Network discovery method and apparatus for cellular mobile radio networks
First Claim
1. A network discovery method for determining information about a cellular mobile radio network comprising a fixed part having switching elements and radio elements providing radio coverage in a plurality of cells, each cell having at least one said radio element, and mobile stations for communicating with said fixed part via the radio elements, the method comprising:
- monitoring signalling messages passed between the radio elements and the switching elements,selecting at least one signalling message in accordance with occurrence of the signalling message within a predetermined time window and in accordance with a predetermined selection criteria,extracting data from said at least one signalling message,correlating said extracted data with previously extracted data and,repeating said selecting, extracting and correlating steps until each monitored radio element is identified with respect to other network entities.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for monitoring a cellular mobile radio system and for identifying monitored radio elements within the network with respect to other network entities. The logical and physical topology of a cellular mobile radio system is determined by monitoring messages passed across a communications interface in the system. Embodiments of the invention associate common information occurring in different messages, and over time, establish the topology of a network, even though messages passed across the monitored interface do not comprise unique system-wide addressing information. In particular, the present method provides a mapping between radio elements (TRX) and other network entities (TEI, CI, and LAI) in a GSM type cellular system by monitoring messages across the Abis and A interfaces.
97 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A network discovery method for determining information about a cellular mobile radio network comprising a fixed part having switching elements and radio elements providing radio coverage in a plurality of cells, each cell having at least one said radio element, and mobile stations for communicating with said fixed part via the radio elements, the method comprising:
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monitoring signalling messages passed between the radio elements and the switching elements, selecting at least one signalling message in accordance with occurrence of the signalling message within a predetermined time window and in accordance with a predetermined selection criteria, extracting data from said at least one signalling message, correlating said extracted data with previously extracted data and, repeating said selecting, extracting and correlating steps until each monitored radio element is identified with respect to other network entities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. Apparatus for identifying the relationship between radio elements and other network entities within a cellular mobile radio network, the network comprising a fixed part having switching elements and radio elements providing radio coverage in a plurality of cells, each cell having at least one said radio element, and mobile stations for communicating with said fixed part via the radio elements, the apparatus comprising:
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probe means for monitoring signalling messages passed between an identified one of the radio elements and the switching elements, extracting means for extracting data from at least one predetermined signalling message selected in accordance with occurrence of the signalling message within a predetermined time window, and analysis means for determining from extracted data a relationship between the monitored radio element and other network entities. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification