Operation management system of radio communication system and method thereof, and operation management apparatus and program to be employed for it

• US 7,577,436 B2
• Filed: 09/01/2004
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ebata, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Harper; Vincent P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sabouri; Mazda
• Application Number:
  US10/930,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20050048965A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,812 Days
• Field of Search: 379/32.01, 455/424, 455/446, 455/453
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

An operation management system in a radio communication system, including a plurality of wireless base stations, includes: a cell determining means for determining a boundary of a cell by: collecting power transmitted, and antenna gain, from each wireless base station, computing a propagation loss from each of the wireless base stations at an arbitrary observation point, using a statistical technique employing an estimation model in which a radio wave damps depending upon distance or by use of a ray-tracing method, computing power received from each wireless base station at the observation point, deciding that the wireless base station that achieves maximum received power at the observation point is a connection base station at the observation point, and determining the space between points in which connection base stations differ as cell boundaries.

Claims

1. An operation management system in a radio communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations, said operation management system having:

a cell determining means for determining a boundary of a cell corresponding to one of said plurality of wireless base stations, said cell being smaller or equal to a coverage range of said one of said plurality of said wireless base stations, the boundary of a cell being determined by the cell determining means;

collecting power transmitted, and antenna gain, from each wireless base station,

computing a propagation loss from each of the wireless base stations at an arbitrary observation point, using a statistical technique employing an estimation model in which a radio wave damps depending upon distance or by use of a ray-tracing method,

computing power received from each wireless base station at the observation point,

deciding that the wireless base station that achieves maximum received power at the observation point is a connection base station at the observation point, and

determining the space between points in which connection base stations differ as cell boundaries;

an operational situation acquiring means for acquiring an operational situation of said cell by said cell, based upon operational information in each said cell; and

a displaying means for displaying cells in a service area of said radio communication system by displaying said cell boundaries determined by said cell determining means, and for displaying in each of said cells a uniform indication of the operational situation obtained by said operational situation acquiring means.

2. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is average received power of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

3. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

4. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is an average interference amount of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

5. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is an average SI (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

6. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is a load status of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

7. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is a throughput of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

8. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

9. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said operational situation is at least two of average received power, an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio, an average interference amount, an average SI (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio, a load status, a throughput, and a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

10. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said radio communication system is a wireless LAN system including a switching means having a wireless LAN switching function connected to said plurality of said wireless base stations, and wherein said switching means has a function of said operational situation acquiring means provided.

11. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein a wireless terminal to be connected to anyone of said wireless base stations has a function of said displaying means provided.

31. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said cell determining means includes a computer simulation means that simulates the boundary of the cell.

32. The operation management system according to claim 31, wherein the computer simulation means simulates the boundary of the cell based on power transmitted from each of the wireless base stations.

33. The operation management system according to claim 31, wherein said computer simulation means simulates the boundary of the cell using ray-tracing method.

34. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein said cell determining means for determining a cell is a means of deciding a connection base station at any observation point in the cell based on a maximum received power.

12. An operation management method in a radio communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations, said operation management method having:

determining a boundary of a cell corresponding to one of said plurality of wireless base stations, said cell being smaller or equal to a coverage range of said one of said plurality of said wireless base stations, the boundary of a cell being determined by the cell determining step;

collecting power transmitted, and antenna gain, from each wireless base station,

computing a propagation loss from each of the wireless base stations at an arbitrary observation point, using a statistical technique employing an estimation model in which a radio wave damps depending upon distance or by use of a ray-tracing method,

computing power received from each wireless base station at the observation point,

deciding that the wireless base station that achieves maximum received power at the observation point is a connection base station at the observation point, and

determining the space between points in which connection base stations differ as cell boundaries;

acquiring an operational situation of said cell by said cell, based upon operational information in each said cell; and

displaying cells in a service area of said radio communication system by displaying said cell boundaries determined by said cell determining step, and for displaying in each of said cells a uniform indication of the operational situation obtained by said operational situation acquiring step.

13. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is average received power of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

14. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

15. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is an average interference amount of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

16. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is an average Si (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

17. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is a load status of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

18. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is a throughput of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

19. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

20. The operation management method according to claim 12, wherein said operational situation is at least two of average received power, an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio, an average interference amount, an average SI (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio, a load status, a throughput, and a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

21. An operation management apparatus in a radio communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations, each having a cell corresponding thereto, said operation management apparatus having:

an operational situation acquiring means for obtaining an operational situation of the cell corresponding to each of said plurality of said wireless base stations, each said cell being defined by a boundary being smaller or equal to a coverage range of its respective wireless base station, the boundary of a cell being determined by;

collecting power transmitted, and antenna gain, from each wireless base station,

computing a propagation loss from each of the wireless base stations at an arbitrary observation point, using a statistical technique employing an estimation model in which a radio wave damps depending upon distance or by use of a ray-tracing method,

computing power received from each wireless base station at the observation point,

deciding that the wireless base station that achieves maximum received power at the observation point is a connection base station at the observation point, and

determining the space between points in which connection base stations differ as cell boundaries; and

displaying means for displaying cells in a service area of said radio communication system by displaying said cell boundaries, and for displaying in each of said cells a uniform indication of the operational situation obtained by said operational situation acquiring means.

22. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is average received power of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

23. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

24. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is an average interference amount of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

25. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is an average SI (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

26. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is a load status of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

27. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is a throughput of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

28. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

29. The operation management apparatus according to claim 21, wherein said operational situation is at least two of average received power, an average SN (signal-to-noise) ratio, an average interference amount, an average SI (signal (desired wave)-to-interference wave) ratio, a load status, a throughput, and a wireless channel usage of a wireless appliance belonging to each said cell.

30. A computer readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute an operation of an operation management apparatus in a radio communication system including a plurality of wireless base stations, said program including a process of obtaining an operational situation said cell by said cell, based upon operational information in cells corresponding to each of said plurality of said wireless base stations, each of said cells being defined by boundaries being smaller or equal to a coverage range of respective wireless base station, the boundary of a cell being determined by:

collecting power transmitted, and antenna gain, from each wireless base station, computing a propagation loss from each of the wireless base stations at an arbitrary observation point, using a statistical technique employing an estimation model in which a radio wave damps depending upon distance or by use of a ray-tracing method, computing power received from each wireless base station at the observation point, deciding that the wireless base station that achieves maximum received power at the observation point is a connection base station at the observation point, and determining the space between points in which a connection base stations differ as cell boundaries, and a process of displaying for cells in a service area of the radio communication system by displaying said cell boundaries, and for displaying in each of said cells a uniform indication of the operational situation obtained by the operational situation obtaining process.