GSM Mobility Management PDF

GSM Mobility Management
Introduction
Location area (LA) is the basic unit for location
tracking.
Every
E
LA consists
i t off BTSs
BTS that
th t communicate
i t with
ith
the MSs over radio links
Major
M j ttaskk off Mobility
M bilit Management
M
t is
i to
t update
d t
the location of an MS when it moves from one LA
to another.
another
February 20, 2013
Girish Kumar Patnaik
Introduction
Location update procedure is referred to as
registration.
BTSs periodically broadcasts the
corresponding LA addresses to the MSs
When an MS receives an LA address
y,
different from the one stored in its memory,
it sends a registration message to the
network
February 20, 2013
GSM Location Area Hierarchy
February 20, 2013
GSM Basic Location Update

p
Procedure
In GSM, registration or location update
occurs when an MS moves from one LA to
another.
Three cases of location update:
Case 1. Inter-LA Movement
Case 2.
2 Inter-MSC
Inter MSC Movement
Case 3. Inter-VLR Movement
February 20, 2013
Inter-LA Registration
Message Flow
February 20, 2013
Inter-LA Registration Message Flow

VLR1
HLR
VLR2
LA1
February 20, 2013
LA2
Inter-LA Movement
Two LAs belong to the same MSC.
j steps:
p
Four major
Step 1. MS sends a location update request message
(MSBTSMSC) .
P
Parameters
t iincluded:
l d d Previous
P i
LA,
LA previous
i
MSC andd previous
i
VLR.
IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) is used to
id tif MS.
identify
MS
However, the MS identifies itself by the Temporary Mobile
Subscriber Identity (TMSI).
TMSI is used to avoid sending the IMSI on the radio path.
TMSI is temporary identity is allocated to an MS by the VLR at
inter-VLR registration
February 20, 2013
Inter-LA Movement
Step 2. The MSC forwards the location update
request to the VLR by a TCAP message,
MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION_AREA.
Parameter includes: Address of the MSC, TMSI,
previous Location Area Identification (LAI),
(LAI) target
LAI, Other related information
Steps 3 aand
d 4..
Part I. The VLR finds that both LA1 and LA2 belong
to the same MSC.
Part II. The VLR updates the LAI field of the MS.
Part III. The VLR replies an ACK to the MS through
the MSC
MSC.
February 20, 2013
Inter-MSC Registration
Message Flow
February 20, 2013
10
Inter-MSC Registration Message Flow

VLR1
HLR
VLR2
LA1
A1
February 20, 2013
LA2
11
Inter-MSC Movement
The two LAs belong to different MSCs of
the same VLR.
The process is:
Steps 1 and 2. MS sends a location update
request message (MSBTSMSC) .
Step 3.
P
Part II. VLR1 finds
fi d that
h the
h LA1 andd LA2 belong
b l
to
MSC1 and MSC2, respectively. Two MSCs are
connected to VLR1.
Part II. VLR1 updates the LAI and MSC fields of
MS.
Part III. The VLR1 derives the HLR address of the
MS from the MSs IMSI.
February 20, 2013
12
Inter-MSC Movement
Step 3.
Part IV. The VLR1 sends the
MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION to the HLR.
Parameter includes: IMSI, target MSC
Address VLR Address
Address,
Address, other related
information
Step 4.
4 HLR updates the MSC number
field of the MS. An acknowledgement is
sent to VLR1.
Steps 5 and 6. The acknowledgement is
forwarded to the MS.
February 20, 2013
13
Inter-VLR Registration
Message Flow
4
5
6
1
VLR1
February 20, 2013
14
Inter-VLR Movement
T
Two LAs
LA belong
b l
to MSCs
MSC connectedd to
different VLRs.
The
Th process is:
i
Step 1. MS sends a location update request.
MSC2 sends
MAP_UPDATE_LOCATION_AREA to VLR
2 with MSs TMSI.
Steps 2 and 3.
VLR2 does not have the record of MS.
VLR2 identifies the address the VLR1 and sends
MAP_SEND_IDENTIFICATION (with TMSI) to
VLR1.
VLR1 sends IMSI to VLR2.
February 20, 2013
15
Inter-VLR Movement
Steps
St
4 and
d 55.
VLR2 creates a VLR record for the MS.
VLR2 sends
d a registration
i
i message to HLR.
HLR
HLR updates the record of the MS.
HLR sends
d an acknowledge
k
l d bback
k tto VLR2.
VLR2
Step 6.
VLR2 generates
t a new TMSI andd sends
d it to
t
the MS.
Steps 7 and 88.

The obsolete record of the MS in VLR1 is
deleted.
February 20, 2013
16
Call Origination Operation
February 20, 2013
17
GSM Basic Call Origination

The process is
Step 1. MS sends the call origination request to
MSC.
MSC
Step 2. MSC forwards the request to VLR with
message
MAP_SEND_INFO_FOR_OUTGOING_CAL
L.
Step 3. VLR checks MSs profile and sends
MAP_SEND_INFO_FOR_OUTGOING_CAL
L ack to MSC to grant the call request.
L_ack
request
Step 4. MSC sets up the trunk according to the
standard PSTN call setup procedure.
February 20, 2013
18
Call Termination Message Flow
February 20, 2013
19
Call Termination
Routing information for call termination can
be obtained form the serving VLR.
The basic call termination process:
Step 11. A MS
MSs ISDN (MSISDN) number
b iis
dialed by a PSTN user. The call is routed to a
gateway MSC by an SS7 ISUP IAM message
message.
Step 2. GMSC sends
MAP_S
SEND
N _ROUTING
OU NG_INFORMATION
N O
ON
with the MSISDN to HLR.
February 20, 2013
20
Call Termination
Step 3. HLR sends a
MAP_PROVIDE_ROAMING_NUMBER to VLR.
Parameter included: IMSI of the MS, the MSC number.
Steps 4 and 5. VLR creates Mobile Subscriber

Roaming Number (MSRN) by using the MSC
number stored in the VLR record.
MSRN is sent back to the ggateway
y MSC through
g HLR.
MSRN provides the address of the target MSC where the
MS resides.
Step 66. An SS7 ISUP IAM message is directed from

the gateway MSC to the target MSC to setup the
voice trunk.
February 20, 2013
21
Mobility Databases
The hierarchical databases used in GSM.
The home location register (HLR) is a database
used for MS information management.
The visitor location register (VLR) is the
database of the service area visited by an MS.
February 20, 2013
22
Home Location Register (HLR)

An HLR record consists of 3 types of
information:
Mobile station information
IMSI (used by the MS to access the network)
MSISDN (th
(the ISDN number
b - Phone
Ph
N
Number
b off th
the MS)
Location information
ISDN number of the VLR (where the MS resides)
ISDN number of the MSC (where the MS resides)
Service information
service subscription
service restrictions
supplementary
l
services
i
February 20, 2013
23
Visitor Location Register (VLR)

The VLR information consists of three parts:
Mobile Station Information
IMSI
MSISDN
TMSI
Location Information
MSC Number
Location Area ID (LAI)
Service Information
A subset of the service Information stored in HLR
February 20, 2013
24
Two Issues of GSM Mobility

Databases
Fault Tolerance.
If the database fail, the loss or corruption of
location information will seriously degrade the
service.
service
Database Overflow.
VLR may overflow
fl if too
t many users move
into the VLR-controlled area in a short period.
If VLR is full,
full a new arrival user fails to
register in VLR and thus cannot receive service.
This pphenomenon is called VLR overflow.
February 20, 2013
25
VLR Failure Restoration
After
Aft a VLR ffailure,
il
VLR
VLRs iinformation:
f
ti
Mobile Station Information

MS
Recovered either by the first contact with HLR or MS.
Location Information
Recovered by the first radio contact with MS.
Service Information
Recovered by the first contact with HLR or the
corresponding MS.
After a VLR failure, the VLR record restoration is

initiated by one of the following three events:
MS registration
MS call origination
MS call termination
February 20, 2013
26
Restoration- MS Registration
After a VLR failure:
No record of MS in VLR
VLR considers the registration as an inter-VLR
movement.
VLR ask MS to follow the normal registration
pprocedure defined in inter-VLR movement.
The TMSI sent from the MS to the VLR cannot
be recognized
g
VLR asks MS to send IMSI over the air.
February 20, 2013
27
Restoration-MS Call Origination

After a VLR failure:
VLR receives the call origination
g
request
q
MAP_SEND_INFO_OUTGOING_CALL from the
MSC (and MS).
No record of MS in VLR
VLR considers it as a system error: unidentified
subscriber and rejects
j
the request.
q
VLR asks MS to initiate the registration procedure
of inter-VLR movement.
After the registration procedure, the VLR record is
recovered.
February 20, 2013
28
Restoration - Call Termination

M
Message
Fl
Flow
February 20, 2013
29
Restoration - Call Termination

M
Message
Fl
Flow
February 20, 2013
30
HLR Failure Restoration

In HLR, it is mandatory to save the updates
into backup storage.
The service information is immediately
transferred from the HLR into the backup.
backup
The location information is periodically
t
transferred
f
d from
f
the
th HLR into
i t the
th backup.
b k
After an HLR failure, the data in the backup
are reloaded into the HLR
February 20, 2013
31
HLR Restoration Procedure

Message Flow
February 20, 2013
32
Questions in HLR Restoration

Procedure
The HLR restoration p
procedure is not
robust.
HLR does not know a VLR at checkpoint.
p
An MS move into the VLR during the
uncovered period.
HLR will not ask the VLR to send location
information.
VLR Identification Algorithm is to solve

the p
problem.
February 20, 2013
33
VLR Identification Algorithm

VIA identifies the exact VLRs to be
contacted by the HLR after an HLR failure.
Extra data structures are needed.
Extra procedures are needed:
Check
Check-point
point procedure
Registration procedure
Restoration
R t ti procedure
d
February 20, 2013
34
Data Structure in VLR

Identification Algorithm (VIA)
To simplify the description,
description we assume that
every VLR covers exactly one MSC.
An extra data structure VLR_List*
VLR List* is a set
of VLRs that have been contacted by HLR
during the uncovered period
period.
After an HLR failure, the HLR only needs
to send
d the
h MAP_RESET
MAP RESET messages to
VLRs listed in VLR_List*.
February 20, 2013
35
Data Structure in VLR

Identification Algorithm (VIA)
In HLR, every record includes two extra fields.
tts = the
th last
l t time
ti off location
l ti update
d t
PVLR = the address of VLR where the MS resided at the last
check-pointing time. Thus, for any MS p, we have
HLR*[p].VLR = HLR[p].PVLR
Two extra data structures in the HLR

TS
TS= the
th last
l t check-pointing
h k i ti or backup
b k time
ti
VLR_Counter = {(VLR1,Count 1), (VLR2,Count 2), ,
(VLRn,Count n)} where Count n represents the effective
number of MSs entering the VLRn during the uncovered
period.
Note that the VLRs recorded in VLR_Counter are the VLRs
in VLR_List*.
February 20, 2013
36
VIA Data Structure
February 20, 2013
37
VIA Procedure 1: CheckP i ti

Pointing
In VIA,, information of the HLR is periodically
p
y
saved into the backup by this procedure.
Step
p 1. For every
y entryy p in HLR* do:
HLR[p]*.VLR HLR[p].VLR
Step
p 2. TS current time;;
Step 3. For every location entry p in HLR do:
HLR[p].tsTS;
[p]
; HLR[p].PVLR
[p]
HLR[p].VLR
[p]
Step 4. VLR-Counter NULL; VLR-List*
NULL;;
February 20, 2013
38
VIA Procedure 2: Registration

Step 1. Update HLR:
Vold HLR[p].VLR;
HLR[p] VLR;
Send message,
MAP CANCEL LOCATION to cancel
MAP_CANCEL_LOCATION,
the VLR entry of p at Vold;
HLR[p] VLR Vnew;
HLR[p].VLR
told HLR[p].ts;
HLR[ ] t t;
HLR[p].ts
t
February 20, 2013
39

Step 2. Update the Vnew Count field in VLR_Counter:
[p]
<> HLR[p].PVLR){
[p]
){
If ((HLR[p].VLR
If (VLR_Counter[Vnew] exists){
VLR_Counter[Vnew].Count <VLR C
VLR_Counter[V
[Vnew].Count+1;
]C
1
}else{
create VLR
VLR_Counter[V
Counter[Vnew] and
VLR_List*[Vnew];
VLR_Counter[Vnew].Count <- 1;
}
}
February 20, 2013
40

Step 3. Update the Vold counter entry:
If (told > TS and Vold <> HLR[p].PVLR){
HLR[p] PVLR){
VLR_Counter[Vold].Count <VLR C
VLR_Counter[V
t [Vold].Count
] C t 1;
1
If (VLR_Counter[Vold].Count = 0){
Delete VLR_Counter[Vold] and
VLR_List*[Vold];
}
}
February 20, 2013
41
VIA Procedure 3: Restore

Step 1. TS <- current time;
Step 2.
for (every location entry p in HLR){
p
= HLR[p].VLR
p
<- HLR[p]*.VLR;
p
HLR[p].PLVR
HLR[p].ts <- TS;
}
Step 3.
for (every VLR entry V in VLR_List*){
sendd an SS7 TCAP MAP
MAP_RESET
RESET message tto V
V;
}
February 20, 2013
42
VLR Overflow Control

VLR may overflow if too many mobile users
move into
i
the
h LA in
i a short
h period.
i d
When a VLR is full, a new arrival user can not
register
i t andd gett service.
i
If we want to let the new arrival user can get
service all of the following procedures need to be
service,
modified:
registration
registration, cancellation,
cancellation call origination,
origination call
termination
February 20, 2013
43
Overflow Registration
O
Operation
(O-I)
(O )
February 20, 2013
44
Cancellation Operation with

O
Overflow
f
VLR (O-II)
(O )
February 20, 2013
45
Call Origination with

Overflow VLR (O-III)
February 20, 2013
46
Call Termination with

Overflow VLR (O-IV)
February 20, 2013
47
Call Termination with

Overflow VLR (O-IV)
February 20, 2013
48
Acknowledgement
Slides obtained from home page of
Prof.Phone Lin
Slides obtained from home page of
Prof Gerald Q.
Prof.Gerald
Q Maguire Jr
Jr.
February 20, 2013
49

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GSM Mobility Management

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

GSM Location Area Hierarchy

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

GSM Basic Location Update

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Inter-LA Registration Message Flow

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Inter-MSC Registration Message Flow

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Steps 7 and 88.

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Call Origination Operation

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

GSM Basic Call Origination

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Call Termination Message Flow

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Steps 4 and 5. VLR creates Mobile Subscriber

Step 66. An SS7 ISUP IAM message is directed from

Girish Kumar Patnaik

February 20, 2013

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Home Location Register (HLR)

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Visitor Location Register (VLR)

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Two Issues of GSM Mobility

Girish Kumar Patnaik

VLR Failure Restoration

Mobile Station Information

After a VLR failure, the VLR record restoration is

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Restoration-MS Call Origination

Girish Kumar Patnaik

Restoration - Call Termination

February 20, 2013