Methods and systems for using transport-layer source ports to identify sources of packet payloads in mixed tethering and non-tethering environments

摘要

Disclosed are methods and systems for using transport-layer source ports to identify sources of packet payloads in mixed tethering and non-tethering environments so that, e.g., a provider may differentially bill between those two types of data communication. In particular, a wireless device capable of sending data from both tethered and non-tethered sources may use specified transport-layer source ports to identify data as coming from various different sources. Network entities that record data usage associated with the device may detect which port the device used to send data and use port-to-source (e.g., port-to-hardware-interface) mapping data to determine the source (e.g., the source hardware interface) of the data. The network entities may report this data usage, along with the determined data sources, to a billing system so that the billing system may accordingly differentially bill a subscriber associated with the device.

主权项

1. A method of facilitating differential billing among tethered-data and non-tethered-data communications, the method comprising:
a wireless communication device (WCD) maintaining correlation data that associates a first set of one or more transport-layer port numbers with tethered-data communication and further associates a second set of one or more transport-layer port numbers with non-tethered-data communication, wherein the first and second sets are mutually exclusive; the WCD making a determination as to whether a payload of a data packet that is to be transmitted from the WCD to a wireless wide-area network (WWAN) is a tethered-data payload or rather a non-tethered-data payload, wherein tethered-data payloads are received by the WCD from at least one tethered device and wherein non-tethered-data payloads originate on the WCD; the WCD selecting a transport-layer source port number based at least in part on the determination, wherein selecting the transport-layer source port number based at least in part on the determination comprises (i) selecting as the transport-layer source port number a transport-layer port number from the first set if the determination is that the payload is a tethered-data payload and (ii) selecting as the transport-layer source port number a transport-layer port number from the second set if the determination is that the payload is a non-tethered-data payload; the WCD modifying the data packet at least in part by inserting the selected transport-layer source port number into a header of the data packet; the WCD transmitting the modified data packet to the WWAN; and the WCD updating the correlation data and transmitting the updated correlation data to at least one network entity on the WWAN.