VLR and its function in GSM, temporary mobile subscriber identity tmsi, mobile station roaming

number msrn, location area identity.

What is HLR and VLR and its function in GSM
As From the Name HLR means Home Location Register so it has all detail of subscriber and
VLR means Visitor Location Register so its has temporary details. Lets check in detail.
Home Location
Register (HLR)
The HLR is the reference database for subscriber parameters.
Various identification numbers and addresses are stored, as well as authentication parameters.
This information is entered into the database by the network provider when a new subscriber is
added to the system. The HLR database contains the master database of all the subscribers to a
GSM PLMN.
The data it contains is remotely accessed by all the MSCs and the VLRs in the network and,
although the network may contain more than one HLR, there is only one database record per
subscriber each HLR is therefore handling a portion of the total subscriber database.
The subscriber data may be accessed by either the IMSI or the MSISDN number. The data can
also be accessed by an MSC or a VLR in a different PLMN, to allow inter-system and inter-
country roaming.
The Basic Parameters stored in the HLR are listed below:
Subscriber ID (IMSI and MSISDN)
Current Subscriber VLR (Current Location)
Supplementary Services Subscriber to (Caller Tone, Missed Call Alert, Any Other
Services etc.)
Subscriber Status (Registered or Deregistered)
Authentication Key and AUC Functionality
Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number
Visitor Location Register (VLR)
The VLR contains a copy of most of the data stored at the HLR. It is, however, temporary data
which exists for only as long as the subscriber is active in the particular area covered by the
VLR.
The VLR database will therefore contain some duplicate data as well as more precise data
relevant to the subscriber remaining within the VLR coverage.
The VLR provides a local database for the subscribers wherever they are physically located
within a PLMN, this may or may not be the home system. This function eliminates the need
for excessive and time-consuming references to the home HLR database.
The additional data stored in the VLR is listed below:
1. Location Area Identity (LAI).
2. Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI).
3. Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN).
4. Mobile status (busy/free/no answer etc.).
Location Area Identity
Cells within the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) are grouped together into geographical
areas. Each area is assigned a Location Area Identity (LAI), a location area may typically contain
30 cells.
Each VLR controls several LAIs and as a subscriber moves from one LAI to another, the LAI is
updated in the VLR. As the subscriber moves from one VLR to another, the VLR address is
updated at the HLR.
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI)
The VLR controls the allocation of new Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (TMSI) numbers
and notifies them to the HLR. The TMSI will be updated frequently, this makes it very difficult
for the call to be traced and therefore provides a high degree of security for the subscriber.
The TMSI may be updated in any of the following situations:
Call setup.
On entry to a new LAI.
On entry to a new VLR.
Mobile Subscriber Roaming Number
As a subscriber may wish to operate outside its home system at some time, the VLR can also
allocate a Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN). This number is assigned from a list of
numbers held at the VLR (MSC). The MSRN is then used to route the call to the MSC which
controls the base station in the MSs Current location.
The database in the VLR can be accessed by the IMSI, the TMSI or the MSRN. Typically there
will be one VLR per MSC.
Article Topics :

Telecommunication Engineering Concepts
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Experiences of a Telecommunication Engineer (Trainee). My Special thanks go to ETISALAT
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Undergraduate of University of Moratuwa, Department of Electronic & Telecommunication
Engineering. NOTE: My posts may include some vendor specific names(Since my current
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
GSM Handover/Handoff



Both Handover and Handoff is used to describe the same process. There is a process called Cell
reselection and I will talk about it later. A particular mobile service provider is given a set of frequencies.
Form that few set of frequencies, by doing Frequency Reuse they have to provide the coverage. The
total coverage is divided into large number of cells. When the customer moves from one cell to another
while taking a call Handover takes place to retain the connection.
This must be carefully considered when you are planning a network. Because this is a measure of the
Quality of Service. If we fail to handover properly the call will drop. And when the number of call drops
goes high customer may tend to go for another service provider.
There are few ways of categorizing Handover in GSM systems. For GSM only systems there are four
categories.

1. Intra-BTS handover



This occurs within the same BTS when there are some interference takes place. In this case mobile will
be locked to the same BTS but the channel allocated to that mobile/time slot will change.

2. Inter-BTS Intra BSC handover
This type of handover occurs when the mobile moves out of the coverage of one BTS into another BTS
and both BTSs are controlled by the same BSC. BSC will take care of the handover by allocating a channel
for the user in the second BTS.

3. Inter-BSC handover



This is a special case of previous one and this time handover occurs between two BSCs. Therefore it has
to be controlled by MSC.


4. Inter-MSC handover

In this occasion handover occurs between two MSCs.



As I mentioned above there are few categories but as far as the mobile is concerned they will look like
the same. For GSM systems we use TDMA. Transmitter only transmits in one out of eight time slots and
similarly receiver receives in one slot. As a result of this RF module of the mobile may be idling for the
remaining six time slots. But it is not the case. During those slots mobile will scans for beacon
frequencies which may be more suitable/stronger. When the mobile deals with the BTS it will send the
list of radio channels of the beacon frequencies of neighboring BTSs via Broadcast Channel known as
BCCH. In addition to this mobile will report back the quality of the existing link with BTS. It is not only the
telecommunication network but also the mobile is helping in doing handover. This form of handover is
also known as Mobile Assisted Handover (MAHO).
Now with the help of the mobile network has the details regarding the current link quality and the
available links or availability of channels nearby cells. Depending on the configurations set or the
parameters available, network will decide when to handover and to which cell it should be handed. If
network decide to go with the handover it will assign a new time slot to the mobile and also inform the
relevant BTSs about the change. Mobile will return during the idling period and will synchronize with the
new available parameters and continue the conversation. This can be considered as the perfect
scenario. But in practice we may come across few issues.
They are:
Old and new BTSs synchronized: As I mentioned above mobile is provided with all the required details.
For fine adjustment of synchronization mobile may optionally send four access bursts even though the
synchronization is already good. They are shorter than the standard bursts. Because of that they will not
overlap with other bursts.
Time offset between synchronized old and new BTS: if there exist a time offset between the old and
new BTSs, mobile will be informed about the offset. So mobile station can make the adjustment and
then the handover takes place as a standard synchronized handover.
Non-synchronized handover: For this to happen mobile will transmit 64 access bursts on the new
channel. That will help the BTS to determine and adjust the timing of the mobile. After it has done
mobile can access the new BTS and it will enable the mobile to re-establish the connection through new
BTS with correct timing.

As time passes new technologies arises. Earlier we talked about how the handover takes place within
GSM/2G network. But later we see 3G, HSPA and LTE. So we may encounter a situation where we want
to handover from GSM to any other or vice-versa. It is known as Inter-system/inter-RAT handover.
UMTS / WCDMA to GSM handover
We can divide this further into two.
o Blind handover: This form of handover occurs when the BTS hands off the mobile by just passing it the
details of the new cell to the mobile without linking to it and setting the timing, other parameters of the
mobile for the new cell. In this mode, the network selects what it believes to be the optimum GSM
based station. The mobile first locates the BCCH of the new cell, gains timing synchronization and then
carries out non-synchronized inter-cell handover.
o Compressed mode handover: The mobile uses the gaps of transmission that occur to analyze the
reception of local GSM base stations using the neighbor list to select suitable candidate base stations.
Having selected a suitable base station the handover takes place, again without any time
synchronization having occurred.
Handover from GSM to UMTS / WCDMA: This form of handover is supported within GSM and a
"neighbor list" was established to enable this occur easily. As we know the GSM/2G network is normally
more extensive than the 3G network, this type of handover does not normally occur. If a mobile go away
from a coverage area, then it will have to quickly find a new base station to stay in touch. The handover
from GSM to UMTS occurs to provide an improvement in performance and can normally take place only
when the conditions are right. The neighbor list will inform the mobile when this may happen.