WO1999016278A1 - Mise a jour de donnees concernant des terminaux d'abonnes dans un systeme d'acheminement d'appels d'un systeme de telecommunication - Google Patents

Mise a jour de donnees concernant des terminaux d'abonnes dans un systeme d'acheminement d'appels d'un systeme de telecommunication Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999016278A1
WO1999016278A1 PCT/GB1998/002886 GB9802886W WO9916278A1 WO 1999016278 A1 WO1999016278 A1 WO 1999016278A1 GB 9802886 W GB9802886 W GB 9802886W WO 9916278 A1 WO9916278 A1 WO 9916278A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
database
call routing
routing system
communications
communications element
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1998/002886
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Jonathan Andrew Thompson
Original Assignee
Airspan Communications Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Airspan Communications Corporation filed Critical Airspan Communications Corporation
Priority to AU91768/98A priority Critical patent/AU9176898A/en
Publication of WO1999016278A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999016278A1/fr

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q3/00—Selecting arrangements
    • H04Q3/0016—Arrangements providing connection between exchanges
    • H04Q3/0062—Provisions for network management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13096—Digital apparatus individually associated with a subscriber line, digital line circuits
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13098—Mobile subscriber
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13103—Memory
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13109—Initializing, personal profile
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13141—Hunting for free outlet, circuit or channel
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13204—Protocols
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13298—Local loop systems, access network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13349—Network management
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13513—UPT - personal as opposed to terminal mobility, inc. number portability
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13541—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems routing
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04Q—SELECTING
    • H04Q2213/00—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems
    • H04Q2213/13547—Indexing scheme relating to selecting arrangements in general and for multiplex systems subscriber, e.g. profile, database, database access

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to call routing systems for telecommunications systems, and more particularly to techniques for maintaining within call routing systems databases containing records relating to subscriber terminals of the telecommunications system.
  • a subscriber terminal may be located at a subscriber ' s premises for handling calls to and from that subscriber.
  • One or more lines may be provided from the subscriber terminal for supporting one or more items of telecommunications equipment located at the subscriber's premises.
  • a central terminal may be provided for controlling a number of subscriber terminals, and in particular for managing calls between a subscriber terminal and other components of a telecommunications network.
  • the information about the subscriber terminals is typically required by a number of different components on physically separate pieces of equipment within the telecommunications network. Hence, it is often necessary for the information about the subscriber terminals to be replicated a number of times throughout the telecommunications network. With a number of copies of the subscriber terminal information being distributed throughout the system, another problem to be addressed is that of synchronisation. Clearly, it is desirable that all of the various copies of the information contain the most up-to-date information, to ensure correct operation of the telecommunications system. It is hence an object of the present invention to provide a mechanism for maintaining in synchronisation the various copies of the subscriber terminal information that may be replicated throughout the telecommunications network.
  • the present invention provides a call routing system having a plurality of management modules, at least one of said management modules being used to route calls to or from subscriber terminals of a telecommunications system, and at least two of said management modules maintaining a database containing records relating to said subscriber terminals, the call routing system further comprising an interface mechanism for synchronising the databases maintained by said at least two management modules, the interface mechanism comprising: a first database manager for receiving information about modifications made to the database maintained by a first management module; a first communications element, responsive to the first database manager, to employ a communications protocol to send a change message to a second communications element associated with a second management module maintaining the database, the change message incorporating the modifications made to the database; a second communications element for employing the communications protocol to receive the change message and generate update information; a second database manager for receiving the update information from the second communications element and updating the database using that update information.
  • the databases maintained by the management modules contain the necessary information about subscriber terminals, and the equipment lines connected to those subscriber terminals, to enable calls to be routed to and from items of telecommunications equipment connected to those subscriber terminals.
  • the information within the databases are used to control the routing of calls by the call routing system. If a record in a database is updated, then it is desirable for a database associated with a different management module and also containing that record to be updated as well. In accordance with the present invention, this is achieved by an interface mechanism within the call routing system that employs a communications protocol to send change messages between the database managers associated with the databases.
  • a copy of the relevant subscriber terminal and subscriber terminal line information can be made from the database at the point of call instantiation, and this copy can then be used for the duration of the call.
  • databases can be updated whilst the call is in progress without affecting the call.
  • this approach avoids the requirement to provide specific pointers to line records within the call routing elements of the call routing system. By avoiding this requirement, the problems of having to update pointers as line records are updated is alleviated.
  • the second communications element is responsive to a signal from the second database manager indicating that the database has been updated to employ the communications protocol to send an acknowledgement message to the first communications element.
  • an acknowledgement that the database has been updated is returned to the first communications element responsible for issuing the update, hence indicating to the call routing system that the necessary database synchronisation has taken place.
  • the first communications element includes a state machine allocated by the first communications element to send the change message to the second communications element.
  • the first communications element can allocate a separate state machine to be responsible for the transmission of a change message for each modified record. This removes the requirement for the first communications element to actually manage each database update procedure itself and hence provides improved performance.
  • assigning separate state machines to be responsible for each database update a number of such updates can be managed in parallel, thereby improving the speed of the updating process, and so reducing the time taken to resynchronise the databases.
  • the state machine is arranged to enter an awaiting state upon sending the change message, during which time it is not available for use by the first communications element, the state machine being arranged to exit the awaiting state upon receipt of the acknowledgement message from the second communications element, whereafter it is available for use by the first communications element.
  • a state machine is dedicated to a particular database update whilst that update procedure is taking place, and is then freed for subsequent use by the first communications element once that update procedure has been completed.
  • the first database manager can be arranged to contact the first communications element each time it receives an indication that a record has been modified, this causing the appropriate change message to be sent to the database managers associated with the databases of other management modules.
  • the call routing system can further comprise a queue in to which information about modifications made to the database maintained by the first management module is stored, the first database manager being arranged to contact the first communications element when the queue is full in order to cause one or more change messages to be sent to the second commumcations element.
  • the first communications element is only activated once a certain number of records have been modified, and the first commumcations element is then arranged to propagate information about the modified records to the database managers responsible for databases containing those records. In certain configurations, this may improve performance by providing the ability to merge changes and/or reduce commumcations bandwidth in some other manner.
  • the call routing system can be arranged such that upon initial receipt of information about modifications made to the database maintained by the first management module, a first timer is started by the first database manager, and irrespective of whether the queue is full or not, the first database manager is arranged to contact the first communications element when the first timer expires in order to cause one or more change messages to be sent to the second communications element.
  • the first communications element initiates a second timer upon sending the change message, and if the acknowledgement message is not received by the first communications element prior to expiry of said second timer, the first communications element is arranged to resend the change message.
  • the call routing system there will generally be a predetermined maximum time limit during which the update process can be expected to complete in normal operation, and this maximum time limit can be used to set the second timer. Then, if the second timer expires without the first communications element receiving the acknowledgement message, it is assumed that the first change message sent has not been processed correctly, and accordingly in preferred embodiments this change message is resent.
  • the second timer is restarted upon resending the change message, and if the restarted second timer expires prior to receipt of the acknowledgement message, an audit procedure is initiated.
  • the call routing system may be arranged to treat every record as modified, and hence every record is resent via the first communications element. Any suitable commumcations protocol may be used to send the change message between the first and second communications element.
  • the communications protocol is a three layer protocol.
  • one of said management modules maintaining the database is a shelf controller arranged to manage a shelf of equipment
  • another management module maintaining the database is a management module located on the shelf and used to route calls to or from subscriber terminals.
  • the shelf controller and the database maintained by the shelf controller can be accessed by an element manager used to manage the call routing system.
  • the element manager may make some updates to the database maintained by the shelf controller, and then notify the shelf controller of the records that have been modified. This information is then propagated to the other management modules maintaining the database using the interface mechanism of the present invention.
  • a plurality of management modules used to route calls to and from subscriber terminals are each arranged to maintain the database, and the interface mechanism is arranged to synchronise the database maintained by the shelf controller with the databases maintained by the plurality of call routing management modules.
  • the at least one management module used to route calls is a tributary unit.
  • the management modules need not be tributary units, and that the management modules can be provided by any other suitable processing units within the call routing system.
  • the present invention provides a central terminal for a telecommunications system, comprising a call routing system in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.
  • the present invention provides a concentrator unit for a telecommunications system, comprising a call routing system in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.
  • the present invention provides a method of synchronising databases maintained by at least two management modules of a call routing system, the call routing system having a plurality of management modules, at least one of said management modules being used to route calls to or from subscriber terminals of a telecommunications system, and at least two of said management modules maintaining a database containing records relating to said subscriber terminals, the method comprising the steps of: receiving information about modifications made to the database maintained by a first management module; employing a first commumcations element to use a communications protocol to send a change message to a second commumcations element associated with a second management module maintaining the database, the change message incorporating the modifications made to the database; employing the second communications element to use the communications protocol to receive the change message and generate update information; and updating the database using that update information.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic overview of an example of a wireless telecommunications system in which the present invention may be employed
  • Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of an example of a subscriber terminal of the telecommunications system of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an example of a central terminal of the telecommunications system of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 3 A is a schematic illustration of a modem shelf of a central terminal of the telecommunications system of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 4 is an illustration of an example of a frequency plan for the telecommunications system of Figure 1 ;
  • FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing elements of an access concentrator and central terminal used to manage calls to and from subscriber terminals in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 6 is an interaction diagram illustrating the communications between a modem shelf's shelf controller database manager and a modem shelf's tributary unit database manager in order to synchronise their subscriber terminal databases in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 7 is an interaction diagram illustrating the communications between a modem shelf's tributary unit database manager and a modem shelf's shelf controller database manager in order to synchronise their subscriber terminal databases in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention
  • Figure 8 is an interaction diagram illustrating the communications between a shelf controller database manager and a tributary unit database manager within an access concentrator in order to synchronise their subscriber terminal databases in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the subscriber terminal database in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention.
  • the present invention may be employed in any type of telecommunications system, for example a wired telecommunications system, or a wireless telecommunications system. Further, the present invention may be used in connection with any appropriate type of telecommumcations signal, for example a telephone signal, a video signal, or data signals such as those used for transmitting data over the Internet, and in order to support new technologies such as broadband and video- on-demand technologies.
  • a wireless telecommunications system will be considered that is used for handling telephony signals, such as POTS (Plain Old Telephony System) signals.
  • FIG 1 is a schematic overview of an example of a wireless telecommumcations system.
  • the telecommumcations system includes one or more service areas 12, 14 and 16, each of which is served by a respective central terminal (CT) 10 which establishes a radio link with subscriber terminals (ST) 20 within the area concerned.
  • CT central terminal
  • ST subscriber terminals
  • the area which is covered by a central terminal 10 can vary. For example, in a rural area with a low density of subscribers, a service area 12 could cover an area with a radius of 15-20Km.
  • a service area 14 in an urban environment where there is a high density of subscriber terminals 20 might only cover an area with a radius of the order of 100m.
  • a service area 16 might cover an area with a radius of the order of lKm. It will be appreciated that the area covered by a particular central terminal 10 can be chosen to suit the local requirements of expected or actual subscriber density, local geographic considerations, etc, and is not limited to the examples illustrated in Figure 1. Moreover, the coverage need not be, and typically will not be circular in extent due to antenna design considerations, geographical factors, buildings and so on, which will affect the distribution of transmitted signals.
  • the central terminals 10 for respective service areas 12, 14, 16 can be connected to each other by means of links 13, 15 and 17 which interface, for example, with a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 18.
  • PSTN public switched telephone network
  • the links can include conventional telecommunications technology using copper wires, optical fibres, satellites, microwaves, etc.
  • the wireless telecommunications system of Figure 1 is based on providing radio links between subscriber terminals 20 at fixed locations within a service area (e.g. , 12, 14, 16) and the central terminal 10 for that service area. These wireless radio links are established over predetermined frequency channels, a frequency channel typically consisting of one frequency for uplink signals from a subscriber terminal to the central terminal, and another frequency for downlink signals from the central terminal to the subscriber terminal.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
  • One way of operating such a wireless telecommunications system is in a fixed assignment mode, where a particular ST is directly associated with a particular orthogonal channel of a particular frequency channel. Calls to and from items of telecommunications equipment connected to that ST will always be handled by that orthogonal channel on that particular frequency channel, the orthogonal channel always being available and dedicated to that particular ST.
  • an alternative way of operating such a wireless telecommumcations system is in a Demand Assignment mode, in which a larger number of STs are associated with the central terminal than the number of traffic-bearing orthogonal channels available. These orthogonal channels are then assigned to particular STs on demand as needed.
  • This approach means that far more STs can be supported by a single central terminal than is possible in a fixed assignment mode, the exact number supported depending on the level of dial tone service that the service provider desires.
  • each subscriber terminal 20 is provided with a demand-based access to its central terminal 10, so that the number of subscribers which can be serviced exceeds the number of available wireless links.
  • Figure 2 illustrates an example of a configuration for a subscriber terminal 20 for the telecommunications system of Figure 1.
  • Figure 2 includes a schematic representation of customer premises 22.
  • a customer radio unit (CRU) 24 is mounted on the customer's premises.
  • the customer radio unit 24 includes a flat panel antenna or the like 23.
  • the customer radio unit is mounted at a location on the customer's premises, or on a mast, etc. , and in an orientation such that the flat panel antenna 23 within the customer radio unit 24 faces in the direction 26 of the central terminal 10 for the service area in which the customer radio unit 24 is located.
  • the customer radio unit 24 is connected via a drop line 28 to a power supply unit (PSU) 30 within the customer's premises.
  • the power supply unit 30 is connected to the local power supply for providing power to the customer radio unit 24 and a network terminal unit (NTU) 32.
  • the customer radio unit 24 is also connected via the power supply unit 30 to the network terminal unit 32, which in turn is connected to telecommunications equipment in the customer's premises, for example to one or more telephones 34, facsimile machines 36 and computers 38.
  • the telecommumcations equipment is represented as being within a single customer's premises. However, this need not be the case, as the subscriber terminal 20 can support multiple lines, so that several subscriber lines could be supported by a single subscriber terminal 20.
  • the subscriber terminal 20 can also be arranged to support analogue and digital telecommumcations, for example analogue communications at 16, 32 or 64kbits/sec or digital communications in accordance with the ISDN BRA standard.
  • Figure 3 is a schematic illustration of an example of a central terminal of the telecommunications system of Figure 1.
  • the common equipment rack 40 comprises a number of equipment shelves 42, 44, 46, including a RF Combiner and power amp shelf (RFC) 42, a Power Supply shelf (PS) 44 and a number of (in this example four) 5 Modem Shelves (MS) 46.
  • the RF combiner shelf 42 allows the modem shelves 46 to operate in parallel.
  • the RF combiner shelf 42 combines and amplifies the power of 'n' transmit signals, each transmit signal being from a respective one of the 'n' modem shelves, and amplifies and splits received signals 'n' way so that separate signals may be passed to the respective
  • the power supply shelf 44 provides a connection to the local power supply and fusing for the various components in the common equipment rack 40.
  • a bidirectional connection extends between the RF combiner shelf 42 and the main central terminal antenna 52, such as an omnidirectional antenna, mounted on a central terminal mast 50.
  • This example of a central terminal 10 is connected via a point-to-point microwave link to a location where an interface to the public switched telephone network 18, shown schematically in Figure 1, is made.
  • other types of connections e.g. , copper wires or optical fibres
  • a microwave link 49 extends from the microwave terminal 48 to a point-to-point microwave antenna 54 mounted on the mast 50 for a host connection to the public switched telephone network 18.
  • a personal computer, workstation or the like can be provided as a site
  • controller (SC) 56 for supporting the central terminal 10.
  • the site controller 56 can be connected to each modem shelf of the central terminal 10 via, for example, RS232 connections 55.
  • the site controller 56 can then provide support functions such as the localisation of faults, alarms and status and the configuring of the central terminal 10.
  • a site controller 56 will typically support a single central terminal 10, although a
  • plurality of site controllers 56 could be networked for supporting a plurality of central terminals 10.
  • data connections such as an X.25 links 57 (shown with dashed lines in Figure 3) could instead be provided from a pad 228 to a switching node 60 of an element manager (EM) 58.
  • An element manager 58 can support a number of distributed central terminals 10 connected by respective connections to the switching node 60.
  • the element manager 58 enables a potentially large number (e.g. , up to, or more than 1000) of central terminals 10 to be integrated into a management network.
  • the element manager 58 is based around a powerful workstation 62 and can include a number of computer terminals 64 for network engineers and control personnel.
  • FIG. 3 A illustrates various parts of a modem shelf 46.
  • a transmit/receive RF unit (RFU - for example implemented on a card in the modem shelf) 66 generates the modulated transmit RF signals at medium power levels and recovers and amplifies the baseband RF signals for the subscriber terminals.
  • the RF unit 66 is connected to an analogue card (AN) 68 which performs A-D/D-A conversions, baseband filtering and the vector summation of 15 transmitted signals from the modem cards (MCs) 70.
  • the analogue unit 68 is connected to a number of (typically 1-8) modem cards 70.
  • the modem cards perform the baseband signal processing of the transmit and receive signals to/from the subscriber terminals 20.
  • Each modem card 70 in the present example has two modems, and in preferred embodiments there are eight modem cards per shelf, and so sixteen modems per shelf. However, in order to incorporate redundancy so that a modem may be substituted in a subscriber link when a fault occurs, only 15 modems on a single modem shelf 46 are generally used. The 16th modem is then used as a spare which can be switched in if a failure of one of the other 15 modems occurs.
  • each modem shelf 46 includes a shelf controller 72 that is used to manage the operation of the whole of the modem shelf and its daughter network sub-elements (NSEs).
  • the shelf controller (SC) is provided with a RS232 serial port for connection to the site controller 56 or to the pad 228.
  • the shelf controller communicates control and data information via a backplane asynchronous bus directly with the other elements of the modem shelf. Other network sub-elements are connected via the modem cards.
  • the wireless telecommunications between a central terminal 10 and the subscriber terminals 20 could operate on various frequencies.
  • Figure 4 illustrates one possible example of the frequencies which could be used.
  • the wireless telecommunication system is intended to operate in the 1.5-2.5GHz Band.
  • the present example is intended to operate in the Band defined by ITU-R (CCIR) Recommendation F.701 (2025-2110MHz, 2200-2290MHz).
  • Figure 4 illustrates the frequencies used for the uplink from the subscriber terminals 20 to the central terminal 10 and for the downlink from the central terminal 10 to the subscriber terminals 20.
  • 12 uplink and 12 downlink radio channels of 3.5MHz each are provided centred about 2155MHz.
  • each modem shelf is arranged to support 1 frequency channel (i.e. one uplink frequency plus the corresponding downlink frequency), with techniques such as 'Code Division Multiplexed Access' (CDMA) being used to enable a plurality of wireless links to subscriber terminals to be simultaneously supported on a plurality of orthogonal channels within each frequency channel.
  • CDMA 'Code Division Multiplexed Access'
  • the radio traffic from a particular central terminal 10 will extend into the area covered by a neighbouring central terminal 10. To avoid, or at least to reduce interference problems caused by adjoining areas, only a limited number of the available frequencies will be used by any given central terminal 10.
  • a Demand Assignment mode of operation far more STs can be supported than there are traffic bearing channels to handle wireless links with those STs, the exact number supported depending on the level of dial tone service that the service provider desires.
  • PSTN public switched telephone network
  • the CT On the switch side interface, the CT must provide services to the switch as though all of the subscribers are connected with direct service even though they may not be actually acquired to a radio frequency channel. Regardless of whether the ST is acquired or not to the switch, all of the subscribers must have a presence at the interface to the switch. Without some form of concentration, it is clear that a large number of interfaces to the switch would need to be provided.
  • the Access Concentrator 100 has a number of tributary units 110, hereafter referred to as XTUs (Exchange (facing) Tributary Units), which provide an unconcentrated interface to the switch of a telecommunications network.
  • XTUs Exchange (facing) Tributary Units
  • the XTU 110 receiving that call is arranged to determine from information associated with that incoming call which subscriber terminal line the incoming call is destined for, and to then use that information to access a database 150 associated with that XTU 110 in order to retrieve all of the necessary information about that subscriber terminal line to enable the call to be routed through the access concentrator to the central terminal and then over a wireless link to the subscriber terminal.
  • the XTUs 110 are connected to the switch of the telecommunications network via El lines.
  • the number of El lines required will depend on the number of subscriber terminal lines suppo ⁇ ed by the wireless telecommunications system, each subscriber terminal line having a dedicated time slot on a predetermined one of the El connections.
  • the XTU 110 is arranged to contact the tributary unit 120 within the access concentrator 100, hereafter referred to as the CTU 120 (Concentrator Tributary Unit), to request a call manager within the CTU 120 to determine a suitable path for directing the call over the backplane between the XTU 110 and the CTU 120, over the backhaul between the access concentrator 100 and the central terminal 10, and over the wireless link between the central terminal and the subscriber terminal to which the call is destined.
  • the CTU 120 Concentrrator Tributary Unit
  • the call manager preferably establishes a call object to represent the call, and then stores the information retrieved from the database 150 by the XTU as attributes of that call object. Further, the call manager preferably employs certain elements within the access concentrator and the central terminal to determine whether there is a radio slot available for carrying the call between the central terminal and the subscriber terminal.
  • radio slot refers to the bandwidth elements into which each frequency channel is sub-divided, these radio slots being assigned to particular calls as required.
  • the call manager within the CTU 120 causes the addressed subscriber terminal to be invited to acquire the wireless link on that radio slot.
  • the call manager employs elements to allocate bearer time slots on the links of the concentrated backhaul interface between the access concentrator 100 and the central terminal 10, and on the concentrated backplane between the XTU 110 and the CTU 120 in the access concentrator 100.
  • the backplane and the backhaul are referred to as "concentrated", because the number of time slots provided are less than the actual number of subscriber terminals supported by the system.
  • a bearer time slot is allocated dynamically as and when required.
  • the data for a particular subscriber terminal line may appear on any free bearer time slots on the backplane and the backhaul, since these time slots are allocated dynamically at the time the call is initiated.
  • the call can be routed from the XTU 110 over the backplane to the CTU 120, and from there over the backhaul to a tributary unit 130 within one of the modem shelves of the central terminal with which the subscriber terminal has established the wireless link, this tributary unit 130 being referred to as a DTU 130 (Demand Assignment Tributary Unit).
  • the data is then routed via the modem card 70, an analogue card 68, a transmit/receive RF Unit 66, and then via the RF combiner shelf 42 before being transmitted from the central terminal antenna to the subscriber terminal over the wireless link.
  • each XTU 110 maintains its own separate copy of the database 150
  • the DTU 130 on each central terminal modem shelf will also maintain a copy of the database 180
  • the databases 150 and 180 preferably having the same structure, but with different fields being completed to reflect the different information required by the XTU's 110 and the DTU 130.
  • the DTU's database 180 preferably contains ST configuration information which can be supplied to a subscriber terminal for configuration purposes, this information not being required within the XTU databases 150.
  • element managers are used to manage the wireless telecommunications system, and these element managers interface with the various equipment shelves via shelf controllers.
  • the shelf controller 140 within the access concentrator 100 is arranged to maintain a database 160 which is updatable by the element manager, and which is then used to update the databases 150 associated with each XTU 110.
  • a shelf controller 170 on each modem shelf of the central terminal 10 is arranged to maintain a database 190 which is updatable by the element manager, and which is used to update the database 180 maintained by the DTU 130.
  • each shelf maintains a database which is updatable by the element manager and then steps are taken within each shelf to keep the various copies of the database on that shelf synchronised.
  • Each shelf controller 140, 170 is provided with a database manager for managing the corresponding database 160, 190, and further each XTU 110 and each DTU 130 are provided with database managers to manage their corresponding databases 150, 180.
  • FIG. 6 is an interaction diagram illustrating the communications between the shelf controller 170 database manager and the DTU 130 database manager used to keep the database 180 in synchronisation with the database 190.
  • a "RecordModifiedO” function call is sent from the element manager to the shelf controller database manager 300 on the modem shelf containing the database 190.
  • This RecordModified function call identifies which record(s) has/have been changed by the element manager.
  • the shelf controller database manager 300 upon receipt of the RecordModified function call, is arranged to issue a "MakeChangeMsgObj" function call to itself in order to create the internal representation of a "change" message to be sent from the shelf controller 170 to the DTU 130 to enable the database 180 to be updated.
  • this internal representation takes the form of an object called “message” (or “MsgObj " as it is referred to in Figure 6).
  • a "SendChange" function call is then used to pass the message object from the shelf controller database manager 300 to the shelf controller layer three protocol object 310 used for the communication between the shelf controller 170 and the DTU 130.
  • the message object sent with the SendChange function call contains the complete record as modified, and hence implicitly includes all of the changes made by the element manager.
  • the message object included within the SendChange function call may instead just identify the changes to the previous version of the record.
  • the shelf controller database manager 300 can be arranged to queue the changes until either the queue is full or until a timer expires. At that point, the MakeChangeMsgObj function call and the SendChange function call can be used to initiate the sending of the changes to the DTU 130 database manager via the shelf controller layer three protocol object 310.
  • the communication between the shelf controller database manager 300 and the DTU database manager 340 is via a three layer protocol, a shelf controller layer three object 310 and a layer 3 state machine 320, and a DTU layer three object 330, terminating the layer three protocol used for such communications.
  • the layer two is based on the Q.921 standard, and layer one is a "High Level Data Link Control" (HDLC) layer.
  • HDLC High Level Data Link Control
  • the shelf controller layer three object 310 Each time the shelf controller layer three object 310 receives a SendChange function call, it issues an "AllocSM" function call to itself in order to allocate a layer three state machine to handle the database update process for the record identified in the message object transmitted with the SendChange function call. Then, a "Send" function call is used to transfer the message object to the allocated layer three state machine 320.
  • the layer three state machine 320 Prior to receipt of the Send function call, the layer three state machine 320 will be in the "IDLE" state. Upon receipt of the Send function call, the layer three state machine 320 is arranged to start a timer, and then to issue a "CHANGE" message to the DTU layer three object 330.
  • the CHANGE message is a hardware signal (a sequence of bytes) generated from the message object.
  • the layer three state machine 320 Upon sending the CHANGE message, the layer three state machine 320 enters the "AWACK" state, where it waits to receive an acknowledgement message from the DTU layer three object 330 to confirm that the update to the database 180 has taken place.
  • the DTU layer three object 330 Upon receipt of the CHANGE message, the DTU layer three object 330 converts the CHANGE message back to a message object, and issues a
  • UseChangeMsg function call including the message object (containing the database record as updated).
  • the DTU database manager 340 Upon receipt of the UseChangeMsg function call, the DTU database manager 340 is arranged to issue an UpdateDBrec function call to itself to cause the DTU database manager 340 to update the appropriate record in the database 180.
  • the DTU database manager 340 issues a "SendAck" function call to the DTU layer three object 330, which then constructs an "ACK" message for transmission via the three layer protocol to the layer three state machine 320 of the shelf controller 170.
  • the layer three state machine 320 Upon receipt of the ACK message, the layer three state machine 320 stops the timer that it had started prior to issuing the CHANGE message, and then issues a
  • Free function call to itself in order to free itself for subsequent use by the shelf controller layer three object 310.
  • the layer three state machine 320 then enters the IDLE state.
  • the layer three state machine 320 If, for any reason, the layer three state machine 320 timer expires before the ACK message is received by the layer three state machine 320, then the layer three state machine 320 is arranged to resend the CHANGE message to the DTU layer three object 330. If, for any reason, the timer again expires before the ACK message is received by the layer three state machine 320, then in preferred embodiments an audit is performed. It will be apparent that there are a number of different ways in which this audit may be managed. However, in one embodiment, the shelf controller data base manager 300 is arranged to treat every record as modified, and hence to resend every record to the DTU database manager 340 via the three layer protocol.
  • the DTU 130 may keep call statistics and update the database 180 accordingly.
  • the process used to perform this update is illustrated in Figure 7, and, as will be apparent, is almost identical to the process illustrated in Figure 6, but with the steps taking place in the opposite direction. The only difference is that, in this latter case, the DTU layer 3 object 330 allocates a layer three state machine 325, rather than the shelf controller layer three object 310.
  • Figure 6 has illustrated the process used in preferred embodiments in order to synchronise the database 180 maintained by the DTU 130 with the database 190 maintained by the shelf controller 170 on each modem shelf of the central terminal 10.
  • the process used to synchronise the databases 150 maintained by each XTU 110 and the database 160 maintained by the shelf controller 140 of the access concentrator 100 is almost identical, and is illustrated in Figure 8.
  • the shelf controller database manager 400 on the shelf controller 140 again uses a MakeChangeMsgObj function call to create a change message object each time a RecordModified function call is received by the shelf controller database manager 400.
  • a SendChange function call is repetitively sent to the shelf controller layer three objects 410 (one shelf controller layer 3 object being provided for each XTU layer 3 object in preferred embodiments) such that one SendChange function call is issued for each database 150 maintaining a copy of the record that has been modified.
  • the shelf controller layer three objects 410 will each allocate a state machine 420 when the SendChange function call is received. From this point on, it will be appreciated that the updating process for each database 150 is managed independently by the different layer three state machines 420 that have been assigned for each instance of the SendChange function call. For any update to a particular one of the databases 150, the layer three state machine 420 assigned to manage that update will stop its timer when the ACK message is received from the corresponding XTU layer three object 430.
  • the layer three state machine 420 would send the CHANGE message to the XTU layer three object 430 corresponding to the first database 150, and upon receipt of the ACK message returned from that XTU layer three object 430 would then reissue the CHANGE message to the XTU layer three object 430 corresponding to the next database 150.
  • the timer will be started, and each time the ACK message is received, the timer will be stopped. Only when a CHANGE message has been sent corresponding to each database 150, and corresponding ACK messages have been received, will the layer three state machine 420 issue a "Free" function call to itself and thereafter enter the IDLE state.
  • each modem shelf of a central terminal may be able to support up to 3,000 lines, or 3,000 subscriber terminals assuming each subscriber terminal supports one line.
  • the database 190 illustrated in Figure 5 will also have to store records for a large number of subscriber terminals, and so it is again important for the amount of data stored to be minimised.
  • each database 150, 160, 180, 190 should at least have a record for each subscriber terminal that the card associated with that database may need to access information about.
  • the information that is stored in the records will vary from card to card, although in preferred embodiments the overall structure of the data will remain the same.
  • FIG 9 illustrates how each of the databases is structured in accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention.
  • each ST database will provide an ST record strucmre 500 having a record 505 for each subscriber terminal relevant to the card with which that database is associated.
  • a number of entries are provided.
  • a first entry 514, hereafter call the "StClass" entry contains a pointer to a record 522 in an StClass data strucmre 520, this StClass record 522 providing all the necessary details about the type of the subscriber terminal identified in the ST record 505.
  • the StClass record 522 may provide, amongst other things, the following information: the number of lines supported by the subscriber terminal the version of the software that the subscriber terminal is currently running the desired radio bandwidth for the subscriber terminal the dialling mode of the subscriber terminal - an indication as to whether, in the event of congestion, a congestion tone is to be generated, and after what period of time the period, in seconds, after a call has finished that the radio is held up to allow follow on calls without reacquisition of the wireless link.
  • each StClass record 522 The above is an example of some of the items of information that may be stored in each StClass record 522. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the exact information stored, and the format of that information, can be chosen at will.
  • the main aim of each StClass record 522 is to provide a core amount of information that will be common to a number of the STs supported by the telecommunications system. In that instance, it is clear that a number of the first entries 514 in each ST record 505 will point to the same StClass record 522, thereby yielding a significant saving in the amount of information that needs to be stored within the ST database.
  • a second entry 516 in each ST record 505 includes in preferred embodiments a pointer to a line record 524 providing information about a first line supported by that subscriber terminal.
  • a line record data strucmre 510 is provided having a line record 524 for each subscriber terminal line. Since each database may have to store information about a large number of lines, then it is clear that the information stored in each line record 524 should be kept to a minimum. Hence, in preferred embodiments, each line record 524 includes pointers to other data structures containing information that may be common to a number of lines.
  • a first entry 526 in each line record 524 preferably contains a pointer to a record 534 in a signalling class data structure 530, this signalling class record 534 preferably containing signalling configuration information common to a class of subscriber terminal lines.
  • An example of the types of information that may be stored within each signalling class record 534 is as follows: - the exchange release pulse width in milliseconds the seize time in milliseconds the clear time in milliseconds the minimum and maximum answer recognition times in milliseconds the minimum and maximum hook digit time in milliseconds.
  • the main aim is to provide in each signalling class record 534 a core group of signalling information that is common to a number of ST lines. In such cases, a number of the line records 524 will have pointers to the same signalling class record 534, thereby saving a significant amount of storage space that would otherwise be taken up with replicating data.
  • Each line impedance class record 536 preferably contains line impedance parameters required by a programmable circuit within the subscriber terminal, these parameters preferably being common to a number of lines.
  • a third entry 532 which may be provided within each line record 524 is a " Priority NumClass" pointer to a record 538 in a priority number class data structure 550.
  • a user cannot always be guaranteed immediate access to the telecommunications network, since there will be fewer wireless links than there are potential users. In such situations, it is clearly advisable to provide a mechanism whereby certain emergency calls will be given priority over other calls.
  • a particular radio channel can be kept free for priority calls.
  • Each line can then have a number of priority numbers associated with it, such that upon dialling one of those numbers, that line will be connected to the telecommunications network via the priority radio channel.
  • examples of certain other attributes which may be stored within each ST record 505 are as follows: - the serial number of the subscriber terminal an authentication count, used with the serial number in an authentication encryption key an ST identifier assigned to the subscriber terminal on installation the automatic gain level of the ST - an indication of up to four central terminal modem shelves that the ST can be resident on an indication of the central terminal modem shelf the ST was last resident on the backhaul bearer slot currently allocated to the subscriber terminal the radio slot currently allocated to the subscriber terminal.
  • the above information is just an example of the information that may be stored within each ST record 505, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the exact information stored can be varied dependent on the application.
  • each ST supports one line, and hence the first line pointer 516 will actually be a pointer to the sole line supported by that subscriber terminal.
  • the line record data strucmre 510 is arranged such that the second and subsequent line supported by that subscriber terminal have line records immediately following the line record corresponding to the first line.
  • the first line pointer 516 can be used to identify the line record 524 corresponding to the first line, and the subsequent line records can then be used to identify information about the other lines supported by the subscriber terminal. This arrangement again saves storage space by removing the requirement to provide separate pointers to other line records.
  • every record irrespective of the database 150, 160, 180, 190 that that record resides in, will have the same overall data strucmre.
  • each line supported by the access concentrator it is necessary for each line supported by the access concentrator to be identified, and hence a separate line record 524 will be provided for each such line.
  • the database 160 it is not necessary for the database 160 to contain the signalling class information, the impedance class information or the priority number class information, since this is typically only used by the subscriber terminals as configuration information, and hence the pointer entries 526, 528 and 532 within each line record 524 need not be present.
  • a subscriber terminal When a subscriber terminal is initialised, it preferably receives a copy of entries from its ST record as stored in the central terminal database 180, these entries providing configuration information for the subscriber terminal.
  • the database 180 will contain all of the subscriber terminal and line configuration information required for configuration purposes by the subscriber terminal associated with the subscriber terminal and line records.
  • the above ST database strucmre is used such that all the necessary information to route a call from the telephone exchange to a subscriber terminal equipment line and vice versa can be extracted from one database.
  • the XTU 110 receiving the incoming call will access its corresponding database 150 in order to retrieve all of the necessary information about the destination subscriber terminal and subscriber terminal line required to route the call to that subscriber terminal line.
  • the DTU 130 can access its database 180 in order to extract all the necessary information to enable an outgoing call to be established via the central terminal and access concentrator to the telephone network.
  • This approach avoids the requirement for absolute consistency between the databases at each end of the system (ie at the XTU 110 and the DTU 130). Further, this approach avoids the need to replicate the data more often than is necessary. For example, in accordance with this approach, there is no requirement for any copies of the database to be stored for access by the CTU 120.

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un système d'acheminement d'appels comprenant plusieurs modules de gestion, au moins un de ces modules de gestion étant utilisé pour acheminer des appels vers des terminaux d'abonnés d'un système de télécommunication et à partir de ces terminaux, et au moins deux de ces modules de gestion mettant à jour une base de données contenant des enregistrements relatifs aux terminaux d'abonnés. Le système d'acheminement d'appels comprend également un mécanisme d'interface destiné à synchroniser les bases de données mises à jour par les deux modules de gestion, le mécanisme d'interface comprenant un premier gestionnaire de base de données destiné à recevoir des informations sur des modifications apportées à la base de données mise à jour par un premier module de gestion, et un premier élément de communication, sensible au premier gestionnaire de base de données, destiné à utiliser un protocole de communication pour envoyer un message de changement à un deuxième élément de communication associé à un deuxième module de gestion mettant à jour la base de données. Le message de changement contient les modifications apportées à la base de données. En outre, un deuxième élément de communication permet d'utiliser le protocole de communication pour recevoir le message de changement et générer des informations de mise à jour, un deuxième gestionnaire de base de données permettant de recevoir les informations de mise à jour provenant du deuxième élément de communication et de mettre à jour la base de données grâce à ces informations de mise à jour. Si un enregistrement d'une base de données est mis à jour, il devient souhaitable pour une base de données associée à un module de gestion différent et contenant également cet enregistrement d'être aussi mise à jour. Selon la présente invention, cette opération est effectuée par un mécanisme d'interface se trouvant dans le système d'acheminement d'appels et faisant appel à un protocole de communication pour envoyer des messages entre les gestionnaires de base de données associés aux bases de données.
PCT/GB1998/002886 1997-09-25 1998-09-24 Mise a jour de donnees concernant des terminaux d'abonnes dans un systeme d'acheminement d'appels d'un systeme de telecommunication WO1999016278A1 (fr)

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AU91768/98A AU9176898A (en) 1997-09-25 1998-09-24 Maintaining information concerning subscriber terminals within a call routing system of a telecommunications system

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GB9720461A GB2329790A (en) 1997-09-25 1997-09-25 Maintaining information concerning subscriber terminals within a call routing system of a telecommunications system
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GB2332590B (en) * 1997-12-16 2002-10-09 Dsc Telecom Lp Handling of signalling information within a telecommunications system
JPH11272538A (ja) * 1998-03-26 1999-10-08 Mitsubishi Electric Corp 文書管理システム
CN107528678B (zh) * 2016-06-22 2021-10-29 大唐移动通信设备有限公司 一种系统消息更新的方法和设备

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GB2329790A (en) 1999-03-31
AU9176898A (en) 1999-04-12

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