Core Network Planning
Planning the UMTS core network consist of GSN (GPRS Service Node) system design, MSC and registers dimensioning, OMC dimensioning, Core network interface dimensioning.
The Core Network has several interfaces, which need to be configured and dimensioned. This dimensioning is out of the scope of this page, but these are the interfaces that need to be configured:
Gn: Interface between SGSN and GGSN
Gi: Interface between GGSN and external packet data network
Other interfaces are between MSCs, to PSTN, HLR, AUC, EIR, SMS, Billing Centre, Voice Mail, OMC, WAP & Multi Media Servers and other network elements.
The main inputs to dimensioning of GSN system are similar to what is required in air interface design. Hardware configuration is vendor specific, but here is a general list of things that need to be considered when configuring GSN System:
Number of Subscribers
Number of PDP Contexts
Service Activation Rate
Peak Traffic amount and overheads (bits/s or packets/s)
Number of required links
Number of RNC in served area
The Core Network hardware configuration is also vendor specific. Network vendors have very extensive documentation how to design all aspects of core network starting from the room environmental requirements up to the post integration system quality audit. Here is a general list of things that need to be considered when dimensioning MSCs:
Number of Subscribers
Average call lengths
Call mix
Total CS traffic (Erlangs)
System features
Interconnection to other equipment
MSC software features
Required redundancies (e.g. 2N, N+1)
Total traffic and signaling loads
Iu-cs and other interface dimensioning
Type of transmission interfaces
Expansion possibilities
MSC capacity and configuration options
Most cost effective deployment method
Number of RNC in served area
All other network equipment will be designed in a similar way. Once the main components are designed, the rest is easy!
Other core network plans:
Numbering plan
Traffic and interconnectivity routing plan
Signalling network plan
Synchronisation plan
Expansion plan
Logical and physical node dimentioning
PS and CS network plan
Network security plan
Redundancy and QoS plan
Next: Transmission Design.
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3G Network Planning Basics
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