Spending Limit Control Policy Configuration

MATRIXX Policy Application monitors balance ranges from balance normalizers. A policy is rechecked when balances are updated or when any attribute of a subscriber or device is updated. MATRIXX Policy Application is optimized to detect if a balance update affects a policy.

Usually, policies monitor balances and meters. A collection of policy counters and statuses can be derived from any number of balances or attributes of a subscriber or device.

Spending limit control policies return a set of policy counter name/status pairs to the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) for 3G/4G environments and for PCF for 5G environments. Policy counter name/status pairs can be used by the PCRF/PCF for rule selection. In MATRIXX Policy Application, a policy counter status is associated with a range of normalizer values. When a range threshold is crossed, a new counter status associated with that range is sent to the PCRF/PCF. In a policy session, one or more policy counter name/status pairs can be returned. The different components that define a policy and determine the counter status are configured in My MATRIXX.

Figure 1 shows the high-level MATRIXX Policy Application Sy architecture.
Figure 1. MATRIXX Policy Application 3G/4G/5G Spending Limit Architecture
Spending limit control policies include:
  • Spending limit control Policy Counter — Represents a policy counter name and one or more policy counter status values.
  • Spending limit control Policy Template — Associates one or more policy counter name-value pairs with one or more policy profiles. The counter names and their values (policy counter status) are returned when a policy profile is selected during a policy session. A policy counter status corresponds to a range of values determined by a policy table.

    A normalizer or collection of normalizers in a policy table determines balance ranges. For balance normalizers, the MATRIXX Policy Application always uses the gross balance. Use a balance distribution normalizer to store balance ranges in policy sessions to evaluate when balance impacts cause balance ranges to change for one set of balances. Use a balance difference normalizer to store ranges of the difference between 2 sets of balances.

  • Spending limit control Policy Profile — Specifies the policy counter status when a profile is selected in a policy session.
  • Spending limit control Policy Component — Contains the business logic that determines which policy profile is selected at a specific point in a policy session.
    • Policy Table — Determines business rules using a decision table that identifies which policy profile is selected.

      Policy tables use decision tables that contain one or more normalizers that define conditions for a counter status. Decision tables define one or more value sets that must be true for a policy profile to be selected during rating.

    Note: Policy components are valid only for non-supplemental subscription offers and each product offer can contain only one spending limit control policy component.

Typically, a Subscriber Profile Repository (SPR) contains subscriber and policy details about each subscriber and communicates with the PCRF/PCF. The MATRIXX subscriber database acts as the SPR and contains the subscriber contextual information required for real-time policy and rating decisions. It includes static attributes that rarely change, such as price plans, and dynamic attributes that change more often, such as the current roaming status and zone, or flags that enable subscriber choices, such as "throttle" or "pay overage" if the subscriber exceeds a threshold.