LTE Basics System Architecture

Module Contents

LTE/EPS Architecture
LTE/EPS Network Elements
LTE/EPS Interfaces
Roaming and interworking
Billing system

LTE/SAE Network Architecture Subsystems

LTE/SAE architecture flat architecture basis to optimize the system for

packet data transfer.
All packet Switching network
New concept in the inter-connection between radio access network and
core network
The EPS architecture is made up of an EPC
(Packet Core Network, also referred as SAE)
and an eUTRAN Radio Access Network (also
referred as LTE)
The CN provides access to external packet IP
networks and performs a number of CN
related functions (e.g. QoS, security, mobility
and terminal context management) for idle
(camped) and active terminals
The RAN performs all radio interface related
functions

IMS/PDN

EPC

eUTRAN

EPS

LTE-UE

Evolved Packet System (EPS) Architecture Subsystems

EPC/SAE
Service Control and Database

LTE/eUTRAN

IMS

HSS

PCRF

ACCESS
Core Network and Transport

aGW

MME

Internet
eNodeB

Serving GW

SAE GW

PDN

3GPP PS architecture evolution

3GPP architecture evolution towards at architecture
HSPA

Direct tunnel

I-HSPA

LTE

HSPA R6

HSPA R7

HSPA R7

LTE R8

GGSN

GGSN

GGSN

SAE GW

SGSN
RNC
Node B
(NB)

SGSN

SGSN

MME/SGSN

RNC
Node B
(NB)

Node B + RNC
Functionality

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

Control Plan
User Plan
5

Module Contents

LTE/EPS Architecture
LTE/EPSNetwork
NetworkElements
Elements
LTE/EPS
LTE/EPS Interfaces
Roaming and interworking
Billing system

LTE/SAE Network Elements

Main references to architecture in 3GPP specs.:

TS23.401,TS23.402,TS36.300
7

LTE/SAE Network Elements: Evolved Node B

(eNB)
Pool of S-GWs

Pool of MMEs

MME

S-GW

Mobility Management
Bearer Handling
Security setting
Radio Resources Management
Mobility Management
Bearer handling
User palne data delivery
Securing and optimizing radio
interface delivery

UEs

User Plan Tunnels for UL

and DL data delivery

eNodeB

Inter eNodeB Handovers

Forwarding of DL data during
Handovers

Other eNodeBs

LTE/SAE Network Elements: MME (Mobility

Management Entity )

Other MMEs

MME

HSS
S10

Authentication and
Security Parameters
Location Management
User profile

S11

MME

S-GW

S6a

Handovers between MMEs

Idle state mobility between MMEs

UEs

S-GWs

Control of User Palane

Tunnels

Inter eNodeB Handovers

State Transitions
S1-MME Bearer Management
Paging

Mobility Management
UE Requested Bearer Management

eNodeBs

LTE-Uu
9

LTE/SAE Network Elements: S-GW (Serving

SAE Gateway)
GTP S5/S8:
Control of GTP Tunnels
GTP Tunnels for UL and
DL data delivery
PMIP S5/S8:
IP service flows

Control of GTP tunnels & IP

service flows
S-GW Mobility control

MME

MMEs

P-GWs

P-GW

PCRFs

PCRF

S5/S8

Gxe

PMIP S5/S8:
IP service flow <-> GTP tunnel mapping
information

S-GWs

S-GW

S11

User Plane Tunnels for UL

and DL data delivery

(PMIP S5/S8)

S-GW

S1-U

Indirect forwarding of
DL data during handovers
(in S1-U format), when direct
inter-eNodeB connection is
not available

eNodeBs

10

LTE/SAE Network Elements: PDN-GW (Packet

Data Network SAE Gateway )
External Network:
Operator Sevices(e.g. IMS)
And Internet

IP Flows of user data

PCRF

PCRFs

Ploicy and charging

Control requests
PCC rules

P-GW

Control of User Plane Tunnels

User Plane Tunnels for UL and
DL data delivery
MME

S-GWs
11

LTE/SAE Network Elements: PCRF (Policy and

Charging Rule Function)
External Network:
Operator Sevices(e.g. IMS)
And Internet

Policy and charging

requests
Rx

PCRF

P-GWs

P-GW
Gx

Policy and Charging Control request

PCC rules
QoS rules when S5/S8 is PMIP
Gxc

QoS control requests when S5/S8 is PMIP

QoS rules for mapping IP services flows and
GTP tunnel in S1 when S5/S8 is PMIP

S-GWs
S-GW

12

LTE/SAE Network Elements: HSS (Home

Subscriber Server )

S6a

HSS

MME
Permanent and central subscriber
database
Stores mobility and service data for
every subscriber
Contains the Authentication Center
(AuC) functionality.

13

Module Contents

LTE/EPS Architecture
LTE/EPS Network Elements
LTE/EPS
LTE/EPSInterfaces
Interfaces
Roaming and interworking
Billing system

14

LTE/SAE Interfaces

HSS

S6a
X2

MME

S10

S11
LTE-Uu

Rx

S7

S-GW

eNodeB

PCRF

P-GW
S5/S8

Operator sevice
Or Internet

SGi
SAE Gateway

S3
S4
User Data
User +control data
Control data

SGSN

S12

UTRAN

S2a/b

Non 3GPP

3GPP
15

LTE Interfaces
eUTRAN

EPC

X2
MME

LTE-Uu

eNodeB

S-GW

16

LTE Interfaces : LTE-Uu

aGW
LTE-Uu

eNodeB

User data

User
data

RRC

RRC

PDCP

PDCP

RLC

RLC

MAC

MAC

PHY(OFDMA)

PHY
LTE -Uu

LTE-Uu
Based on OFDMA in downlink and SC-FDMA

S1

in uplink
FDD and TDD duplex methods
Scalable bandwidth 1.4MHz to currently 20
MHz
Data rates up to 150 Mbps in DL
User data sent transparently throught eNB:
NAS for MME
IP data for S-GW
MIMO
17

LTE Interfaces : X2

X2

aGW

X2-UP
(User Plane)
X2-CP
(Control Plane)

User data

X2-AP

GTP-U

SCTP

UDP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

X2
Inter eNB interface
Handover coordination without involving the
EPC

X2AP: special signalling protocol.

This will avoid loss of a huge amount of
packets during inter-eNB handover.
e.g. During HO, Source eNB can use the X2
interface to forward downlink packets still
buffered or arriving from the serving gateway to
the target eNB

18

LTE Interfaces : S1-MME/U

S1-MME
(Control Plane)
NAS Protocols

S1-AP
MME

SCTP
IP
S1-U
(User Plane)

S1-MME
Control interface between eNB and MME
MME and UE will exchange non-access stratum

L1/L2

signaling via eNB through this interface.

S1flex allows 1 eNB to connect to several MME

User PDUs

GTP-U
UDP
IP
L1/L2

S-GW

S1-U
It is a pure user data interface (U=User plane).
Which Serving GW a users SAE bearer will
have to use is signaled from the MME of this
user.
S1flex-U : a single eNB can connect to several
Serving GWs.

19

EUTRAN & EPC connected with S1-flex

eNB 2

eNB 1

S1-C

eNB 3

S1felx

S1-U
S1felx-U

S1felx-U
S1-C

MME

MME
S11

S-GW
eNB 1 Single S1-MME
Single S1-U

S1-U

MME

S-GW

S1felx

S-GW

eNB 2 Single S1-MME

Multiple S1-US1Flex-U

MME

S-GW
eNB 3 Multiple S1-MMES1Flex
Single S1-U

20

EPC Interfaces
EPC
HSS

S6a

eUTRAN

MME

S10

PCRF
S11

Rx

S7

S-GW

P-GW
S5/S8

Internet

SGi
SAE Gateway

21

EPC Interfaces : S10/S6a

S6a
(Control Plane)

S10
(Control Plane)

MME

GTP-C
UDP

S6a Appl

MME

DIAMETER
SCTP

IP

IP

L1/L2

S10
Used during inter-MME tracking area updates
The new MME can retrieve data about
identity (IMSI), security information (security
context, authentication vectors) and active
SAE bearers (PDN gateways to contact, QoS,
etc.) old MME
Obviously S10 is a pure signaling interface

HSS

L1/L2

S6a
MME uses it to retrieve subscription information from
HSS (handover/tracking area restrictions, external PDN
allowed, QoS, etc.) during attaches and updates
The HSS can during these procedures also store the
users current MME address in its database.

22

EPC Interfaces : S10/S6a

MME
S11
(Control Plane)

GTP-C

S11
A single MME can handle multiple Serving
GW each one with its own S11 interface

Used to coordinate the establishment of

UDP

SAE bearers within the EPC

IP

SAE bearer setup can be started by the

L1/L2

MME (default SAE bearer) or by the PDN

Gateway.
S-GW

23

EPC Interfaces : S5/S8

(U P)
(C P)

S-GW

User PDUs

(U P)
OR
(C P)

User PDUs

GTP-C

GTP-U

PMIPv6

UDP

SCTP

IPv6

MIPv6
Tunnelling
Layer

IP

IP

IPv4

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

L1/L2

L1/L2

S5/S8 GTP

P-GW

S5/S7 IETF

S5/S8
S5: If Serving GW and PDN GW belong to the same network (non-roaming case)
S8:If this is not the case (roaming case)
S8 = S5 + inter-operator security functions
Signaling on S5/S8 is used to setup the associated bearer resources
S5/S8 can be implemented either by reuse of the GTP protocol from 2G/3G or by
using Mobile IPv6 with some IETF enhancements.

24

EPC Interfaces : PCRF interfaces (Gxc, Gx/S7

and Rx)
Rx
Gxc

PCRF

Gxc Appl

Rx Appl
Gx/S7

DIAMETER

Gx Appl

DIAMETER

SCTP

DIAMETER

SCTP

IP

SCTP

IP

L1/L2

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

S-GW

S5/S8

P-GW

SGi

Internet

Gxc

Gx (Also referred as S7)

Rx

Needed in case the S5/S8

interface is based on PMIP (IETF
candidate

Requesting the setup of a SAE

Interface between PCRF

bearer with appropriate QoS

(Policy & Charging Rules

Function) and the external
PDN network/operators IMS
(in general, towards the
Service Domain)

Mapping between IP service

flows in S5/S8 and GTP tunnels
in the S1-U interface.

Asking for the QoS of an SAE

bearer to setup

Indicating EPC status changes

to the PCRF for a new policy rule.

25

EPC Interfaces : SGi

SGi
(User Plane)

P-GW

Application

Internet or Operator
sevices (e.g. IMS)

UDP or TCP
IPv4 or IPv6
L1/L2

SGi
It is either IPv4 or IPv6 based
Downlink data coming from the external PDN mapped the right SAE
bearer using the incoming packets IP addresses, port numbers, etc.

This interface corresponds to the Gi interface in 2G/3G networks

26

Module Contents

LTE/EPS Architecture
LTE/EPS Network Elements
LTE/EPS Interfaces
Roaming
Roamingand
andinterworking
interworking
Billing system

27

LTE/EPS Roaming Architecture :

Remote Breakout (case1)
PCRF
HSS
Home PLMN
hPLMN

Visited PLMN
vPLMN

P-GW

MME

S8

SGi

IMS/Internet

GTP tunnel and MIPv6 options

over the S8 interface

Also called Home Routed

Traffic

eUTRAN

S1-U

S-GW

28

LTE/EPS Roaming Architecture :

Local Breakout (case2)
Breakout should depend on the

Home PLMN
hPLMN

service: e.g.
internet accesslocal breakout

HSS

corporate VPNremote breakout

hPCRF

S9: PCRF-to-PCRF interface:

roaming controlled by hPLMN
policies

Visited PLMN
vPLMN

eUTRAN

S9

MME

S1-U

vPCRF

S-GW

S5

P-GW

SGi

IMS/Internet

29

LTE/EPS Roaming Architecture : S9 interface

S9
(Control Plane)
S9 Appl

vPCRF

DIAMETER

hPCRF

SCTP
IP
L1/L2

S9
It is used in the VPLMN for enforcement of dynamic
control polices from the hPLMN.
It is standardized in 3GPP TS 29.215: Policy and
Charging Control over the S9 reference point (Release 8)

30

LTE/EPS Interworking with 2G/3G Networks

GPRS Core Network

GERAN

Gb

GGSN

Gn

SGSN
Iu-PS

IMS/Internet

Gi

S6d: diameter Based

Gr: MAP Based

UTRAN

HSS

S3
S6a

MME
S4

S1-C
S11

eUTRAN

S1-U

S-GW

S5/S8

P-GW

IMS/Internet
SGi

31

LTE/EPS Interworking with 2G/3G Networks:

S3 & S4 Interfaces
(U P)
(Control Plane)

MME

GTP-C
SCTP
IP
L1/L2
S3

SGSN

(C P)

User PDUs

GTP-C

GTP-U

UDP

UDP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

S-GW

S4

S4/S3
Packet data from EUTRAN via Serving SAE GW to SGSN (and then to GGSN) or
from 2G/3G RAN to SGSN to Serving SAE GW to PDN GW.
They would allow inter-system changes between SAE and 2G/3G
Interfaces between EPC and 2G/3G packet switched core network domain
These 2 interfaces are based on the Gn interface between the SGSN and the
GGSN.

32

LTE/EPS Interworking with 2G/3G Networks

GPRS Core Network

GERAN

Gb

GGSN

Gn

SGSN
Iu-PS

S6d or Gr

UTRAN

S12
Direct Tunnels
from Serving GW
to RNC (User
Plane)

S3

MME
S1-C

eUTRAN

IMS/Internet

Gi

HSS
S6a

S11

S1-U

S-GW

S5/S8

P-GW

IMS/Internet
SGi

33

LTE/EPS Interworking with 2G/3G Networks

S12
(Control Plane)
User PDU

UTRAN

GTP-U

S-GW

UDP
IP
L1/L2

S12
It would allow inter-system changes between LTE and 3G
The S12 is the user plane interface used for tunneling user data directly
between the Serving GW and the UTRAN.
This would allow to forward packet data from 3G RAN to Serving GW to
PDN GW.
It is based on the Gn interface between the SGSN and the GGSN and
so uses the GTP-U protocol.
34

LTE/EPS inter-working with Non-3GPP Access

Technologies
Inter-working with non-3GPP ANs was one of the key design
goals for LTE
There is a separate architecture specification (3GPP TS 23.402:
Architecture enhancements for non-3GPP access (Release 8) to
reach this goal.
There are 2 sets of LTE/EPS inter-working principles:
1.- Generic and loose Inter-working solution for any non-3GPP
Access Network (AN).
2.- Specific and tighter inter-working solution for cdma2000
HRPD

35

LTE/EPS inter-working with Non-3GPP Access

Technologies
HSS
S6a

S1-C

MME

Rx

PCRF

eUTRAN
S11

S7

S1-U

S-GW

S5/S8

IMS/Internet

P-GW

SGi

S2 interface provides
connectivity to a non-3GPP
access network (e.g. WLAN,
WiMAX, 3gpp2, Fixed,)

S2a

Trusted
Non-3GPP
Access

S2b

Untrusted
Non-3GPP
Access
36

LTE/EPS inter-working with Non-3GPP Access

Technologies
(U P)

Trusted
Non-3GPP
Access

(U P)

User PDUs

(C P)

User PDUs

(C P)

IPv4/IPv6

IPv4

IPv4/IPv6

PMIPv6

TunnellingLayer

UDP

TunnellingLayer

IPv4/IPv6

IPv4

IPv4

IPv4

L1/L2

L1/L2

L1/L2

L1/L2

P-GW

S2a based on:

Proxy Mobile(PM) IPv6

Untrusted
Non-3GPP
Access

S2a based on:

Mobile IPv4 Foreign Agent (FA) Mode

S2a
It provides the user plane with related control and mobility support
between trusted non-3GPP IP access and the PDN Gateway.
S2a is based on Proxy Mobile IP.
To enable access via trusted non-3GPP IP accesses that do not
support PMIP, S2a also supports Client Mobile IPv4 FA mode.
37

Module Contents

LTE/EPS Architecture
LTE/EPS Network Elements
LTE/EPS Interfaces
Roaming and interworking
Billingsystem
system
Billing

38

Billing System
It will be an evolution of the PS Domain charging mechanisms for GPRS
and UMTS
It will facilitate seamless interworking with legacy charging systems.
The charging filter rules are provided by the Policy and Charging Rule
Function (PCRF).
The IMS Charging Function provides information about the users session
(e.g. call control, multimedia, services).
The Application Charging Function provides information about the
content of the users traffic (e.g. URL, file or media stream name).
Charging for LTE/EPS is performed on a per IP bearer basis

39

Charging Related Networks Elements

The PCRF for charging rule instructions

The PDN GWs Policy & Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) with its
collection and credit control client functions,
The Serving GW with its collection functions for inter-operator
charging.
The Charging Gateway Function (CGF), collecting CDR for offline
charging.
The Online Charging Function (OCS), containing credit information for
online charging.
The Billing System (BS)

40

Charging Architecture Different Scenarios

When analyzing charging, the following main scenarios have to be

considered:

1.-Non-Roaming

2.-Roaming, home routed traffic

3.-Roaming with local breakout

41

Charging when Non-Roaming

Offline Charging

the PDN GW generates a CDR based on the charging rules received from the
PCRF.
The PDN GW forwards the so called enhanced G-CDR via Gz interface with
protocol GTP' or Diameter to the Charging Gateway Function (CGF)
CGF collects CDRs from all local network entities involved in billing the call and
forwards them to the Billing System (BS).

Online Charging
the PDN GW forwards usage information and receives credit information

to/from the Online Charging System (OCS) in real time via Gy interface with
DIAMETER based credit control application protocol (DCCA).
At session start the OCS authorizes the user session.
During the session granted and used volume, time or unit quotas are
exchanged. The used quotas are the basis of cost calculation in OCS.
If the user runs out of credits the OCS can terminate the user session
immediately.
42

SAE/LTE Charging Architecture Non Roaming

HSS
S6a

S1-C

MME

Rx

PCRF

eUTRAN
S11

S7

S1-U

S-GW
Charging Gateway
Function (CGF) for
Offline charging

S5/S8

Gz

CGF

IMS/Internet

P-GW

SGi

PCEF

Gy
Online Charging
System (OCS)

CGF

43

SAE/LTE Charging Architecture Non Roaming

Gz Interface
Ga
(Gz based on GTP)

Rf
(Gz based on Diameter)

Gz App

P-GW

PCEF

GTP

DCCA

CGF

P-GW

PCEF

DIAMETER

UDP/SCTP

SCTP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

CGF

Gz
CGF is responsible for consolidation of the charging records
The Gz interface maybe based on the Ga interface, which uses the 3GPP
defined GTP protocol.
The Gz could also be based on the Rf interface, which relies on the Diameter
Credit-Control Application (DCCA).
44

SAE/LTE Charging Architecture Non Roaming

Gz Interface
Gz
(base on Diameter)

P-GW

DCCA

PCEF
DIAMETER

OCS

SCTP
IP
L1/L2

Gy
Interface between the P-GW and the Online Charging System (OCS)
OCS is used for flow based charging information transfer.
The Gy interface is functionally equivalent to the Ro interface that uses
Diameter Credit-Control application (DCCA), as defined in IETF RFC
4006

45