Method and apparatus for granting or not granting a chargeable party at a session management with required quality of service utilizing a MAC address

1. A method implemented at an application server, comprising:

sending to a network device a create request related to a session between the application server and a user equipment (UE), including a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE, wherein the create request indicates setting a chargeable party at a session set-up;

receiving a create response indicating whether the create request is granted or not granted from the network device;

sending to the network device a chargeable party update request including a sponsoring status information; and

receiving a chargeable party update response indicating whether the chargeable party update request is granted or not granted from the network device,

wherein the create request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request, the create response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create response, and the Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request includes the MAC address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the chargeable party update request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update request and the chargeable party update response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update response.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the chargeable party update request is included in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) PATCH message.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the create request is included in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) POST message.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the application server comprises an application function (AF) and the network device comprises a Network Exposure function (NEF).

6. A method implemented at a network device, comprising:

receiving from an application server a create request related to a session between an application server and a user equipment (UE), including a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE, wherein the create request indicates setting a chargeable party at a session set-up;

sending an authorization request to another network device to determine whether to authorize the create request;

sending a create response indicating whether the create request is granted or not granted to the application server;

receiving from the application server a chargeable party update request including a sponsoring status information;

sending an authorization request to the another network device to determine whether to authorize the chargeable party update request; and

sending a chargeable party update response indicating whether the chargeable party update request is granted or not to the application server,

wherein the create request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request, the create response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create response, and the Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request includes the MAC address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein a corresponding authorization request comprises a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request or a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update request, and wherein an Internet protocol (IP) address of the UE in the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request is replaced with the MAC address of the UE.

8. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the chargeable party update request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update request and the chargeable party update response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update response.

9. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the chargeable party update request is included in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) PATCH message.

10. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the authorization request comprises a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request, and wherein an Internet protocol (IP) address of the UE in the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request is replaced with the MAC address of the UE.

11. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the create request is included in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) POST message.

12. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the application server comprises an application function (AF), the network device comprises a Network Exposure function (NEF), and the another network device comprises a Policy Control Function (PCF).

13. An apparatus implemented at an application server, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, said memory containing instructions which, when executed by said processor, cause said apparatus to:

send to a network device a create request related to a session between the application server and a user equipment (UE), including a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE, wherein the create request indicates setting a chargeable party at a session set-up;

receive a create response indicating whether the create request is granted or not from the network device;

send to the network device a chargeable party update request including a sponsoring status information; and

receive a chargeable party update response indicating whether the chargeable party update request is granted or not granted from the network device,

wherein the create request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request, the create response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create response, and the Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request includes the MAC address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the chargeable party update request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update request and the chargeable party update response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update response.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the chargeable party update request is included in a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) PATCH message.

16. An apparatus implemented at a network device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, said memory containing instructions which, when executed by said processor, cause said apparatus to:

receive from an application server a create request related to a session between an application server and a user equipment (UE), including a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE, wherein the create request indicates setting a chargeable party at a session set-up;

send an authorization request to another network device to determine whether to authorize the create request;

send a create response indicating whether the create request is granted or not to the application server;

receive from the application server a chargeable party update request including a sponsoring status information;

send an authorization request to the another network device to determine whether to authorize the chargeable party update request; and

send a chargeable party update response indicating whether the chargeable party update request is granted or not to the application server,

wherein the create request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request, the create response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create response, and the Nnef_ChargeableParty_Create request includes the MAC address of the UE and at least one Ethernet flow information of the UE.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein a corresponding authorization request comprises a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request or a Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Update request, and wherein an Internet protocol (IP) address of the UE in the Npcf_PolicyAuthorization_Create request is replaced with the MAC address of the UE.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the chargeable party update request comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update request and the chargeable party update response comprises a Nnef_ChargeableParty_Update response.