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Prepared by
Yang Chunjie (ID: 00119951) from the GSM&UMTS Network Performance Research Dept.
Date
2008-12-24
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Contents
1 Overview of the Call Setup Time ........................................................................ 7
1.1 Definition of the Call Setup Time .......................................................................................... 7 1.2 Recommended Formulas........................................................................................................ 7 1.3 Signaling Procedure and Measurement Points ....................................................................... 8
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5.3.3 Suggestion and Summary ........................................................................................... 24 5.4 Long Call Setup Time Due to Inconsistency in Signaling Procedures ................................. 25 5.4.1 Problem Description ................................................................................................... 25 5.4.2 Problem Analysis ........................................................................................................ 25 5.4.3 Suggestion and Summary ........................................................................................... 26
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Revision Record
Date 2008-12-24 2009-1-20 Revision V0.3 V1.0 Change Description Draft completed. This document is modified according to review comments. Author Yang Chunjie Yang Chunjie
References
SN 1 Document GSM BSS Network KPI (Call Setup Time) Baseline GSM Call Setup Time (CS) Analysis Report Author Wu Zhen Date 2007-08-24
2008-10-25
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Abstract
This document describes the method of optimizing the call setup time.
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MS to PSTN: average interval between the transmission of the Channel Request message from the MS and the MS's reception of the Alerting message sent from the MSC MS to MS: average interval between the transmission of the Channel Request message from the calling MS and the calling MS's reception of the Alerting message sent from the MSC PSTN to MS: average interval between MS's receiving of the paging message from the MSC and sending of the Alerting message from the MS to the MSC
Note that the call setup time is the average setup time of multiple successful calls. You need to conduct multiple dialing tests.
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Assignment Complete
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Figure 1-2 Measurement points in an MTC setup procedure (with the early assignment procedure as an example)
MS BTS Paging Command BSC paging Paging Required C Channel Request Channel Required Channel Active Channel Active ACK Immediate Assignment Command SABM UA Established Indication CM Service Accepted Setup Call Control Channel Active Channel Active ACK Assignment Command SABM UA Established Indication Assignment Complete Alerting D Assignment Request MSC
CR CC
Assignment Complete
A is the time when the MS sends a Channel Request message. B is the time when the MS receives the Alerting message from the MSC. C is the time when the MS receives a paging message. D is the time when the MS sends an Alerting message.
In the tests of MS-to-MS or MS-to-PSTN calls, the call setup time is equal to B minus A; in the tests of PSTN-to-MS calls, the call setup time is equal to D minus C.
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2
2.2 Parameter Settings
Influencing Factors
The call setup time is related to the entire procedure of an MOC or MTC, and therefore, many parameters can affect the call setup time. The following are some examples:
BS-PA-MFRAMS Use Imm_Ass Retransmit Parameter Max Delay of Imm_Ass Retransmit and Max Transmit Times of Imm_Ass Pre-paging function, which is set on the MSC Immediate Assignment Opt. ECSC, which means early classmark sending control Allow Reassign Late assignment function, which is set on the MSC Assignment command optimization Force Queue In Assignment T11(s)
2.3 Routing
The network equipment of different manufacturers varies. Therefore, in the case of interworking between equipment of different manufacturers or change in routing, analysis and handling should be performed, on the basis of drive test results.
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Is it due to a problem in procedure configuration? No Is it due to a problem in parameter settings? No Is it due to a problem in routing? No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Analyze the problem based on the signaling and data configuration and take proper measures
Is it due to a problem in hardware, transmission, coverage, or interference? No No Is the problem solved? Yes End
Yes
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Authentication
For a 3G subscriber, during the authentication when the mobile accesses a GSM network, the MSC sends an authentication message to the mobile. The message contains the RAND, AUTN, and RES, and is longer than 23 bytes. Therefore, the LAPDm needs to divide the message into two and deliver them separately. Thus, in a GSM network, a 3G subscriber requires 240 ms to 260 ms more than a 2G subscriber in terms of the call setup time. In addition, when the BSC assigns an AMR channel, the Assignment Command message will be longer than 23 bytes if the frequency hopping MA is too long. This results in 240 ms to 260 ms more in the call setup time.
TMSI Reallocation
The TMSI is reallocated according to the settings on the network side after each operation or several operations on the air interface, such as a call or a location update.
Classmark Enquiry
The Core Network (CN) can obtain the MS's information about their multiband and multislot capabilities through the classmark enquiry procedure.
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At the BSS, the cell-oriented parameter ECSC is set. The BSS sends the parameter through the system information type 3. Once an MS accesses the network, the MS reports Classmark3. According to the protocol, this must be implemented at MSs that support multiband, multislot, and Voice Group Call Service (VGCS). In practice, competitors generally do not enable classmark enquiry in their CNs but use ECSC. Thus, the LAPDm signaling interaction on the air interface is reduced, and the call setup time is shortened. Huawei, however, enables classmark enquiry in all its CNs by default. In addition, the classmark enquiry is not user-configurable. It can be controlled by the related reserved software parameter only. Therefore, when ECSC is enabled at both competitor's BSS and Huawei BSS, Huawei CN results in at least 240 ms more than competitor's CN in terms of the call setup time. For specific cases, see sections 5.2 "Long Call Setup Time Due to Reporting of Two Classmark Change Messages" and 5.4 "Long Call Setup Time Due to Inconsistency in Signaling Procedures."
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Figure 3-2 shows the effect of the optimization. Figure 3-2 Optimization on I frames at the LAPDm
The optimization can be achieved by BTS upgrade only. It is incorporated into V300R008C11B337 of the BTS. During the optimization on the call setup time on site, the optimization on I frames can be considered.
BS-PA-MFRAMS This parameter specifies the number of multi-frames used as a unit of the paging sub-channel. If this parameter is set to a high value, the average paging delay is great. Thus, the MS-to-MS call setup time and the PSTN-to-MS call setup time are prolonged.
Use Imm_Ass Retransmit Parameter If this parameter is set to Yes, the BSC sends the immediate assignment retransmission parameter to the BTS. Otherwise, the BSC does not send the immediate assignment retransmission parameter to the BTS. The immediate assignment retransmission function can help increase the call completion rate of MSs but may increase the access delay of MSs and the load of the BSC. It is recommended that this function be disabled.
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These two parameters specify the maximum delay of the immediate assignment retransmission and the maximum number of immediate assignment retransmissions respectively. When the network quality is poor, an immediate assignment message may need to be retransmitted. If these parameters are set to high values, the average call setup time may be prolonged.
If the pre-paging function is enabled, the MSC pages the called party as soon as the MSC receives the Setup message from the calling party. If this function is not enabled, the MSC pages the called party as soon as the MSC sends the Call Proceeding message.
Therefore, for MS-to-MS calls, the call setup time can be shortened if the pre-paging function is enabled. It is recommended that this function be enabled.
Immediate Assignment Opt. The channel activation and immediate assignment commands are sent at the same time to accelerate the signaling processing, thus improving the response speed of the network. It is recommended that this function be enabled. ECSC This parameter specifies whether the MSs in a cell use early classmark sending.
If this parameter is set to Yes, after a successful immediate assignment, the MS sends additional classmark information to the network as early as possible. For dual-band MSs, if this parameter is set to No, the MSC sends a Classmark Request message after the MS reports an Establish Indication message. The MS then reports the Classmark Update message. The access delay of the MS is affected.
Allow Reassign If this parameter is set to Yes, the BSC initiates a reassignment when receiving an assignment failure message over the Um interface. This helps increase the call completion rate and improve the QoS of the network. The successful reassignment, however, results in an increase in the access delay of MSs and the load of the BSC. It is recommended that this function be disabled.
Late assignment procedure This parameter is set on the MSC. With the late assignment function, the assignment command is sent after alerting. This can shorten the call setup time. In the late assignment procedure, however, the reception of the Alerting message does not necessarily indicate the establishment of a call. Therefore, the call setup time is not measured in the late assignment procedure.
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Assignment command optimization If frequency hopping is enabled at Huawei BTS, the ARFCNs in the assignment command are delivered in the form of CA+MA by default, which may result in the assignment command longer than 23 bytes. Then, the message is divided into two I frames at the LAPDm, which are delivered separately. Thus, the delay is increased by about 230 ms because of the addition of a delivery period. To shorten the call setup time, the ARFCNs can be delivered in the form of frequency list so that the assignment command can be delivered in one I frame. On live networks, the frequency list mode is recommended. Table 3-1 describes how to set this parameter.
Table 3-1 Setting of the assignment command optimization parameter Parameter Assignment command optimization parameter
Setting
Bit 1 of the cell-oriented reserved parameter 1 is 1, that is, the parameter value is 65535. Bit 1 of the cell-oriented reserved parameter 1 is 0, that is, the parameter value is 65533. CA+MA
Bit 2 of reserved parameter 1 is 0, that is, the parameter value is 65529. Bit 2 of reserved parameter 1 is 1, that is, the parameter value is 65533.
Frequency list with the variable bit map coding scheme Frequency list with the bit map 0 coding scheme
About 200 ms
NOTE
The assignment command optimization is incorporated into BSC6000 V900R008C11B168SP11 and later releases.
Force Queue In Assignment When this parameter is set to Yes, the BSC puts an assignment request message into the assignment request message queue if no TCH is available for assignment, or the BSC assigns a TCH to the MS if the TCH is available for assignment.
If this parameter is set to No, the value of queuing allowed indicator in the assignment request message is 0, which means that the
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assignment request message cannot be put into the assignment request message queue. Then, the channel request is rejected when no TCH is available for assignment. The default value of this parameter is No.
T11(s) This parameter specifies the length of the timer that is started to wait for a channel requested by an assignment request message. When the BSC receives an assignment request but no channel is available for assignment, the BSC starts the queuing procedure and this timer. If the channel request is accepted before the timer expires, the timer stops. If the timer expires, the channel assignment fails. When queuing is enabled, a high value of this parameter directly leads to a long call setup time.
3.2.3 Routing
On live networks, when swapping is performed, the BSC and MSC are re-deployed and thus the call routing changes. Therefore, the setup time of inter-MSC calls is affected. In this case, tests should be conducted, and the analysis should be performed on the basis of the test results obtained before and after the swapping. For a specific case, see section 5.3 "Long Call Setup Time Due to Calling and Called MSs Under Different MSCs." Table 3-2 lists the example values of delay during an MS-to-MS call made in the lab. On live networks, the delay values are related to the actual situations. The data in Table 3-2 is provided only for reference. Table 3-2 Example values of delay during an MS-to-MS call made in the lab Signaling of an Outgoing MS-to-MS Call (Authentication, Ciphering, and TMSI Reallocation Enabled, Whereas Classmark Enquiry Disabled) Channel Request (UL) -> Immediate Assignment (DL) Immediate Assignment (DL) -> SABM-CMD (UL) SABM-CMD (UL) -> Authentication Request (DL) Authentication Request (DL) -> Authentication Response (UL) Authentication Response (UL) -> Ciphering Mode Command (DL) Ciphering Mode Command (DL) -> Ciphering Mode Complete (UL) Ciphering Mode Complete (UL) -> Setup (DL) Setup (UL) -> TMSI Reallocation Command (DL) TMSI Reallocation Command (DL) -> TMSI Reallocation Complete (UL) Relative Delay (Unit: s) 00.050 00.132 00.708 00.125 00.564 00.000 00.005 00.458 00.001
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Signaling of an Outgoing MS-to-MS Call (Authentication, Ciphering, and TMSI Reallocation Enabled, Whereas Classmark Enquiry Disabled) TMSI Reallocation Complete (UL) -> Call Proceeding (DL) Call Proceeding (DL) -> Assignment Command (DL) Assignment Command (DL) -> Assignment Complete (UL) Assignment Complete (UL) -> SABM-CMD (UL) SABM-CMD (UL) -> Alerting (DL) Total delay
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Coverage or interference problems can be identified from the traffic statistics or KPIs. For example, the interference information can be obtained on the basis of the interference band distribution in the traffic measurement results. If a large proportion of interference levels belong to interference bands 35, you can infer that there is strong interference in the uplink. To obtain the downlink interference information, you can perform drive tests or analyze the traffic measurement results that are related to receive quality. Strong interference affects the call drop rate on TCH, the TCH assignment success rate, and the SDCCH setup success rate, thus affecting the call setup time. The interference elimination can be classified into intra-network interference elimination and inter-network interference elimination. For details about interference elimination, see the G-Guide to Eliminating Interference. If a coverage problem exists, you can solve the problem by using the methods such as adjusting the tilt of the antenna, increasing the transmit power, adding repeaters, and changing the combining mode. For details, see the GSM BSS Network Performance KPI (Coverage) Optimization Manual.
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Test Method
The call setup time is one of drive test KPIs. It can be obtained from the results of call quality tests or drive tests for calls between MSs or between MS and PSTN. The method is to perform a short MOC test. During the test, the interval between two calls is 5s, each call lasts 10s, and the interval between a call failure and the next call attempt is 30s. The recommended number of calls during the test is 100. The number of calls can be changed as required. During the test, the signaling on the Um and A interfaces needs to be traced. If a value of call setup time is abnormal, analyze the signaling to check whether the abnormal value is due to failure of the first paging. If the abnormal value is due to failure of the first paging, do not take this value into measurement of the call setup time. Otherwise, take this value into the measurement. Check the signaling on the A interface. If the MSC sends two Paging messages for one call, you can infer that the first paging for the call fails.
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5
5.1.1 Problem Description 5.1.2 Problem Analysis
Optimization Cases
5.1 Long Call Setup Time Due to Long Period of Assignment Command Delivery
After swapping of Ericsson equipment for Huawei equipment at a site, the call setup time became longer. It was found that the delivery of an assignment command from Huawei equipment took two or three periods whereas that from Ericsson equipment generally took only one period.
In frequency hopping mode, the BSC6000 currently delivers the ARFCNs in CA+MA form through the assignment command. CA uses the TV format and its length is fixedly 17 bytes, and MA uses the TLV format and its length is 310 bytes. If an AMR channel is to be assigned (coded in TLV format in the command), the length of the assignment command increases by 48 bytes. Thus, the assignment command is longer than 23 bytes. Therefore, at the LAPDm, the assignment command is divided for delivery. Before the swapping, however, the ARFCNs are delivered in the form of frequency list, which uses the TLV format, and therefore in most cases, the assignment command can be delivered with one frame.
If this parameter is set to CA+MA, the original Huawei ARFCN delivery form is retained. If this parameter is set to Frequency List, the coded ARFCNs for frequency hopping will be delivered in the form of frequency list.
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Therefore, the assignment command will be delivered in one period, thus shortening the call setup time.
5.2 Long Call Setup Time Due to Reporting of Two Classmark Change Messages
5.2.1 Problem Description
After swapping for Huawei equipment at a site, the call setup time became longer.
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5.3 Long Call Setup Time Due to Calling and Called MSs Under Different MSCs
5.3.1 Problem Description
After swapping of some BSC in country R, the drive test results indicated that the call setup time was about 3,000 ms longer than that before the swapping. The call setup time is one of the acceptance check items of the project. It refers to the delay between sending of the Channel Request message and reception of the Alerting message.
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As shown in Figure 5-2, the difference between the signaling procedures was the presence of a GPRS suspension procedure in the test after the swapping. The presence of this procedure is related to whether the MS in the test has performed GPRS attach. According to 3GPP TS 44.108, as shown in Figure 5-3, the MS sends a GPRS Suspension Request message to suspend PS services, regardless of whether the MS has any PS service in progress.
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On a NOKIA N73 mobile, set Tools > Settings > Connection > Packet data > Packet data conn > When needed. On a Sony Ericsson K790 mobile, set Settings > Connectivity > Data communication > Preferred service > CS only.
The GPRS suspension procedure is always present in the test after swapping. If this procedure is not or seldom present in the test before swapping, this procedure can be removed to reduce the delay.
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Information Feedback
The following information is required: Data configuration file in .dat format Log files and comparison data obtained from drive tests Settings on the MSC, such as pre-paging and late assignment
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