PARTNER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

TELKOMSEL PROJECT
DATACOM & LTE TRANSPORT ARCHITECTURE OVERVIEW
JAYAPURA, 5-7 SEPTEMBER 2016

3GPP OVERVIEW

3GPP Mobile Architecture

GSM :
Developed to carry real time services, in a circuit switched
manner
Data services only possible over a circuit switched modem
connection, with very low data rates.
The first step towards an IP based packet switched solution was
taken with the evolution of GSM to GPRS, using the same air
interface and access method, TDMA (Time Division Multiple
Access).
UMTS :
To reach higher data rates in UMTS (Universal Mobile Terrestrial
System) WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) was
developed.
The access network in UMTS emulates a circuit switched
connection for real time services and a packet switched
connection for Datacom services.
.

3GPP Mobile Architecture (contd)

EPS (LTE) :
To provide a high data rate, low latency and packet
optimized Radio Access Technology supporting flexible
bandwidth deployment.
Its network architecture has been designed with the goal to
support packet-switched traffic with seamless mobility and
great Quality of Services.
Purely IP based >> Both real time services and datacom
services will be carried by the IP protocol.
Flat architecture >> There is no centralized intelligent
controller
The reason for distributing the intelligence amongst the
base-stations in LTE is to speed up the connection set-up
and reduce the time required for a handover. For an enduser the connection set-up time for a real time data session
is in many cases crucial, especially in on-line gaming. The
time for a handover is essential for real-time services where
end-users tend to end calls if the handover takes too long.

DATA COMMUNICATION OVERVIEW

Networking Method Circuit Switch

1.
2.
3.

A connection (Circuit) is set up between two

nodes, which will be used for the whole
communication.
The circuit may either be a fixed one that is
always present, or it may be a circuit that is
created on as-needed basis.
Even if many potential paths through
intermediate devices exist between the two
communicating nodes, only one will be used
for that particular communication

Networking Method Packet Switch

1.
2.
3.

No specific path is used for data transfer.

The connection is Available to use by many users.
Data will be fragmented into packets and sent over
the network in two ways :

Datagram (connectionless) :
The packets are route independently.
Sometimes resulting in different paths and outof-order delivery.
Examples of Protocols : Ethernet, IP, UDP

Virtual Circuit (connection-oriented) :

Requires a setup phase in each involved node
before any packet is transferred to establish the
communication
The packets are negotiated between end points
so that they are delivered in order and with error
checking
Examples of Protocols : X.25, Frame Relay, TCP

Networking Method Summary

Circuit Switching
Dedicated path
Path is established for entire conversation
Call setup delay

Packet Switching(Datagram type)

No Dedicated path
Route is established for each packet
Packet transmission delay

Packet Switching(Virtual Circuit type)

No Dedicated path
Route is established for entire conversation
Call setup delay as well as packet transmission delay

Overload may block call setup

Fixed bandwidth
No overhead bits after call setup

Overload increases packet delay

Dynamic bandwidth
Overhead bits in each packet

Overload may block call setup and increases packet

delay
Dynamic bandwidth
overhead bits in each packet

Operation Mode of Network

1. Simplex
Can only send information in one direction at a time (one way street).
2. Half Duplex
Can send information in both directions.
But only one direction or the other can be utilized at a time.
3. Full Duplex
A connection between two devices that capable of sending data in both directions simultaneously.
Full duplex channels can be constructed either as a pair of simplex links or using one channel designed
to permit bidirectional simultaneous transmissions. Example :
Simplex Fiber Cable
A simplex fiber cable consists of a single strand of glass of plastic fiber. Simplex fiber is most
often used where only a single transmit and/or receive line is required between devices or
when a multiplex data signal is used (bi-directional communication over a single fiber).
Duplex Fiber Cable
A duplex fiber cable consists of two strands of glass or plastic fiber. Typically found in a
zipcord construction format, this cable is most often used for duplex communication
between devices where a separate transmit and receive are required.

Operation Mode of Network

3. Full Duplex (contd)
Cat5e UTP Cable
Found in many Ethernet networks and telephone system.

LTE ARCHITECTURE

Architecture of LTE Transport

GERAN

SGSN

UTRAN

S4
S6a

S10

PCRF

MME

Gxc

S11
UE

Uu

Gx

Rx

IMS
AAA

S6b

S1-MME

eNB

S-GW
X2

UE

The logical interfaces share the physical transport

interface(s) at the eNB.

HSS

S3
MME

eNB

S1U

Internet

PDN-GW
S5/S8
SAE-GW

SGi

Company Intranet

The relevant logical interfaces are :

X2-U, eNB to eNB for user plane traffic (GTP-U
tunneling)
X2-C, eNB to eNB for control plane traffic (X2AP
protocol)
S1-U, eNB to S-GW for user plane traffic (GTP-U
tunneling)
S1-MME, eNB to MME for control plane traffic
(S1AP protocol)
O&M i/f, eNB to O&M system for O&M data

Architecture of LTE Datapath Management

The most relevant interfaces of LTE Access are :
S1-MME interface (C-plane)
Traffic consists of S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) signaling
messages carried over SCTP protocol. The interface transfers
signaling data related to mobility management, (for instance intereNB handover), or to other management tasks, (like S1 signaling
bearer management).
S1-U interface (U-plane)
At S1-U, GPRS Tunneling Protocol for the user plane (GTP-U)
encapsulates IP packets to be carried over the GTP tunnel between
the eNB and the Serving Gateway (S-GW).
This mechanism, called tunneling, is used extensively in the LTE/SAE
network architecture.
X2 interface (C-plane and U-plane)
Control plane traffic related to:
Handover signaling
Inter-cell RRM signaling
X2 interface management signaling
consists of the X2 application protocol (X2-AP) signaling messages.
In user plane, X2 carries data between the source and target eNBs
during a lossless inter-eNB handover. For this purpose, a GTP-U
tunnel is established over the X2 interface.
X2-AP is defined in 3GPP36.423 technical specification.

LTE IP Based Protocols for User, Control, Management and Synchronization Plane
S1-MME
RRC
S1-AP

S1-AP

RLC

SCTP

SCTP

MAC

IP

IP

PHY

L1/L2

L1/L2

PDCP

eNB2

Inter-eNB X2
(U/C-plane)

ToP Server
(optional)

X2
X2-AP

X2-AP

SCTP

SCTP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

GTP-U

GTP-U

UDP

UDP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

eNB

eNB

eNB

MME

S1-MME
(C-plane)
S1-U
(U-plane)

MME

SAE-GW

S1-U

IP

eNB1

O&M
(M-plane)

NetAct

PDCP

GTP-U

GTP-U

RLC

UDP

UDP

MAC

IP

IP

PHY

L1/L2

L1/L2

eNB

S-GW

USER PLANE PROTOCOLS (CLOSER LOOK)

E2E User Plane Protocol

LTE-Uu

S1-U

S5/S8

SGi

Air Interface

IP
UE

eNB

IP
S-GW

P-GW
SAE-GW

Server

Traffic Type based on Transport Layer

Main Transport Layer Protocols that widely used in internet are TCP and UDP. Transport Layer in OSI Reference Model is
responsible for allowing connections to be established and maintained between software services on possibly distant
machines. Perhaps most importantly, they serve as the bridge between the needs of many higher-layer applications to send data
in a reliable way without needing to worry about error correction, lost data or flow management, and network-layer protocols,
which are often unreliable and unacknowledged. Transport layer protocols are often very tightly-tied to the network layer protocols
directly below them, and designed specifically to take care of functions that they do not deal with.

TCP PROTOCOLS
1. One characteristic of TCP is that it uses a technique called TCP
Slow Start to figure out how much data it can reliably send
across the network.
2. Initially the sender does not know what the initial value of the
congestion window (cwnd) should be so it sets the value to 1
(initial window). Each time the sender receives a positive
acknowledgement it doubles the number of segments
(increases the value of cwnd) it sends out increasing the
amount of data transferred at once. The sender controls the
congestion window which is the total number of segments sent
at one time.

TCP PROTOCOLS (Contd)

3. If Packet Loss detected, TCP will halve Congestion Window and enter Congestion Avoidance Phase and will slow
the transmission rate. After that, the congestion window will be increased linearly.
4. If above case happens in severe packet loss network link environment, it will impact throughput experienced by
end user.

REFERENCES

References
1. NOLS
2. GS NPO Training Modules
3. http://www.3gpp.org/technologies/keywords-acronyms/98-lte
4. http://www.tutorialspoint.com/lte/lte_overview.htm
5. http://www.tutorialspoint.com/lte/lte_radio_protocol_architecture.htm
6. http://www.tcpipguide.com/free/t_SimplexFullDuplexandHalfDuplexOperation.htm
7. http://www.l-com.com/what-is-the-difference-between-simplex-and-duplex-fiber-optic-cable
8. https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Communication_Networks/TCP_and_UDP_Protocols
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair
10. https://www.utdallas.edu/~venky/acn/CongestionControl.pdf
11. https://filipv.net/2013/06/

Thank You