3G Networks: Opportunities and Challenges

Several applications of practical interest stem fromthe capability to monitor and store packet-level traces in a 3Gnetwork. Among them, the possibility to infer andlocatenetwork problems (e.g. persistent shortage of capacity,or equipment misfunctioning), in the core and radio sections,without direct access to the equipments. This approach yieldsstrong practical benefits, given the costs and complexity ofaccessing network equipments, especially in the Radio AccessNetwork. At the same time, it exposes practical issues - e.g. theneed to dynamically locate the traffic sources (Mobile Stations)- and theoretical problems - e.g. inferring congested cells fromRouting-Area level TCP measurements. We report on our work-in-progress aimed at implementing such mechanisms on top ofan advanced monitoring system now deployed in anoperational network.