© Telexir 2014
Telexir PCRF
Quick Start Guide
Product version: 3.7.1
Document version: 1.1
© Telexir 2014 2
Revision History
Date Version Author Revision
03.06.2013 1.0 Evgenia Martynyuk Document created
15.09.2014 1.1 Evgenia Martynyuk Minor corrections
© Telexir 2014 3
Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4
Related Materials ................................................................................................... 4
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ 4
Policies Configuration Task Example .......................................................................... 5
Basic Task Description................................................................................................ 5
Network Architecture ................................................................................................. 5
Information Flow ................................................................................................... 6
Required Configuration ............................................................................................... 6
Network Components Interaction ............................................................................. 6
Policies Configuration Steps ................................................................................... 10
DPI/P-GW Static Rules Configuration ....................................................................... 12
Result ..................................................................................................................... 13
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 4
Introduction
Telexir PCRF is a standard compliant policy management solution that enables operator to
dynamically control network elements with real-time policies based on service, subscriber or
usage control.
This step-by-step guide will help you to understand the essential principle of policy logic configuration of Telexir PCRF system.
Related Materials
1. Installation Guide (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Installation Guide.docx)
2. Administrator's Guide (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Administrator's Guide.docx)
3. SPR Configuration Interface description (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 SPR Configuration
Interface.docx)
4. Subscriber Management Interface description (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Subscriber Management
Interface.docx)
5. Policy Engine description (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Policy Engine.docx)
6. Policy Library description (Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Policy Library.docx)
7. Standards:
a) IETF RFC 3588 Diameter Base Protocol
b) IETF RFC 4006 Diameter Credit Control Application
c) 3GPP TS 29.212 Policy and Charging Control over Gx Reference Point. Rel. 9
d) 3GPP TS 29.210 Charging Rule Provisioning over Gx Interface. Rel. 9
Abbreviations
Abbreviation Meaning
AAA Authentication Authorization Accounting
ACR Access Control Router
BSS Business Support System
CRM Customer Relationship Management
DDF Data Distribution Function
DPI Deep Packet Inspection
O&M Operations and Maintenance
SPR Subscriber Profile Repository
Basic Task Description
© Telexir 2014 5
Policies Configuration Task
Example
Telexir PCRF is able to work with many BSS tariffs, subscriber ID types (IMSI, MSISDN),
different DPI/P-GW. Also can perform congestion management, traffic accumulation, and other
operations. Telexir PCRF can be geographically distributed or be installed as a stand-alone cluster/node.
This document covers only basic task of Telexir PCRF, where:
PCRF clusters are installed only in two regions: Region_1 and Region_2. And the subscriber
doesn’t change the location (no moving from one region to another in this case).
Only two BSS tariffs are used.
Simple policy selection configuration is performed.
Basic Task Description
It is required to configure network core in such a way that the subscriber could have an access
to network recourse according to the tariff which was chosen by the subscriber in the Self-Care portal.
Available for the subscriber tariffs: Internet_unlim and Internet_512
Subscriber’s ID (IMSI) is 250110000100005. The subscriber is located in region Region_1.
Network Architecture
The following network architecture is used for the task:
Figure 1. Example Network Architecture
DDF
PCRFPCRF
BSS
(Self-Care Portal)
HTTP
DDF
PCRF
DPI/P-GWTrafficRAN Internet
Region_1
DPI/
P-GW
HTTP
PCRF
HTTP
GxGx
Region_2
test.ugw01.g4lab.rutest.ugw02.g4lab.ru
msk-pcrf1.scartel.dc
msk-pcrf2.scartel.dc
smile.ddf1.comsmile.ddf2.com
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 6
In the figure above (Figure 1) we can see Telexir PCRF system that contains DDF cluster and
two PCRF clusters in two regions.
Two regions are taken to show that Telexir PCRF system can be geographically distributed. In
case if only one PCRF cluster is required the DDF component is not need. All management command from BSS will be sent directly to PCRF cluster.
All further actions will be performed with DDF and regional PCRF in Region_1.
Information Flow
When the subscriber chooses an Internet tariff the following information flow will be generated:
Figure 2. Information Flow
Subscriber
BSS
tariff
DDF
service
PCRF
service/policy
DPI/P-GW
rule
1. When the subscriber chooses a specified tariff the BSS sends management command to
DDF to assign a specified service to the subscriber.
2. When the management command from BSS is received then DDF resend this command to
regional PCRF, where the subscriber is attached to the network.
3. When the specified service is assigned to the subscriber, PCRF selects a policy according to
the service information. When the policy is chosen then a corresponding rule is sent to
DPI/P-GW.
4. DPI/P-GW gives access to the network resources according to a received rule.
Required Configuration
To complete the task configuration of the following must be performed:
Network components interaction
Policies on PCRF
Static Rules on DPI/P-GW
Network Components Interaction
It is needed to configure the network component interaction. The configuration is performed in O&M Console:
Connectivity information of DDF with all PCRF clusters must be set in DDF O&M Console.
Connectivity information of PCRF and DPI/P-GW must be set in PCRF O&M Console of
regional PCRF cluster where this DPI/P-GW is used.
Important to understand:
BSS operates with tariffs.
DDF operates with services.
PCRF operates with services and policies.
DPI/P-GW operates with rules.
Required Configuration
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When PCRF and DPI/P-GW connectivity information is set then CER/CEA, DWR/DWA messages
exchange is possible.
DDF O&M Console Configuration
DDF O&M is available at:
http://<ddf_host>:[80]
Specify information about all system clusters and nodes by doing the following steps:
1. Open DDF O&M console in a browser tab and choose the primary DDF node in the Server
List.
2. Choose Configuration -> Network Topology -> Clusters in the Operations block. Only
DDF cluster information will be displayed.
3. Click Add button in appeared Clusters table and set required parameters for all PCRF
clusters.
Region_1 PCRF cluster information example:
Parameter Description
Cluster ID 2
Cluster Role 3
Cluster SSR Subscription 0
Cluster Name First Regional PCRF
Description Cluster in Region 1
4. Go to Configuration -> Network Topology -> Peers. Click Add button in appeared
Peers table and set required parameters for all PCRF nodes.
Region_1 nodes information example:
Primary Region_1 node Secondary Region_1 nodes
Peer ID 21 Peer ID 22
Cluster ID 2 Cluster ID 2
Dialect 0 (Default) Dialect 0 (Default)
Host msk-pcrf1.scartel.dc Host msk-pcrf2.scartel.dc
Realm scartel.dc Realm scartel.dc
Address msk-pcrf1.scartel.dc Address msk-pcrf2.scartel.dc
Port 3868 Port 3868
Protocol 6 (TCP) Protocol 6 (TCP)
Auto Connect 1 Auto Connect 0
Mandatory 1 Mandatory 1
Priority 0 Priority 1
Important
Make sure that ID of each cluster of the Telexir PCRF system in unique within the whole system configuration.
Important
Secondary node priority must be set lower than primary node priority for each PCRF
cluster (0 is the highest priority). For example, set Priority=1 for secondary and Priority=0 for the primary node.
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 8
Figure 3. DDF O&M Console Peers Information Configuration Example
5. Go to Configuration -> Network Topology ->HTTP Peers. Click Add button in
appeared HTTP Peers table and set required parameters for all PCRF nodes.
Information example:
Primary Region_1 node Secondary Region_1 nodes
Cluster ID 2 Cluster ID 2
Peer ID 21 Peer ID 22
HTTP address msk-pcrf1.scartel.dc HTTP address msk-pcrf2.scartel.dc
HTTP port 80 HTTP port 80
This table is used by DDF to send management HTTP requests to PCRF nodes.
PCRF O&M Console Configuration
PCRF O&M is available at:
http://<pcrf_host>:[80]
Specify information about all clusters and nodes this cluster interacts with via Diameter protocol by doing the following steps:
1. Open PCRF O&M console in a browser tab.
2. Choose Configuration -> Network Topology -> Clusters in the Operations block. Click
Add button to add information about all PCEF clusters this cluster interact with.
DPI/P-GW cluster information example:
Parameter Description
Cluster ID 7
Role PCEF
Cluster SSR Subscription 0 (Cluster SSR NONE)
Name Huawei UGW
Description Huawei UGW
3. Choose Configuration -> Network Topology -> Peers.
Check if Peer IDs of this PCRF cluster nodes are the same as were set in DDF O&M Console
Peers table.
Click Add button to add information about all cluster nodes this cluster interact with via
Diameter interface (PCEF clusters and DDF cluster).
Important
Make sure that ID of each cluster of the Telexir PCRF system in unique within the whole system configuration.
Required Configuration
© Telexir 2014 9
DPI/P-GW nodes information example:
Primary DPI/P-GW node Secondary DPI/P-GW node
Peer ID 78 Peer ID 79
Cluster ID 7 Cluster ID 7
Dialect 0 (Default) Dialect 0 (Default)
Host test.ugw01.g4lab.ru Host test.ugw02.g4lab.ru
Realm g4lab.ru Realm g4lab.ru
Address test.ugw01.g4lab.ru Address test.ugw02.g4lab.ru
Port 3868 Port 3868
Protocol 6 (TCP) Protocol 6 (TCP)
Priority 0 Priority 1
Mandatory 1 (Enabled) Mandatory 1 (Enabled)
Enabled 1 (Enabled) Enabled 1 (Enabled)
Figure 4. PCRF O&M Console DPI/P-GW Information Configuration Example
4. Go to Configuration -> Server Settings and set default_region parameter value for
this PCRF cluster. For example, default_region=Region_1.
Important
Secondary node priority must be set lower than primary node priority for each PCRF
cluster (0 is the highest priority). For example, set Priority=1 for secondary and
Priority=0 for the primary node.
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 10
Policies Configuration Steps
When required information is set in the O&M console of DDF and PCRF clusters the policies configuration can be performed.
Figure 5. Policies Configuration
DDF
DPI
P-GW
PCRF
BSS
(Self-Care Portal)
HTTP
DDF
PCRF
Policies
DPI Rules
engine.lua
rules.xml
DPI/P-GWTrafficRAN Internet
Region_1
HTTP
3
1
4
2
Gx
msk-pcrf1.scartel.dc
msk-pcrf2.scartel.dc
smile.ddf1.comsmile.ddf2.com
test.ugw01.g4lab.rutest.ugw02.g4lab.ru
1. On DDF (or on PCRF if DDF is not used) provide services information to the Service
Dictionary by SPR Configuration Interface method addServiceInfo.
For Internet_unlim tariff the following information will be provided (Full_Access_Unlim
service:
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/conf/addServiceInfo?id=Full_Access_Unlim&name=Full_Access_
Unlim&description=full access internet connection with unlimited speed
For Internet_512 tariff the following information will be provided (Full_Access_512
service):
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/conf/addServiceInfo?id=Full_Access_512&name=Full_Access_51
2&description=full access internet connection with 512kbps speed
Required Configuration
© Telexir 2014 11
2. On DDF (or on PCRF if DDF is not used) provide information about the subscriber profile,
which the services will be applied to, by Subscriber Management Interface method
addSubscriber.
Request example:
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/sm/addSubscriber?id=250110000100005&description=Region_1
_subscriber
When the subscriber profile is created now it is possible to assign BSS services to this
subscriber.
3. On regional PCRF add policy selection algorithm for new services in engine.lua.
In our case the following script will be created:
--require("etc/pcrf/config/lua/pcrf_module")
function GxSelectPolicy()
if (is_service_active("Full_Access_Unlim")) then
set_policy("policy_full_access_unlim")
log_write(string.format("Policy: '%s' selected for %s", get_policy(0),
get_subscriber_id()))
return 0
end
if (is_service_active("Full_Access_512")) then
Important
The method addServiceInfo adds information only to the Service Dictionary. It doesn’t
assign a service to a subscriber and serves only for validation purposes of new BSS services.
Information
For more information about the SPR Configuration Interface, refer to "Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 SPR Configuration Interface.docx".
Important
When subscriber chooses a tariff in the Self-Care Portal then the BSS automatically
assigns an appropriate service to this subscriber by sending Subscriber Management
Interface method addService to DDF.
Request example:
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/sm/addService?subscriber_id=250110000100005&service_id=Full_Access_Unlim
Information
For more information about the Subscriber Management Interface, refer to "Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Subscriber Management Interface.docx".
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 12
set_policy("policy_full_access_512")
log_write(string.format("Policy: '%s' selected for %s", get_policy(0),
get_subscriber_id()))
return 0
end
end
Policy selection algorithm (engine.lua) is launched when the subscriber attaches to the
network, or when updated information is provisioned from BSS. When engine.lua is
launched subscriber services are analyzed (is_service_active() function) and based on
the result policies are chosen (set_policy() function).
4. On regional PCRF configure mapping of PCRF policies and DPI/P-GW rules in rules.xml file.
In our case the following description will be added:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<PolicyDef xmlns="http://www.Telexir.ru/shemes/rules" version="1">
<Policy Name="policy_full_access_unlim">
<Huawei>
<Rules>
<Charging-Rule-Base-Name Value="npUnlim_up"/>
</Rules>
</Huawei>
</Policy>
<Policy Name="policy_full_access_512">
<Huawei>
<Rules>
<Charging-Rule-Base-Name Value="np512_up"/>
</Rules>
</Huawei>
</Policy>
</PolicyDef>
An appropriate rule will be applied on subscriber session on DPI/P-GW when a PCRF policy
is chosen for the subscriber. Rules describe specified AVPs (bearer configuration, QCI,
bandwidth) that will be sent to DPI/P-GW.
DPI/P-GW Static Rules Configuration
Static rules configuration on DPI/P-GW must be performed by the network specialist according
to desired traffic management.
In our case, it is required to have two static rules. For example:
Information
For more information about policy selection algorithm configuration, refer to "Telexir
PCRF 3.7.1 Policy Engine.docx"
Information
For more information about static DPI/P-GW rules configuration on PCRF, refer to
"Telexir PCRF 3.7.1 Policy Libpary.docx".
Result
© Telexir 2014 13
npUnlim_up. Static rule that shapes traffic according to Internet_unlim tariff in BSS
np512_up. Static rule that shapes traffic according to Internet_512 tariff in BSS
Result
When all required configuration is performed the tariffs become available for the subscriber.
Let’s see the following example scenario:
1. Subscriber chooses Internet_unlim tariff before starting his Internet session.
2. Subscriber starts the Internet session.
3. Subscriber chooses Internet_512 tariff in real time.
Figure 6. Example Scenario
PCRFDPI/P-GW BSS
Attach
Gx CCR-I
addService=Full_
Access_Unlim
Subscriber-id: 250110000100005
Framed-IP-Address:10.88.0.52
1
3Gx CCA-I
Charging-Rule-Install:
Charging-Rule-Name: "npUnlim_up"
UE
addService=Full_
Access_512 4
Gx RAR
Charging-Rule-Remove:
Charging-Rule-Name: "npUnlim_up"
Charging-Rule-Install:
Charging-Rule-Name: "np512_up"Modify bearer
6
Policy Selection
Policy: policy_full_access_Unlim
2
Policy Selection
Policy: policy_full_access_512
5
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 14
1. When subscriber chooses Internet_unlim tariff before starting his Internet session the
following command is sent to DDF
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/sm/addService?subscriber_id=250110000100005&service_id=F
ull_Access_Unlim
2. After subscriber device attach the following policy is chosen by PCRF:
policy_full_access_unlim
3. the following rule is sent to DPI/P-GW in AVP Charging-Rule-Install:
npUnlim_up
The following information is displayed in the log in CCA-I message:
Figure 7. Log Message Example (CCA-I)
4. When subscriber chooses Internet_512 tariff in real time the following command is sent to
DDF
http://smile.ddf1.com/spr/sm/addService?subscriber_id=250110000100005&service_id=F
ull_Access_512
5. the following policy is chosen by PCRF:
policy_full_access_512
6. the following rule is sent to DPI/P-GW in AVP Charging-Rule-Install:
np512_up
The following information will be displayed in the log in the RAR message:
Information
To see log messages in real time execute command in the command line:
lv
Result
© Telexir 2014 15
Figure 8. Log Message Example (RAR)
Figure 9. Traces Example
Information
It also possible to see Diameter traces, which are available at:
http://<pcrf_host>/trace/
Telexir PCRF 3.7.1
Quick Start Guide
© Telexir 2014 16
Figure 10. Trace Message Example