GSM ARCHITECTURE

The network is divided into three major systems

 Switching System (SS)
 Base Station System (BSS)
 Operation and Support System (OSS)

Each of these contains a number of functional

Units which make up the entire system. The
functional units are parts in the various
hardware units.
 Switching System
SS is responsible for performing call processing
and subscriber related functions. It includes the
following functional units:
 Mobile services Switching Center (MSC)
 Home Location Register (HLR)
 Visitor Location Register (VLR)
 AUthentication Center (AUC)
 Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
 Flexible Numbering Register (FNR)
 Base Station System (BSS)
Operation and Support System (OSS)

 Base Station Controller (BSC)

 Transcoder Controller (TRC)
 Radio Base Station (RBS)

The Operation and Support System (OSS) handles

error messages originating from the network. OSS
has access to both the switching system and the
base station system (via BSC).
 Mobile Services Switching Center
The Mobile services Switching Center (MSC) performs the system telephony
Switching functions. It also controls calls to and from other telephony and data
Systems such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Public
Land Mobile Network (PLMN). In Ericsson’s GSM system the VLR is always
integrated with the MSC to form a MSC/VLR.
MSC/VLR is responsible for
 Functions for setting up and controlling calls Including supplementary
services.
 Functions for handling speech path continuity for moving subscribers
(handover).
 Functions for updating mobile subscribers’ location (location
updating and location canceling) in the different location registers.
 Functions for updating mobile subscriber data.
 Mobile Services Switching Center
 Provision of functions for signaling to and from
1. The BSCs and the MSs
2. Other GSM entities
3. Other networks such as PSTN or ISDN
 Administrative functions for defining data and handling of the
mobile subscribers.
 Security related functions that perform authentication or selective
authentication, ciphering, reallocation and analysis of the TMSI.
 Functions for IMEI check.
 Functions for receiving and delivering short messages to and
from the MS.
 Charging and accounting.
 Visitor Location Register
 The Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a database containing information
about all MSs that currently are located in the MSC service area.

 The VLR contains temporary subscriber information needed by the MSC to

provide service for visiting subscribers.

 The VLR can be seen as a distributed HLR. When a Mobile Station (MS)
roams into a new MSC service area, the VLR connected to that MSC
requests data about the MS from the HLR and stores it. When the MS
makes a call, the VLR already has the information needed for call set-up

 In Ericsson’s GSM system, the VLR is always integrated with the MSC so
that internal signaling can be used. This setup eliminates signaling between
the two nodes over the network unnecessary thus decreasing the network
signaling load.
 Visitor Location Register
The following occurs when MS’s move into a new service area

1 The VLR checks its database to determine whether or not it has a record for
the MS (based on the subscriber’s IMSI)
2. When the VLR finds no record for the MS, it sends a request to the
subscriber’s HLR for a copy of the MS’s subscription
3. The HLR passes the information to the VLR and updates its location
information for the subscriber. The HLR instructs the old VLR to delete the
information it has on the MS
4. The VLR stores its subscription information for the MS including the latest
location and status (idle)

For the duration when the MS is within one MSC service area then the VLR
contains a complete copy of the necessary subscription details including the
following information:
 Identity numbers for the subscriber
 Supplementary service information
 Activity of MS (e.g. idle)
 Current LA of MS
 Home Location Register
The HLR is a centralized network database that stores and
manages all mobile subscriptions belonging to a specific
operator. It acts as a permanent store for a person’s
subscription information until that subscription is cancelled.

The information stored includes

 Subscriber identity (i.e. IMSI, MSISDN)

 Subscriber supplementary services
 Subscriber location information (i.e. MSC service area)
 Subscriber authentication information
 Home Location Register
The primary functions of the HLR include:

Subscription database management

as a database the HLR must be able to process data quickly in response to
data retrieval and update requests from other network nodes. For this reason it
acts as a database management system. Each subscriber record contains a
substantial amount of parameters.
Communication with MSC’s
when setting up calls to an MS it is necessary for the HLR to contact the MSC
serving the MS for routing information. By analyzing the MSISDN, MSC knows
which HLR to contact worldwide for that MS’s subscription.
Communication with GMSC’s
during call set-up to an MS the GMSC requests MS location information from
the HLR which then provides this in the form of routing information. Also if the
subscriber is detached the HLR will inform the GMSC that there is no need to
perform further routing of the call.
 Home Location Register
Communication with AUC’s
Before any activity involving change or use of subscription information takes
place the HLR must retrieve new authentication parameters from an AUC.
Communication with VLR’s/ILR’s
when an MS moves into a new MSC service area the VLR for that area
requests information about the MS from the HLR of the subscriber. The HLR
provides a copy of the subscription details updates its MS location information
and instructs the old VLR to delete the information it has about that MS. As the
ILR (Interworking Location Register) acts as a VLR for AMPS subscribers the
HLR communicates with it in a similar way.
 AUTHENTICATION CENTER (AUC) AND EQUIPMENT
IDENTITY REGISTER (EIR)
PLMN’s need a higher level of protection than traditional telecommunication
networks. Therefore to protect GSM systems the following security functions
have been defined.
Subscriber authentication: by performing authentication the network ensures
that no unauthorized users can access the network including those that are
attempting to impersonate others.
Radio information ciphering: the information sent between the network and
an MS is ciphered. An MS can only decipher information intended for itself
Mobile equipment identification: because the subscriber and equipment are
separate in GSM it is necessary to have a separate authentication process for
the MS equipment. This ensures e.g. that a mobile terminal which has been
stolen is not able to access the network.
Subscriber identity confidentiality: during communication with an MS over a
radio link it is desirable that the real identity (IMSI) of the MS is not always
transmitted. Instead a temporary identity (TMSI) can be used.
This helps to avoid subscription fraud.
 AUC FUNCTIONS
The primary function of an AUC is to provide information which is then used by
an MSC/VLR to perform subscriber authentication and to establish ciphering
procedures on the radio link between the network and MS’s.

The information provided is called a triplet and consists of:

1. A non predictable RANDom number (RAND)
2. A Signed RESponse (SRES)
3. A ciphering Key (Kc)

Provision of Triplets

At subscription time each subscriber is assigned a subscriber authentication Key (Ki). Ki

is stored in the AUC along with the subscriber’s IMSI. Both are used in the process of
providing a triplet. The same Ki and IMSI are also stored in the SIM. In an AUC the
following steps are carried out to produce one triplet:
1. A non-predictable random number, RAND, is generated
2. RAND and Ki are used to calculate SRES and Kc using two
different algorithms, A3 and A8 respectively
3. RAND, SRES and Kc are delivered together to the HLR as a
triplet
 Equipment Identity Register
1. The Equipment Identity Register (EIR) is a database that stores the International
Mobile station Equipment Identity (IMEI) for each MS equipment.
2. Each IMEI is unique.
3. During any MS access (except in the case of IMSI-detach) the MSC/VLR may verify
the IMEI.
4. When necessary the EIR is requested by the MSC/VLR to check the IMEI. The main
objective is to ensure that the equipment is not stolen or faulty.
Equipment Identification Procedure
The equipment identification procedure uses the identity of the equipment itself (IMEI) to
ensure that the MS terminal equipment is valid.
1. The MSC/VLR requests the IMEI from the MS.
2. MS sends IMEI to MSC.
3. MSC/VLR sends IMEI to EIR.
4. On reception of IMEI, the EIR examines three lists:
– A white list containing all number series of all equipment identities that have been
allocated in the different participating GSM countries.
– A black list containing all equipment identities that has been barred.
– A gray list (on operator level) containing faulty or non-approved mobile equipment.
5. The result is sent to MSC/VLR, which then decides whether or not to allow
network access for the terminal equipment.
 Flexible Numbering Register
 The Flexible Numbering Register is an optional node used when
the Flexible Numbering feature or the Number Portability feature are
used in the network.
 With the Flexible Numbering it is possible to have no relation
between a MSISDN number series and a certain HLR in the
network.
 Messages sent from an GMSC towards an HLR regarding a certain
MSISDN are routed through the FNR which redirects the messages
to the HLR storing data about this particular subscriber.
 The Number Portability enables a subscriber to change an GSM
operator without changing his/her MSISDN number. Calls
towards this subscriber are routed to the appropriate network using
information provided by the FNR.
 The Base Station System (BSS)
The Base Station System (BSS) is responsible for all the radio related
functions in the system such as
 Radio communication with the mobile units
 Handover of calls in progress between cells
 Management of all radio network resources and cell configuration data.

BSS consists of three components:

Base Station Controller (BSC): the BSC is the central node within a
BSS and co-ordinates the actions of TRC’s and RBS’s.
Transcoder Controller (TRC): the TRC provides the BSS with rate
adaptation capabilities. This is necessary because the rate used over
the air interface and that used by MSC/VLRs are different - 33.8 kbits/s
and 64 kbits/s respectively. A device which performs rate adaptation is
called a transcoder.
Radio Base Station (RBS): an RBS acts as the interface between
MS’s and the network by providing radio coverage functions from their
antennae
 BASE STATION CONTROLLER (BSC)

The BSC controls a major part of the radio network. Its

most important task is to ensure the highest possible
utilization of the radio resources. The main functional
areas of the BSC are:
 Radio Network Management
 RBS Management
 TRC Handling
 Transmission Network Management
 Internal BSC Operation and Maintenance
 Handling of MS connections
 TRANSCODER CONTROLLER (TRC)
The primary functions of a TRC are to perform transcoding and to perform rate
Adaptation.
Transcoding
the function of converting from the PCM coder information (following A/D
conversion) to the GSM speech coder information is called transcoding. This
function is present in both the MS and the BSS.
Rate Adaptation
Rate adaptation involves the conversion of information arriving from the
MSC/VLR at a rate of 64 kbits/s to a rate of 16 kbits/s or transmission
to
a BSC (for a full rate call). These 16 kbits/s contains 13 kbits/s of traffic
and 3 kbits/s of inband signaling information.
TRC contains units which perform transcoding and rate adaptation.
These hardware units are called Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Units
(TRAUs).
 RADIO BASE STATION (RBS)

An RBS includes all radio and transmission interface equipment needed on site
To provide radio transmission for one or several cells.

RBS FUNCTIONS
RBS functionality can be divided into the following areas
 Radio resources
 Signal processing
 Signaling link management
 Synchronization
 Local maintenance handling
 Functional supervision and testing