GENERAL PACKET RADIO

SERVICE

Professor Hrushikesha Mohanty

Department of Computer & Information Sciences

University of Hyderabad

10/14/08 Prof.H.Mohanty, UoH 1

 GENERAL PACKET RADIO
SERVICE

GSM follows
• Circuit switched Radio Transmission(earlier)

• Packet Switched Bearer Services(later)

10/14/08 Prof.H.Mohanty, UoH 2

GPRS applies packet radio principle to transfer user data
packets

• between GSM mobile stations

• to external packet data networks ( IP, X.25)

• friendly billing based on volume of transfer

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 GSM SYSTEM
ARCHITECTURE
• A cell : radio coverage of a BTS
• several BTSs connected by a BSC
• BTS & BSC together make BSS
• Traffics among MHs routed through MSC
• GMSC interfaces a mobile network to fixed network
• GSM networks structured hierarchically
• MSC keeps HLR,VLR, AUC, EIR data bases
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 GSM components
• BSS Base Support Station
• BSC Base Station Controler
• BTS Base Tranciever Station
• MSC Mobile Switching Controler
• GMSC Gateway Mobile Switching Controler
• MS Mobile Station
• HLR Home Location Register
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• VLR Visited Location Register
• EIR Equipment Identity Register
• AUC Authentication center
• PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

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Address, Authenticity
• Distinguishes device & user identities

• IMEI : International Mobile Equipment Identity

• IMSI : International Mobile Subscriber Identity

• MSISDN : Mobile Subscriber ISDN

• VLR contains current location of a subscriber
• A MS can subscribe to several MSIDN

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 GSM SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
PSTN
ISDN
BSC PDN
MS BTS

GMSC

MSC
BTS BSC

MS
BTS EIR
AUC
MS HLR
VLR
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 GPRS SYSTEM
ARCHITECTURE
• Existing GPRS includes GSNs
• SGSN : Serving GPRS Support Node
• Delivers data packets from and to mobile stations
• Packet Routing and Transfer
• Mobility Management
• Logical Link Management
• Authentication
• Billing, Maintaining user profiles
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 GPRS SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE Other
GPRS
PLMN

SMS-GMSC Gd
SMS-INMSC SGSN Gp

GGSN

Gb Gn
GGSN
Gf
BTS BSC Gr
Gs PDN
Gc Gi

BTS
EIR
MS HLR
D
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MSC/VLR
• GGSN : Gateway GPRS support node

• interfaces GPRS backbone network & external

packet data networks

• PDP addresses change to GSM addresses

• performs authentication & billing

• many-to- many relations among SGSNs &

GGSNs

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• Routing in GPRS system

• Gb interface connects BSC to SGSN

• Gn interface connects SGSN to GGSN while
both in the same PLMN
• Gp interface connects SGSN to GGSN located
in different PLMNs
• All GSNs connect via IP-based GPRS backbone
network
• GSNs follow GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP),
encapsulate PDN packets
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 • Gd interface for SMS (Short Message Service)

• Gs interface connects SGSN and MSC/VLR

• Gc interface connects GGSN and HLR

• Gf interface to query on IMEI of a MS

• Gi interface connects PLMN with external

public/private PDN (IP, X.25)

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 GPRS ROUTING
BSC
BSC
BTS BTS
MS
inter-PLMN
GPRS backbone
Gn SGSN Gp SGSN
Boarder
intra-PLMN Boarder
gateway
GPRS backbone gateway intra-PLMN
GPRS backbone
PLMN1 Gn
Gn PLMN2
Gi

GGSN
GGSN
Packet data
network(PDN) Host
SGSN
10/14/08 Prof.H.Mohanty, UoH Router 14
Lan
• SERVICES
• offers end-to-end packet switched data transfer

PTP - Point-To-Point service

PTM - Point-To-Multi point service

• PTM-M multicast service

• PTM-G group call service
• SMS Short Message Service
• CFU Call Forwarding Unconditional
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 • CFNRc Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber not
reachable
• CUG Closed User Group
• tele action , data bases, electronic monitoring
surveilance

• Quality Of Service

• GPRS allows defining QOS profiles

• loss, duplication, mis-sequencing, corruption

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• SESSION & MOBILITY MANAGEMENTS
• Session management
MS SGSN GGSN

Activate PDP context request

[PDP type, PDP address,
QoS requested, access point,...]

Security functions Create PDP context request

[PDP type, PDP address,
QoS requested, access point,...]

Create PDP context response

Activate PDP context accept
[PDP type, QoS requested,…]
[PDP type, PDP address,
QoS requested,...]
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PDP context activation
 • A user can have several simultaneous PDP contexts
active at a given time
• Allocation of PDP address could be static/dynamic
• GPRS supports anonymous PDP context activation

• Location Management

• intra SGSN routing area update

• inter SGSN routing area update

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 State model of a GPRS mobile station

IDLE

GPRS attach GPRS dispatch

STANDBY time
expired
READY

READY time expired or Transmission of a

forced to STANDBY packet

STANDBY

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 Intr-SGSN routing area update

MS BSS SGSN

Routing area update request Routing area update request

[old RAI, old P-TMSI signature, [old RAI, old P-TMSI signature,
update type] update type, CI]

Security functions
Routing area update accept
[P-TMSI, P-TMSI Signature]

Routing area update complete

[P-TMSI](optional)

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• Multiple Access & Radio Resource Management
principles
• Physical Layer
• Uses both FDMA & TDMA for multiple access
• 890 – 915 MHz for mobile station for up linking
935 – 960 MHz for BTS for down link
• Each of the above two bands divided to 124 single carrier
channels of 200 kHz width
• Each 200 kHz channel has 8 time slots TDMA channels
• 8 time slots form a TDMA frame
• Recurrence of a time slot defines a Physical Channel
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Packet Data Channel
• Logical Channel

• Logical Channels are divided to

– traffic channels
– signaling (control) Channels

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 Logical channels in GPRS

GROUP CHANNEL FUNCTION DIRECTION

Packet data traffic

PDTCH Data traffic MS BSS
channel
Broadcast
Packet broadcast PBCCH MS BSS
control
control channel

PRACH Random access MS BSS

Packet common
PAGCH Access agent MS BSS
control channel
PPCH paging MS BSS
(PCCCH)
PNCH Notification MS BSS

PACCH Associated
MS BSS
control
Packet dedicated
control channels PTCCH Timing advance MS BSS
control
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• Protocol Architecture

Defined on
– Transmission Plane
– Signaling Plane

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• Transmission Plane

• Provides transmission of user data and its

associated signaling
eg: Flow control ,
error detection and correction

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 MS BSS SGSN GGSN

Application

Network Network
layer layer
(IP,X.25) (IP,X.25)
SNDCP Relay
GTP GTP
SNDCP
LLC LLC TCP/UDP TCP/UDP
Relay
RLC IP IP
RLC BSSGP BSSGP

MAC Network Network Data link Data link

MAC
service service layer layer
PLL PLL
Phy. Phy. Phy. Phy.
layer layer layer layer
RFL RFL
10/14/08 Prof.H.Mohanty, UoH 26
U m Gb Gn Gi
SNDP Sub Network Dependent Protocol
LLC Logical Link Control
RLC Radio Link Control
MAC Medium Access Control
PLL Physical Link Layer
RFL Physical RF Layer
BSSGP BSS GPRS application Protocol
GTP GPRS Tunneling Protocol
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
UDP Use Datagram Protocol
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• Signaling Plane

• for control and support the functionalities

of the transmission plane

eg: GPRS attach / detach

PDP Context activation
Control of routing paths
Allocation of network resources

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• Internetworking with IP Networks
GGSN

Router

IP IP

Layer 2
GPRS bearer
Layer 1

Gi

10/14/08
Protocols Prof.H.Mohanty,
at the GiUoH IP interface 29