Global System for Mobile

Communication

Architecture

Muhammad Zeeshan
System Architecture - Subsystems

A GSM system consists of 3 subsystems:

Radio Subsystem (RSS)
Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS)
Operation Subsystem (OSS)
 Data
Data PSTN
Network
PSTN
Network
RSS
NSS
Um
BTS

MSC MSC BSS

BTS

er f a ce BSC
I nt
”
“A

VLR face
t e r
VLR
“O”
In
OSS
OMC
HLR HLR AUC
EIR
System Architecture
MSC: Mobile Switching Center
BSS: Base Station Subsystem
BSC: Base Station Controller
BTS: Base Transceiver Station
OMC: Operation and Maintenance Center
VLR: Visitor Location Register
HLR: Home Location Register
EIR: Equipment Identity Register
AuC: Authentication Centre
System Architecture – RSS
RSS comprises all radio related entities like MS
and BSS
Base Station Subsystem (BSS):
BSS is controlled by BSC
It performs
All functions to maintain radio connections to an MS
Coding/decoding of voice
BSS contains a number of BTSs
System Architecture – BTS
Base Transceiver Station (BTS):
It comprises of radio equipment e.g., antenna, signal
processing, amplifier etc.
BTS is connected to MS via Um interface
Um interface is ISDN “U” interface for mobile use
Um interface uses TDMA and FDMA mechanisms to
access wireless channel
BTS is connected to BSC via Abis interface
Abis interface consists of 16 or 64 Kbps connections
System Architecture – BSC
Base Station Controller(BSC):
It manages the BTSs
It performs:
Paging of MS
Handles the handover from one BTS to another within the
BSS
Frequency channel management
Multiplexes the radio channels onto the fixed network
connections at the “A” interface
Mobile Station – MS
MS consist of user equipment and software needed for
communication with GSM Network
MS consists of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) which stores
user-specific data
SIM card contains:
Personal Identity Number (PIN)
PIN Unblocking Key (PUK)
Authentication Key Ki
International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI)
Cipher Key Kc
Location information which consist of:
Temporary Mobile Information Identity (TMSI)
Location Area Identity (LAI)
Mobile Station – MS
An MS is identified via International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI)
System Architecture – NSS
Network and Switching Subsystem
NSS provides connectivity to PSTN and data
networks
It performs
Handover between different BSSs
Charging
Accounting
Roaming
System Architecture – NSS
NSS consists of:
Mobile Switching Center (MSC):
High-performance switches
Connected to other MSCs and BSCs via “A” interface
They form the fixed backbone network of GSM system
Gateway MSC (GMSC) is connected to other networks
like PSTN and data networks
It performs signaling functions needed for call setup,
monitoring and call release, using SS7
System Architecture – NSS
NSS consists of:
Home Location Register (HLR):
It stores user relevant information
It maintains static (authentication key Ki) and dynamic
information
It keeps track of current Location Area (LA) of the MS
As soon as MS leaves current LA, HLR is updated
Visitor Location Register (VLR):
It maintains information relevant to the users that are
present in the current LA but they belong to other MSCs
It avoids frequent HLR updates and long-distance
exchange of signaling information
System Architecture – OSS
OSS contains all functions necessary for
network operation and maintenance
It communicates with other entities of GSM
network via SS7 signaling
OSS consists of:
Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC)
Authentication Center (AuC)
Equipment Identity Register (EIR)
System Architecture – OMC
Operation and Maintenance Center:
OMC monitors and controls all other network
identities via “O” interface
OMC management functions include:
Traffic monitoring
Status reports of network entities
Security management
Accounting and billing
System Architecture – AuC
Authentication Center:
Its purpose is to protect user identity and data
transmission
For user authentication AuC generates:
Algorithms for authentication
Keys for encryption
System Architecture – EIR
Equipment Identity Register (EIR):
An MS is identified with International Mobile
Equipment Identity (IMEI)
EIR a database for IMEI of MSs registered to the
network
It maintains a list of stolen or locked devices
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