KR20070016830A - Mobile communication network verification system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a mobile communication network verification system and method thereof. The mobile communication network verification system includes a central control unit for controlling overall operation and receiving information required for call simulation, a call generation unit for automatically generating a call using a terminal according to a command from the central control unit, and the call. An integrated call analysis unit for collecting messages transmitted and received between the systems constituting the mobile communication network by the call generated by the generation unit, analyzing the collected messages, and transmitting the analyzed information to the central control unit; It provides a test environment and has a service control unit that performs a function of checking or changing a subscriber service profile in connection with an external system related to a specific service.

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically perform verification of the mobile communication network and individual systems.

Mobile communication network, No.7, call simulation

Description

Mobile communication network verification system and its method {SYSTEM FOR TESTIFYING MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK AND METHOD THEREOF}

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a mobile communication network verification system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a system block diagram exemplarily illustrating a mobile communication network to which the mobile communication network verification system 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is applied.

3 is a system block diagram illustrating a portion of a mobile communication network for exemplarily creating a call transaction flow diagram by a mobile communication network verification system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a call transaction flow chart in a specific section in the mobile communication network of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating transactions generated in each section of the mobile communication network in relation to a specific call in the mobile communication network of FIG. 3. It is a flowchart which produced the flowchart as an example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating operations of an integrated call analyzer of the mobile communication network verification system 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating the MAP process S640 in the flowchart of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a flowchart sequentially illustrating the ISUP process S642 in the flowchart of FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart of FIG. 6. In the flowchart, a flowchart sequentially illustrating the BSAP processing process S644.

10 exemplarily illustrates a call transaction flow chart created by an integrated call analysis unit of a mobile communication network verification system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: Mobile communication network verification system

100: central control unit

110: call generation unit

120: service control unit

130: integrated call analysis unit

140: message collection unit

The present invention relates to a mobile communication network verification system and a method thereof, and more specifically, to verify the operation of the mobile communication network and individual systems constituting the mobile communication network by collecting and analyzing messages transmitted and received between various systems constituting the mobile communication network. The present invention relates to a mobile communication network verification system and a method thereof.

In general, a signaling method used in a communication network refers to a set of rules for signal transmission that transmits information related to a call between each system constituting the communication network, information for network management and maintenance, and the like. One of these signaling methods is No. 7 Signaling is a common line (CCS) signaling standardized by the International Telecommunication Standardization Division (ITU-T) of the International Telecommunication Union, and various control signals for providing call connection between subscribers and various communication services or operating and managing a communication network. Will be delivered.

No. mentioned above. 7 In the structure of signaling protocol, message transfer part (hereinafter referred to as 'MTP'), signal connection, which is responsible for control of signal transmission, error correction, and security measures of signal network, etc. Signaling Connection Control Part (hereinafter referred to as 'SCCP'), Integrated Information and Communication Network User Part (ISDN User Part; hereafter referred to as 'ISUP') It consists of a Transaction Capabilities Application Part (hereinafter referred to as TCAP) and an Application Part (called AP).

On the other hand, No. which performs signal transmission and various communication services for controlling the communication network. 7 The signaling network is composed of a signaling point (SP) for sending, receiving, or transmitting a signal message generated by a user, and a signaling link (SL), which is a logical signal transmission path connecting the corresponding signal points. . Here, the signal point includes a signaling end point (SEP) for transmitting or receiving a message, and a signal relay point (STP) for transmitting a message from one signal link to another signal link in a pair. There is. The signal endpoint includes an origination point (OP) where a signal message is generated and a destination point (DP) which is a destination of the signal message. In addition, the set of corresponding signal links is called a Signaling LinkSet (SL), and a path for delivering a message to a signaling point is called a signaling route (SR), and is a routing path for one signal destination point. The set of signal routes is called a signal routeset. That is, the above No. 7 The signal network consists of the above-mentioned data point, signal link, signal link set, and specification data for the signal route, and transmits the signal message generated by the originating point through a specific signal link of the signal link set to the called point. Call connection and service request will be performed.

On the other hand, a number of systems, such as MSC, BSC, HLR, SCP, SMSC, etc. exist in the mobile communication network, network operators when applying new software or hardware package to each of these systems, or if a problem occurs on the network In order to ensure the reliability and stability of the network, the process of verifying the package or testing the network is performed.

In order to test a network or verify a specific package as described above, it is conventionally operated by debugging the internal logic of the software of each system or by using a system trace function through a man machine command in an operation terminal. We looked at the data displayed on the terminal and analyzed the transaction with the adjacent system.

In addition, in order to analyze the relationship between each system constituting the entire network, the actual call is judged based on its success.

Such conventional verification methods are mostly manual verification methods of network operators. Therefore, if the package in the system is frequently replaced, there is a problem in that it takes a lot of time and labor costs to verify the package. In addition, when a problem occurs during the verification of the relationship between the systems in the entire network, there is a problem that it is very difficult to determine which system in the network behaves abnormally, even in this case the manpower and time for verification It will take a lot.

On the other hand, as mobile supplementary services (eg, prepaid subscribers, call forwarding, etc.) become more diverse, there is no proper way to properly verify each system and the entire mobile communication network for each service-specific scenario. When developed, network operators face many challenges to verify each service.

Accordingly, the present applicant is to propose a method of identifying the organic coupling relationship between the systems constituting the mobile communication network and confirming the normal operation of each system and the entire networks.

An object of the present invention for solving the above problems is to provide a mobile communication network verification system that can verify the overall operation of the mobile communication network by collecting and analyzing messages transmitted and received between the systems constituting the mobile communication network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication network verification system that can verify the operation of a specific section constituting a mobile communication network by creating a transaction flow diagram for a particular call transmitted and received between specific sections of the mobile communication network.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mobile network verification system capable of verifying a process in which a particular call is processed in a mobile communication network by creating a transaction flow chart for all transactions related to a particular call in all sections of the mobile communication network. .

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a method for verifying a mobile communication network capable of verifying the overall operation of the mobile communication network by collecting and analyzing messages transmitted and received between systems constituting the mobile communication network.

A feature of the present invention for achieving the above-described technical problem relates to a mobile communication network verification system that can verify the operation of the mobile communication network, the mobile communication network verification system,

 A central control unit which controls overall operation and receives necessary information for call simulation;

A call generator for automatically generating a call using a terminal according to a command from the central controller;

An integrated call analysis unit for collecting messages transmitted and received between the systems constituting the mobile communication network by the call generated by the call generation unit, analyzing the collected messages, and transmitting the analyzed information to the central control unit;

A service control unit providing a service scenario test environment and performing a function of checking or changing a subscriber service profile by interworking with an external system related to a specific service;

The N0.7 protocol signals transmitted and received between the systems constituting the mobile communication network are collected, converted into TCP / IP signals, and multiplexed and transmitted to the integrated call analysis unit. Verify the operation.

The integrated call analysis unit of the mobile communication network verification system of the above-mentioned feature detects the origination point, destination point code and transaction ID information from the collected messages and stores them in a database. Call transaction flow in the network for a particular call by analyzing transactions for each node and creating a call transaction flow for a particular node, or detecting the associated call transaction of all nodes for a particular call. ) Is preferable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for verifying a mobile communication network relates to a method for verifying a mobile communication network by collecting messages transmitted and received between nodes constituting the mobile communication network.

(a) checking whether the collected message is a call related message,

(b) if the message is a call related message, detecting linkset information from the message;

(c) identifying the type of protocol of the message, and detecting specific parameters determined from the message according to the type of protocol of the message;

(d) checking whether the message is a message to be collected by using the linkset information and specific parameters;

(e) if the message is a message to be collected, storing the message in a call information database classified according to the protocol

And to analyze the transactions for a particular call.

Step (c) of the verification method of the aforementioned feature,

(c-1) identifying the type of protocol of the message;

(c-2) if the protocol of the message is MAP, detecting a mobile telephone number and a transaction ID number from the message;

(c-3) if the protocol of the message is ISUP, detecting a mobile telephone number and a line identification number from the message;

(c-4) If the protocol of the message is BSAP, it is preferable to include detecting a mobile telephone number and a local reference number from the message, to analyze the transaction for the particular call.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the configuration and operation of the mobile communication network verification system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a mobile communication network verification system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the system 10 according to the present invention includes a central controller 100, a call generator 110, a service controller 120, an integrated call analyzer 130, and a message collector 140. do. Hereinafter, each component mentioned above is demonstrated.

First, the central control unit 100 controls the overall operation of the verification system 10 according to the present invention, receives information required for call simulation, and generates a call to the call generation unit 110 according to the input information. Command That is, when the verification system according to the present invention inputs an outgoing telephone number and an incoming telephone number to be searched by the user to the central control unit 100, the verification system according to the present invention relates to a call of the incoming / outgoing telephone number input by the user in all nodes in the mobile communication network. It will track the call transaction and provide the analysis result.

In addition, the central control unit 100 provides a user interface of the verification system, synchronizes each module constituting the verification system, and performs comprehensive control.

The call generation unit 110 automatically generates a call for an incoming / outgoing telephone number requested from the central control unit 100 using a terminal according to a command from the central control unit.

The service control unit 120 provides a service scenario test environment and performs a function of checking or changing a subscriber service profile by interworking with external systems related to a specific service. Here, the external system interworking with the service control unit may be a service network entity in a mobile communication network, and may be SCP, HLR, or the like.

The message collecting unit 140 collects messages of N0.7 protocol signals transmitted and received between the systems constituting the mobile communication network, and multiplexes the collected messages with the collected time and node information tag, and then multiplexes the TCP / IP signals. Converted to and transmitted to the integrated call analysis unit 130. The message collecting unit 140 may be included in the verification system 10 according to the present invention. The message collecting unit 140 may be disposed outside the verification system as an independent device of the verification system 10 to provide the information to the verification system 10. You can also send. On the other hand, in the section for transmitting and receiving signals using the TCP / IP protocol of the system section constituting the mobile communication network, the integrated call analysis unit 130 may collect the message without passing through the message collection unit 140. have.

The integrated call analyzer 130 decodes the messages transmitted from the message collector 140 and stores them in a call information database, analyzes the decoded messages for each node section and call unit, and analyzes the result. Send information to the central control unit. The call information database stores and manages call identification information (Call ID) and call transaction information for each call identification information. The call transaction information includes an origination point code, a destination point code, Caller ID, Caller ID, Message Type, Transaction ID (TID), Call Start Time, Call End Time, and the number of messages sent and received on all calls.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a mobile communication network in which the verification system 10 having the above-described configuration is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, the verification system 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may be applied to a mobile communication network such as an intelligent network.

As shown in FIG. 2, a mobile communication network such as an intelligent network is composed of system nodes such as BTS, BSC, MSC, STP, HLR, SSP, SCP, PDSN, SGSN, IWF, and the like. ) Collects messages transmitted and received between each node through the data collector 140.

The call generation unit 110 of the verification system 10 automatically generates a call to be simulated using a terminal under the control of a central control unit, and the integrated call analysis unit transmits and receives between nodes of a mobile communication network by the call. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the collected messages are analyzed for each system section and for each call unit.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a part of a mobile communication network, and FIG. 4 is a call transaction flow diagram for a system section of the SSP 310 and the SCP 320 of FIG. 3. As shown in Figure 4, the integrated call analysis unit of the verification system analyzes the transactions transmitted and received between the SSP and the SCP for a particular call to create a call transaction flow diagram and transmit to the central control unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a call transaction by analyzing related transactions transmitted and received between nodes, which are systems on the mobile communication network of FIG. 3, for a specific call. As shown in FIG. 5, the integrated call analyzer of the verification system analyzes all transactions related to a specific call, prepares a call transaction flow diagram, and transmits it to the central controller.

6 to 9, the operation of the integrated call analyzer 130 of the verification system 10 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

6 is a flowchart sequentially explaining the operation of the integrated call analysis unit 130 according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, first, a collected message is analyzed (step 600), and it is checked whether the message is a call related signaling message (step 610). In the case of a call-related signaling message, link set information and a mobile phone identification number (hereinafter referred to as 'MIN') are collected and a specific key value in the message is detected ( Step 620). Here, the link set information is section information of a transaction, and refers to information about a source node and a node of a transaction.

Next, the type of protocol is determined by analyzing key values for specific parameters in each message (step 630). If the protocol of the message is MAP (Mobile Application Part), the procedure shown in FIG. 7 is performed (step 640). If the protocol of the message is ISUP, the procedure shown in FIG. 8 is performed (step 642) If the protocol of the message is BSAP, the procedure shown in FIG. 9 is performed (step 644), and each procedure will be described later. After performing steps 640, 642, and 644 described above, the process returns to step 600 to repeatedly perform the analysis procedure on the collected messages.

First, FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure performed when the protocol is MAP. Referring to FIG. 7, first, it is checked whether the LinkSet, the MIN, and the transaction identification information (Transaction ID: 'TID') are correct (step 700). If the information is correct, it is checked whether call identification information exists (step 710). If call identification information does not exist, call identification information is generated (step 712). After storing the message in the memory allocated to the call identification information (step 720), it is checked whether the message is a call end message or a transaction end message (step 722). If the message is not a call end message or a transaction end message, the message returns to '4' of FIG. 6.

If the message is a call end message or a transaction end message by checking the operation type of the message, the transaction information of the call identification information is set to the end state (step 724), and the message is a call end message. Check (step 726). At this time, whether the call is terminated is determined by an 'ISUP Rlease Complete' message or a 'SCCP Rlease Complete' message.In the MAP protocol, when an 'Origination Request' or 'Analyzed Information' message exists, the call start message is displayed. Judging by. On the other hand, the end of the transaction is determined by the message type tag of the transaction portion and the component type tag of the component portion of the TCAP parameters in the MAP message. If it is not the call termination message in step 726, it returns to '4' of FIG.

If it is a call termination message, it is checked whether all transactions in the call identification information are terminated (step 728). If all transactions in the call identification information are not terminated, the process returns to '4' in FIG.

If all transactions in the call identification information are terminated, an end time for the call is set (step 730), and the call ends after the end time expires (step 740). Next, the information stored in the memory allocated to the call identification information is stored in the database and then terminated (step 750).

8 is a flowchart performed when the protocol of the message is ISUP, and all other than the step (step 800) of checking whether the LinkSet, the MIN, and the circuit identification number (circuit ID code: hereinafter referred to as 'CIC') are correct. The steps are the same as in FIG.

9 is a flow chart performed when the protocol of the message is a BSAP (Base Station Application Part), which checks whether the LinkSet, the MIN, and the local reference number (hereinafter referred to as 'LRN') are correct. All steps other than step 900 are the same as in FIG.

The system according to the present invention creates a call transaction flow diagram using the transaction information for the call identification information stored in the database by the above-described process.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, this is merely an example and is not intended to limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art do not depart from the essential characteristics of the present invention. It will be appreciated that various modifications and applications which are not illustrated above in the scope are possible. And differences relating to such modifications and applications should be construed as being included in the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

According to the present invention, when there is a change in a package such as software or hardware of systems constituting a mobile communication network or a problem occurs in the communication network, the operation of each system can be verified. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to generate a call from the end-to-end point of view of the entire mobile communication network, to control a service, and to collect a result to provide an operator with comprehensive call analysis data.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to maximize the efficiency of human and economic resources required for reliability verification and verification of communication networks and individual systems.

In particular, the system according to the present invention is applied to an intelligent network service, it is possible to provide more accurate and efficient analysis data.

Claims (10)

A central control unit for controlling overall operation and receiving information required for call simulation; A call generation unit for automatically generating a call using a terminal according to a command from the central control unit; An integrated call analysis unit for collecting messages transmitted and received between the systems constituting a mobile communication network by the call generated by the call generation unit, analyzing the collected messages, and transmitting the analyzed information to the central control unit; And a mobile communication network verifying system for verifying an operation of each system constituting the mobile communication network. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile communication network verification system further includes a service control unit. The service controller provides a service scenario test environment and performs a function of checking or changing a subscriber service profile by interworking with an external system related to a specific service. The mobile communication network verification system of claim 1, further comprising a message collecting unit, wherein the message collecting unit collects and converts N0.7 protocol signals transmitted and received between each system constituting the mobile communication network into a TCP / IP signal. And then multiplexing and transmitting the multiplexed data to the integrated call analyzer. The method of claim 1, wherein the integrated call analyzer detects an origination point, a destination point code, and a transaction ID information from the collected messages and stores the information in a database. Mobile communication network verification system, characterized in that.  The method of claim 1, wherein the integrated call analyzer detects an origination point, a destination point code, and a transaction ID information from the collected messages, and stores the information in a database. , And using the database, analyze a transaction for each node to create a call transaction flow for a specific node.  The method of claim 1, wherein the integrated call analyzer detects an origination point, a destination point code, and a transaction ID information from the collected messages, and stores the information in a database. , Using the database, detecting associated call transactions of all nodes for a particular call, and using the detected transaction information, creating a call transaction flow in a network for a particular call. Network verification system. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the central control unit instructs the call generation unit to generate a call according to an outgoing telephone number and an incoming telephone number input from the outside, The call generating unit generates a call using a terminal according to the command of the central control unit, The integrated call analysis unit tracks all transactions of the mobile communication network for the generated call from the collected messages, and analyzes the tracked transactions. A method for verifying a mobile communication network by collecting messages transmitted and received between each node constituting the mobile communication network, (a) checking whether the collected message is a call related message; (b) if the message is a call related message, detecting linkset information from the message; (c) identifying the type of protocol of the message and detecting specific parameters determined from the message according to the type of protocol of the message; (d) checking whether the message is a message to be collected by using the linkset information and specific parameters; (e) if the message is a message to be collected, storing the message in a call information database classified according to the protocol And analyzing the transactions for a specific call. The method of claim 8, wherein step (c) comprises: (c-1) identifying a type of protocol of the message; (c-2) if the protocol of the message is MAP, detecting a mobile phone number and a transaction ID number from the message; (c-3) if the protocol of the message is ISUP, detecting a mobile phone number and a line identification number from the message; (c-4) if the protocol of the message is BSAP, detecting a mobile telephone number and a local reference number from the message; And analyzing a transaction for a specific call. 10. The method according to any one of claims 8 and 9, wherein the analysis method comprises: (f) if the message is a call termination message, checks whether all transactions in the call information database have been terminated, And setting a predetermined end time when the transaction is terminated, and ending the call after the end time has elapsed.

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