Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

MFS, Ater-PS and Gb

Dimensioning In B9 Release

1. INTRODUCTION

The introduction of Packet-Switched traffic within a 2G cellular network leads to the deployment of
additional network elements and interfaces. Regarding the BSS, it is a matter of the Packet Control Unit,
called Multi BSS Fact packet Server (MFS) in the Alcatel’s architecture, and its associated interfaces,
i.e., on one hand, the Ater-PS interface between the BSC and the MFS, on the other hand, the Gb
interface between the MFS and the SGSN. In order to optimise the costs of the transmission network,
Alcatel’s architecture makes it possible to share the resources with the Circuit-Switched traffic.

The purpose of this paper is to present a possible dimensioning process for the MFS and its interfaces and
to illustrate it through concrete examples.

TC MSC

A
(+Gb)

BSC Ater-CS Ater-CS

MFS (+Gb) Gb
Abis
Gb

Ater-PS
Abis (+Ater-CS)
Gb
SGSN

2. ATER-PS DIMENSIONING

The Ater PS dimensioning depends on the aggregated PS traffic to be carried through the Ater PS
interface. Indeed the Ater PS interface is fully dynamic: a given 16kbps channel on the Ater PS interface
may be used at one point in time for one cell, and a few seconds later for another cell. Although the CS
load on the Ater interface is considered to be the same as the CS load on the radio interface (because the
call holding time takes into account the set-up and tear-down times), it is not the case for the PS traffic.
Indeed, the PS load on the radio corresponds only to the actual end-user traffic to be sent, taking into
account retransmissions due to radio errors in RLC acknowledged mode. However, it does not include e.g.
the inactivity durations, since during those, the end-user traffic of another user could be sent. Thus, on the
Ater-PS interface though, on top of the radio PS traffic load, some overheads have to be added.

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 Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

Average PS Radio
The dimensioning process of the Ater-PS interface is performed
load / cell (PDCH)
BSC per BSC and follows the following steps: 1. Overheads
2. Translation
• Determine the average radio traffic load of each PDCH to GCH Average Ater-PS
load / cell (GCH)
cell that is connected to the selected BSC. The resulting Aggregation
value corresponds to a number of data Erlang, i.e. to for all cells
(moderation factor) Average Ater-PS
the average number of PDCH that is occupied during load all cells (GCH)
the busy hour. Peak-to-
average ratio
• Add the overheads generated by the Delayed TBF Peak Ater-PS load
all cells (GCH)
mode and the GCH Inactivity Timers to this average Mapping on
number of PDCH E1 links
# E1 links
• Assuming a coding schemes distribution, translate this
load into an average Ater-PS traffic load, i.e. expressed
in terms of GPRS Channels (GCH). Indeed, each coding scheme is conveyed by one or several
GCHs.

• Aggregate the traffic of all cells connected to the selected BSC considering a moderation
factor to integrate the fact that all the busy hours of those cells may not occur at the same time.

• Apply a peak-to-average ratio to this average value in order to determine the peak number of
16kbps GCHs are needed to reach a certain Grade of Service.

• Map those 16kbps GCHs on some E1 links.

How is the peak-to-average ratio derived?

Gaussian law
The peak-to-average ratio is assessed taking benefit of the
0.5
fact that, thanks to the high number of cells that is handled 0.4
per one BSC, the traffic can be modelled by a Gaussian 0.3

distribution. Moreover, since the generation of packets is

PDF

0.2

considered to follow a Poisson-law, the variance of that 0.1

Gaussian distribution is equal to the average. Then, targeting

0.0
-4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0
a certain Ater-PS blocking (e.g. 1%), the peak-to-average ratio
is easily derived by using the Gaussian law property: blocking f(blocking)
1.00% 2.33
f (blocking ) × Average 0.50% 2.58
peak − to − average = 1 +
Average 0.30% 2.75
0.10% 3.09
0.05% 3.29

How are the GCHs mapped to the E1 links?

One Ater-PS link contains 29 timeslots that are available to convey the PS traffic. Among them, one may
be used by the signalling link (GSL). Indeed, one GSL is needed per Ater PS link, up to 2 Ater PCM links
per GP(U). If more than 2 Ater PCM links are needed, no more GSL is needed.

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 Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

Sharing option Number of available Number of available 64k

Moreover, as mentioned in the 64k timeslots for PS timeslots for CS
introduction, the links may be shared with Dedicated CS 0 29
7/8 CS + 1/8 PS 4 25
the Circuit-Switched traffic. The possible ¾ CS + ¼ PS 8 21
sharing options are presented in the ½ CS + ½ PS 15 14
22 7
following table. ¼ CS + ¾ PS
Dedicated PS 29 0

The dimensioning of the Ater-PS interface starts from the computation of the aggregated
average traffic in terms of GPRS channels (GCH). The second step is then to apply to this
average load a peak-to-average ratio, which is assessed thanks to the Gaussian law
property.

3. MFS DIMENSIONING

The MFS is the Packet Control Unit as defined in the 3GPP standard. It is made
of GPRS Processing units (GPU in case of MFS 9135, a.k.a MFS 1st
generation and GP in case of MFS 9130, a.k.a MFS Evolution), which handle the
Radio Resource allocation, the RLC/MAC functions as well as the exchanges with
the BTS and the SGSN. The capacity of one GP(U) is defined for each coding
scheme and is expressed in terms of PDCH. It is driven by the DSP processing
capability and the Ater connectivity and, as a consequence, depends on the MFS
generation (1st generation or
Evolution). Average PS Radio
load / cell (PDCH)
The dimensioning process of the GP(U) boards follows the
Overheads
same principles as the one of the Ater-PS interface. The main Average Ater-PS
difference lies in the fact that the load is computed in terms load for each (M)CS
Aggregation / cell (PDCH)
of PDCH for each coding scheme. Indeed, this is mandatory for all cells
in order to derive the average number of PDCH that can be (moderation factor) Average Ater-PS
load for each (M)CS
handled by one GP(U). Once this figure is known, the final Average GP(U) all cells (PDCH)
step consists in dividing the total number of PDCH by the capacity
average GP(U) capacity and then in applying the same peak- #GP(U) to handle
the average traffic
to-average ratio as for the Ater-PS dimensioning. Peak-to-
average ratio
#GP(U) to handle
the peak traffic
How is the average GP(U) capacity assessed?

The average GP(U) capacity for the considered traffic is computed by weighting the capacity for each
coding scheme by the traffic to handle for that coding scheme. The result is then normalised by the overall
traffic to handle.

The MFS dimensioning is similar to the Ater-PS dimensioning except for the fact that the key
variable is the not the number of GCH but the number of PDCH.

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 Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

4. GB DIMENSIONING

In contrary to Ater PS, where each PDCH is served by a set of GCHs, which cannot be shared with other
PDCHs, Gb is connection-less and Frame Relay Bearer channels can be shared by all Mobiles and all cells
of a given GP(U). Therefore, the Gb interface dimensioning is
based on the radio load only, without any overhead. Average PS Radio
load / cell (kbps)
Aggregation
The principle is then to start from the average radio load for all cells
generated by all the cells connected to one GP(U) to compute (moderation factor) Average PS Radio
load all cells (kbps)
the equivalent bandwidth (kbps) on the Gb interface. The
Headers
result represents the LLC throughput and, as a consequence, the
Average Gb
Gb headers must be added to retrieve the effective average throughput (kbps)
Gb throughput. As for the Ater-PS dimensioning, a peak-to- Peak-to-
average is then applied to derive the peak Gb throughput for average ratio
Peak Gb
a given blocking probability. Finally, this required throughput is throughput (kbps)
Mapping on
translated into a number of E1 links. E1 links
# E1 links

How are the Gb headers computed?

The Gb headers represent 54 bytes. Assuming an average LLC PDU length (e.g. 300 bytes), the resulting
overhead can be easily computed as follows: (300 + 54) / 300.

How are the GCHs mapped to the E1 links?

Each link can offer 29 timeslots for the traffic. Moreover, some links may be shared with the Circuit-
Switched traffic. The possible sharing options are the same ones as for the Ater-PS interface.

Insofar as the Gb interface is a connectionless interface, its dimensioning process relies on the
computation on an average throughput, on top on which the Gb headers are added.

5. DIMENSIONING EXAMPLE

The goal of this part is to illustrate the dimensioning of the Ater-PS, the MFS and the Gb
interface on a concrete example. With the view to performing handmade calculations, simple inputs
are considered:

• 20 sites S444: 3 cells with 4 TRX, moderation factor: 100%

• CS Traffic: 20mE, 2% blocking probability

• PS Traffic:

o EDGE penetration rate = 25% with 1 session 1000 kbits DL

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 Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

o 20% MCS5 (25% BLER) and 80% MCS9 (30% BLER)

• Number of users per cell: 978 (output of the air interface dimensioning)

• Ater Overheads: 58%

• GP capacity: 720 PDCH MCS5, 432 PDCH MCS9

Ater-PS dimensioning
Number_PS_Users * Volume_Per_User
• Average radio load per cell:
Throughput ∗ 3600
o MCS5: (25% * 978 * 1000 * 20%) / (22.4 * 3600) = 0.60 PDCH

o MCS9: (25% * 978 * 1000 * 80%) / (59.2 * 3600) = 0.92 PDCH

• Average Ater PS load per cell: Average_Radio_Load × (1 + Overhead) × Number_GCH

o MCS5: 0.60 * (1+0.58) * 1.76 = 4.97 GCH

o MCS9: 0.92 * (1+0.58)* 4.39 = 19.1 GCH

• Average Ater load for all cells:

o 3 * 20 * (4.97 + 19.1) = 481 GCHs

• Peak Ater load for 1% blocking probability:

o 481 + 2.33 * SQRT (481) = 532 GCHs

• Number of needed E1 links:

o Roundup (532/4) = 133 E1 timeslots ⇒ 5 E1 links (4 dedicated + 1 shared ¼CS+¾PS)

MFS dimensioning

• Average radio load per cell: same as above

• Average Ater PS load in terms of PDCH per cell: Average_Radio_Load × (1 + Overhead)

o MCS5: 0.60 * (1+0.58) = 0.94 PDCHs

o MCS9: 0.92 * (1+0.58) = 1.45 PDCHs

• Average Ater PS load in terms of PDCH for all cells

o MCS5: 3 * 20 * 0.94 = 56.5 PDCHs

o MCS9: 3 * 20 * 1.45 = 87.0 PDCHs

• Average GP capacity for the considered traffic:

o (56.5 * 720 + 87.0 * 432) / (56.5+87.0) = 545 PDCH / GP

• Number of GP to handle the average traffic:

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 Design Paper: MFS, Ater-PS and Gb dimensioning

o (56.5 + 87.0) / 545 = 0.26 GP

• Number of GP to handle the peak traffic (using the same peak-to-average ratio as for the Ater-
PS dimensioning):

o 0.26 * (532/481) = 0.29 ⇒ 1 GP

Gb dimensioning
Number_PS_Users * Volume_Per_User
• Average radio load per cell in terms of kbps:
3600
o (25% * 978 * 1000) / 3600 = 67.9 kbps
• Average Gb throughput for all cells: Average_Radio_Load × Gb _ Header _ Overhead

o 3 * 20 * 67.9 * (300+54) / 54 = 4808 kbps

• Peak Gb throughput for all cells for 1% blocking probability:

o 4808 + 2.33 * SQRT (4808) = 4970 kbps

• Number of needed E1 links (1 E1 link = 29 * 64 kbps):

o Roundup (4970 / 64) = 78 ⇒ 3 E1 links (2 dedicated + 1 shared ¼CS+¾PS)

6. CONCLUSION

The emergence of GPRS and EGPRS technologies creates new challenges regarding the
network design. Not only the dimensioning process of the air and Abis interfaces must be
revised but also new methods must be set up to determine the number of MFS and
additional transmission resources that are needed.

Those methods are mainly based on the fact that, beyond the BSC, due to the high amount
data, it is a reasonable assumption to model the traffic as a Gaussian distribution. As a
consequence, the common process consists in applying a peak-to-average to the average
values aggregated at BSC or GP(U) level.

Related Documents:
3 Design Paper - BSC, Ater-CS and TC Dimensioning
3 Design Paper - Abis Dimensioning
3 Design Paper - Overview of GPRS/EDGE Radio Network Design Process in B9
3 Design Paper - Traffic modelling in GSM/GPRS/EDGE

End of DOCUMENT

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