David Soldani

QoS and QoE Management in UMTS Cellular Systems: Soldani/QoS and QoE Management in UMTS Cellular Systems

This comprehensive volume provides state-of-the art guidance on Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of end-user Experience (QoE) management in UMTS cellular systems, tackling planning, provisioning, monitoring and optimisation issues in a single accessible resource. In addition, a detailed discussion is provided on service applications, QoS concept, architecture and functions in access, packet & circuit switched core and backbone networks. • Defines and explains the differences between QoS and QoE, and end-to-end concept, based on the premise that it is the end-user who is the ultimate beneficiary of QoS.

An Autonomic Framework for Self-Optimizing Next Generation Mobile Networks

This paper presents aframeworkfor self-optimizing next generation mobile networks, such as 3G LTE and WiMAX systems. Concept, architecture, interfaces and functions are described in detail. The functionality and management thereof of the proposed autonomic system is exposed through two case studies on neighbor cell list performance improvement. Simulation results show the proposed application to be a feasible solution for self-optimizing performance ofwireless access systems.

A simple approach to HSDPA dimensioning

This paper presents an analytical approach to HSDPA radio interface dimensioning based on specific requirements for throughput and exploited downlink transmission power. The proposed method derives the maximum HSDPA throughput achievable in a cell with the actual radio resources, or the power needed for HSDPA to provide the required average or minimum user data rate at a given coverage probability. Simple rules for HSDPA admission and load control are also disclosed, and the impact of HSDPA on radio link budget is pointed out

Detection of Interference, Dominance and Coverage Problems in WCDMA Networks

This paper presents a method to detect coverage and dominance problems and identify interferers in WCDMA networks. The solution does not make use of drive tests or simulations. For each cell and cell pair, metrics are calculated processing signalling messages exchanged through the radio interface during normal network operation, thus reflecting real traffic distributions and geographical user locations. The proposed methodology allows data analysis automation. Trial results validated problems classification

An Enhanced Virtual Time Simulator for Studying QoS Provisioning of Multimedia Services in UTRAN

This paper describes an enhanced virtual time simulator for studying the provisioning of new services throughout the UMTS Radio Access Network (UTRAN). Several simulations were run to verify the feasibility of the tool and to investigate the effectiveness of the supported QoS mechanisms. The radio resources utilization is analyzed in terms of cell throughput and transmission power. The quality of experience is assessed separately for each of the offered services by tailored combinations of performance metrics, which determine the degree of satisfaction of the user of the services. The simulation results show the proposed simulator to be an appropriate tool for studying several aspects of radio network management, such as service planning and QoS provisioning.

On the deployment of multimedia services in wireless networks: radio dimensioning aspects for UTRAN FDD

In this paper, we address the radio dimensioning issue that arises from the introduction of novel services in WCDMA networks. To investigate the impact and entailed limitations of the deployment of new services on the performance of the offered ones, we propose plain methods and a simulator for radio interface dimensioning. The tool (based on throughput estimates and snapshots of the system status) supports essential radio resource management functions, as admission control and packet scheduler with QoS differentiation. For each of the accessible services, we define the corresponding user satisfaction criterion, and performance results, at a given QoS, are presented as the maximum number of subscribers a WCDMA cell can satisfactorily accommodate. Several case studies on the deployment of PoC (push to talk over cellular) in realistic mixed service scenarios are analyzed in this work. Simulation results show that no extra capacity is required for PoC launch.

Provisioning radio access networks for effective QoS management: capacity gains of service differentiation in UTRAN

The paper presents an effective QoS management framework with service differentiation for WCDMA networks. Performance results show the proposed set of radio resource management algorithms with differentiated parameters to be a reliable solution to sustain the quality of real time services offered on best effort, i.e. without any resource reservation or bit rate guarantees.

Service performance monitoring for EGPRS networks based on treatment classes

GPRS/EDGE networks provide an opportunity for operators to offer new services to their potential and existing subscribers. Unlike circuit switched services, EGPRS services are dependent on a multitude of factors to guarantee a timely content delivery. To ensure that the contracted QoS is sustained, it is not sufficient to overprovision resources, fn addition, operators need to have tools for monitoring the QoS experienced by diverse packet flows in different network segments. This paper presents theoretically, and confirms experimentally, a simple mechanism to monitor throughput of distinct services across EGPRS networks, which enables a proactive and timely supervision of service level agreements and quality. The approach is based on the treatment class concept, which maps services with different performance requirements onto distinct QoS profiles. By means of treatment classes, defined by a subset of the bearer attributes, i.e. bit rates, priorities and traffic classes, it is possible to formulate metrics to measure the performance of distinct services within the network domains, without any visibility of the content carried by upper layer protocols. Experimental results show good agreement between throughput measurements in the network and the corresponding measured values at the application layer in the mobile terminals.

QoS sensitivity to selected packet scheduling parameters in UTRAN

The sensitivity of quality of service (QoS) to a selection of UTRAN network parameters that packet scheduler (PS) applies in the control of radio resources was analyzed with simulations. The parameters were the minimum and maximum allowed bit rate, the inactivity timer, the maximum queuing time, and the minimum allocation time for dedicated channels. The analysis was performed with and without differentiated settings for distinct traffic priority classes. The quality of service was found especially sensitive to the inactivity timer, the minimum allowed bit rate, and the maximum allowed bit rate. The sea ice performance was also sensitive to the parameter differentiation indicating potentials for significant spectral efficiency gains if the parameters are properly tuned. The exploration of parameters in the study resulted in an increase of the user satisfaction ratio of the worst performing service from about 80% with the optimal un-differentiated settings to 97% using the best differentiated values. The corresponding spectral efficiency gain was 50%.

An enhanced radio resource management with service and user differentiation for UMTS networks

In this paper we examine the issues that arise in the definition, deployment and management of QoS (quality of service) in UTRAN (UMTS terrestrial access network). The paper provides an overview of radio resource management (RRM) functions with users and bearer services differentiation. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of different parameter settings on prioritized connections in high traffic mix situations is presented. Besides this, the capability to discriminate between users/services with different QoS profile is demonstrated in terms of waiting time, call block ratio, capacity request rejection ratio, active session throughput and perceived data transfer delay. While providing differentiation between non-guaranteed bit rate services, yet maintaining a high degree of fairness between peers (users of the same QoS class), results an easy task; the differentiation between guaranteed bit rate bearer services appears to be more difficult for the administrator to manage, despite the effective utilization of radio resources shown by the simulation results.