CN1700663B - Auxiliary test method for wireless network optimization - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to wireless network testing technology, and discloses a wireless network optimization auxiliary testing method, so that after the network is built, the system can use the positioning function and measurement function of the user equipment to collect data required for network optimization as needed, and assist network optimization design. This network optimization auxiliary test method comprises the following steps: A user equipment in the network establishes information interaction with the RNC and reports its own positioning capability according to the requirements of the RNC; B RNC judges whether the user equipment meets the requirements of the test according to the positioning capability reported by the user equipment, If so, the user equipment is started to perform positioning measurement and cell information measurement; the C user equipment periodically reports the measurement information to the RNC.

Description

Auxiliary test method for wireless network optimization

technical field

The invention relates to wireless network testing technology, in particular to a technology for obtaining relevant network information through testing for wireless network optimization.

Background technique

With the rapid development of mobile communication in recent years, the network scale has been continuously expanded, and the number of users has increased rapidly. Users' requirements for network performance and quality have also been continuously improved. Operators' management of networks has also changed from qualitative requirements for signal coverage to quantitative network performance indicators. manage.

The operating status of the mobile wireless network changes greatly, and is affected by many external objective environmental factors. The user market continues to expand, the network continues to expand, network service items continue to increase, and urban and rural buildings change with each passing day, resulting in dynamic changes in traffic distribution. Therefore, network optimization is an important part of the operation and maintenance of the mobile communication network. Its purpose is to improve the quality of network communication, improve the service image, fully tap network resources, and make the investment get the due return.

With the development of new technologies, there are more and more types of services opened on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)/Global System for mobile Communication (GSM) networks. It not only includes voice services, but also value-added services such as wireless data and images, and develops in the direction of multimedia. In this way, the maintenance quality requirements of the network are getting higher and higher, and the task of network optimization is getting heavier and heavier. Network optimization is the process of making necessary adjustments to unreasonable parts of the network through various technical means on the premise of fully understanding the network operation status, so as to make the network reach the optimal operation status.

The mobile communication network is a dynamic multi-dimensional system. After it is put into use, it will change in the following four aspects: first, changes in end users, such as geographical distribution of users, signaling call models, etc.; second, changes in the network operating environment. Changes, such as new buildings, roads, and vegetation; third, changes in network structure, including changes in base station distribution and system capacity; fourth, changes in application technology.

These changes will affect the changes of network indicators, so the relevant monitoring work and network optimization work on the network will be carried out step by step with the development of the network, and it is impossible to complete the work overnight. In order to make full use of existing network equipment, resources and capacity to maximize the average service quality of the network and improve efficiency, it is necessary to continuously optimize the network.

Network optimization work is to constantly monitor the various technical data of the network, adjust the equipment and parameters according to the problems found, so that the performance indicators of the network can reach the best state, maximize the network capacity, and improve the average service of the network. quality.

The content of network optimization work includes the following aspects: equipment troubleshooting; improving network operation indicators: wireless connection rate, call drop ratio, call drop rate, worst cell, handover success rate, blocking rate, etc.; improving voice quality; Traffic balance: between cells in the network; network balance: signaling load balance, equipment load balance, link load balance, etc.; rational adjustment of network resources: increase equipment utilization, increase spectrum utilization, traffic per channel, etc. ; Establish and maintain a long-term network optimization work platform, establish and maintain network optimization files.

The implementation of wireless network optimization is the process of collecting parameters, analyzing data, and testing the network in operation, finding out the reasons that affect the quality of the network, and making the network reach the best operating state through technical means (hardware) or parameter adjustment. The mobile communication network is an ever-changing network, and the network structure, wireless environment, user distribution and usage behavior are all constantly changing, so it is necessary to continuously adjust the network to adapt to various changes.

In the network planning before the network construction, because the actual measurement and trial method consumes manpower and material resources, the method of using the model prediction is usually adopted. The existing model is first applied, and then supplementary testing is carried out, and then the model is corrected according to the test data. Since the existing GSM network model is applied, it is very different from the characteristics of the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access ("WCDMA") network, which will make the initial model of the wireless network obtained from the initial network planning insufficient. accurate. In order to continuously revise the wireless network propagation model and track changes in the wireless propagation environment, it is necessary to continuously collect test data.

A commonly used method to collect data required for network planning is to use the drive test method used in the early stage of network planning, and carry special test equipment along the route planned in advance while testing. The test equipment includes positioning receivers, test receivers , range finder and test software, etc.

In practical application, the above solution has the following problems: special measuring equipment and measuring personnel are required, time-consuming and laborious, high cost, and measurement data are limited.

The main reason for this situation is that the wireless network covers a relatively large area. In order to obtain more comprehensive data, specialized personnel are required to test the data while traveling along the designated route. The route is usually very long and takes a lot of time. Because it takes a lot of time for professional technicians, and it is necessary to purchase special test hardware and test software, the cost is high. Because the data obtained by this kind of test only corresponds to a certain place at a certain time, and the data of each place may change with time, so the test data has relatively large limitations.

Contents of the invention

In view of this, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide an auxiliary test method for wireless network optimization, so that after the network is built, the system can use the positioning function and measurement function of the user equipment to collect the data required for network optimization as needed, and assist the network Optimized design.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a network optimization auxiliary testing method, comprising the following steps:

The user equipment in the network described in A establishes information interaction with the network-side equipment, and the user equipment reports its own positioning capability according to the requirements of the network-side equipment;

B. The network side device judges whether the user equipment meets the requirements of the test according to the positioning capability reported by the user equipment, and if so, starts the user equipment to perform positioning measurement and cell information measurement, otherwise does not use the user equipment to participate test;

C. The user equipment periodically reports the measurement result to the network side device.

Wherein, described method also further comprises the following steps:

D. The network side device sends the received measurement result and its collection time to the background device, and the background device saves the measurement result and its collection time.

The network side device is a wireless network controller.

Described step A also further comprises following sub-steps:

A1 When the radio network controller receives a radio resource control connection establishment request message from the user equipment, the radio network controller replies a radio resource control connection establishment request message to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment is required to Report its positioning capabilities;

A2 The user equipment sends a radio resource control connection establishment complete message to the radio network controller, which includes positioning capability information of the user equipment.

The positioning capability information includes information on whether the user equipment has a positioning capability and the highest positioning accuracy of the user equipment.

Said step B further comprises the following sub-steps:

The network side device selects the positioning mode of the user equipment according to the priority order of positioning accuracy.

The positioning method may be a positioning technology based on cell identification, or an observation time difference positioning technology, or a network-assisted global positioning system positioning technology.

The calculation method of the reporting period for the periodic reporting of the measurement results is as follows:

Reporting period = cell resolution/cell planning speed.

The measurement result includes the location information of the user equipment, the received field strength indicator of the UMTS terrestrial radio access carrier at the location of the user equipment, the power per modulation bit of the common pilot channel, and the ratio of the noise spectral density.

Through comparison, it can be found that the difference between the technical solution of the present invention and the prior art is that the existing user equipment with positioning capabilities is used to collect test data and send it to the network side, and the test data required for network optimization can be collected as needed .

The difference in this technical solution has brought obvious beneficial effects, that is, because no special equipment and technical personnel are needed, the cost of testing is greatly saved. Because the user equipment is always in use, the test can be started at any time, and if the test is carried out in operation, the test data obtained is the actual operation data. Because many user equipments perform the measurement at the same time, the test data can more truly reflect the distribution characteristics of the wireless network in time and space.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a method for performing network optimization auxiliary testing by using a user equipment location function.

Detailed ways

In order to make the object, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a method for performing a network optimization auxiliary test by using user equipment functions according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, in step 100, the radio network controller (Radio Network Controller, referred to as "RNC") and the user equipment (User Equipment, referred to as "UE") exchange connection establishment information, and the UE reports the positioning capability according to the requirements of the RNC. Specifically, the UE sends a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, “RRC”) connection establishment request to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network, “UTRAN”), and the UTRAN receives the UE After the request, the RRC connection establishment message is sent, which requires the UE to report its positioning capability. The RNC receives the UE's RRC connection establishment complete message, which includes UE positioning capability information. The UE positioning capability information mainly refers to whether the UE has positioning capability and its highest positioning accuracy.

Then enter step 110, where the RNC judges whether the positioning accuracy of the UE meets the requirements for collecting network optimization data. If yes, go to step 120, otherwise go to step 130. Those skilled in the art know that the test data used for the optimization of the wireless network propagation model includes latitude and longitude and reception level information. Among them, the latitude and longitude information is measured by the Global Position System (Global Position System, referred to as "GPS") in the special test equipment. For general commercial UEs, if the UE capability shows that it supports the positioning function, it can support various positioning functions such as Observed Time Difference Of Arrival ("OTDOA" for short), GPS assistance, etc. Three positioning technologies are defined in the WCDMA R99 specification: Cell ID-based positioning technology, OTDOA positioning technology and network-assisted GPS positioning technology. And the OTDOA positioning method, its accuracy can reach 50 meters, if using GPS, the positioning accuracy is higher. Therefore, the accuracy requirement can be met. The location information of the UE is reported to the RNC through the UE location measurement report, and the RNC can obtain the longitude and latitude information of the UE through calculation based on the GPS location of the NodeB base station and the location information reported by the UE.

In step 120, according to the judgment in step 110, the UE has a positioning capability that meets the accuracy requirement. Therefore, in this step, the RNC selects the UE positioning mode according to the priority of accuracy, starts UE positioning measurement and cell information measurement, and the UE periodically reports the measurement information to the RNC.

Three positioning technologies are defined in the WCDMA R99 specification: Cell ID-based positioning technology, OTDOA positioning technology and network-assisted GPS positioning technology. The principle of CELL ID positioning is: the network locates the mobile station according to the location of the mobile station's current serving base station and the coverage of the cell. If the cell is an omnidirectional cell, the position of the mobile station is centered on the serving base station, and the radius is within a circle of the coverage radius of the cell; if the cell is divided into sectors, it can be further determined that the mobile station is within the coverage of a certain sector. Obviously, the accuracy of this positioning method depends entirely on the size of the cell where the mobile station is located, ranging from hundreds of meters to tens of kilometers. The basic principle of the OTDOA positioning method is: the mobile station measures the downlink pilot signals of different base stations, and obtains the time of arrival (Time of Arrival, referred to as "TOA") of the downlink pilot signals of different base stations, which is the so-called pilot phase measurement. According to the measurement result and the coordinates of the base station, the position of the mobile station can be calculated by using a suitable position estimation algorithm. The positioning accuracy of OTDOA is higher than that of the CELL ID method, but its accuracy is affected by the environment. In the suburbs and rural areas, the mobile station can be positioned within 10-20 meters; No, it is difficult for the signal to reach the mobile station directly from the base station. Generally, it has to go through refraction or reflection, and the TOA of the downlink pilot signal will have an error, so the positioning accuracy will be affected, and the positioning range is about 100-200 meters. Generally, the OTDOA positioning response time is about 3-6s. The network-assisted GPS positioning (Assisted Global Positioning Systems, referred to as "A-GPS") method requires both the network and the mobile station to be able to receive GPS information. Its basic principle is: the network provides auxiliary GPS information to the mobile station, including auxiliary information of GPS pseudo-range measurement (such as GPS acquisition auxiliary information, GPS positioning auxiliary information, GPS sensitivity auxiliary information, GPS satellite working status information, etc.) and mobile station Auxiliary information for position calculation (such as GPS almanac and correction data, GPS ephemeris, GPS navigation message, etc.), using this information, the mobile station can quickly capture satellites, receive measurement information, and then send the measurement information to the network The positioning service center of the mobile station calculates the current location of the mobile station. Since the position calculation is completed in the network, the complexity of the GPS reception of the mobile station is greatly reduced, and the power consumption can be reduced. In an open environment, such as suburban or rural areas, multipath and occlusion can be ignored, and the positioning accuracy of A-GPS can reach about 10m or even better; if the mobile station is in an urban environment, there is no occlusion and the multipath is not serious, the positioning The accuracy will be around 30-70m; if the mobile station is indoors or in other areas with severe multipath and occlusion, it is difficult for the mobile station to capture enough satellite signals, and A-GPS will not be able to complete the positioning, which is its biggest limitation . The above are the three basic positioning technologies specified in R99. They can be used in different situations. The positioning method based on CELLID can be used when the positioning accuracy is low; the OTDOA method can be used when the positioning accuracy is high and the terminal and network It is used when there is no GPS receiving device; while the network-assisted GPS positioning method is suitable for use when the positioning accuracy is high and the terminal and the network have GPS receiving devices. In addition, these methods can be mixed at the same time to make up for each other's deficiencies. For example, using CELL-ID and OTDOA technologies at the same time can obtain better positioning results in rural areas and dense urban areas. In the initial stage of WCDMA network commercial use, most terminals do not have GPS equipment, and the location services (Location Services, referred to as "LCS") business types are not rich, the network will mainly use the first two methods to provide location services; with the development and maturity of the network, the network The application of assisted GPS positioning technology will increase, and the network will use multiple positioning technologies to provide LCS services for different applications and different users under different circumstances.

After the RNC selects a positioning mode according to the obtained UE capability information, it sends a start command to the UE to start the UE's positioning measurement function and cell information measurement function. The RNC requires the UE to perform measurements according to the requirements of network optimization, and here starts the Received Signal Strength Indication received by the UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access ("UTRA") carrier (carrier) of the cell. "RSSI" for short), and the ratio of the common pilot channel (Common Pilot Channel, "CPICH") per modulation bit power and noise spectral density (Ratio of energy per modulating bit to the noise spectral density, "Ec/No") Measurement. According to the agreement, UE must support the measurement of RSSI and Ec/N0. In this way, when the UE call access is in the connected state, that is, when the cell forward access channel (CELL_FACH) and the cell dedicated channel (CELL_DCH), the RNC learns that the UE supports the positioning function through the UE capability reported by the UE, and that the NodeB supports accurate Positioning function, if the system requires to collect test data for network optimization, it will send positioning measurement control, UTRAcarrier RSSI and Ec/N0 measurement control messages to the UE, requiring the UE to report positioning information, RSSI and Ec/N0 values.

The reporting period here is determined according to the characteristics of the cell. Among them, the community planning speed can be divided into pedestrian zone, low speed, medium speed and high speed. The types of residential areas can be further divided into dense urban areas, urban areas, suburban areas, and rural areas. Different cell types require different location resolutions. Generally, it is 50 meters, 12.5 meters is required in the urban area, and the minimum requirement is 5 meters in the downtown area. The following formula can be used to calculate the reporting period of the UE:

Reporting period = cell resolution/cell planning speed

The calculated reporting period is then matched downwards with the value specified in the protocol, and the value with the smaller period is taken.

In step 130, since according to the judgment in 110, the UE does not meet the requirements of network planning assisted measurement, it is not used for testing. Because if the positioning capability of the UE is not accurate enough, the measured data will not have any value for network optimization.

From step 120 to step 140, the RNC collects or calculates UE location information, combines the collected information required for network optimization, and reports to the background. In this step, if the UE can directly calculate the location, it reports the location information; otherwise, the RNC calculates the UE location according to the UE location measurement report information combined with the existing own location information. The RNC reports to the background in the form of time, location, and RSSI, Ec/N0 value combination structure. The latitude and longitude of the base station location, antenna height and other information have been measured during the initial network planning. All these information together can be used as auxiliary measurement data for network planning for further optimization of the network.

Then enter step 150, the background saves the received data for further optimization of the network. The information collected in the background may include network information in different time periods and locations. These information can fully show the time characteristics and location characteristics of the network.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein, and without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A network optimization auxiliary testing method, is characterized in that, comprises the following steps: The user equipment in the network described in A establishes information interaction with the network-side equipment, and the user equipment reports its own positioning capability according to the requirements of the network-side equipment; B. The network side device judges whether the user equipment meets the requirements of the test according to the positioning capability reported by the user equipment, and if so, starts the user equipment to perform positioning measurement and cell information measurement, otherwise does not use the user equipment to participate test; C. The user equipment periodically reports the measurement result to the network side device. 2. the network optimization auxiliary test method according to claim 1, is characterized in that, described method also further comprises the following steps: D. The network side device sends the received measurement result and its collection time to the background device, and the background device saves the measurement result and its collection time. 3. The network optimization auxiliary testing method according to claim 1, wherein the network side device is a radio network controller. 4. The network optimization auxiliary testing method according to claim 3, wherein said step A further comprises the following sub-steps: A1 When the radio network controller receives a radio resource control connection establishment request message from the user equipment, the radio network controller replies a radio resource control connection establishment request message to the user equipment, wherein the user equipment is required to Report its positioning capabilities; A2 The user equipment sends a radio resource control connection establishment complete message to the radio network controller, which includes positioning capability information of the user equipment. 5 . The network optimization assisted testing method according to claim 4 , wherein the positioning capability information includes information on whether the user equipment has positioning capability and the highest positioning accuracy of the user equipment. 6 . 6. The network optimization auxiliary testing method according to claim 1, wherein said step B further comprises the following sub-steps: The network side device selects the positioning mode of the user equipment according to the priority order of positioning accuracy. 7 . The network optimization assisted testing method according to claim 6 , wherein the positioning method can be a positioning technology based on cell identification, or an observation time difference positioning technology, or a network-assisted global positioning system positioning technology. 8 . 8. The network optimization auxiliary testing method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the calculation method of the reporting cycle of the periodic reporting of the measurement results is as follows: Reporting period = cell resolution/cell planning speed. 9. The network optimization assisted testing method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the measurement result includes location information of the user equipment, the terrestrial wireless network of the Universal Mobile Communications System at the location of the user equipment. Ratio of access carrier received field strength indication, common pilot channel power per modulated bit, and noise spectral density.

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