3GPP TS 49.008 '4.3 Roles of MSC-A, MSC-I and MSC-T' defines distinct roles:
- MSC-A is responsible for managing subscribers,
- MSC-I is the gateway to the RAN.
- MSC-T is a second transitory gateway to another RAN during Handover.
After inter-MSC Handover, the MSC-I is handled by a remote MSC instance, while
the original MSC-A retains the responsibility of subscriber management.
MSC-T exists in this patch but is not yet used, since Handover is only prepared
for, not yet implemented.
Facilitate Inter-MSC and inter-BSC Handover by the same internal split of MSC
roles.
Compared to inter-MSC Handover, mere inter-BSC has the obvious simplifications:
- all of MSC-A, MSC-I and MSC-T roles will be served by the same osmo-msc
instance,
- messages between MSC-A and MSC-{I,T} don't need to be routed via E-interface
(GSUP),
- no call routing between MSC-A and -I via MNCC necessary.
This is the largest code bomb I have submitted, ever. Out of principle, I
apologize to everyone trying to read this as a whole. Unfortunately, I see no
sense in trying to split this patch into smaller bits. It would be a huge
amount of work to introduce these changes in separate chunks, especially if
each should in turn be useful and pass all test suites. So, unfortunately, we
are stuck with this code bomb.
The following are some details and rationale for this rather huge refactoring:
* separate MSC subscriber management from ran_conn
struct ran_conn is reduced from the pivotal subscriber management entity it has
been so far to a mere storage for an SCCP connection ID and an MSC subscriber
reference.
The new pivotal subscriber management entity is struct msc_a -- struct msub
lists the msc_a, msc_i, msc_t roles, the vast majority of code paths however
use msc_a, since MSC-A is where all the interesting stuff happens.
Before handover, msc_i is an FSM implementation that encodes to the local
ran_conn. After inter-MSC Handover, msc_i is a compatible but different FSM
implementation that instead forwards via/from GSUP. Same goes for the msc_a
struct: if osmo-msc is the MSC-I "RAN proxy" for a remote MSC-A role, the
msc_a->fi is an FSM implementation that merely forwards via/from GSUP.
* New SCCP implementation for RAN access
To be able to forward BSSAP and RANAP messages via the GSUP interface, the
individual message layers need to be cleanly separated. The IuCS implementation
used until now (iu_client from libosmo-ranap) did not provide this level of
separation, and needed a complete rewrite. It was trivial to implement this in
such a way that both BSSAP and RANAP can be handled by the same SCCP code,
hence the new SCCP-RAN layer also replaces BSSAP handling.
sccp_ran.h: struct sccp_ran_inst provides an abstract handler for incoming RAN
connections. A set of callback functions provides implementation specific
details.
* RAN Abstraction (BSSAP vs. RANAP)
The common SCCP implementation did set the theme for the remaining refactoring:
make all other MSC code paths entirely RAN-implementation-agnostic.
ran_infra.c provides data structures that list RAN implementation specifics,
from logging to RAN de-/encoding to SCCP callbacks and timers. A ran_infra
pointer hence allows complete abstraction of RAN implementations:
- managing connected RAN peers (BSC, RNC) in ran_peer.c,
- classifying and de-/encoding RAN PDUs,
- recording connected LACs and cell IDs and sending out Paging requests to
matching RAN peers.
* RAN RESET now also for RANAP
ran_peer.c absorbs the reset_fsm from a_reset.c; in consequence, RANAP also
supports proper RESET semantics now. Hence osmo-hnbgw now also needs to provide
proper RESET handling, which it so far duly ignores. (TODO)
* RAN de-/encoding abstraction
The RAN abstraction mentioned above serves not only to separate RANAP and BSSAP
implementations transparently, but also to be able to optionally handle RAN on
distinct levels. Before Handover, all RAN messages are handled by the MSC-A
role. However, after an inter-MSC Handover, a standalone MSC-I will need to
decode RAN PDUs, at least in order to manage Assignment of RTP streams between
BSS/RNC and MNCC call forwarding.
ran_msg.h provides a common API with abstraction for:
- receiving events from RAN, i.e. passing RAN decode from the BSC/RNC and
MS/UE: struct ran_dec_msg represents RAN messages decoded from either BSSMAP
or RANAP;
- sending RAN events: ran_enc_msg is the counterpart to compose RAN messages
that should be encoded to either BSSMAP or RANAP and passed down to the
BSC/RNC and MS/UE.
The RAN-specific implementations are completely contained by ran_msg_a.c and
ran_msg_iu.c.
In particular, Assignment and Ciphering have so far been distinct code paths
for BSSAP and RANAP, with switch(via_ran){...} statements all over the place.
Using RAN_DEC_* and RAN_ENC_* abstractions, these are now completely unified.
Note that SGs does not qualify for RAN abstraction: the SGs interface always
remains with the MSC-A role, and SGs messages follow quite distinct semantics
from the fairly similar GERAN and UTRAN.
* MGW and RTP stream management
So far, managing MGW endpoints via MGCP was tightly glued in-between
GSM-04.08-CC on the one and MNCC on the other side. Prepare for switching RTP
streams between different RAN peers by moving to object-oriented
implementations: implement struct call_leg and struct rtp_stream with distinct
FSMs each. For MGW communication, use the osmo_mgcpc_ep API that has originated
from osmo-bsc and recently moved to libosmo-mgcp-client for this purpose.
Instead of implementing a sequence of events with code duplication for the RAN
and CN sides, the idea is to manage each RTP stream separately by firing and
receiving events as soon as codecs and RTP ports are negotiated, and letting
the individual FSMs take care of the MGW management "asynchronously". The
caller provides event IDs and an FSM instance that should be notified of RTP
stream setup progress. Hence it becomes possible to reconnect RTP streams from
one GSM-04.08-CC to another (inter-BSC Handover) or between CC and MNCC RTP
peers (inter-MSC Handover) without duplicating the MGCP code for each
transition.
The number of FSM implementations used for MGCP handling may seem a bit of an
overkill. But in fact, the number of perspectives on RTP forwarding are far
from trivial:
- an MGW endpoint is an entity with N connections, and MGCP "sessions" for
configuring them by talking to the MGW;
- an RTP stream is a remote peer connected to one of the endpoint's
connections, which is asynchronously notified of codec and RTP port choices;
- a call leg is the higher level view on either an MT or MO side of a voice
call, a combination of two RTP streams to forward between two remote peers.
BSC MGW PBX
CI CI
[MGW-endpoint]
[--rtp_stream--] [--rtp_stream--]
[----------------call_leg----------------]
* Use counts
Introduce using the new osmo_use_count API added to libosmocore for this
purpose. Each use token has a distinct name in the logging, which can be a
globally constant name or ad-hoc, like the local __func__ string constant. Use
in the new struct msc_a, as well as change vlr_subscr to the new osmo_use_count
API.
* FSM Timeouts
Introduce using the new osmo_tdef API, which provides a common VTY
implementation for all timer numbers, and FSM state transitions with the
correct timeout. Originated in osmo-bsc, recently moved to libosmocore.
Depends: Ife31e6798b4e728a23913179e346552a7dd338c0 (libosmocore)
Ib9af67b100c4583342a2103669732dab2e577b04 (libosmocore)
Id617265337f09dfb6ddfe111ef5e578cd3dc9f63 (libosmocore)
Ie9e2add7bbfae651c04e230d62e37cebeb91b0f5 (libosmo-sccp)
I26be5c4b06a680f25f19797407ab56a5a4880ddc (osmo-mgw)
Ida0e59f9a1f2dd18efea0a51680a67b69f141efa (osmo-mgw)
I9a3effd38e72841529df6c135c077116981dea36 (osmo-mgw)
Change-Id: I27e4988e0371808b512c757d2b52ada1615067bd
According to GSM 04.80, section 2.5.1, Release complete message
may have an optional Cause IE. Let's add a new function, that
allows to specify cause location and value.
This function will be used by the upcoming changes.
Change-Id: I3b9e8e4f473d113d5b9e9e5d33f7914202077203
Depends Change-Id: (libosmocore) Ie3ac85fcef90a5e532334ba3482804d5305c88d7
The previous implementation of msc_send_ussd_release_complete() was
based on gsm0480_create_ussd_release_complete(), that doesn't
allow to specify GSM 04.07 transaction identifier.
The ability to specify particular transaction identifier
is required for handling multiple SS/USSD transactions.
Change-Id: Id2975c3383f18e83124ba38927c03980d67ddadb
Depends Change-Id: (libosmocore) Ie3ac85fcef90a5e532334ba3482804d5305c88d7
In preparation for inter-BSC and inter-MSC handover, we need to separate the
subscriber management logic from the actual RAN connections. What better time
to finally rename gsm_subscriber_connection.
* Name choice:
In 2G, this is a connection to the BSS, but even though 3GPP TS commonly talk
of "BSS-A" and "BSS-B" when explaining handover, it's not good to call it
"bss_conn": in 3G a BSS is called RNS, IIUC.
The overall term for 2G (GERAN) and 3G (UTRAN) is RAN: Radio Access Network.
* Rationale:
A subscriber in the MSC so far has only one RAN connection, but e.g. for
inter-BSC handover, a second one needs to be created to handover to. Most of
the items in the former gsm_subscriber_connection are actually related to the
RAN, with only a few MM and RTP related items. So, as a first step, just rename
it to ran_conn, to cosmetically prepare for moving the not strictly RAN related
items away later.
Also:
- Rename some functions from msc_subscr_conn_* to ran_conn_*
- Rename "Subscr_Conn" FSM instance name to "RAN_conn"
- Rename SUBSCR_CONN_* to RAN_CONN_*
Change-Id: Ic595f7a558d3553c067f77dc67543ab59659707a
Since we don't process SS/USSD requests in OsmoMSC anymore, there
are some useless GSM 04.80 functions remained from the past.
In particular, this change does the following:
- removes both gsm0480_send_{ussd_response|return_error}
functions because they are not used anymore;
- changes symbol prefix from 'gsm0480_' to 'msc_', in order to
avoid possible conflicts with the libosmogsm's GSM 04.80 API;
- cleans up useless includes;
Change-Id: I2990d8627bce0ce6afb1dcf6b11bb194292380d3
There is no need to pass a pointer to a ss_request struct when
calling the gsm0480_send_ussd_* functions, because they only
use both transaction ID and InvokeID from there, which may
be passed directly.
This change allows one to use this API without parsing the
whole GSM 04.80 message, or when parsing is failed. Moreover,
if InvokeID is not available, one can pass any incorrect,
(e.g. negative) value, so the universal NULL tag will be used.
Finally, setting a TI flag is also up to the caller.
Change-Id: I13d5abbfdcf8238ebaf0566c420f09cd9255b648
There are error and problem codes defined by GSM TS 04.80:
- Error codes are used when a message is structured correctly,
but something is wrong in context of the current operation.
Usually they are carried by 'Return Error' component.
- Problem codes are used when something is wrong with the
message structure, or with carried values. They are
carried by 'Reject' component.
There are three groups of them (see table 3.13):
- General Problem Codes (table 3.14),
- Invoke Problem Codes (table 3.15),
- Return Result Problem Codes (table 3.16),
- Return Error Problem Codes (table 3.17).
The first group is general purpose, and can be sent in
response to any kind of message, excluding 'Reject' itself.
Other ones are bound to specific component types, such as
'Invoke', 'Return Result' and 'Return Error'.
For some reason, a 'Reject' component with the general problem
code 'GSM_0480_GEN_PROB_CODE_UNRECOGNISED' was always used in
OsmoMSC. Even when the message structure is correct.
Let's properly indicate errors in the following way:
- 'Reject' with GSM_0480_GEN_PROB_CODE_UNRECOGNISED
when the gsm0480_decode_ss_request() fails to decode
a message. It can only return 0 or 1, so it's hard to
guess which exact part of message caused the error.
- 'Return Error' with GSM0480_ERR_CODE_ILLEGAL_SS_OPERATION
when the operation code is not related to USSD.
- 'Return Error' with GSM0480_ERR_CODE_UNEXPECTED_DATA_VALUE
when the requested USSD code is unhandled (not supported).
There is a TTCN-3 testcase for this:
https://gerrit.osmocom.org/9470/
Change-Id: I800e7ec98dc9d0bca2d45a8b8255d60253d63e14
This change removes a few USSD specific declarations, which are
not actually used now, and probably accidentally migrated from
legacy OpenBSC.
Change-Id: Id57a24b92790d3ce0f9c7343d060f511e2b979c7
Neels Hofmeyr