BSC BOARDS DESCRIPTION & FUNCTIONS

Knowledge sharing by L. Mamini

Week 33 of 2023
 PRESENTATION OUTLINE

I. What is a BSC

II. What are the functions of a BSC

III. BSC6910 boards types

IV. BSC6910 Boards description and functions

 What is a BSC?
A Base Station Controller (BSC) is a critical component in cellular telecommunications
networks. It is responsible for managing and controlling multiple Base Transceiver Stations
(BTS) or Base Stations (BS) within a specific geographic area, known as a cell or a cell site.
 Functions of BSC6910
The Huawei BSC6910 is a specific model of Base Station Controller (BSC) used in
telecommunications networks. As a BSC, it performs several important functions which include

• Call Control: The BSC6910 handles call control functions within the mobile network. It
manages call setup, call routing, and call release processes for mobile subscribers. It
ensures proper call establishment and maintains call quality during the conversation.
• Radio Resource Management: The BSC6910 is responsible for efficient management and
allocation of radio resources in the network. It optimizes the utilization of available
frequencies, assigns channels to mobile devices, and controls power levels to ensure
optimal coverage and capacity.
• Mobility Management: The BSC6910 manages the mobility of mobile subscribers within
the network. It handles functions such as location updates, handovers (seamless transfer of
a call from one cell to another), and paging (alerting a mobile device of an incoming call or
message).
 Functions of BSC6910
• Interface Handling: The BSC6910 supports various interfaces to communicate with other
network elements, such as Mobile Switching Centers (MSCs) or Radio Network Controllers
(RNCs). It manages the flow of information and signaling between different network
components.
• Quality of Service (QoS) Management: The BSC6910 ensures the delivery of acceptable
quality of service to mobile subscribers. It prioritizes and manages different types of traffic,
applies QoS policies, and monitors key performance indicators to maintain a satisfactory
user experience.
• Signaling Control: The BSC6910 handles signaling protocols and procedures required for
communication between the mobile network infrastructure and mobile devices. It manages
signaling traffic, supports call setup and tear-down procedures, and ensures proper signaling
exchange for various network services.
• Network Management: The BSC6910 provides network management capabilities, allowing
operators to monitor and control the performance of the BSC and its associated base
stations. It facilitates configuration management, fault management, performance
monitoring, and security management of the BSC and its network elements.
 BSC Boards Types

BSC board types can be classified into six major categories namely

1. Operation and Maintenance(O&M) boards

2. General processing boards
3. Switching processing boards
4. Interface processing boards
5. Service identification boards
6. Clock processing boards
 Operation and Maintenance(O&M) boards

The EOMUa meaning Evolved Operation and Maintenance Unit REV:a is one of the
boards that falls under the O&M board category. This board has the following
functions;
• Performs configuration management, performance management, fault
management, security management, and loading management for the BSC6910.
• Works as the O&M bridge of the LMT/M2000 to provide the BSC6910 O&M
interface for the LMT/M2000 and to enable communication between the
BSC6910 and the LMT/M2000.
• Works as the interface to provide the Web-based online help.
 Operation and Maintenance(O&M) boards

The ESAUa meaning Evolved Service Aware Unit REV:a is another boards that falls
under the O&M board category. This board has the following functions;
• Collects data about the call history record (CHR) and pre-processes the collected
data.
• Filters and summarizes raw data of the BSC6910 and uploads the preprocessed
data through the M2000 for analysis
 General processing boards

The EGPUa meaning Evolved General Processing Unit REV:a is a general processing
board. This board has the following functions;

• Manages user plane and control plane resource pools.

• Processes user plane and control plane services for the BSC and RNC.
 Switching processing board

The SCUb meaning GE Switching network and Control Unit REV:b is a boards that
falls under the Switching and procressing board category. This board has the
following functions;
• Provides MAC/GE switching and enables the convergence of ATM and IP
networks. MAC is short for Media Access Control and ATM is short for
asynchronous transfer mode.
• Provides data switching channels.
• Provides system-level or subrack-level configuration and maintenance.
• Distributes clock signals for the BSC6910.
 Interface processing boards

The EXOUa meaning Evolved 2-port 10GE Optical interface Unit REV:a is an
interface processing board with the following functions;

• Provides two channels over 10 Gbit/s optical ports.

• Supports IP over GE.
 Interface processing boards

The FG2c meaning 12-port FE or 4-port electronic GE interface unit REV:c is an

interface processing board with the following functions;

• Provides 12 channels over FE or 4 channels over GE electrical ports.

• Supports IP over FE/GE.
 Interface processing boards

The GOUc meaning 4-port packet over GE Optical interface Unit REV:c is an
interface processing board with the following functions;

• Provides four channels over GE optical ports.

• Supports IP over GE.
 Interface processing boards

The AOUc meaning 4-port ATM over channelized Optical STM1/OC-3 interface Unit
REV:c is an interface processing board with the following functions;

• Provides four channels of ATM over channelized optical STM-1/OC-3.

• Supports ATM over E1/T1 over SDH/SONET.
• Provides 252 E1s or 336 T1s.
• Extracts clock signals and sends the signals to the GCUa or GCGa board.
 Interface processing boards

The UOIc meaning 8-port ATM over Unchannelized Optical STM-1/OC-3 Interface
unit REV:c is an interface processing board with the following functions;

• Provides eight channels over unchannelized STM-1/OC-3c.

• Supports ATM over SDH/SONET.
• Extracts clock signals and sends the signals to the GCUa or GCGa board.
 Interface processing boards

The POUc meaning 4-port IP over channelized Optical STM-1/OC-3 interface Unit
REV:c is an interface processing board with the following functions;
• Provides four channels of TDM/IP over channelized optical STM-1/OC-3.
• Supports IP over E1/T1 over SDH/SONET.
• Supports a load equivalent to 252 E1s or 336 T1s.
• Extracts clock signals and sends the signals to the GCUa or GCGa board.
 Clock processing board

The GCUa(General Clock Unit REV:a and the GCGa(General Clock unit with GPS REV:a
are clock processing boards with the following functions;

• Obtains the system clock source, performs the functions of phase-lock and holdover,
and provides clock signals.

The two board has the same functions and slightly differs in that unlike the GCUa
board, the GCGa board can receive and process GPS signals.
 Service identification board

The ENIUa meaning Evolved Network Intelligence Unit is a service identification board
with the following functions;

• Provides the service identification function and works with the service processing
boards to schedule different types of services.