Diameter Gateway Overview

Diameter Gateway is a Diameter server that allows communication between MATRIXX Engine and a network entity requesting service through the Diameter protocol.

The Diameter protocol provides a framework for access by technologies that require authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) support across multiple networks. Most telecommunications and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use this protocol for AAA before allowing you to connect to their network and consume services.

Diameter Gateway provides direct access to MATRIXX Engine for Diameter applications. It uses the 3GPP Diameter Credit Control Application (DCCA), including event and session charging with unit reservation, and enables a direct exchange of Diameter's AAA protocol. External platforms such as mediation systems, and hardware devices, such as GGSNs, communicate by using Diameter applications that MATRIXX Engine understands, such as DCCA.

Diameter Gateway is configured with a mapping of Diameter attribute-value pair (AVP) fields to MATRIXX Data Container (MDC) fields. The AVPs carry the AAA information and routing and capabilities information. The Diameter AVPs are configurable by event type, and the MDC configuration format is XML, so it is easy to configure the information that is sent.

When a network usage event, for example, an SMS, is reported by a Diameter client, a request message (packet) is generated and sent to Diameter Gateway. Diameter Gateway converts the packet to the MDC format and sends it to the Charging Server. After the MDC is processed, it is sent back to Diameter Gateway, where it is converted to an answer message and returned to the Diameter application that sent the request.

Diameter Gateway also acts as a Diameter client that initiates Diameter Re-Auth Requests (RAR) to the Diameter client that originated the online charging requests to the Charging Server. Diameter Gateway sends a RAR message to the network during an open session if a request for further action has not been received from the network after a configurable amount of time. The RAR functionality provides a way to clean up open sessions that are invalid, for example, when the network connection drops and strands the session before it has been terminated.

For information about using Diameter Event Logger to log events from Diameter Gateway to a JSON file, see the discussion about monitoring Diameter events in MATRIXX Monitoring and Logging.

For more information, see the discussion about MATRIXX Engine SNMP configuration in MATRIXX Configuration and Diameter Gateway statistics in MATRIXX Monitoring and Logging.