System and method for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network

Abstract

Disclosed is a system (100) and method (800) for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in a communication network (100). The method comprises displaying on a user device (160), first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier, in response to the displayed first selectable options, the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell are received. From a first database (212-1), a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier are identified. The identified set of cells are displayed as second selectable options. Upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed second selectable options, information associated with the cell is fetched from a second database (212-2) and visualization data is generated. Thereafter, the generated visualization data is displayed over a map layer indicating the cell.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CELL IDENTIFIER BASED GEOSPATIAL SEARCH OF A CELL IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication networks and systems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in a communication network.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The subject matter disclosed in the background section should not be assumed or construed to be prior art merely due to its mention in the background section. Similarly, any problem statement mentioned in the background section or its association with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed or construed to have been previously recognized in the prior art.

[0003] With growth of wireless communication networks around the world, network operators are striving to increase robustness of the communication network that is capable of supporting user devices on the communication network. To consistently improve overall services of the communication network in an entire coverage area, the network operators continuously monitor the communication network and detect anomalies occurring in the communication network. Network administrators handle anomalies detected in the communication network, for efficient management of network resources and maintaining a level of Quality of Service (QoS) in the communication network.

[0004] For management of the communication network, the network administrators maintain a collection of cell identifiers corresponding to cells operating on different technologies in the communication network. The cell identifiers are obtained from data collected from call traces of end users while providing services of the communication network such as calling and internet browsing and also while conducting drive tests and speed tests in the communication network.

[0005] When anomalies are detected in the communication network, very often there is a need to geolocate the cell and obtain its associated information. To geolocate the cell, the network administrators usually rely on fetching entire data of the communication network including the cell identifiers corresponding to a timeperiod in form of a Comma Separated Values (CSV) format or an excel file, and then manually search the details associated with the cell in the file.

[0006] In any multi technology and multi band communication network, a total count of the cells ranges in millions, sometimes reaching around five to six million. In such a scenario, manual fetching the data of the communication network and then performing an analysis to geolocate the cell becomes a tedious task. Moreover, identification of a cell with non-unique cell identifier in different circles of the communication network becomes a difficult and time-consuming task. Further, performing such a task on a day-to-day basis for addressing performance issues in the communication network increases the difficulty level for the network administrators. Furthermore, reliance on such conventional methods for geolocating the cells cause a delay in a process of addressing malfunctioning of cells and management of the communication network.

[0007] In light of the aforementioned challenges, there is a need for a user-friendly solution for performing cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell within specific geographical areas using which the cells may be identified and visualized efficiently.SUMMARY

[0008] The following embodiments present a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed invention. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key / critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0009] In an embodiment, a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network is disclosed. The method comprises displaying, by a display module on a User Interface (UI) of a user device, one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier. The method further comprises receiving, by a transceiver module via the UI in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell. Furthermore, the method comprises identifying, by a processing module from a first database, a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input. The method comprises displaying, by the display module on the UI, the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options. The one or more second selectable options includes the cell. In response to receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, the method further comprises fetching, by the processing module, information associated with the cell from a second database. The method also comprises generating, by the processing module, visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell. Thereafter, the method comprises displaying, by the display module on the UI, the generated visualization data over map layer indicating the cell.

[0010] In one aspect, the visualization data comprises one or more of connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0011] In one aspect, for generating the visualization data corresponding to the cell, the method comprises initiating, by the processing module, a first request to a first service module of a plurality of service modules, for performing a search operation for identifying the set of cells. Furthermore, the method comprises displaying, by the display module, the set of cells on the UI based on a response received from the first service module. Further, the method comprises initiating, by the processing module, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the set of cells, a second request to a second service module of the plurality of service modules for fetching the information associated with the cell.

[0012] In one aspect, the type of cell identifier includes one or more of a 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) Cell Global Identifier (NCGI), a 5G NR Cell Identity (NCI), a 4thGeneration (4G) Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and a 4G cell identifier.

[0013] In one aspect, the method further comprises initiating, by the processing module, a third request to a third service module of a plurality of service modules, for performing a synchronization operation to update information included in the first database. The synchronization operation is performed based on a change of information included in the second database.

[0014] In one aspect, the third service module is triggered using a scheduler for performing the synchronization operation at a pre-defined time interval.

[0015] In one aspect, the information associated with the cell includes one or more of a type of the cell, connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, or coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0016] In one aspect, the information corresponding to the location of the cell includes a longitudinal and a latitudinal coordinate of the location of the cell.

[0017] In one aspect, the first database stores values of the cell identifiers corresponding to the one or more cells.

[0018] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a system for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network is disclosed. The system comprises a display module, a transceiver module, and a processing module. The display module is configured to display, on a User Interface (UI) of a user device, one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier. In response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, the transceiver module is configured to receive via the UI, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell. Furthermore, the processingmodule is configured to identify, from a first database, a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input. The display module is further configured to display, on the UI, the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options. The one or more second selectable options includes the cell. Upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, the processing module is further configured to fetch information associated with the cell from a second database. Further, the processing module is configured to generate visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell. Thereafter, the display module is further configured to display, on the UI, the generated visualization data over a map layer indicating the cell.

[0019] In one aspect, the visualization data comprises one or more of connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0020] In one aspect, for generating the visualization data corresponding to the cell, the method comprises the processing module is configured to initiate a first request to a first service module of a plurality of service modules, for performing a search operation for identifying the set of cells. Furthermore, the display module is configured to display the set of cells on the UI based on a response received from the first service module. Further, the processing module is configured to initiate, by the processing module, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the set of cells, a second request to a second service module of the plurality of service modules for fetching the information associated with the cell.

[0021] In one aspect, the type of cell identifier includes one or more of a 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) Cell Global Identifier (NCGI), a 5G NR Cell Identity (NCI), a 4thGeneration (4G) Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and a 4G cell identifier.

[0022] In one aspect, the processing module is further configured to initiate a third request to a third service module of a plurality of service modules, for performing asynchronization operation to update information included in the first database. The synchronization operation is performed based on a change of information included in the second database.

[0023] In one aspect, the third service module is triggered using a scheduler for performing the synchronization operation at a pre-defined time interval.

[0024] In one aspect, the information associated with the cell includes one or more of a type of the cell, connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, or coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0025] In one aspect, the information corresponding to the location of the cell includes a longitudinal and a latitudinal coordinate of the location of the cell.

[0026] In one aspect, the first database stores values of the cell identifiers corresponding to the one or more cells.

[0027] According to another embodiment, a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network is disclosed. The method comprises receiving, by an input unit via a User Interface (UI) of a user device, a user input indicative of a selection of a type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell. Further, the method comprises transmitting, by a communication unit to a server, the user input for identifying a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input. Furthermore, the method comprises receiving, by the communication unit from the server, the identified set of cells and receiving, by the input unit via the UI, a selection of the cell from the identified set of cells. Thereafter, the method comprises transmitting, by the communication unit to the server, the selection of the cell and receiving, by the communication unit from the server, visualization data corresponding to the selection of the cell. Thereupon, the method comprises displaying, by a display control unit, the received visualization data on the UI over a map layer indicating the cell.

[0028] According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, disclosed herein is a computer program product for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network, the computer program product comprising computerexecutable instructions that are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and that, when executed by at least one processor performs operations comprising displaying, on a User Interface (UI) of a user device, one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier. Further, the operations comprise receiving, via the UI in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell. Furthermore, the operations comprise identifying, from a first database, a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input. The operations comprise displaying, on the UI, the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options, wherein the one or more second selectable options includes the cell. Further, the operations comprise fetching, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, information associated with the cell from a second database. The operations comprise generating visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell. Thereafter, the operations comprise displaying, on the UI, the generated visualization data over a map layer indicating the cell.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] Various embodiments disclosed herein will become better understood from the following detailed description when read with the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings constitute a part of the present disclosure and illustrate certain non-limiting embodiments of inventive concepts. Further, components and elements shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. For the purpose of consistency and ease of understanding, similar components and elements are annotated by reference numerals in the exemplary drawings.

[0030] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram depicting an exemplary environment of a communication network for a cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram depicting an example architecture of a server, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram depicting an example system architecture of a Network Management Console (NMC), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 4 illustrates an information flow diagram depicting information exchange between a user interface and databases for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell in the communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a first Graphical User Interface (GUI) depicting selectable options for selecting a type of a cell identifier, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a second GUI depicting one or more recommendations of cells corresponding to the cell identifier, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a third GUI depicting visualization of the cell identified through the cell identifier based geospatial search, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of a method for the cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell in the communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell from the NMC, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] Inventive concepts of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples of one or more embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Further, the one or more embodiments disclosed herein are provided to describe the inventive concept thoroughly and completely, and to fully convey the scope of each of the present inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. Furthermore, it should be noted that the embodiments disclosed herein are not mutually exclusive concepts. Accordingly, one or more components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to be present or used in any other embodiment.

[0040] The following description presents various embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments disclosed herein are presented as teaching examples and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated below, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified, omitted, or expanded upon without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0041] The following description contains specific information pertaining to embodiments in the present disclosure. The detailed description uses the phrases “in some embodiments” or “some implementations” which may each refer to one or more or all of the same or different embodiments or implementations. The term “some” as used herein is defined as “one, or more than one, or all.” Accordingly, the terms “one,” “more than one,” “more than one, but not all” or “all” would all fall under the definition of “some.” In view of the same, the terms, for example, “in anembodiment” or “in an implementation” refers to one embodiment or one implementation and the term, for example, “in one or more embodiments” refers to “at least one embodiment, or more than one embodiment, or all embodiments”. Further, the term, for example, “in one or more implementations” refers to “at least one implementation, or more than one implementation, or all implementations.

[0042] The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to;” it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion in the so-described one or more listed features, elements in a combination, unless otherwise stated with limiting language. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “have,” “contains,” and other similar words are used in either the detailed description, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

[0043] In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, various specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. Several features described hereafter can each be used independently of one another or with any combination of other features.

[0044] The description provided herein discloses exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing any of the exemplary embodiments. Specific details are given in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it may be understood by one of the ordinary skilled in the art that the embodiments disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details.

[0045] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As usedherein the description, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural forms unless the context of the invention indicates otherwise.

[0046] The terminology and structure employed herein are for describing, teaching, and illuminating some embodiments and their specific features and elements and do not limit, restrict, or reduce the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, unless otherwise defined, all terms, and especially any technical and / or scientific terms, used herein may be taken to have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art.

[0047] In the disclosure, various embodiments are described using terms used in some communication standards (e.g., 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), xRadio Access Network (xRAN), and Open-Radio Access Network (O-RAN)), but these are merely examples for description. Various embodiments of the disclosure may also be easily modified and applied to other communication systems.

[0048] In order to facilitate an understanding of the disclosed invention, a number of terms are defined below.

[0049] A cell site may refer to a geographical location of a cell or a wireless communication node, such as a Base Station (BS), a small cell, a repeater, or an access point. The cell is capable of providing reliable wireless communication services to User Equipment (UE) in a service area of the cell.

[0050] A small cell may refer to a low-power cellular radio access node with a limited coverage area, typically ranging from 10 meters to a few hundred meters.

[0051] A macro cell may refer to a high-power cellular radio access nodes that provide wide-area coverage, typically with a range of several kilometers, and are often mounted on towers or tall buildings.

[0052] A micro cell may refer to medium-power access nodes with coverage areas smaller than the macro cells but larger than femto or pico cells, generally used in urban areas to support a higher user density.

[0053] A cell identifier is a unique number assigned to each cell within a specific service area of a network operator in a communication network.

[0054] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an intuitive system and method for performing cell identifier based geospatial search for a cell in a communication network, in a simplified manner. Another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a system and method for performing the cell identifier based geospatial search using partially available cell identifier information. Yet another objective of the present disclosure is to provide a system and method for visualizing the cell through a geospatial search in the communication network.

[0055] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 through FIG. 9, discussed below, and the one or more embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged system or device.

[0056] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram depicting an exemplary environment of a communication network 100 for a cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the communication network 100 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the communication network 100 may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure. The communication network 100 may comprise one or more nodes 110-1 through 110-n (cumulatively referred to as “nodes 110” and alternatively referred to as “plurality of cells 110” or “cells 110” or “serving cells 110”) connected to a plurality of User Equipment (UEs) 120-1 through 120-n (cumulatively referred to as “UEs 120”) through a network 130. The nodes 110 and the UEs 120 are also communicab ly connected to a server 140.

[0057] The cells 110 may typically correspond to geospatial data points in the communication network 100. The geospatial data points may be a networkinfrastructure that provides wireless access to one or more terminals. The geospatial data points provide coverage to a plurality of predetermined geographic areas based on distance over which a signal may be transmitted.

[0058] The term “node 110” may refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network. The BS may be a network infrastructure that provides wireless access to one or more terminals. The base station provides coverage to a plurality of pre-determined service areas based on distance over which a signal may be transmitted. Examples of the BS include, but are not limited to, indoor cells, the macro cell, the femtocell, small cells, micro cells, the pico cells, wireless “Access Point (AP),” “evolved NodeB (eNodeB) (eNB),” “5th Generation (5G) node,” “next generation NodeB (gNB),” “wireless point,” “Transmission / Reception Point (TRP) .” The BS may provide wireless access in accordance with wireless communication protocols, e.g., 5G / NR 3GPP New Radio interface / access (NR), LTE, LTE-A, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, etc. The nodes 110 in the communication network 100 may be from same or different vendors having similar or different specification. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include, or otherwise cover, any technology (known or later developed) bearing same or similar characteristics as of the above- mentioned BS, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. For the sake of convenience, the terms “nodes” and “cells” are used interchangeably in the present disclosure to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remote terminals.

[0059] The cells 110 may be deployed in different geographical locations covering multiple regions i.e., service areas 150-1 to 150-n (collectively referred to as “service areas 150”). Each service area may comprise multiple cells 110 and UEs 120. The corresponding UEs 120 may be served by the corresponding cells 110 in the corresponding service areas 150.

[0060] A cell site of deployment of the nodes 110 may typically thus denote a geospatial data point in the communication network 100. Through a geospatialsearch, a geographical location of the cell site of a particular type of cell may be identified.

[0061] Typically, the term “UE” can refer to any component such as “mobile station,” “subscriber station,” “remote terminal,” “wireless terminal,” “receive point,” or “end user device.” The UE 120 may correspond to, but is not limited to, any of mobile devices, tablets, or other portable devices utilized by users to access services provided by the communication network 100. The UEs 120 may be served by one or more of the plurality of cells 110.

[0062] The UEs 120 may communicate with the cells 110 to avail services of the cells 110 through the network 130. The network 130 may include wired connections, wireless connections such as a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, Internet, or in accordance with other wireless communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

[0063] The server 140 is communicatively coupled to a Network Management Console (NMC) 160 (alternatively referred to as a “user device 160”) that includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) (alternatively called the “User Interface (UI) 162”) for receiving a user request for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell 110 in the communication network 100.

[0064] The user request may include a specific type of cell Identifier (alternatively referred to as cell ID) and a value of the cell ID corresponding to the type of cell ID, for identifying a cell across various geographical locations. The cell ID helps to identify cells operating on different communication Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 4thGeneration (4G) LTE, LTE-A, 5GNR, and 6G. For example, the server 140 is configured to perform the cell identifier based geospatial search based on the cell Id such as 5G NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI), 5G NR Cell Identity (NCI), 4G Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and 4G cell identifier. The cell ID may be of different formats such as an integer value, a decimal value, or an alphanumeric value.

[0065] In one embodiment, the server 140 uses the NCGI to identify and list all potential cells for a given cell ID. The NCGI is usually a seventeen digit decimal value where six digits of the NCGI correspond to Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC) and the remaining digits of the NCGI correspond to the NR Cell Identity (NCI). The NCGI is used to uniquely identify a cell 110 in the communication network 100. By using the NCGI, the server 140 can identify all possible cells corresponding to the cell ID regardless of device manufacturer or vendor of the cells.

[0066] In another embodiment, the server 140 uses the NCI to differentiate individual cells. The NCI is a unique 36-bit numeric identifier assigned to each cell in a 5G communication network 100. However, the 5GNCI is not a unique identifier and may be utilized to identify different cells 110 across different circles i.e. the MNC of the communication network 100 in different geographical locations.

[0067] In another embodiment, the server 140 uses the 4G ECGI unique identifier to uniquely identify a cell globally within the LTE communication network 100. The ECGI is usually represented in a hexadecimal format and is composed of two parts. A first part of the two parts is a Public Land Mobile Network Identifier (PLMN ID) consisting of Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC). A second part of the two parts is a E-UTRAN Cell Identifier (ECI) consisting of eNB and the cell ID. In a non-limiting example, an ECGI value can be represented as 404-874-000000001, where 404 represents the MCC, 874 represents the MNC, and 000000001 represents the Cell ID.

[0068] In another embodiment, the server 140 uses the 4G cell identifier to distinctly recognize a cell among all the cells 110 in the communication network 100. The 4G cell identifier is an internal descriptor for the cell having a decimal value in a range of 0-255 bits. However, the 4G cell identifier is not a unique identifier and may correspond to different cells 110 across geographical locations.

[0069] The server 140 comprises one or more databases for storing cell ID corresponding to the cells, the type of cell ID corresponding to the cells, andinformation associated with the cells. Upon receiving the type of the cell ID and value of the cell ID, the server 140 is configured to control the UI 162 to display a set of cells utilizing same cell IDs as one or more recommendations. To generate the one or more recommendations, the server 140 is configured to query the one or more databases and access information to retrieve the set of cells corresponding to nearest matches of values of the cell ID in the user request. The functioning of the server 140 to perform the geospatial search has been explained in detail further below.

[0070] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of the communication network 100, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. Further, the communication network 100 may include any number of components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 1. For example, the communication network environment may include any number of cells 110 and any number of UEs 120 in any suitable arrangement. Further, the cells 110 may communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide the UEs with wireless broadband access to the network 130. Each of the serving cells 110 may also communicate directly with the server 140. The serving cells 110 may provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks. Further, various components in FIG. 1 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components may be added according to particular needs.

[0071] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 depicting an example architecture of the server 140, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiments of the server 140 shown in FIG. 2 are for illustration only. Other embodiments of the server 140 may be used without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 2, the server 140 may include various hardware and software components such as an Input-Output (VO) interface 202, one or more processors 204 (hereinafter may also be referred to as “processor 204” or “at least one processor 204”), a memory 206, a network communication manager 208, a communication interface 210, one or more databases 212, and a plurality ofmodules / units 214 (collectively referred to as the modules 214). Components of the server 140 are coupled to each other via a communication bus 216.

[0073] The I / O interface 202 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and / or codes that may be configured to receive input(s). For example, the I / O interface 202 may have an input interface and an output interface. The I / O interface 202 may be configured to enable the user to provide a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier, a cell identifier of the cell to be searched, and the cell to be selected from the set of cells. Examples of the input interface may include, but are not limited to, a touch interface, a mouse, and a keyboard, and the output interface includes a digital display, an analog display, or a touch screen display. Through the output interface, the user may visualize the cell over a map layer indicating the location of the cell. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of the I / O interface 202 including known, related art, and / or later developed technologies without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0074] The processor 204 may include various processing circuitry and communicates with the memory 206, the network communication manager 208, the communication interface 210, the one or more databases 212, and the modules 214 via the communication bus 216. Examples of the communication bus 216 may include, but are not limited to, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and a Front Side Bus (FSB). Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any type of coupling means present or related to later developed technologies, that may be configured to connect the processor 204 to the other subsystems of the server 140 without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0075] The processor 204 is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory 206 and to perform various processes. The processor 204 may also include a plurality of processing engines i.e., information processing units for controllingoverall operation of the server 140. For example, the processor 204 is configured to execute programs and other processes stored in the memory 206. The processor 204 is further configured to move data into or out of the memory 206 as required by an execution process.

[0076] The processor 204 may include one or a plurality of processors, including a general-purpose processor, such as, for example, and without limitation, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Processor (AP), a dedicated processor, a graphics-only processing unit such as a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) or the like, a programmable logic device, or any combination thereof.

[0077] The memory 206 is configured to store a set of instructions required by the processor 204 for controlling overall operations of the server 140. A part of the memory 206 may include a Random Access Memory (RAM), a cache memory, or a Read Only Memory (ROM). The memory 206 may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of electrically programmable memories (EPROM) or electrically erasable and programmable (EEPROM) memories. In addition, the memory 206 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The "non-transitory" storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non- transitory" should not be interpreted that the memory 206 is non-movable. In some examples, the memory 206 can be configured to store larger amounts of information. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in RAM or cache). The memory 206 can be an internal storage unit or it can be an external storage unit of the server 140, cloud storage, or any other type of external storage. In some embodiments, when the memory 206 is external to the server 140, the memory 206 may be removably attached to the server 140. Aspects of the present disclosure are intended to include or otherwise cover any data storage medium as ‘the memory 206’, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0078] The one or more databases 212 may include a first database 212-1 (also referred to as an “intermediary database 212-1” or “cell database 212-1”) and a second database 212-2 (also referred to as “main database 212-2” or “or “site database 212-2”). The intermediary database 212-1 may store identification information of the cells such as, but not limited to, values of cell identifiers of the cells 110, Service Access Points (SAPs), and the type of the cell identifiers corresponding to the cells in the communication network 100. The SAPs may correspond to identification information for instances of cells as well as other network endpoints that send and receive a specific class of data across between two layers in the communication network 100. The intermediary database 212-1 may organize the information in a relational manner such as in a tabular format. For example, the intermediary database 212-1 may maintain a cell identifiers table comprising the cells, the values of the cell identifiers, and the type of the cell identifiers.

[0079] The main database 212-2 may store information associated with the cells including a type of the cells and a positional information of the cells including a longitudinal and latitudinal coordinate of the cells or site of installation of the cells. The main database 212-2 may organize the associated information of the cells in a relational manner such as in a table, or a non-relational manner such as in graphics and time series data. The main database 212-2 may comprise information associated with the cells from different vendors, enabling quick search of the cell along with the associated information of the cell.

[0080] The information associated with the cells stored in the main database 212-2 may also comprise one or more of connectivity information of the cells 110, coverage and capacity information of the cells 110, radio parameters of the cells 110, site information of the cells 110, network traffic, and current operational data corresponding to the cells 110. The connectivity information may include handover information, and information of another cell connected to the cell. The coverage and capacity information may include coverage radius, number of connected users, active sessions, capacity utilization, and throughput. The radio parameters mayinclude frequency band, bandwidth, transmission power, antennae type, and physical cell identifier. The site information may include terrain of the location of the cell such as hilly or plain, power supply, elevation, temperature related data corresponding to the location of the cell, and an address of a building corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0081] Each of the main database 212-2 or the intermediary database 212-1 may be implemented as a centralized database, Relational Database Management System (RDBMS), Non-Relational Database Management System, Hierarchical Database Management System, Network Database Management System, an in-memory database including a distributed in-memory data storage, distributed database, or a distributed file system. It must be understood that in other embodiment, the server 140 may be communicatively coupled with the one or more databases hosted outside of the server 140.

[0082] In an embodiment, the module(s) 214 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and software programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the server 140. In non-limiting examples, described herein, such combinations of hardware and software programming may be implemented in several different ways, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The module(s) 214 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and / or codes. For example, the programming for the module(s) 214 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non -transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the module(s) 214 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In an embodiment, the module(s) 214 may be combined to a single module or each module of the module(s) 214 may be further subdivided into different modules.

[0083] In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the module(s) 214. In such examples, the server 140 may also comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the server 140 and the processing resource. In other examples, the module(s) 214 may be implemented using an electronic circuitry.

[0084] In one or more embodiments, the module(s) 214 may include one or more modules such as a display module 214-2, a transceiver module 214-4, a processing module 214-6, and a plurality of service modules 214-8-1 to 214-8-n. Each of the module(s) 214 are communicatively coupled with each other.

[0085] In an embodiment, the processor 204, using the display module 214-2, is configured to display on the UI 162 of the user device 160, one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier. The processor 204, using the transceiver module 214-4 is configured to receive, via the UI 162, upon receiving the type of the cell ID and the value of the cell ID. The processing module 214-6, via the display module 214-2, is configured to control the UI 162 to display one or more recommendations for a set of cells utilizing same cell identifiers at different cell sites. The set of cells correspond to one or more cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the first user input. To generate the one or more recommendations, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, is configured to query the intermediary database 212-1 and access the information of the intermediary database 212-1 corresponding to nearest matches of the value of the cell identifier in the user request.

[0086] The processor 204, using the display module 214-2, is configured to display the one or more recommendations as one or more selectable options and the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, prompts the user to select the cell to be visualized from the displayed one or more selectable options. Based on the selection received, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, generates visualization data for displaying the cell over a map layer. The cell may be displayed as a pin over the map layer at the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the cell site indicating the location of the cell site in the map. Thegenerated visualization data may also comprise one or more of connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

[0087] The network communication manager 208 using the transceiver module 214-4, is configured to send the generated visualization data to the NMC 160 for displaying the generated visualization data on the UI 162. The transceiver module 214-4 may receive incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by the nodes 110 and the UEs 120 in the communication network. The transceiver module 214-4 may down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate the IF or baseband signals which may be sent to the receiver processing circuitry. The transceiver module 214- 4 may transmit the processed baseband signals to the processor 204 for further processing. The transceiver module 214-4 may receive analog or digital data from the processor 204 and may encode, multiplex, and / or digitize the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The transceiver module 214-4 may further process the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the transmit processing circuitry and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that may be transmitted to the nodes 110, the UEs 120, and the NMC 160.

[0088] The server 140 may utilize one or more service modules 214-8-1 to 214-8-n (collectively referred to as “service modules 214-8”) hosting a plurality of microservices. For example, a first service module 214-8-1 among the one or more service modules 214-8-1 to 214-8-n may include a recommendations microservice (also referred to as a “first microservice”) for performing the search operation in the first database 212-1 for identifying a set of cells that are nearest match to the cell identifier. A second service module 214-8-2 among the one or more service modules 214-8 may include a site microservice (also referred to as a “second microservice”) request to a second service module of the plurality of service modules for fetching the information associated with the cell to the second database 212-2. A third service module 214-8-3 among the one or more service modules 214-8 may include a synchronization microservice (also referred to as a “third microservice”) request to a third service module of the plurality of service modules for performing asynchronization operation to update information included in the first database 212- 1 based on a change of information included in the second database 212-2. The plurality of service modules 214-8 are communicatively coupled with each other and are integrated with each other. It must also be understood that the functionality provided by one service module may also be provided by another service module, singularly or with in addition to the functionality already provided therein.

[0089] The microservices are independently deployable software in which complex applications are composed of small and independent processes. The microservice may be developed as a suite of small services, each running in its own process and communicating with lightweight mechanisms such as Application Programming Interface (API). The microservices may adhere to a well-defined API.

[0090] The network communication manager 208 is configured to render the visualization data on the UI 162 of the NMC 160. The network communication manager 208 helps in displaying the visualization data of the cell in an engaging and interactive format over the map layer on the UI 162. In one embodiment, the display module 214-2 may be separate from or may form a part of the network communication manager 208. The network communication manager 208 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and / or codes that may be configured to enable the I / O interface 202 to receive input(s) and / or render output(s). In some aspects of the present disclosure, the network communication manager 208 may include suitable logic, instructions, and / or codes for executing various operations of one or more computer executable applications to host a console on an external user device, by way of which a user can trigger the server 140 to display the generated visualization data for visualizing the cell through the geospatial search in the communication network 100. In some other aspects of the present disclosure, the network communication manager 208 may provide a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the server 140 for user interaction.

[0091] The communication interface 210 may manage communications with the NMC 160, the network 130, and the one or more database 212. For example, thecommunication interface 210 may manage the reception of the user input from the NMC 160. The communication interface 210 may include an electronic circuit specific to a standard that enables wired or wireless communication. The communication interface 210 is configured for communicating with external devices via one or more networks.

[0092] Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of the server 140, various changes may be made to FIG. 2. Further, the server 140 may include any number of components in addition to the components shown in FIG. 2. Further, various components in FIG. 2 may be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components may be added according to particular needs.

[0093] In an alternate embodiment, each module / unit of the module(s) / unit(s) 214 is configured to independently perform various operations of the processor 204, as described herein, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0094] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram depicting an example system architecture 300 of the NMC 160, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the system architecture of the of the NMC 160 as shown in FIG. 4 is for illustration only. However, the NMC 160 may come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 4 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular system architecture of the NMC 160.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 3, the NMC 160 (alternatively referred to as “user device”) includes one or more processors 302 (hereinafter also referred to as “processor 302”), a memory 304, an interface(s) 306 (same as the UI 162), a communication unit 308, and a processing engine(s) / unit(s) 310. These components may be in electronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., communication bus). Although not shown in FIG. 4, the NMC 160 may also include a touchscreen, and a display. For the sake of convenience, the term “user device” used herein refers to an electronic device such as the NMC 160 that wirelessly accesses the server 140 via the network 130. The NMC 160 may include a desktop computer, portable computing devices such as laptops, tablet computers, handheld computer, mobilephones, wearable computers, or any other device suitable to provide front end services. In a configuration, the NMC 160 includes the UI 162 for intuitive interaction, data processing units for real-time analysis, and storage units for data archiving. The processor 302 may execute operating system instructions stored in the memory 304 in order to control the overall operation of the NMC 160.

[0096] The one or more components of the NMC 160 are communicatively coupled with the processor 302 (described below) for accessing different functionalities of the system 100. The processor 302 may include various processing circuitry and configured to execute programs or computer readable instructions stored in the memory 304. The processor 302 may also include an intelligent hardware device including a general-purpose processor, such as, for example, and without limitation, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application Processor (AP), a dedicated processor, or the like, a microcontroller, a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a programmable logic device, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof. In some cases, the processor 302 may be configured to operate a memory array using a memory controller. In some cases, a memory controller may be integrated into the processor 302. The processor 302 may be configured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory (e.g., the memory 304) to cause the NMC 160 to perform various functions (e.g., displaying the generated visualization data received from the server 140).

[0097] The memory 304 is communicatively coupled to the processor 302. A part of the memory 304 may include a RAM, and another part of the memory 304 may include a flash memory or other ROM. The memory 304 is configured to store a set of instructions required by the processor 302 for controlling overall operations of the NMC 160. The memory 304 may include non-volatile storage elements. Examples of such non-volatile storage elements may include magnetic hard discs, optical discs, floppy discs, flash memories, or forms of EPROM or EEPROM memories. In addition, the memory 304 may, in some examples, be considered a non-transitory storage medium. The "non-transitory" storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or a propagated signal. However, the term "non-transitory" should not be interpreted that the memory 304 is non-movable. In certain examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that can, over time, change (e.g., in the RAM or cache). The memory 304 can be an internal storage unit or it can be an external storage unit of the NMC 160, cloud storage, or any other type of external storage.

[0098] More specifically, the memory 304 may store computer-readable instructions including instructions that, when executed by a processor (e.g., the processor 302) cause the NMC 160 to perform various functions described herein. In some cases, the memory 304 may contain, among other things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or software operation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

[0099] The interface 306 (same as the UI 162) may include suitable logic, circuitry, a variety of interfaces, and / or codes that may be configured to receive input(s) and present output(s) on the application interface of the NMC 160. The variety of interfaces may include interfaces for data input and output devices, referred to as I / O devices, storage devices, and the like. For example, the I / O interface may have an input interface and an output interface. The interface 306 may facilitate communication of the NMC 160 with various devices and systems connected to it. The interface 306 may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of the NMC 160. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, the processing Engine(s) / Unit(s) 310.

[0100] In one or more embodiments, processing engine(s) / Unit(s) 310 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the NMC 160. In non-limiting examples, described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing engine(s) / Unit(s) 310 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and thehardware for the processor 302 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions.

[0101] In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing Engine(s) / Unit(s) 310. In such examples, the NMC 160 may also comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the NMC 160 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing Engine(s) / Unit(s) 310 may be implemented using an electronic circuitry.

[0102] In one or more embodiments, processing Engine(s) / Unit(s) 310 may include one or more Engine(s) / Unit(s) selected from any of an input unit 310-2, a display control unit 310-4, and other Engines / Unit(s) (not shown).

[0103] In an embodiment, the processor 302 is configured to control, via the display control unit 310-4, the GUI 306 to prompt the user to provide a first user input in form of selection from a list of selectable options to indicate the type of the cell ID to perform the geospatial search. The processor 302 is then configured to control the UI 306 to display a search bar for the user to further provided the first input one or more of a textual input or a voice input to provide at least an alphanumeric, numerical, or alphabetical value of the cell ID.

[0104] Data corresponding to the first user input is transmitted by the processor 302, via the communication unit 308, to the server 140 for identifying a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier. Based on the first user input, the server 140 is configured to identify the set of cells that are nearest match of the cell ID received in the first user input. The GUI 306 is configured to display the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options for the user. The processor 302 is configured to receive, via the communication unit 308 from the server 140, the identified set of cells. The processor 302, via the display control unit 310-4, promptsthe user to select the cell from the among the set of the cells, and receive the selection via the communication unit 308.

[0105] The processor 302, sends the selection of the cell via the communication unit 308, to the server 140. The processor 302 is further configured to receive via the communication unit 308, the visualization data from the server 140 and display, via the display control unit 310-4, the visualization data including the location of the cell identified through the cell identifier based geospatial search on the GUI 306. The displayed visualization also includes details associated with the cells. The visualization is displayed to the user over the map layer on the GUI 306 based on the generated visualization data received from the server 140.

[0106] In one embodiment, the processor 302, using the display control unit 310-4, renders the visualization data in over the map layer. The processor 302, may also control, via the display unit 410-4, the interface 306 to display the visualization data including the information corresponding to the identified cell.

[0107] The communication unit 308 may include one or more antennas, one or more of Radio Frequency (RF) transceivers, a transmit processing circuitry, and a receive processing circuitry. The communication unit 308 may be configured to receive incoming signals, such as signals transmitted by the server 140, and the NMC 160. The communication unit 308 may down-convert the incoming signals to generate baseband signals which may be sent to the receiver processing circuitry. The receiver processing circuitry may transmit the processed baseband signals to the processor 302 for further processing. The transmit processing circuitry may receive analog or digital data from the processor 402 and may encode, multiplex, and / or digitize the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband signals. The communication unit 408 may further receive the outgoing processed baseband from the transmit processing circuitry and up-converts the baseband signals to Radio Frequency (RF) signals that may be transmitted to the server 140. Further, the communication unit 308 is configured for communicating internally between internal hardware components and with external devices via one or more networks.The communication unit 308 may also allow the NMC 160 to receive from the server 140, the visualization data corresponding to the selected cell.

[0108] The NMC 160 may be deployed as a software application on a dedicated server, a cloud-based solution, or a hybrid system, depending on the communication network requirements. The NMC 160 may be utilized by network administrators of a network operations team for visualizing the cell for addressing customer complaints. Additionally, the NMC 160 may be integrated with other visualization tools, network monitoring tools, database management systems, and security modules to provide a holistic map view of the cell. Additionally, the NMC 160 may integrate additional options in the GUI 306 for adjustment of the map layer to zoom in or zoom out the visualization data of the cell over a map layer.

[0109] Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of NMC 160, various changes may be made to FIG. 3. For example, various components in FIG. 3 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted, and additional components could be added according to particular needs. As a particular example, the processor 302 may be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more CPUs and one or more GPUs. Further, while FIG. 3 illustrates the NMC 160 configured as a mobile telephone or smartphone, the NMC 160 may also be configured to operate as other types of mobile or stationary devices.

[0110] In an alternate embodiment, each engine / module of the processing Engine(s) / module(s) 310 is configured to independently perform various operations of the processor 302, as described herein, without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, different engines / modules shown in Fig. 4 may be split into two or more engines / modules each operating independently in communication with one another, optionally in a distributive manner, with shared responsibilities. Furthermore, multiple instances of the engines / modules may be implemented for identification of cells having degraded performance or multiple modules can be combined into a single engine / module to perform all corresponding functions described herein.

[0111] FIG. 4 illustrates an information flow diagram 400 depicting information exchange between the UI 162 and the databases 212 for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell in the communication network, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the flow diagram 400 comprises a series of operation steps indicated by steps 402 through 412, in some embodiments, the flow diagram 400 may include additional steps, fewer steps or steps in different order than those depicted in Fig. 4. In other embodiments, the steps 402-412 may be combined or may be performed in parallel. The flow diagram 400 starts at steps 402. The flow diagram 400 described herein is a process executed by the processor 204 of the server 140 to perform the cell identifier based geospatial search and visualize the identified cell in the specific geographical location.

[0112] At step 402, the processor 204, using the display module 214-2, controls the UI 162 to display one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier. The type of cell identifier may include (but not limited to) the 5GNCGI, 5G NCI, 4G ECGI, and the 4G cell identifier. The type of cell identifier may correspond to a type of technology that the cell to be identified in the cell identifier based geospatial search, is operating over in the communication network 100. The processor 204 receives, via the displayed one or more first selectable options, a first user input indicating the selection of the type of cell identifier.

[0113] At step 404, upon selection of the cell identifier, the processor 204, using the transceiver module 214-4, controls the UI 162 to receive through the UI 162, a value of a cell identifier corresponding to the cell to be searched. The cell identifier may be one or more of a numeric value, alphanumeric value, or a string.

[0114] At step 406, in response to the cell identifier received from the user, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, initiates a first API request to the first service module 214-8-1. The first service module 214-8-1 is configured to query the intermediary database 212-1 for determining a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received from the user. The first service module 214-8- 1 performs a search operation on the cell identifier table stored in the intermediarydatabase 212-1 and determines the one or more nearest matches of the cells with the values of the cell identifiers. The intermediary database 212-1 may store the values of the cell identifiers in a partitioned format based on the various types of cell identifiers such as 5G NCGI, 5G NCI, 4G ECGI, and the 4G cell identifier. For an example, different virtual partitions may be created for each type of the cell identifier, and the values corresponding to different types of cell identifiers may be stored in different tables in one or more virtual partitions of the intermediary database 212-1.

[0115] In an embodiment, the recommendations microservice, via the first service module 214-8-1, is configured to fetch one or more nearest matches of the cell identifier by identifying the type of cell identifier and looking up the nearest matches for the value of the cell identifier. The one or more nearest matches of the cell may be fetched by the recommendations microservice from a corresponding partition of the cell identifier.

[0116] In another embodiment, multiple records of non -unique cell identifiers may be present in the cell database 212-1 for different circles of the communication network. As the cell database comprises information limited to identification information of the cells, thus, the recommendations microservice quickly fetches the one or more nearest matches of the cell identifier from the cell database 212-1.

[0117] The processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, is configured to control the UI 162 to display the set of cells of one or more nearest matches as the one or more recommendations. The processing module 214-6 displays one or more recommendations of the identified set of cells are displayed as one or more second selectable options over the UI 162.

[0118] In one embodiment, the recommendation microservice may dynamically fetch the one or more recommendations of the identified set of cells based on input of a whole or partial value of the cell identifier by the user. For an example, with input of each character of the value of the cell identifier, the recommendation microservice may dynamically update the one or more recommendations of theidentified set of cells on the UI 162 by fetching the one or more nearest matches from the intermediary database 212-1. Furthermore, no recommendations may be displayed on the UI 162 when an incorrect value of the cell identifier is input by the user on the UI 162, or an incorrect format of the cell identifier is provided in the first user input corresponding to the selected type of cell identifier.

[0119] At step 408, the processor 204, using the transceiver module 214-4, is configured to receive via the displayed one or more recommendations, a second user input indicating a selected cell from the one or more recommendations. In response to receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options from the user, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, initiates a second API request to the second service module 214-8-2. The second service module 214-8-2 is configured to access the main database 212-2 (alternatively referred to as “site database”) for fetching the information associated with the cell including the type of the cell and the positional information of the cell corresponding to the cell selected by the user. The information associated with the selected cell among various cells obtained from different vendors may thus be quickly fetched by the site microservice.

[0120] In one embodiment, the recommendation microservice and the site microservice may work in synchronization with each other. When the recommendation microservice determines the one or more nearest matches of the cell from the cell database 212-1, the site microservice may pre-fetch the information corresponding to all the recommended cells from site database 212-2. The information corresponding to all the recommended cells may be stored in a cache memory. When the second user input indicating the selected cell from the one or more recommendations is received the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, may load the information of the selected cell from the cache memory for generation of the visualization data.

[0121] At step 410, based on the type of the cell and the information fetched from the main database 212-2, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, isconfigured to generate the visualization data corresponding to the cell. The processing module 214-6 is further configured to select a map layer corresponding to the type of the cell. A map layer may only include visualizations of cells across geographical locations corresponding to the type of the cell. For example, the map layer may correspond to one of a 4G macro cell, a 4G small cell, and a 5G small cell.

[0122] Further, based on the generated visualization data, the processor 204, using the display module 214-2, is configured to control the UI 162 to display the visualization of the cell over the map view indicating a location of the cell selected by the user. In one embodiment, the processor 204 is configured to control the UI 162 to provide control options for the user for adjustment of the map view around the geographical location. In another embodiment, the visualization data may include a symbol of the cell or a pin on a location of the cell site over the map layer corresponding to the selected cell. The visualization data may further comprise one or more of connectivity information, radio parameters, coverage and capacity information, or information corresponding to the location of the cell, fault data of the cell, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of the cell, and outage data of the cell fetched from the main database 212-2.

[0123] In one embodiment, once the cell is displayed to the user on the UI 162, the user may access associated information of the cell such as the SAP Identifier of an instance the cell, fault data of the cell, Key Performance Metrics (KPIs) of the cell, and outage data of the cell.

[0124] At step 412, the processor 204 is configured to initiate a third API request to the third service module 214-8-3 for performing the synchronization operation for updating information stored in the intermediary database 212-1 in accordance with information in the main database 212-2 whenever any new cell is added to the communication network 100, an existing cell is removed from the communication network 100, or there is a change in information in the main data base 212-2.

[0125] Through the synchronization operation, the processor 204, using the synchronization microservice, updates the cell identifiers table in the intermediary database 212-1 on basis of the information of the cells or the SAPs stored in the main database 212-2. In one embodiment, the third service module 214-8-3 may be triggered using a scheduler for performing the synchronization operation at a predefined time interval. In another embodiment, the third service module 214-8-3 may be triggered using the scheduler for performing the synchronization operation in one or more of a real time, when a new cell is added, or an existing cell is removed.

[0126] In another embodiment, the recommendation microservice, the site microservice and the synchronization microservice may work in parallel with each other. The cell database 212-1 and the site database 212-2 are updated in real-time upon detecting a change in the information of the site database 212-2. Similarly, the updated information corresponding to the selected cell may be dynamically fetched and displayed to the user on the UI 162 in real time by the recommendation microservice and the site microservice.

[0127] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a first Graphical User Interface (GUI) 500 depicting selectable options for selecting the type of the cell identifier, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in example FIG. 5, the user is presented with the first plurality of selectable options for selecting a type of the cell identifier. The first plurality of selectable options includes 5G NCGI, 5G NCI, 4G ECGI, and 4G cell identifier. The processor 204 displays, on the UI 162, the first plurality of selectable options as a list. After selecting the type of the cell identifier, the user may input the cell identifier in a search bar 502 displayed to the user.

[0128] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a second GUI 600 depicting one or more recommendations of cells corresponding to the cell identifier, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a non-limiting example, a cell identifier based geospatial search is disclosed in FIG. 6, where identification of the cell through a 4G cell identifier based geospatial search is being performed. The example FIG. 6 depicts a non-limiting example scenario where the user selects atype of the cell identifier as the 4G cell identifier and inputs a seven-digit 4G cell identifier, for example, “1997840”. Once the input is detected by the processor 204, then processor 204 fetches the set of cells having nearest matches to the cell identifiers “1997840” from the intermediary database 212-1, found across various geographical locations, and gathers the associated information of the nearest matches of the set of cells. Further, the processor 204 controls the UI 162 of the network management console to display the gathered data in the form of a dropdown list including one or more recommendations of different cells bearing same cell identifier. The user may select any cells in any geographical location from the dropdown list, based on the user requirement.

[0129] When the user selects an option from the one or more recommendations included in the dropdown list, the processor 204 is configured to trigger display of another GUI which is explained in detail with respect to FIG. 7 of the drawings.

[0130] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a third GUI 700 depicting visualization of the cell identified through the cell identifier based geospatial search, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In a non-limiting example, when the user selects an option with the recommendation “I-MH-RGNG-ENB-0002 0” cell in the displayed dropdown list, the processor 204 is configured to display, on the UI 162, a map view centered around the specific geographical location of the cell. Further, the associated information with the cell may also be displayed on the third GUI 700.

[0131] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart of a method 800 for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell in the communication network 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the flow diagram 800 comprises a series of operation steps indicated by steps 802 through 812, in some embodiments, the flow diagram 800 may include additional steps, fewer steps or steps in different order than those depicted in Fig. 8. In other embodiments, the steps 802-812 may be combined or may be performed in parallel.

[0132] At step 802, the processor 204, using the transceiver module 214-4 via the UI 162, is configured to receive a user input indicative of the selection of the type of cell identifier and the cell identifier of the cell. The user input may be obtained in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options.

[0133] At step 804, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, is configured to identify from the first database 212-1, the set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input.

[0134] At step 806, the processor 204, using the display module 214-2, is configured to display on the UI 162, the identified set of cells as one or more recommendations. The one or more recommendations are displayed as one or more second selectable options. The one or more second selectable options includes the cell.

[0135] At step 808, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6, is configured to fetch information associated with the cell from the second database 212-2.

[0136] At step 810, the processor 204, using the processing module 214-6 is configured to generate the visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell.

[0137] At step 812, the processor 204, using the display module 214-2, is configured to display on the UI 162, the generated visualization data over the map layer indicating the cell.

[0138] FIG. 9 illustrates a flow chart of a method 900 for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell from the NMC 160, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Although the flow diagram 900 comprises a series of operation steps indicated by steps 902 through 914, in some embodiments, the flow diagram 900 may include additional steps, fewer steps or steps in different orderthan those depicted in Fig. 9. In other embodiments, the steps 902-914 may be combined or may be performed in parallel.

[0139] At step 902, the processor 302, using the input unit 310-2, is configured to receive, via the UI 162 of the user device 160, the user input indicative of a selection of a type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell.

[0140] At step 904, the processor 302, using the communication unit 308 to the server 140, is configured to transmit the user input for identifying a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input.

[0141] At step 906, the processor 302, using the communication unit 308 to the server 140, is configured to receive the identified set of cells.

[0142] At step 908, the processor 302, using the input unit 310-2, is configured to receive, via the UI 162, a selection of the cell from the identified set of cells.

[0143] At step 910, the processor 302, using the communication unit 308 to the server 140, is configured to transmit the selection of the cell.

[0144] At step 912, the processor 302, using the communication unit 308 to the server 140, is configured to receive visualization data corresponding to the selection of the cell.

[0145] At step 914, the processor 302, using the display control unit 310-4, is configured to display the received visualization data on the UI 162 over the map layer indicating the cell.

[0146] Now, referring to the technical abilities and advantageous effect of the present disclosure, operational advantages that may be provided by embodiments disclosed herein include providing an easy and user-friendly system for performing cell identifier based geospatial search in the communication network, using which a network administrator can quickly identify nearest matches of cells with cell identifier information available with them. The system and the method as disclosedin the present disclosure is especially useful in prompt handling of customer complaints where even a partial cell identifier value is available corresponding to a cell facing faults in the communication network.

[0147] Another noteworthy advantage of the embodiments disclosed herein includes an efficient and quick visualization of the cell identified in the cell identifier based geospatial search. The microservices are configured to work in tandem with each other to pre-fetch information corresponding to the recommended cell so that information corresponding to the cell selected by the user may be quickly presented to the user. The system thus enables the network operator to manage performance of the communication network efficiently, by providing a quick visualization of the required cell and its associated information. Yet another advantage offered by the present disclosure is that the user can access the KPI data, the fault data, or the outage data corresponding to the cell once the cell is identified through the geospatial search.

[0148] Embodiments of the present technology may be described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations of methods and systems according to embodiments of the technology, and / or procedures, algorithms, steps, operations, formulae, or other computational depictions, which may also be implemented as computer program products. In this regard, each block or step of the flowchart, and combinations of blocks (and / or steps) in the flowchart, as well as any procedure, algorithm, step, operation, formula, or computational depiction can be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, and / or software including one or more computer program instructions embodied in computer-readable program code. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be executed by one or more computer processors, including without limitation a general -purpose computer or special purpose computer, or other programmable processing apparatus to perform a group of operations comprising the operations or blocks described in connection with the disclosed methods.

[0149] Further, these computer program instructions, such as embodied in computer-readable program code, may also be stored in one or more computer- readable memory or memory devices (for example, the memory 206) that can direct a computer processor or other programmable processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory or memory devices produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the block(s) of the flowchart(s).

[0150] It will further be appreciated that the term “computer program instructions” as used herein refer to one or more instructions that can be executed by the one or more processors (for example, the processor 204) to perform one or more functions as described herein. The instructions may also be stored remotely such as on a server, or all or a portion of the instructions can be stored locally and remotely.

[0151] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the methodology described herein in the present disclosure may be carried out in other specific ways than those set forth herein in the above disclosed embodiments without departing from essential characteristics and features of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are therefore to be construed in all aspects as illustrative and not restrictive.

[0152] The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Any combination of the above features and functionalities may be used in accordance with one or more embodiments.

[0153] In the present disclosure, each of the embodiments has been described with reference to numerous specific details which may vary from embodiment to embodiment. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments disclosedherein may reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be comprehended within the meaning of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and is not limited in scope.LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0154] The following list is provided for convenience and in support of the drawing figures and as part of the text of the specification, which describe innovations by reference to multiple items. Items not listed here may nonetheless be part of a given embodiment. For better legibility of the text, a given reference number is recited near some, but not all, recitations of the referenced item in the text. The same reference number may be used with reference to different examples or different instances of a given item. The list of reference numerals is:100 - Environment of a communication network110 -Node120 - User Equipment (UE)130 - Network140 - Server150 - Service Areas160 - Network Management Console162 - User Interface (UI)202 - I / O Interface204 - Processor206 - Memory208 - Network Communication Module / Control Module210 - Communication Interface212-1 - First Database212-2 - Second Database214 - Module(s)214-2 - Display module214-4 - Transceiver module214-6 - Processing module214-8 - Service modules216 - Communication Bus300 - System architecture of Network Management Console (NMC)302 - Processor304 - Memory306 - Interface308 - Communication unit310 - Processing Engine(s) / Unit(s)310-2 - Input Unit310-4 - Display Control Unit400 - Information flow diagram depicting information exchange between the UI and the databases for cell identifier based geospatial search500 - A first Graphical User Interface (GUI) depicting selectable options for selecting the type of the cell identifier600 - A second GUI depicting one or more recommendations of cells corresponding to the cell identifier700 - A third GUI depicting visualization of the cell identified through the cell identifier based geospatial search800 - Flow chart of a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell in the communication network900 - Flow chart of a method for cell identifier based geospatial search of the cell from the NMC.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. A method (800) for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network, the method (800) comprising: displaying, by a display module (214-2) on a User Interface (UI) (162) of a user device (160), one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier; receiving, by a transceiver module (214-4) via the UI (162) in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell; identifying, by a processing module (214-6) from a first database (212-1), a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input; displaying, by the display module (214-2) on the UI (162), the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options, wherein the one or more second selectable options includes the cell; fetching, by the processing module (214-6) upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, information associated with the cell from a second database (212- 2); generating, by the processing module (214-6), visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell; and displaying, by the display module (214-2) on the UI (162), the generated visualization data over map layer indicating the cell.

2. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the visualization data comprises one or more of connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

3. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, wherein, for generating the visualization data corresponding to the cell, the method (800) comprises: initiating, by the processing module (214-6), a first request to a first service module (214-8-1) of a plurality of service modules (214-8), for performing a search operation for identifying the set of cells; displaying, by the display module (214-2), the set of cells on the UI (162) based on a response received from the first service module (214-8-1); and initiating, by the processing module (214-6), upon receiving a selection of the cell from the set of cells, a second request to a second service module (214-8-2) of the plurality of service modules (214-8) for fetching the information associated with the cell.

4. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the type of cell identifier includes one or more of a 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) Cell Global Identifier (NCGI), a 5G NR Cell Identity (NCI), a 4thGeneration (4G) Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and a 4G cell identifier.

5. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, comprising initiating, by the processing module (214-6), a third request to a third service module (214-8- 3) of a plurality of service modules (214-8), for performing a synchronization operation to update information included in the first database (212-1), wherein the synchronization operation is performed based on a change of information included in the second database (212-2).

6. The method (800) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the third service module (214-8-3) is triggered using a scheduler for performing the synchronization operation at a pre-defined time interval.

7. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the information associated with the cell includes one or more of a type of the cell, connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, or coverage and capacityinformation of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

8. The method (800) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information corresponding to the location of the cell includes a longitudinal and a latitudinal coordinate of the location of the cell.

9. The method (800) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first database (212-1) stores values of the cell identifiers corresponding to the one or more cells.

10. A system (100) for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network, the system (100) comprising: a display module (214-2) configured to display, on a User Interface (UI) (162) of a user device (160), one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier; a transceiver module (214-4) configured to receive via the UI (162), in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell; and a processing module (214-6) configured to: identify, from a first database (212-1), a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input, wherein the display module (214-2) is further configured to display, on the UI (162), the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options, and wherein the one or more second selectable options includes the cell; fetch, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, information associated with the cell from a second database (212-2); and generate visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell, and wherein the display module (214-2) is further configured to display, on the UI (162), the generated visualization data over a map layer indicating the cell.

11. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the visualization data comprises one or more of connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

12. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein, for generating the visualization data corresponding to the cell, the processing module (214-6) is configured to: initiate a first request to a first service module (214-8-1) of a plurality of service modules (214-8), for performing a search operation for identifying the set of cells, wherein the display module (214-2) is configured to display the set of cells on the UI (162) based on a response received from the first service module (214-8); and initiate, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the set of cells, a second request to a second service module (214-8-2) of the plurality of service modules (214-8) for fetching the information associated with the cell.

13. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the type of cell identifier includes one or more of a 5thGeneration (5G) New Radio (NR) Cell Global Identifier (NCGI), a 5G NR Cell Identity (NCI), a 4thGeneration (4G) Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Cell Global Identifier (ECGI), and a 4G cell identifier.

14. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing module (214-6) is further configured to initiate a third request to a third service module (214-8-3) of a plurality of service modules (214-8), for performing a synchronization operation to update information included in the first database (212-1), and wherein the synchronization operation is performed based on a change of information included in the second database (212-2).

15. The system (100) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the third service module (214-8-3) is triggered using a scheduler for performing the synchronization operation at a pre-defined time interval.

16. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the information associated with the cell includes one or more of a type of the cell, connectivity information of the cell, radio parameters of the cell, or coverage and capacity information of the cell, or information corresponding to the location of the cell.

17. The system (100) as claimed in claim 16, wherein the information corresponding to the location of the cell includes a longitudinal and a latitudinal coordinate of the location of the cell.

18. The system (100) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first database (212-1) stores values of the cell identifiers corresponding to the one or more cells.

19. A method (900) for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network, the method (900) comprising: receiving, by an input unit (310-2) via a User Interface (UI) (162) of a user device (160), a user input indicative of a selection of a type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell; transmitting, by a communication unit (308) to a server (140), the user input for identifying a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input; receiving, by the communication unit (308) from the server (140), the identified set of cells; receiving, by the input unit via the UI (162), a selection of the cell from the identified set of cells; transmitting, by the communication unit (308) to the server (140), the selection of the cell; receiving, by the communication unit (308) from the server (140), visualization data corresponding to the selection of the cell; anddisplaying, by a display control unit (310-4), the received visualization data on the UI (162) over a map layer indicating the cell.

20. A computer program product for cell identifier based geospatial search of a cell in communication network, the computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that are stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and that, when executed by at least one processor performs operations comprising: displaying, on a User Interface (UI) of a user device, one or more first selectable options for selecting a type of cell identifier; receiving, via the UI in response to the displayed first plurality of selectable options, a user input indicative of a selection of the type of cell identifier and a cell identifier of the cell; identifying, from a first database, a set of cells that are nearest match of the cell identifier received in the user input; displaying, on the UI, the identified set of cells as one or more second selectable options, wherein the one or more second selectable options includes the cell; fetching, upon receiving a selection of the cell from the displayed one or more second selectable options, information associated with the cell from a second database; generating visualization data corresponding to the cell based on the information associated with the cell; and displaying, on the UI, the generated visualization data over a map layer indicating the cell.

Images