WO2009022055A1

WO2009022055A1 - Monitoring station, methods and system for monitoring communication networks

Info

Publication number: WO2009022055A1
Application number: PCT/FI2008/050454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Veli-Pekka Ketonen
Original assignee: 7Signal Oy
Priority date: 2007-08-10
Filing date: 2008-08-08
Publication date: 2009-02-19
Also published as: FI20070603A0; FI121619B; FI20070603A

Abstract

The invention relates to a monitoring station (100), method and system for monitoring communication networks (204, 206, 208, 210, 212). One embodiment of the invention discloses a monitoring station (100) with multiple radio transceivers, each of the radio transceivers configured to provide an access to a different wireless communication networks. The monitoring station (100) comprises also a positioning capability configured to determine the position of the monitoring station (100). The monitoring station (100) is configured to establish a connection with a radio transceiver to a first communication network; to monitor a change of the connection from the first communication network to a second communication network and to store measurement data about the change or conditions, or both, associated with the change. At least one of the communication networks is a wireless communication network.

Description

MONITORING STATION, METHODS AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a monitoring station for multiple communication networks. The invention also relates to a monitoring system, to a method for monitoring communication networks and to a method for managing a communication network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wireless access to various communication networks has increased significantly. The wireless access enables a user to move freely within a coverage area of a communication network while at the same time being in contact with the communication network. These communication networks include e.g. a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) , Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) networks etc.

Each wireless communication network has typically its own network monitoring system which provides different statistics about the communication network. Furthermore, from prior art is known various kinds of monitoring stations, fixed or portable, which are able to monitor multiple networks one at a time or several at the same time. The monitoring stations may provide information e.g. about signal strength in a wireless network, signal-to-noise ratio, data throughout, bit error rate, voice quality etc. One such monitoring station is known e.g. from WO2006/005894.

However, there is a need for a solution which would provide additional information about the operation of the wireless communication networks. SUMN[ARY OF THE INVENTION

The main aspects of the invention are disclosed in the independent claims 1, 2, 12, 16, 17 and 27. Various embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a monitoring station comprising multiple radio transceivers, each of the radio transceivers configured to provide an access to a different communication network. The monitoring station further comprises positioning capability configured to determine the position of the monitoring station. The monitoring station is configured to establish a connection with a radio transceiver to a first communication net- work; monitor a change of a connection from a first communication network to a second communication network and to provide measurement data about the change and/or conditions associated with the change. At least one of the communication networks is a wireless commu- nication network.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a monitoring station comprising at least one radio transceiver configured to provide a wireless access to a wireless communication network; and positioning capability configured to determine the position of the monitoring station. The monitoring station is configured to establish a wireless connection with the radio transceiver to the wireless communication network, to monitor a cell change of the con- nection from a first cell to a second cell in the wireless communication network and to provide measurement data about the cell change and/or conditions associated with the cell change.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a monitoring system that comprises the above monitoring station. The system further comprises a reporting server configured to receive the measurement data from the monitoring station via a communication network. The reporting server is configured to provide statistics based on the measurement data . According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for monitoring communication networks. The method comprises establishing a connection with a radio transceiver of the monitoring station to a first communication network; monitoring, with the monitoring station, a change of the connection from the first communication network to a second communication network; and storing measurement data about the change and/or conditions associated with the change, wherein at least one of the communication net- works is a wireless communication network.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for monitoring communication networks. The method comprises establishing a wireless connection with a radio transceiver of the monitoring station to a wireless communication network; monitoring a cell change of the connection from a first cell to a second cell in the wireless communication network; and storing measurement data about the cell change and/or conditions associated with the cell change.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for managing a communication network. The method comprises collecting network characteristic information from a monitoring station capable of monitoring network connection quality; collecting network characteristic information from network element statistics or network element interface statistics; correlating, combining or comparing data collected by the monitoring station and the network element or the network element interface; and adjusting or defining network element or network element interface statistics related performance limits or alarm levels based on the data collected from the monitoring station .

One of the benefits of the invention is that the monitoring station is able to provide information about inter-operability and actual end user experience for users roaming in various wireless communication networks .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description help to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 discloses a monitoring station according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 discloses a system according to one embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention;

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a monitor- ing arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 discloses a monitoring station according to one embodiment of the invention. The monitoring comprises a controller 104, which controls the operation of the monitoring stations. A memory 106 may be provided to store an application comprising the operation instructions. The monitoring station 100 further comprises multiple radio transceiver 102a-102d, and each radio transceiver is able to connect to a different wireless network. The monitoring station may also comprise a Local Area Network (LAN) adapter, e.g. an Ethernet adapter. In the embodiment disclosed in Figure 1, the monitoring station 100 comprises a WLAN transceiver 102a, a GSM transceiver 102b, a WCDMA transceiver 102c and a WiMAX transceiver 102d. It is apparent to a man skilled in the art that the monitoring station may further comprise yet additional transceiver, e.g. a flash OFDM (Orthogonal frequency- division multiplexing) , a Bluetooth, a TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked RAdio) , A GSM-R transceiver etc. Fur- thermore, it is apparent to a man skilled in the art that the monitoring station 100 comprises additional elements, e.g. an antenna or antennas, not disclosed in Figure 1. Furthermore, the monitoring station has the ability to operate several radio transceivers si- multaneously . The monitoring station 100 may also comprise a battery 108 that is configured to provide operating power for the station. In another embodiment, the monitoring station 100 may also receive operating power from a vehicle to which it is mounted. In order to determine a location of the monitoring station 100, it comprises also positioning capability 110, e.g. a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. In another embodiment, a wireless network may give position information to the monitoring station. Therefore, the monitoring station 100 itself does not necessarily have to comprise a positioning system receiver. One or more subscriber identity modules (SIM) of the wireless communication networks may also be provided in the monitoring station 100.

In one embodiment of Figure 1, the monitoring station 100 further comprises a movement sensor 112 that is configured to determine whether the monitoring station 100 is moving. In practice, the movement sensor 112 is e.g. an acceleration sensor or an electric compass. The functionality relating to the movement sensor will be discussed in detail in the description of Figure 2.

In one embodiment of Figure 1, the monitoring station 100 is connected via the LAN or WLAN adapter to another wireless device that provides the wireless connection to Internet with a wide area wireless tech- nology (e.g. Flash OFDM, WiMAX) . In this case, LAN or WLAN is used to deliver the connection in short range to end users and the actual connection to the Internet is provided with a technology offering larger coverage. Thus it is possible to monitor service quality from data traffic characteristics (throughput, RTT, packet delay, jitter, packet loss, application measurements) without knowing the RF characteristics of the wide area wireless (e.g. Flash OFDM, WiMAX) connection. When measurement results are associated with the location of the device at a certain time, a good understanding of service quality may be achieved.

The monitoring station 100 may take any appropriate physical form. It may also be a hand-held device. It is also evident that the features of the monitoring station may be integrated with a commercially available end-user terminal. In other words, it does not have to be a dedicated monitoring station.

Figure 2 discloses a system in which a monitoring station disclosed in Figure 1 is in use. A monitoring station 100 is in the embodiment disclosed in Figure 2 attached to a vehicle (e.g. a train 214, a bus 216, a taxi or a special monitoring vehicle) that operates in the monitored area. As disclosed in Figure 2, there exist several types of networks in the system: a WCDMA network 204, a GSM network 206, two WLAN networks 208 and 210 and a WiMAX network 212. It is evident that the networks disclosed in Figure 2 are only examples of possible wireless networks.

In one embodiment of Figure 2, the monitoring station 100 is configured to monitor a cell change of a connection from a first wireless communication net- work to a second wireless communication network and to provide statistics data about the cell change. The connection may be a packet-switched or circuit- switched connection. Furthermore, the cell change may refer to a handover of mobile communication networks or to a cell reselection in wireless data networks. Furthermore, the cell change may be initiated by the monitoring station itself or alternatively in response to receiving a cell change request from the network e.g. due to conditions in the first wireless communi- cation network.

The first wireless communication network is e.g. a GSM network 206 and the second wireless communication network is a WiMAX network 212. In this embodiment, the monitoring station 100 has been config- ured to establish a (General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) data connection to a reporting server 200 or to any other suitable server. As can be seen from Figure 2, the networks overlap with each other in a predetermined area. When the monitoring station detects the presence of the WiMAX network 212, it initiates a cell change (handover) of the GPRS data connection to the WiMAX network 212. The application transmitted over the data connection is e.g. voice over IP (VoIP) . The monitoring station 100 is configured to monitor or measure e.g. at least one of the following parameters: success of the cell change; position of the cell change; continuity of a service provided with the con- nection; delay in the cell change; signal strength in the first wireless communication network when the cell change occurs, signal strength in the second wireless communication network when the cell change occurs, in- terference level in both networks etc. These measuring results provide an accurate situation both in the first and second wireless communication networks when the cell change is performed. Based on the results network providers obtain information about the condi- tions in which the cell change takes place.

In one embodiment of Figure 2, the monitoring station 100 further comprises a movement sensor 112. The meaning of the movement sensor it 112 that, when the monitoring station 100 is receiving operating power from the vehicle to which it is attached, the monitoring station 100 recharges its battery only when the movement sensor determines that the vehicle is moving. In other words, the monitoring station 100 uses its own battery when the vehicle is not moving. Of course it is possible that the vehicle is running but not moving. Therefore, it is possible to use e.g. a timer which determines when to start using the battery of the monitoring station 100.

In one embodiment of Figure 2, the monitoring station 100 may collect also other information about internal functions of the wireless communication networks. The collected information may comprise at least one of the following: signal strength, response time, interference level, throughput, characteristics of an application transmitted via the connection (e.g. quality of circuit-switched speech, quality of packet- switched speech, quality of video etc.), packet loss, packet jitter, packet delay, accessibility of services, speed of changing from one cell to another, and retainability of services etc.

The system comprises also a reporting server 200 that e.g. receives monitoring results from the monitoring station 100 and reports the results. In another embodiment, the monitoring station 100 stores the measurement data in its internal memory for later reporting. The reporting server 200 is e.g. a central- ized server that collects data relating to all monitored wireless communication networks. A reporting application in the reporting server 200 collects and represents the monitoring results based on various aspects. These aspects may include e.g. the following: position, cell identifier, network technology, application type (e.g. speech, video etc.), handover measurements when performing a handover from a first wireless communication network to a second wireless communication network (e.g. success of the handover, posi- tion of the handover, continuity of a service provided with the connection, delay in the handover) .

In one embodiment of Figure 2, the monitoring station 100 is configured to adjust the reception signals level and/or the transmitting power of a radio transceiver. Thus it is possible e.g. to simulate different terminals with different performance capabilities .

The decision to initiate the cell change may come from the monitoring station itself or via a wire- less communication network. The network may initiate the cell change e.g. based on radio network conditions or network load.

The monitoring station may also operate in a passive mode. In other words, it collects data about signal conditions in different radio access networks. This data can be used in determining when to execute a cell change.

The monitoring station may also monitor a radio access network used by other terminals and thus monitor correctness of the network selection of the terminals and timings and success of cell changes. By using the monitoring station disclosed in the invention the reporting server is able to provide end-to-end measurement results about quality of service and success of the cell change. These results may then be compared to statistics provided by an internal network management system of a wireless communication system. Thus, better statistics reliability is achieved. The measurement results may also be used in network planning. For example, the results may be com- bined with the parameters given by the network planning software. Statistics may also be sold to any appropriate party. In another embodiment, the party may be provided with a restricted access to the statistics. The monitoring system may also be integrated with the conventional network management systems.

Furthermore, the reporting server may be configured to generate an alarm to a desired party, when predetermined limits are triggered in the statistics. For example, an alarm may be generated when the posi- tion of cell change is "too late", in other words, the signal strength is too weak in the first wireless communication network. The position, when the cell change should happen, can then be changed.

The reporting server may also be configured to send automatic reports about a wireless communication network to a desired party. This can be done e.g. twice in a day or with any other reporting rate.

In is also evident that the system disclosed in the invention may provide measurement data to mul- tiple network operators.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention. In Figure 3, the monitoring station 300 is configured to monitor a cell change of a connection (to a test server 302) from a first wireless communication network (network 1) to a second wireless communication network (network 2) and to provide statistics data about the cell change. In Figure 3, the switchover happens between cells 304 and 306. The connection may be a packet-switched or circuit-switched connection. Furthermore, the cell change may refer to a handover of mobile communication networks or to a cell reselection in wireless data networks. Furthermore, the cell change may be initiated by the monitoring station itself or alternatively in response to receiving a cell change request from the network e.g. due to conditions in the wireless communication network.

Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention. In Figure 4, the monitoring station 400 is configured to monitor a cell change of a connection (to a test server 402) from a cell 404 to a cell 406 in a wireless communication network and to provide statistics data about the cell change. The connection may be a packet-switched or circuit-switched connection. Furthermore, the cell change may refer to a handover of mobile communication networks or to a cell reselection in wireless data networks. Furthermore, the cell change may be initiated by the monitoring station itself or alternatively in response to receiving a cell change request from the network e.g. due to conditions in the wireless communication network.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention. In Figure 5, the monitoring station 500 comprises multiple radio transceivers, each of which be- ing able to connect to a different wireless network. This embodiment shows two different wireless networks, networks 1 and 2.

In Figure 5, the monitoring station 500 establishes test a connection ^towards itself . In other words, the monitoring station establishes a connection towards a public data communication network (a test server 502) e.g. with a WLAN radio (transceiver) . The connection is configured to be directed back to the monitoring station from the test server 502 via another radio interface, e.g. the WCDMA radio connection. The connection thus circulates via the public data communication network back to the monitoring station 500. The connection is e.g. a VoIP connection. This arrangement simulates a connection between two different users (terminals) . The monitoring station 500 is configured to monitor cell changes and condi- tions relating to the changes. For example, the connection within the wireless communication network 1 may change from a cell 504 to a cell 506. Similarly, the connection within the wireless communication network 2 may change from a cell 508 to a cell 510. When implementing the arrangement disclosed in Figure 5, there will be more cell changes because cell changes may happen in both networks. Thus, information about the cell changes is gathered very effectively.

One of the benefits of the arrangement is that the monitoring station may be forced to change either one or both of the ^λuplink' and Mownlink' connections and thus to monitor also change conditions.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating a monitoring arrangement according to one embodiment of the in- vention. In Figure 6, the monitoring station 600 comprises multiple radio transceivers, each of which being able to connect to a different wireless network. This embodiment shows four different wireless networks, networks 1, 2, 3 and 4. In Figure 6, the monitoring station 600 establishes test a connection ^towards itself . In other words, the monitoring station establishes a connection towards a public data communication network (a test server 602) e.g. with a WLAN radio (transceiver) (from a cell 604 of a wireless communication network 1) . The connection is configured to be directed back to the monitoring station from the test server 602 via an- other radio interface, e.g. the WCDMA radio connection (via a cell 608 of a wireless communication network 2) . The connection thus circulates via the public data communication network back to the monitoring station 600. The connection is e.g. a VoIP connection. This arrangement simulates a connection between two different users (terminals) . The monitoring station 600 is configured to monitor cell changes between wireless communication networks and conditions relating to the changes. For example, the connection within the wireless communication network 1 may change from the cell 604 to a cell 606 of the wireless communication network 3. Similarly, the connection within the wireless communication network 2 may change from the cell 608 to a cell 610 of the wireless communication network 4.

One of the benefits of the arrangement is that the monitoring station may be forced to change either one or both of the ^λuplink' and Mownlink' connections and thus to monitor also change conditions. In Figures 3-6 the test server may be any appropriate server that can be used with the monitoring station .

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that with the advancement of technology, the basic idea of the invention may be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are thus not limited to the examples described above, instead they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A monitoring station comprising: multiple radio transceivers, each of the radio transceivers configured to provide an access to a dif- ferent communication network; positioning capability configured to determine the position of the monitoring station; wherein the monitoring station is configured to establish a connection with a radio transceiver to a first communication network; to monitor a change of the connection from the first communication network to a second communication network and to store measurement data about the change and/or conditions associated with the change, wherein at least one of the com- munication networks is a wireless communication network.

2. A monitoring station comprising: at least one radio transceiver configured to provide a wireless access to a wireless communication network; positioning capability configured to determine the position of the monitoring station; wherein the monitoring station is configured to establish a wireless connection with the radio trans- ceiver to the wireless communication network, to monitor a cell change of the connection from a first cell to a second cell in the wireless communication network and to store measurement data about the cell change and/or conditions associated with the cell change.

3. The monitoring station according to claim

1, wherein the change comprises a cell change from the first wireless communication network to the second wireless communication network.

4. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 3, wherein the monitoring station is further configured to report the measurement data to a reporting server via a communication network.

5. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 4, wherein the monitoring station is further configured to initiate the change of the connection or cell change in response to a request from a reporting server.

6. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 5, wherein the monitoring station is further configured to initiate the change of the connection or the cell change.

7. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 6, wherein the monitoring comprises at least one of the following aspects: success of the cell change; position of the cell change; continuity of a service provided with the connection; delay in the cell change.

8. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 7, wherein the monitoring station is fur- ther configured to monitor at least one of the following : signal strength; response time; interference level; throughput; characteristics of an application transmitted via the connection; packet loss; packet jitter; packet delay; accessibility of services; and retainability of services.

9. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 8, wherein the monitoring station comprises sensing means for sensing movement of the monitoring station; and wherein the monitoring station is config- ured to recharge a battery of the monitoring station only when a vehicle to which it is mounted is moving.

10. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 9, wherein the monitoring station is further configured to adjust the reception signal level and/or the transmitting power of a radio transceiver .

11. The monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 10, wherein the monitoring station is further configured to establish at least two parallel connections to communication networks with different radio transceivers; transmit and/or receiving with a first connection; transmit and/or receiving with a second connection; and measure connection characteris- tics from the first connection towards the second connection while the end point of the second connection is a controller of the first connection.

12. A monitoring system comprising a monitoring station according to any of claims 1 - 11, further comprising: a reporting server configured to receive the measurement data from the monitoring station via a communication network; wherein the reporting server is configured to pro- vide statistics based on the measurement data.

13. The monitoring system according to claim 12, wherein the reporting server is configured to provide statistics based on the measurement data based on at least one of the following: position; cell; wireless communication network; network technique of the wireless communication network; and application provided with the connection.

14. The monitoring system according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the reporting server is configured to generate an alarm to a desired party, when at least one predetermined limit is triggered in the statistics .

15. The monitoring system according to any of claims 12 - 14, wherein the reporting server is configured to send automatic reports about a wireless communication network to a desired party.

16. A method for monitoring communication networks, the method comprising: establishing a connection with a radio transceiver of the monitoring station to a first communication network; monitoring, with the monitoring station, a change of the connection from the first communication network to a second communication network; and storing measurement data about the change and/or conditions associated with the change, wherein at least one of the communication networks is a wireless communication network.

17. A method for monitoring communication networks, the method comprising: establishing a wireless connection with a radio transceiver of the monitoring station to a wireless communication network; monitoring a cell change of the connection from a first cell to a second cell in the wireless communication network; and storing measurement data about the cell change and/or conditions associated with the cell change.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the change comprises a cell change from the first wireless communication network to the second wireless communication network.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, further comprising: reporting the measurement data to a reporting server via a communication network.

20. The method according to any of claims 17

- 19, further comprising: initiating the cell change in response to a request from a reporting server.

21. The method according to any of claims 17

- 19, further comprising: initiating the cell change based on internal decision by the monitoring station.

22. The method according to any of claims 17 - 21, wherein the monitoring comprises at least one of the following aspects: success of the cell change; position of the cell change; continuity of a service provided with the connec- tion; delay in the cell change.

23. The method according to any of claims 17

- 22, wherein the monitoring further comprises monitoring at least of the following: signal strength; response time; interference level; throughput; characteristics of an application transmitted via the connection; packet loss; packet jitter; packet delay; accessibility of services; and retainability of services.

24. The method according to any of claims 17

- 23, further comprising: sensing movement of the monitoring station; and recharging a battery of the monitoring station only when a vehicle to which it is mounted is moving.

25. The method according to any of claims 17

- 24, further comprising: adjusting the reception signal level and/or the transmitting power of a radio transceiver.

26. The method according to any of claims 17 - 25, wherein said step of establishing comprises: establishing at least two parallel connections to communication networks with different radio transceivers; transmitting and/or receiving with a first connection; transmitting and/or receiving with a second connection; and measuring connection characteristics from the first connection towards the second connection while the end point of the second connection is a controller of the first connection.

27. A method for managing a communication network, comprising: collecting network characteristic information from a monitoring station capable of monitoring network connection quality; collecting network characteristic information from network element statistics or network element interface statistics; correlating, combining or comparing data collected by the monitoring station and the network element or the network element interface; and adjusting or defining network element or network element interface statistics related performance limits or alarm levels based on the data collected from the monitoring station.