Open ‘plug and play’ O and M architecture for a radio base station

Abstract

A method and apparatus for preparing a vendor- and version-independent information model that a cellular telephone base station can use to communicate its capabilities in a plug and play fashion to a network element is disclosed. The information model can also be used to communicate configuration information back to the base station from the network element. The capabilities and configuration information is automatically communicated and utilized, thus reducing the possibility of human operator error in configuring and pre-configuring new or modified base station equipment.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to cellular mobile telephone systems, and more particularly to base station designs for such systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cellular mobile telephone systems operate by dividing geographic areas into cells. The network is configured so that interference between the cells is minimized. Groups of cells are serviced by assigned base stations to act as the radio interface between mobile telephones within the cells communicating with other telephones within or outside of their own cell. When a mobile telephone within a particular cell places a “call,” it does so by sending a message to the Base Station assigned to its cell by identifying which telephone (or network server) it wishes to communicate with. The Base Station can communicate the message to a Mobile Network for preset38 33 for configuring the operational characteristics of the subsystems within the base station system 10.

These operational characteristics are unique to each base station and can include, among other data, hardware and software capacity information, geographical cell configuration information, base station identity codes, RF channel numbers assigned to the cells in a base station's service area, maximum output power levels per cell, neighboring cell frequencies, etc. When base stations are added to a network or are modified, when cells are reconfigured, or when frequencies of operation are reallocated, these operational characteristics change. The base station system 10 must be informed of the changes and re-configured to accommodate the changes. In addition, the operation and maintenance system 50 in the operation and support system 20 must also be informed and configured to the changes as well.

The operation and support system 20 must be aware of all operational characteristics of the base stations 10 that it services so it can properly manage the entire mobile network via the network manager 54. The network manager is responsible for configuring the entire network via the configuration manager 55. Network operation and performance are also supervised in the network operation manager 56 and the performance manager 57. As one can see from FIG. 3, since the network manager 54 must operate consistently with the capabilities of the base station controllers 16 at the various base stations systems 10 (sometimes numbering in the thousands), the base station controllers 16 must be configured absolutely consistently with what is expected by the network manager 54. The base station has certain hardware and software limits on its capacity and capabilities, while the network manager 54 has certain demands for the base station to process the mobile station 24 messages being sent in the cells serviced by the base station. The operation and support system 20, the base station controller 16 and the base station must exchange information to achieve an agreement on how to use the capabilities in a way that is optimal for the whole network.

With the present invention, when the base station is taken into operation, is modified, or is serviced, it informs the network manager 54 (via communication between the base station controller 16 and the operation and management system 50) what capabilities it has. This capability information can be entered manually by an operator at the base station site, or more preferably is automatically produced by an internal base station process. In order for the base station to transfer this capability information, there must be a common understanding between the base station and the network manager. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, this common understanding is provided by an abstract resource information model (reflecting the base station's capabilities) which is delivered to the mobile network and specifically to the network management 54.

Having received the information model, the mobile network can understand the basic capabilities of the base station and can then use this common model language to configure the base station, and if necessary, adjacent parts of the network. In this way, the base station automatically gives the network manager 54 the capability information that it needs for the configuration manager 55 to configure the network to accommodate the new (or modified) base station and can send the frequencies of operation, control channels, etc. to the base stations for their use.

FIG. 4 shows an example base station management architecture to employ the information model according to the present invention. First, the implementation specific parts of the base station are isolated into an infrastructure management layer. Thus infrastructure management layer is specific for the base station implementation and version, and requires its own element management operating system. The infrastructure management layer can be common to several different applications residing in the network element, such as, for example, the transport network function.

The base station then divides out a base station abstract resource management layer which includes the abstract resource information model that will be employed in examining the base station capabilities by the mobile network and in receiving the base station configuration from the mobile network. The abstract information resource model is independent of the base station hardware and software implementation. This layer thus provides an information model that can represent any base station irrespective of its vendor or version.

An example abstract resource information model as shown in FIG. 5. This is an example only and corresponds to a CDMA base station. This example is only for the purpose of illustrating a potential application of the present invention. The present invention is equally employable in many other, different base station applications. In FIG. 5, the base station site represents the physical base station site in terms of the base station functions relevant to the control of the mobile network. The base station site typically includes attributes like Site ID and geographical position. The base station site also includes information regarding the radio resources contained in the site.

The radio connection units in FIG. 5 are configurable to implement the different types of airborne channels. The radio connection units serve as transport access points for the mobile network. Typical attributes for the radio connection units are channel type, link address, and channel-specific attributes per channel type.

The carrier units in FIG. 5 represent the equipment in the “Radio Near part.” Typical attributes for these units are frequency assignment, maximum radiated power, etc.

A more detailed example of the FIG. 5 embodiment is shown in FIG. 7, in which the base station site has the capacity of simultaneously carrying twelve radio connections. Each of two groups of six radio connections can then access three dedicated carrier units (which is useful in a CDMA softer handoff case where a mobile connection can consist of more than one “legs” in the air). This example model shows several capacity limitations. For example, the six first connections can only access the air interface using the CDMA frequencies set up in the upper three carrier units. The same limitation exists for the lower six connections. This capacity information is communicated to the mobile network via the FIG. 7 model.

The model of FIG. 7 will show both combination capabilities for the objects and the capabilities for each of the objects. Typical capabilities attributes are described above and include, for example, allowed frequency spectrum, maximum irradiated power per carrier unit, etc.

The combination of objects in FIG. 5 provide an a version and vendor-independent model of identifying capacity and configuration information for a base station. To achieve the next aspect of the present invention, in which the base station communicates its capacity information via the model to the network in a “plug and play” fashion, the example embodiment of FIG. 6 can be employed. As shown in FIG. 6, the information model (at the bottom of the figure) must be translated from the base station infrastructure information. A site capabilities application is employed to perform this translation. In particular, the state capabilities application recognizes the infrastructure installed at the base station and builds the abstract information model from it. Of course, the site capabilities application also detects degradation in the base station (faulty units, removed components, etc.) and upgrades in the base station (installed units) and communicates those modifications to the mobile network via the abstract model.

Using a model such as that described above together with a site capabilities application to translate the site infrastructure information into the model, the base station capabilities information can be communicated to the network manager in a “plug and play” fashion and in a vendor- and version-independent way. The site capabilities application is very vendor- (and version-) specific since it depends on the infrastructure management layer. Human administration of the physical site and human error caused by incorrect data entry between the element and network elements are thus reduced.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method bringing a base station having modified base station capabilities into existing cellular radio traffic being coordinated by a network manager, comprising the steps of:

pre-loading into the base station capability information corresponding to operational capabilities of the base station;

formatting the pre-loaded capability information into a standardized, predefined abstract resource information model known to the network manager;

communicating to the network manager the capability information formatted into the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model;

retrieving, at the network manager, the capability information from the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model;

developing, at the network manager, configuration information identifying operational parameters for use by the base station, said configuration information developed based on the existing cellular radio traffic being coordinated by the network manager and on the capability information;

formatting the pre-loaded configuration information into the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model;

communicating to the base station the configuration information formatted into the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model;

extracting the configuration information from the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model at the base station; and

configuring the base station based on the configuration information.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the modified base station capabilities comprise a completely new base station being brought into the cellular radio traffic.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the formatting steps include formatting into the standardized, predefined abstract resource information model independent of a vendor and a version of the base station.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the base station automatically creates the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the abstract resource information model is created using combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

7. A base station, comprising:

a base station resource infrastructure management layer for administration of the base station software and hardware infrastructure;

a base station abstract resource management layer having its own element management operating system based on an abstract information model identifying operational capabilities of the base station software and hardware infrastructure, wherein said information model is independent of any format of said base station software and hardware infrastructure; and

a site capabilities application for creating the abstract information model based on the base station software and hardware infrastructure.

8. A base station according to claim 7, further comprising:

an infrastructure element manager for administering the infrastructure management layer.

9. A base station according to claim 7, further comprising:

a communication link with a physically remote mobile network for communicating said operational capabilities to said remote mobile network and for receiving from said remote mobile network configuration information based on the operational capabilities.

10. A base station according to claim 9, wherein:

the operational capabilities and the configuration information are both formatted according to the abstract information model.

11. A base station according to claim 7, wherein the abstract information model defines abstract information objects for the software and hardware infrastructure and combination relationships between the various abstract information objects.

12. A base station according to claim 7, wherein the abstract information model represents the operational capabilities by attributes in abstract information model objects.

13. A base station according to claim 7, wherein

the abstract information model defines abstract information objects for the software and hardware infrastructure and combination relationships between the various abstract information objects; and

the abstract information model represents the operational capabilities by attributes in abstract information model objects.

14. A base station according to claim 13, wherein the attribute information includes frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information.

15. A base station according to claim 13, wherein the combination relationships includes relationships between radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units within the software and hardware infrastructure.

16. A method of bringing a new base station capability into an existing communication network, comprising the steps of:

communicating capabilities of the base station from the base station to the network using a format of a common abstract resource information model;

preparing and communicating operational configuration information for the base station based on the capabilities of the base station and based on a need of the network, said configuration information also being in the format of the common abstract resource information model; and

receiving the configuration information at the base station in the format of the common abstract resource information model, and configuring the base station based on the configuration information.

17. A method according to claim 16, wherein the step of communicating the capabilities of the base station includes the step of communicating the capabilities of a completely new base station being brought into an existing radio traffic of the communication network.

18. A method according to claim 16, wherein the base station automatically creates the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

19. A method according to claim 18, wherein the abstract resource information model is created using combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

20. A method according to claim 19, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

21. A method of bringing a base station having modified base station capabilities into existing cellular radio traffic being coordinated by a network manager comprising the steps of:

automatically sending to the network manager capabilities information corresponding to operational capabilities of the modified base station, said capabilities information being in a format of a common abstract resource information model, and

automatically receiving configuration information from the network manager identifying operational parameters for use by the modified base station in administering the cellular radio traffic, said configuration information also being in the format of the common abstract resource information model.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the step of communicating the capabilities of the base station includes the step of communicating the capabilities of a completely new base station being brought into an existing radio traffic of the communication network.

23. A method according to claim 21, wherein the base station automatically creates the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the abstract resource information model is created using combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

26. A method of configuring or re-configuring a base station in a communication network, comprising:

communicating capabilities of a base station from the base station to the communication network using a format of an abstract resource information model.

27. The method in claim 26, further comprising:

receiving configuration information from the network controller identifying operational parameters for use by the base station in handling cellular radio traffic.

28. The method in claim 26, further comprising:

providing operational configuration information to the base station;

receiving the operational configuration information at the base station; and

configuring the base station based on the operational configuration information.

29. The method in claim 28, wherein the operational configuration information is received at the base station in the format of the abstract resource information model.

30. The method in claim 28, wherein the configuration information is received at the base station using a commonly understood format.

31. A method according to claim 26, wherein the base station is a new base station being installed into the communication network.

32. The method in claim 31, wherein the base station is an existing base station to be reconfigured.

33. A method according to claim 26, wherein the base station automatically implements the abstract resource information model using hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

34. A method according to claim 26, wherein the base station implements the abstract resource information model using combinational relationships between various logical hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for the various logical hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

35. A method according to claim 34, wherein the logical hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include one or more of frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information, and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between one or more of radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

36. A method relating to configuring or re-configuring a base station in a cellular radio network, comprising:

sending to a network controller capabilities information corresponding to operational capabilities of the base station, the capabilities information being in a format of an abstract resource information model, and

receiving configuration information from the network controller identifying operational parameters for use by the base station in handling cellular radio traffic.

37. A method according to claim 36, wherein the base station is a new base station being installed into the cellular radio network.

38. The method in claim 36, wherein the base station is an existing base station to be reconfigured.

39. A method according to claim 36, wherein the base station automatically implements the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

40. A method according to claim 36, wherein the abstract resource information model is implemented using combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include one or more of frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information, and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between one or more of radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

42. A method according to claim 36, wherein the configuration information is in the format of the abstract resource information model.

43. A method according to claim 36, wherein the configuration information is in a commonly understood format.

44. A system for use in a mobile communications network, comprising:

a control node associated with the mobile communications network, and

a base station configured to communicate its capabilities to the control node using a format of an abstract resource information model.

45. The system in claim 44, wherein the control node is configured to receive the base station capabilities and communicate operational configuration information to the base station so that base station is configured using the operational configuration information.

46. The system in claim 44, wherein the operational configuration information is in the format of the abstract resource information model.

47. The system in claim 44, wherein the operational configuration information is in a commonly understood format.

48. The system according to claim 44, wherein the base station is a new base station to be installed into the communication network.

49. The system according to claim 44, wherein the base station is an existing base station to be reconfigured.

50. The system in claim 44, wherein the base station is configured to automatically implement the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

51. The system in claim 50, wherein the base station is configured to implement the abstract resource information model using combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

52. The system in claim 50, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include one or more of frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information, and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between one or more of radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units.

53. A base station configured for addition into an existing cellular radio system coordinated by a control node in the cellular radio system, comprising:

radio transmitting and receiving circuitry, and

a controller, coupled to the radio transmitting and receiving circuitry, configured to send to the control node capabilities information corresponding to operational capabilities of the base station, the capabilities information being in a format of an abstract resource information model, and to use configuration information received from the control node in transmitting and receiving cellular radio traffic.

54. The base station in claim 53, wherein the controller includes:

means for automatically implementing the abstract resource information model based on hardware and software infrastructures of the base station.

55. The base station in claim 54, wherein the means for automatically implementing uses combinational relationships between various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station and attribute information for various hardware and software infrastructure objects of the base station.

56. The base station in claim 55, wherein the hardware and software infrastructure objects in the abstract resource information model include one or more of frequency spectrum information, maximum power information, and channel type information pertaining to the radio transmitting and receiving circuitry, and wherein the combinational relationships between the objects describe relationships between one or more of radio connection units, carrier units and antenna units included in the radio transmitting and receiving circuitry.

57. The base station in claim 53, wherein the configuration information is received in the format of the abstract resource information model.

58. The base station in claim 53, wherein the configuration information is received in a commonly-understood format.

59. A method of bringing a new base station capability into an existing communications network, comprising:

representing and communicating capabilities of the base station from the base station to the network using a vendor-independent format that can represent any base station irrespective of its vendor;

preparing and communicating operational configuration information for the base station based on the capabilities of the base station, said configuration information is communicated in the vendor-independent format; and

receiving the configuration information at the base station in the vendor-independent format, and configuring the base station based on the configuration information.

60. The method in claim 59, wherein the vendor-independent format is also version-independent.

61. The method in claim 60, wherein the vendor-independent and version-independent format corresponds to an information model that can represent any base station irrespective of its vendor or version.

62. The method in claim 59, wherein the new base station capability is associated with a new base station being brought into the communication network.

63. The method in claim 59, wherein the new base station capability is associated with reconfiguring an existing base station in the communication network.