Emulator targets GSM simulation over A interface
Article By : GL Communications
The enhanced MAPS GSM A over IP interface emulator can exchange BSSMAP and DTAP messages and signalling specification as defined by 3GPP standards, according to GL Communications.
GL Communications has enhanced its MAPS GSM A over IP interface emulator to support handover management procedures and CSV-based subscriber profiles files, among other things.
The emulator is an advanced protocol tester for GSM simulation over A interface that can exchange BSSMAP and DTAP messages and signalling specification as defined by 3GPP standards, supporting testing network elements MSC and BSC, error tracking, regression testing, conformance testing, load testing/call generation and generation of high volumes of GSM traffic, said Jagdish Vadalia, senior manager for product development.
“MAPS GSM A over IP Emulator can run pre-defined test scenarios against DUTs in a controlled & deterministic manner. It supports mobility management procedures such as location management procedure, mobile originating and terminating procedures and handover management procedures," Vadalia said.
The emulator also supports load testing using MAPS High Density, a network appliance that is designed to easily achieve up to 20,000 endpoints per appliance (5000 per port), according to the company.
To perform bulk call generation, several UE/subscriber configuration files are required. The UE/subscriber configuration files can be created using regular Profile Editors (XML Based), using CSV based profiles or using Auto Generation feature. MAPS GSM A over IP supports CSV based profiles, with which, it is possible to define up to 20,000 subscriber entries with unique called number, calling number, and other subscriber specific information.
As in real-time scenario, MAPS GSM A over IP supports simulation of different types of calls such as mobile originated voice calls, mobile originated SMS and location updates. However, it is not easy to change and maintain the CSV based subscriber profiles for different types of call simulation. So, MAPS includes an option to configure the Ratio (%) of SMS calls out of the total number of calls, based on which MAPS will generate SMS with MO voice calls.
All call handling scripts are assessed by MAPS GSM A over IP to provide statistical information. Corresponding graphs can be generated for monitoring signalling and traffic performance. Users can customise voice quality statistics parameters for RTP, which includes metrics such as listening MOS, conversational MOS, packet loss, discarded packets, out of sequence packets, duplicate packets, delay and jitter, according to the company. These statistics are calculated and updated periodically on run time.
The user can also customise scripts to create various types of graphs such as pie graph, line graph, multi-line graph, bar graph and point graph to plot RTP statistical information, according to GL Communications. Report generation ability allows further to export call statistics in PDF and XML file formats.