Policy and Charging Enforcement Function
Policy and Charging Enforcement Function ( PCEF ) describes a group of network elements in cellular data networks. The PCEF will i. d. Usually controlled by a PCRF via the 3GPP- Gx interface and influence the data traffic in real time with regard to quality of service, service features and service charging. Typical PCEFs are
- 2G / 3G or GPRS / UMTS GGSN
- 4G or LTE PDN-GW and PGW
- generic DPI proxy for manipulating and monitoring various protocols
- Generic HTTP proxy for manipulating and monitoring HTTP data traffic
The PCEF, together with the PCRF, form the PCC architecture of a mobile network operator and thus the so-called core network between the mobile phone masts and the Internet.
standardization
PCEF in particular GGSN and PGW and the associated interfaces are in part standardized and further developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).