WCDMA RAN

Cell Barring
Feature Parameter Description

Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2011. All rights reserved.

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WCDMA RAN
Cell Barring

1 Introduction

Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................1-1
1.1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.2 Intended Audience ........................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.3 Change History.............................................................................................................................. 1-1

2 Overview .....................................................................................................................................2-1
3 Automatic Operation ................................................................................................................3-1
4 Manual operation ......................................................................................................................4-1
5 Engineering Guideline .............................................................................................................5-1
6 Parameters .................................................................................................................................6-1
7 Counters ......................................................................................................................................6-5
8 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................8-1

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WCDMA RAN
Cell Barring

1 Introduction

1 Introduction
1.1 Scope
This document describes the basic principles of the cell barring feature.

1.2 Intended Audience

This document is intended for:

Personnel who are familiar with WCDMA basics

Personnel who need to understand cell barring

Personnel who work with Huawei products

1.3 Change History

This section provides information on the changes in different document versions.
There are two types of changes, which are defined as follows:

Feature change: refers to the change in the cell barring feature.

Editorial change: refers to the change in wording or the addition of the information that was not
described in the earlier version.

Document Issues
The document issues are as follows:

01 (2011-04-30)

Draft B (2011-03-30)

Draft A (2010-12-30)

01 (2011-04-30)
This is the document for the first commercial release of RAN13.0.
Compared with issue Draft B (2011-03-30) of RAN13.0, this issue has no change.

Draft B (2011-03-30)
This is the draft of the document for RAN13.0.
Compared with Draft A (2010-12-30) of RAN13.0, this issue optimizes the description.

Draft A (2010-12-30)
This is the draft of the document for RAN13.0.
Compared with issue 01 (2010-12-20) of RAN12.0, this issue optimizes the description.

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WCDMA RAN
Cell Barring

2 Overview

2 Overview
This document describes the feature WRFD-021102 Cell Barring.
When a cell is abnormal, this feature enables the operator to automatically or manually bar the cell.

When the Iu interface is disconnected, this feature can prevent the UE from initiating useless access
requests and ensure that 3G UEs are handed over to the 2G network.

This feature can provide flexibility for the operator in some scenarios (for example, maintenance).

The cell can be barred or unbarred manually and automatically.

Manual operation. The operator can bar/unbar the cell by the MML commands. And then RNC will
update the system information of this cell to indicate UE the change;

Automatic operation. In cases of Iu-CS or Iu-PS breakdown, the RNC keeps providing coverage (but
not service) to the UEs under its control. This means that several UEs are kept in 3G coverage, but,
actually, they cannot access the network. If the Iu-CS breaks down, the RNC will bar the CS domain
service for the cell; if the Iu-PS breaks down, the RNC will bar the PS domain service for the cell. In the
case of both Iu-CS and Iu-PS breakdown, RNC bars the cell automatically.

The RAN notifies the UE through SIB about the information of cell barring. And the UE detects SIB and
access the network according to the SIB.

If SIB1 does not contain the information of one CN domain (CS or PS), the UE does not initiate
services in this domain and does not reselect cells but camps in the current cell.

If the SIB3/4 indicates the cell is barred, the UE is not permitted to select/re-select this cell, not even
for emergency calls. UE firstly tries to camp on configured 3G/2G neighboring cells. If all cells can not
be camped on, the UE tries to search new network.

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WCDMA RAN
Cell Barring

3 Automatic Operation

3 Automatic Operation
The RNC take actions according to the faults on the Iu:

If only the Iu UP breaks up, the RNC takes no action.

If the Iu breaks up, and does not recover in the period StateIndTmr, the RNC takes the Iu as faulty.
If there are only intermittent disconnections, the RNC does not release the signaling connection. If the
duration of the fault exceeds the StateIndTmr and is not recovered, the RNC judges that the
connection to the CN breaks up and releases all the signaling connection to the CN.

If only the Iu-CS signaling link breaks up,

If

SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST is turned on and BARRED_CELL_FOR_CSDOMAIN_RST is

turned off, the SIB1 does not contain the CS CN information. In this case, the UE will not initiate CS
service and will not reselect other network.

If

SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST is turned on and BARRED_CELL_FOR_CSDOMAIN_RST is

turned on, the SIB3/SIB4 indicates the cell is barred. In this case, the UE will reselect other cell.

If Iu-PS signaling link breaks up,

If

SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST is turned on, the SIB1 does not contain PS CN information. In

this case, the UE will not initiate PS service and will not reselect other network.

If the signaling links of both Iu-CS and Iu-PS break up,

If

SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST is turned on, the SIB3/SIB4 indicates the cell is barred. In this
case, the UE will reselect other cell.

After the Iu recovers, the cells are automatically unbarred.

When the Iu interface is faulty, the RNC gradually restricts cell access in Bar mode. When the Iu
interface is restored, the RNC gradually enables cell access in Not Bar mode. The parameter
IuAcIntervalOfCell defines the interval from barring/unbarring one cell to barring/unbarring another cell.
In this way, the location update procedure can be distributed to a specified time period and the risk due
to congestion is reduced.

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Cell Barring

4 Manual operation

4 Manual operation
Quick blocking/unblocking of cells is required in some special scenarios. For example, if the RNC is
faulty when the UE camps on the 3G network, the RNC cannot provide complete services on the access
network; if the CN needs to be upgraded, the UE must be forcibly handed over from the 3G network to
the 2G network. Although the BLK UCELL command can be executed to block/unblock cells in batches,
this method requires longer preparation and processing time. Therefore, it does not meet the
requirement for quickly blocking/unblocking cells.
Quick blocking/unblocking of cells is a process of UE access control through the AC control IEs in the
cell system information. It is effective for the UEs in idle mode. The blocking modes are as follows:

Blocking all the cells controlled by an RNC through the ADD URNCALLCELLBLK command.

Blocking all the cells belonging to an operator through the ADD UCNOPALLCELLBLK command.

Only one blocking mode can be used for quick blocking/unblocking of cells, that is, the two blocking modes cannot be
used simultaneously.

In the latter blocking mode, the ADD UCNOPALLCELLBLK command is executed for only one operator.

Cell blocking can be performed in the PS domain or in both the PS domain and the CS domain, which is
set by the DomainType parameter. The processing time of cell blocking is set by the ProcessDuration
parameter.
Table 4-1 provides four schemes for quickly blocking/unblocking cells.
Table 4-1 Four schemes for quickly blocking/unblocking cells
Target
Object

Blocked
Domain

RNC

PS domain Delete the information about the PS domain from Any new PS service is
SIB1. Only the information about the CS domain is rejected. This scheme is
broadcast.
effective for all the UEs.

RNC

CS domain Set all the ACs in the "Access Class Barred list" IE Any new service is
in SIB3 to barred.
and PS
rejected. This scheme is
domain
In addition, set all the ACs in the "Domain Specific effective for all the UEs.
Access Restriction Parameters For All" IE in the
"Domain Specific Access Restriction For Shared
Network" IE to barred.

Operator

PS domain Set all the PS ACs in the "Domain Specific Access

Restriction Parameters For OperatorN" IE in the
"Domain Specific Access Restriction For Shared
Network" IE to barred. In addition, set the CS
domain to noRestriction (NULL).

Any new PS service is

rejected. This scheme is
effective for the UEs of
3GPP Release 6 or later.

Operator

CS domain Set all the CS ACs and PS ACs in the "Domain

and PS
Specific Access Restriction Parameters For
domain
OperatorN" IE in the "Domain Specific Access
Restriction For Shared Network" IE to barred.

Any new service is

rejected. This scheme is
effective for the UEs of
3GPP Release 6 or later.

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Scheme

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UE Version
Compatibility

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WCDMA RAN
Cell Barring

5 Engineering Guideline

5 Engineering Guideline
Deployment Guideline
The use of this feature does not affect the KPI of local network, because after the cell is barred the UE
will not retry to access the local cell. But the UE will try to access inter-RAT cells or inter-operator cells in
the same coverage and cause signaling shock to them. So you need to consider the anti-shock
capability when deploying this feature and ensure the cell can work normally when a lot of UEs come to
the cell.s
It is recommended to use the default parameters of the feature.

Automatic Cell Barring

To enable the function of the automatic cell barring, run the following command:
SET URRCTRLSWITCH: PROCESSSWITCH = SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST-1;
SET URRCTRLSWITCH: PROCESSSWITCH = BARRED_CELL_FOR_CSDOMAIN_RST-1;
You can set the protection for intermittent disconnection:
SET UIUTIMERANDNUM: CnOpIndex=X, CNId=Y, StateIndTmr=Z;

Quickly Blocking One Cell

When a cell is blocked in high priority, the cell is deactivated immediately. When a cell is blocked in
medium priority, the cell is deactivated immediately if no subscriber accesses the cell in the duration
specified for blocking of medium priority, or if any subscriber accesses the cell in the duration specified
for blocking of medium priority the cell is deactivated after the duration specified for blocking of medium
priority expires. When a cell is blocked in low priority, the cell is deactivated when no subscriber
accesses the cell.
To block a cell run the following command:
BLK CELL: CellId=1; Priority=HIGH;
To unblock a cell, run the following command:
UBL UCELL: CELLID=1;

Quickly Blocking All the Cells

The function of quickly blocking all the cells only can chose one of the following methods: quickly
bolcking all the cells in the RNC (ADD URNCALLCELLBLK) or quickly blocking all the cells of the
designated operator in the RNC(ADD UCNOPALLCELLBLK). That means the MML command ADD
URNCALLCELLBLK and ADD UCNOPALLCELLBLK can not executed in the same time.
To block all the cells in the RNC in the PS domain in 10 minutes, run the following command:
ADD URNCALLCELLBLK: DomainType = PsBlk, ProcessDuration = 10;
To unblock all the cells in the RNC:
RMV URNCALLCELLBLK

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Cell Barring

6 Parameters

6 Parameters
Table 6-1 Parameter description
Parameter NE
ID
CNId

MML Command

Description

BSC6900 SET
Meaning:Identifying a CN Node. When the
UIUTIMERANDNUM(Mandatory) Iu-Flex feature is enabled, a maximum of 32
CN nodes can be configured in each CN
domain, either the CS domain or the PS
domain. CN nodes are uniquely but not
necessarily consecutively numbered within a
BSC6900. For example, set the number of a
CN node to 0 and that of another CN node to 2.
Note:
Although the number of a CN node ranges
from 0 to 4095, a maximum of 64 CN nodes
can be configured
GUI Value Range:0~4095
Actual Value Range:0~4095
Default Value:None

CnOpIndex BSC6900 SET

Meaning:Represent an index for a CN operator
UIUTIMERANDNUM(Mandatory) GUI Value Range:0~3
Actual Value Range:0~3
Default Value:None
DomainTyp BSC6900 ADD
Meaning:This parameter specifies the blocked
e
UCNOPALLCELLBLK(Mandatory) domain type
MOD
GUI Value Range:PsBlk(BLOCK PS),
UCNOPALLCELLBLK(Mandatory) CsAndPsBlk(BLOCK CS AND PS)
Actual Value Range:PsBlk, CsAndPsBlk
Default Value:None
DomainTyp BSC6900 ADD
Meaning:This parameter specifies the blocked
e
URNCALLCELLBLK(Mandatory) domain type
MOD
URNCALLCELLBLK(Optional)

GUI Value Range:PsBlk(BLOCK PS),

CsAndPsBlk(BLOCK CS AND PS)
Actual Value Range:PsBlk, CsAndPsBlk
Default Value:None

IuAcInterval BSC6900 SET UACALGO(Optional)

OfCell

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Meaning:When the Iu interface is faulty, the

RNC gradually restricts cell access in Bar
mode. When the Iu interface is restored, the
RNC gradually enables cell access in Not Bar
mode. This parameter defines the interval
between the cells working in Bar mode or in
Not Bar mode. In this way, the location update
procedure can be distributed to a specified time
period and the risk due to congestion is

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Cell Barring

6 Parameters

reduced
GUI Value Range:1~3600
Actual Value Range:1~3600
Default Value:1
PROCESS BSC6900 SET
SWITCH
URRCTRLSWITCH(Optional)

Meaning:1)INVOKE_TRACE_SWITCH. When
it is checked, RNC will start Invoke Trace
procedure upon receiving INVOKE TRACE
Message form CN, otherwise, RNC won't start
the Invoke Trace procedure though it receives
the INVOKE TRACE message.
2)SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST. When
it is checked, RNC will broadcast SYSTEM
INFORMATION messages to UE when Iu
reset, otherwise, RNC won't broadcast
SYSTEM INFORMATION messages to UE
when Iu reset.
3)DRNC_DIRECT_DSCR. When it is checked,
DRNC will start DSCR procedure directly in
RRC states other than CELL_DCH, otherwise,
DRNC will transfer RRC CELL UPDATE
message to SRNC.
5)RNC_SHARE_SWITCH. When it is checked,
RNC traffic share function will be valid,
otherwise, RNC traffic function cannot be used.
6)RNCAP_IMSI_HO_SWITCH. When it is
checked, Imsi handover function will be used,
otherwise it will be not used.
7)TERMINAL_VERSION_DEBASE_SWITCH.
When it is checked, terminal version R4 will
debase to R99.
8)SYS_HO_OUT_CIPHER_SWITCH. When it
is checked, the RNC will add ciphering byte at
GSM HANDOVER COMMAND if the GSM
system do not add any cipher information at
that message.
9)SYS_HO_CIPHER_CONFIG. When it is
checked, the cipher configuration in the added
cipher byte in GSM will be A5/1.When it is no
checked ,the cipher configuration is A5/0.
10)ARRED_CELL_FOR_CSDOMAIN_RST.
When it is checked, cell will be bared when CS
domain is invalid, otherwise the CS domain will
be bared when CS domain is invalid. It is
invalid If SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST
is not checked.
11)CR2284R1_SWITCH.in section 8.6.6.28 of
TS25.331 of R5 Before2006, it describes that
the HFN should add one when UE is ciphering
in the situation of Timing re-initialized hard
handover, while not specified in RB SETUP

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6 Parameters

process in the section of 8.6.4.3. so it is not

clear whether to add or not in RB SETUP in
DRD scenarios. CR2284R1 clarify that HFN
should add one in RB SETUP process with
Timing re-initialized hard handover. when it is
checked ,RNC accepts this CR2284R1; when it
is not checked ,RNC does not accept this
CR2284R1.
12)CDT_MSG_FULL_TRACE: When it is
checked, CDT trace function which starts
tracing from message RRC CONNECT
REQUEST.
13)CR2284R1_COMPATIBLE_SWITCH.CR22
84R1 causes the compatible problem. if UE is
not consistent with RNC regarding whether
accept the CR2284R1 or not, it will cause the
problem of streaming when UEs are
communicating with each other. So RNC
creates this switch. when it is checked, RNC is
auto-adaptive to accept the CR2284R1
according to UE version information. The
principles that RNC judges UE whether to
accept the CR2284R1 are as follows: R5 and
above UE accepts the CR; R99/R4 UE, if it
receives the START LIST value from RB
SETUP COMPLETE,RNC figures that UE
accepts the CR; R99/R4 UE, if it only receives
the START value from RB SETUP
COMPLETE,RNC figures that UE does not
accept the CR; when it is not checked, whether
RNC accept the CR or not is according to
CR2284R1_SWITCH. The relations between
these two switches CR2284R1_SWITCH and
CR2284R1_COMPATIBLE_SWITCH are as
follows:
(1)CR2284R1_COMPATIBLE_SWITCH is
checked, RNC is self-compatible, so the
CR2284R1_SWITCH is invalid;
(2)CR2284R1_COMPATIBLE_SWITCH is not
checked, the CR2284R1_SWITCH is valid.
14)COMBINE_OPERATION_DRD_SWITCH.
When it is on, RNC will not reject the message
RB SETUP CMP without the IE active time.
15)UL_INTER_PROTECT_SWITCH. When
the switch is off, RNC will not do integrity
protection check for uplink RRC messages.
16)FAST_DORMANCY_SWITCH. When it is
checked, RNC will apply FAST DORMANCY
function.
17)SYS_HO_IN_CIPHER_SWITCH. When it is
checked, don't receive the encrypted ability
information from RELOC REQ ,default

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6 Parameters

configured of encrypted parameter are UIA1

and UEA0.
18)PTT_EARLY_TRANS_SWITCH_OFF.
When it is checked, PTT user will not apply the
early transmission function, otherwise, PTT
user will apply the early transmission function.
19)UPLINK_MDC_ENHENCEMENT_SWITCH
. This switch has become invalid.
20)NODEB_PRIVATE_INTERFACE_SWITCH
. When it is checked, the NodeB private
interface data can be taken to the NodeB
through the IUB protocol message.
21)PTT_SPEC_LI_SWITCH_OFF. When it is
checked, special LI will not be used for PTT
user, otherwise, special LI will be used for PTT
user.
22)RNC_DF_2_URA_PCH_SWITCH. When it
is checked, RNC will support transferring Fast
Dormancy UE from CELL_DCH or
CELL_FACH to URA_PCH. When it is not
checked, RNC will not support transferring Fast
Dormancy UE from CELL_DCH or
CELL_FACH to URA_PCH.
23)FD_TAC_MATCH_SWITCH. When it is
checked, RNC will apply FAST DORMANCY
function for UE whose TAC is configured in
database. When it is not checked, RNC will
apply FAST DORMANCY function for UE
whose version is R5 or later
GUI Value Range:INVOKE_TRACE_SWITCH,
SYS_INFO_UPDATE_FOR_IU_RST,
DRNC_DIRECT_DSCR,
RNC_SHARE_SWITCH,
RNCAP_IMSI_HO_SWITCH,
TERMINAL_VERSION_DEBASE_SWITCH,
SYS_HO_OUT_CIPHER_SWITCH,
SYS_HO_CIPHER_CONFIG,
BARRED_CELL_FOR_CSDOMAIN_RST,
CR2284R1_SWITCH,
CDT_MSG_FULL_TRACE,
CR2284R1_COMPATIBLE_SWITCH,
COMBINE_OPERATION_DRD_SWITCH,
UL_INTER_PROTECT_SWITCH,
FAST_DORMANCY_SWITCH,
SYS_HO_IN_CIPHER_SWITCH,
PTT_EARLY_TRANS_SWITCH_OFF,
UPLINK_MDC_ENHENCEMENT_SWITCH,
NODEB_PRIVATE_INTERFACE_SWITCH,
PTT_SPEC_LI_SWITCH_OFF,
RNC_DF_2_URA_PCH_SWITCH,
FD_TAC_MATCH_SWITCH
Actual Value Range:This parameter is set to 0

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6 Parameters

or 1 according to the related domains

Default Value:None
ProcessDur BSC6900 ADD
Meaning:This parameter specifies the
ation
UCNOPALLCELLBLK(Mandatory) processing duration of the cell blocking in the
RNC
MOD
UCNOPALLCELLBLK(Optional)

GUI Value Range:2~30

Actual Value Range:2~30
Default Value:None

ProcessDur BSC6900 ADD

Meaning:This parameter specifies the
ation
URNCALLCELLBLK(Mandatory) processing duration of the cell blocking in the
RNC
MOD
URNCALLCELLBLK(Optional)

GUI Value Range:2~30

Actual Value Range:2~30
Default Value:None

StateIndTm BSC6900 SET

r
UIUTIMERANDNUM(Optional)

Meaning:CN protection timer

GUI Value Range:1000~300000
Actual Value Range:1000~300000
Default Value:20000

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7 Counters

7 Counters
Table 7-1 Counter description
Counter ID

Counter Name

50342548

Feature ID

Feature Name

VS.ULCE.Max.Dedicated Maximum
Dedicated Uplink
CE

WRFD-021102

Cell Barring

50342549

VS.DLCE.Max.Dedicated Maximum
Dedicated
Downlink CE

WRFD-021102

Cell Barring

50342550

VS.ULCE.Max.Shared

Maximum Shared WRFD-021102

Uplink CE

Cell Barring

50342554

VS.DLCE.Max.Shared

Maximum Shared WRFD-021102

Downlink CE

Cell Barring

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Counter
Description

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8 Glossary

8 Glossary
For the acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see the Glossary.

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8-1