a domain name response sent from the domain name server to the mobile device, the domain name response including an address for a service provider associated with the domain name that is queried;

the policy enforcement engine further configured to complete the policy decision by using the address for the service provider to add service provider address information to the incomplete policy decision; and

the policy enforcement engine further configured to apply the policy decision to a service data flow between the mobile device and the service provider.

8. The access network of claim 7, wherein the policy server configured to make the incomplete policy decision further comprises the policy service configured to make a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where the service provider address information comprises the address for the service provider.

9. The access network of claim 7, wherein the policy enforcement engine configured to detect the query further comprises the policy enforcement engine configured to detect the query by examining packets passing through the access gateway, and detecting packets that have header destination addresses that match a regular expression, where the regular expression is based on a destination address for the domain name server.

12. The access network of claim 7, wherein the policy server configured to make the incomplete policy decision further comprises the policy server configured to make a policy decision with one or more service data flow filters that lack service provider address information, where the service provider address information comprises the address for the service provider.