Monitoring cellular radio access node performance
First Claim
1. A method for a cellular radio access node in a cellular communications system, the method comprising:
- the cellular radio access node facilitating communications between a radio access network and mobile radio terminals byreceiving a downlink radio signal from a base station intended for a mobile terminal, amplifying the downlink radio signal or decoding the downlink radio signal, and transmitting the amplified or decoded downlink radio signal to the mobile terminal, andreceiving an uplink radio signal from the mobile terminal, amplifying or decoding the uplink radio signal, and transmitting the amplified or decoded uplink radio signal to the base station;
the cellular radio access node monitoring performance of a first set of one or more radio characteristics of a radio signal received by the cellular radio access node or a radio signal transmitted by the cellular radio access node;
the cellular radio access node determining whether the monitored performance exceeds an associated predetermined threshold; and
the cellular radio access node indicating a condition of the cellular radio access node for an operations and maintenance node based on the monitored performance, the indication being whether the monitored performance is satisfactory or not,wherein the operations and maintenance node(1) is separate from the base station,(2) does not process the downlink radio signal or the uplink radio signal to enable the communications between the radio access network and the mobile radio terminals, and(3) performs operations and maintenance functions associated with multiple cellular radio access nodes and multiple base stations in the cellular communications system;
the method further comprising the cellular radio access node initiating an action to improve the performance when the predetermined threshold is exceeded; and
the cellular radio access node initiating an action independent from the operations and maintenance node when the predetermined threshold is exceeded,wherein the action includes one of the following;
restarting the cellular radio access node, shutting down the cellular radio access node, or reducing an output power of the cellular radio access node.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The technology in this application reduces the maintenance effort and expense to monitor the performance of a cellular radio access node (e.g., a relay or repeater) by having the cellular radio access node automatically perform radio performance monitoring on itself and providing some kind of indication of its status to an operations and maintenance node. The cellular radio access node monitors performance of a set of one or more radio characteristics of a received radio signal received by the cellular radio access node or a transmitted radio signal transmitted by the cellular radio access node and determines whether the performance exceeds an associated predetermined threshold. The cellular radio access node indicates a condition of the cellular radio access node for the operations and maintenance node based on the monitored performance. The cellular radio access node may take independent action, e.g., shutdown, restart, reduce transmit power, etc., if a monitored condition is exceeded, e.g., transmitted noise exceeds a threshold.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for a cellular radio access node in a cellular communications system, the method comprising:
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the cellular radio access node facilitating communications between a radio access network and mobile radio terminals by receiving a downlink radio signal from a base station intended for a mobile terminal, amplifying the downlink radio signal or decoding the downlink radio signal, and transmitting the amplified or decoded downlink radio signal to the mobile terminal, and receiving an uplink radio signal from the mobile terminal, amplifying or decoding the uplink radio signal, and transmitting the amplified or decoded uplink radio signal to the base station; the cellular radio access node monitoring performance of a first set of one or more radio characteristics of a radio signal received by the cellular radio access node or a radio signal transmitted by the cellular radio access node; the cellular radio access node determining whether the monitored performance exceeds an associated predetermined threshold; and the cellular radio access node indicating a condition of the cellular radio access node for an operations and maintenance node based on the monitored performance, the indication being whether the monitored performance is satisfactory or not, wherein the operations and maintenance node (1) is separate from the base station, (2) does not process the downlink radio signal or the uplink radio signal to enable the communications between the radio access network and the mobile radio terminals, and (3) performs operations and maintenance functions associated with multiple cellular radio access nodes and multiple base stations in the cellular communications system; the method further comprising the cellular radio access node initiating an action to improve the performance when the predetermined threshold is exceeded; and the cellular radio access node initiating an action independent from the operations and maintenance node when the predetermined threshold is exceeded, wherein the action includes one of the following;
restarting the cellular radio access node, shutting down the cellular radio access node, or reducing an output power of the cellular radio access node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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7. The method 1, wherein the indicating includes the cellular radio access node sending a message to the operations and maintenance node including monitored performance data regarding the cellular radio access node.
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17. An apparatus for a cellular radio access node facilitating communications mobile radio terminals, the apparatus comprising:
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a radio circuitry configured to; receive a downlink radio signal from a base station intended for a mobile terminal, amplify or decode the downlink radio signal, and transmit the amplified or decoded downlink radio signal to the mobile terminal, and receive an uplink radio signal from the mobile terminal, amplify or decode the uplink radio signal, and transmit the amplified or decoded uplink radio signal to the base station; a monitoring circuitry configured to monitor performance of a first set of one or more radio characteristics of a radio signal received by the cellular radio access node or a radio signal transmitted by the cellular radio access node; a comparison circuitry configured to determine whether the monitored performance exceeds an associated predetermined threshold; and an indication circuitry configured to indicate a condition of the cellular radio access node for an operations and maintenance node based on the monitored performance, the indication being whether the monitored performance is satisfactory or not, wherein the operations and maintenance node (1) is separate from the base station, (2) does not process the downlink radio signal or the uplink radio signal to enable the communications between the radio access network and the mobile radio terminals, and (3) performs operations and maintenance functions associated with multiple cellular radio access nodes and multiple base stations in the cellular communications system; further comprising a circuitry configured to initiate an action to improve the performance when the predetermined threshold is exceeded; and further comprising a circuitry configured to initiate an action independent from the operations and maintenance node if the predetermined threshold is exceeded, wherein the action includes one of the following;
restarting the cellular radio access node, shutting down the cellular radio access node, or reducing an output power of the cellular radio access node. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of operating a cellular radio access node in a cellular communications system, the cellular radio access node being a repeater or a relay, method comprising:
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facilitating, by the cellular radio access node, radio communications between a radio access network and mobile radio terminals, wherein the step of facilitating the radio communication comprises receiving a downlink radio signal from a base station intended for a mobile terminal, and retransmitting the received downlink radio signal to the mobile terminal, and receiving an uplink radio signal from the mobile terminal, and retransmitting the received uplink radio signal to the base station; monitoring, by the cellular radio access node, performance of one or more radio characteristics of a radio signal received by the cellular radio access node or a radio signal transmitted by the cellular radio access node; notifying, by the cellular radio access node, an operation and maintenance node an indication of a condition of the cellular radio access node based on the monitored performance, wherein the operations and maintenance node (1) is separate from the base station, (2) does not process the downlink radio signal or the uplink radio signal to enable the communications between the radio access network and the mobile radio terminals, and (3) performs operations and maintenance functions associated with multiple cellular radio access nodes and multiple base stations in the cellular communications system, and wherein the step of notifying the operation and maintenance node comprises; establishing, by the cellular radio access node, a radio connection with the base station; and notifying, by the cellular radio access node, the operation and maintenance node via the radio connection established with the base station the method further comprising determining, by the cellular radio access node, whether the monitored performance exceeds an associated predetermined threshold; the cellular radio access node initiating an action to improve the performance when the predetermined threshold is exceeded; and the cellular radio access node initiating an action independent from the operations and maintenance node when the predetermined threshold is exceeded, wherein the action includes one of the following;
restarting the cellular radio access node, shutting down the cellular radio access node, or reducing an output power of the cellular radio access node. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification