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Abstract: The aim of this document is to describe BSS architecture configuration rules &
dimensioning processes in Alcatel release B11 MR1 up to Ed.2. It is recommended to be the
guideline for RNE & TPM people who are involve in BSS architecture aspect.
Key words: BTS, BSC, TC, MFS/GP(U), Abis, AterMUX, A, and Gb; B11 release
All Alcatel system details given in this document are for your comfort only. The system
information may not reflect the latest status of the equipment used in your project.
Please consult in addition to this document the latest product descriptions!
Figure 23: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 16K Static Multiplexing .............54
Figure 25: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 16K Statistical Multiplexing .......55
Figure 29: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 64K Statistical Multiplexing .......56
Figure 31: BTS with 24 TRX mapped on both Abis links .....................................................60
Figure 41: Abis and Ater allocation on LIU boards / BSC capacity.......................................79
Figure 52: Mx-BSC in one LAN configuration with one external subnet ..............................98
Figure 53: Mx-BSC in one LAN configuration with two external subnets.............................99
Figure 55: BTS position & configuration design BSC area step 1 ....................................101
Figure 56: Transmission planning & BSC position design BSC area step 2......................102
Figure 57: BSC area definition design BSC area step 3....................................................102
Figure 69: SS7 message length (in bytes) according to GSM event.....................................124
Figure 70: Difference between Exact busy hour, NPO busy hour and Peak traffic...............126
Figure 97: Gb interface configuration (from 3BK 09559 LAAA EBZZA) ..........................175
Figure 105: Mx-MFS in one LAN configuration with one external subnet ..........................188
Figure 106: Mx-MFS in one LAN configuration with two external subnets ........................189
Table 12: RLC data block size for each (M) CS....................................................................47
Table 40: Counter list for Asig over IP traffic in UL and DL ..............................................132
Table 49: The 1st MFS generation (A9135 MFS) Capacity .................................................158
Table 57: Counter list for TBF assessment per cell .............................................................173
References:
[1] 3BK 17438 5000 PGZZA BSS Configuration Rules release B11
Enhanced Transmission Resource Management
[2] 3BK 10204 0608 DTZZA
Release B9
[3] 3BK 11210 0157 DSZZA G3 BTS Architecture and Principles
[4] 3BK 11210 0328 DSZZA BTS G4 Architecture and Principles
[5] 3DC 21083 0001 TQZZA EVOLIUM A9100 Base Station Product description
[6] 3BK 10204 0511 DTZZA SFD: Dynamic SDCCH allocation
[7] 3DF 01903 2810 PGZZA BSS B8 Dimensioning Rules
Dimensioning Rules for CS and PS traffic with BSS
[8] 3DC 20003 0031 UZZZA
Software Release B11 (TDM transport)
GSM/GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design Process for
[9] 3DC 21150 0348 TQZZA
ALCATEL BSS Release B11
[10] 3DC 21016 0005 TQZZA A9135 MFS Product Description
[11] 3DF 00995 0005 UAZZA GPRS/E-GPRS Radio Network Planning Aspects
[12] 3BK 11203 0100 DSZZA GPRS resource usage and dimensioning B8 release
[13] 3BK 09722 JAAA DSZZA GPRS management functional specification
[14] 3BK 11206 0476 DSZZA BSC abbreviations Release B9
[15] 3DF 019038010 VAZZA B10: BSS Architecture Service Guideline
[16] 3DC 21144 0120 TQZZA Gb over IP in Release B10
[17] 3BK 10204 0028 DTZZA Multiple CCCH
[18] 3BK 10204 0101 DTZZA A Signaling over IP
[19] 3BK 10204 0099 DTZZA A-Flex
[20] 3BK 10204 0068 DTZZA STM-1 impact for BSC Evolution
[21] 3BK 10204 0115 DTZZA Gb Flex
Abbreviations:
Refer to [14].
Um Abis
BTS A NSS
AterMUX CS (CS traffic)
MFS Gb
AterMUX PS
BTS
GSS
(PS traffic)
BSS (CS+PS traffic)
As presented in shown in Figure 1, the BSS consists of several network elements and
interfaces.
1 MSC (Mobile Switching Center) is a main network element of the NSS having connection to the BSS.
Each TS of a TRX can provide a channel with different codec rates (FR, EFR, HR and AMR)
available for CS traffic, while GPRS CS1/CS4 and EDGE MCS-1/9 available for PS traffic.
As a radio TS is dynamically allocated to serve either CS or PS traffic, the TS is called as
TCH while it supports CS traffic; otherwise called as PDCH while it supports PS traffic.
2.1.2.4 A interface
This interface, connecting TC and MSC, is supported by 2Mbps PCM links (64kbps * 32 TS).
One 64kbps channel on A is corresponding to one 16kbps channel on AterMUX TC is
responsible for this channel speed conversion.
The A trunk carries up to 31 traffic channels identified by a CIC (Circuit Identification Code).
A Interface
TS 0 Frame Synchronization
TS 1 CIC 1
TS 2 CIC 2
TS 3 CIC 3
: :
: :
: :
: :
TS 30 CIC 30
TS 31 CIC 31
TS : 64 Kbits/sec
2.1.2.5 Gb interface
The Gb interface connects the MFS with the SGSN2 (Serving GPRS Support Node), which is
a main network element of the GSS having connection to the BSS.
When using Frame Relay stack, the Gb interface (GboFR) is supported by 2Mbps PCM links
(64kpbs * 32 TS).
When using UDP/IP/Ethernet stack, the Gb interface (GboIP) is supported by a Gigabit
Ethernet link (GE).
2 SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) is a main network element of the GSS having connection to the BSS.
2.2.2 Goal
It is to define the BSS capacity and topology, which is appropriate and necessary to be able
to support the real network traffic or to fit new requirements for network evolution.
2.2.3 Category
According to different network states, the BSS architecture services can be classified into:
1) Network Architecture SETUP
This service is providing the BSS architecture design for a new network.
2) Network Architecture ASSESSMENT
For an existing network, it is important to perform this service to check periodically
the network performance from architecture point of view.
3) Network Architecture EVOLUTION
The BSS architecture should be re-designed in case of some network evolutions e.g.
network extension (to be adapted to a forecasted traffic scenario) and new network
feature activation (GPRS CS 3-4 or EDGE, for instance).
Network Architecture
Setup Initial
Network Architecture
Assessment Steady
Network Architecture
Evolution Developing
(2) Design/Re-design
(2a) BSC/LAC/RAC Areas
FINISH
Fore more details, please refer to section 3.3.4.1 for BSC area design, section 3.3.5 for
LAC design and section 3.3.6 for RAC design.
BSC MFS/GP(U) TC
Type A9120 BSC, A9130 BSC A9135 MFS, A9130 G2 TC, G2.5 TC
MFS (A9125 Compact TC)
Configuration - Conf 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 for Nb of GP(U) boards - Nb of TC boards
A9120 BSC dedicated to each dedicated to each BSC
BSC
- Stand Alone / Rack shared - Nb of TC racks
configuration with 200, 400, Nb of MFS racks
600, 800 or 1000 TRX for
A9130 BSC
Table 1: BSC-MFS/GP(U)-TC (re) design
Fore more details, please refer to section 3.3 for BSC configuration, section 3.5 for TC
configuration, and section 3.6 for MFS configuration.
Fore more details, please refer to section 3.2 for Abis, section 3.4 for AterMUX & A-
interface and section 3.7 for Gb.
The operation of parenting Abis TSU is required only in case of G2 BSC. For MxBSC it
has no meaning.
Recommendation/Threshold
(3) Assessment
- Identify bottle necks
- Identify need of new resources / new configuration
FINISH
BSS interfaces:
Abis dimensioning (for more details, please refer to section 3.2.2)
AterMUX dimensioning (for more details, please refer to section 3.4.4)
A dimensioning (for more details, please refer to section 3.4.4.1.1)
Gb dimensioning (for more details, please refer to section 3.7.2)
The assessment can identify the existing bottleneck that implies the lack of resources or
unbalanced resource usage.
Therefore, the proposed solutions should be implementing new resources and/or new
configuration and probably parameter modification.
The feature is an optional feature and the A-signalling over TDM is still supported. TDM
mode and IP mode are exclusive.
The basic idea is to separate the control plane and user plane in the core network. The legacy
MSC is replaced by MSC server (control plane) and MGW (user plane).
2.3.2 A-Flex
A-Flex network architecture is specified by 3GPP TS 23.236 and this feature allows a BSC
connecting to more than one MSC. This is a GSM BSS B11 MR1 feature.
Benefits:
Reduction of the signalling load in the core network: Signalling between the MSC/VLR
and HLR due to Location Update and inter-MSC handover procedure become necessary
only when MS leave the CS pool area;
Better MSC resilience: with A-Flex feature a BSC can be connected to several MSC
Servers for the handling of A-signalling. As a consequence if an MSC Server fails the
2.3.4 Gb-Flex
Gb-Flex feature allows a BSS to be connected to more than one SGSN. This is a GSM BSS
B11 MR1ed.2 feature.
Benefits:
Load sharing can be done by the BSS for each SGSN where the BSS is connected.
Possibility of capacity upgrades by additional SGSN in the pool-area
Increase the reliability when an SGSN fails thanks to SGSN redundancy.
To have several SGSN allow to enlarge the served area and the reduction of signalling
within the core network (e.g. reduction of the HLR signalling traffic)
Possibility to off-load an SGSN to perform maintenance
CAPEX reduction thanks to load distribution on the SGSN of the pool.
3.1 BTS
The area covered by a BSS is divided into cells and each cell is managed by a BTS.
Each BTS consists of radio transmission and reception devices including antennae and signal
processing equipment for the Air Interface.
BTS
Generation
G3 BTS G4 BTS
M4M M5M
Extension/Reduction
Configuration
BTS Physical Logical
Min Max Min
Evolium BTS
1 TRE Up to 18 TRE (1 to 6 sectors) 1 TRE TRE
(G3 / G3.5)
M4M
2 TRE Up to 6 TRE (1 to 6 sectors) 2 TRE 1 TRE
(micro BTS)
Data in this table, based on [1]
Table 2: Configuration Evolium BTS
Extension/Reduction
Configuration
BTS Physical Logical
Min Max Min
Evolium BTS
1 TRE Up to 18 TRE (1 to 6 sectors) 1 TRE 1 TRE
(G3.8 / G4.2)
Evolium BTS
1 TRE Up to 24 TRE (1 to 6 sectors) 1 TRE 1 TRE
(G5)
M5M
2 TRE Up to 12 TRE (1 to 6 sectors) 2 TRE 1 TRE
(micro BTS)
Data in this table, based on [1]
Table 3: Configuration Evolium Evolution
AMR X X X X
EFR X X X X
GPRS (CS-1, CS-2) X X X X
Traffic
GSM 900 X X X X
GSM 1800 X X X X
GSM 1900 X X X
850/1800 X X X
850/1900 X X X
band
Multi
900/1800 X X X X
900/1900 X X X
Important Note:
In B10, G1 and G2 BTSs with DRFU were still supported.
Starting with B11, there is no more support for G1 and G2 BTSs.
The EDGE TRA is the first Evolium transceiver that is EDGE capable.
The Twin TRX module is a module that can be used in two different modes
Capacity mode that generates two functional TRX (16 RTS), in the same or different
cells, with same radio performances as TRA Medium Power (45W GMSK in 900MHz),
Coverage mode (Tx Diversity mode) that generates a single functional TRX (8 RTS)
allowing either:
Higher Output Power due to Tx diversity ("air coupling") usage (113W to 175W
GMSK in 900MHz, and 88W to 136W GMSK in 1800MHz
Higher Sensitivity (-117.4 to -121dBm) due to 4Rx Uplink Diversity usage (2Rx
Diversity also possible)
The following table describes the transceiver hardware since G3 BTS generation.
Generation TRE Type MNEMO EDGE
G3 TRX 900 35W DR-EFR 9100 TRGM No
G3 TRX 1800 35W DR-EFR 9100 TRDM No
G3 TRX 1800 60W DR-EFR 9100 TRDH No
G4 9100 TRX 900 EDGE COMPATIBLE TRAG Yes
G4 9100 TRX 1800 EDGE COMPATIBLE TRAD Yes
G4 9100 TRX 850 EDGE COMPATIBLE TRAL Yes
G4 9100 TRX 1900 EDGE COMPATIBLE TRAP Yes
G4 9100 TRX 900 HP EDGE COMPATIBLE TAGH Yes
G4 9100 TRX 1800 HP EDGE COMPATIBLE TADH Yes
G4 9100 TRX 900 EDGE PLUS TRAGE Yes
G4 9100 TRX 1800 EDGE PLUS TRADE Yes
G4 9100 TRX 900 HP EDGE PLUS TAGHE Yes
G4 9100 TRX 1800 HP EDGE PLUS TADHE Yes
G5 9100 TRX 900 TWIN TGT09 Yes
G5 9100 TRX 1800 TWIN TGT18 Yes
G5 9100 TRX 850 TWIN TGT08 Yes
G5 9100 TRX 1900 TWIN TGT19 Yes
G5 9100 TRX 900 MULTICARRIER TMXA09 Yes
G5 9100 TRX 1800 MULTICARRIER TMXA18 Yes
Table 5: TRX HW capability since G3 BTS generation
This BTS is using only 3 MC-TRX to cover 3 cells in the configuration 3/2/2. In case of
traffic increase, it is easy to be extended up to 6/6/6 just using software configuration.
Extended Cell:
Its configuration is a BTS with up to 4 TRX in the inner cell and up to 4 TRX in the outer cell.
M4M and M5M do not support extended cell configurations.
Only one extended cell per BTS is possible.
Shared Cell:
A cell shared by several BTSs is possible to support up to 16 TRX (software limitation).
With Twin TRX, the 16 TRX limitation can be reached without using shared cell method.
Only the A9100 Evolium BTS (G3 BTS & G4 BTS) support shared cell.
The BTSs in a shared cell must be clock synchronized.
M4M and M5M do not support a shared cell because they cannot be clock synchronized.
Frequency Hopping:
The Table 7 shows the hopping types supported in B11.
Hopping Type Supported in B11
Non Hopping (NH) X
Base Band Hopping (BBH) X
Radio Hopping (RH) * -
Non Hopping / Radio Hopping (NH/RH) X
NH/RH with Pseudo Non Hopping TRX X
BBH with Pseudo Non Hopping TRX X
Data in this table, based on [1]
* RH works only with M1M and M2M that are now obsolete.
Table 7: Frequency Hopping supported in B11
Principle:
Static SDCCH sub-channels are defined to handle normal SDCCH traffic.
Dynamic SDCCH sub-channels are defined to handle high SDCCH traffic.
Main Rules:
At least one static SDCCH/8 or SDCCH/4 timeslot on BCCH TRX must be configured in a cell.
Combined SDCCHs (SDCCH/4 + BCCH) are always static.
The total number of SDCCH sub-channels configured on static or dynamic SDCCH TS or on a
BCCH/CCCH TS (CCCH combined case) must not exceed 24 sub-channels per TRX and 88
sub-channels per cell.
In order to avoid incoherent allocation strategies between SDCCH and PDCH, a dynamic
SDCCH/8 TS cannot be a PDCH.
BTS with DRFU do not support dynamic SDCCH allocation.
In A9130 BSC Evolution it is not allowed more than one SDCCH TS per TRX.
Required =
Under-dimensioning Over-dimensioning
Increase installed BTSs OK Decrease installed BTSs
When mCCCH feature is enabled, a second CCCH time slot shall be taken into consideration
when computing the required number of BCCH, SDCCH and TCH/PDCH timeslots.
Required
SDCCH Traffic Nb of required
Erlang B SDCCH sub-
channels /
GoS: timeslots
% SDCCH blocking
INPUT
The required SDCCH traffic is computed as below formula.
Measured _ SDCCH _ traffic
Re quired _ SDCCH _ traffic =
1 Min(%SDCCH _ cong , 30%)
Note: 30% is defined as the max congestion rate to be considered because several congestions can be
re-produced from one given user trying to access the network several times.
Where:
MC 400
Measured _ SDCCH _ traffic =
3600
MC 04
% SDCCH _ cong = 100%
MC 04 + MC148
The other input is Grade of Service (GoS), which is defined by the required SDCCH
congestion rate (pSDCCH).
Normally GoS should be given or agreed by the Mobile Operator.
The typical value for the required SDCCH congestion rate is 0.5%.
METHOD
Concerning only CS traffic, the statistical law Erlang B is used during the dimensioning
process to determine the necessary resources versus the traffic and the target GoS.
OUTPUT
Number of required SDCCH sub-channels
= Erlang B (Required_SDCCH_traffic, pSDCCH)
Then,
Number of required SDCCH Timeslots
Nb of required SDCCH sub-channels / 8; for non- BCCH combined cell
=
(Nb of required SDCCH sub-channels 4) / 8; for BCCH combined cell
Assessment:
When % SDCCH congestion (of any cell) > pSDCCH, the SDCCH re-dimensioning is
needed.
CS service
input data Total
Kaufmann-
Robert required TS
Algorithm for TCH and
PS service PDCH
input data
INPUT
(1) CS service input data:
CS Traffic Intensity in Erlang:
The CS traffic intensity is calculated separately between Full Rate (FR) and Half
Rate (HR) Traffic.
The calculation will take into account the real measured traffic and additional margin
from congestion rate.
The way to calculate the congestion rate for FR and HR is presented below:
CS _ Cong _ Per = min( 30 %, CS _ Real_Cong_ Per)
Note: 30% is defined as the max congestion rate to be considered because several congested calls
can be re-produced from one given user trying to access the network several times.
CS Bandwidth:
1 TS; for FR
0.5 TS; for HR
CS GoS (as requirement): Blocking Probability rate = 2 %, for instance
Measured _ PS _ traffic
Re quired _ PS _ traffic =
1 Min(%TBF _ radio _ cong , 30%)
Note: 30% is defined as the max congestion rate to be considered because several congestions can be
re-produced from one given user trying to access the network several times.
Where:
P 451b
Measured _ DL _ PS _ traffic =
3600
P 451a
Measured _ UL _ PS _ traffic =
3600
P14
%DL _ TBF _ radio _ cong = 100 %
P 91a + P 91b + P 91c + P 91d + P 91e + P 91f + P 505
P 27
%UL _ TBF _ radio _ cong = 100%
P 62a + P 62b + P 62c P 438c + P 507
Note: MAX_DL(UL)_TBF_SPDCH is the O&M parameter, which defines the maximum number of
Down (Up) link (E)GPRS TBFs per Slave PDCH.
More acurate results can be obtained if the required bandwidth is computed as:
1/(Average Nb of DL TBF per PDCH) = P38e/P451b
1/(Average Nb of UL TBF per PDCH) = P38f/P451a
PS GoS (as requirement): Delay in seconds and Quantile in % (0.01s and 0.98%).
METHOD
In case of the TS sharing between two services (CS and PS), the Knapsack traffic model
with the Kaufmann-Robert algorithm is used to define the total number of required TS
for TCH/PDCH.
Thus, the output result of the TCH/PDCH dimensioning is only the number of TSs
needed for the mixed CS and PS traffic. It couldnt take into account configuration
parameters (MIN_PDCH, MAX_PDCH, and MAX_PDCH_High_Load) controlling the
sharing of radio resource between these two traffics.
However, we can apply the number of TSs needed (the result from this dimensioning
process) as a range of the zone [MIN_SPDCH, MAX_SPDCH].
Then, this result will be added by numbers of TSs that operator wants to reserve for CS
and for PS to get the final number of TSs needed for CS and PS traffic in the cell.
Final agregation:
Total nb of RTCH =
= 1 TS for BCCH + 1 TS for CCCH (if case) +
+ Nb of Required SDCCH TSs +
+ Nb of Required TSs for FR, HR and DL PS,
coming from Kaufmann-Roberts algorithm.
or
+ Nb of Required TSs for FR, HR and UL PS,
if UL PS traffic is higher than DL.
Assessment
The following diagram presents the TCH/PDCH assessment process.
Nb of required Nb of installed
TCH/PDCH TSs TCH/PDCH TSs
Required = Installed
Under-dimensioning Over-dimensioning
Increase installed TCH/PDCH OK Decrease installed TCH/PDCH
To adjust the number of the installed radio TSs according to the required ones, it can
happen the case of the low efficiency resource utilization, for example, one or two
additional TSs require one new TRX!
Thus, the RNE has to define the optimized number of required radio TSs to trade-off
between the returned gain and the investment cost.
d m n
8 P 20 x RLC _ Block _ Sizex + P 55 x RLC _ Block _ Sizex + P 20 x RLC _ Block _ Sizex
= x =a x =a x =f
1000 P 38e
d m n
8 P 21x RLC _ Block _ Sizex + P 57 x RLC _ Block _ Sizex + P 21x RLC _ Block _ Sizex
= x =a x =a x =f
1000 P 38f
Where:
Channel Coding scheme RLC data block size in bytes
CS-1 22
CS-2 32
CS-3 38
CS-4 52
MCS-1 22
MCS-2 28
MCS-3 37
MCS-4 44
MCS-5 56
MCS-6 74
MCS-7 (sent of 2 blocks) 2*56
MCS-8 (sent of 2 blocks) 2*68
MCS-9 (sent of 2 blocks) 2*74
Table 12: RLC data block size for each (M) CS
Remark: PS throughput (in kbps) can also be defined by the target throughput per PDCH,
which probably can be given by the operator e.g. 30kbps for DL & UL (this information
should also be provided in R_AVERAGE_GPRS and R_AVERAGE_EGPRS parameters).
Up to 15 BTSs
BTS BTS BTS per
1 Abis Chain
Abis Abis Abis
BSC
Star topology
Each BTS is connected to the BSC directly; an Abis link is dedicated to a BTS.
A star topology can be considered as a particular case of a chain topology with only
one BTS.
This topology is well suited to support BTSs with large configuration and is also
flexible for TRX expansion.
BSC
Up to 7 BTSs
per
BTS BTS BTS
1 Abis Ring
Abis Abis Abis
Abis
BSC
BSC
The GSM Recommendation 08.52 defines 2 logical links between the BTS and
the BSC:
Radio Signalling Link (RSL) is used for supporting traffic management
procedures (MS to network communication).
Operation & Maintenance Link (OML) is used for supporting network
management procedures.
For details about Abis resource management for RSL/OML, please refer to section
3.2.1.4.
3) Extra Abis TS
On Abis interface, two types of 64kbps TS are considered:
Basic Abis TS: handle OML, RSL and traffic TS
Extra Abis TS: handle only supplementary GPRS (CS-3/CS-4) and EDGE
(MCS-1 to MCS-9) nibbles when needed.
In B11 release, the maximum number of extra Abis TS can be configured through
the new OMC parameter N_EXTRA_ABIS_TS.
Qmux Channel
Used by the BSC to manage Remote
Qmux TS0 Other TS except TS0
Transmission Network Elements.
BTS Channels
TCH/GCH Other TS except TS0 GSM (GPRS CS-1/CS-2) traffic
LAPD channel for BTS (1 OML per BTS)
LAPD Other TS except TS0
LAPD channel for TRX (1 RSL per TRX)
Extra Abis TS Other TS except TS0 To support GPRS CS-3/CS-4 and EDGE
Data in this table, based on [9]
Table 13: Abis Channel Types
(*) Improvement with EVOLIUM BTS: In case all BTSs of a chain are EVOLIUM BTSs, and if TS0 transparency is used, then the
time-slot used for transmission supervision (QMUX) can be saved (because the OML of EVOLIUM BTS supports also the transmission
supervision information).
The following figure shows the example of Abis timeslot consumption for 1 BTS with 4 TRXs
when no multiplexing is applied.
Abis Configuration
Nibble 1 Nibble 2 Nibble 3 Nibble 4
TS 0 TS 0 Usage / Transparency
TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 0 TRX 1 - TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 3
TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 4 TRX 1 - TS 5 TRX 1 - TS 6 TRX 1 - TS 7
TS 3 TRX 1 - RSL
TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 0 TRX 2 - TS 1 TRX 2 - TS 2 TRX 2 - TS 3
TS 5 TRX 2 - TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 5 TRX 2 - TS 6 TRX 2 - TS 7 13 TS required
TS 6 TRX 2 - RSL in case of
TS 7 TRX 3 - TS 0 TRX 3 - TS 1 TRX 3 - TS 2 TRX 3 - TS 3
No Multiplexing
TS 8 TRX 3 - TS 4 TRX 3 - TS 5 TRX 3 - TS 6 TRX 3 - TS 7
TS 9 TRX 3 - RSL
TS 10 TRX 4 - TS 0 TRX 4 - TS 1 TRX 4 - TS 2 TRX 4 - TS 3
TS 11 TRX 4 - TS 4 TRX 4 - TS 5 TRX 4 - TS 6 TRX 4 - TS 7
TS 12 TRX 4 - RSL
TS 13 OML
: :
: :
: :
TS 31
The following figure shows the example of Abis timeslot consumption for 1 BTS with 4 TRX
when 16K Static multiplexing is applied.
Figure 23: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 16K Static Multiplexing
Rules:
16K Static Multiplexing is used only in a BSS with Evolium BTS and G2 BTS with DRFU,
whereby each TRX carries a maximum of 8 SDCCH.
Not compatible with the Half-Rate mode.
BTS should be connected to a G2 BSC.
As for 64K statistical multiplexing, Abis transmission can be seen as a sequence of MCB
16/1, see below.
Abis Configuration
Nibble 1 Nibble 2 Nibble 3 Nibble 4
TS 0 TS 0 Usage / Transparency
TS 1 TRX1-RSL/OML TRX 1 - TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 3
TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 4 TRX 1 - TS 5 TRX 1 - TS 6 TRX 1 - TS 7
The following figure shows the example of Abis timeslot consumption for 1 BTS with 4 TRX
when 16K Statistical multiplexing is applied.
Figure 25: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 16K Statistical Multiplexing
Rules:
16K Statistical Multiplexing is used only with Evolium BTS.
Not compatible with the Half-Rate mode.
Not compatible with dynamic SDCCH allocation.
TS 0 of each TRX must not be assigned to Traffic channel (but to a signalling channel
BCCH/CCCH, SDCCH).
Abis Configuration
Nibble 1 Nibble 2 Nibble 3 Nibble 4
TS 0 TS 0 Usage / Transparency
TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 0 TRX 1 - TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 3
TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 4 TRX 1 - TS 5 TRX 1 - TS 6 TRX 1 - TS 7
TS 3 TRX 2 - TS 0 TRX 2 - TS 1 TRX 2 - TS 2 TRX 2 - TS 3
TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 5 TRX 2 - TS 6 TRX 2 - TS 7
TS 5 TRX 3 - TS 0 TRX 3 - TS 1 TRX 3 - TS 2 TRX 3 - TS 3
TS 6 TRX 3 - TS 4 TRX 3 - TS 5 TRX 3 - TS 6 TRX 3 - TS 7
TS 7 TRX 4 - TS 0 TRX 4 - TS 1 TRX 4 - TS 2 TRX 4 - TS 3
TS 8 TRX 4 - TS 4 TRX 4 - TS 5 TRX 4 - TS 6 TRX 4 - TS 7
TS 9 TRX 1 - RSL / TRX 2 - RSL / TRX 3 - RSL / TRX 4 - RSL / OML
The following figure shows the example of Abis timeslot consumption for 1 BTS
with 4 TRX when 64K Statistical multiplexing is applied.
Abis Configuration
Nibble 1 Nibble 2 Nibble 3 Nibble 4
TS 0 TS 0 Usage / Transparency
TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 0 TRX 1 - TS 1 TRX 1 - TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 3
TS 2 TRX 1 - TS 4 TRX 1 - TS 5 TRX 1 - TS 6 TRX 1 - TS 7 9 TS required
TS 3 TRX 2 - TS 0 TRX 2 - TS 1 TRX 2 - TS 2 TRX 2 - TS 3
in case of
TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 4 TRX 2 - TS 5 TRX 2 - TS 6 TRX 2 - TS 7
TS 5 TRX 3 - TS 0 TRX 3 - TS 1 TRX 3 - TS 2 TRX 3 - TS 3
64K Statistical
TS 6 TRX 3 - TS 4 TRX 3 - TS 5 TRX 3 - TS 6 TRX 3 - TS 7 Multiplexing
TS 7 TRX 4 - TS 0 TRX 4 - TS 1 TRX 4 - TS 2 TRX 4 - TS 3
TS 8 TRX 4 - TS 4 TRX 4 - TS 5 TRX 4 - TS 6 TRX 4 - TS 7
TS 9 TRX 1 - RSL / TRX 2 - RSL / TRX 3 - RSL / TRX 4 - RSL / OML
: :
: :
: :
TS 31
Figure 29: Example of Abis TS usage for 1 BTS/4 TRX 64K Statistical Multiplexing
A BTS with N DR TRE configured with 64K statistical multiplexing includes ((N-
1)/2)+1 MCBs of which:
I. (N/2) MCB 64/2
II. (N mod 2) MCB 64/1
Dual Rate attribute is introduced per TRE and not anymore per BTS; only the TRX
using the DR mode must follow the rules concerning DR TRX (possibility to connect
2 DR TRX per TCUC).
MCB load
The OMC is not able to check the number of SDCCHs per Multiplexed Channel Block
(MCB). For this reason the following configuration rules should be verified to keep the
Signalling Flow for Statistical Multiplexing on 64 Kbps channel inside the capacity limit:
If mCCCH feature is not activated:
MCB signalling load = Number of SDCCH sub-channels in MCB
+ 4 x Number of combined BCCH in MCB
+ 8 x Number of non-combined BCCH in MCB.
Normal signalling load option with 4 FR TRX:
TRX 1 = 1 BCCH + 16 SDCCH + 5 TCH
TRX 2 = 16 SDCCH + 6 TCH
TRX 2 = 8 SDCCH + 7 TCH
TRX 3 = 8 TCH
= > MCB load = 48 (sub-channels).
High signalling load option with 2 FR TRX:
TRX 1 = 1 BCCH + 16 SDCCH + 5 TCH
TRX 2 = 16 SDCCH + 6 TCH
= > MCB load = 40 (sub-channels).
ET ET ET ET ET ET ET ET
From B9 release:
The basic TS can be mapped to the primary or the secondary Abis link contrary to B8
where the basic TS can be only on the primary link. For more details, please refer to [2]
The extra TS can be mapped to the primary or the secondary Abis link.
For a BTS with two Abis links, the Operator defines the parameter:
MAX_EXTRA_TS_PRIMARY that is the maximum number of extra timeslots the system
is allowed to allocate on the first Abis for this BTS.
To keep the maximum free timeslots on the secondary Abis, the allocation of extra
timeslots is done in priority on the first Abis until this Abis is full or
MAX_EXTRA_TS_PRIMARY is reached.
For BTS with more than 12 TRX (up to 24), because of Twin TRX usage, it is possible to
limit the number of TRX in the first Abis link.
Primary link
TRX 1 to 12 BTS 24TRX
+ extra PS TS
BSC
Secundary link
TRX 13 to 24
+ extra PS TS
RSL 9-12
RSL 5-8
TRX10
TRX10
TRX11
TRX11
TRX12
TRX12
TRX1
TRX1
TRX2
TRX2
TRX3
TRX3
TRX4
TRX4
TRX5
TRX5
TRX6
TRX6
TRX7
TRX7
TRX8
TRX8
TRX9
TRX9
First A-bis
MAX_FR_TRE_PRIMARY = 12
RSL 13-16
Maximum filling of
TRX13
TRX13
TRX14
TRX14
TRX15
TRX15
TRX16
TRX16
Second A-bis
first Abis link
or
OML+RSL1-4
OML+RSL1-4
RSL 5-8
TRX1
TRX1
TRX2
TRX2
TRX3
TRX4
TRX5
TRX5
TRX6
TRX6
TRX7
TRX3
TRX4
TRX7
TRX8
TRX8
First A-bis
MAX_FR_TRE_PRIMARY = 8
Equal filling of the
RSL 13-16
RSL 9-12
Second A-bis
TRX13
TRX13
TRX14
TRX14
TRX15
TRX10
TRX10
TRX11
TRX12
TRX12
TRX15
TRX16
TRX16
TRX11
TRX9
TRX9
two Abis links
-
Figure 33: Two Abis links filling examples.
Alcatel File Reference Date Edition Page
B11_BSS_arch_serv_GuideLine_Ed2.doc 3DF 01903 8110 VAZZA 02 September 24, 2010 1 61 / 189
Rules:
OML is always mapped on the first Abis link
TCH and RSL of a TRX are always mapped on the same Abis link
Only EVOLIUM BTS with SUMA board or M5M supports the 2nd Abis link.
It is not possible to have the primary Abis link on terrestrial link and the secondary
one on satellite link.
An EVOLIUM BTS with SUMP board has to be upgraded. An EVOLIUM BTS can
manage only 2 termination points - this implies that it is not possible to:
i) Connect a BTS in chain after a BTS with two Abis
ii) Change the Abis from chain to ring if there is a BTS with two Abis
iii) Attach a second Abis to a BTS that is not at the end of an Abis chain
Extra Abis TS
New type of Abis TS, introduced since B8, to support
GPRS CS3-CS4 and EDGE services because 1 basic
Abis TS is not enough to transport the high data
throughput of those services.
1 Extra Abis TS contains 4 GCHs (nibbles). Dynamic
Various number of required GCH is based on number of
modulation & coding scheme (MCS or CS), please needed Abis
refer to 3.4.4.2.3. TSs
Less GCH consumption in B9 thanks to M-EGCH
and dynamic Abis allocation
Max number of extra Abis TS is limited by parameter
N_EXTRA_ABIS_TS
3.2.2.1 Method 1
Abis dimensioning based on PS traffic (bonus & extra Abis nibble traffic)
Target: To estimate the number of Extra Abis Timeslots needed at BTS level.
Gathered Counters:
Counter Name Indicator Name Definition
P466 GABGCHUSEBT Cumulated time during which extra and bonus Abis nibbles are
used in the cell, cumulated over all extra and bonus Abis
nibbles.
P105i GQRDTECBN Number of DL establishment failures due to congestion of
Abis.
P105j GQRUTECBN Number of UL establishment failures due to congestion of
Abis.
P91a + P91b + GTRDTERQN Number of DL TBF establishment requests per cell.
P91c + P91d +
P91e + P91f +
P505
P62a + P62b + GTRUTERQN Number of UL TBF establishment requests per cell.
P62c - P438c +
P507
Table 16: Counter list - Abis dimensioning Method 1
Methodology:
The process of Abis dimensioning is presented in Figure 34.
Required extra
& bonus Abis Nb of required
nibble Traffic
Erlang C extra & bonus Abis
Nibbles
GoS:
% Quantile of x
delay sec Nb of required
extra Abis Nibbles
INPUT
The required extra & bonus Abis traffic is computed as below formula.
Measured _ extra & bonus _ Abis _ traffic
Re quired _ extra & bonus _ Abis _ traffic =
1 Min(%TBF _ Abis _ cong , 30%)
Note: 30% is defined as the max congestion rate to be considered because several congestions can
be re-produced from one given user trying to access the network several times.
Where:
P 466
Measured _ extra & bonus _ Abis _ traffic =
3600
%TBF _ Abis _ cong = Max (%DL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong ,%UL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong )
Where:
P105i
%DL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong = 100%
P 91a + P 91b + P 91c + P 91d + P 91e + P 91f + P 505
P105 j
%UL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong = 100 %
P 62a + P 62b + P 62c P 438 c + P 507
The other input is Grade of Service (GoS), which is defined by % quantile of x delay
second (pABIS).
Since the MFS always tries to assign TBFs as soon as the request is received, we
usually dimension for 0sec delay.
Normally GoS should be given or agreed by the Operator.
On Abis interface, the recommended value is 99% quantile of 0.01 delay sec.
OUTPUT
Number of required extra & bonus Abis nibbles
= Erlang C (Required_extra&bonus_Abis_traffic, pABIS)
However the number of bonus Abis nibbles is fixed according to the total number of
BCCH & SDCCH TS in the BTS; i.e. one BCCH (SDCCH) TS gives one bonus Abis
nibble.
Then,
Number of required extra Abis nibbles
= Number of required extra & bonus Abis nibbles Nbr of bonus Abis nibbles
And
Number of required extra Abis TS
= Number of required extra Abis nibbles / 4
Remark: 1 Abis TS contains 4 Abis nibble
Assessment:
In order to assess the Abis dimensioning, it is suggested to monitor if there is any
impact caused by Abis congestion afterward.
The major degradations due to Abis congestion are:
TBF establishment failures due to Abis congestion:
% _ TBF _ Abis _ cong > 0,1%
Radio throughput reduction: it may be the result of several factors, not only Abis
congestion (to be check).
3.2.2.2 Method 2
Abis dimensioning based on PS traffic (GCH traffic)
The main purpose of this method development is to provide Abis dimensioning based
on total PS traffic while method 1 is only taking into account PS traffic on bonus &
extra nibbles.
Gathered Counters:
Counter Name Indicator Name Definition
P100c GAAGCHUST Cumulative time during which a GCH is busy in a cell. The
counter is integrated over all the GCH available in the cell.
P105i GQRDTECBN Number of DL establishment failures due to congestion of
Abis.
P105j GQRUTECBN Number of UL establishment failures due to congestion of
Abis.
P91a+P91b+P91c+ GTRDTERQN Number of DL TBF establishment requests per cell.
P91d+P91e+P91f+
+ P505
P62a+P62b+P62c- GTRUTERQN Number of UL TBF establishment requests per cell.
-P438c+P507
Table 17: Counter list - Abis dimensioning Method 2.
Methodology:
Where:
P105i
%DL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong = 100%
P 91a + P 91b + P 91c + P 91d + P 91e + P 91f + P 505
P105 j
%UL _ TBF _ Abis _ cong = 100 %
P 62a + P 62b + P 62c P 438 c + P 507
The other input is Grade of Service (GoS), which is defined by % quantile of x delay
second (pABIS).
The recommended value is the same as for previous method.
METHOD
Concerning only PS traffic, the statistical law Erlang C is used during the dimensioning
process to determine the necessary resources versus the traffic and the target GoS.
As GCH Abis nibbles are associated to PS traffic only, Erlang C can be applied to
calculate the required number of GCH Abis nibbles according to required PS traffic and
% quantile of delay time.
OUTPUT
Number of required Abis nibbles
= Erlang C (Required_GCH_traffic, pABIS)
However the number of bonus Abis nibbles is fixed according to the total number of
BCCH & SDCCH TS in the BTS; i.e. one BCCH (SDCCH) TS gives one bonus Abis
nibble.
Number of basic nibbles per cell can be equal to MAX_PDCH if busy hour for PS
traffic differs from busy hour for CS traffic, or to MAX_PDCH_HIGH_LOAD
(recommended value) if the two busy hours coincide.
And
Number of required extra Abis TS
= Roundup [Number of required extra Abis nibbles / 4]
Remark: 1 Abis TS contains 4 Abis nibble
Method 1:
This method is recommended in case of BTSs with 2 or more cells.
In such cases, only bonus and extra Abis nibbles available are shared for PS traffic at
BTS level. The basic nibbles are shared only at cell level.
Method 2:
This method is recommended in case of BTSs with only 1 cell.
In such cases, all the basic and bonus Abis nibbles available toghether with extra Abis
nibbles are used for the cell PS traffic.
Finally, for a complete Abis dimensioning process, based on results for Cell and Extra
Abis TS evaluations, we have to compute the total number of Abis TS needed:
Total Number of Abis TS =
= 2*Total nb of TRX +
+ Nb of TS for RSL and OML (depending on MCB type)
+ Nb of required Extra Abis TS,
and
Number of required Abis Links =
= Roundup [(Total Number of Abis Ts)/31].
Group Switch
8 Planes
Abis TSU 2 Stages Ater TSU 2 E1
6 E1
TCUC self-routing, non-blocking DTCC
TCUC DTCC
2x
6x TCUC DTCC
ASMB
G.703
G.703 TCUC DTCC
TSL Q1 bus
AS
Broadcast bus
Common Functions TSU
From Figure 36, the BSC is basically divided in three building blocks:
1) Abis TSU: For Abis interface management functions towards the Base
Stations (BTS), see details in section 3.3.1.2
2) Ater TSU: For Ater interface management functions towards the Core
Network (Circuit and Packet), see details in section 3.3.1.3
3) Common TSU: For all central functions of the equipment;
For different G2 BSC config type, the max number of ExtraAbisTS which can be configured is
different due to fact that ExtraAbisTS must be mapped to FR TCU only, and max 8 EXTS mapped per
TCU are allowed.
G2 BSC Config.1 Config.2 Config.3 Config.4 Config.5 Config.6
TCU number 8 32 48 72 88 112
Max EXTS 51 205 307 461 563 717
Table 19: G2 BSC Capacity in TCU Number and ExtraAbisTSs
N.B. It is recommended to limit the BSC load in terms of FR TRXeq to 80%, being FR TRXeq defined as:
N _ EXTRA _ ABIS _ TSallBTS
FR _ TRXeq = FR _ TRX + 2 DR _ TRX +
2
Rules:
Each TCUC can handle 6 LAPD signalling links LAPD (i.e. RSL, OML and TSL) that
allows:
4 RSL+ 2 OML
3 RSL+ 3 OML
2 ASMB: providing
multiplexing 16kbps from
4 tributaries to 1 highway.
2 access switches
Figure 39: Ater TSU G2 BSC
DTC Rules:
Any of the first DTCs in each group of 4 supporting an AterMUX interface (among the 16
first Ater Mux) can terminate an SS7 signalling link if the Ater Mux is CS.
There are 6 potential BSC synchronization sources (one from each AterMUX in the first rack).
If the AterMUX is used, then the first DTC attached to that ASMB recovers a synchronization
reference signal and sends this to the BSC central clock.
DTCC can be dedicated for SS7-MTP (supporting a physical SS7 link), GSL (supporting a
physical GSL), BSSAP/GPRSAP (higher layers of SS7 and GSL) or TCHRM (TCH
allocation)
One DTCC TCH-RM pair can handle up to 60 cells and the number of TRX per TCH-RM is
limited to 90.
For more Ater TSU rules, please refer to [1]
Important Note: Almost all new features related to BSC in B10 and B11 are not
available for the G2 BSC.
SSWW CCP1
MUXr
Radio Network links MUXW
SSW r
CCPy
LIU1
E1
OMCPw
LIUn OMCPr
LIU Shelf
(21 slots) ATCA Shelf (14 slots)
r : Redundancy
W : Working
n and y : Network Element Capacity
Note: It is recommended to limit the BSC load to 95% of its maximal capacity
The BSC capacity is defined with the FR TRXeq parameter that is defined by the formula:
TRX = FR _ TRXeq = FR _ TRX + 2 DR _ TRX
When the Optimized HR connectivity feature is enabled, the TRX calculation become:
TRX = FR _ TRX + DR _ TRX
Note: In Mx BSC, the HDLC channel (High-level Data Link Control) transports the signalling link
(OML and/or RSL) of the BTS on a 64kbps Abis timeslot.
One HDLC channel is used per LAPD link (if 16K Statistical Signaling Multiplexing or No
Multiplexing mode is applied) or per group of multiplexed RSL and OML (i.e. when 16K Static
or 64K Statistical Signaling Multiplexing mode is applied).
Independently to the Mx BSC configuration, the TPGSMv1 board has a signalling limitation
of 512 HDLC channels, among which 441 are available for Abis signalling (RSL+OML).
Due to this limitation, an Mx BSC is not able to achieve the capacity of 1000 TRX in case a
lot of DR TREs are configured for that BSS.
The recommended Max Paging rate for different BSC configurations is shown in Table 22.
Max paging rate from MSC
BSC configuration
Pagings/second Pagings/hour
G2 BSC 1 12 43200
2 24 86400
3 36 129600
4 48 172800
5 60 216000
6 70 252000
MxBSC 11 24 86400
12 48 172800
13 72 259200
14 96 345600
15 120 432000
200
1 1 17 33 49 65 81 97 113 129 145 161 69 59 21 2 1
2 2 18 34 50 66 82 98 114 130 145 162 70 60 22 4 3
3 3 19 35 51 67 83 99 115 131 147 163 71 61 23 6 5
4 4 20 36 52 68 84 100 116 132 148 164 72 62 24 8 7
5 5 21 37 53 69 85 101 117 133 149 165 73 63 25 10 9
400
6 6 22 38 54 70 86 102 118 134 150 166 74 64 26 12 11
7 7 23 39 55 71 87 103 119 135 151 167 75 65 27 14 13
8 8 24 40 56 72 88 104 120 136 152 168 76 66 28 16 15
9 9 25 41 57 73 89 105 121 137 153 169 x 67 29 18 17
10 10 26 42 58 74 90 106 122 138 154 170 x 68 30 20 19
11 11 27 43 59 75 91 107 123 139 155 171 x 54 48 42 41
12 12 28 44 60 76 92 108 124 140 156 172 x 53 47 40 39
400
13 13 29 45 61 77 93 109 125 141 157 173 58 52 46 38 37
14 14 30 46 62 78 94 110 126 142 158 174 57 51 45 36 35
15 15 31 47 63 79 95 111 127 143 159 175 56 50 44 34 33
200
16 16 32 48 64 80 96 112 128 144 160 176 55 49 43 32 31
Figure 41: Abis and Ater allocation on LIU boards / BSC capacity
On the core network side, Operators are transitioning to NGN architecture with separate
management of control plane (CP) and user plane (UP). The CP (i.e. signalling) is managed
by the MSC Server (MSC-S) while the UP (User traffic) is handled by the Media Gateway
(MGW).
MSC Server can reach much higher capacity than legacy MSC, so the failure of an MSC
Server can have very important impacts on the network availability for a very high number of
subscribers. Therefore, the A-Flex feature is interesting for Operators migrating to NGN, as
BSC can be connected to several MSC Servers, which allows limiting capacity losses in case
of MSC Server site disaster.
The backbone of the NGN is based on IP technology mostly. The A-signalling over IP feature
extends the IP based transport on the control plane down to the BSC and supports the general
trend to IP based inter-connection layers. The feature provides a high flexibility for BSS to
connect to NGN and makes the introduction of the A-flex functionality much easier and
future proof than the combination of A-flex with TDM transport. This strategy avoids the
introduction of several SS7-MSC instances (one MTP3 instance per MSC, one MTP2 link set
per MSC).
The A-signalling over IP feature is based on SIGTRAN protocol stacks already in use in the
NGN core. Therefore limited interoperability issues are expected between BSC and MSC
Server. The A-signalling over IP feature complements also the Alcatel-Lucent native IP
transport in the BSS. Both functionalities can be introduced independently.
3.3.3.1 AsigOverIP
Overview
The purpose of this feature is to transfer the SS7 signaling over the IP network between the
BSC and NGN core network.
A Signalling Over IP supports BSC to be connected to multi MSCs.
The benefits of this feature include:
Improvement of the signaling transfer reliability and lower transfer delay.
Higher signalling transfer bandwidth.
Simple network configuration and flexible network structure.
It supports multi remote SS7 end points to be connected to BSC.
The feature is an optional feature and the A-signalling over TDM is still supported.
TDM mode and IP mode are exclusive.
The basic idea is to separate the control plane and user plane in the core network. The legacy
MSC is replaced by MSC server (control plane) and MGW (user plane).
A signaling over IP is implemented for MSC server in the NGN network.
A signaling is not working on TDM and IP in the same time.
IP
Ater
A PSTN
TC MGW
BSSAP BSSAP
SCCP SCCP
M3UA M3UA
SCTP SCTP
IP IP
Ethernet Ethernet
IPIP
IP Mode
Figure 43: SS7 protocol stack (SIGTRAN)
IPSP1
IPSP2
IPSP2 IPSP3
MSC 2
IPSPn
Definitions
SCTP protocol is used for the M3UA message transfer. The features of the SCTP include:
Support multi-homing.
Support multi streams in one association. One SCTP association is established
between two SCTP endpoints (IPSPs), and in one association there can be more than
one stream. The stream is used to guarantee the sequencing message transfer.
SCTP Association: The association is established between two IPSPs belong to different AS.
For two ASs with n and k IPSPs respectively, there are at max n*k associations can be
established between them.
Stream: it is used in SCTP to refer to a sequence of user messages that are to be
delivered to the upper-layer protocol in order with respect to other messages within
the same stream.
SLS: Signalling Link Selector. The logical link used by SCCP, for one SLS the
message is transferred in sequence. The range of SLS is from 0 to 15.
Routing Key: A Routing Key describes a set of SS7 parameters and parameter values that
uniquely define the range of signaling traffic to be handled by a particular Application Server.
The Signalling Point Code (SPC) is used as the routing key.
VRRP
IP Add2 SCTP
SCTP
IP Network 2
Router2 IP Network 2
Router 2 Gateway1
IP Network 2
IP Network 2
Gateway2
3.3.3.2 A-Flex
Overview
A-Flex network architecture is specified by 3GPP TS 23.236 and this feature allows a BSC
connecting to more than one MSC. This is a GSM BSS B11 feature.
MSC 3 MSC 6
MSC 2 MSC 5
MSC 1 MSC 4 MSC 7
CS pool- CS pool-
area 1 area 2
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
Each MSC supporting A-flex is configured with its specific one or more NRI(s). The
TMSI allocation mechanism in the MSC generates TMSI which contains a configured
NRI in the relevant bit positions.
The BSC is configured with a NRI_LENGTH parameter. This NRI_LENGTH
indicates the number of bits for NRI, which starts from the 23rd bit in TMSI. Then
BSC can derive the NRI from the TMSI contained in the initial layer 3 message from
the MS.
In areas where pool-areas overlap the NRI identifies uniquely a MSC out of all MSCs,
which serve all these overlapping pool-areas, i.e. an NRI identifies uniquely a MSC
within a BSC. In case of overlapping pool-areas the NRI length shall be configured to
be the same in all the nodes serving these pool-areas.
NAS Node Selection Function
This function is used in BSC to select the specific MSC to which the initial layer3
messages are routed. The BSC derives the NRI from the TMSI in the initial layer3
messages. If the BSC has a MSC configured for the NRI, then this message is routed
to this MSC.
Load Balancing
Preferably, the NAS Node Selection Function in the BSC balances the load between
the available MSCs. This is performed by an appropriate selection of the MSC for an
MS when there is no MSC configured for the NRI indicated by the MS, or when no
NRI can be derived or in abnormal cases, e.g. when the MSC corresponding to an NRI
cannot be reached.
Load Re-distribution
There are situations where a network operator will wish to remove load from one
MSC in an orderly manner (e.g. to perform scheduled maintenance, or, to perform
load re-distribution to avoid overload) with minimal impact to end users and/or
additional load on other MSCs.
Re-distribution of UEs is initiated via an O&M command in the MSC, which needs to
be off-loaded.
Rules
When A-Flex is applied, one or more MSCs serve a CS pool-area, but only one of these
MSCs serves each individual MS.
One and only one MSC server always controls an A interface circuit.
The BSC load is shared by MSC servers of the CS pool-area, and the A-trunks of the BSC
must be split between different MSC servers in accordance with their weight.
If the MSC weight is increased, the number of A-trunks connected to that MSC may also
need to be increased.
TPGSMv3-STM1 architecture
The 9130 BSC are equipped with 2 STM-1 boards (for 1+1 redundancy, operating in a
master/standby mode), each of them providing 4 STM-1 interfaces in front access.
The new boards are compatible with all BSC Evolution installed base. Upgrade of the
existing BSC Evolution with STM-1 interfaces is performed without powering off the BSC
and without traffic impact. Any VC12 container of the BSC STM-1 link can be allocated
either to Abis or Ater interface.
When the connection of the BSC with other BSS entities is performed by mean of only
SDH links, the E1 physical interface boards and sub-rack can be removed from the BSC
configuration.
Network Architecture
The following figure shows an example of network architecture where the traffic is partly
transported over STM-1 thanks to the TPGSM-STM1 board in the BSC and TC-STM1 board
in the TC A9125. To use STM1 over A and Abis, an Add Drop Multiplex (ADM) equipment
is required for the connection of the MFS and BTS.
Optionality
The feature is optional from commercial point of view. Operators buy the feature
with a maximum number of STM1 Interface per OMC.
This maximum number concerns STM1 Interface generally speaking, that means
taking into account BSC STM1 interfaces but also TC ones.
An interface represents a pair of protected STM1 links.
An OMC has to check the total number of declared interfaces in all BSC and TC in
front of the upper limit licensed.
This feature provides the flow segregation at layer 1 (same or different physical ports for the
different flows). The feature is available for only 9130 BSC Evolution (it is not supported for
G2 BSC).
The 9130 BSC Evolution has flexible mapping of O&M / Asig over IP flows onto GE ports
starting with B11 MR1 Ed.2.
Definition:
The flow segregation is physical, that is to say it is obtained by dedicating one BSC switch
Ethernet port per flow to segregate. Its based on the operator request.
Several routers may be used to allow better flexibility between the different IP flows (O&M,
BSS over IP or Asig over IP).
The IP traffic without router (L2 networks) is also allowed, the flow segregation and BSC
internal VLAN tag configuration applying to both L2 and L3 cases.
Benefits:
To allow better flexibility and dimensioning from end to end per IP telecom flow with
excluding the impact of a flow on the other.
Having better organization in terms of separate teams working independently on each telecom
flow.
Allows for segregation at L1, which allows also for L2 segregation as a workaround due to
lack of VLAN tagging in BSC and the need for an external router.
Features:
Layer 3:
o Supported on L3 router based Networks, Several routers to allow better
flexibility between the different IP flows (O&M and Asig over IP).
o Several routers allow a better performance in terms of less processing (Queing,
Priority handling, ) and delay savings compared without the feature.
Layer 2:
o Supported on L2 switch based Networks, The IP traffic without router is also
allowed thanks to the feature as a workaround which was not possible before
due to lack of VLAN tagging in BSC.
o Opex savings due to the ability to connect directly to switches without the need
of routers/ L3 Ethernet switches connected to L2.
o Better performance in terms of less processing/delay savings compared
without the feature due to elimination of routers.
o The flow segregation and BSC internal VLAN tag configuration applying both
to L2/L3 cases.
o It is not mandatory for the operator to segregate the flows; any combination is
possible, from no segregation at all to one port per identified flow.
Alarm Router 1
SSW 1 port 3
Box
IP O&M/Telecom
VRRP
OMCP 2
OMCP 1
NETWORK
TPGSM
CCPx
Router 2
SSW 2
port 3
MX-BSC
Figure 52: Mx-BSC in one LAN configuration with one external subnet
(O&M and Telecom are mixed no segregation)
VRRP IP O&M
Network
port 3 Router O&M 2
Alarm SSW 1
Box port 7
Router AsigoIP 1
OMCP 2
OMCP 1
TPGSM
CCPx
VRRP IP Telecom
port 3 Network
SSW 2 Router AsigoIP 2
port 7
Figure 53: Mx-BSC in one LAN configuration with two external subnets
(O&M and Telecom are separated)
For
For each
each BSC
BSC ar
area,
ea, choose
choose a
a BSC
B SC
configuration
configuration
Check
Check BSC
BSC border
border with
with RNP
RNP tteam
eam
No
No
OK
OK ??
Yes
Yes
Check
Check Abis conn
connectivity
ectivity
Yes
Yes No
No
No
No Choose
Choose an
an oth
otherer B SC configura
BSC configuration,
tion,
OK
OK ??
if
if possibl
possiblee ??
Yes
Yes
Check
Check At
Ater
er connectivity
connec tivity
No
No
OK
OK ??
Yes
Yes
Outputs
BSC configurations
BSC Areas
In Figure 54, basically the BSC dimensioning consists of two following parts:
Design BSC area
Parenting Abis TSU ports of the BSC
Figure 55: BTS position & configuration design BSC area step 1
Figure 56: Transmission planning & BSC position design BSC area step 2
This number of Abis used between each geographical location has to be checked with
the actual available number of E1 links, which will be implemented in the network.
This task is usually performed by the Transmission team.
TRX FReq: 30
BTS_540023_8
PCM 1 4 FR; 4 DR; noMux; 5423
QAddr; 25 AbisTS; 0
26 TS ExtraAbisTS
BTS_540053_6
PCM 2 2 FR; 8 DR; statisticMux64;
5453 QAddr; 25 AbisTS; 0
26 TS ExtraAbisTS
PCM 3
0 TS
PCM 4
0 TS
In case of MxBSC, the BTS and Abis parenting to AbisTSU has no meaning.
It is a different way compared with G2 BSC.
It is allowed to connect an Abis link to any LIU (E1) port, and the RSL & OML mapping
to VTCU is done automatically.
Gathered Counters:
Note: the MC8a values for each cell in the same LA should be identical. However sometimes it was
observed (from counters of live networks) that some cells in the same LA have the different MC8a value
for this case, the most frequency value will be chosen to be represented the paging traffic of the LA.
Methodology:
The maximum number of paging per Location Area is derived from the paging
limitations at Um interface, Abis Interface and BSC sides as following details.
Um interface Limitation Combined cells
There are 3 CCCH blocks per M51 frame for combined cells.
Among those 3 blocks, 3 minus BS_AG_BLK_RES are reserved for paging
(BS_AG_BLK_RES = 1 as an usual default value for combined cells).
A 2.5 Paging/PCH value has been used to derive the maximum paging load per
Location Area.
Therefore;
Available blocks for paging per hour:
2 PCH blocks/Multiframe * (3600s/ 235ms) = 30,638 PCH blocks/ hour
Note: 235 ms is the period of 51 Multiframe
Therefore;
Available blocks for paging per hour:
5 PCH blocks/Multiframe * (3600s / 235 ms) = 76,595 PCH / hour
Maximum paging per hour:
2.5 paging/Block x 76,595 Blocks = 191,489 paging/hour (100%load)
When two CCCH TS are devoted to the cell, the Um paging capacity is then the double
of the previous calculated value (almost 64 paging/s).
Only cells with the mCCCH capability offer such paging capacity, and only if the whole
LA is with cells having two-ccch configuration.
In addition, only one RSL is considered as enough to carry this paging load over the
Abis interface (it is recommended to used 64K statistic multiplexing).
When mCCCH feature is enabled, the paging load on Abis is also doubled and
corresponds to 66 paging commands per second, or
G2 BSC Limitation
The BSC limit is 70 paging/sec on the A interface, for BSC in configuration 6 (Alcatel
traffic model).
Assessment:
Below figure shows the LA dimensioning assessment (for G2 BSC).
No Yes
Total MC8a > 252000 Re-Design LA, and/or
(Total MC8a of all LA in the BSC) Reduce nb of LA per BSC
Check Um Limitation
No Yes
All Cells in a LA are non-combined
No Yes No Yes
MC8a > 45,957 MC8a > 114893
3.3.6 RA Dimensioning
A Routing Area (RA) is a sub-set of one LA and identifies one or several cells in a LA.
In case of a mobile terminating call in GSM, the MS in idle mode will be paged in all cells
belonging to the LA, which the MS is present.
For PS services, the SGSN pages the MS in STANDBY state, in case of a downlink TBF. It
means additional signalling effort (for GPRS/EDGE) will be produced in the network: at each
DL TBF establishment the MS will be paged in the RA if the MS is in the GMM Standby
state.
Introducing RA, which should be smaller than LA, the signalling effort for paging is
now more focused to a smaller area, the signalling load for the cells being reduced.
Note: the P53a (respectively MC8a) values for each cell in the same RA (respectively LA) should be
identical. However sometimes it was observed (from the counter of live networks) that some cells in the
same RA (respectively LA) have the different P53a (respectively MC8a) value for this case, the most
frequency value will be chosen to be represented the paging traffic of the RA (respectively LA).
Methodology:
It is not possible to define a RA across a LA border (e.g. one cell from LA1 and two
cells from LA2).
Other rules:
- One RA can contain one or several cells
- One cell cannot belong to two RA
- Cells from one BTS can be allocated to different RA
- The maximum number of RA in a LA is 256 (0, 1, 2... 255)
If this ratio is greater than 20% during the day hours, the solution to reduce global
paging load may be splitting RA into several RAs for a corresponding LA (one LA:
several RA).
Assessment:
The limited GPRS paging load ratio can be modified.
3) Assess whether any LA has the current paging load exceeding 60%.
If not, it is OK => no LA/RA re-dimensioning required
If yes, continue to 4)
Example:
If there is one LA which has one RA (LA size = RA size), and at busy hour:
MC8A = 120,000
P53a = 36,000
Only non-combined cells are present in the LA. Then for G2 BSC dimensioning:
Paging load of 1 LA with 1 RA = 120000/191489 = 62.6% !! (> 60%)
CS Paging load = (120000-36000)/191489 = 43.8%
PS Paging load = 36000/191489 = 18.8%
GPRS paging load ratio = 36000/120000 = 30%
As GPRS paging load ratio > 20%, we may try to reduce paging load by splitting
RA into several RAs for this LA as below examples:
Estimated Paging load of 1 LA with 2 RA = 43.8% + 18.8%/2 = 53.2%
Estimated Paging load of 1 LA with 3 RA = 43.8% + 18.8%/3 = 50.1%
Estimated Paging load of 1 LA with 4 RA = 43.8% + 18.8%/4 = 48.5%
Nb CCCH TS BS_AG_BLKS_RES PCH blocks AGCH blocks Max paging/s Max assign/s
at 60% load at 60% load
1 3 6 3 38 7
1 4 5 4 32 10
1 5 4 5 25 12
2 3 12 6 76 15
2 4 10 8 63 20
2 5 8 10 51 25
2 6 6 12 38 31
Important notes for relation between paging rate at BSC level and CCCH configuration at
cell level:
There is no relationship between the BSC paging mechanism and CCCH
configuration.
The BSC has just the task of broadcasting paging messages per LAC.
The counter MC925f (resp. MC925h) may be recommended to follow the number of
Immediat Assignement (resp. Paging Command) received by the BTS on Abis and discarded
due to congestion.
Since B10, MxBSC is able to send multiple paging command messages.
It is important to notice the diference between the next two counters.
MC925g: Number of PAGING COMMAND received by the BTS on Abis and had to be
sent for CS and PS traffic to the MS.
a) This counter is increased by one each time a PAGING COMMAND message is
received on Abis interface.
Also, since B11, a new feature called CS Paging Coordination in the BSS is available. It
is applied for NMO II (Gs interface is not used).
Alcatel-Lucent implementation of the Dual Transfer Mode (DTM) feature assumes the
support of CS paging coordination to be able to receive a DTM call during a PS transfer. If
DTM is not activated, or if MS has no DTM capabilities, the PS transfer is stopped during CS
call, and it is resumed after the CS call end.
The BSC sends the received CS paging messages (from the MSC) on the PCH and
forwards it to the MFS through CS paging Coordination Request message.
Afterwards the MFS sends it on PACCH whenever MS would be performing a packet
transfer (PTM) by searching the requested MS IMSI in the IMSI vs MS Context table created
internally in the MFS for all MSs in PTM only.
The following counters have been defined related to this feature:
P390a: CS_Paging_Request_received (by GPU from BSC);
P390b: CS_Paging_Sent_MS_PACCH_PTM (by GPU).
P390a must be equal with MC8a (NB_CELL_PAGING_CMD) or GCCPGRQN, and also
with MC940 (NB_A_PAGING_MESSAGES) or GTCNAAPRN (if only one LAC is
configured per BSC).
On the AterMUX CS interface, a 64kbps timeslot transmits information for 4 Circuit Switch
calls (whatever they use FR or HR codec).
On the AterMUX PS interface, a 64kbps timeslot supports 4 GCHs.
3.4.1.2 A interface
The A-interface is a set of 2Mbps PCM links carrying CS traffic between the TC and the
MSC.
One 64kbps channel on A interface is corresponding to one 16kbps channel on AterMUX.
BSC TC MSC
AterMUX A
Since release B7.2, it is possible only 4:1 multiplexing at BSC side and 4:1 de-multiplexing at
TC side.
Therefore, the number of A-interface links is four times of the number of AterMUX CS
interface links. That is:
AterMUX CS AterMUX PS
CH# 1 CH# 2 CH# 3 CH# 4 CH# 1 CH# 2 CH# 3 CH# 4
TS 0 TS 0 Transparency TS 0 TS 0 Transparency
TS 1 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 1 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 2 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 2 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 3 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 3 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 4 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 4 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 5 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 5 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 6 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 6 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 7 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 7 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 8 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 8 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 9 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 9 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 10 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 10 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 11 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 11 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 12 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 12 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 13 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 13 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 14 Qmux TCH TCH TCH TS 14 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 15 Alarm octet TS 15 Alarm octet
TS 16 SS7 TS 16 SS7 (not used)
TS 17 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 17 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 18 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 18 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 19 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 19 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 20 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 20 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 21 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 21 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 22 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 22 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 23 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 23 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 24 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 24 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 25 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 25 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 26 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 26 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 27 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 27 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 28 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 28 GSL
TS 29 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 29 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 30 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 30 GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS 31 X25 TS 31 GCH GCH GCH GCH
AterMUX CS:
Referring to AterMUX CS structure (in Figure 63), the following figure presents the
AterMUX CS configurations that depend on the G2 BSC configuration.
X 25 Qmux A l a rm SS7 T C H N um b e r
P CM 1 (x) x x x 111
A te r T S U 1
P CM 2 (x) x x x 111
P CM 1 x x 116
B SC R ack 1 A te r T S U 2
P CM 2 x x 116
P CM 1 x x 116
A te r T S U 3
P CM 2 x x 116
X 25 Qmux A l a rm SS7
P CM 1 x x x 115
A te r T S U 4
P CM 2 x x x 115
P CM 1 x x 116
B SC R ack 2 A te r T S U 5
P CM 2 x x 116
P CM 1 x x 116
A te r T S U 6
P CM 2 x x 116
X 25 Qmux A l a rm SS7
P CM 1 x x x 115
A te r T S U 7
P CM 2 x x x 115
P CM 1 x x 116
B SC R ack 3 A te r T S U 8
P CM 2 x x 116
P CM 1 x 116
A te r T S U 9
P CM 2 x 116
T o ta l T C H 20 7 4
Figure 64: AterMUX CS interface configuration G2 BSC
In Figure 64, the number of TCHs is different for each AterMUX link as it depends
on the appearance of signalling channels.
Remark: with BSC configuration 6 Ater TSU 9 PCM 1 & 2 do not convey SS7
links; however, TS 16 is left unused and does not convey any traffic channels, so
total TCH remains 116 not 120.
For G2 BSC, the maximum number of AterMUX CS interfaces is summarized in
below table.
For BSC Evolution, the maximum number of AterMUX links for CS traffic (from
BSC to TC) is 48 and are addressed by Ater-Hway-TP in the range [1-30] and [59-
76]. These links may be used for PS traffic also.
Since B10 MR2 there is the possibility to have CS traffic on TS15/TS16 on
AterMux CS links in case of HSL usage.
Depending on the conditions (TC board type, HSL position), the MxBSC
automatically opens TS15/TS16 for traffic. This principle is valid for any Ater CS.
A-interface:
The channel mapping between AterMUX CS interface and A-interface is presented
below:
AterMUX CS A Interface
CH# 1 CH# 2 CH# 3 CH# 4 TS 0 Frame Synchronization
TS 0 Frame Synchronization TS 1 CIC 1
TS 1 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 2 CIC 2
TS 2 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 3 CIC 3
: : TS 4 CIC 4
: : TS 5 CIC 5
TS 14 Qmux TCH TCH TCH : :
TS 15 Alarm octet : :
TS 16 SS7 : :
TS 17 TCH TCH TCH TCH : :
TS 18 TCH TCH TCH TCH : :
: : : :
: : : :
TS 30 TCH TCH TCH TCH TS 30 CIC 30
TS 31 X25 TS 31 CIC 31
TS : 64 Kbits/sec TS : 64 Kbits/sec
Channel or Nibble : 16 Kbits/sec
Figure 65: Channel mapping between AterMUX CS and A
3.4.2.2 AterMUX PS
Referring to AterMUX PS structure (Figure 63), the following figure presents an example of
AterMUX PS configuration for a GPU.
Notes:
One GPU can support max. 480 GCH (a GPU has 4 DSPs one of which supports 120
GCH)
One GP can support max. 1560 GCH (a GP has 4 DSPs one of which supports 480 GCH)
5 AterMUX PS are needed to support 480 GCH (14 AterMUX PS are needed to support
1560 GCH)
Note: The max capacity of 5 AterMUX PS is 572 GCH, which is enough to support
480 GCH refer to Figure 63
At least one GSL is required for a GP(U), but it is recommended to have 2 GSLs per
GP(U) as the security reason is concerned
Maximum 1 GSL is possible for an AterMUX PCM link (TS 28)
For BSC Evolution, the maximum number of AterMUX links dedicated for PS traffic (from
BSC only to MFS) is 28 and they are addressed by Ater-Hway-TP from 31 to 58.
TC
GPU
BSC SGSN
X (MFS) Z
From Figure 67: - X is the number of AterMUX between BSC and GP(U).
- Y is the number of AterMUX between GP(U) and TC.
- Z is the number of Gb between GP(U) and SGSN.
The Figure 65 presents details of Timeslot sharing between CS (TCH) and PS (GCH):
AterMUX CS/PS
PS Traffic Ratio / / / / Full
TS TS Transparency
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH TCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH TCH GCH GCH
TS Alarm octet
TS SS
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH TCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS TCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS GCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS GCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS GCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
TS GCH GCH GCH GCH GCH
However, when there is enough PS traffic to fill 2 or more PCMs, there is an advantage to
dedicate complete PCMs to PS (AterMUX PS) rather than mixing PS with CS traffic
AterMUX CS/PS).
Indeed, doing so avoids connecting the MFS to the Transcoder, with AterMUX PCMs not
fully devoted to CS traffic, and thus avoids wasting transcoder resource.
So, the minimum usage of mixed AterMUX (CS + PS) is recommended.
Figure 69: SS7 message length (in bytes) according to GSM event
With the total bytes for one call attempt from previous table and given BHCA, it is possible to
estimate the SS7 required throughput and corresponding number of SS7 links needed.
Required SS7 throughput (kbps) = BHCA /3600 x Total bytes for one call Attempt * 8/1000
The required SS7 throughput is estimated in the MSC to BSS direction (worst case, because
of paging load).
Nb of SS7 links Nb of SS7 links
BSC type (*) BHCA (**)
at 40% load at 60% load
BSC_EV_200 64 800 11 8
BSC-EV-400
BSC_EV_400 129 600 HSL
16 11
15
BSC-EV-800
BSC_EV_800 259 200 HSL HSL
(**) The BHCA corresponds to B10-MR2 capacity. For MR1, the BHCA is limited to 288 000.
Table 35: Signaling link requirements for MxBSC
If the resulting number of links is above 16, then SS7 on 2Mbps link (HSL) is required.
So dimensioning SS7 links at 60% load is allowed with the Alcatel-Lucent BSS, if the MSC
can also allow it. This SS7 signalling load is possible as soon as there is a minimum of four
N7 links configured.
Target: To estimate the number of AterMUX-CS links per BSC based on signaling
traffic.
Methodology:
INPUT
The SS7 traffic is related to the SCCP traffic generated by Call and Signalling treatments
as detailed in the Method paragraph.
Re quired _ SCCP _ traffic = Measured _ SCCP _ traffic + 15 %m arg in
Where:
Measured _ SCCP _ traffic =
3600
Remark: a 15% margin is added to the traffic in order to take into account two
phenomena:
Time (H)
Figure 70: Difference between Exact busy hour, NPO busy hour and Peak traffic
The second input is the Grade of Service (GoS), which is defined by the required SS7
congestion rate (pSS7). Normally GoS should be given or agreed by the Mobile Operator.
METHOD
The dimensioning of SS7 links in the Alcatel BSS is linked to three issues:
SCCP traffic
Processor load
Physical link load
This section will explain here the SCCP traffic issue without going in the detailed of
processor load and physical link load.
For each scenario, a dedicated SCCP connection is open between the BSS and the MSC,
for the duration of the scenario. It will carry all the signalling pertaining to that scenario.
Therefore, there is one SCCP connection open for SDCCH and TCH request:
Speech calls, for a duration approximately equal to the SDCCH + TCH holding time
External handover, for a duration equal to the overlap time, during which the TCH
resources in the old and the new BSC are simultaneously activated
Location updates, for a duration approximately equal to the SDCCH holding time
SMS and other services, for a duration approximately equal to SDCCH holding time
As SS7 is associated to signalling CS traffic only, Erlang B can be applied to calculate the
required number of SCCP connections according to the required SCCP traffic
(SCCP_connection_erlang) and the target congestion rate.
OUTPUT
For example:
If the total number of Ater CS of one BSC is equal to 10 interfaces, the number of
required SS7 links for that BSC is identical to the number of Ater CS (i.e. 10 links
offering up to 1030 SCCP connections).
This method is based on SS7 volume of data transferred during busy hour.
Target: To estimate the number of SS7 TS required per BSC based on signaling
traffic expressed as volume of data transferred. Also SS7 link efficiency may be
evaluated.
Gathered Counters:
Traffic evaluation in UL
Counter values must be aggregated for the link set.
N 3.1 + 6 * N 3.3
Measured _ SS 7 _ traffic =
112500
N 3.10
%SS 7 _ cong = 100 %
N 3.3 + N 3.10
Measured _ SS 7 _ traffic
Re quired _ SS 7 _ traffic =
1 Min (%SS 7 _ cong ; 30%)
Nb of Re quired SCCP connection s = InverseErlangB (Required_S S7_traffic ;0.1% )
Note: 1 SS7 TS with 64Kbps (8000bytes/s) coresponds to 256 SCCP connections. For one
SCCP connection coresponds a byte rate of 31.25 bytes/second or 112500 bytes/hour.
The final number of SS7 TSs (links) is the max value between the results for UL and DL.
If this number is greater than 16, HSL usage is mandatory.
The final number of SS7 TSs (links) is the max value between the results for UL and DL.
If this number is greater than 16, HSL usage is mandatory.
Additionaly, it is recommanded to check for each SS7 link:
N7 link efficiency based on couters (in UL). It may be obtained using Formula:
N7 efficiency [%] = N3.3/( N3.3+N3.10)*100
N7 link congestion detection:
N1.6 (NB_N7_LINK_FAIL_CONG), which represents the Number of N7 SL
failures due to congestion during an extended period of time
N7 link utilization:
%N7 Utilization in UL = 100*(N3.1 + (6 * N3.3)) / (112500*256*NbTS)
%N7 Utilization in DL = 100*(N3.4 + (6 * N3.5)) / (112500*256*NbTS)
The load on one N7 link shall not exceed 40% (recommended).
Same kind of checks may be done in case of HSL usage. Note that 31 TSs of 64Kbps
are available for one HSL link.
HSL case with Normal frame format
%N7 Utilization in UL = 100*(N3.1 + (6 * N3.3)) / (112500*256*31)
%N7 Utilization in DL = 100*(N3.4 + (6 * N3.5)) / (112500*256*31)
HSL case with Extended frame format
%N7 Utilization in UL = 100*(N3.1 + (9 * N3.3)) / (112500*256*31)
%N7 Utilization in DL = 100*(N3.4 + (9 * N3.5)) / (112500*256*31)
The load on one N7 link shall not exceed 40% (recommended).
Note:
The recommended SS7 dimensioning method is the one based on SCCP traffic assessment,
since it takes into account the overall usage time for SCCP connections.
However, the second method, based on SS7 volume of data transferred, is also useful since
it allows checking the load on each SS7 link.
To assess the required bandwidths for the traffic flows between BSC and MSC, the
approach is to:
Aggregate the Asig over IP throughputs of MSCs connected to the selected BSC.
If throughput is obtained by adding all BSC_MSC objects throughput, a moderation
factor must be considered to take account of the fact that all the busy hours of those
objects may not occur at the same time.
Add overheads due to the fact that Asig over IP traffic is carried over Ethernet, to
compute the Asig over IP global throughput.
Apply a peak-to-average ratio (engineering margin). The peak-to-average ratio is
needed since almost all the counters have values counted during a granularity period
of one hour.
Gathered Counters:
Counter Indicator Name Definition
Name
Number of bytes of the SS7 flow sent by a BSC to the
MC1109 GIPABSMCSSBYN
MSC (MSC-CS) when A signaling over IP is used.
Number of SCTP packets sent by a BSC to a given
MSC for the SS7 flow when A signaling over IP is used. It
MC1110 GIPABSMCSSPKN
corresponds to is the number of SCTP segments sent,
counted by the SCTP stack.
Number of SCTP packets resent by a BSC to a given
MC1111 GIPABSMCSSPKRN
MSC for the SS7 flow, when A signaling over IP is used.
Maximum number of bytes of the SS7 flow sent by a
MC1112 GIPABSMCSSBYMN BSC to a given MSC in one minute during the granularity
period of monitoring, when A signaling over IP is used.
Table 38: Counter list Asig over IP dimensioning
20 bytes
12 bytes 16 bytes
36 bytes
Figure 71: IP packet structure for Asig over IP
Headers
Ethernet 38 bytes
IP 20 bytes
SCTP 12 bytes
Chunk 16 bytes
M3UA 36 bytes
Table 39: Overheads for Asig over IP
After observations:
Average size of an IP packet is 648 bytes.
Average size of an SCCP message is 20 bytes.
Average number of SCCP messages per IP packet is 8.
Total Nb of overhead bytes per IP packet is:
38 + 20 + 12 + (16 + 36)*8 = 486 bytes
Nb of overhead bytes per SS7 message (packet) is:
486/8 = 60.75 61 bytes
Method description:
Compute the Total Nb of (Eth+IP+UDP) Overhead Bytes (OB)
OB = (Eth+IP+UDP overhead bytes per packet)*(Total Nb of packets)
Compute the Resent Ratio (RR) if case (resent bytes not counted)
RR = (Nb of sent and resent packets)/(Nb of sent packets)
Compute the Engineering Margin (EM)
EM = (Max Nb of payload bytes in one minute*60)/(Total Nb of payload bytes in one hour)
Compute the Required Bandwidth (RBW)
RBW [kbps] = EM*(Nb of payload bytes in one hour + OB)*8/1000/3600
or if RR known
RBW [kbps] = EM*RR*(Nb of payload bytes in one hour + OB)*8/1000/3600
Note: For congestion cases, the denominator 3600 may be replaced by (3600 unavailability time).
Required
Bandwidth
Nb of payload bytes in one hour (NB) (RBW)
Calculation
Total Nb of packets
sent and resent
Overhead bytes
per packet Total Overhead Bytes (OB)
In case of Asig over IP, with available counters, the method may be applied as follows:
OB = (Eth+IP+SCTP+M3UA overhead bytes per packet)*(Total Nb of packets) =
= 61*MC1110
RR (resent ratio) = (MC1111+MC1110)/MC1110
EM = (Max Nb of payload bytes in one minute*60)/(Nb of payload bytes in one hour)
= (MC1112*60)/MC1109
RBW [kbps] = EM*RR*(Nb of payload bytes in one hour + OB)*8/1000/3600 =
= EM*RR*(MC1109+OB)*8/1000/3600
Note: The counters are defined per MSC_BSC object and must be aggregated per BSC in case
Aflex feature is also activated (multiple MSC per BSC).
It is possible to compare the Asig over IP traffic in UL with the traffic in DL using the
following counters (just to check if the UL traffic is not less then DL traffic):
3.4.4.1 AterMUX CS
Target: To estimate the number of AterMUX-CS links per BSC.
Gathered Counters:
Methodology:
The process of AterMUX-CS dimensioning is presented below.
Signalling Traffic
Required
SDCCH Nb of Nb of
Traffic required SS7 required
Erlang B
per BSC AterMUX-CS
links per BSC
GoS:
% SS7
blocking Final nb of
Choose required
Max value AterMUX-CS
User Traffic links per BSC
Required
TCH Nb of Nb of
Traffic Erlang B required TCH required
per BSC AterMUX-CS
links per BSC
GoS:
% TCH
blocking
Signalling traffic
The SS7 traffic is partially related to traffic generated by CS Call as detailed in the
previous paragraph. In LSL mode, each SS7 link is carried by an AterMUX-CS
interface. In this case:
Number of required AterMUX-CS Links (1) = Number of required SS7 Links
As an example, if the total number of required SS7 links of one BSC is 10 links, the
number of needed AterMUX-CS will be equal to 10 links.
For SS7 link definition, please refer to SS7 dimensioning and HSL mode
User traffic
INPUT
The required TCH traffic is computed as below formula.
Where:
MC 380a + MC 380b
Measured _ TCH _ traffic =
3600
Note: a 15% margin is added to the required traffic - see more explanation in 3.4.3.2
The other input is Grade of Service (GoS), which is defined by the required
AterMUX-CS congestion rate (pAterMuxCS). Normally GoS should be given or agreed
by the Mobile Operator.
METHOD
Concerning only CS traffic, the statistical law Erlang B is used during the
dimensioning process to determine the necessary resources versus the traffic and the
target GoS.
As AterMUX-CS is associated to CS traffic only, Erlang B can be applied to calculate
the required number of TCH channels according to required TCH traffic and the target
congestion rate.
OUTPUT
Number of required TCH:
= Erlang B (Required_TCH_traffic, pAterMuxCS)
For example:
If the total number of TCH per BSC x is 1200 TCHs.
Then, the number of required AterMUX-CS links of BSC x is 11 links.
Note: From Figure 64, the total capacity of 11 AterMUX CS links is:
111TCH(link#1) + 111TCH(link#2) + 116TCH(link#3) + 116TCH(link#4) +
116TCH(link#5) + 116TCH(link#6) + 115TCH(link#7) + 115TCH (link#8) +
116TCH(link #9) + 116TCH(link #10) + 116TCH(link #11)
= 1264 TCHs > 1200 TCHs
3.4.4.1.1 A Dimensioning
According to Figure 65, basically the number of required A-interfaces depends on the number
of AterMUX-CS links connected to the Transcoder as following relation:
In this case if there is 40 AterMUX CS links needed at TC level, then the number 160 A-
interface links (40*4) are required from TC to MSC.
BSC level (doing the hypothesis of a well balanced traffic distribution among the
GP(U) boards connected to the BSC)
AND
N.B. If, running the dimensioning assessment method, more than 1 GP(U) board are identified as under-
dimensioned (i.e. they are not able to handle the required traffic) the adding of GP(U) boards will be
done in an iterative way (1 GP(U) at once) monitoring the consequent impact on the AterMux PS
interface.
In Figure 74 the process for AterMux PS dimensioning that must be applied at BSC level, is
presented:
# Needed # Needed
GSL links GCH
Aterlink
GPU/GP dimensioning GCH_Capacity
Assessment # AterMux PS
# AterMux PS per GPU # AterMux PS per GPU
(GSL traffic) (user traffic)
max 2 (for security reason)
# GSL links
(at least 2 per GPU/GP) # GPU/GP
# AterMux PS per GPU/GP
Figure 74: AterMux-PS dimensioning process at BSC level
On the other hand, the process that is applied at GP(U) level, if the output of the process
applied at BSC level does not recommend the adding of additional GP(U) resources, is
described in Figure 75:
must be estimated as:
GPU/GP dimensioning New #GPU/GP at BSC level
Assessment # AterMux PS # Needed
GSL links # AterMux PS
If #GPU/GP=1 at BSC level
at BSC level
# AterMux PS per GPU
(GSL traffic)
# AterMux PS per GPU
(user traffic)
max # AterMux PS per GPU # AterMux PS per GPU
# AterMux PS per GPU (estimated at
(GSL traffic) (user traffic)
BSC level)
max
# GSL links 2
(at least 2 per GPU/GP) # AterMux PS per GPU/GP
# AterMux PS per GPU/GP
Figure 75: AterMux-PS dimensioning process at GP(U) level
If, applying the dimensioning method at one GP(U), the result is that one (01) board is enough
in order to support the required traffic; the number of needed AterMux PS links for this
GP(U) will be assessed.
Otherwise, if the board is overloaded, it is recommended to add one additional GP(U) board
and the number of AterMux PS links per GP(U) will be re-assessed at BSC level.
1. Reshuffle operation is done in order to try to balance traffic between the two GPUs
2. Add 1 AterMux PS links on both GPUs
Example 2
BSC level (2 GP(U) with 2 AterMux links per GP(U)):
#Needed GCH = 400
#Needed GP(U) = 2
#AterMux PS per BSC = 400/112 = 4
#AterMux PS per GP(U) = 4 / 2 = 2
GP(U) level
GPU1
#Needed GCH GPU1 = 160
#Needed GP(U) = 1
#AterMux PS per GP(U) = Max (160 / 112, 2) = 2
GPU2
#Needed GCH GPU2 = 240
#Needed GP(U) = 1
#AterMux PS per GP(U) = Max (240 / 112, 2) = 3
1. Reshuffle operation is done in order to try to balance traffic between the two GPUs
2. If the reshuffle operation has not the wanted effect, add 1 AterMux PS to GPU2.
Example 3:
BSC level 2 GP(U) with 2 AterMux links per GP(U)):
#Needed GCH = 500
#Needed GP(U) = 2
#AterMux PS per BSC = 500 / 112 = 5
#AterMux PS per GP(U) = 5 / 2 = 3
1. Reshuffle operation is done in order to try to balance traffic between the two GPUs
2. If Reshuffle has not the wanted effect:
#Needed GCH at BSC = 500
#Needed GP(U) = 3
#AterMux PS per BSC = 500 / 112 = 5
#AterMux PS per GP(U) = 5 / 3 = 2
AterMux dimensioning
Assessment for GSL traffic
Assessment based
Assessment based
on the number of
on GSL bandwidth
GSL messages per second
2
(for security reason)
max
# GSL links
Figure 76: GSL dimensioning method
Gathered Counters:
Methodology:
Calculate GSL (signalling) traffic for each AterMUX-PS link
GSL_round_trip_delay GPU
A message is kept in th e buffer
BSC K_GSL during GSL_round_trip_delay
GSL messages
buffer
Figure 77: GSL messages processing
Methodology:
Retrieve indicators and (*) QoS evaluation to be done
by QoS expert
Cells GPUs mapping
START (if method applied to 1 GPU/GP) Retrieve data on a different
Period or on an updated
configuration with better QoS*
Calculation
+ #GSL msg/sec due to
RAE4 traffic calculation [3]
[1] QoS Acceptable ? Since the method uses the number of TBF establishment requests, the
result can be impacted a lot in case of abnormal degradation or in case of AterMux
interface on satellite link.
Indeed in this latter case the indicators related to TBF establishment show always an
important degradation (even without impact on end user) due to the fact that the answer to
mobile RACH is sent too late with respect to the mobile waiting time before sending a new
request; the consequence of this issue is an abnormal increase of TBF establishment
requests.
In order to be able to anyway handle GSL dimensioning assessment the suggested solution,
in case of not acceptable QoS, is to choose a reference BSC that should have the same PS
traffic amount per cell as the analysed BSC and to estimate the PS traffic in this latter
doing a simple proportion based on the number of cells of the reference / target BSC.
[2] GSL traffic condition. The amount of GSL messages exchanged because of the PS traffic
in terms of UL/DL TBF establishment can be estimated multiplying the number of TBF
establishments by a factor that can have three possible values [2,5-3,5-5]. The factor is
chosen on the basis of the rule described in the below figure.
(TBF req)
#TBF request/sec < 20
Nb of Msg on GSL
High Low
GCH
Low 2.5 3.5
Ater congestion observed
Nb GSL messages/s
The second method is based on new B11 GSL counters presented below (optional B11
feature).
Gathered GSL Counters:
P7b GGSLMFBSMDN Number of BSCGP messages sent by MFS that are discarded.
P7d GGSLMFBSMRSN Number of BSCGP messages resent by the MFS to the BSC.
If the GSL link capacity is computed at BSC level the capacity of all GP(U)
must be summed.
Calculate GSL load in % (in terms of treated messages)
Nb _ GSL _ messages _ per sec
GSL _ load = 100%
GSL _ Link _ Max _ Capacity
GSL load in terms of treated messages per second on a given GP(U) should not
exceed 75%
It is recommended to increase the number of GSL per GP(U) if GSL load is greater
than 75%.
N.B. This will not assure a balanced load distribution among the GP(U) boards connected
to the BSC, because the AterMux interface capacity is not directly taken into account in the
cell distribution criteria in MFS.
For more details on cell mapping on GP(U) boards, please refer to [15].
In order to estimate the number of AterMux-PS links per GP(U), analyzing the
whole BSC, two main data must be estimated:
Number of required GCH per BSC
Number of required GP(U) per BSC
Having the number of required GCH and the number of GP(U) board, the Number
of AterMUX-PS links per BSC
= Number of required GCH per BSC / 112 GCH
Remark: 112 GCH is generally applied in case of with GSL configuration, otherwise 116 GCH may
be applied as well. See details in Figure 66 and also refer to section 3.4.4.2.2 GSL dimensioning.
Finally,
Remark: it is highly recommended to have at least 2 AterMUX-PS links per GP(U) due to security
reason.
Example:
If Number of required GCH per BSC = 330
Number of required GP(U) per BSC = 2
Number of required GSL per GP(U) = 2
How many AterMUX-PS links per GP(U) are required?
- Determine Number of AterMUX-PS links per GP(U) based on signalling + user traffic
= Max (Number of required GSL per GP(U), Number of AterMUX-PS links per
GP(U) based on user traffic, 2)
= Max (2, 2, 2)
= 2 links
Warning:
It could happen that, because of unbalanced traffic distribution among the GP(U)
boards connected to one BSC, one GP(U) board is more loaded than others.
This can be discovered applying the AterMux-PS dimensioning process at GP(U)
level. Some examples are provided in 3.4.4.2.1.
Then
From 250 TCH, 222 TCHs can be fit into 2 AterMUX-CS links
Note: From Figure 64, the total capacity of AterMUX-CS links is:
111TCH(link#1) + 111TCH(link#2) = 222 TCHs
Assessment:
AterMUX-CS/PS re-dimensioning is required when:
The increase of TCH traffic
GP(U) Ater time congestion rate exceeding 0.1 % can be observed regularly.
GP(U) re-dimensioning is performed.
In the case of G2.5 TC, these units are combined on one single board, the MT120, offering an
AterMUX connection to a BSC and up to 4 A-trunk connections to the MSC.
The MT120 can also be installed in the place of the ASMC in the G2 TC, and replaces 1
ASMC, 4 ATBX and 8 DT16 boards.
Local
Qmux
ASMC
ATBX
Ater interfaces
MT120
BSC +FAN MSC
TC bus
ASMC
MT120
or
+FAN
MT120
Extension / Reduction
Configuration
TC Physical Logical
Min Max Min
G2 TC 2 AterMux 6 AterMux 1 AterMux 1 AterMux
SU 2 6 1 1
ASMC 2 6 1 1
TRCU SM 4:1 4 24 4 4
MT120 - 4 1 1
Data in this table, based on [1]
Table 46: G2 TC configuration
MT120
MT120
Each MT120 offers one AterMUX connection to a BSC and up to 4 A trunk connections to the
MSC, so that the G2.5 TC offers up to 192 Atrunk connections to MSC.
Rules:
Each BSC must be connected to at least two MT120 boards for redundancy purposes,
refer to Table 47.
Each AterMux CS or mixed link requires one MT120 board.
Each BSC rack can have up to 6 AterMux links and therefore up to 6 MT120 boards:
these boards form a cluster inside TC and have all to be in the same TC rack (but may be
in different subracks).
The AterMux CS and mixed links are gathered in groups of 6 in order to form a complete
cluster handled by one TC; the rest of the links are grouped together and will form a
cluster too, potentially connected to another TC.
A TC rack can handle several BSCs.
For more details, please refer to [1]
9125 TC MT120-WB (Wide Band) is available for customers from B10 MR2 ed3 on,
knowing that WB-AMR will be activable once first-off on this feature is completed.
For example;
If a small network consists of 4 BSCs with following required AterMUX CS links;
BSCa: 10 AterMUX CS links
BSCb: 12 AterMUX CS links
BSCc: 6 AterMUX CS links
BSCd: 8 AterMUX CS links
and the chosen TC type is G2.5 TC.
Then refer to section 3.5.2; we know that each AterMUX link needs one MT120 board
of G2.5 TC.
Therefore,
BSCa needs 10 MT120 boards
BSCb needs 12 MT120 boards
Total = 36 MT 120 boards
BSCc needs 6 MT120 boards
BSCd needs 8 MT120 boards
As 36 MT120 boards are needed, this required one G2.5 TC with 3 subracks
refer to Table 48.
3.5.4.3 TC Configuration
STM-1 is only available in a TC G2.5 rack with TCIF subrack, plugged TCIF boards and
activated HSI, also named TC G2.5 IP (but there is no need for IP transport function) or TC
G2.5 with TCIF. The plugged TCIF must have the STM1 daughter board connected on. But
the IP daughter board is not used to offer the STM1 function or the TC supervision. The
presence of the IP daughter board must be accepted even the TC is not in an IP configuration.
TC must be declared to the OMC to be supervised by supervising (G2 or Mx) BSSIM.
A TC can be full STM-1, full physical E1 or mixed.
The evolution from a TC pure E1 to a TC pure STM-1 (i.e STM1 on Ater and A interface)
or to a TC E1/STM-1 mixed must be supported.
A TC can be shared between two OMCs but it is a seldom configuration.
The following figure presents the BSS architecture with STM-1 in TC:
STM-1 STM-1
n*E1
A
SDH
BTS
subrack
Ater MSC
TDM TC
BSC
BTS
BTS
MFS
SGSN
The following figure shows the BSC connection for multi-GPU per BSS.
Sub-BSS 1
cell1
cell4 cell2
cell3
MFS
BSC
Sub-BSS2
GSL1
GPU1
cell5
cell6
cell7 GSL2
GPU2
Sub-BSS3 GSL3
GPU3
cell8
cell9 cell10
cell11 GSL4
GPU4
cell13 cell12
cell14
cell15
GPU1: cell1, cell2, cell3, cell4
GPU2: cell5, cell6, cell7
Sub-BSS4 GPU3: cell8, cell9, cell10, cell11 cell12, cell13
GPU4: cell14, cell15
SSWr GPn
LIU1
E1
OMCPw
LIUn OMCPr
LIU Shelf
(21 slots) ATCA Shelf (14 slots)
Methodology:
As the main input for the estimation of the number of GP(U) boards is represented by
the estimated number of needed GCHs (at BSC or GP(U) level), before being able to
apply the GP(U) dimensioning process, another process for the assessment of the
AterMux PS interface on the basis of the target user traffic must be executed.
GPU_for_MS_context_handling (=0/1)
GPU_GCH_Capacity GPU_for_Power_Limitation (=0/1)
+ +
Needed
GCHs Number
of GPU
With
quantile=99,9%
Concerning only PS traffic, the statistical law Erlang C is used during the dimensioning
process to determine the necessary resources versus the traffic and the target GoS.
As GCH resources are associated to PS traffic only, Erlang C can be applied to
calculate the required number of GCH according to required PS traffic and the grade of
service.
The Grade of Service (GoS) is defined by %Quantile of x delay second (pGP(U)). Since
the MFS always tries to assign TBFs as soon as the request is received, we usually
dimension for 0sec delay. Normally GoS should be given or agreed by the Operator.
The recommended value is 99.9% quantile of 0 delay sec.
OUTPUT
Being:
GPU_GCH_Capacity the maximum number of GCHs that the GPU can handle (see 3.6.3.2
for details on the estimation of this variable)
GPU_for_Ms_context_handling a quantity equal to 1 if a GPU memory limitation due to a
too big number of MS contexts is observed and no additional GP(U) boards needed because of
GPU GCH capacity limitation (see 3.6.3.3 for details on the estimation of this variable)
GPU_For_Power_Limitation a quantity equal to 1 if a GPU power limitation is observed, no
additional GP(U) boards needed because of GPU GCH capacity limitation and
GPU_for_Ms_context_handling equal to 0 (see 3.6.3.3 for details on the estimation of this
variable).
Method 1:
Measured _ GCH _ traffic
Re quired _ GCH _ traffic =
1 Min(%GCH _ cong ,30%)
Note: 30% is defined as the max congestion rate to be considered because several congestions can be
re-produced from one given user trying to access the network several times.
Where:
P100c
Measured _ GCH _ traffic = , and
3600
%GCH _ cong = Max{Ater _ Congestion, GPU _ Limitation} =
Max{% Ater _ Cong ,% DSP _ Cong ,% DSP _ load ,%CPU _ overload }
Where:
P383a
%GCH _ Ater _ cong = 100%
3600
P384
%GCH _ DSP _ cong = 100%
3600
Max( P 201, P 202)
% DSP _ load = x100%
3600
P 402
%CPU _ overload = x100%
3600
N.B. If the method is applied at BSC level the congestion will be evaluated as the
maximum congestion over all the connected GP(U) boards.
Required_GCH_Traffic
448
y = 5,3905x + 21,057
336
112
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
N.B.: This method does not allow distinguishing between a GCH usage reduction, with respect to
the target number of GCH per PDCH (i.e. on the basis of the MAX_GPRS_CS or
MAX_EGPRS_MCS), due to Abis or Ater congestion.
Since the major limitation observed up to now in the analysed networks is linked to Ater and
not to Abis, the assumption that the GCH reduction is due to Ater underdimensioning is done.
An example of the evolution of GCH vs. PDCH traffic relationship following the adding of 1
AterMux Ps link is provided in Figure 922.
448 ERLANG C
y = 5,3905x + 21,057
Measured
336
GCH traffic
224
112
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Assessment
The assessment of the Required_GCH_traffic must be done when one of the following
conditions is observed:
- Congestion is observed to be regularly greater than 0.1% (i.e. P383a/3600>0,1%)
- High Ater usage is observed to be regularly greater than 30% (i.e. P383b/3600>30%)
This theoretic capacity is then adapted to the BSS configuration and the traffic profile where
the GP(U) is used, in the following way:
The N_ATER_TS_MARGIN_GPU resources must not be taken into account in the
GP(U) capacity. Therefore the maximum theoretical number of GCH per GP(U)
becomes:
480 N_ATER_TS_MARGIN_GPU*4 (for legacy MFS)
1560 N_ATER_TS_MARGIN_GPU*4 (for Mx MFS with GboFR)
1920 N_ATER_TS_MARGIN_GPU*4 (for Mx MFS with GboIP)
The fact that the maximum number of GCH is also dynamic because the number of
GCH per PDCH depends on the used coding scheme must be taken into account.
Number of required GCHs
MCS UL DL
CS UL DL
MCS-1 0,89 0,86
CS-1 0,73 0,73 MCS-2 1,00 1,00
CS-2 1,00 1,00 MCS-3 1,33 1,28
MCS-4 1,50 1,47
CS-3 1,25 1,22
MCS-5 1,86 1,81
CS-4 1,64 1,60
MCS-6 2,36 2,31
MCS-7 3,49 3,39
MCS-8 4,14 4,00
MCS-9 4,49 4,39
Therefore the maximum number of GCHs that the GP(U) will be able to handle can be
obtained knowing the:
(M)CS distribution of the analysed network (P55x & P57y counters)
The maximum number of PDCH per coding scheme
The maximum number of GCH per PDCH per coding scheme
In UL direction the maximum number of GCHs that a GP(U) will be able to handle is
defined as:
Max_UL_GCH_GPU = (%CS1 * max_PDCH_CS1 * max_UL_GCH_CS1) +
(%CS2 * max_PDCH_CS2 * max_DL_GCH_CS2)+ (on all coding schemes)
Where,
Max_Capacity is equal to 480, 1560 or 1920 GCH depending on the limitation
described above:
% (M)CSx in DL direction = P55x/sum of P55y for all coding schemes
% (M)CSx in UL direction = P57x/sum of P57y for all coding schemes
Assessment:
It is recommended to monitor the GPU GCH congestion through indicators, GP(U) Ater
congestion (P383a/3600) and GP(U) DSP congestion (P384/3600).
If we can see the GCH congestion occurring regularly e.g > 0.1% congestion, GP(U) re-
dimensioning is required.
800 40,0%
600 30,0%
400 20,0%
200 10,0%
0 0,0%
21/10/2006 : 00h
03h
06h
09h
12h
15h
18h
21h
22/10/2006 : 00h
03h
06h
09h
12h
15h
18h
21h
23/10/2006 : 00h
03h
06h
09h
12h
15h
18h
21h
24/10/2006 : 00h
03h
06h
09h
12h
15h
18h
21h
25/10/2006 : 00h
03h
06h
09h
12h
15h
18h
21h
UL TBF BSS
Failure rate
Retrieve
Retrieveindicators
indicators
for 5 working days
NO
P392bBSC=1000 and P392aBSC>900
during at least 12% of GPU_for_MS_context_handling =0
the observed period
YES
YES
Observed QoS acceptable GPU_for_MS_context_handling =0
for the customer?
NO
GPU_for_MS_context_handling =1
For MxMFS, due to 4000 MS context limit, GP memory limitation from PMU (CPU)
may be detected if P392b = 4000 and P392a > 3600 for at least 12% of the observation
period.
N.B. In B11 as in B10, the observation of the number of MS context (P392a and P392b) should
no more represent a limitation in itself but a useful indication about the GP(U) load.
Retrieve indicators
for 5 working days
P402/3600>3% OR P76a>70% NO
during at least 12% of GPU_for_Power_Limitation=0
the observed period
YES
NO
(P402/3600>3% OR P76a>70%) and cpu_cong_fail_rate>1% OR GPU reboots GPU_for_Power_Limitation=0
observed the CPU loaded hours
YES
GPU_for_Power_Limitation=1
In Figure 95,
P105e P105f
cpu _ cong _ fail _ rate = Max( ; )
P91a + P91b + P91c + P91d + P91e + P91f P62a + P62b + P62c - P438c
Retrieve indicators
for 5 working days
Max(P201,P202)/3600>3% NO
during at least 12% of GPU_for_Power_Limitation=0
the observed period
YES
NO
Max(P201,P202)/3600>3% and dsp_load_fail_rate>1% OR GPU reboots GPU_for_Power_Limitation=0
observed during the CPU loaded hours
YES
GPU_for_Power_Limitation=1
Assessment:
It is recommended to monitor the PMU and DSP load through the counters (P201, P202,
P402, P76a, P77a, P105e, P105f and P107). If we can see that
Max (P201, P202)/3600 or P402/3600 is regularly > 0.1%.
or
If P76a is regularly > 70% ,
then GPU/GP re-dimensioning is required.
If the limit is exceeded, and PMU CPU overload is observed, a new GP board must be
added for the related BSC.
Note: the MS context is kept 2 mn after the end of it transfer to preserve its RA
capabilities, and to optimize the restart of a potential transfer. When a new MS arrives in
the cell when 250 MS contexts are used in a cell, an MS preemption mechanism replaces
an Idle MS by the new MS.
Assessment:
The TBF per Cell limit assessment is possible using the following indicators:
For (P35 > 200 or P39 > 200) and (P36 > 180 or P40 > 180), if PMU CPU overload
occurs, some actions, like cell splitting, must be taken to better distribute data traffic over
different cells.
The same counters or indicators can be used to check if the max number of DL + UL TBF
simultaneously established per GP(U) is below the limit from Table 52.
The BSSGP application layer is in charge of the processing of the packet traffic coming from
a set of radio cells. It manages the Gb interface and the BSSGP Virtual Connections (BVC).
The BVC is a virtual end-to-end path between BSSGP peer entities.
The BSSGP application layer relies on Network Service layer that manages the
communication paths between the Network Service Entity (NSE) of the SGSN and the MFS.
The Network Service layer is composed of two sub-layers:
Network Service Control (NSC) is independent from the intermediate transmission network
used on the Gb interface and is responsible for:NS PDU transfer between BSS and SGSN: PDU
order is kept, except under exceptional circumstances
- Load-sharing (at the initiative of the sender)
- NS Virtual Connections (NS-VC) management
Sub-Network Service (SNS) is dependent on the intermediate transmission network and
provides access to the intermediate network
The BVC is identified by a BVC Identifier (BVCI) that is unique in one Network Service
Entity (NSE).
The BVCI together with the NSEI uniquely identifies a BVC within a SGSN.
B S S G P la y e r
G PU m
B S S G P la y e r
GPU n BCV
BCV
BCV BCV
SGSN
BCV
BCV
BVC = one
p e r c e ll BVCI
N S la y e r L o a d s h a r in g
PVC
SN S sub
la y e r N S -V L
IP E n d p o in t
Layer 1 IP n e t w o r k
N S -V L F R b e a re r
F R n e tw o rk
Gb Frame Relay Gb
1) Through a FR Network MFS Netwok
SGSN
Gb
2) Direct MFS - SGSN connections MFS
Gb
Gb
3) Through NSS transmission network MFS MSC/VLR MSC/VLR
Example of connection:
In the following figure, the MFS is connected to the SGSN through a private IP network.
The MFS is connected to Edge Routers through a redundant GE link.
The Edge Routers are seen as a single gateway IP address, which is a MFS requirement.
The Routers shall implement the VRRP protocol or an equivalent protocol like HSRP.
E1 Ater(circuit)
PDH/SDH network A TC
Ater(packet)
BSC
MSC
GE
MFS
Gb GE
Only the O&M one LAN configuration allows GboIP feature in B10 release.
The support of GboIP is based on IPv4 protocol only, and is defined with following
rules:
One IP EndPoint (UDP port, IP@) per NSEI (i.e. GP(U))
Up to 16 remote IP EndPoints per GP(U)
Weight assignment to remote IP EndPoint for load sharing
One single gateway IP address per MFS
Methodology:
The process of Gb dimensioning is presented below.
METHOD
Concerning only PS traffic, the statistical law Erlang C is used during the dimensioning
process to determine the necessary resources versus the traffic and the target GoS.
As Gb resources are associated to PS traffic only, Erlang C can be applied to calculate
the required number of GboFR TS and GboIP throughput according to required PS
traffic and % quantile of delay time.
OUTPUT
The required number Gb TSs (GboFR) and the average throughput (GboFR and GboIP),
as shown below.
More precise results may be obtained if the average LLC PDU size (payload) is computed
as shown below:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
FR overhead for SNS level = 6 bytes (2 for FR and 4 for NS)
Header correction factor in DL = HCDL = (6 + a)/a
Header correction factor in UL = HCUL = (6 + b)/b
Data rate DL/UL, at GPU or BSC level:
DL Data rate [Kbps] = HCDL*(P45*8 )/(3600-P34)
UL Data rate [Kbps] = HCUL*(P46*8)/(3600-P34)
Data rate in DL (SGSN to MFS) and in UL (MFS to SGSN) may be calculated also at LLC
level, aggregated at GP or BSC level:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
FR overhead for LLC level = 54 bytes (2 for FR, 4 for NS and 48 for BSSGP)
Header correction factor in DL = HCDL = (54 + a)/a
Header correction factor in UL = HCUL = (54 + b)/b
Data rate DL/UL, at GPU or BSC level:
DL Data rate [Kbps] = HCDL*(P43*8 )/(1000*3600)
UL Data rate [Kbps] = HCUL*(P44*8)/(1000*3600)
Note: The counters P43, P44, P74 and P75 (and related indicators) are available only at
BSC level.
3.7.2.2 Gb over IP
The dimensioning must be performed at MFS level with all BSC involved in the
GboIP mode. Traffic assessment may be done also at SGSN IP endpoint level.
Compared to GboFR, GboIP induces an additional overhead to the Gb flow:
BSSGP/NS/UDP/IP/Ethernet header is 118 bytes, while
BSSGP/NS/Frame Relay header overhead is 54 bytes.
Because the used counters are implemented at NS level, the 48 bytes from BSSGP
must be ignored in calculations because the BSSGP header is inside the payload for
NS layer.
The overall overhead depends on the traffic flow characteristics (IP packets size).
As an average value, the estimated overhead is about 23.3% (70 bytes for an IP PDU
of 300 bytes).
More precise results may be obtained if the average LLC PDU size (payload) is computed
as shown below:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
IP overhead for SNS level = 70 bytes (38 for Ethernet, 28 for UDP and 4 for NS)
Header correction factor in DL = HCDL = (70 + a)/a
Header correction factor in UL = HCUL = (70 + b)/b
Data rate DL/UL, at GPU or BSC level:
DL Data rate [Kbps] = HCDL*(P45a*8 )/(3600-P34a)
UL Data rate [Kbps] = HCUL*(P46a*8)/(3600-P34a)
Data rate in DL (SGSN to MFS) and in UL (MFS to SGSN) may be calculated also with
LLC counters, but only at BSC level:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
IP overhead for LLC level = 118 bytes (38 for Ethernet, 28 for UDP, 4 for NS and 48
for BSSGP)
Header correction factor in DL = HCDL = (118 + a)/a
Header correction factor in UL = HCUL = (118 + b)/b
Data rate DL/UL, at GPU or BSC level:
DL Data rate [Kbps] = HCDL*(P43*8 )/(1000*3600)
UL Data rate [Kbps] = HCUL*(P44*8)/(1000*3600)
Note: The counters P43, P44, P74 and P75 (and related indicators) are available only at
BSC level.
When Gb traffic is transported over GboFR interface and then migrated over GboIP
interface (i.e. IP), the measured traffic is given by GboFR counters and then it may be
converted in expected IP traffic:
Estimated DL IP Data rate [Kbps] = (370/306)*(P45*8)/(3600-P34)
Estimated UL IP Data rate [Kbps] = (370/306)*(P46*8)/(3600-P34)
The measured Gb data rate take into account the removal NS/FR header and the
addition of the NS/UDP/IP/Ethernet header:
Measured _ GboIP _ traffic = Measured _ GboFR _ traffic * (300 + 70 ) / (300 + 6 )
Notes: Overhead from GboFR to GboIP = [300 + 70] / [300 +6] = 120.9%.
More precise bandwidth estimation may be also obtained computing the average
LLC PDU size. For SNS counter case we get the following estimation:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
For LLC counter case (only at BSC level) we get the following estimation:
Average LLC PDU size in DL = a = P43/P74
Average LLC PDU size in UL = b = P44/P75
Header correction factor in DL = HCDL = (118 + a)/(54 + a)
Header correction factor in UL = HCUL = (118 + b)/(54 + b)
Estimated DL IP Data rate [Kbps] = HCDL*(P43*8)/(1000*3600)
Estimated UL IP Data rate [Kbps] = HCUL*(P44*8)/(1000*3600)
Note: The counters P43, P44, P74 and P75 (and related indicators) are available only at
BSC level.
Important: The max UL+DL Gb data rate must be below the GP(U) limit (Table 48).
Comment:
The MFS SGSN IP link is done via Gb access routers.
Each switch module of the MFS is connected to a switch module of the Edge Router
through a GigaEthernet link (active standby configuration).
The traffic of all GP boards is agregated on one GigaEthernet link with a fixed capacity.
It is not possible to extend or reduce this capacity, but it is not expected to find
congestion at this level.
Using Gigabit Ethernet link to the aggregation Router, we can calculate the extreme
loaded case as follows:
For MxMFS
1560 GCHperGP * 16 Kbps = 24.96 Mbps
Assuming all this traffic coming from SGSN for one MxMFS with 21 GP boards we
get:
21 boards*24.96 Mbps = 524.16 Mbps -> Half of the GigaEthernet link capacity.
For Legacy MFS
480 GCHperGP * 16 Kbps = 7.68 Mbps
Assuming all this traffic coming from SGSN for one MFS DS10 with 30 GPU boards
we get:
30 boards*7.68 Mbps = 230.4 Mbps -> Quarter of the GigaEthernet link capacity.
Congestion is not expected at the level of the link to the aggregation router.
Any Congestion seen afterwards is dependent on bandwidth management of the core IP
network.
Overview
The current Alcatel-Lucent BSS implementation is based on the legacy network
architecture: a BSS can only be connected to one SGSN. Gb Flex feature allows a BSS to be
connected to more than one SGSN. In Alcatel-Lucent solution, Gb-Flex works only with Gb
over IP. It simplifies the connection used for the transmission in Frame Relay. One NSE is
defined per GPU for each SGSN connected to the BSS. Up to 8 SGSN can be connected to a
GPU. Up to 8 NRI can be defined per SGSN.
SGSN Pool
SGSN1 SGSN2 SGSN3
BSS6
BSS3
BSS4 BSS5
BSS1 BSS2
City center
For a BSS, an SGSN is identified by its NRI we can extend the evolution by defining
several NSE for a BSS. NRI allow identifying an SGSN from a BSS point of view. The
operator creates the NSE to define the NSEI. The information related to the SGSN is set in the
NSE. En_Gb_Flex, NRI length and NULL NRI PS are new BSS attributes.
Several restrictions exist. All the NSEs belonging to the same SGSN and linked to one
BSS and having child IPendpoints must have the same config type when Gb_Transport_Mode
mode is IP.
The activation is at BSS level and managed as an RNL licensed feature. As the feature
depends on Gb over IP support, which is also an optional feature, activation of the Gb flex
feature can be refused either because the Gb over IP is not supported on the BSS or because
of Gb-flex license.
Definitions
IP Endpoint
An endpoint is defined by its IP address and UDP port. An IP endpoint can be a data
endpoint, a signalling endpoint or a pre-configured endpoint. An IP endpoint may be
concomitantly data and signaling endpoint.
NsVc
The NS-VC (Network Service Virtual Connection) is given by a pair of IP endpoints
at the MFS and SGSN.
For each NSE in the BSS one IP Endpoint per NSE, defining the IP address and UDP
port used by the SGSN, to reach the MFS, are defined.
Network Service Entity Identifier (NSEI)
NSEI is an identifier of an NS Entity having end-to-end significance across the Gb
interface, i.e. the peer NSEs on the BSS side and the SGSN side are identified by the
same NSEI value.
Pool area
To connect a BSS to several SGSN, the notion of pool area is introduced. A core
network (CN) node is either the MSC in CS domain or the SGSN in PS domain.
The following definition is an extract of the 3GPP 23.236: Pool-area: A pool area is
an area within which a MS may roam without need to change the serving CN node. A
pool area is served by one or more CN nodes in parallel. All the cells controlled by a
BSC belong to the same one (or more) pool area(s).
One pool area can be served by one or several SGSNs.
One BSS can belong to several pool areas.
RA1
SGSN Pool
LAC1 SGSN
Pool Area
BSC1
IP NETWORK
RA2
MFS
SGSN
RA3
BSC2
LAC2
31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
NRI
The TLLI consists of 32 bits, numbered from 0 to 31 by order of significance, with bit
0 being the LSB. As the local or foreign TLLI is based on the P-TMSI, we will find
the NRI in the TLLI at the same position (from bit 23).
2 bits set to 1
Off-loaded
There are situations where a network operator will wish to remove load from one CN
node in an orderly manner (e.g. to perform scheduled maintenance, or, to perform load
re-distribution to avoid overload) with minimal impact to end users and/or additional
load on other entities.
This is done in the BSS, by removing the CN node from the NAS Node Selection
Function. The SGSN is removed from the NAS Node Selection function by setting the
attribute SGSN_OFFLOAD_STATE SGSN Load Status to offloaded.
SGSN selection
The Node Selection Function (NSF) is used to select an SGSN when:
SGSN associated to the MS context is not known (NRI not significant in the MS
context).
SGSN associated to the MS context is out of service (bvc-sig of the NSEI related to
the NRI is no more operational).
SGSN associated to the cell where the MS is located is out of service (bvc-ptp of the
NSEI related to the NRI is not (operational, started)).
NRI retrieved in the TLLI is the Null-NRI.
NRI retrieved in the TLLI (foreign or local) is not known.
TLLI is random.
The NSEI used to select an SGSN, is updated in the MS context in the following cases:
NSEI selection by the NSF,
DL PDU reception with a local TLLI,
Start of Ul transfer with a local TLLI and no NSEI defined in the Ms context,
Optionality
This feature is commercial optional.
It can be activated at BSC level by the parameter En_Gb_Flex.
The feature is licensed at OMC level and the activation is per BSS.
One new OMC-R limit named, NUMBER_OF_GbFlex_TRX is added for Gb flex
TREs, representing the maximum number of (PS) TRXs belonging to cells mapped on
BSCs having EN_GB_FLEX = Enabled.
As the feature depends on Gb over IP support, which is also an optional feature,
activation of the Gb flex feature can be refused either because the Gb over IP is not
supported on the BSS or because of Gb-flex licence.
Subnet A
SSW 1 Router 1
port 3
VRRP IP O&M/TELECOM
GPU x
CS A
CS B
NETWORK
Router 2
port 3
SSW 2
MX-MFS
CS A: Control Station A
CS B: Control Station B
Figure 105: Mx-MFS in one LAN configuration with one external subnet
(O&M and Telecom are mixed no segregation)
VRRP IP O&M
Network
port 3 Router O&M 2
SSW 1
port 7
Router GboIP 1
CS B
CS A
GPs VRRP IP Telecom
port 3 Network
SSW 2 Router GboIP 2
port 7
Figure 106: Mx-MFS in one LAN configuration with two external subnets
(O&M and Telecom are separated)
END OF DOCUMENT