Method for the interception of gtp-c messages

Abstract

Disclosed is a species of control-message intercept method which includes a passive monitoring approach whereby the relevant control packets are inspected for the purpose of providing additional information for the purpose of facilitating the operation of some primary or ‘master’ Internet Protocol (IP) charging/rating middleware platform/ gateway system (intended to equip network operators with the ability to rate and bill IP traffic), and secondly, an invasive technique whereby control (GTP-C) messages are injected for the purpose of altering the state of a given data session in an more aggressive fashion (e.g. to drop a data session when the subscriber runs out of money in his/her prepaid account).

1 . A method, comprising:
 intercepting a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol control (GTP-C) message at a control module residing between a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), the GTP-C message associated with a data session of a wireless subscriber device;   responsive to intercepting the message, determining if the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance;   when the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, forwarding the message from the control module; and,   when the wireless subscriber device has an insufficient balance, sending spoofed delete requests from the control module to the SGSN and the GGSN.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the determining comprises sending a balance query to an additional network component. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the additional network component is a charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the determining further comprises receiving a response to the balance query from the charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the response includes an indication of whether the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, and rating and classification information for the data session. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 prior to sending the spoofed delete requests from the control module, receiving a delete instruction at the control module from the charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system.   
     
     
         7 . A control module, comprising:
 a first interface for connecting to a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN);   a second interface for connecting to a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN);   the control module configured to intercept a GTP-C message at one of the first and second interfaces, the GTP-C message associated with a data session of a wireless subscriber device;   the control module further configured, responsive to intercepting the message, to determine if the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance;   the control module further configured, when the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, to forward the message from the other of the first and second interfaces;   the control module further configured, when the wireless subscriber device has an insufficient balance, to send spoofed delete requests from the first and second interfaces.   
     
     
         8 . The control module of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a third interface for connecting to an additional network component;   the control module being configured to make the determination by sending a balance query to the additional network component.   
     
     
         9 . The control module of  claim 8  wherein the additional network component is a charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system. 
     
     
         10 . The control module of  claim 9 , the control module further configured to receive a response to the balance query at the third interface. 
     
     
         11 . The control module of  claim 10  wherein the response includes an indication of whether the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, and rating and classification information for the data session. 
     
     
         12 . The control module of  claim 8 , the control module further configured to receive, prior to sending the spoofed delete requests, a delete instruction at the third interface. 
     
     
         13 . A system, comprising:
 a first control module according to  claim 7 ; and   at least one charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system connected to the third interface of the at least one control module.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a second control module according to  claim 7 ;   a first load balancer connected to the first interfaces of the first and second control modules; and   a second load balancer connected to the second interfaces of the first and second control modules.   
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a plurality of programming instructions executable at a control module for implementing a method comprising:
 intercepting a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) tunneling protocol control (GTP-C) message at a control module residing between a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), the GTP-C message associated with a data session of a wireless subscriber device;   responsive to intercepting the message, determining if the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance;   when the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, forwarding the message from the control module; and,   when the wireless subscriber device has an insufficient balance, sending spoofed delete requests from the control module to the SGSN and the GGSN.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 15  wherein the determining comprises sending a balance query to an additional network component. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16  wherein the additional network component is a charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 17  wherein the determining further comprises receiving a response to the balance query from the charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 18  wherein the response includes an indication of whether the wireless subscriber device has a sufficient balance, and rating and classification information for the data session. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 16 , the method further comprising:
 prior to sending the spoofed delete requests from the control module, receiving a delete instruction at the control module from the charging and rating middleware platform and gateway system.