Instructor Abdillahi Ahmed

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Global System for mobile communication

GSM OVERVIEW

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INTRODUCTION TO THE ARCHITECTURE

Mobile phone is identified by SIM card. Key feature of the GSM Has the secret for authentication BTS houses the radiotransceivers of the cell and handles the radio-link protocols with the mobile BSC manages radio resources (channel setup, handover) for one or more BTSs MSC Mobile Switching Center The central component of the network Like a telephony switch plus everything for a mobile subscriber: registration, authentication, handovers, call routing, connection to fixed networks. Each switch handles dozens of cells HLR database of all users + current location. One per network VLR database of users + roamers in some geographic area. Caches the HLR EIR database of valid equipment AuC Database of users secret keys

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GSM
GSM bands

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GSM ARCHITECTURE
The GSM system architecture consists of three major interconnected subsystems that interact between themselves and with the users through certain network interfaces. The subsystems are 1. Base Station Subsystem 2. Network & Switching Subsystem 3. Operation & Support Subsystem

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GSM Network Elements

Switching System SS AUC EXTERNAL TELEPHONY AND DATA COM M UNICATION SYSTEM OM C VLR HLR EIR

M SC ABBREVIATIONS: Base Station Syste m BSS BSC INFORM ATION TRANSM ISSION CALL CONNECTIONS AND INFORM ATION TRANSM ISSION BTS AUC AUTHENTICATION CENTRE BSC BASE STATION CONTROLLER BTS BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION EIR EQUIPM ENT IDENTITY REGISTER

HLR HOM E LOCATION REGISTER MS M OBILE STATION

M SC M OBILE SERVICES SWITCHING CENTRE MS OM C OPERATION & M AINTENANCE CENTRE

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VLR VISITOR LOCATION REGISTER

A DIFFERENT VIEW

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GEOGRAPHICAL NETWORK STRUCTURE

LA1 LA3

CELL LOCATION AREA MSC/VLR SERVICE AREA PLMN SERVICE AREA GSM SERVICE AREA
B G A F
CELL

VLR MSC

LA4
Cell 4 Cell 1 Cell 2 Cell 5 Cell 3 Cell 6

LA5

GSM SERVICE AREA PLMN SERVICE AREA (one per operator) MSC SERVICE AREA

C G D E F A

LOCATION AREA Cell

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"Hardware" view of a Sample Network

MSC Service Area 2 MSC Service Area 1

BSC 1C

BSC 2C

BSC 1B

BSC 2B

BSC 2A BSC 1A PSTN AUC GMSC ILR LEGEND HLR EIR

MSC/VLR 2

MSC/VLR 1

MSC Boundary BSC Boundary PCM Links Base Station

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BASIC EQUIPMENTS
1. 2. 3. Mobile Station Base Transceiver Station Base Station Controller

4.
5. 6. 7. 8.

Mobile Switching Center

Home Location Register Visitor Location Register Authentication Center Equipment Identity Register

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MOBILE STATION (MS)

MS consists of the mobile equipment (the terminal) and a smart card called the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM). The SIM provides personal mobility, so that the user can have access to subscribed services irrespective of a specific terminal. By inserting the SIM card into a GSM terminal, the user is able to receive and make calls at that terminal, and receive other subscribed services. Without the SIM, the terminal will not work. The mobile equipment is uniquely identified by the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). The SIM card contains the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) used to identify the subscriber to the system, a secret key for authentication, and other information. The IMEI and the IMSI are independent, thereby allowing personal mobility. The SIM card may be protected against unauthorized use by a password or personal identity number (PIN).

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BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION

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BASE TRANSCEIVER STATION

The BTS corresponds to the transceivers and antennas used in each cell of the network. It handles the radio-link protocols with the Mobile Station. A BTS may be placed in the center of a cell (omnidirectional) or shooting in one or more specific directions (sectorized). Its transmitting power defines the size of a cell. Each BTS has typically between one and sixteen transceivers depending on the density of users in the cell. In a large urban area, there will potentially be a large number of BTSs deployed, thus the requirements for a BTS are ruggedness, reliability, portability, and minimum cost.

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BASE STATION CONTROLLER

The BSC controls a group of BTSs and manages their radio resources. It handles radio-channel setup, handover, and the radio frequency power levels of the BTSs. The BSC is the connection between the mobile station and the Mobile service Switching Center (MSC). Before transmitting speech or data to the MSC the information is transformed and coded in an TRANSCODER.

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HOME LOCATION REGISTER

The HLR is a network database that contains all the administrative information of each subscriber registered in the GSM network, along with the current location of the mobile. Subscription data states the logical identity of each subscriber (MS) and which services that are accessible for the respective subscriber. The location of the mobile is typically in the form of the address of the Visitor Location Register (VLR) associated with the mobile station. This information is used to route calls and SMS to the MSC/VLR where the mobile station is currently located. The HLR also contains a number of functions for managing these data, controlling services and enabling subscribers to access and receive their services when roaming within and outside their home GSM network.
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MOBILE SERVICES AND SWITCHING CENTRE (MSC) / VISITOR LOCATION REGISTER (VLR)
The MSC is a very central component of the GSM network. The MSC performs the switching functions of the network and also provides connection to other networks. It additionally provides all the functionality needed to handle a mobile subscriber, such as registration, authentication, location updating, handovers, and call routing to a roaming subscriber. The VLR is always implemented together with a MSC; so the area under control of the MSC is also the area under control of the VLR. The VLR contains selected information from a subscriber's HLR necessary for call control and provisioning of the subscribed services to the visiting user.
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AUTHENTICATION CENTER
The AUC generates authentication and ciphering data. The purpose of the authentication security feature is to protect the network against unauthorized use. It also protects subscribers by denying the possibility for intruders to impersonate authorized users. The ciphering data is used to ensure that confidentiality and integrity is kept on the physical radio channels. Ciphering prevents user information and signalling to be available or disclosed to unauthorized individuals.

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