A Panoramic View of 3G Data/Control-Plane Traffic: Mobile Device Perspective

Abstract

Abstract. Users can access the Internet via 3G/4G cellular data networks using various types of user devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, datacards). We conduct a detailed measurement study on the impact of different device types on the data/control-plane performance of a commercial, city-wide 3G cellular data network in China. We present a methodology that correlates different data/controlplane datasets collected at different points in the network core, and identify more than 60K devices of different types per day on average. For the devices we identify, we investigate how their commonly used Internet applications and internal heartbeat mechanisms lead to distinct data/control-plane behaviors. For example, we observe that datacard devices contribute a large volume of IP traffic in the data plane, while smartphones introduce significant resource overhead in the signaling control plane. Our measurement study provides insights for network operators to strategize pricing and resource allocation for the data/control planes of their cellular data networks with regard to the market penetrations of various device types.

Discovering fine-grained RRC state dynamics and performance impacts in cellular networks

“…Consistent with previous work in this area [33,21] we find promotion delays can be quite significant, although we focus on user-perceived latency rather than signaling overhead. We also determine that the overhead of state demotions can be significant, which has been overlooked.…”

“…Work by Li et al [33] examines the overhead of 3G transitions for one carrier, focusing on the number of signaling messages and on state promotions, rather than state demotions. Work by He et al [21] investigates the impact of device type on low-layer control and data plane overhead. These papers demonstrate the importance of examining the impact of RRC control plane messages on performance.…”

Characterization of 3G control-plane signaling overhead from a data-plane perspective

“…Our prior work [5] conducts a measurement study of the data/controlplane performance of different types of mobile terminals in a 3G network. This work complements our prior work by quantifying the signaling overhead of a 3G network and studying how the signaling load is influenced by the characteristics of the transport and application layers.…”

Data Traffic Offload from Mobile to Wi‐Fi Networks: Behavioural Patterns of Smartphone Users

“…Ghose and Han [26] surveyed a large sample of users to derive a detailed view of their behaviour during the use of information-communication services and applications. Similarly, He et al [27] analysed patterns of data traffic generated with various smartphones, in this case with the goal of achieving desired performance levels in mobile networks. Yang et al [28] established a link among the volume of data traffic generated, smartphone-based apps, and user mobility.…”