Feature Description

The Diameter Endpoint is an App-infra-based service that enables the Diameter functionality for the SMF service. In SMF, Diameter Endpoint implements the Gx and Gy clients. The Diameter endpoint leverages the Ops Center for configuration, operational, and action CLI commands and App-infra features, such as interpod communications, RPCs, Monitor Subscriber, Monitor Protocol, logging, and statistics.

The Diameter Endpoint provides the following support:

  • Diameter peer and connection management for both the Gx and Gy interfaces.

  • Failure handling templates for the configuration of failure handling and retry behavior for the Diameter messages.

  • Ability to peer to multiple Diameter routing agents (DRA) and route the Diameter messages to remote Diameter endpoints through the DRAs.

    Note

    The Diameter stack doesn't implement the ability to act as a DRA.

  • Monitor Protocol and Monitor Subscriber (SUPI and IMSI subscriber key) for Diameter messages.

  • Logging and statistics.

To use a Diameter endpoint, deploy a pair of Diameter pods with an Active or Standby configuration for each interface, which is Gx and Gy. Deploy these pods in the host networking configuration with a pair of internal and external VIPs.

For online charging, the Diameter Credit Control application is used. The online client, Charging Transfer Function (CTF), requests resource allocation and reports credit control information to the Online Charging System (OCS). To support Credit Control through Diameter, the CCR (Credit Control Request) and the CCA (Credit Control Answer) messages are used.

Service pod sends the gRPC messages to the Diameter endpoint for Credit Control messages. The Diameter endpoint converts the Diameter CCR messages and sends them to Gx and Gy servers, which are PCRF or OCS. After receiving the CCA, the CCA message is converted to the gRPC message and sent to the SMF as a response.