END-TO-END SERVICE QUALITY MONITORING METHOD AND SYSTEM IN A RADIO NETWORK

• US 20110096678A1
• Filed: 08/08/2008
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/10/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 7signal Oy (7Signal Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: 7signal Oy (7Signal Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ketonen, Veli-Pekka
• Granted Patent: US 8,654,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/149 for prediction of maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/06 Testing, supervising or monitoring using simulated traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and a system for service quality monitoring in a network comprising radio interfaces. The measurements are end-to-end measurements between the end user and chosen network element. The measurements are implemented using monitoring stations which can monitor the traffic passively or actively by transmitting test signals. The antenna beam directions of the monitoring stations can be controlled. The performance server works as a counterpart of the active tests. A reporting suite may define the performed measurements and it also collects the measurement data from different monitoring stations. Monitoring data from several corporate intranets can also be collected to an external server through internet connection.

Claims

1. A method for service quality monitoring in a wireless network, the network comprising network elements which further comprise at least one monitoring means with a directional antenna, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring transmissions with at least one monitoring means with a chosen antenna direction; and

determining at least one service quality parameter using the monitored transmissions.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising:

choosing a test signal transmitter among the network elements;

transmitting a test signal through a desired route in the network;

monitoring the test signal or a received response signal in a chosen receiver among the network elements; and

calculating at least one service quality parameter from the test signal or from the received response signal.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the service quality parameters comprise at least one of availability of the radio connection, availability of the service or application, accessability to a server or service, retainability of connection or service, capacity usage, number of users connected in the cell, quality of the radio connection, quality of service and security of service.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, the method further comprising:

monitoring at least one of an end user application service availability or quality, user actions and errors in networks usage, functionality of network access control or usage charging and RF transmissions from selected locations.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, the method further comprising:

transferring the monitoring results to an internal or external server of a network owner.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, the method further comprising:

controlling at least one monitoring means by an external server or by an internal server, by setting desired measurements.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the results of monitoring, comprising network status and service quality, are retrieved from the monitoring means or displayed on a map, on a floorplan or on a screen.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, the method further comprising:

triggering an alarm, when the results of monitoring exceed predetermined ranges or vary from historical trend, or when the measured output power of the base station has a decreasing trend or exceeds regulations.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein a desired route comprises at least one radio connection of the wireless local area network.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, the method further comprising:

selecting or setting the direction of the antenna beam in horizontal, vertical or both directions before the monitoring.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, the method further comprising:

causing at least one cell change by the monitoring means during a monitoring period by selecting another antenna beam for use or redirecting the used antenna beam.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, the method further comprising:

monitoring a cell change success rate, duration and impact to end user service quality.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the monitoring means has a local area network connection or at least one wireless connection or both.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, the method further comprising:

monitoring used network devices and end user device types; and

collecting compatibility information concerning different devices of the network.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, the method further comprising:

identifying network device models and manufacturers by their MAC address.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, the method further comprising:

defining a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and the same monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

defining a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and another monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

defining a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and a test server as an ending point of the route, or

defining a test server as a starting point of a route and a monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

defining a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and a reporting server as an ending point of the route, or

defining a reporting server as a starting point of a route and a monitoring means as an ending point of the route.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-16, wherein one monitoring means is capable of accessing several separate networks, monitoring them and transmitting results separately for each monitored network.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-17, the method further comprising:

using at least one test server located in public internet or close to central application servers as test counterpart for monitoring means located inside several closed networks.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1-18, the method further comprising:

adjusting at least one of the transmitted output power and received signal level of the monitoring means.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, the method further comprising:

setting data rate used in the monitoring lower than automatically selected data rate.

21. The method according to any one of claims 1-20, the method further comprising:

monitoring usage of radio channels in the wireless network;

monitoring channel selection overlap between adjacent radio cells; and

sending an alarm to network management in case of risk for degraded performance.

22. The method according to any one of claims 1-21, the method further comprising:

polling the monitoring means for ensuring the functionality of the monitoring means and its network connection.

23. The method according to any one of claims 1-22, the method further comprising:

measuring round trip time or a delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message in the monitoring means for a test signal transmitted between the monitoring means and a network element;

calculating a distance between the network element and the monitoring means from the round trip time or the delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message; and

calculating a location of the network element based on an antenna beam angle of the monitoring means and the calculated distance.

24. The method according to any one of claims 1-23, the method further comprising:

transmitting a test signal to an end user through at least two base stations; and

determining optimality of the serving base station from a round trip time or from a measured delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message.

25. The method according to any one of claims 1-24, the method further comprising:

measuring signal levels using at least two antenna beams of the monitoring means; and

if a signal transmitted by the network element is detected with at least two antenna beams,

calculating a location of the network element using beam amplification forms of the antenna, beam directions and the measured signal levels.

26. The method according to any one of claims 1-25, the method further comprising:

locating the position of the monitoring means by a Global Positioning System functionality.

27. The method according to any one of claims 1-26, the method further comprising:

using the monitoring means as a passive monitoring means or as an active monitoring means or as a base station serving as the traffic gateway or as a repeater station serving a desired sector or as a spare route between at least two networks implemented in at least two different technologies; and

switching the functionality of the monitoring means dynamically.

28. The method according to any one of claims 1-27, the method further comprising:

supplying power for the monitoring means through inductive connection of the electromagnetic field.

29. The method according to any one of claims 1-28, the method further comprising:

identifying desired user device for monitoring from the radio interface;

monitoring the identified user traffic in local area network; and

measuring at least one of user service quality, data security or security threat level from the local area network.

30. The method according to any one of claims 1-29, wherein the monitoring data is transferred to an application used for network management.

31. The method according to any one of claims 1-30, wherein the monitoring means is either a dedicated monitoring station or implemented integrally to a base station.

32. The method according to any one of claims 1-31, wherein the method is implemented in at least one of WLAN, WiMAX, Flash-OFDM, GSM/EDGE and WCDMA technologies.

66. The method according to any one of claims 1-32, wherein key performance indicators for the network are calculated using at least one of measured radio network signal to noise ratios, probe response times, amount of retransmissions, amount of transmitted data frames or used data rates or codecs between clients and access points or between equal network nodes or between monitoring stations and other network nodes.

33. A system for service quality monitoring in a wireless network, the network comprising network elements which further comprise at least one monitoring means with a directional antenna, the system further comprising:

at least one monitoring means configured to monitor transmissions with a chosen antenna direction; and

a calculating means configured to determine at least one service quality parameter using the monitored transmissions.

34. The system according to claim 33, the system further comprising:

a test signal transmitter configured to be chosen among the network elements, wherein the test signal transmitter is configured to transmit a test signal through a desired route in the network;

a chosen receiver among the network elements configured to monitor the test signal or a received response signal; and

the calculating means configured to calculate at least one service quality parameter from the test signal or from the received response signal.

35. The system according to claim 33 or 34, wherein the service quality parameters comprise at least one of availability of the radio connection, availability of the service or application, accessability to a server or service, retainability of connection or service, capacity usage, number of users connected in the cell, quality of the radio connection, quality of service and security of service.

36. The system according to any one of claims 33-35, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to monitor at least one of an end user application service availability or quality, user actions and errors in networks usage, functionality of network access control or usage charging and RF transmissions from selected locations.

37. The system according to any one of claims 33-36, the system further comprising:

transferring means configured to transfer the monitoring results to an internal or external server of a network owner.

38. The system according to any one of claims 33-37, the system further comprising:

an external or internal server configured to control at least one monitoring means by setting desired measurements.

39. The system according to any one of claims 33-38, wherein the system comprises means for retrieving the results of monitoring, comprising network status and service quality, from the monitoring means or a display configured to present the results of monitoring on a map or on a floorplan.

40. The system according to any one of claims 33-39, the system further comprising:

alarm triggering means configured to trigger an alarm, when the results of monitoring exceed predetermined ranges or vary from historical trend, or when the measured output power of the base station has a decreasing trend or exceeds regulations.

41. The system according to any one of claims 33-40, wherein a desired route comprises at least one radio connection of the wireless local area network.

42. The system according to any one of claims 33-41, the system further comprising:

antenna adjustment means configured to select or set the direction of the antenna beam in horizontal, vertical or both directions before the monitoring.

43. The system according to any one of claims 33-42, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to cause at least one cell change during a monitoring period by selecting another antenna beam for use or by redirecting the used antenna beam.

44. The system according to any one of claims 33-43, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to monitor a cell change success rate, duration and impact to end user service quality.

45. The system according to any one of claims 33-44, wherein the monitoring means has a local area network connection or at least one wireless connection or both.

46. The system according to any one of claims 33-45, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to monitor used network devices and end user device types; and

a memory configured to comprise the collected compatibility information concerning different devices of the network.

47. The system according to any one of claims 33-46, the system further comprising:

means for identifying network device models and manufacturers by their MAC address.

48. The system according to any one of claims 33-47, the system further comprising:

a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and the same monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and another monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and a test server as an ending point of the route, or

a test server as a starting point of a route and a monitoring means as an ending point of the route, or

a monitoring means as a starting point of a route and a reporting server as an ending point of the route, or

a reporting server as a starting point of a route and a monitoring means as an ending point of the route.

49. The system according to any one of claims 33-48, wherein one monitoring means is configured to access several separate networks, monitor them and transmit results separately for each monitored network.

50. The system according to any one of claims 33-49, the system further comprising:

at least one test server configured to be used as test counterpart for monitoring means located inside several closed networks, wherein the at least one test server is located in public internet or close to central application servers.

51. The system according to any one of claims 33-50, the system further comprising:

adjustment means configured to adjust at least one of the transmitted output power and received signal level of the monitoring means.

52. The system according to any one of claims 33-51, the system further comprising:

means for setting data rate used in the monitoring lower than automatically selected data rate.

53. The system according to any one of claims 33-52, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to monitor usage of radio channels in the wireless network;

the monitoring means configured to monitor channel selection overlap between adjacent radio cells; and

an alarm triggering means configured to send an alarm to network management in case of risk for degraded performance.

54. The system according to any one of claims 33-53, the system further comprising:

polling means configured to poll the monitoring means for ensuring the functionality of the monitoring means and its network connection.

55. The system according to any one of claims 33-54, the system further comprising:

the calculating means configured to measure round trip time or a delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message in the monitoring means for a test signal transmitted between the monitoring means and a network element;

the calculating means configured to calculate a distance between the network element and the monitoring means from the round trip time or the delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message; and

the calculating means configured to calculate a location of the network element based on an antenna beam angle of the monitoring means and the calculated distance.

56. The system according to any one of claims 33-55, the system further comprising:

a test signal transmitter configured to transmit a test signal to an end user through at least two base stations; and

the calculating means configured to determine optimality of the serving base station from a round trip time or from a measured delay between data transmission and acknowledgement message.

57. The system according to any one of claims 33-56, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to measure signal levels using at least two antenna beams; and

if a signal transmitted by the network element is detected with at least two antenna beams,

the calculating means is configured to calculate a location of the network element using beam amplification forms of the antenna, beam directions and the measured signal levels.

58. The system according to any one of claims 33-57, the system further comprising:

a Global Positioning System functionality configured to locate the position of the monitoring means.

59. The system according to any one of claims 33-58, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to be used as a passive monitoring means or as an active monitoring means or as a base station serving as the traffic gateway or as a repeater station serving a desired sector or as a spare route between at least two networks implemented in at least two different technologies; and

switching means configured to switch the functionality of the monitoring means dynamically.

60. The system according to any one of claims 33-59, the system further comprising:

power supplying means configured to supply power for the monitoring means through inductive connection of the electromagnetic field.

61. The system according to any one of claims 33-60, the system further comprising:

the monitoring means configured to identify desired user device for monitoring from the radio interface;

the monitoring means configured to monitor the identified user traffic in local area network; and

the monitoring means configured to measure at least one of user service quality, data security or security threat level from the local area network.

62. The system according to any one of claims 33-61, comprising transferring means configured to transfer the monitoring data to an application used for network management.

63. The system according to any one of claims 33-62, wherein the monitoring means is either a dedicated monitoring station or implemented integrally to a base station.

64. The system according to any one of claims 33-63, wherein the system is implemented in at least one of WLAN, WiMAX, Flash-OFDM, GSM/EDGE and WCDMA technologies.

67. The system according to any one of claims 33-64, wherein key performance indicators for the network are calculated using at least one of measured radio network signal to noise ratios, probe response times, amount of retransmissions, amount of transmitted data frames or used data rates or codecs between clients and access points or between equal network nodes or between monitoring stations and other network nodes.

65. A computer program for service quality monitoring in a wireless network, the network comprising network elements which further comprise at least one monitoring means with a directional antenna, the computer program embodied on a computer readable medium and controlling a data-processing device to perform:

monitoring transmissions with at least one monitoring means with a chosen antenna direction; and

determining at least one service quality parameter using the monitored transmissions.