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Interfaces and their protocol stacks | LTE AND BEYOND | Tech-blog on 4G/LTE and beyond..
JA N 8, 2012
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Bart Barton
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Lets start with big picture of situation in which user is not roaming.
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Figure above is showing only 4G interfaces, additional interfaces for 2G and 3G are described in TS 23.060.
As I probably wrote earlier Serving Gateway (SGW) and PDN Gateway (PGW) could be put in one chassis.
As it comes to scenario with roaming architecture standards are describing two ways of dealing with it.
Two roaming scenarios:
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LABEL
attach (4)
CDF (2)
CDR (1)
CSFB (2)
CTF (3)
DNS in LTE (6)
ECM (2)
EM M (4)
GUTI (3)
Gx (3)
Gy (3)
Handover (4)
Fig. 2. Roaming architecture scenario with home routed traffic
where there is local breakout with home operator's application functions only, and separate from
that with visited operator's application functions only.
IM EI (1)
Interfaces (4)
M M E (9)
M M E Selection (2)
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Interfaces and their protocol stacks | LTE AND BEYOND | Tech-blog on 4G/LTE and beyond..
OCF (1)
OCS (3)
OFCS (2)
PCC (2)
PCEF (2)
PCRF (2)
PGW (3)
Resource (6)
S1 (5)
S5/S8 (1)
S6a (2)
SGs (3)
SGW (4)
Sy (1)
TAU (3)
TM SI (2)
BLOG ARCHIV E
Fig. 3. Roaming architecture for local breakout, with home operator's application functions only
2014 (3)
2013 (21)
2012 (19)
December (3)
October (1)
M ay (1)
April (1)
M arch (4)
February (1)
January (8)
LTE attach procedure
Gy interface - sitting between
OCS and PCEF
Gx interface - sitting between
PCRF and PCEF
Offline Charging System (OFCS)
- introduction to G...
Online Charging System (OCS)
- introduction to Gy ...
Interfaces and their protocol
stacks
Functions of main LTE packet
core elements - M M E, ...
This is where it all start
Fig. 4. Roaming architecture for local breakout, with home visitor's application functions only
Keeping that in mind, now we can go straight through interfaces their functions and protocol stack.
Information flow could be divided into two groups, one is Control Plane, and the other is User Plane.
The Control Plane consists of protocols for control and support of the user plane functions:
controlling the E-UTRA network access connections, such as attaching to and detaching from EUTRAN;
controlling the attributes of an established network access connection, such as activation of an IP
address;
controlling the routing path of an established network connection in order to support user mobility;
and
controlling the assignment of network resources to meet changing user demands.
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Where:
S1-AP (S1 Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between the eNodeB and MME.
SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol): This protocol guarantees delivery of signalling messages
between MME and eNodeB (S1). SCTP is defined in RFC 4960
S3 interface between SGSN and MME.
It enables user and bearer information exchange for inter 3GPP access network mobility in idle and/or active
state.
LIV E TRAFFIC
Where:
GTP-C (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for the Control Plane): This protocol tunnels signalling messages between
SGSN and MME
UDP (User Datagram Protocol): This protocol signaling messages. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
Where:
GTP-C (mentioned above): This protocol tunnels signalling messages between SGSN and SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S5 or S8 interface between SGW and PGW.
S5: It provides user plane tunnelling and tunnel management between Serving GW and PDN GW. It is used for
Serving GW relocation due to UE mobility and if the Serving GW needs to connect to a non-collocated PDN GW
for the required PDN connectivity.
S8: Inter-PLMN reference point providing user and control plane between the Serving GW in the VPLMN
(Visited PLMN) and the PDN GW in the HPLMN (Home PLMN). S8 is the inter PLMN variant of S5.
Difference between those two interfaces is S5 is used in one network entity(no roaming scenario), and S8 is
being used to connect Visiting PLMN where user is with his Home PLMN.
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Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between SGW and PGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between SGW and PGW. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S10 interface between MME and other MME.
Reference point between MMEs for MME relocation (e.g handover) and MME to MME information transfer.
Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between MMEs.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between MMEs. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S11 interface between MME and SGW.
Reference point between MME and Serving GW.
Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between MME and SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between MME and SGW. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S6a interface between MME and HSS.
It enables transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the
evolved system (AAA interface) between MME and HSS.
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Where:
Diameter: This protocol supports transferring of subscription and authentication data for
authenticating/authorizing user access to the evolved system between MME and HSS (S6a). Diameter is
defined in RFC 3588.
SCTP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. SCTP is defined in RFC 4960.
S13 interface between MME and EIR.
It enables UEEIR.
Where:
Diameter: This protocol supports UE identity check procedure between MME and EIR (S13). Diameter is defined
in RFC 3588.
SCTP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. SCTP is defined in RFC 4960.
SBc interface between CBC and eNodeB.
Reference point between CBC and MME for warning message delivery and control functions.
Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) was a solution for the special requirement of an Earthquake and Tsunami warning
system (ETWS) created for Japan, introduced in Rel. 8. It utilizes the existing interfaces between UE and MME
in control plane. Additionally the MME is connected to the CBC via the SBc interface. In LTE/4G SBc interface is
fully standardized and based on SCTP.
Where:
SBc-AP (SBc Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between CBC and MME. This protocol supports
transfer of warning messages.
S1-AP (S1 Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between the eNodeB and the MME.
SCTP: This protocol guarantees delivery of signalling messages between MME and eNodeB (S1). SCTP is defined
in RFC 4960.
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Where:
GTP-U (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for the user plane): This protocol tunnels user data between eNodeB and
SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers user data. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
Fig. 16. Protocol stacks of S4 interfaces used to connect UE from 2G network to PDN
Where:
GTP U: This protocol tunnels user data between SGSN and the S GW as well as between the S GW and the P GW
in the backbone network. GTP shall encapsulate all end user IP packets.
UDP/IP: These are the backbone network protocols used for routing user data and control signalling.
Protocols on the Um and the Gb interfaces are described in TS 23.060.
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Fig. 17. Protocol stacks of S4 interfaces used to connect UE from 3G network to PDN
Fig. 18. Protocol stack of S12 interface used to connect UE from 3G network to PDN
Where:
GTP U: This protocol tunnels user data between UTRAN and the S GW as well as between the S GW and the P
GW in the backbone network. GTP shall encapsulate all end user IP packets
UDP/IP: These are the backbone network protocols used for routing user data and control signalling.
Protocols on the Uu interface are described in TS 23.060.
SGSN controls the user plane tunnel establishment and establish a Direct Tunnel between UTRAN and S GW as
shown in Fig. 18.
Sources:
23.401 3GPP.org
Evolution of 3G Network - book on google books
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sanket ghate 3 weeks ago - Shared publicly
Very useful indeed
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