GSM Operations,

Administration, and Maintenance

 GSM Operations, Administration, and Maintenance
• To manage the network GSM requires OA&M functions
o Need to follow the standard Telecommunication Management Network
(TMN) concept
• The TMN Component
o Operations System (OS)
• With the operations system function (OSF), the OS is responsible for
the overall TMN management is Billing, Accounting, Management of
mobile equipment, HLR measurement
• Reside in an operation and maintenance center (OMC)
o Network Element (NE)
• NEs in GSM are HLR, VLR, MSC, AuC, BSC, BTS, EIR monitored
or controlled by the OS
• Network Element Functions (NEFs) represent the telecommunications
and support functions to be managed by the OS
o Data Communication Network (DCN)
• The OSs, NEs, and other TMN elements communicate through DCN by
using data communication function (DCF)
• The DCN technology can be WAN, LAN, or others
• The GSM OMC typically connects to MSCs and BSCs by X.25
oMediation Device (MD)
• The MD adapts the OS to the specific NEs
• Uses the Mediation Function (MF) to route or pass information between
standardized interface
oQ-Adapter (QA)
• Use the Q-adaptor function (QAF) to connect the non-TMN entities
oWorkstation (WS)
• Interacts the operation/maintenance personnel with the OS through the
Workstation Functions (WSFs)
• With WSFs, staff access the status of the network and monitor the system
parameters
 Workstations(WS)
Operations System(OS)
Workstation Functions
(x) Operations System (WSFs)
To another Functions (OSF)
TMN Data Communications Function (DCF)
Data Communications Function (DCF)

(g)

(f)
To operating staff
(q3)

TMN Mediation Device(MD)

archi Data Communications Function (DCF)

(q3)

tectu Mediation Functions

(MFs)

re Data Communications
Network(DCN)
(qx)

Data Communications Function (DCF)

Data Communications Function (DCF)
Network Element Functions
Q-Adaptor Functions
(NEFs)
(QAFs)

Q-Adaptor(QA) Network Element(NE)

 TMN connection for the base station system

OS BSC BTS
(qx)
MF NEF
(q3)
OSF

NEF

• The relationship between components of TMN functions are defined by using the
reference points
o q3 : connects an OSF to an MF or an NEF
o qx : connects an MF to an NEF or a QAF
o x : connects an OSF to another OSF , OSF-like functionality in a different TMN
o f : connects an OSF to a WSF
o g : connects an WSF to the operating staff
 Common Management Function for GSM

Three categories
o Forwarding of event notifications
• Emit event notifications to the OS following Event Report Systems Management
Function
• The object class Event Forwarding Discriminator (EFD) in the NE manages
forwarding of event notifications
o Information logging
• Information generated by NE may be stored in a record file store in the NE
• Information can be retrieved by NE or OS
• Allows the OS to control the logging of selective event notifications
o Bulk data transfer between the OS and the NE
• Use Common Management Information Service Element (CMISE) control of File
Transfer Access and Management (FTAM)
• The data transfer is controlled by the OS
 GSM-managed object class containment
Network

plmnNetwork

managedElement

(a) bssFunction (f) callRecording Function

(b) hlrFunction (g) elrFunction

(c) wlrFunction (h) Sms_G_JW_Function

(d) mscFunction (i) CommonManagedObegects

(e) aucFunction Other Object Classes

 Call-Recording Functions

• The billing of the mobile subscribers, statistics of service usage, and

roaming traffic must be monitored by the OS
• This information is provided by the NEs
• Managed by the tariff and charging administration
• Administration includes the following services
o Service Provision : introduce new or modified services to the GSM
o Billing : determines the charge for the services
o Accounting
• Inter-PLMN:
o Required for roaming traffic management, which is settled by means
of the transfer account procedure (TAP)
o TAP records are regularly exchanged between GSM network
o For visitor from another GSM network
• The mobile-originated call charges are calculated and converted to an agreed
accounting currency
• Fixed-network :
o manage call traffic between MS and the fixed network signaling traffic for functions
such as location updates
 Customer Administration :
 handles customer queries such as billing complaints
 OSF a b c d
OSF OSF Customer
Service
Billing Accounting Administration
Provision

e f OSF

Tarif
Tariff Tariff and
Data
Administra Charging
Collection
-tion Administration

f and
char g j
Log control

Event reporting
n
Data

ging
Tariff Log Log
Administra Generation Record record
-tion Control generation
control k

admi
Event- Event
Call- report
Data
Recording Forwarding Transfer
l Function Discriminat Control
h -or

nistr Tariff Real-time

Data Event Internal event o
Event report
Collection Record
generation

ation i
Online
control
Record
Class
Record
Filestore
File transfer

m
Tariff Telecommunication Events
(AoC)

AoC parameter (sent to MS)

 Tariff Administration
• Tariff administration function provides the tariff administration
information to the NEs
• The OSF uses the tariff class management functions to assign a tariff class
with service, distance, and time-based tariff-dependent charging
parameters
• These dependencies are elaborated next:
o The service charging dependencies are defined based on the customized AoC
o The AoC (advice of charge) service definition may consist of one or more
• Service types
• Radio channel types
• Connection type
o The distance dependencies are defined based on the origins, destinations, and
charging zone
 Data Collection
• Data collection functions provide the specifications of the collected data
to the NEs through the data generation control in the NEF (record
generation, event reporting, and log control)
• The OSF data collection functions collect the data from these NEs
through the data transfer control
• Call-recording function generates potential call and event records based
on the internal telecommunication events in the NE
• The record generation control determines where the records are sent:
o The records may be forwarded to the record file store
o The records may be saved in a log file
o The records may also be passed to the EFDs controlled by the event-
reporting function
 Performance Measurement and Management
• Performance of GSM network
o Evaluate based on the data provided by NEs
o data : user/signaling traffic levels, quality of service, network configuration
verification, resource access measurements
o Measurement job
• is created, modified, displayed, suspended, resumed, deleted in the OS
o is implemented as a simple Scanner object
• is scheduled in a period to accumulate measurement data for inspection
• instruct measurement function objects in the NEs to collect the data
hlrFunction

simpleScanner hlrMeasurement
Fuction
 HLR measurement object class containment

(measurement job)
Measurement attribute modifications in location update

HLR VLR
(a) Modify MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION
measurement attribute
attLocationUpdate

Location update
operation in HLR

(b) Modify MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION_ack

measurement attribute
succLocationUpdate
 Simple Scanner object
o Measurement types
o attLocationUpdate : number of the attempted location updates
o succlocationUpdate : number of the successful location updates
• Measured network resources : The network resource is HLR
• Measurement function : The simple Scanner specifies one or more measurement
functions in the NEs to collect the desired data
• Measurement schedule :
• specify start time & stop time of the active measurement period
• should be started within 90 days after measurement job is created
• Granularity period :
• specify periodic interval of sending measured data from HLR to OS
• Scan report
• is sent from NE to OS at the end of every granularity period
• include timestamp to indicate when it is sent to OS
 Subscriber and Service Data Management
o Define management for NEs … AuC, HLR, VLR, and EIR
o Managed data in different NEFs may depend on each other
o example :
• To create a subscriber profile in the HLR, subscriber data should already exist in
the AuC
• If it does not, creation in the HLR fails
o MSISDNs and IMSIs are managed in HLR
o An MSISDN can associate with several basic service
• Established between the msisdnHlr object and the basicServiceInHlr objects
o Some supplementary services are specified with parameters
o When a subscriber is deleted from the HLR, the corresponding subscriberInHlr object
and all its contained objects are removed
HLR subscriber administration object class containment
hlrFunction

b a d c
subscriberInHlr msisdnHlr basicServiceInHlr basicServiceGroupInHlr

ssInHlrCFNRc ssInHlrBarring ssInHlrCW

e ssInHlrCUG

f
ssInHlrCFNRy ssInHlrCFB ssInHlrCFU ssInHlrSimple ssInHlrClir

Subsclasses of supplementary ServiceInHlr

ssInHlrParmBarr
ssInHlrParmCFNRc ssInHlrParmSimple
ing
ssInHlrParmCUG

ssInHlrParmCFNRy ssInHlrParmCFB ssInHlrParmCFU

g

Subsclasses of sslnHlrParameter ssInHlrCUGSubscription