Abstract:
A communications system includes a plurality of functional elements and measures properties of the functional elements. A processing function element controls the measuring and receives data from the measuring step. Communications links the central processor with the measuring element and the processing element is arranged to selectively instruct the measuring element to transmit selected data to the processing element.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to the operation, monitoring and control of a communications system. It is of particular relevance to the operation of telecommunications networks, but is not limited to such systems. 
     2. Related Art 
     In this specification the term ‘functional element’ is used to define an element of a communications system which performs some function, e.g. a switching or monitoring function, to the system itself, as distinct from an ‘application process element’ which controls a number of “Functional elements” to achieve a high level function, usually requiring concerted action from several functional elements. This high-level function may be a network application such as a handover process in a mobile radio system. 
     In a telecommunications network the functional elements of the system are widely distributed. For example, switching functionality is required at nodes throughout the system. However, in conventional telecommunications networks application process control is concentrated, requiring a large signalling load to be carried over the telecommunications network. Despite the distributed nature of the system all elements of the network which interact must have compatible signalling formats. This is a particular problem in a cellular radio network, where mobile units made by a number of different manufacturers can turn up anywhere in the system and have to interact consistently with whichever fixed part of the network they happen to have established communication with. In such a network it is difficult to arrange for enhancement or improvements, because of the need for all signalling formats to remain compatible. 
     Further problems arise in known systems because of the need for measurements of network conditions e.g. link performance to be made, and the results transmitted to a control centre, either continuously or discontinuously depending on the nature of the measurements to be made and the purpose for which they are required. This places an additional signalling overhead on the network. Many measurements are often only required in specific operating circumstances. It is therefore wasteful of signalling capacity for all possible data to be transmitted when much of it is redundant. The limited signalling capacity and the number of different measurements to be made also reduce the resolution of the measurement and/or the sampling rate that can be supported. 
     According to a first aspect of the invention a communications system comprises a plurality of measuring means for measuring properties of the traffic carried by the communications system, and a data processing element for controlling the measuring means and receiving data from the measuring means, wherein the data processing element is arranged to selectively instruct the measuring means to transmit selected data to the data processing element. 
     According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of measuring properties of a distributed system at remote points in a system, the system comprising a plurality of measuring means at the points where the properties are to be measured, the method comprising the steps of controlling the measuring means, and instructing the measuring means to transmit data to a data processing element. 
     The points at which the measuring means and data processing elements are located can be selected according to the particular functions they are required to perform. For instance, in a cellular radio network, the measurement of radio signal quality takes place at the individual base stations, but handovers and multi-casting functions require functional elements at switching points, using data from measuring means at several sites. The data processing elements may thus be located with the process control elements. 
     Dedicated signalling links between the process control units and the network operating units may be provided. However, if the system being controlled is a telecommunications network, the signalling may be carried over the traffic bearer links of the network. The process control elements need not be located at a node of the bearer network. Using the telecommunications network example, process control can be located at any point in the network, and for different functions may be located at different points. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 shows schematically a mobile radio network in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows the network of FIG. 1 in functional terms; 
     FIG. 3 is a functional representation of a system according to a second embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture incorporating the functionality of the system of FIG. 3; 
     FIGS. 5,  6  and  7  are flow charts illustrating the data flows taking place within the embodiment of FIGS.  1  and  2 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the invention, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is a communications system having means for collecting and processing data on the quality of bearer links in the system. In this embodiment the system is a mobile radio telecommunications network. The collected data in this particular example is to be used in the handover process of the mobile radio network. 
     FIG. 1 shows a simplified diagram of the mobile radio network, illustratively a cellular radio network, comprising a mobile unit  1  and three base stations  2   a ,  2   b ,  2   c  each having measuring equipment  4   a ,  4   b ,  4   c ,  4   d  for monitoring the quality of respective bearer links,  3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d . In the case of base station  2   b  the bearer links  3   b ,  3   d  are actual links with the mobile unit  1  currently in operation and carrying traffic. The other two base stations  2   a ,  2   c  are potential candidate base stations for taking handover of the mobile unit  1  from base station  2   b  and respective links  3   a ,  3   c  are not currently carrying traffic to mobile unit  1 . 
     The base stations  2   a - 2   c  are all connected to other parts of the network through a base site controller  6  and mobile switching centre  7 . 
     The individual base stations  2   a ,  2   b ,  2   c  may be co-located, for instance to cover different sectors of a cell, and the base site controller  6  may also be co-located with them. The measuring equipment  4   a ,  4   b ,  4   c ,  4   d  in the various base stations  2   a ,  2   b ,  2   c  and the mobile unit  1  need not be the same, (particularly if the base stations are at different sites) so the raw data received from each device may be different in form. In particular, modern mobile networks must be capable of supporting mobile units built by a variety of manufacturers. Although the methods of measurement may differ, the properties to be measured, such as bit error rate (BER), C/I, received power level, or bit rate are similar for each unit. 
     The process control unit  5  is located in the base site controller  6 , and is in communication with each of the measurement units  4   a - 4   d . The necessary signalling is carried over the bearer links  3   a ,  3   b ,  3   c ,  3   d , which also carry the telecommunications traffic for which the links have been set up. The process control unit  5  instructs the measurement units  4   a ,  4   b ,  4   c ,  4   d  to take measurements of link performance eg BER, C/I, received power level or bit rate. These units may collect data continuously, or may only do so in response to a signal from the process controller,  5 . 
     It will be noted that data collected by unit  4   d  at the mobile station  1  will travel by way of one of the base stations  2   b . However, the base station  2   b  does not process this data in any way but passes it on to process control unit  5  located in the base site controller  6 . There is thus a direct logical link  8   d  between measurement unit  4   d  and process control unit  5 , as well as logical links  8   a ,  8   b ,  8   c  between measurement units  4   a ,  4   b ,  4   c  and process control unit  5 . The base station  2   b  itself also sends data collected at the base station  2   b  by measurement unit  4   b . The process control unit  5  is connected to an application function C 1  e.g. a handover control function in mobile switching centre  7  or base site controller  6 , which provides the application function with data. 
     The measurement units  4   a ,  4   b ,  4   c ,  4   d  can be configured to make different measurements according to instructions received from the processing unit  5 . Such changes may be made dynamically e.g. depending on prevailing conditions, for example the type of signal e.g. voice or data being carried by the bearer, or in response to prevailing conditions elsewhere in the network, e.g. time of day/day of week. 
     The parameter to be measured (e.g bit error ratio, C/I, RSSI) can be selected dependant on the type of signal which is to be carried by the bearer (eg analogue/digital, different bit rates, etc). 
     As the measurement process control unit  5  is located in the base site controller  6 , measurement collection control is performed at as low a level in the network as possible, whilst minimising the processing power in the base stations  2   a - 2   c  themselves. By locating the process control unit  5  at a localised level, the data can be compressed and selected at this level, thereby reducing the amount of signalling from and to other parts of the network. 
     Furthermore where, for example, the base site controller  6  includes sufficient processing to identify which of the three base stations  2   a - 2   c  has the strongest signal from the mobile unit  1 , only that fact need be passed to the decision making unit (typically located in the mobile switching centre  7 ) determining whether a handover is to take place. Indeed, where handover is between base stations handled by the same base site controller the mobile switching centre  7  may not need to be involved at all. 
     The monitoring equipment  4   a - 4   d  performs the collection of bearer link quality information in the network. This equipment need only have limited functionality. Its function need only be to monitor a particular physical link and report measurements to the measurement process control unit  5 . 
     The operation of the system of FIG. 1 will now be further described with reference to FIG. 2 which illustrates the system in functional terms. In particular measurement functionality B 1  corresponds to measuring equipment  4   a - 4   d , processor function A 1  corresponds to process controller  5 , and the application function C 1  corresponds to e.g. the handover function in BSC  6  and/or MSC  7 . 
     Processor A 1  has three modules, as illustrated in FIG.  2 : an instruct and receive module  10 , a processing module  11 , and an external interface module  12 . Instruct and receive module  10  is in direct communication with the measurement functionality B 1 . This module receives measurement data from the measurement functionality B 1 , and is configured to recognise data streams as they come in and convert them into a standard format. Conversely, it also receives signals from the processing module  11  and converts them into instruction signals recognisable by the individual measuring functionalities B 1 . The instruct and receive module  10  has a functional element which is dedicated to a respective measurement functionality to which it is connected, and which is configured to be compatible with it. The functional elements of the instruct and receive module  10  required for each measurement functionality B 1  may be co-located, e.g. in software. Different functional elements may be embodied in common hardware, for instance if each measurement unit  4   a - 4   d  is polled in turn by process controller  5  using time division, the instruct and receive functionality embodied in the process controller  5  has to translate in turn between the standard processing of the processing module  11  and the format required by the measuring function B 1 . This requires the instruct and receive module  10  to be configured in each time slot for the message format used by the individual measurement functionality B 1 . The term “element” must thus be understood to embrace any function or combination of functions by which the instruct and receive module can be implemented, and correspondingly the physical realisation of the elements, modules and units can be by any means, with parts shared or not. 
     The processing module  11  handles control signals from the external interface module  12  (to be discussed below), and also processes measurement parameters received in a standardised format from the instruct and receive module  10 . The processing module  11  controls, through instruct and receive module  10 , the measurement function B 1 , and also performs any control actions required. In response to a request for data from the application C 1  received via external interface module  12 , the processing module  11  sends an instruction to the instruct and receive module  10  to collect data from the individual measurement function B 1 . These instructions are translated by the instruct and receive module  10  into the format required by the measurement functions B 1 . The measurements having been received back at the instruct and receive module  10 , and translated back into the common processing format by that module, the processing module  11  performs formatting and/or other processes such as for example an average over a given time period or a mathematical function of one or more of the parameters received from the measurement functions B 1 . As a particular example, the processor A 1  may compare the signal strengths measured by the measurement functionality B 1  associated with (three) candidate base stations ( 4   a - 4   c ) from which data was requested, and return a signal to the handover application C 1 , via the external interface  12 , giving the identity of the base station  4   b  having the strongest signal. In this example, the absolute values of the signals are not sent via the external interface module  12  to the application C 1 . 
     The external interface  12  sends data signals to and from the application C 1 . In the case of handover determination this application C 1  is the network control function responsible for handover. The function itself sends signals via the external interface module  12 , in a standard form, to instruct the processing module  11  to send start, or stop signals, or a request for data to measurement functions B 1 . The network control function C 1  also receives data from the measurement functions B 1  by way of the process unit A 1 . 
     The measurements may be made for a continuous period, or a single instantaneous measurement may be required. The instructions to be sent from the application C 1  to the process control function A 1  will obviously differ in these two cases. Similarly, if the result required is, for example, a time average, then the process control module  11  provides processing and storage and the time averaged result is transmitted to the measurement control application C 1  periodically. In these circumstances the process control module  11  includes, functionally, a data buffer to store the data while these time averages, trends, etc. are being calculated. 
     The network may include many different designs of switches and mobile units, each with its own measurement functions and physical realisation. The measurement control function A 1  provides a way of intelligently interfacing these measurement systems with one network management measurement application C 1 . Pre-processing is performed in the processing function A 1 , and the results of the processing of the measurement data passed to the handover application C 1  so that handover decisions can be made. Where the physical realisation of the processing functionality A 1  is located in the base stations  2   a - 2   c  the quantity of data carried by the bearer links  3   a - 3   c  is reduced. 
     The measurement control function may be used for other purposes than handover. For example, measurements may be required for fault monitoring, statistical analysis for future traffic planning, billing, etc. The external interface  12  is configured to respond to signals from any such application platforms. 
     Different measurement functions B 1  may be capable of making different measurements. Such differences are handled by the instruct and receive module  10  of the processing unit A 1  in order to provide a common data standard for the use of the network application. 
     In one variation of this embodiment the individual measurement functions B 1  have very limited functionality. They operate constantly, monitoring a property of the system. On a request from the process control function A 1  the current value of the data is reported back to the process control function A 1 . The decision as to which data is passed on to the application C 1  is taken by the process control A 1  acting in response to instructions from the applications C 1 . 
     FIGS. 5,  6  and  7  are flow charts illustrating the data flows taking place within the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2. In this example the high-level application (C 1 ) is a handover control. 
     Two message formats are available to the external application C 1 : 
     1) “Measure Request”. 
     This message is passed from the handover control C 1  to the external interface  12  and has fields specifying: 
     the parameter(s) to be measured (in this case the bit error ratio BER), 
     the algorithm to be applied to measurements (either ALGA: provide an average value of the parameter and the change in that value; or ALGB: provide averaged value of the measured parameter when parameter drops below 50% original value), 
     reporting method (RR=regular reports at intervals, or a null value indicating a request to provide a response when the algorithm provides a result), 
     the time between measurement reports if applicable (TIME). 
     2) “Measure Response”. 
     This message passes from the external interface  12  to the handover control C 1  and contains result parameters from the measurement algorithm in the processing block in the form specified in the request message. The response message is sent at intervals depending upon the contents of the request message. 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the use of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 for measurement reporting at regular intervals when the remote measurement functionality only sends out measurements when requested. The process controller  5  must therefore respond to a single request from the handover control C 1  for periodic data, by sending periodic requests for data to the measurement functionality  4 . 
     The control application C 1 , in this case the handover control application, sends a measurement request  101  asking for the Bit Error Rate (BER) to be measured. Algorithm A is to be used, in which regular reports are to be sent from the processing module  11  at time intervals of TIME between messages. The processing module is informed about what processes it has to perform by primitives  102  from the external interface module  12 . The processing module  11  then operates the required algorithm, starts to gather measurement information and when ready sends the preprocessed information  103   a  back to the external interface  12  which in turn sends information  104   a  to the requesting control application C 1 . When the processing module  11  requires information from measurement functionality  4  it issues a REPORT primitive  105 ,  105   a  containing information about what is required to be measured, to the instruct and receive module  10 . The instruct and receive module  10 , then sends a report request message  106  in a format that will be recognised by the remote measurement functionality  4 . In this case the format will be very simple as the measurement functionality  4  is assumed to be only ‘on’ or ‘off’, measuring only BER and then returning it immediately in a Report response message  107 . On receipt of this message by the instruct and receive module  10 , the module issues a RESP primitive  108  to the processing module  11  carrying the measured parameter in a standard format. The processing module  11  issues further report request primitives  105   a  etc which are responded to in a similar manner ( 106   a ,  107   a ,  108   a ). The processing module  11  then performs Algorithm A on the data and after time TIME has elapsed sends a Measureresp primitive  103   a  to the external interface module  12 . The external interface module  12  returns the results of the measurement process to the application C 1  (Handover Control in this case) in a standard format (in this case BER and the change in BER (CBER)). The processing module  11  continues performing the measurement process  105   b/c ,  106   b/c ,  107   b/c ,  108   b/c ,  103   b  until instructed otherwise by receipt of a primitive  110  relating to a blank Measure request  109  received by the external interface module  12 . 
     FIG. 6 illustrates the use of the embodiment for the generation of a measurement report only when the measured parameter changes by 50%. This would be useful, for example, to provide a trigger to initiate a handover process. As in the first example the remote measurement functionality  4  only sends out measurements when requested. This illustrates how the same measurement functionality  4  can be made to supply application process control functionality C 1  having different requirements. 
     The handover control application C 1  sends message  201  which asks for the Received Signal Level (RXLEV) to be measured, and Algorithm B to be used. Regular reports are not required to be sent from the processing module, as indicated by the absence of the RR parameter. 
     The processing module  11  is informed about what processes it has to perform by primitives  202  from the external Interface module  12 . The processing module  11  then operates the required algorithm, starts to gather measurement information and when ready sends the preprocessed information  203 ,  204  back to the requesting control application. When the processing module  11  requires information from measurement functionality  3  it issues REPORT primitives,  205 ,  205   a ,  205   b ,  205   c , containing information about what is required to be measured, to the instruct and receive module  10 . In response, the instruct and receive module  10  then sends Report request messages  106 ,  106   a ,  106   b ,  106   c  in a format that will be recognised by the remote measurement functionality  4 . In this case the format will be again relatively simple in that the measurement functionality  4  is assumed to be only ‘on’ or ‘off’, measuring only BER and returning it at a set interval in a Report response message  107 ,  107   a ,  107   b ,  107   c . On receipt of these messages by the instruct and receive module  10 , the module issues RESP primitives  208 ,  208   a ,  208   b ,  208   c , to the processing module carrying the measured parameter in a standard format. The processing module  11  performs the Algorithm B on the data and when the value of the measured parameter has changed by more than 50% the processing module  11  sends a Measureresp primitive  203  to the external interface module  12 . The external interface module  12  returns the results of the measurement process to the calling application (Handover Control in this case) in a standard format (in this case RXLEV)  204 . 
     It will be seen that handover controls C 1  having different measurement requirements (FIGS.  5  and  6 ), can nevertheless interface with the same measurement functionality  4 . 
     FIG. 7 illustrates the use of the embodiment for measurement reporting when the remote measurement functionality sends measurements at regular intervals. 
     Comparison with FIG. 5 will illustrate how different measurement functionalities  4 ,  4   a  can be used to supply the same application process functionality. 
     As in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the handover control application, C 1 , sends a request  101  asking for the Bit Error Rate (BER) to be measured, using Algorithm A, with regular reports to be sent from the processing module at time intervals of TIME between messages. The processing module  11  is informed about what processes it has to performs by primitives  102  from the external interface module  12 . The processing module  11  then operates the required algorithm A, starts to gather measurement information and when ready sends the preprocessed information back to the requesting control application  103   a ,  104   a ,  103   b ,  104   b . When the processing module  11  requires information from the measurement functionality  4   a  it issues a report primitive  305 , containing information about what is required to be measured, to the instruct and receive module  10 . The instruct and receive module  10  then sends a Report request message  306  in a format that will be recognised by the remote measurement functionality  4   a . In this case the format will be again relatively simple in that the measurement functionality is assumed to be only ‘on’ or ‘off’, measuring only BER and returning it at a set interval in a Report response message  307 ,  307   a  to  307   g  (this is the difference between this example and that in FIG.  5  and serves to illustrate that different measurement functionality  4 ,  4   a  can be used to perform a task using the same measurement request  101  from handover control C 1  and returning the data in the same format  104   a ,  104   b ). On receipt of the messages  307  by the instruct and receive module  4   a , the module issues a RESP primitive  308  to the processing module  11  carrying the measured parameter in a standard format. The processing module performs the Algorithm A on the data and after time TIME has elapsed sends a Measureresp primitive  103   a ,  103   b  to the external interface module  12 . The external interface module  12  returns the results of the measurement process to the Handover Control C 1  in a standard format (in this case BER and the change in BER (CBER  104   a ,  104   b )). The processing module  11  continues performing the measurement process until instructed otherwise by receipt of a primitive  110  relating to a blank Measure request  109  received by the external interface module C 1  as for the arrangement of FIG.  5 . The processing module  11  will then issue a Close primitive  311  that will be used by the instruct and receive module to generate a measurement functionality specific close message  312  instructing the module to terminate the module&#39;s measurement collection process. 
     In the second embodiment of the invention, a communications system, shown in FIG. 3 in functional terms, comprises a telecommunications network incorporating a processor function A interconnecting functional elements in the form of network operating functions (NOFs) B, with an application C. The processor function A has three functional modules: an external interface module  51 , processing module  52 , and instruct and receive module  53 . 
     In operation, processor function A relays data, in either direction, between NOFs B and application C. The application may be a network service or service element and the data may be, for example, control messages going from application C to NOF B, or measurement or status data going from NOFs B to application C. 
     Processor function A performs three functions. Instruct and receive module  53  sends instruction data to, and receives measurement data from, the individual network operating function elements. External interface module  51  interfaces with the application C. These two modules  51 ,  53  are linked by the processing module  52  which, for example, translates (a) instructions from the application C into the individual instructions for NOF B, and/or (b) data received from the NOF B into a data format suitable for the application platform C. 
     Although FIG. 3 has been illustrated for a single application for simplicity, there may be a plurality of applications interconnected with respective or common NOFs by respective or common processing units, as will be seen from the following description. 
     In processing unit A, the external interface module  51  provides a common interface to application platform C. This interface offers the application platform C a set of available commands that processing module  52  can perform independently of the interface to the network operating functions B. 
     The processing module  52  performs the conversion of application information data into information specific to the individual NOFs, and/or performs the conversion of NOF information into a form suitable for the application platform C. 
     The instruct and receive (IR) module  53  communicates with the NOFs B, and may have different interfaces to different NOF units in the network. The IR module  53  converts between primitives used by the processing module  52  and information message formats used by NOFs B. 
     Instead of, or in addition to, the conversion or translation described, the processing module  52  may also perform additional processing specified by application platform C. The NOFs B may take the form of functionality associated with the network, e.g. embedded software, or they may be discrete elements, units or modules e.g. monitoring elements or network control functions. 
     Similarly, the applications platform C may be a function or functionality embedded in the network, e.g. in a service control point or they may be embodied in a stand-alone application platform. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates how the generalised system of FIG. 3 may be mapped to a Network Architecture, shown in this example as a fixed network. In functional terms elements A 1 , A 2  represent process control functionality and B 1 , B 2  represent network operating functions. Functionality scripted “1” e.g. A 1 , B 1  represents an intelligent network element where Service Control is separated from the switching network and signalling is carried over separate links ( 63 ,  64 ,  65 ). Functionality scripted with a “2” (e.g. A 2 , B 2 ) represents elements where all functionality is incorporated in the switching network which carries the signalling information to provide logical links ( 69 ,  70 ,  71 ). As can be seen from FIG. 4 both the process control functionality and the network operating functionality can be located at potentially any node in the network. These nodes ( 72  to  78 ) may be for example service control points, network management centres, switches etc. Important aspects to be noted are that: 
     (i) process control functionality is located in specific nodes ( 72 ,  78 ) throughout the network. 
     (ii) secondly, process control functionality for a particular application is fixed in a particular network node, eg process control A 1  in node  72 , but for different applications or uses of the same application can be located in different network nodes (eg process control A 2  in node  78 ). 
     (iii) the network operating functions B 1 , B 2  are located at switching network nodes  73  to  77  and are activated by the process control functionality where needed in a realtime dynamic manner. These functions are closely associated with the bearer network. 
     (iv) a specific use of process control functionality A 1  in a particular network node can be to control a network operating function B 1  at a network node  75  where there is also present another or the same network operating function B 2  under the control of another process control functionality A 2 . 
     The data flows in this second embodiment are similar to those described with reference to the first embodiment and shown in FIGS. 5,  6 , and  7 .