PCRF and PCEF (GX Interface)
PCRF and PCEF (GX Interface)
PCRF and PCEF (GX Interface)
LTE, 4G, EPC, MME, PGW, SGW, Interfaces and beyond tech-blog by Bart Barton
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After you are familiar with OFCS (Offline Charging System) and OCS (Online Charging
System) time has come to be more up to date with interfaces that are being used to exchange
signaling data. At first I will talk about Gx interface which is responsible for Offline
Charging, but not only.
The Gx reference point is located between the Policy Control and Charging Rules Function
(PCRF) and the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF). The Gx reference point
is used for provisioning and removal of Policy and Charging Control (PCC) rules from the
PCRF to the PCEF and the transmission of traffic plane events from the PCEF to the PCRF.
The Gx reference point can be used for charging control, policy control or both by applying
AVPs relevant to the application.
As you probably know, it's always good to start from big picture. Here we go.
Fig. 1. Gx reference point at the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture
So at first, few information about..
o The service data flow filters within the PCC rule are used for selection of
downlink IP CAN bearers
o Service data flow filters within the PCC rule are used for the enforcement that
uplink IP flows are transported in the correct IP CAN bearer
The PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) shall select a PCC rule for each
received packet by evaluating received packets against service data flow filters of PCC rules
in the order of the precedence of the PCC rules. When a packet matches a service data flow
filter, the packet matching process for that packet is completed, and PCC rule for that filter
shall be applied.
There are two different types of PCC (Policy and Charging Control):
Dynamic PCC rules. Are dynamically provisioned by the PCRF to the PCEF via the
Gx interface. These PCC rules may be either predefined or dynamically generated in
the PCRF. Dynamic PCC rules can be Installed, Modified and Removed any time.
Predefined PCC rules. Preconfigured in the PCEF. Predefined PCC rules can be
Activated or Deactivated by the PCRF at any time. Predefined PCC rules within the
PCEF may be grouped allowing the PCRF to dynamically activate set of PCC rules
over the Gx interface.
service identifier - shall be used to identify the service or service component the
service data flow relates to
service data flow filter(s) - shall be used to select the traffic for which the rule applies.
It shall be possible to define wildcarded service data flow filters, both for dynamic
and predefined PCC rules
precedence
gate status - indicates whether the service data flow, detected by the service data flow
filter may pass (state open) or shall be discarded (state closed) in uplink and/or in
downlin direction
QoS parameters - includes QoS Class Identifier (QCI), that means authorized QoS
class for the service data flow, also the Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP) and
authorized bitrates for uplink and downlik
charging key (i.e. rating group) - define whether online and offline charging interfaces
are used, what is to be metered in offline, on what level the PCEF shall report the
usage related to the rule, etc.
monitoring key - identifies a monitoring control instance that shall be used for usage
monitoring control of the service data flows controlled by the predefined PCC rule or
dynamic PCC rule
Installation: to provision a PCC rules that has not been already provisioned
Information obtained from the Application Function (AF) via Rx interface, e.g.
session, media and subscriber related information
Information obtained from the PCEF via the Gx interface, e.g. IP CAN bearer
attributes, request type and subscriber related information
Information obtained fromthe SPR via the Sp interface, e.g. subscriber and service
related data
If the information from the PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) contains
traffic mapping information not matching any service data flow filter known to the PCRF,
and PCRF allows the UE to request enhanced QoS fo services not known to the PCRF. The
PCRF shall add this traffic mapping information as service data flow filters to the
corresponding authorized PCC rule. The PCRF may wildcard missing filter parameters.
PCRF shall report events to the AF via Rx interface.
The PCRF shall inform the PCEF through the use of PCC rules on the treatment of each
service data flow that is under PCC control, in accordance with the PCRF policy decisions.
PCRF shall be able to select the bearer control mode that will apply for the IP CAN session
and provide it to the PCEF via the Gx interface.
PCEF
The PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) is the functional element
that encompasses policy enforcement and follow based charging functionalities. This
functional entity is located at the Gateway (PGW). It provides control over the user plane
traffic handling at the Gateway and its QoS, and provides service data dlow detection and
counting as well as online and offline charging interactions.
For a service data flow that is under policy control the PCEF shall allow the service data flow
to pass through the Gateway if and only if the corresponding gate is open.
For a service data flow that is under charging control the PCEF shall allow the service data
flow to pass through the Gateway if and only if there is a corresponding a active PCC rule
and, for online charging, the OCS has authorized the applicable credit with that Charging Key
(Rule Base). The PCEF may let a service data flow pass through the Gateway during the
course of the credit re-authorization procedure.
If requested by the PCRF, the PCEF shall report to the PCRF when the status of the related
service data flow changes. This procedure can be used to monitor an IP CAN bearer
dedicated tfor AF signalling traffic.
The PCRF shall indicate via Gx interface PCC rules to be applied at the
PCEF. This may be using one of the following procedures:
For each request from the PCEF or upon the unsolicited provision the PCRF shall provision
zero or more PCC rules. The PCRF may perform an operation on a single PCC rule by one of
the following means:
To activate or deactivate a PCC rule that is predefined at the PCEF, the PCRF shall
provision a reference to this PCC rule within a Charging-Rule-Name AVP and
indicate the required action by choosing either the Charging-Rule-Install AVP or the
Charging-Rule-Remove AVP.
To install or modify a PCRF-provisioned PCC rule, the PCRF shall provision a
corresponding Charging-Rule-Definition AVP within a Charging-Rule-Install AVP.
To remove a PCC rule which has previously been provisioned by the PCRF, the PCRF
shall provision the name of this PCC rule as value of a Charging-Rule-Name AVP
within a Charging-Rule-Remove AVP.
If, for certain accesses, the PCRF performs the bearer binding, the PCRF may move
previously installed or activated PCC rules from one IP CAN bearer to another IP
CAN bearer. See annex A in TS 29.212 for further details.