WO2009006846A1 - Method, apparatus for tracing calls and radio network controller - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a method to track the calls in a communication system, which comprises selecting a user terminal that exchanges signaling with the network side, and tracing the selected user terminal. Because the user terminal selected to be traced is the one which exchanges signaling with the network side, instead of tracing the user terminal that doesn't exchange signaling with the network side, the invention is always able to attain valuable information, so as to estimate the performance indices of a communication system quickly. The invention also provides an apparatus and an RNC to implement the above method.

Description

 Call tracking method, device and radio network controller

 This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 200710129407.4, entitled "Call Tracking Method, Device and Radio Network Controller", filed on July 10, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference. In this application.

Technical field

 The present invention relates to communication technologies, and more particularly to call tracking techniques.

Background technique

 Call tracking is an important feature provided by communication systems. Specifically, the communication system may track related information in the process of establishing, maintaining, and releasing services of the user terminal, thereby determining whether an abnormal situation occurs in the process, and the communication system may also be in the case of an abnormality to the user terminal. The related services are directionally tracked, and then fault location is performed based on the tracked information.

 At present, a variety of call tracking technologies have been proposed by those skilled in the art, and the Call Detailed Trace (CDT) technology is one of them. In the CDT technology, the network side can perform detailed tracking on the specified user terminal under the Radio Network Controller (RNC). The tracked information can include information about the signaling plane, the user plane, and the internal interaction of the RNC. In a specific implementation, the identifier of the user terminal that needs to be tracked is obtained first, and then the user terminal corresponding to the identifier is tracked according to the obtained identifier.

 In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventor finds that when tracking the user terminal, the CDT technology must obtain the identifier of the user terminal that needs to be tracked, and then track the user terminal corresponding to the identifier, that is, the CDT technology. Only specific user terminals can be tracked. However, in actual implementation, some user terminals may not need to perform service establishment and other processes for a period of time. If these user terminals that do not need to perform service establishment are tracked, obviously no valuable information is obtained. It is also impossible to quickly evaluate some indicators in the communication system.

Summary of the invention

 The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a call tracking method and device, and a wireless network controller, which are used to obtain valuable information, and then quickly evaluate indicators in the communication system.

 To solve the above technical problem, the present invention provides an embodiment of a call tracking method, including: selecting a user terminal that has signaling interaction with a network side; and tracking the selected user terminal.

The present invention also provides an embodiment of a call tracking device, including: a user terminal selection unit, And selecting a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side; and the user terminal tracking unit is configured to track the user terminal selected by the user terminal selection unit.

 An embodiment of a radio network controller includes the above call tracking device.

 In the embodiment of the present invention, the tracked user terminal is a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side, instead of tracking the user terminal without signaling interaction, so that valuable information is usually obtained, and the communication can be quickly evaluated. Indicators in the system.

DRAWINGS

 1 is a flowchart of a first embodiment of a call tracking method according to the present invention;

 2 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a call tracking method according to the present invention;

 3 is a flowchart of a third embodiment of a call tracking method according to the present invention;

 4 is a flowchart of a fourth embodiment of a call tracking method according to the present invention;

 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a fifth embodiment of a call tracking method according to the present invention; FIG.

 FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of a call tracking apparatus according to the present invention.

detailed description

 In the following, several embodiments of the invention will be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings.

 First, a first embodiment of the call tracking method of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in Figure 1, this method embodiment includes:

 Step S101: Select a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side.

 The network side here may include an access network. Specifically, the access network may be a UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), which may include a base station (Node B) and an RNC, and a user terminal. It can be a user equipment (UE, User Equipment).

The condition for selecting a user terminal is as long as there is signaling interaction with the network side. Of course, the conditions of the selected user terminal can be further defined, and then the user terminals that need to be tracked are selected according to these conditions. For example, an area can be specified. Any user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side in this area can be selected. The area here can be a cell or a collection of multiple cells. For example, the reason for the signaling interaction with the network side is specified. Any user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side for this reason can be selected. The reason here may be that the user terminal registers in the communication system, needs to establish a service, and the like. For example, if the type of the service to be established is specified, the user terminal whose service type is consistent with the specified service type can be selected. The service type here may include voice type, data type, and the like. Types of. For example, the signaling in the signaling interaction may be specified, and the user terminal involved in the specified signaling may be selected, where the designated signaling may be a radio resource control connection request, a radio access bearer assignment request, or the like.

 It should be noted that the above several conditions are merely examples, and those skilled in the art can completely define the conditions of the selected user terminal according to actual needs. Further, the limited condition may also be a combination of multiple conditions. For example, in the case of selecting a user terminal, the limited area may be a certain two cells. The reason for the signaling interaction may be to establish a service, and the service type may be a voice type, so that when the user terminal is selected, Within the two cells, the user terminal that establishes the voice service is selected as the object of tracking.

 In addition, before step S101, there may be a step of setting the condition of the selected user terminal, so that step S101 becomes, and according to the set condition, the user terminal having the signal interaction with the network side is selected.

 Step S102: Track the selected user terminal.

 Specifically, the user terminal can be tracked by using the CDT method, or the user terminal can be tracked by other methods. When the CDT is used to track the user terminal, detailed information can be obtained, which helps to evaluate some indicators of the communication system, such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

 In general, the KPI objectives of 3G wireless network planning should meet the principles of precise, measurable, accessible, relevant, time-bound (SM, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound). Specifically, Specific indicates accuracy, which is to avoid understanding ambiguity in the planning process; Measurable means measurable, which is a necessary condition for KPI to be used for acceptance; Attainable means achievable, here is required as 3G wireless network The planned KPI objectives should not be overstated and must be achievable and economically reasonable; Relevant means that it is relevant to operators and users, in order to reflect the needs of users and the interests of operators, some unrelated, repetitive Performance metrics should not be used as KPIs to avoid increasing the complexity and workload of acceptance; Time-bound means having time boundaries because markets and networks are constantly evolving.

KPIs are divided into many categories in 3G wireless networks. Specifically, they can be classified into the following five categories: Category 1: Coverage indicators – meaning areas in which users can enjoy network services, including geographic areas that require services. The strength of the received signal and the probability of communication Therefore, this type of indicator determines the mobility of users and is the main aspect to be considered in wireless network planning. The second category: Accessibility indicators - means to users that they can successfully access the network

 It mainly includes indicators such as voice call setup success rate, data service initiation success rate, call or service initiation duration, etc., reflecting the success probability of the user accessing the network and the speed of accessing the network. The relevant communication reliability is mainly considered in the planning. And system parameter design requirements.

 The third category: Retentivity - means to the user whether it can be maintained until the end of communication

 It mainly includes indicators such as dropped call rate, average call drop duration, handover success rate, and paging success rate, which reflects whether the user can complete the call stably and continuously after successful access. In this regard, in the wireless network planning, it is necessary to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless link, and reasonably set relevant system parameters.

 The fourth category: Wireless link quality - means to the user that the quality of the communication is good

 It mainly includes voice quality, bit error rate, data service throughput rate and loop delay. It reflects the service level of voice and data services, and is mainly affected by the signal-to-noise ratio of the wireless link.

 Category 5: Wireless Network Capacity - Affects the time probability that users can enjoy the network

 It mainly includes indicators such as network load and congestion rate, which are the key considerations in the planning of the capacity design.

 The flow shown in Fig. 1 will be described below by exemplifying several embodiments.

 In the second embodiment, the network side selects the user terminal for tracking according to the preset area. The process involved is a standard process established by Radio Resource Control (RRC).

 The specific process is shown in Figure 2, including:

 Step S201: The UE sends a radio resource control connection request to the network side (RRC Connection)

Request ).

 Step S202: After receiving the RRC connection request, the network side saves the cell information that the UE carried in the request needs to access.

 Step S203: The network side determines whether the cell that the UE needs to access is in the designated area. If yes, the UE is tracked. Otherwise, the process goes to step S204.

 Step S204: The network side sends a radio resource control connection establishment (RRC Connection Setu) message to the UE.

Step S205: The UE returns a RRC Connection Setup Complete message to the network side. It should be noted that the combination of the foregoing steps is only an implementation manner. In actual applications, the sequence of steps S202 and S204 may be adjusted according to requirements, and if the network side determines the cell that the UE needs to access. If it is not in the specified area, it can wait for the radio resource control connection request sent by other UEs or other cell information that needs to be accessed by the UE while performing the standard procedure of radio resource control establishment.

 In addition, the area designated by the network side may be one or multiple. When there are multiple designated areas, as long as the UE needs to access one of the cells, it can be determined that the UE can be tracked.

 In addition, the network side can process the radio resource control connection request of multiple UEs at the same time, that is, the network side can simultaneously determine whether the cells that multiple UEs need to access are in the designated area. If there are multiple cells that need to be accessed by the UE in the specified area, the network side can track the UEs at the same time. The network side can also select one or several UEs to track. Specifically, the network side can randomly select. One or several UEs may perform tracking, and one or several UEs may be selected for tracking according to certain conditions or conditions. The condition may be the specific situation of the UE that the UE needs to access, and the situation of the UE itself. The conditions can be determined according to actual needs.

 The application scenario of the third embodiment is the same as the application scenario of the second embodiment, and the processes involved are standard processes for establishing radio resource control. The difference is that, in the third embodiment, the network side selects the user terminal for tracking according to the pre-set access reason.

 The specific process is shown in Figure 3, including:

 Step S301: The UE sends a radio resource control connection request to the network side.

 Step S302: After receiving the RRC connection request, the network side stores the reason information of the UE accessing the cell carried in the request.

 Step S303: The network side determines whether the reason for the UE accessing the cell is the specified cause. If yes, the UE is tracked. Otherwise, the process goes to step S304.

 Step S304: The network side sends a radio resource control connection establishment message to the UE.

 Step S305: The UE returns a radio resource control connection establishment complete message to the network side.

It should be noted that the combination of the foregoing several steps is only an implementation manner. In practical applications, the sequence of steps S302 and S304 may be adjusted according to actual needs. In addition, if the network side determines UE access. If the reason for the cell is not the specified reason, the radio resource control connection request sent by other UEs may be waited for while the standard procedure of radio resource control establishment is performed. Others carry information about the reason why the UE accesses the cell.

 In addition, the reason specified by the network side may be one or multiple. When there are multiple reasons for the specified, as long as the reason for the UE accessing the cell is one of them, it can be determined that the UE can be tracked.

 In addition, the network side can simultaneously process the radio resource control connection request of multiple UEs, that is, the network side can simultaneously determine whether the reason why multiple UEs access the cell is the specified reason. If there are multiple UEs accessing the cell for the specified reason, the network side can track the UEs at the same time, and the network side can also select one or several UEs for tracking. Specifically, the network side can randomly select one. Or the tracking may be performed by several UEs, and one or several UEs may be selected for tracking according to one or some conditions. The condition may be the condition of the UE that the UE needs to access and the situation of the UE itself. Conditions can be based on actual needs.

 For the second and third embodiments, the UE may issue a radio resource control connection request upon initial registration, or may issue a radio resource control connection request upon initiation of service establishment.

 In the fourth embodiment, the network side selects the user terminal to perform tracking according to the type of the established service established in advance. The process involved is a standard procedure established by the Radio Access Bearer (RAB).

 The specific process is shown in Figure 4, including:

 Step S401: The core network (CN, Core Network) on the network side sends a radio access assignment request (RAB Assignment Request) to the access network on the network side.

 Step S402: After receiving the radio access bearer assignment request, the access network saves the type information about the UE establishment service carried in the request.

 Step S403: The access network determines whether the type of the established service is a specified service type. If yes, the UE is tracked. Otherwise, the process goes to step S404.

 Step S404: The access network returns a radio access bearer assignment response (RAB Assignment Response) to the core network.

It should be noted that the combination of the foregoing steps is only an implementation manner. In an actual application, the sequence of steps S402 and S404 may be adjusted according to actual needs, and if the access network determines the type of service establishment. If the service type is not specified, the radio access bearer assignment request sent by the core network or other type information carrying the established service may be waited for while the standard procedure for establishing the radio access bearer is performed. In addition, the service type specified by the network side may be one or multiple. When there are multiple types of service types, it is determined that the UE can be tracked as long as the service type requested by the UE is one of them.

 In addition, the access network can simultaneously process the radio access bearer assignment request for multiple UEs, that is, the access network can simultaneously determine whether the type of service requested by multiple UEs is a specified service type. If the types of services that are requested by multiple UEs are all specified, the access network can track the UEs at the same time. The access network can also select one or several UEs for tracking. Specifically, the access network One or several UEs may be randomly selected for tracking, and one or several UEs may be selected for tracking according to certain conditions or conditions. The condition may be the condition of the UE that the UE needs to access and the situation of the UE itself. Of course, the specific conditions can be determined according to actual needs.

 In the fifth embodiment, the network side selects the user terminal for tracking according to the preset signaling type.

 The specific process is as shown in FIG. 5, including: Step S502: After receiving the uplink initial direct transmission message, the network side determines whether the uplink initial direct transmission message is a specified signaling type, and if yes, tracks the UE, otherwise , for subsequent processing.

 It should be noted that after receiving the uplink initial direct transmission message, the network side may not need to first determine whether the uplink initial direct transmission message is a designated signaling type, but may directly perform a standard process of wireless communication. In addition, if the network side determines that the uplink initial direct transmission message is not the specified signaling type, the uplink initial direct transmission message sent by other UEs may be waited for while the standard procedure of the wireless communication is performed.

 In addition, the signaling type specified by the network side may be one or multiple. When there are multiple specified signaling types, as long as the uplink initial direct transmission message sent by the UE is one of them, it can be determined that it can be traced. This UE.

In addition, the network side can process the uplink initial direct transmission message of multiple UEs at the same time, that is, the network side can simultaneously determine whether the uplink initial direct transmission message of multiple UEs is the specified signaling type. If the uplink initial direct transmission messages of multiple UEs are all specified signaling types, the network side can track these UEs at the same time, and the network side can also select one or several UEs for tracking. Specifically, the network side can Randomly select one or several UEs for tracking, or you can select according to one or some conditions The one or more UEs are selected for tracking. The condition may be the condition of the cell that the UE needs to access and the situation of the UE itself. Of course, the specific conditions may be determined according to actual needs.

 The foregoing method embodiment may be implemented by multiple forms of devices. One of the call tracking devices, as shown in FIG. 6, includes: a user terminal selecting unit 601, configured to select a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side. The user terminal tracking unit 602 is configured to track the selected user terminal.

 In the above device embodiment, the condition that the user terminal selecting unit 601 selects the user terminal is that there is only signaling interaction with the network side. Of course, the conditions of the selected user terminal may be further defined, and then the user terminals that need to be tracked are selected according to these conditions. For example, an area may be specified, and any user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side in this area may select, where the area may be a cell or a collection of multiple cells. For example, the reason for the signaling interaction with the network side is specified. Any user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side for this reason can be selected. The reason may be that the user terminal registers in the communication system, needs to establish a service, and the like. For example, the type of the service to be established may be selected, and the user terminal whose service type is consistent with the specified service type may be selected, and the service type herein may include a voice type, a data type, and the like. For example, the signaling in the signaling interaction may be specified, and the user terminal involved in the specified signaling may be selected, where the designated signaling may be a radio resource control connection request, a radio access bearer assignment request, or the like.

 It should be noted that the above several conditions are merely examples, and those skilled in the art can completely define the conditions of the selected user terminal according to actual needs. Further, the limited condition may also be a combination of multiple conditions. For example, in the case of selecting a user terminal, the limited area may be a certain two cells. The reason for the signaling interaction may be to establish a service, and the service type may be a voice type, so that when the user terminal is selected, Within the two cells, the user terminal that establishes the voice service is selected as the object of tracking.

 In addition, the foregoing device embodiment may further include a tracking condition setting unit 603 for setting conditions of the selected user terminal, and providing the condition to the user terminal selecting unit 601, so that the user terminal selecting unit 601 may be configured according to The condition provided by the tracking condition setting unit 603 selects a user terminal having signaling interaction with the network side.

In the foregoing device embodiment, the user terminal tracking unit 602 may track the user terminal by using a CDT, and may also track the user terminal in other manners. When the user terminal tracking unit 602 tracks the user terminal by using the CDT method, detailed information can be obtained, which helps Evaluate some indicators of the communication system, such as KPIs.

 The foregoing embodiment of the apparatus may be applied to a radio network controller. Therefore, the present invention further provides an embodiment of a radio network controller. The schematic diagram of the structure is as shown in FIG. 6, and includes: a user terminal selecting unit 601. For selecting a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side, the user terminal tracking unit 602 is configured to track the selected user terminal. The radio network controller may further include a tracking condition setting unit 603 for setting conditions of the selected user terminal, and providing the condition to the user terminal selecting unit 601, so that the user terminal selecting unit 601 can set according to the tracking condition. The condition provided by unit 603 selects a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side. For descriptions of the user terminal selection unit 601, the user terminal tracking unit 602, and the tracking condition setting unit 603, reference may be made to the descriptions of the user terminal selection unit 601, the user terminal tracking unit 602, and the tracking condition setting unit 603 in the above call tracking device. I won't go into details here.

 In the conventional CDT technology, after the network side obtains the identifier of the user terminal that needs to be tracked, the specified user terminal is tracked. If the user terminal does not perform signaling interaction with the network side for a period of time, the network needs to be sent out. Field Test personnel test the site and get some valuable information. In the embodiment of the present invention, the user terminals that select the tracking are all user terminals that have signaling interaction with the network side, so that the tester is not required to go to the site for testing, and at the same time, some indicators of the communication system can be quickly evaluated, as opposed to The traditional CDT technology not only saves manpower and material resources, but also improves the speed of detection.

 In the embodiment of the present invention, various conditions for selecting a user terminal are provided, and these conditions may be arbitrarily combined, and therefore, embodiments of the present invention are flexible and diverse.

 In addition, embodiments of the present invention can be applied to when an abnormality occurs in the KPI. Specifically, when an abnormality occurs in the KPI, the network side may select a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the specific area to perform tracking, so that specific information can be obtained, and the abnormality can be quickly and accurately located.

 The above description is only a few embodiments of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and retouchings without departing from the principles of the present invention. It should be considered as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

Rights request  A call tracking method, comprising:  Selecting a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side;  Tracking the selected user terminal.  The call tracking method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in addition to having a signaling interaction with the network side, the condition of the selected user terminal further satisfies a condition set in advance.  The call tracking method according to claim 2, wherein the pre-set condition is at least one of the following conditions:  The user terminal is in a designated area;  The reason why the user terminal performs signaling interaction with the network side is the specified reason;  If the signaling interaction is a signaling interaction of the service establishment process, the type of the service established by the user terminal and the network side is a specified service type;  The signaling in the signaling interaction is a specified signaling type.  The call tracking method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the selected user terminal is tracked by means of calling detailed information tracking CDT.  5. A call tracking device, comprising:  a user terminal selection unit is configured to select a user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side; and a user terminal tracking unit is configured to track the user terminal selected by the user terminal selection unit.  The call tracking device according to claim 5, further comprising:  a tracking condition setting unit, configured to set a condition of the selected user terminal, and provide the condition to the user terminal selection unit;  The user terminal selecting unit further selects the user terminal that has signaling interaction with the network side according to the condition provided by the tracking condition setting unit.  The call tracking device according to claim 6, wherein the tracking condition setting unit sets a condition of at least one selected user terminal described below in addition to a condition for signaling interaction with the network side:  The user terminal is in a designated area; The reason why the user terminal performs signaling interaction with the network side is the specified reason; If the signaling interaction is a signaling interaction of the service establishment process, the type of the service established by the user terminal and the network side is a specified service type;  The signaling in the signaling interaction is a specified signaling type.  The call tracking device according to claim 5, wherein the call tracking device is a radio network controller.