D.3 QoS Monitoring

32.1013GPPPrinciples and high level requirementsRelease 17Telecommunication managementTS

D.3.0 Introduction

QoS Monitoring in 3GPP systems consists of collecting/processing performance statistics, usage data and QoS related faults. In order to obtain end-to-end quality of service monitoring, the Network Elements, the Element Management Layer and Network Management Layer must all be involved with the QoS Monitoring process. Alarm and performance collection is done at the Network Element layer and alarm/performance aggregation, report generation, and analysis is done at the Element Management and Network Management layers.

The following functions summarize the QoS Monitoring process:

– Manage QoS fault conditions received from Network Elements.

– Retrieve QoS Performance data from Network Elements.

– Collect and process usage data.

– Generate QoS Reports – trend analysis of key QoS parameters.

– Audit/Analyse collected QoS parameters against expected values.

References that apply to QoS Monitoring and the following clauses are listed in clause D.4.2.

D.3.1 QoS Monitoring Conceptual Architecture

The architecture of a QoS Monitoring system is shown in figure D.3.

Figure D.3: QoS Monitoring

The architectural components identified in figure D.3 are described in the following clauses.

D.3.2 Network Element

The Network Element component is responsible for collecting performance measurements, usage data and generating alarms. The Network Element component can contain the Policy Enforcement Point or the Policy Decision Point functions.

The Network Element component provides the following functions:

– Collect performance data according to the definition of the measurements and to return results to the EML.

– Collect usage data and forward the data to mediation

– Perform the following fault management functions: Fault detection, Generation of alarms, Clearing of alarms, Alarm forwarding and filtering, Storage and retrieval of alarms in/from the NE, Fault recovery, Configuration of alarms.

D.3.3 Element Management Layer

The Element Management Layer is responsible for aggregating and transferring the collected performance measurements and generated alarms/events.

The Element Management Layer provides the following functions:

Performance Management

– Measurement data collection

– Measurement types. Corresponds to the measurements as defined in TS 52.402 [24], TS 32.405 [26], TS 32.406 [27], TS 32.407 [28], TS 32.408 [29] and TS 32.409 [30] (see clause D.4 of the present document on QoS Management Reference),
i.e. measurement types specified in the present document, defined by other standards bodies, or manufacturer defined measurement types;

– Measured network resources. The resource(s) to which the measurement types shall be applied have to be specified

– Measurement recording, consisting of periods of time at which the NE is collecting (that is, making available in the NE) measurement data.

– Measurement reporting

– Measurement Report File Format Definition

– The measurement related information to be reported has to be specified as part of the measurement. The frequency at which scheduled result reports shall be generated has to be defined.

– Measurement result transfer

– Measurement results can be transferred from the NE to the EM according to the measurement parameters, and/or they are stored locally in the NE and can be retrieved when required;

– Measurement results can be stored in the network (NEs or EM) for retrieval by the NM when required.

Fault Management

– Management of alarm event reports

– Mapping of alarm and related state change event reports

– Real-time forwarding of event reports

– Alarm clearing

– Retrieval of alarm information

– Retrieval of current alarm information on NM request

– Logging and retrieval of alarm history information on NM request

D.3.4 Network Management Layer

From a QoS Monitoring perspective, the NML is responsible for the collection and processing of performance, fault, and usage data.

The NML QoS Monitoring layer provides the following functions:

– Service Quality Management – responsible for the overall quality of a service as it interacts with other functional areas to access monitored information, process that information to determine quality metrics, and initiate corrective action when quality level is considered unsatisfactory. Inputs to SQM include both performance and fault data.

– Customer QoS Management – includes monitoring, managing, and reporting the Quality of Service customers receive against what has been promised to the customer in Service Level Agreements and any other service related documents. Inputs to CQM include data from SQM and usage data.