Systems, devices and methods of distributing telecommunications functionality across multiple heterogeneous domains

• US 9,450,766 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2012
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Openet Telecom Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Openet Telecom Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Inventors: Lehane, Bart, McNamee, Alan, Dunne, Cameron Ross, Hogan, Joe
• Primary Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Assistant Examiner(s): GOODWIN, SCHQUITA D
• Application Number:
  US13/452,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20120278464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 455/435.1, 709/224, 709/227, 709/214, 709/235, 709/203, 709/223, 709/238, 370/230, 370/310, 370/329, 370/235, 370/395.2, 345/700
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1407 Policy-and-charging control [PCC] architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/022 Multivendor or multi-standard integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/55 Testing of service level quality, e.g. simulating service usage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/31 Distributed metering or calculation of charges
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/66 Policy and charging system
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

The various embodiments include methods, computers and communication systems for distributing telecommunications functionality across multiple heterogeneous domains within a telecommunications system, which may include determining policy-charging capabilities of a first telecommunications domain, determining policy-charging capabilities of a second telecommunications domain, determining policy-charging requirements required for a communication, partitioning the policy-charging requirements into a first group and a second group based on the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first and second telecommunications domains, sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of the first domain, and sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of the second domain.

Claims

1. A method of distributing telecommunications functionality across multiple heterogeneous domains within a telecommunications system, comprising:

determining, by a processor of a computing device, policy-charging capabilities of a first heterogeneous telecommunications domain of the multiple heterogeneous domains, the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a policy management system component, a charging system component, a policy and charging enforcement (PCE) system component, and a first domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and each of the policy management system, charging system, and PCE system components;

determining, by the processor, policy-charging capabilities of a second heterogeneous telecommunications domain of the multiple heterogeneous domains, the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a second domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and one or more components in the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain;

determining, by the processor, policy-charging requirements for accomplishing an end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains;

wherein determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises identifying metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements of the end-to-end communication;

using, by the processor, the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into a first group that includes a first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and a second group that includes a second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains, wherein the using the determined policy-charging capabilities for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises partitioning the identified metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements into at least one of the first and second groups;

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements from the computing device to the first domain orchestrator component; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements from the computing device to the second domain orchestrator component.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises receiving a message from the first domain orchestrator component identifying the policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises determining one of:

a policy capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a metering capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a rating capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a charging capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain, and

a balance management capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on synchronization errors associated with the first or second domains.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on workloads present on the first and second telecommunications domains.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on a reliability of the first and second telecommunications domains.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to the first domain orchestrator component comprises sending the first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a user equipment domain; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to the second domain orchestrator component comprises sending the second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a mobile packet core domain.

8. A method of distributing telecommunications functionality in a telecommunication system, comprising:

receiving in a processor of a computing device a request to establish an end-to-end communication across a plurality of heterogeneous telecommunication domains within the telecommunication system, the plurality of heterogeneous telecommunication domains comprising;

a first heterogeneous domain that includes;

a policy management system component,

a charging system component,

a policy and charging enforcement (PCE) system component, and

a first domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and each of the policy management system, charging system, and PCE system components; and

a second heterogeneous domain that includes;

a second domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and one or more components in the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain;

determining, by the processor, policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous telecommunication domains;

wherein determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises identifying metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirement of the end-to-end communication;

determining, by the processor, policy-charging capabilities of each of the first and second heterogeneous domains, the determined capabilities including a policy capability, a metering capability, a rating capability, a charging capability and a balance management capability;

using the determined capabilities to partition the determined policy-charging requirements into a first group of policy-charging requirements and a second group of policy-charging requirements, wherein each of the first and second groups include a subset of the policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication, wherein the using the determined policy-charging capabilities for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises partitioning the identified metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements into at least one of the first and second groups;

sending a first communication message that includes the first group of policy-charging requirements from the computing device to the first domain orchestrator component; and

sending a second communication message that includes the second group of policy-charging requirements from the computing device to the second domain orchestrator component.

9. A computing device, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

determining policy-charging capabilities of a first heterogeneous telecommunications domain of multiple heterogeneous domains within a telecommunications system, the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a policy management system component, a charging system component, a policy and charging enforcement (PCE) system component, and a first domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and each of the policy management system, charging system, and PCE system components;

determining policy-charging capabilities of a second heterogeneous telecommunications domain of the multiple heterogeneous domains, the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a second domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and one or more components in the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain;

determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing an end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains;

wherein determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises identifying metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements of the end-end communication;

using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into a first group that includes a first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and a second group that includes a second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains, wherein the using the determined policy-charging capabilities for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises partitioning the identified metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements into at least one of the first and second groups;

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to the first domain orchestrator component; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to the second domain orchestrator component.

10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises receiving a message from the first domain orchestrator component identifying the policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

11. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises determining one of:

a policy capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a metering capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a rating capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a charging capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain, and

a balance management capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

12. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on synchronization errors associated with the first or second domains.

13. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on a workloads present on the first and second telecommunications domains.

14. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on a reliability of the first and second telecommunications domains.

15. The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that:

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to the first domain orchestrator component comprises sending the first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a user equipment domain; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to the second domain orchestrator component comprises sending the second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a mobile packet core domain.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable software instructions configured to cause a processor to perform operations distributing telecommunications functionality across multiple heterogeneous domains within a telecommunications system, the operations comprising:

determining policy-charging capabilities of a first heterogeneous telecommunications domain of the multiple heterogeneous domains, the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a policy management system component, a charging system component, a policy and charging enforcement (PCE) system component, and a first domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and each of the policy management system, charging system, and POE system components;

determining policy-charging capabilities of a second heterogeneous telecommunications domain of the multiple heterogeneous domains, the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain including a second domain orchestrator component configured to communicate with the computing device and one or more components in the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain;

determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing an end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains;

wherein determining policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises identifying metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements of the end-to-end communication;

using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into a first group that includes a first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and a second group that includes a second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains, wherein the using the determined policy-charging capabilities for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises partitioning the identified metering, rating, charging, and balance management requirements into at least one of the first and second groups;

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to the first domain orchestrator component; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to the second domain orchestrator component.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises:

receiving a message from the first domain orchestrator component identifying the policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that determining policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain comprises determining one of:

a policy capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a metering capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a rating capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain,

a charging capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain, and

a balance management capability of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on synchronization errors associated with the first or second domains.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on a workloads present on the first and second telecommunications domains.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that using the determined policy-charging capabilities of the first heterogeneous telecommunications domain and the determined policy-charging capabilities of the second heterogeneous telecommunications domain to partition the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains into the first group that includes the first subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains and the second group that includes the second subset of the determined policy-charging requirements for accomplishing the end-to-end communication across the multiple heterogeneous domains comprises:

partitioning the policy-charging requirements based on a reliability of the first and second telecommunications domains.

22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that:

sending a first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to the first domain orchestrator component comprises sending the first message including the first group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a user equipment domain; and

sending a second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to the second domain orchestrator component comprises sending the second message including the second group of policy-charging requirements to a public interface of a mobile packet core domain.