Service gating function

The service gating function is used to enable or disable the service that is represented by the PCC rule. This action is enforced through a Flow-Status AVP (AVP code 511) - 3GPP 29.214, §5.3.11. The system supports the following values (actions) for the Flow-Status:

enabled (2)

enables all actions specified within the PCC rule. Note that although Flow-Status (service gating function) is considered an action, in this context it is used to enable all other actions that are explicitly set within the PCC rule.

disabled (2)

disable all action specified within the PCC rule and drops the traffic

The service gating function is applicable in the direction that is associated with the rule (PCC rules in the system are unidirectional).

Flow-Status is by default enabled (2) (if the Flow-Status AVP is not explicitly specified within the PCC rule). Flow-Status=Enabled must be accompanied by one or more additional actions in the same PCC rule (see Gx rules with multiple actions and action sharing for a list of allowed simultaneous actions), otherwise the PCC rule instantiation in the node fails.

If the Flow-Status is set to disabled (3), all other actions within the same rule loses their meaning because the packet is dropped. The disabled directive disables the flow of packet through the system. A disabled Flow-Status is equivalent to the Alc-Filter-Action = Drop (2).

This AVP is carried inside of Charging-Rule-Definition (3GPP 29.212, §5.3.5):

Charging-Rule-Definition ::= < AVP Header: 1003 >
                             { Charging-Rule-Name } 
                            *[ Flow-Information ]
                             [ Flow-Status ]
                             [ QoS-Information ] 
                             [ Precedence ] 
                            *[ Flows ]
                             [ Monitoring-Key]
                             [ Redirect-Information ]
                            *[ AVP ]