Rules engine evaluation for policy decisions

1. A method performed by a network policy node, the method comprising:

translating a policy into a plurality of rule objects, the policy including an applicability condition and one or more action rules;

generating a selection rule table based on the applicability condition of one or more policies;

determining a set of applicable policies by evaluating the selection rule table using a rules engine to compare the applicability conditions and context information;

generating an action rule table from the one or more action rules of the set of applicable policies, an action rule including an action rule condition and an action path defining an action to be executed by the network policy node; and

selecting an action path by evaluating the action rule table using the rules engine to compare the action rule condition and the context information.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more action rules include one or more threshold rules, and the step of selecting an action path comprises:

generating a threshold rule table based on the one or more threshold rules; and

selecting an action path by evaluating the threshold rule table using the rules engine to compare a threshold condition and a system parameter.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more action rules include one or more rating rules, and the method further comprises:

generating a rating selection table based on the one or more rating rules;

selecting a rating factor by evaluating the rating selection table using the rules engine; and

multiplying an input value by the rating factor.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the policy is a usage management policy, the method further comprising:

receiving a usage report including a subscriber's usage of a network, wherein the subscriber's usage is the input value;

determining a system parameter based on the input value;

generating a threshold rule table based on one or more threshold rules of the applicable policy; and

selecting an action path by evaluating the threshold rule table using the rules engine to compare a threshold condition and the system parameter.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting a policy from among the applicable policies according to a priority of the applicable policies.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: assigning at least one policy to a subscriber, wherein the step of determining a set of applicable policies includes determining whether a policy has been assigned to a subscriber.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more policies is one or more usage management policies and one or more action paths include session actions and flow actions.

8. A network policy node comprising:

a scanner configured to:

generate rules objects based on one or more policies, and

generate rule tables including one or more rule objects;

a context information storage configured to store context information;

a rules engine configured to:

evaluate a selection rule table based on the context information and return a set of applicable policies, and

evaluate an action rule table based on the context information and return an action path defining an action to be executed by the network policy node, wherein the action rule table is generated based on the set of applicable policies.

9. The network policy node of claim 8 , wherein the one or more policies include a priority, and the network policy node further comprises a policy selector configured to select a policy from among the applicable policies based on the priority.

10. The network policy node of claim 8 , further comprising a rule object memory configured to maintain an active set of rule objects.

11. The network policy node of claim 8 , further comprising:

a first interface configured to receive network context information; and

a second interface configured to send and receive subscriber context information.

12. The network policy node of claim 8 , wherein the policies are usage management policies including applicability rules, a quota, rating selection rules, and threshold rules.

13. The network policy node of claim 12 , wherein the scanner is further configured to generate a rating selection table and the rules engine is further configured to evaluate the rating selection table to select a rating factor.

14. The network policy node of claim 12 , further comprising an action manager configured to:

arm another network node with usage reporting requirements; and

perform network management actions.

15. A tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions thereon for execution by a network element of a telecommunication network, wherein said tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising:

instructions for translating a policy into a plurality of rule objects, the policy including an applicability condition and one or more action rules;

instructions for generating a selection rule table based on the applicability condition of one or more policies;

instructions for determining a set of applicable policies by evaluating the selection rule table using a rules engine to compare the applicability conditions and context information;

instructions for generating an action rule table from the one or more action rules of the set of applicable policies, an action rule including an action rule condition and an action path defining an action to be executed by the network policy node;

and

instructions for selecting an action path by evaluating the action rule table using the rules engine to compare the action rule condition and the context information.

16. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more action rules include one or more threshold rules, and the instructions for selecting an action path comprise:

instructions for generating a threshold rule table based on the one or more threshold rules; and

instructions for selecting an action path by evaluating the threshold rule table using the rules engine to compare a threshold condition and a system parameter.

17. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more action rules include one or more rating rules, and the tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further comprises:

instructions for generating a rating selection table based on the one or more rating rules;

instructions for selecting a rating factor by evaluating the rating selection table using the rules engine; and

instructions for multiplying an input value by the rating factor.

18. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the policy is a usage management policy, the tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium further comprising:

instructions for receiving a usage report including a subscriber's usage of a network, wherein the subscriber's usage is the input value;

instructions for determining a system parameter based on the input value;

instructions for generating a threshold rule table based on one or more threshold rules of the applicable policy; and

instructions for selecting an action path by evaluating the threshold rule table using the rules engine to compare a threshold condition and the system parameter.

19. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions for selecting a policy from among the applicable policies according to a priority of the applicable policies.

20. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further comprising instructions for assigning at least one policy to a subscriber, wherein the instructions for determining a set of applicable policies includes instructions for determining whether a policy has been assigned to a subscriber.

21. The tangible and non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more policies is one or more usage management policies and one or more action paths include session actions and flow actions.