Using Mobile Metrics to Drive
Network Analysis on Android
Devices
Bo Yan
Department of Computer Science
University of Massachusetts Lowell
Network Analysis

An important research topic as many communicate via mobile devices
 Troubleshoot network connectivity
 Diagnose network performance
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
What Kind Of Metrics Do We Have

Network metrics
 Signal strength
 Connection states
 Latency and bandwidth

Context information
 Location
 Geo-coordinates
 Cell tower
 User Behavior
 Indoor/outdoor
 Still/moving
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Signal Strength

Signal Strength
 dBm (or dBmW) is an abbreviation for the power ratio in decibels (dB) of
the measured power referenced to one milliwatt (mW)
 X = 10 * log10P + 30 expresses an arbitrary power P as x dBm
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Cellular Signal Strength - GSM

GSM signal ASU (Active Set Update)
 An integer value proportional to the received signal strength
 In range from 0 to 30, and 99, defined in 3GPP TS 27.007 8.5
 Signal[dBm] = -113 + 2 * Signal[asu]

GSM Bit Error Rate
 In range from 0 to 7, and 99, defined in 3GPP TS 27.007 8.5
 RXQUAL_0, BER < 0.2%
 RXQUAL_1, 0.2% < BER < 0.4%
 RXQUAL_2, 0.4% < BER < 0.8%
 RXQUAL_3, 0.8% < BER < 1.6%
 RXQUAL_4, 1.6% < BER < 3.2%
 RXQUAL_5, 3.2% < BER < 6.4%
 RXQUAL_6, 6.4% < BER < 12.8%
 RXQUAL_7, 12.8% < BER
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Cellular Signal Strength - CDMA





CDMA RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication)
 Value in dBm
CDMA EC/IO
 Value in dB * 10
 The ratio of received pilot energy, Ec, to total received energy, Io.
 Ec/Io[dB] = RSSI[dBm] – RSCP[dBm]
EVDO RSSI
 Value in dBm
EVDO Ec/Io
 Value in dB * 10
EVDO SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio)
 Value in range from 0 to 8
 SNR[dB] = RSSI[dBm] – NOISE[dBm]
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Cellular Network States

Call states
 IDLE, RINGING, OFFHOOK
 Incoming phone number

Data activity
 IN, OUT, INOUT, DORMANT

Data connection states
 DISCONNECTED, CONNECTING, CONNECTED, SUSPEND
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Wi-Fi Network States

Wi-Fi supplicant states
 ASSOCIATED, ASSOCIATING, AUTHENTICATING, COMPLETED,
DISCONNECTED, DORMANT, FOUR_WAY_HANDSHAKE,
GROUP_HANDSHAKE, INACTIVE, INTERFACE_DISABLED, INVALID,
SCANNING, UNINITIALIZED

Access Point
 SSID and BSSID
 link speed
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Network Performance

Network Latency
 Ping command result
 Socket connection latency

Network Goodput
 Ping command result
 Upload/download test to/from a target server
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Location

Geo-coordinates
 Latitude and longitude
 Help identify dead zone

Cell tower
 Report weak signal coverage
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
User Behavior

Accelerometer Sensor
 Infer movement from 3D accelerations

Light Sensor
 Day time or mid night
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Example – Troubleshoot Network Connectivity
PHONE TYPE
GSM
CDMA
SIM CARD READY
DATA ENABLED
YES
YES
AIRPLANE MODE
NO
REPLACED BY WI-FI
NO
CELLULAR SIGNAL
YES
SUPPLICANT STATE
CONNECTED
WI-FI SIGNAL
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Example – Network Latency
LATENCY TO WEBSITE
ABNORMAL
LATENCY TO CARRIER
NORMAL
PACKET DROP
HEAVY
CELLULAR SIGNAL
ABNORMAL
LATENCY TO INTERNET
Bo Yan Department of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell