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UTRAN Transport Architecture - UTRAN architecture and transmission management

Document number: Document issue: Document status: Date: 30/July/2008 UMT/SYS/DD/023087 02.04 / EN Standard

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UTRAN Transport Architecture - UTRAN architecture and transmission management

PUBLICATION HISTORY
10/Aug/2007
Issue 01.01 / EN, Draft First draft.

17/Aug/2007
Issue 01.02 / EN, Draft Update draft including contribution on Bandwidth Pools (chapter 7)

14/Sep/2007
Issue 01.03 / EN, Draft Update draft after review.

28/Sep/2007
Issue 01.04 / EN, Preliminary Update draft after comments (no formal review).

29/Oct/2007
Issue 01.05 / EN, Standard Update version to add details on IMA and update congestion control algorithm after Bandwidth Pool modification (no formal review).

14/Mar/2008
Issue 02.01 / EN, Draft Include details for SS7 Dual Stack Support Include description of IMA Link Failure Defence for OneBTS

08/April/2008
Issue 02.02 / EN, Preliminary Include details of VP Shaping, VCC usage.

25/April/2008
Issue 02.03 / EN, Standard Update after Review

30/July/2008
Issue 02.04 / EN, Standard Additional Updates from Review

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CONTENTS
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 2 2.1 2.2 3 3.1 3.2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................6 OBJECT ....................................................................................................................................6 SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT .......................................................................................................7 AUDIENCE FOR THIS DOCUMENT ................................................................................................7 DEFINITIONS AND SPECIFICATION PRINCIPLES .............................................................7 RELATED DOCUMENTS........................................................................................8 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS ..........................................................................................................8 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS ..........................................................................................................9 TRANSMISSION NETWORK OVERVIEW COMMON ASPECTS ALL INTERFACES................... 10 SDH/SONET AND APS..........................................................................................................11 ATM ......................................................................................................................................12 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.2.1 3.2.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 3.2.6 3.2.6.1 3.2.6.2 3.2.6.3 3.2.6.4 3.2.6.5 3.2.6.6 3.2.7 3.3 3.4 4 4.1 VP/VC structure.............................................................................................................12 IMA ................................................................................................................................13 General description ........................................................................... 13 Defence in case of IMA link failure ......................................................... 15 Fractional E1/T1 [GLOBAL MARKET] ..........................................................................17 PNNI..............................................................................................................................18 Connection to an AAL-2 switch .....................................................................................18 VP ShaPING [USA MARKET].......................................................................................20 Introduction .................................................................................... 20 Dynamic distribution of Ul Traffic .......................................................... 22 LINK SHAPING .................................................................................. 23 Itf-B LINK........................................................................................ 25 Aggregate Bandwidth ......................................................................... 26 Upgrade and fallback ......................................................................... 26 Ethernet Passthrough OAM VCC..................................................................................27

IP ..........................................................................................................................................27 UTRAN SHARING ...................................................................................................................28 IUB SPECIFIC ASPECTS...................................................................................... 29 SYNCHRONIZATION ASPECTS ...................................................................................................29
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4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.2 5 5.1 5.2 6 7 7.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................29 Synchronization of DL data ...........................................................................................34 Synchronization of UL data ...........................................................................................36

HYBRID CONFIGURATION, TNL MIXITY [GLOBAL MARKET].....................................................37 IU-CS/PS SPECIFIC ASPECTS ............................................................................... 38 NGN ARCHITECTURE ..............................................................................................................38 IU-FLEX ..................................................................................................................................39 IUR SPECIFIC ASPECTS...................................................................................... 40 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION................................................................................ 41 FRAMEWORK ..........................................................................................................................41 7.1.1 7.1.2 7.1.2.1 7.1.2.2 7.1.2.3 7.1.3 7.1.3.1 7.1.3.2 7.1.3.3 7.1.3.4 7.1.3.5 7.1.4 7.1.5 7.1.5.1 7.1.5.2 Principle.........................................................................................................................41 Bandwidth Pool Capacity ..............................................................................................42 ATM case ........................................................................................ 42 IP case ........................................................................................... 42 BP capacity change............................................................................ 42 CAC...............................................................................................................................43 AAL2 and IP CAC ............................................................................... 43 CAC on Iub interfacE .......................................................................... 44 CAC on Iur/Iu-CS interfaces ................................................................. 45 CAC on Iu-PS interface........................................................................ 45 Support for Transport Bearer Replacement on SRNC (FRS 30091) .................... 45 ALCAP introduction on Iub............................................................................................46 Congestion Control .......................................................................................................46 Bandwidth Pool congestion control ........................................................ 46 25.902 mechanism, DL and UL case [GLOBAL MARKET] ................................ 49

7.2

GUARANTEED BIT RATE/MIN BR OVER HSDPA AND FAIR SHARING OF RESOURCES ....................64 7.2.1 7.2.2 Guaranteed Bit Rate for Streaming traffic over HSDPA ...............................................65 Min Bit Rate for Interactive/ Background Traffic over HSDPA......................................66

8 8.1 8.2

ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS ...................................................................... 67 ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................67


DEFINITIONS ...........................................................................................................................72

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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECT

UA06.0 is a release where a great deal of transport features are introduced, in order: . to cope with new transport media (support of IP: 33334, 33365) and improve management of transport resources (Iub bandwidth pools resiliency: 34125, HSUPA and HSDPA traffic separation on Iub: 34054), transport bearer replacement on SRNC: 30091. . to improve Iub interface openness, by better compliance with the standard (3GPP compliant Iub: Alcap: 28018)

Several features are also introduced that combine actions in radio and in transport domains to provide desired end-to-end service: . new services (Guaranteed bit rate over HSDPA: 29804) . improvements on quality of service management, priority management and congestion management (fair sharing between HSDPA and DCH: 33694, HSPA congestion control: 33367 and 33332, UTRAN sharing: 34105)

A number of these new features rely on the improved concept of bandwidth pools: 34202, and the advanced QoS transport framework: 23479. SS7 Dual stack support over the Iur Interface (34220) is also introduced in UA06.0.This provides the ability to support the ANSI SS7 stack over an Iur lnterface to neighbouring RNCs whilst simultaneously supporting an ITU stack on other Iur interfaces. This feature also introduces support of the ANSI SS7 stack over the Iu-ps interface. ANSI over Iu-cs is not supported.

This document takes the opportunity of the introduction of all these new features to provide a global description of the UTRAN transmission network architecture. On the one hand, it does not provide a description strictly coupled to each feature, but on the other hand, it tentatively provides a better overview of how the various features interact to provide the expected services to the operator. Due to the scope of this document, the table of contents does not quite follow the usual outline of a Functional Note. For instance, there is no chapter on interfaces, the O&M section is not present. This is because these sections are not really relevant here. O&M parameters, counters, alarms and traces for instance are described in other more detailed FNs (with the notable exception of section 7.1.5.2, because the corresponding feature is not described elsewhere). As far as possible, references have been included about where to find the complementary information.

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It thus also covers aspects that do not specifically evolve in UA06.0, such as Iu flex, and Iur congestion control (34012).

Iu-CS Iub Node B Iub Node B Node B Iub RNC Node B


Figure 1-1: UTRAN main logical interfaces

MSC Iu-PS

RNC

Iur Iub

Iu-CS

Iu-PS

SGSN

1.2

SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT

This document applies to the UA06.0 version of Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN.

1.3

AUDIENCE FOR THIS DOCUMENT

This is an external document.

1.4

DEFINITIONS AND SPECIFICATION PRINCIPLES

The present document addresses several markets with potentially different behaviours in those markets. The definition of Global Market and USA Market are:

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Global Market: customers other than those part of the following market.

USA Market: customers with UTRAN where Alcatel-Lucent 939X Node B (former Lucent Flexent Node B) is deployed. For the purpose of the present document, the following notations apply:

[Global Market] This tagging of a word indicates that the word preceding the tag "[Global Market]" applies only to the Global Market. This tagging of a heading indicates that the heading preceding the tag "[Global Market]" and the section following the heading applies only to the Global Market. This tagging shall, in particular, be used under the parameter name of parameters specific to the Global Market.

[USA Market] This tagging of a word indicates that the word preceding the tag "[USA Market]" applies only to the USA Market. This tagging of a heading indicates that the heading preceding the tag "[USA Market]" and the section following the heading applies only to the USA Market. This tagging shall, in particular, be used under the parameter name of parameters specific to the USA Market.

[Global Market - ] This tagging indicates that the enclosed text following the "[Global Market -" applies only to the Global Market. Multiple sequential paragraphs applying only to Global Market are enclosed separately to enable insertion of USA Market specific (or common) paragraphs between the Global Market specific paragraphs.

[USA Market - ] This tagging indicates that the enclosed text following the "[USA Market - " applies only to the USA Market. Multiple sequential paragraphs applying only to USA Market are enclosed separately to enable insertion of Global Market specific (or common) paragraphs between the USA Market specific paragraphs.

Text that is not identified via one of the hereabove tags is common to all markets.

2 RELATED DOCUMENTS
2.1 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS
Ref. # [A1] 3GPP TS 22.105 (ed.
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Document Identifier

Document Title Services and service capabilities

UTRAN Transport Architecture - UTRAN architecture and transmission management


Ref. # Document Identifier 6.4.0) [A2] [A3] 3GPP TS 23.107 (ed. 6.4.0) 3GPP TS 23.236 (ed. 6.3.0) Quality of Service (QoS) concept and architecture Intra-domain connection of Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes to multiple Core Network (CN) nodes Synchronisation in UTRAN Stage 2 UTRAN Iu interface RANAP signalling UTRAN Iur and Iub interface data transport & transport signalling for DCH data streams UTRAN Iub/Iur interface user plane protocol for DCH data streams Delay Budget within the Access Stratum Iub/Iur congestion control Inverse Multiplexing for ATM (IMA) Specification Version 1.1 Document Title

[A4] [A5] [A6]

3GPP TS 25.402 (ed. 6.5.0) 3GPP TS 25.413 (ed. 6.c.0) 3GPP TS 25.426 (ed. 6.5.0)

[A7]

3GPP TS 25.427 (ed. 6.8.0)

[A8] [A9] [A10]

3GPP TR 25.853 (ed. 4.0.0) 3GPP TR 25.902 (ed. 6.1.0) (ATM forum) AF-PHY0086.001

2.2

REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
Ref. # [ 1 ] [R1] [ 2 ] [R2] [ 3 ] [R3] [ 4 ] [R4] [ 5 ] [R5] [ 6 ] [R6] [R7] [R8] [R9] [R10] Document Identifier [ 1 ] UMT/IRC/APP/011676 [ 2 ] UMT/IRC/APP/0164 [ 3 ] UMT/SYS/DD/023092 [ 4 ] UMT/SYS/DD/016708 [ 5 ] UMT/IRC/APP/005184 [ 6 ] UMT/SYS/DD/023094 UMT/SYS/DD/023235 UMT/SYS/DD/013319 UMT/SYS/DD/018826 UMT/SYS/DD/018827 Document Title [ 1 ] Iu Transport Engineering Guide [ 2 ] Iub Transport Engineering Guide [ 3 ] IP in UTRAN FN [ 4 ] UTRAN Iu-flex Functional Note [ 5 ] Addressing Transport Engineering Guide [ 6 ] UTRAN sharing FN Bandwidth Pools FN HSDPA system specification CAC FN E-DCH system spefication

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Ref. # [R11] Document Identifier UMT/SYS/DD/000128 Document Title IRM

3 TRANSMISSION NETWORK OVERVIEW COMMON ASPECTS ALL INTERFACES


3GPP defines 2 alternatives for the UTRAN transmission: ATM transport network type (which is largely deployed) and IP transport network type (which has been introduced more recently in the standard). ATM infrastructure has been provided since the first UTRAN release, whereas IP infrastructure is provided (to some extent) in UA06.0.

ATM infrastructure relies on a transmission layer that encompasses two subLayers: - The PMD (Physical Medium) subLayer: type of medium: micro wave, copper (including various DSL possibilities) or optical fiber, - The TC (Transmission Convergence) subLayer, which covers - Frame format, - Payload field, - Overhead fields: synchronization, error detection, etc.

Modems or more generally transmission nodes ensure compatibility with the various physical interfaces, e.g. microwave or ADSL.

Two possible transmission formats may co-exist within a telecommunications network: PDH and/or SDH/SONET.

PDH (Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy) is used for copper medium or microwave, whereas SDH/SONET (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy / Synchronous Optical NETwork) is commonly used for optical fiber medium but may also be used for copper medium and microwave.

Several link levels are specified by ITU-T for PDH, in particular E1 (2,048kbit/s). ANSI specifies in particular T1 (1,544 kbit/s).

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SDH/SONET links typically provide higher throughput than PDH links. PDH links may be encapsulated within SDH/SONET containers.

PDH/SDH formats are described in [R1].

IP infrastructure is built on top of Ethernet interfaces at RNCs, Node B and CN nodes. Routers ensure compatibility of the Ethernet interface to other interfaces when needed.

For ATM, the RNC supports SDH STM-1 / SONET OC3 interfaces (155.52 Mbit/s throughput, of which 149.76 usable at ATM level). The Node B supports (depending on the configuration) E1 or T1 interfaces. For IP, the RNC offers Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and the Node B 10/100 Base-T Ethernet interfaces.

3.1

SDH/SONET AND APS

APS (Automatic Protection Switch) is supported in the RNC. It provides a protection mechanism both for the line card and the transmission line between the RNC and its peer. APS maybe used between 2 neighboring RNCs, between the RNC and the Core Network Nodes, or between the RNC and a SDH concentrator on the Iub interface. If a failure is detected on the line interface (based on received signal information and quality), the transmission path is switched from the working line to the protected line. This is done by the reception side, as both paths transmit the same information at the source. Protected line can be configured either on the same line card or on a different one (but preferably on a different line card).

APS can be configured either in unidirectional mode (APS switching only occurs in the Node detecting the failure), or in bidirectional mode (APS switching first occurs in the Node detecting the failure, which then informs the remote side of the failure, which then switches as well).

APS can be configured either in revertive or non-revertive mode. In revertive mode, the system switches back to initial configuration once there is no longer any problem on the path that provoked the switch.

The APS is normally configured in bidirectional/revertive mode.

APS features are described in [R1].


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3.2

ATM

The UTRAN supports ATM infrastructures. ATM is compliant to ITU-T I.361.

ATM is a connection-oriented protocol, using a hierarchical structure of connections: Virtual Path Connections (VPCs) contain Virtual Channel Connections (VCCs). A physical link may carry one or several VPCs.

Both User Network Interface and Network Network Interface (UNI and NNI) are supported.

3.2.1

VP/VC STRUCTURE

Some VCCs must be configured for control and transport. There is not really any constraint for grouping these VCCs in one or several VPCs. However, it is usually easier for the operator to limit the number of connections to handle in the transmission network, and this can be better achieved by configuring a limited number of VPCs, inside which the VCCs remain transparent to a VP transmission backbone. On the Iub interface, the number of user plane VCCs is limited to 16 per Node B. Before UA06.0, 3 transport QoS VCCs were used, usually mapped on VBR-RT, VBR-nRT and UBR ATM Transfer Capabilities (ATC) (see ATM forum or ITU-T recommendation I.371 for definition of ATC), and UTRAN traffic was mapped on these 3 VCC QoS classes: Delay-Sensitive (DS) data, corresponding to conversational traffic on DCH, was mapped on VBR-RT, Non Delay-Sensitive (NDS) traffic, corresponding to Interactive and background traffic on DCH was mapped on VBR-NRT. HSPA traffic (Interactive and background) was mapped on UBR. Streaming traffic could be mapped to either DS or NDS VCCs. Control plane VCCs (up to 8 are possible per Node B) were mapped on VBR-RT, except O&M VCC, mapped on UBR. Implementation relied on strict priority of R99 Delay Sensitive (conversational) traffic over R99 Non Delay Sensitive (interactive or background) traffic over HSPA I/B traffic (i.e. in the RNC and in the ATM VC Cross-connects, UBR VCC data is only sent in the holes left by VBR-NRT VCC data, and VBRNRT VCC data is only sent in the holes left by VBR-RT VCC data).

In UA06.0, an additional QoS is introduced to permit the introduction of guaranteed bit rate traffic flows on HSDPA (see section 7.2). 4 QoS VCCs are then configured for user plane: QoS0 (normally mapped on CBR) for conversational traffic on DCH, applicable for traffic coming from Iu-CS, QoS1 (normally mapped on VBR-RT) for streaming on DCH or HSDPA, applicable for traffic coming from either Iu-CS or Iu-PS,

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QoS2 (normally mapped on VBR-NRT) for interactive/background on DCH, applicable for Iu-PS domain QoS3 (normally mapped on UBR+) for interactive/background on HSDPA, applicable for Iu-PS domain. The introduction of this additional VCC can be done as part of the migration to UA06.0 (creation of a VC internally declared with a null ECR, so as not to change the ECRs of the other VCs, in order to start with the same configuration and services in UA06.0 as in UA05.1).The implementation still relies on strict priority of QoS0 over QoS1, over QoS2 over QoS3. The recommended configurations are described in [R1] and [R2].

If the operator requires a strict compliance to traffic contract, a VPT (Virtual Path Termination) should be configured. Inside a VPT, all VCCs are handled commonly, in terms of traffic management. In particular, they are shaped as a whole, so that it is possible for the VCCs to share the VPT bandwidth, instead of individually requiring own bandwidth. Sharing is more efficient.

VCC Bandwidth can be declared independently for UL and DL, and both directions will be considered by CAC. In particular, if the operator wants to force separation of E-DCH traffic and HSDPA traffic on 2 different VCCs, he/she should configure a null UL BW for the HSDPA VCC and a null DL BW for the E-DCH VCC. The ALCAP, combined NodeBCP + CCP NBAP and UP VCCs will be optionally supported on the same Virtual Path(same VPI). The VCCs may optionally have different VPIs. - the implementation does not apply any restrictions as to what VPI values are provisioned.

In the case where all Iub Link VCCs for a given Iub Link (i.e. combined NodeBCP+CCP, ALCAP, and Userplane VCCs) are provisioned in the same Virtual Path, then this Virtual Path will be terminated on NodeB and the External ATM Switch associated with RNC (as opposed to the RNC INode itself).

Path Shaping in the downlink for the Virtual Path will be done on the RNCs External ATM Switch which will also be used to perform VC Switching, implying that the Virtual Path does not extend as far as the RNC INode, and that the RNC INode only sees the individual VCCs and will therefore be provisioned to simply terminate the individual VCCs (i.e. PVC switching mode).

3.2.2

IMA
GENERAL DESCRIPTION

3.2.2.1

Inverse Multiplexing for ATM (IMA) is an optional intermediate layer between physical layer and ATM layer defined by the ATM forum [A10]. It provides to ATM layer a bit rate, which is (almost) the sum
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of the bandwidths of the physical links building the considered interface. It is used in particular on Iub interface, where the commonly used E1s or T1s individually provide a low bandwidth compared to the rates that are expected on the UMTS radio, in particular with HSPA services. For instance with 3 E1s, instead of providing 3 separate ATM layers at 2 Mbit/s, a single ATM layer at (almost) 6 Mbit/s can be used thanks to IMA, thus allowing for individual connections at up to nearly 6 Mbit/s, and also improving the sharing and thus use of the available bandwidth. IMA provides link redundancy: the operator may configure the interface such that the number of E1/T1 links on the interface is higher than what is really needed, and keep nominal capacity on loss of 1 (or more) E1/T1. Alternatively, if the interface is configured to its target nominal capacity, the loss of 1 E1/T1 will reduce the available bit rate without interrupting the service, contrary to what would happen with separate E1/T1 links, in case the interface control channels are carried on the lost E1/T1. To work efficiently, this feature requires a proper defence mechanism in case of loss of E1/T1, as described in next section. The principle of IMA is to carry ATM cells successively on its various operational links. The IMA Control Protocol (ICP) supervises the state of the links and their synchronization. It is possible that a different delay is experienced by ATM cells depending on the link on which they are carried. IMA is designed to compensate this differential delay up to a certain limit, which allows using links that follow different physical paths. If this maximum difference is exceeded on one link, the link will be removed from service, and if the delay comes back in the supported range, the link will be put back into service. When running over E1/T1 physical links, the IMA interface should compensate for link differential delays of at least 25 milliseconds (requirement 75 of the IMA standard [A10]). However, a lower value can be configured. For the UMTS application, which carries delay-sensitive services, such a high value is not advisable, because it would deteriorate the voice quality. In Alcatel-Lucent infrastructure, the default and recommended maximum differential delay is configured to 2 ms. This value can be increased by the operator if desired. A value of 5 ms is acceptable, but the AMR QoS might be degraded for higher values. IMA is supported by the Node B, but is not terminated in the RNC, as the RNC does not directly support E1 or T1 interfaces. IMA is described in [R2]. Note that IMA is only optional. It is possible to support n E1s without IMA, even for cells supporting HSPA. It is not optimal, but allows installing UTRAN when the transport network does not support IMA. Each E1 can be configured to carry either R99 traffic only (plus control traffic), or HSPA traffic only, or a mix of both. It is also possible to have a mixed configuration of IMA + n E1s, or several IMA groups. For instance, it can be interesting for the operator to use this physical separation to carry R99 and control traffic (with strong timing constraints and high reliability requirements) on a secure medium and carry HSPA traffic (less constraining) on a cheaper medium.

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IMA IMA

Node B

BackBone network (ATM) OC-3/VC3 STM-1/VC4

RNC

IMA

IMA

Node B T1/E1 links with IMA IMA Node B

1 to 8 T1/E1 with IMA

VC11/VC12
IMA

BackBone network (SONET/SDH) OC-3/VC3 STM-1/VC4

RNC

Node B

T1/E1 links without IMA

ATM

BackBone network (ATM)


IMA

ATM

RNC

IMA

Node B

Up to 8 T1/E1 total 1 or several IMA groups

OC-3/VC3 STM-1/VC4

Figure 3-1: Examples of E1/T1 Iub configurations with or without IMA group(s)

3.2.2.2

DEFENCE IN CASE OF IMA LINK FAILURE

As indicated above, the RNC does not terminate the IMA group. According to IMA specification, the loss of one or several E1/T1 links within an IMA group does not lead to the loss of the ATM connections carried on that group (depending however on the configurable parameter defining the
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minimum number of links that need to be working to consider the IMA group as operational). The loss of one or several E1/T1 links however clearly impacts the interface capacity. Thus the RNC needs to react in terms of CAC and congestion control to take into account the really available bandwidth. Otherwise, data are likely to be lost in the equipment terminating the IMA and suddenly facing an excess of incoming traffic from RNC, and the RNC thus needs first to be informed about the failure. No standard mechanism exists for that. There are two different schemes to report IMA link failures, depending on the type of Node B, i.e. the algorithm used with the iBTS and the OneBTS are different. This is detailled in the following subsections.

3.2.2.2.1

IBTS [GLOBAL MARKET]

In UA06.0 and before, the Node B informs the RNC of the loss of one or several E1/T1, by sending F5 AIS/RDI alarms to the RNC on a number of VCs for a capacity equivalent to the capacity lost with the failed E1/T1. The Node B is configured with an ordered list of VCCs that should be failed on loss of E1/T1 link. When receiving the AIS or RDI, the RNC will update the interface capacity (or BP capacity: see section 7.1.2.3) accordingly. This will impact CAC and congestion control (see section 7.1.5.1). Note that in some cases, the E1s that are failed carry cell control information. In that case, the corresponding cells temporarily fail, but the RNC reestablishes these control channels on remaining VCCs. Because of this IMA link failure strategy, there is normally 1 VCC of each QoS (except HSPA) defined on each E1. Before UA06.0, this means one VCC for DS data + one VCC for NDS data per E1. In addition, there is one VCC for HSDPA. In UA06.0, there is normally one VCC for Q0, one VCC for Q1 and one VCC for Q2 per E1, plus one VCC for HSPA for the Iub interface. Other configurations are possible, e.g. with 2 VCCs for HSPA in case separation of HSDPA and E-DCH traffic flows on 2 different VCCs is required.

The IMA defence mechanism must thus be adapted in order to cope with the maximum number of UP VCCs. Refer to [R7] for more details.

3.2.2.2.2

ONEBTS [USA MARKET]

The OneBTS does not support F5 OA&M cells but uses a proprietary ALCAP message instead to inform the RNC about IMA link failures and capacity changes of the Iub link. The advantage of using a proprietary ALCAP message compared to sending F5 AIS/RDI alarms is that there are no restrictions on the number of E1/T1 links and the number of User Plane VCCs. When the OneBTS detects a change in the IMA configuration, e.g. caused by an E1/T1 link failure it sends an ALCAP UBL message (unblock) to the RNC. This message is extended by the Link Characteristics (LC) parameter. The RNC acknowledges the UBL message with an UBC message which does not include the LC parameter, i.e the UBC message is fully standards compliant. The LC parameter is normally not present in the UBL message and thus it is used as an escape to indicate the proprietary application. Without the additional LC parameter UBL and UBC will still work as defined by the ALCAP standard in Q.2630.1.
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The Link Characteristics (LC) parameter used to indicate the newly available bandwidth is composed of several fields. The meaning of these fields is given below: Maximum CPS-SDU Bit Rate in forward direction: UL bandwidth of full IMA group Maximum CPS-SDU Bit Rate in backward direction: DL bandwidth of full IMA group Average CPS-SDU Bit Rate in forward direction: Available UL bandwidth after link failure Average CPS-SDU Bit Rate in backward direction: Available DL bandwidth after link failure Note that reporting bandwidth after all links have been restored the average and maximum rate will be equal and will contain the configured IMA bandwidth. The granularity of the CPS-SDU bit rate in the forward and the backward direction is 1000 bit/s rather than 64 bit/s as is defined for the LC parameter in other messages by Q.2630.2. This yields a supported bandwidth range of 0 to 65,535 kbit/s. The data rate in LC shall be the raw data rate available, i.e. the rate including ATM headers, which is (cell rate * 53 * 8 / 1000), where cell rate is user cell rate, and does not consider IMA cells. The UBL message including the LC parameter is sent on all User Plane VCCs. This allows the RNC to figure out which bandwidth pools are concerned.1 There is hysteresis in sending bandwidth reduction and bandwidth increase messages to protect against message floods in case of instable, toggling links. Also after initialisation the OneBTS sends an UBL message to indicate the actually available bandwidth to the RNC. Upon receiving bandwidth reports VCCs of an IMA group the RNC shall adapt CAC and congestion management using the reported figures. If reducing the data rate of user calls does not yield sufficient spare to get out of Iub congestion the RNC may eventually need to pre-empt calls where the existing pre-emption procedures apply.

3.2.3

FRACTIONAL E1/T1 [GLOBAL MARKET]

At the other end of IMA needs, very small configurations may require to share one E1 for 2 Node Bs. This can be achieved e.g. by using fractional E1/T1, which consists in mapping ATM cells in 2 groups of time slots inside the T1 or E1. The data for each Node B are then separated at PDH level. This is supported in the line card in the Node B, which can realise drop and insert). The RNC does not see the fractional structure (but of course needs to use adapted traffic descriptors, as in any configuration).

Fractional E1/T1 feature is described in [R2].

In the AT&T network there is currently only a single bandwidth pool.


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3.2.4

PNNI

Private Network Network Interface (PNNI) refers to both a topology and a set of protocols and is specified by the ATM-forum. The purpose of PNNI is to simplify configurations and improve reliability and availability of the network. PNNI includes in particular routing protocols, which provide information to the PNNI nodes to let them decide on how and where to send ATM cells. A PNNI network can be either flat or hierarchical: A PNNI flat network is composed of one single routing area. As a consequence, all nodes within the network receive the same routing information, all nodes have the knowledge of the complete network. A PNNI two Layer hierarchy is split in several routing areas. A routing area is called a peer Group. The routing information is flooding only within peerGroups.

Besides the routing protocol, PNNI also specifies signaling protocol, in charge of the setup / maintenance / release of the ATM connections. Specific VCCs are pre-defined by the standard to carry the PNNI routing and signalling protocols.

PNNI features are described in [R1].

3.2.5

CONNECTION TO AN AAL-2 SWITCH

The RNC is often connected by ATM connections to the CN nodes, neighbouring RNCs and Node Bs.

However, on Iu-CS and Iur interfaces, it is also possible to connect the RNC to one or several intermediate AAL-2 switches. For instance, this AAL-2 switch can be part of a MSC or MGW (see section 5.1 for overview of MGW meaning).

This is mostly handled by routing tables inside the RNC and is part of the feature FRS 26614 - RNC implements QAAL2 Address Translation. Redundancy is achieved thanks to FRS 26521 - RNC implements QAAL-2 alternate routing feature on Iu and Iur.

The objective of the Q AAL2 alternate routing feature is to offer: - Protection of Iu/Iur interfaces against transmission network or adjacent AAL-2 switch failure (see Figure 3-2), - Load balancing over AAL-2 routes.

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A remote AAL-2 endpoint node is either a MGW (or MSC) or a neighbor RNC. An AAL-2 endpoint node is identified by one AAL-2 service Endpoint Address (A2EA), i.e. the address used at AAL-2 signalling layer, which is used to control the establishment of AAL-2 bearers.

ALCAP DPC1

MGW1 A2EA1 Example: RAB assignment request sent by the MSC server contains A2EA2 as Transport Layer Address. Due to connectivity loss between RNC and MGW2, RNC sends QAAL-2 ERQ to MGW1 which forwards it to MGW2. This assumes full mesh between MGWs.

AAL-2 RNC ALCAP DPC2

A2EA2 AAL-2 MGW2

Figure 3-2: Q AAL-2 alternate routing

The feature consists in filling the RNC AAL2 Address translation table with at least two routes. Thanks to address prefix, it is possible to use a hierarchical structure of AAL-2 addresses, which for instance allows interworking with other vendors that may allocate AAL-2 addresses indicated by their RNC according to the Node B that is used.

Thanks to this feature, it is possible to support any configuration such as:

Direct connectivity (no AAL2 switches) one ALCAP Point Code (PC) for Iu-CS several ALCAP PCs for Iu-CS one ALCAP PC per Iur several ALCAP PCs per Iur Connection through AAL2 switches one AAL2 switch = one ALCAP PC several AAL2 switches dedicated AAL2 switches per interface AAL2 switches common to several interfaces as well as interface types Peer nodes with one A2EA

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Peer nodes with several A2EAs

This feature is described in [R1]. Addressing is described in more detail in [R5].

3.2.6

VP SHAPING [USA MARKET]


INTRODUCTION

3.2.6.1

Before release UA06 the Iub used shared PVCs for user plane traffic, i. e. all traffic classes use the same transport channel. The advantage of this approach is that there is no bandwidth reservation for certain traffic classes which cant be used by other services, even if it is not required by the corresponding service. The PVCs carrying data as scheduled by the sender, i.e. the RNC in downlink and the Node B in UL direction. When the OneBTS is connected to RNC 9370 there is no longer the shared VCC concept. Instead there are particular VCCs for different services which are: "Conversational" (Conversational Voice & CS Data) "Strm" (R99 & HSPA Streaming) R99 I/B" (R99 Interactive 1,2,3 & Background) "HSPA I/B" (HSPA Interactive 1,2,3 & Background) All VCCs are in the same Virtual Path (VP) and each of them can use the whole bandwidth, depending on its priority. Low priority VCCs get only bandwidth if it is not needed by the high priority ones. The scheme is highly dynamic in offering bandwidth to the services that actually need it. Since it is not required to statically allocate and reserve network resources to certain services it guarantees the efficient utilisation of transmission links. In the downlink the RNC manages traffic by applying the concept of sharing bandwidth between VCs in bandwidth pools. According to priority it transmits data over the Iub VCs of a bandwidth pool as long as there is no congestion. For more information on Bandwidth Pools see the Bandwidth Pools FN [R7] For streaming services, the CAC in RNC reserves for GBR corrected by overbooking factor. If overbooking is too aggressive it may be necessary to discard data. Conversational services are not subject to congestion management, call admission control has to make sure that a link will not be congested even when these services operate at maximum capacity. For more information about congestion control procedures refer to section 7.1.5 of this document. Eventually the ATM switch co-located to the RNC will perform traffic shaping on path level to make the downlink data stream compliant to the QoS parameters of the virtual path (VP) including all VCs of the VP. In the uplink the Node B has to manage priority and congestion. For the OneBTS it was assumed that R99 traffic does not cause congestion. Even if there is congestion caused of this type of traffic the Node B cannot influence the amount of traffic sent by the UEs. Only the RNC could change data rates. This is currently only considered during call admission control where some assumptions of the users behaviour are taken.
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The UL traffic of R99 calls is prioritised into two categories: Non-segmented channel which does not need AAL2 segmentation. This is mainly used for voice services and has the highest priority Segmented channel which is used for all other R99 traffic which needs segmentation on AAL2 level. Further, there is one channel that is used to transmit E-DCH traffic. It uses AAL2 segmentation and has the lowest priority, i.e. the corresponding queue will only be served when there is nothing to transmit for R99 calls. The E-DCH queue is supervised and when its size exceeds certain threshold the E-DCH scheduler is informed. Then the scheduler reduces the transmission opportunities of the UEs until the size of the transmission queue goes below a low water mark. In the UL the OneBTS shapes the traffic stream of each VC individually for releases prior to UA06. Since before this release all user plane traffic used a single shared VC, this VC was designed to use the full bandwidth of the physical link speed minus the bandwidth that is needed for signalling and OA&M traffic. The PVCs for the latter do not need a big share of the link capacity, thus most of the bandwidth is used for use plane traffic. Because the VC is used for all services bandwidth utilisation is dynamic between different service classes with prioritisation as described above. A pace controller is available on the LIU which provides transmission opportunities to each VC. These transmission opportunities depend on the VCs cell rates and burst sizes. The pace controller is implemented by using a number of transmission slots where each slot provides the opportunity to send a certain amount of ATM cells which depends on the link speed and the number of slots. When data arrive for UL transmission the pace controller looks for the next unused transmission opportunity and queues a number of ATM cells for the particular PVC. The number depends on the VCs QoS parameters (PCR, SCR, MBS). If there are more ATM cells to be transmitted the pace controller calculates a gap between time slots used to queue data for the particular VC. This results in a data stream compliant to an ATM traffic contract for each ATM PVC. From the pace controllers view there is only a single priority in serving all ATM PVCs. Prioritisation is done at a higher layer providing the ATM cells in the appropriate sequence to the pace controller. The following diagram illustrates the operation.

Pace Controller Priority

Transmission Slot
1 2 3 4 n-1 n shared PVC 1
micro P1 channel segmentation P2 channel E-DCH channel

AAL2 rtVBR

P3

Itf-B

NBAP

ALCAP

AAL5 nrtVBR

Figure 3-3 Operation of the Pace Controller before UA06

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3.2.6.2

DYNAMIC DISTRIBUTION OF UL TRAFFIC

Keeping the shaping on VC level would result in wasted bandwidth when the actual traffic does not exactly match the given PVC configuration. For example, as illustrated as VC shaping in the Figure 3-4 below, if at a given time VC2 would need more traffic than configured it will not get it because the pace controller limits the traffic to its configured rate, even if there is spare capacity on the link because VC1 needs less bandwidth as configured. Vice versa, at another point of time VC1 may need more bandwidth as configured. Again it cannot be used because the pace controller restricts the bandwidth, although spare bandwidth is available. The bandwidth shown in grey in the figure below refers to unused bandwidth. This behaviour does not apply to UBR PVCs, for such PVCs there is no limitation of transmitted data other than the speed of the physical link.

VC Shaping

VC1 VC1 Physical Link VC2 VC2

unused bandwidth

VC1

VC2

required bandwidth

VP Shaping

VC1 Physical Link

VC1

VC2 VC2

actually used bandwidth is dynamically adapted to required bandwidth

VC1

VC2

Time

t1

t2

Figure 3-4 VC Shaping On the other hand, when using path shaping (or link shaping) each VC can take the required bandwidth when available. If the aggregate bandwidth exceeds the physical bandwidth the VC with higher priority can use it and cells of the VC with lower priority will be dropped. If VCs have the same priority cells from both will be dropped in case of congestion. The Node B shall support link shaping in the uplink, i.e. each PVC shall be able to take bandwidth from others if it is not required there, even if the PVC has lower priority than that one that has spare capacity.
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The term link shaping is used here rather than path shaping because the chosen solution does not just consider VCs in the same path but all VCs sharing the physical link.

3.2.6.3

LINK SHAPING

With the change from the shared PVC concept to use multiple PVCs for the different services VC shaping would limit the traffic sent uplink as defined by the ATM QoS parameters. In particular, the sum of the SCRs of all VCs cannot be greater than the total link bandwidth. Thus the available physical bandwidth needs to be distributed over all VCs. This in turn means if one service needs more bandwidth than the corresponding PVC can carry data cannot be sent even if other PVCs have plenty of spare capacity and the total link rate is below the physical speed. In order to improve link utilisation the uplink shaping behaviour of the OneBTS shall be changed. Only the total traffic on the link including all PVCs shall be limited, the distribution over the individual PVCs shall be flexible and it shall be possible to change dynamically. Changing the pace controllers behaviour to support several priority levels for ATM calls allows to control the aggregate rate of the egress data of all PVCs rather than to control the rate of individual PVCs. This is illustrated in the figure below. If there are several priority levels the pace controller can use transmission opportunities for the highest priority PVCs first, if something is left it can be used for the second highest priority, if there is still free transmission capacity the next priority level will be served and so on. Note that the highest priority level can completely consume all available bandwidth, thus all PVCs except the one with the highest priority can starve when this PVC is allowed to use the whole link transmission rate. Therefore it is advised not to assign the full link speed to high priority PVC to leave some space for low priority traffic. The maximum bandwidth of a PVC can be restricted also when supporting multiple priorities. Similar as for a single priority approach the pace controller will not schedule a PVC that has less bandwidth than the physical speed in subsequent slots. These gaps can then be used for lower priority traffic. On the other hand low priority PVCs may be assigned to use the full bandwidth. Because they only get transmission slots assigned when there is no higher priority traffic they can use the full PVC or link speed only if the bandwidth is not required for higher priority traffic. The transmitted total rate is determined by the frequency the slots are served. This is controlled by a programmable counter that paces the speed of transmitted data. The actually achievable link rates depend on the physical layer (E1/T1, IMA, E3/T3, STM-1/ OC-3). In particular for high speed links it may not be possible to achieve an aggregated rate of all PVCs equal to the physical link speed because of performance limits of the Universal Radio Controller(URC) board which manages the physical links via its Line Interface Unit.

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Transmission Slot
1 2 3 4 n-1 n

AMR PVC
1

micro channel

P1

R99 I/B PVC Priority

segmentation P2 channel

HSPA I/B PVC


2

HSDAT channel

P3

Itf-B

P3

NBAP ALCAP

P1

P1

Total data per slot limited and shared by various priority levels

Figure 3-5 Link Shaping The pace controller in the LIU shall support five priority levels. By default the priorities shall be used as given below, where 1 is the highest and 5 is the lowest priority: Priority 1 2 3 4 5 Service Delay sensitive data (e.g. voice), signalling (NBAP, ALCAP) and Itf-B (UL) Streaming data Non-delay sensitive data (e.g. R99 interactive and background traffic) HSDATA interactive and background traffic Ethernet Passthrough and other low priority traffic

The priority shall be set by the OMC when the PVC is created. Except for the Itf-B PVC the default priorities can be overwritten through OA&M. The priority level of each control plane, user plane and the Ethernet Passthrough PVC shall be configurable through OA&M. The priority of all PVCs except the Itf-B VCC shall be set at creation time. Changing the priority of one or more PVCs needs to delete and recreate the Iub interface object.

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Note:

The priority of the Itf-B is controlled by a tuneable parameter that cannot be changed through OA&M. Changes take only effect after a reboot.

The pace controller shall be able to limit the cell rate of all PVCs except those having service category UBR to values defined by its ATM QoS parameters. Note:

A PVCs traffic characteristics will be shaped by the pace controller according to its ATM QoS parameters (PCR, SCR, MBS) when the required capacity is available on the link. In particular the highest priority PVC will be shaped to these parameters. Lower priority PVCs may only get a smaller share of the links bandwidth if its already consumed by higher priority ones. Thus the ATM QoS parameters define merely the upper limit but do not provide any guarantee that a PVC will really get this amount of capacity.

Limiting the bandwidth of high priority PVCs can be used to leave some transmission opportunities to lower ones, thus avoiding starvation of such channels. However, limiting the BW of any but the highest priority PVC may result in lower than expected bandwidth because if a slot cannot be used, the PVC will be rescheduled as though the slot was available! The service category (CBR, VBRrt, VBRnrt, UBR) of all PVCs except the Itf-B VCC shall be set on the fly, i. e. changes shall take effect only when the Iub interface object is deleted and recreated. The ATM category of the Itf-B is stored as a backplane parameter in the Network Facilities Data (NFD) record. It is non-volatile and cannot be changed through OA&M. Changes made in the backplane need a site visit and take only effect after a reboot.

3.2.6.4

ITF-B LINK

The ATM parameters of the Itf-B VCC are stored in the backplane of the Node B and cannot be modified through OA&M. Since backplane modifications because of this feature shall be avoided the Itf-B shall get a pre-defined priority. Generally data sent uplink to the OMC over the Itf-B link are not very time critical do not have high priority. Also the sizes of the messages are limited. The biggest blocks of data are the upload of performance measurements which are done once every quarter of an hour. The size of these files is in the order of a few kilobytes. Considering this the Itf-B does not necessarily need a high priority. Moreover, call processing in the Node B will continue if the Itf-B link is congested or even broken. Nevertheless it is desirable to have the ability to report alarms also during busy hours in real time. Although failed UL data transmission is repeated and it is unlikely that data cannot be delivered within reasonable time, in particular the performance management application may get confused if PM data files are missing. Thus, it is advised to assign a high priority to the Itf-B link and restrict its bandwidth. The minimum bandwidth that can be assigned to a PVC allows still to transmit performance data in less than 1 sec. Only during this period the Itf-B link will take capacity which is then not available for user data. On the other hand, if there is no UL transmission on the Itf-B the capacity can be used by lower priority PVCs.

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Note:

Alternatively to the transmission of PM data every quarter of an hour, four files may be combined and transmitted once an hour. In this case the file size increases accordingly. A further option would be to compress performance data.

Traffic shaping in the DL direction shall consider that SW Download requires the transmission of a big amount of data. Thus the Itf-B shall be allowed to get more bandwidth in DL direction as in the UL. It shall also get lower priority in order to give user traffic precedence. Preferably, the priority should be less than the PVCs carrying HSDATA interactive and background traffic and higher or equal to the priority of the Ethernet Passthrough PVC. Alternatively these VPCs could use a different path. The final definitions will be done through the link profiles. The priority of the Itf-B VCC shall be stored as a tuneable parameter. The default value shall be the highest priority level.

3.2.6.5

AGGREGATE BANDWIDTH

The aggregate bandwidth of all PVCs is determined by the number of transmission slots and the frequency at which they are served. The aggregate bandwidth can be less than the speed of the physical link. In particular for STM-1/OC-3 links the performance of the URC card is probably not sufficient to send data at physical link speed. Note:

If the aggregate rate is lower than the link speed the individual ATM cells are still sent with link speed but there are idle cells between cells carrying payload.

For E1/T1 links and for IMA groups the aggregate bandwidth shall be identical to the physical link speed. For E3/T3 links and STM-1/OC-3 links the aggregate bandwidth shall be configurable through OA&M via an attribute called aggregatelinkbandwidth which has been added to the E3T3 and STM1OC3 objects of the OneBTS model. The aggregate link bandwidth shall be set on create, i.e. changes shall take effect only when the corresponding physical interface object (E3T3port or STM-1OC-3port) is deleted and recreated. Note:

If there is only a single instance of an STM-1/OC-3 interface it always operates at the physical link speed. 3.2.6.6 UPGRADE AND FALLBACK

If more than 3 IMA groups existed before the upgrade the IMA groups with the highest numerical Identifiers shall be deleted leaving only 3 IMA groups. If the Identifiers of the remaining IMA Groups have values > 3 they shall be converted to match the range 1 3. If a Passthrough VCLTP object existsI, in u05.0x it shall be deleted during the upgrade to UA06, i.e. it will not be migrated to the new release. It shall be created again after the upgrade has been completed.

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Note: The passthrough VCLTP object represents the virtual circuit link termination point for the Ethernet port and contains information such as virtual path and channel identifiers, atm class and max, min, peak, sustained cell rates. During upgrade the ATM parameters of the Itf-B PVC in the backplane shall be changed to the new settings. Note:

The ATM QoS parameters (PCR, SCR, MBS, ATM class) remain unchanged!

During fallback from UA06 to u05.0x the ATM parameters of the Itf-B PVC in the backplane shall be set to the u05.0x values. Note:

The ATM QoS parameters (PCR, SCR, MBS, ATM class) remain unchanged!

3.2.7

ETHERNET PASSTHROUGH OAM VCC

Two possibilities for terminating the Ethernet Passthrough VCC have been examined: Option 1: termination on the RNC9370 INode, with the INodeB Bridging passthrough traffic to a LAN. Option 2: termination on the RNC9370's External ATM Switch (or another ATM Switch elsewhere in the ATM Transport Network), with that ATM Switch perfoming bridging of Ethernet Passthrough traffic to a LAN. Following discussions with RNC9370 architects, it was determinated that the RNC9370 INode cannot support the necessary Bridging needed for Option 1 in UA06.0A. Therefore Option 2 is the only option available.

The Passthrough OAM VCC from a Flexent NodeB must be terminated on an External ATM Switch, where it must be "Bridged" (rather than "IP Routed") onto a LAN port. This is needed to be symmetrical with the LU NodeB end of the Passthrough VCC, which is bridged (rather than IP Routed) onto the Site LAN. Thus only the LU NodeB end of the Ethernet Passthrough VCC shall be provisioned by WPS/W-NMS. Planning/provisioning of the other end of the Ethernet Passthrough VCC has to be manually co-ordinated outside of WPS/W-NMS. Note:. This corresponding to Ethernet Passthrough Option 2

The Ethernet Passthrough OAM VCC shall be outside the Virtual Path used for Iub Link VCCs so that Passthrough OAM traffic does not impact HSDPA traffic (both being 'ubr') i.e. it must have a different VPI to the VPI used for Iub Link VCCs. It could however use the same VPI as that used for the Itf-B VCC (which is also outside the Virtual Path used for Iub link VCCs)

3.3

IP

IP infrastructure is a key UA06.0 feature, mainly because it offers hopes to operators to reduce their transmission costs. It is thus particularly important for the main source of transmission cost, the Iub interface, and especially for the user plane. The Quality of Service aspect maybe considered as a risk by some operators which thus would like to keep, at least initially, the control plane and R99 user plane data plus the HSDPA time-constrained
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user plane data (streaming) on a classical ATM infrastructure, and move the HSPA Interactive/Background user plane data onto an IP infrastructure. Thus, Alcatel-Lucent provides in UA06.0 the hybrid Iub interface (mixed ATM/IP Iub configuration).
Ethernet Link IP Network: several DSCP

Hybrid BTS

E1/T1 Links

RNC
GE Link VR

IPon VLAN/GE
Ethernet Link

STM1 Link

OMC

Hybrid BTS

E1/T1 Links ATM Network: Several ATM VCs

ATM on STM1

IP/ATM

OAM flow on ATM Signaling flow on ATM R99 + Common channels + HSPA Streaming User plane on ATM HSPA Interactive / Background User plane on IP

Figure 3-6: Hybrid Iub logical view It represents a first move towards a more complete UTRAN over IP portfolio foreseen in UA07.

IP features are described in [R3].

3.4

UTRAN SHARING

UTRAN sharing allows the infrastructure to be shared among up to four operators. The objective of the UTRAN sharing feature is to allow the UTRAN network to be shared between up to four UMTS operators (where operators own jointly a UTRAN and each operator being a UMTS licence holder) while complying with their competitive constraints as per national regulations. This mostly deals with Node B and transmission resources (radio resources are dedicated per operator as each operator operates his own frequency), Node B and Iub interface resources can be split between several operators so as to guarantee a minimum amount to each operator. For Iub transmission, this is achieved thanks to the bandwidth pool concept (see section 7.1). Note that each operator has its own Iu interface to the RNC. UTRAN sharing is described in [R6].

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4 IUB SPECIFIC ASPECTS


4.1 SYNCHRONIZATION ASPECTS INTRODUCTION

4.1.1

Synchronization procedures are described in TS 25.402 ([A4]), and cover many different aspects:

Node synchronization is defined in 3GPP TS25.402, and is the function to measure the transmission delay between CRNC and its Node Bs, and to estimate the phase difference between RFN and BFN of these nodes. This procedure is currently not used. It could be used prior to the radio link setup procedure, but the standard allows alternatives.

Connection Frame Number timing determination is done in the RNC. It is used for R99 channels, to indicate when data for each user are to be sent over the air interface.

[GLOBAL MARKET - Network synchronization covers the means used inside the network to forward frequency information, in particular down to Node B. When using ATM infrastructure above E1/T1, the Node B clock maybe either synchronized on (one of) the incoming E1 or T1, or may be used in free run. In the latter case, the clock needs to be periodically tuned. The Node B clock accuracy must be compatible with the constraints of the air interface, which requires a transmission with a precision on the frequency of 5 10-8.]

Transport Channel Synchronization procedure is used between SRNC and Node B, along a DCH, to achieve or restore the synchronization of the DCH (or set of co-ordinated DCHs) data stream in DL direction. The problem consists in guarantying that each frame sent from SRNC to the Node B arrives prior to the time the Node B has to send it over the radio, and each frame sent from Node B to SRNC arrives in RNC in time to be sent to CN. The procedure is used when a new radio link is set up. In addition, timing adjustment may occur during the call, if data sent by RNC arrives too late/too early in Node B compared to the time when it is indicated to be sent by Node B on the air interface. (In some cases, timing alignment on Iu interface may occur for e.g. AMR, in order to adapt the reception of (e.g.) speech packets in the RNC to the time they need to be sent to the concerned Node Bs, in order to minimize the CN to UE transfer delay, in a way compatible with the inherent jitter on the Iu interface). This section details the transport channel synchronization and timing adjustment procedures, because they are key to understand the transport design constraints.

ITU-T recommendation G.107 presents the so-called E-model, a computational model for use in transmission planning, where the speech quality is rated by a factor denoted R:

R = Ro Is Id Ie-eff + A
where R0 is the basic signal to noise ratio, Is represents the impairments to the voice signal (e.g. quantizing distortion brought by the speech coder), Id represents the impairments brought by delay
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aspects (subdivided in impairments brought by talker echo, by listener echo and brought by absolute delay), Ie-eff represents impairments due to low rate codecs and packet loss, and A represents compensation of impairments. Speech quality thus clearly appears as a trade off between various aspects including complexity (speech coder/decoder complexity, echo cancellation techniques, ), used bandwidth, and transmission delay.

The End-to-End delay requirements for speech are quite tight. The user perception of the QoS for a speech call directly depends on that delay. ITU-T recommendation G.114 shows the user perception of the speech quality versus mouth to ear delay, in otherwise perfect conditions.
100 Users very satisfied 90 Users satisfied

E-model rating R

80 Some users dissatisfied 70 Many users dissatisfied 60 Nearly all users dissatisfied 50 0 100 200 300 400 Mouth-to-ear-delay/ms 500
G.114_F01

Figure 4-1: (Figure 1 of ITU-T G.114): Determination of the effects of absolute delay by the Emodel 3GPP TS 22.105 ([A1]) presents objectives for one-way speech end-to-end delay in a UMTS mobile network. It also presents requirements for other services, distinguishing between the 4 defined UMTS traffic classes: Conversational services (among them speech) are characterized (in particular) by a guaranteed bit rate and a guaranteed and short transfer delay Streaming services (for instance audio streaming) are characterized by a guaranteed bit rate and a guaranteed transfer delay. The transfer delay is normally larger than for conversational services. Interactive services (e.g. web browsing) do not request any guaranteed bit rate or guaranteed transfer delay, but expect a relatively quick response time. Their expectations are reflected in the Traffic Handling Priority that further refines their expected network responsivity. Background services (e.g. mail transfer) do not request any guaranteed bit rate or guaranteed transfer delay and are tolerant to large transfer delays. Their only constraint is for error ratio.

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The following table is a concatenation of excerpts of tables from 3GPP TS 22.105.

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Medium Application Degree of symmetry End-to-end Oneway Delay Data rate Key performance parameters and target values Delay Variation within a call Audio Conversational voice Two-way 4-25 kb/s <150 msec preferred <400 msec limit Note 1 Video [conversational] Videophone Two-way 32-384 kb/s < 150 msec preferred <400 msec limit Lip-synch : < 100 msec [no value, we can probably assume 1 msec] < 1% FER < 1 msec < 3% FER Information loss

Note 1: The overall one way delay in the mobile network (from UE to PLMN border) is approximately 100msec. One-way Delay Audio Voice messaging Primarily one-way 4-13 kb/s < 1 sec for playback < 2 sec for record Delay Variation < 1 msec Information loss < 3% FER

Data

[interactive] Web-browsing - HTML

Primarily oneway

< 4 sec /page

N.A

Zero

Start-up Delay

Transport delay Variation

Packet loss at session layer

Audio

[streaming] Speech, mixed speech and music, medium and high quality music

Primarily oneway

5-128 kb/s

< 10 sec

< 2sec

< 1% Packet loss ratio

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Video Movie clips, surveillance, real-time video Primarily oneway 20-384 kb/s < 10 sec <2 sec < 2% Packet loss ratio

Table 1: (concatenated excerpts from tables in 3GPP TS.22.105 - text between [ and ] has been added): End-user Performance Expectations It should be stressed that these requirements pertain to End-to-End performance. In particular the < 1 ms requirement on delay variation within an audio conversational or interactive call should not be interpreted as meaning e.g. that Iub interface jitter requirement is to achieve a delay variation within an audio call less than 1 ms. Indeed, the UE also participates in this, and can thus accommodate for some buffering time, smoothing out the Iub jitter. This is particularly true in the case of the interactive service. End-user expectations can be split inside the end-to-end chain. The UTRAN requirements are described in 3GPP TS 23.107 ([A2]). This leaves a very large range of values for target delays within UTRAN, as shown in the following table:
Traffic class Conversational class Maximum bitrate (kbps) Residual BER SDU error ratio Transfer delay (ms) Guaranteed bit rate (kbps) Traffic handling priority 1,2,3 <= 16 000 (2) 5*10 , 10 , 5*10 , -3 -4 -5 -6 10 , 10 , 10 , 10 -2 -3 -3 -4 10 , 7*10 , 10 , 10 , -5 10 100 maximum value <= 16 000 (2)
-2 -2 -3

Streaming class

Interactive class

Background class

<= 16 000 (2) 5*10 , 10 , 5*10 , -3 -4 -5 -6 10 , 10 , 10 , 10 -1 -2 -3 -3 10 , 10 , 7*10 , 10 , -4 -5 10 , 10 300 (8) maximum value <= 16 000 (2)
-2 -2 -3

<= 16 000 - overhead (2) (3) -3 -5 -8 4*10 , 10 , 6*10 (7) 10 , 10 , 10


-3 -4 -6

<= 16 000 - overhead (2) (3) -3 -5 -8 4*10 , 10 , 6*10 (7) 10 , 10 , 10


-3 -4 -6

2) The granularity of the bit rate attributes shall be studied. Although the UMTS network has capability to support a large number of different bitrate values, the number of possible values shall be limited not to unnecessarily increase the complexity of for example terminals, charging and interworking functions. Exact list of supported values shall be defined together with S1, N1, N3 and R2. 3) Impact from layer 2 protocols on maximum bitrate in non-transparent RLC protocol mode shall be estimated. 7) Values are derived from CRC lengths of 8, 16 and 24 bits on layer 1. 8) If the UE requests a transfer delay value lower than the minimum value, this shall not cause the network (SGSN and GGSN) to reject the request from the UE. The network may negotiate the value for the transfer delay. Table 2: excerpt from table 4 in TS 23.107: Value ranges for UMTS Bearer Service Attributes A more practical and detailed representation has been attempted in 3GPP TR 25.853 ([A8]), but this TR is not constraining (as it is not a TS) and was not maintained: latest version is 4.0.0). The aim is to derive an allowed transmission time on Iur+Iub interface. Although this TR does not impose any value to be achieved for the transmission infrastructure, it clearly shows and explains the various

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sources of delays, and how transmission times between SRNC and Node B may vary according to the nature of the interface (e.g. terrestrial or satellite), the topology of the connection (e.g. whether a DRNC has to be used, whether the connection has to cross many ATM or AAL-2 switches, etc.). It is also shown there, and the constrain is also explained in TS 25.402 ([A4]), how the UTRAN and in particular the SRNC needs to cope with these varying transmission times, in order to achieve simultaneous transmission on the air interface of data from all Node Bs involved in Soft Handover. As shown from the above references, it is impossible to give a unique transmission delay value even assuming a given target QoS, as it depends on many parameters (such as, for speech as an example, speech coding rate, and target QoS. A small increase of delay on Iur/Iub results in a small decrease in speech quality, but may still be compatible with the objective). In any case, in order to meet the QoS requirements, the transport channel synchronization procedure should aim at keeping a low delay, at avoiding frame loss, at supporting some difference in delay between different Iub links in macro-diversity (possibly including an Iur portion) and at allowing some transport jitter. Typically, the UTRAN is designed to support maximum differences in delay between Iub links up to 50 ms, by default, but automatically adjusts to smaller delays, thanks to a low initial target, as further detailed below, starting with Downlink.

4.1.2

SYNCHRONIZATION OF DL DATA
RNC Anticipation DL Data Frame with TB set: DL Data Frame [CFN =152] 1. Transmission by RNC of the FP frame 139 140 141 142 143 144 TOAWS 145 146 147 148 149 RNCWS 4. Transmission over the air by NodeB of the FP frame 150 151 152

SRNC TooEarly Early

Iub Delay (NodeB, NetLoad...) OK Late Toolate

LARGE
Node B 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146

SMALL
147 148 149 150 151 152

Early Margin (Nortel)

2. Reception in NodeB of the FP frame RxW size : TOAWS NodeB Buffer Capacity

RxW position : TOAWE

Time of processing in the NodeB

LTOA

TOAWS

RNCWS

TOA=0

Buffer

3. Buffering in NodeB of the FP frame

Figure 4-2: Illustration of key transport channel synchronization parameters When sending data to the Node B, the RNC indicates the target Connection Frame Number, which is the DCH radio frame number for the UE. This information is necessary to make sure that in case of macro-diversity, the UE receives the same data from all Node Bs of the active set at the same time. When receiving data from RNC, the Node B needs some minimum processing time before being able to send it to the UE. Subtracting this processing time from CFN data transmit time, leads to Latest
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Time Of Arrival (LTOA) of the data in Node B (shown at CFN150 in the figure, for a target CFN equal to 152 in this example). Some constant margin is then subtracted from LTOA, to lead to Time of Arrival Window End (TOAWE), shown in CFN148 in the figure: this margin is kept to cope with jitter in the transmission network. If data arrives later than TOAWE, the Node B will react by telling the RNC to perform timing adjustment, i.e. to send data earlier. The Node B indicates in the TIMING ADJUSTMENT message the actual Time Of Arrival (TOA) of the data, compared to TOAWE. Note that TOA is used as the 0 time reference and times towards the future are considered negative. The data are expected by the Node B any time between TOAWE and Time of Arrival Window Start (TOAWS): if the data arrives within that window, data is buffered in the Node B, processed and sent. If data arrives too early (i.e. before TOAWS), the Node B sends a TIMING ADJUSTMENT message to the RNC, indicating TOA, with a positive value. TOA is still (as in the case of late arrival) the time difference with TOAWE. Data arriving between TOAWS and LTOA are sent to the UE, data arriving after LTOA are lost, and data arriving before TOAWS may be lost (they may exceed Node B buffering capacity, even though an early arrival margin exists, as represented in the figure). In the Alcatel-Lucent implementation, an additional parameter is introduced, called RNCWS (for RNC Window Start). It is a typically a much smaller value than TOAWS, and is the estimated initial window size aimed at compensating the jitter in the network. More precisely, the RNC targets an arrival time in the Node B RNCWS before TOAWE. When a radio link is set up, the RNC sends a message DL SYNCHRONIZATION, including the target CFN. In the reply (UL SYNCHRONIZATION), the Node B indicates TOA, which allows the RNC to adjust to the clock difference and transmission delay for this initial DL SYNCHRONIZATION message. Assuming this initial transmission delay is kept constant, the RNC will send the data in such a way that it arrives RNCWS before TOAWE. As explained before, if the transmission delay increases by more than RNCWS, the Node B will react by a TIMING ADJUSTMENT message, and the RNC will adjust to a new target accordingly. Note that TOAWS is significantly larger than RNCWS, in order to cope with different transmission delays in case of macro-diversity. The RNC keeps only one target, and adjusts (as long as it is possible) to the longest needed transmission delay in the active set, keeping a single transmission time, common to all Node Bs. It is up to the Node B(s) to buffer data arriving early. The maximum UTRAN delay difference the UTRAN can cope with is thus TOAWS - RNCWS (if the target has not been modified by previous Timing adjustment). If this difference is exceeded, the UTRAN adjusts to the fastest Node B and only the Node Bs within the window can then contribute to the SHO. As the RNC keeps a single (adjustable) transmission time whatever the difference in transmission delays to all Node Bs involved in macro-diversity, the buffering requirement in Node B is increased as compared to an implementation where RNC would adapt transmission time for each Node B, according to each specific Iub transmission delay, because the Node B receive window has to cater for absolute delay between Iub legs as well as drift & jitter. It however significantly simplifies handling in RNC, and is equivalent in terms of end-to-end delay.

RNCWS being a small value, it is well suited for services with low jitter such as speech. For services subject to higher jitter, in particular I/B services on DCH, if the network load is low at the time of the initial transport channel synchronization, the RNC will be a little optimistic when sending the data: data might arrive late. In some unlucky cases, this may lead to a frame loss at the Node B (data arriving after LTOA), however, as explained above, the RNC will quickly adjust to the actually
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(maximum) experienced transmission delay, so the impact is minimal. Using a small value for RNCWS allows minimizing transfer delay, which is better for performance.

Default value for TOAWS is 50 ms. LTOA allows by default 5 ms margin after TOAWE, and RNCWS default value is 3 ms. (This is only indicative and subject to change).

Note that in case of HSDSCH, there is not such a strong timing requirement as in DCH, leading to the risk that late data is discarded. However, round trip time is important in HSDSCH, especially for UE categories allowing high bit rates, because the RLC window might get blocked if the time to receive the RLC acknwowledgements from UE is too long, which will then reduce the data rate.

4.1.3

SYNCHRONIZATION OF UL DATA

Network delay jitter exists in UL as in DL. Macro-diversity induced by Soft Handover (SHO) implies that DCH FP data arrive at multiple time occurrences in the RNC, since delay differences exist between Iub links. The mechanism applied in UL is similar to that applied in DL, in the sense that parameters ULRNCWS, ULLTOA, ULTOAWE and ULTOAWS are used, similar respectively to RNCWS, LTOA, TOAWE and TOAWS in DL. ULRNCWS is used to determine the initial target reception time of UL frames. ULLTOA represents the latest time of arrival for Node B data to be usable by RNC for transmission towards MAC-d layer. ULTOAWE and ULTOAWS represent both limits for normal reception window of data from all Node Bs. ULTOAWS ULRNCWS supports the UL delay difference between Iub links. The difference with DL is that there is no message towards Node Bs for timing adjustment. The adjustment is performed locally, internally to the RNC.

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TooEarly trigger ULTAD Early trigger ULTAD

NodeB UL Tx Time

DL Data Frame with TB set: DL Data Frame 1. Transmission by [CFN =150] NodeB of the FP frame

ulDhoTimer is suppressed and the max delay supported due to the infrastructure is ULTOAWS-ULRNCWS like for DL

Late trigger ULTAD

Toolate trigger ULTAD

UL Iub Delay (NodeB, NetLoad...) UL Iub Delay (NodeB, NetLoad)


Node B TooEarly Early OK ULTOAWS ULRNCWS for NodeB & UL Jitters

ULTOA Late ULTOAWE Toolate

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

2. Reception in RNC of the FP frame Early Margin SRNC RNC RxW size = ULTOAWS RNC Buffer Capacity

ULTproc=0ms for RNC RxW position : ULTOAWE

ULLTOA

4. CFN=150 Transport Block from DHO to MACd

PossibleTarget ULTOAWS
3. Buffering in RNC of the FP frame

ULTOA=0
RNCBuffer

Figure 4-3: Illustration of key UL synchronization parameters When receiving the very first UL data frame, the RNC creates a periodic ULTTI timer, and transmits the data to MAC-d after waiting ULRNCWS plus ULTOAWE. In other words, LTOA position is determined initially according to the arrival of the first UL data frame. When receiving later UL data frames, the RNC normally keeps the same time reference, based on the ULTTI timer. This means data are sent by DHO to MAC-d according to the ULTTI timer period. However, the RNC may perform local timing adjustment to move the UL target time, based on jitter. If needed, a shift occurs for transmission to MAC-d. Default values in UL are the same as in DL for the corresponding parameters.

4.2

HYBRID CONFIGURATION, TNL MIXITY [GLOBAL MARKET]

In the hybrid configuration, control plane, R99 user plane and OAM are carried over ATM and HSPA user data are carried over IP (to the potential exception of HSDPA streaming service). This configuration is described in [R3]. Resiliency can be provided. This means that in case of IP link failure, some HSPA traffic can be established over the ATM infrastructure (in the limit allowed by CAC). When the IP link operation is resumed, there may be for some duration coexistence of HSPA traffic over ATM and over IP. Both infrastructures are likely to provide different transmission delays. As congestion detection can be based on transmission delay build up detection, the algorithms need to take into account this possible coexistence. Refer to section 7.1.5.2 for more details.

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5 IU-CS/PS SPECIFIC ASPECTS


5.1 NGN ARCHITECTURE

The MSC can either be made of a single functional entity or be split in MSC server, (also known as Media Gateway Controler: MGC) + one or several Media GateWays (MGW). When the MSC is split, the MGW is in charge of the user plane and handles ALCAP, whereas the MGC terminates RANAP and coordinates accordingly with the MGW for the user plane connection setup. The split of data between MGW and MGC can be done at ATM level (a set of VCCs for ALCAP + a set of VCCs for User Plane between RNC and MGW, and a set of VCCs for RANAP between RNC and MGC). It can also be done at SS7 level: ALCAP and RANAP are carried over a single set of VCCs, and the separation between both data flows is performed at SS7 level in an intermediate Signalling Transfer Point (STP). This STP is usually part of the MGW function. (This MGW may also be used as ATM switch for e.g. Iu-PS traffic, and/or AAL-2 switch for e.g. Iur traffic: see section 3.2.5).

Seen from the RNC, the split of the MSC architecture is reflected in routing tables, and in ATM architecture.

The RNC supports both combined and split MSC architectures, as described in [R1]. Addressing and routing is described in [R5]. From UA06.0 the Iu-ps interface can be configured to support either the ITU or ANSI variations of the SS7 stack. As in non-NGN architecture, the Iu-CS interface may evolve towards IP and associated stacks in further releases.

Iu-CS-RANAP RNC Iub Node B

MGC MGW1

Iu-CS-ALCAPk+Iu-CS UPk MGWn Iu-PS SGSN

MSC split in MGC (RANAP handling) + n MGWs (ALCAP + User Plane handling)

Figure 5-1: NGN logical architecture

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5.2

IU-FLEX

The RNC is traditionally connected to a single CN-CS node (MSC) and a single CN-PS node (SGSN). Since UA05.0, it is also possible to connect the RNC to multiple CN nodes, thanks to Iu-flex feature. This feature allows the RNC to be connected to multiple CN nodes, in order to allow load balancing, redundancy, etc. as specified in TS 23.236 ([A3]).

Previously, a RNC could connect to only one core network node within each core network domain i.e. one MSC and one SGSN. This hierarchical network topology leads to some limitations for instance in case of core network failure, the geographical coverage of several RNCs will be lost.

This feature allows the connection of a RNC to several core network nodes (for a given operator) within each core network domain. This new network structure gives more flexibility to the network and increases its performance as well as capacity and scalability. Figure 5-2 shows the network topology for UMTS networks without Iu-flex. Figure 5-3 shows the network structure allowed by this feature.

Iu-CS RNC Iub Node B Iu-PS

MSC

SGSN

Figure 5-2: UMTS network topology without Iu-flex

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MSC pool

Iu-CS Iub Node B Iu-PS RNC

SGSN pool
Figure 5-3: UMTS network topology with Iu-flex The various core network nodes are grouped in pools and inside a same pool area a mobile will always be attached to the same core network node. An RNC could be connected to several pool areas for a same domain.

Note that the figures above show separate pools for SGSNs and MSCs as each domain is independent of the other but this doesnt preclude core implementations where the SGSN and the MSC would be seen by the UTRAN as one and the same node. Though theres not much likelihood to encounter such a configuration, nothing in the Iu-Flex feature implementation should prevent it.

It is the responsibility of the RAN to find the core network node where the UE is attached or to choose a core network node for the UE in case of first attachment or of a mobile entering the pool area. A mobile will always be served by the CN node it has been attached to.

The details of this feature are described in [R4].

6 IUR SPECIFIC ASPECTS


Iur has similarities both with Iub interface and Iu interface: on the one hand, it has to convey information between SRNC and DRNC so that the DRNC can transfer it to its Node Bs, and the Iur and Iub control Radio Network Layer control protocols (RNSAP and NBAP) thus include parts that are

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very similar, e.g. for Radio Link Setup. The frame protocols on Iub and Iur have to support similar functionalities and are thus almost identical (3GPP technical specifications for Data Transport and Transport Signalling for DCH Data Streams (TS 25.426 [A6]) and User Plane Protocols for DCH Data Streams (TS 25.427 - [A7]) are common for Iub and Iur interfaces). On the other hand, the Iur interface does not belong to the last mile portion of the transmission network and thus does not have the same lightness constraints. This reflects in differences in the protocol architecture, for instance RNSAP is carried over an NNI interface (as Iu interface) instead of a UNI for Iub. Its protocol stack is built on MTP3-B as Iu interface, instead of a lighter SSCF-UNI in case of Iub. At physical layer, the Iur interface is often carried on the same link as the Iu interface (at the RNC egress), before entering the transmission backbone. In summary though Iur is using the same signalling bearer as Iu, its control plane signalling (RNSAP) and user plane are very similar to Iub. On the Iur the RNC can have either serving or drift role (on a per call basis and depending under which RNC coverage the call originated). While in serving role the RNC is free to choose the control of its resources, in drift role the RNC has to follow the SRNC requests. Thus the Iur 3GPP specifications always address only drift RNC behaviour. The drift RNC could be compared to a "big Node B. From UA06.0 onwards each Iur interface to a neighbouring RNC can be configured to use either the ANSI standard SS7 stack or the ITU Standard SS7 Stack.

7 FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
7.1 FRAMEWORK PRINCIPLE

7.1.1

Most transmission features, in particular dealing with Quality of Service, are organized around the concept of bandwidth pool. A bandwidth pool is a logical grouping of a number of Iub VCCs (or IP paths, i.e. for the RNC a couple Destination IP address / DSCP range), in terms of Connection Admission Control (see section 7.1.3) and Congestion control (see section 7.1.5.1). It is a method to split the interface bandwidth. For instance, a bandwidth pool (BP) can be defined corresponding to all VCCs part of an IMA group at the Node B interface: the bandwidth pool capacity will then be defined equal to the IMA group capacity and the RNC will then accept calls on this bandwidth pool, according to the IMA group capacity. The RNC will also monitor the DL traffic according to the IMA group capacity. As the RNC does not terminate the IMA group, the RNC cannot directly control it. Another use of bandwidth pool applies for the case of multi-E1/T1 non-IMA configuration: each E1 or T1 corresponds to a banwidth pool. The concept can also be used for UTRAN sharing: the terrestrial capacity can e.g. be split among 2 operators with 3 BPs: one dedicated to operator A, one dedicated to operator B, and one shared between both operators. The calls will be setup in priority on the dedicated bandwidth pool. When there is no space left on the dedicated bandwidth pool, calls will be setup on the shared banwidth
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pool. If the shared BP is not defined, the operators might lose calls because of terrestrial interface congestion, whereas the physical capacity of the interface is not totally used. If no dedicated BP is defined, it may happen that one operator takes over all physical capacity and thus does not allow the other operator to setup any call. The respective capacities of the BPs are thus defined as a compromise between the overall efficiency objectives and the guaranty that each operator aims to achieve. A bandwidth pool can be defined for ATM VCCs and also for IP paths: a BP cannot group ATM VCCs and IP Paths. In the case of ATM, the bandwidth pool concept is similar to that of a VP (a number of VCs to be handled in common in terms of CAC and congestion control), without the ownership relation (a VC is defined by a VPI + VCI, i.e. the VC belongs to a VP). It is thus more flexible, and it is extendable to IP world.

7.1.2

BANDWIDTH POOL CAPACITY


ATM CASE

7.1.2.1

The bandwidth pool capacity is defined as the bandwidth value, up to which the CAC can accept calls. In case of a single BP on the interface, the BP capacity is equal to the ATM capacity offered by the interface at its bottleneck (usually the Node B side of the Iub interface), minus the capacity reserved for control (e.g. 5% of the interface). By construction of the VCC traffic contracts, it is also made equal to the sum of ECRs of the VCCs part of the BP, where ECR = 2 x (PCR x SCR) / (PCR + SCR) (ECR: Equivalent Cell Rate, PCR: Peak Cell Rate, SCR: Sustainable Cell Rate). For multiple BPs, each BP can have an arbitrary capacity, as long as the sum of the capacities of all BW Pools in the interface is equal to physical interface capacity minus the reservation for control traffic: there is by definition no sharing of BW among BPs. For each BP, it is also made equal to the sum of ECRs of the VCCs part of that BP (same as above).

7.1.2.2

IP CASE

As in ATM case, the interface bandwidth capacity can be split among several Bandwidth Pools. An IP path represents the bandwidth reserved in the IP backbone for a destination IP address and a range of DSCP (AF4x for example). Based on Router configuration capabilities, a CR (Committed Rate) and a PR (Peak Rate) are defined for each IP Path part of the Bandwidth Pool. Then an Equivalent Rate (ER) can be defined as ER = 2 x (CR x PR) / (CR + PR). The PR and CR must be chosen such that the bandwidth pool capacity equals the sum of the ERs of the IP Paths building that BW Pool.

7.1.2.3

BP CAPACITY CHANGE

The operator may reconfigure the BP capacity as a reaction to an alarm received from the UL or DL congestion detection mechanism provided by TR 25.902 ([A9]) (see section 7.1.5.2).
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In the ATM case, the BP capacity automatically changes in response to a change of VCC status (e.g. consecutive to a link failure within an IMA group: ATM VCC maintenance flow (F5) messages from Node B informs the RNC that some VCCs are no longer usable, as described in section 3.2.2.2). For the IP part of the hybrid Iub case, the IP connectivity is periodically checked thanks to a proprietary heartbeat mechanism. When loss of IP connectivity is detected, the whole IP Bandwidth Pool is lost at once, whereas the loss can be partial in ATM (loss of a single E1 for instance). As mentioned in section 4.2, when IP connectivity is lost, connections on the corresponding BP are lost, but new calls can still be setup if the operator has configured the possibility of resiliency (feature 34125 - existence of an ATM VCC within a shared BP, on which HSPA I/B traffic is mapped). This is further detailed in [R3] and [R7].

7.1.3

CAC

CAC described here only addresses transport aspects. Radio CAC is described in [R9].

7.1.3.1

AAL2 AND IP CAC

AAL2 CAC is applicable to all AAL2-based interfaces of a UTRAN. When an AAL2 interface is replaced by an IP-based interface, IP CAC is applied instead. IP CAC is functionally equivalent to AAL2 CAC. The aim of the AAL2 CAC function is to prevent admission of AAL2 connections in excess of the available transport bandwidth while at the same time ensuring a most optimized use of this bandwidth. The aim of the IP CAC function is similarly to prevent admission of new calls or radio links, in excess of the available transport bandwidth, while at the same time ensuring a most optimized use of this bandwidth. For each end-user service (more precisely for each TC/THP/RbSetQos, and in addition in the case of DCH, for each configured Max Bit Rate), the RNC is provisioned with an AAL2 max bit rate (also denoted MBR) as well as an EBR: equivalent bit rate. For streaming service on HSDPA, EBR indicated to transport includes RLC/MAC-HS overhead, and is derived from the GBR given on Iu interface as follows:

MachsGbr = RanapGbr

RlcHeaderSize +MacdHeaderSize + RlcPduSize RlcPduSize IuxFpHeaderSize + NbMinRlcPdu * ( MacdHeaderSize +MacdPduSize) IuxFpGbr = MacHsGbr * NbMinRlcPdu * ( MacdHeaderSize +MacdPduSize)
EBR = IuxFpGbr * HsdpaTransportEbrCorrectiveFactor

The corrective factor above gives the flexibility to the operator to take some risk on GBR, betting that not all users will be active at the same time, and that some overbooking is thus possible. Using a value of 1 means that no overbooking is applied. The EBR of a new connection is added to the sum of the EBRs of already established connections, if it doesnt exceed the provisioned bandwidth, the connection is accepted and the CAC is declared successful. If it is not possible to accept the new connection in any BP, the CAC is failed. Note that
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for the sake of IP and AAL2 CAC compatibility, the EBR handled by the operator does not include the transport overhead, which can be different in AAL2 and IP. Transport takes care of correcting the provisioned EBR by the transport overhead, either for AAL2 or IP. To prevent early call blocking, if the AAL2 or IP CAC function is activated on both sides of an interface, both the algorithms and their provisioned parameters need to be reasonably close. In a pure Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN configuration, the AAL2 CAC function may be only activated on the RNC (the MGW relies on load balancing performed by the RNC, and blocks the paths when its resources limits are reached). An AAL2 CAC may also be performed on other nodes, hence creating the need for more flexibility of the RNC AAL2 CAC function to facilitate inter-working: finer granularity of the algorithm, provisioning of the parameters on a per external interface basis. 3 CAC methods are defined in the ALU RNC, the 2 first of them differ by the threshold used to check whether or not the new connection request can be accepted based on its EBR: Interface method: the BP capacity, (or the whole interface capacity if no BP is configured) is considered as the threshold to accept new calls on that BP. It is denoted aal2If for AAL2 case and Ipif CAC for IP case. Path method: each path capacity is considered as the threshold to accept new calls on that path (this method is not recommended on Iub interface). QoS bandwidth reservation method: for each QoS, a portion of the interface or BP bandwidth can be reserved for that QoS. A new call can be accepted as long as it does not consume the bandwidth part that is reserved for other QoS. Note that this is estimated from the CAC perspective, i.e. a static perspective based on EBR. It does not prevent per se that part of the bandwidth reserved for a QoS is in fact stolen by calls of other QoSs, due to mismatch between EBR and actual use of the bandwidth by the calls. It may also happen for the same reason that calls are rejected due to the CAC decision because of apparent potential QoS bandwidth reservation violation, although the actual traffic is below the limit. This is inherent to the static perspective of CAC, which thus needs to be complemented by a congestion control algorithm, to cope with situations where sum(EBR) is at least temporarily underestimated compared to actual traffic.

7.1.3.2

CAC ON IUB INTERFACE

On the Iub interface, CAC is performed either on the basis of the whole interface (if the interface is not split in BPs: calls are accepted if the interface as a whole can accept them), or on a per BP basis otherwise (a new call is accepted if at least one suitable BP can accommodate it). QoS bandwidth reservation method can be used on the Iub interface.

The Bandwidth Pool CAC is in charge of accepting or refusing new connection establishments within a BP. In case the connection is refused, a fall-back BP may be tried if it has been configured and is suitable. Bandwidth pools are classified into two categories: Primary Bandwidth Pool are selected as a first choice by CAC, when of course they are suitable for the requested service, which is determined thanks to the TransportMap table. The BP is suitable when an entry matching (TC, THP, ARP and RbSetQoS) exists in the TransportMap.

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Shared Bandwidth Pool are fall back choices if the Primary BP was not suitable or was considered as saturated. When receiving a call setup request, the CAC in transport checks the QoS value represented by (TC, THP, ARP, RbSetQoS), selects all suitable BPs (suitable means that a corresponding entry exists in their TransportMap table), and sorts them by preference (first Primary, then Shared) and then by decreasing available bandwidth. From UA06.0 on, asymmetric bandwidth is supported. Therefore both UL and DL requested bandwidths need to be considered. The more demanding direction is used as the sorting key: when DL EBR >= UL EBR, BPs are sorted by decreasing DL BW, and when DL EBR < UL EBR, BPs are sorted by decreasing UL BW. The configuration of bandwidth pools should match physical/logical Iub interface e.g.: for n*E1+IMA deployment, there are: o n shared (preference = sharedForAllTrafficTypes) bandwidth pools that handle all traffic types (corresponding to the n E1s) o one Primary (preference = primaryForTrafficType) BP that handles HSPA I/B traffic (only selected set of (TC,THP,ARP,RbSetQos) (corresponding to the IMA group).

7.1.3.3

CAC ON IUR/IU-CS INTERFACES

No bandwith pool is used on the Iur or Iu interfaces. Path or interface method can be used, as well as QoS bandwidth reservation method. Note that different values of EBR can be defined on each interface Iub, Iur and Iu-CS. Transport maps need to be defined on Iur and Iu-CS interfaces for the selection of the most suitable AAL2 path.

7.1.3.4

CAC ON IU-PS INTERFACE

AAL2 CAC is of course not applicable on Iu-PS interface (since AAL2 is not used on Iu-PS). There is no equivalent stringent CAC on Iu-PS interface in the sense of a strict check of EBR versus capacity. The CAC on Iu-PS can be considered as only in charge of selecting the most suitable path, depending on the RAB request. Transport maps need to be defined on Iu-PS interface for the selection of the most suitable VC/AAL-5 connection to establish the requested GTP connection.

7.1.3.5 SUPPORT FOR TRANSPORT BEARER REPLACEMENT ON SRNC (FRS 30091)


When operating a synchronised radio link reconfiguration to modify a DCH or an HSPA MAC-d flow, the 3GPP standard allows the option to keep the same transport bearer or to replace by another transport bearer. Transport bearer replacement is an option supported since UA04.1 (FRS26140) on the drift RNC and on the Node B. In UA06.0 this feature is added on SRNC. This feature is targetting the Iur interface but can also be activated on the serving Iub as a configuration option.

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Transport bearer replacement allows to naturally update the transport CAC on both sides of an interface. This is particularly useful for Iur. On Iub it is only useful if the peer Node B is also performing a transport CAC. Hence the recommendation is to mandatorily activate it on Iur and not on Iub (except if requested by the customer).

7.1.4

ALCAP INTRODUCTION ON IUB

In UA06.0 ALCAP is introduced on Iub thus removing the proprietary AAL2 transport bearer allocation scheme. The Iub becomes thus fully 3GPP compliant.

7.1.5

CONGESTION CONTROL

2 main congestion control mechanisms are implemented in the UA06.0 UTRAN. The first one provided by Bandwidth Pool congestion control checks the last mile load (in Figure 3-1 for instance, the bottleneck is between the IMA termination point and the Node B, or between the ATM cross-connect closest to the Node B and the Node B: this end part of the RNC-Node B connection is the one supervised by the BP congestion control and is performed by the CRNC). The second one checks the transmission backbone as a whole and may detect other problems (cell losses due to other reasons than last mile, e.g. in an IP router in the hybrid Iub case). It may also detect problems related with an error in configured interface capacity. It is also performed by the CRNC. [GLOBAL MARKET - Congestion control mainly applies on Iub interface. In this release, there is no congestion control applied to Iur interface, which is not as critical as Iub interface from transmission cost point of view (Iub is the last mile portion, there are much fewer Iur interfaces), the dimensioning is thus not as constrained as for Iub. However, in case an Iub interface is congested due to HSDPA traffic coming from Iur, there is a feed-back from Iub interface congestion control in DRNC towards the responsible SRNC. This feedback will limit the HSDPA DL traffic from SRNC to that DRNC, as explained in next section.] [USA MARKET In this release congestion control can be applied to the Iur Inteface due to the introduction of the Bandwidth Limitation Algorithum to the Iur Interface under feature 34237. This is for the USA Market only and is configured off for the global Market.] On the Iu interface, no congestion control or flow control is applied. It is however possible for the case of interactive, background and streaming service, to activate Iu traffic conformance. This function checks according to the 3GPP algorithm described in [A2], that Maximum Bit rate is not exceeded. This limits but does not prevent accumulation of data on Iu side, in case the SGSN sends data at Maximum Bit Rate, at a time the RNC is only able to send them to UE at GBR.

7.1.5.1

BANDWIDTH POOL CONGESTION CONTROL

There is no shaping performed in the RNC. Data can be sent on the Iub interface or on a BP at the rate of the physical interface (up to 155 Mbit/s). There is however obviously a bottleneck in the Iub interface that has to be taken into account in the CRNC. This is performed thanks to the so-called bandwidth limitation algorithm, also known as congestion control algorithm. It is a sort of enhanced shaper, in the sense that it does not act directly at ATM level, but performs feed-back to
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the RNC source of data (RLC layer), in order to enable, disable or slow down the RLC layer transmission for some services, based on real time observation of the data sent by transport. Note that this feedback is applied when SRNC is also the controlling RNC. In case the controlling RNC is a DRNC, the Iur interface protocol does not provide any possibility for DCH data flow-control. Some margin may thus be kept on the Iub interface for DCH traffic potentially coming from Iur. If this margin is insufficient, it results in local traffic being temporarily a bit penalized by distant traffic, as the Iub counters will detect excess of traffic on the Iub interface. The CRNC will react by slowing down the local traffic. This situation does not result in data loss. If this margin is too large, it would result in Iub interface being underutilized. For HSDPA traffic, which is much more critical than DCH traffic because HSDPA traffic can potentially reach or even be higher than the whole interface capacity, the DRNC can stop the SRNC thanks to the HSDPA flow control mechanism (the DRNC will send credits to SRNC allowing 0 data: this is the feature 34012, and is described in more detail in [R8]). In UA06.0, two cases of congestion control algorithms are defined on Iub : the first one will block completely the RAB of one QoS for some time, the other one will limit for some time the RAB of all QoSs except conversational to a reduced rate (either GBR or MinBr2). Two corresponding detection mechanisms are developed: In case 1, compatible with previous releases Iub or BP is considered as congested whenever data arrive too late at the Node B and have to be discarded (refer to section 4.1 for details), or if HSDPA traffic is discarded in the network due to ATM buffer overflows. In case 2, newly considered in UA06.0, Iub or BP is considered as congested if a flow (R99 interactive/background traffic on DCH, streaming data or HSDPA I/B data) is blocked by other flows for at least 10 ms (meaning that no data of that QoS could be sent during 10 ms). Note that R99 conversational traffic cannot be blocked in the ALU implementation: it is always handled with top priority, and RLC source cannot be stopped. The principle of Congestion Control is based on real time observation by means of counters of the data sent in the various QoS, and backpressure. More precisely: 4 traffic counters, denoted Q0, Q01, Q012 and Q0123 respectively monitor the traffic sent on (QoS0), (QoS0 + QoS1), (QoS0+ QoS1 + QoS2) and (QoS0+ QoS1+ QoS2 + QoS3). The value of these counters is permanently compared to traffic thresholds and if at least one threshold is reached, feed-back to RLC layer is performed (this is congestion case 1 detection). The feed-back (x-off message from transport, with congestionFlag set to false) indicates to RLC layer to stop, for x-off time-out duration. The counter evolution is also monitored every 10 ms, in order to detect QoS stalling (case 2 congestion). If this evolution shows that no data of at least one QoS could be sent during the last 10

MinBR is defined for interactive (possibly different for each of the 3 THP values) and background services, and a different value can be defined per ARP (thus 12 possible values), Actually this is multiplied by 2, as 2 parameters are defined: one for R99 (MinBrForR99) and one for HSDPA (MinBrForHsdpa). Both will be designated as MinBR in this document.
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ms, the x-off message will contain x-off time-out and congestionFlag set to true, during which the RABs rate has to be slowed down to GBR for streaming RABs, to MinBR for interactive and background RABs. In both cases, the x-off time-out is calculated by transport layer. The x-off message may be repeated with new timer value, depending on the counter evolution. Expiry of x-off time-out indicates a return to a normal situation, so it means the end of the congestion for all QoSs. From this point, a slow start will be applied: data rate will be progressively increased from GBR/MinBR up to maximum possible rate allowed by data availability from Iu side and radio conditions, or until a new congestion is encountered. Note that end of congestion (congestionFlag was set to true), can also be indicated by an x-on message. For instance, if Q0123 reaches BpTh3 (BackPressureThreshold3), transport will immediately send x-off message to all QoS3 RABs. This x-off message will indicate x-off timeout calculated so as to allow the data already sent by RLC layer to be conveyed to Node B. CongestionFlag is set to false. When the 10 ms counter evaluation clock ticks, the congestion status is checked (comparison of the counters of all QoSs with their value 10 ms before). If no data for a QoS could be sent during that 10 ms period, an x-off message is sent to all QoS1 RABs, all QoS2 RABs and all QoS3 RABs indicating an xoff time out and congestionFlag set to true. QoS1 and QoS2 RABs will thus decrease their rate to respectively GBR and MinBR, for the duration of the x-off time-out. QoS3 RABs are already stopped by the previously running x-off time-out. At the end of that timer, they will increase their rate to MinBR/GBR. The situation will then be checked again periodically and a new x-off message may be sent. If congestionFlag was set to true, the end of congestion will be notified by transport by sending an x-on message. This message will allow all RABs of all QoSs to progressively increase their rate from GBR/MinBR up to maximum allowed by radio conditions and data availability from Iu side, provided no new congestion or backpressure situation is encountered. As a summary: The counter values are permanently compared to traffic thresholds3. If a counter reaches a backpressure threshold, an x-off message indicating an x-off time-out (CongestionFlag set to False) is immediately sent to all RABs of the QoS corresponding to the reached threshold. The RLC layer for these RABs then stops data transmission to transport for the indicated x-off time-out duration. Every 10 ms, the counters are decremented by Th0 (i.e. sum(ECR) for ATM or sum(ER) for IP, where the sum applies for all VCCs or IP paths of the considered BP), unless the QoS Bandwidth reservation CAC method is used (see section 7.1.3.1). If QoS Bandwidth reservation method is used, every 10 ms, the counters are decremented by the bandwidth available for the corresponding QoS, where Bandwidth available to Qosp = Th0 qosnBwReser*(sum(ECRqosn)/100)) (n <> p). If UA06.0 enhanced congestion control mechanism is activated, every 10 ms, the evolution of counters is checked (comparison of the value of the counters with that of the same counter 10 ms before). If this evolution shows that data could not be sent for a QoS during the 10 previous ms, x-

Note that the thresholds used for the comparison are dynamically updated, also based on the traffic real time observation. Refer to [R7] to for details.
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off message indicating a x-off time-out (CongestionFlag set to True) is sent to all RABs of all nonconversational QoS. The RLC layer will reduce the rate of all streaming RABs to GBR, of all interactive/background RABs to MinBR. In order to balance the load and offer fair sharing of the resource among all contending RABs, RLC layer applies a slow start mechanism after x-off time-out (from GBR/MinBR up to potentially maximum possible rate).

Refer to section 7.2 and to [R7] for more details.

7.1.5.2

25.902 MECHANISM, DL AND UL CASE [GLOBAL MARKET]

In UA06.0, the RNC and the Node B perform frame loss detection (respectively for UL and DL), and the Node B controls DL delay build-up. The sections hereunder describe these functionalities. The reaction to congestion detection for radio aspects is described in [R10].

7.1.5.2.1

DOWNLINK DELAY DETECTION [GLOBAL MARKET]

RNC shall add the DRT information element in all HS-DSCH DATA FRAMES (ref. 25.435). DRT is an internal RNC timer and represents the time when the packet is provided to lower layers for transmission on the Iub. The DRT is unique per Iub; this allows the Node B to maintain the minimum delay of the Iub throughout for the different MAC-d flows. This algorithm is performed on a per H-BBU basis in the Node B.

For every received HS-DSCH DATA FRAME (numbered n), the Node B computes the delay with the following formula Xn=Tn-DRT(n) where DRT(n) is the Delay Reference Time value included by RNC in the HS-DSCH DATA FRAME and Tn is the time when the frame is received in Node B. (The clocks of Node B and RNC are supposed to be synchronized in frequency, but do not need to be in phase). The Node B compares Xn with Xmin, Xmin being the minimum delay, computed over the Iub;

When the delay exceeds a congestion delay threshold (operator configurable), the Node B marks the MAC-d flow as congested, i.e. when Xn > Xmin + CongestionThreshold. When the delay falls below a decongestion delay threshold (operator configurable), the Node B marks the MAC-d flow as non-congested, i.e. when Xn < Xmin + DecongestionThreshold. These thresholds can be configured differently in IP & ATM.

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RNC

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

DRT

[DRT1=54]

[DRT2=56]

[DRT3=58]

T1 Node B
147 148 149 x1 = T1 - DRT1 = 149 - 54 = 95 150 151 x2 = T2 - DRT2 = 152 - 56 = 96 Delay +1ms. 152

T2

T3

153 x3 = T3 - DRT3 = 153 - 58 = 95 No delay.

Reception time

The Node B regularly grants allocation to RNC through the HS-DSCH Capacity Allocation. Every time the message is sent to RNC, the Node B adds: The TNL Congestion detected by delay-build up congestion indication if that particular MAC-d flow is marked as congested. The No TNL Congestion congestion indication if that particular MAC-d flow is marked as noncongested. It shall be noted that the initial state on Node B for a given MAC-d flow is non-congested.

7.1.5.2.2

DOWNLINK FRAME LOSS DETECTION [GLOBAL MARKET]

RNC shall add the FSN information element in all HS-DSCH DATA FRAMES (ref. 25.435). FSN is initialized with the value 1 for a given MAC-d flow, and increased by 1 unit every time a HS-DSCH DATA FRAME is sent by RNC for that MAC-d flow. The value 1 directly follows the value 15, and in case the value 0 is received, for example for all the MAC-d flow going through Iur, the congestion detection algorithm is not activated.

Node B stores FSN of the succeeding HS-DSCH DATA FRAME with a good CRC for each MAC-d flow, Nn. For every received HS-DSCH DATA FRAME with the FSN Nn, the Node B checks if Nn = Nn-1+1, in that case no frame loss occurs. If Nn > Nn-1+1, P frames are missing and might be lost, but it could also be due to IP de-sequencing issue. The Node B starts a configurable timer for IP de-sequencing and waits up to its expiry before the MAC-d flow is marked as congested. If all the P missing frames are received during that interval, the

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MAC-d flow is NOT marked as congested, the timer is stopped. In that case, the last received frame is the new Nn, and the nominal algorithm is resumed. De-sequencing is due to router change or load sharing. Load sharing will highly impact throughput generally due to de-sequencing, and should be de-activated. Thus, de-sequencing would only be caused by router change. When the de-sequencing timer is running and a second jump of the FSN is detected, it is considered that frame loss occurs. In such situation, the timer is stopped, and the MAC-d flow is marked as congested.

When N succeeding HS-DSCH DATA FRAME have their successive FSN Nn = Nn-1+1, the MAC-d flow is marked as non-congested, N being configurable.

RNC

[FSN=7]

[FSN=9]

Node B

Frame loss detected

The Node B regularly grants allocation to RNC through the HS-DSCH Capacity Allocation. Every time the message is sent to RNC, the Node B adds: The TNL Congestion detected by frame congestion indication if that particular MAC-d flow is marked as congested. The No TNL Congestion congestion indication if that particular MAC-d flow is marked as noncongested.

If both algorithms are activated, and the MAC-d flow is marked as congested both delay build-up & frame loss, the frame loss is reported to RNC. When the MAC-d flow is no more marked as frame loss, it could be still reported as delay build-up depending on that algorithm.

7.1.5.2.3

DOWNLINK XMIN COMPUTATION

If Xn<Xmin, the link was congested during previous Xmin computation, thus congestion is reducing. In that case, and to detect further congestion increase, the Xmin needs to be reduced.

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On contrary, if all the frames have their Xn >> Xmin for a long period, it means that transmission network may have changed and the Xmin needs to be increased to avoid a permanent congestion reporting by Node B.

To update Xmin, a mechanism is put in place to compute a new candidate Xminbackground during a certain period, where Xminbackground is the lowest Xn value received during the period. This period is an internal BTS timer set to 1 minute.

After this period, the Xmin is updated according to the following rule: If Xminbackground < Xmin-5ms; Xmin = Xmin-5ms. Reduction is limited to 5ms, TBD if the 5ms value can be tuned during test phase. If Xmin-5ms <= Xminbackground <=Xmin; Xmin = Xminbackground Reduction is considered. Xminbackground >Xmin; Xmin = Xmin+0.1ms.

This algorithm runs separately for the 2 Xmin computed over ATM and over IP.

Note that the enhancement to maintain an Xmin per Iub depends on RNC implementation, thus it could be deactivated in Open Iub environment.

7.1.5.2.4

UPLINK FRAME LOSS DETECTION [GLOBAL MARKET]

Node B shall add the FSN information element in all E-DCH UL DATA FRAME (ref. 25.435). FSN is initialized with the value 1 for a given MAC-d flow, and increased by 1 unit every time a HS-DSCH DATA FRAME is sent by RNC for that MAC-d flow. The value 1 directly follows the value 15, and in case the value 0 is received, for example for all the MAC-d flows going through Iur, the congestion detection algorithm is not activated.

For every received E-DCH UL DATA FRAME with the FSNn, the RNC checks if FSNn = FSNn-1+1, in that case no frame loss occurs. Otherwise, some frames have been lost and the RNC marks the leg as congested.

If FSNn > FSNn-1+1, P frames are missing and might be lost, but it could also be due to IP desequencing issue. The RNC starts a configurable timer for IP de-sequencing and waits up to its expiry before the MAC-d flow is marked as congested. If all the P missing frames are received during that interval, the MAC-d flow is NOT marked as congested, the timer is stopped. In that case, the last received frame is the new FSNn, and the nominal algorithm is resumed.

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When the de-sequencing timer is running and a second jump of the FSN is detected, it is considered that frame loss occurs. In such situation, the timer is stopped, and the MAC-d flow is marked as congested.

With 10 ms TTI, when N succeeding E-DCH UL DATA FRAME have their successive FSN Nn = Nn-1+1, the leg is marked as non-congested, N being configurable. With 2 ms TTI in non-bundling mode, the algorithm uses parameter N multiplied by 5.

RNC

[FSN=7]

[FSN=9]

Node B

Frame loss detected

For a MAC-d flow marked as congested, the RNC regularly sends a TNL Congestion Indication message to Node B on the congested RL, with the cause TNL Congestion detected by frame loss. When a MAC-d flow marked as congested becomes non-congested, the RNC sends one message TNL Congestion Indication message to Node B on the RL, which is no more congested with the cause No TNL Congestion, and stops sending any other TNL Congestion Indication.

7.1.5.2.5

CONGESTION AND DE-CONGESTION LEVEL FOR THE UPLINK IUB

The cell is declared as congested in Red state if at least 1 UE is detected as congested frame loss by the RNC.

The cell leaves the Red state if no UE is detected as congested Frame loss by the RNC.

One timer is used to take action on the scheduler; edchBLSupervisionTimer. When the timer expires, the cell colour is observed to assess whether the global reduction factor R shall be increased or decreased (cell colour concept is described in [R11]).

The step for upgrading/downgrading the reduction factor is configurable. : For downgrading when Frame loss is detected (edchBLStepReductionFrameLoss)
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For upgrading, when no congestion is detected (edchBLStepIncrease).

Every edchBLSupervisionTimer, the global reduction factor is modified in the following way: Increased by edchBLStepIncrease if frame loss is detected.

Decreased by edchBLStepReductionFrameLoss if no congestion is detected.

7.1.5.2.6

E-DCH SCHEDULER ACTION UPON CONGESTION

Every time the Global Reduction Factor is modified, the scheduler updates the codec limitation of each UE by multiplying the initial codec limitation (i.e. without congestion) by the global reduction factor. This modification allows limiting the maximum achievable throughput of each UE. E-DCH scheduler is described in [R10]. The Global Reduction Factor is modified and the scheduler continues to grant resources to the UE according to radio conditions and the updated codec limitation.

7.1.5.2.7

FP MESSAGES FROM 3GPP 25.435 REL-6 & 25.427 REL-6

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7 Header CRC Frame Seq Nr CmCH-PI

0 FT

MAC-d PDU Length


MAC-d PDU Length (cont) FlushSpare 1-0

Header

Num Of PDUs User Buffer Size User Buffer Size (cont) Spare, bits 7-4 MAC-d PDU 1 MAC-d PDU 1 (cont)
Pad

Spare, bits 7-4 MAC-d PDU n Payload MAC-d PDU n (cont)


7(E) 6 New IE Flags 5 4 3 2 1 Pad 0

DRT DRT (cont) Spare Extension Payload CRC Payload CRC (cont)

Figure 7-1: HS-DSCH DL Data Frame DRT is positioned by RNC for downlink delay detection. FSN is positioned by RNC for downlink frame loss detection.

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7 Spare bits 7-6 Congestion Status CmCH-PI

Maximum MAC-d PDU Length Maximum MAC-d PDU Length (cont) HS-DSCH Credits

HS-DSCH Credits (cont) HS-DSCH Interval HS-DSCH Repetition Period Spare Extension
Figure 7-2: HS-DSCH Capacity allocation frame The congestion status is positioned by the Node B for the downlink congestion detection, within the range: 0 for No TNL Congestion 1 for Reserved for future use 2 for TNL Congestion detected by delay build-up 3 for TNL Congestion detected by frame loss

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UTRAN Transport Architecture - UTRAN architecture and transmission management 7 0 FT

Header CRC Header CRC cont FSN Number of Subframes SPARE CFN Spare N of HARQ Retransm 1st Subframe number N of MAC-es PDUs First DDI First DDI cont First N Last DDI Last N cont
Spare N of HARQ Retransm
N of MAC-es PDUs
First DDI cont

Last N Pad
Last Subframe number

Header

First DDI

First N

Last DDI Last N Last N cont Pad Spare First MAC-es PDU of first Subframe Spare Second MAC-es PDU of first Subframe Spare Last MAC-es PDU of first Subframe Spare First MAC-es PDU of last Subframe Spare Second MAC-es PDU of last Subframe Spare Last MAC-es PDU of last Subframe Spare extension Payload CRC Payload CRC cont
7

Payload

Optional

Number of Figure 7-3: E-DCH UL Octets Frame Data

0 Congestion 1 CFN is positioned by Node B for uplink delay detection (not supported in this release). Spare Status Payload FSN is positioned by Node B for uplink frame loss detection. 0 - 32 Spare Extension

TNL Congestion Indication

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The congestion status is positioned by the RNC to report uplink congestion.

7.1.5.2.8
RNC parameters

O&M CONFIGURATION

Name Congestion Detection HsdpaCongestionFieldDRTInclusio nAllowed

Description

Related object

Class & Category

This parameter controls the inclusion by the RNC of the HSDPA User Plane congestion field DRT in HS-DSCH Data frames sent over Iub. This parameter controls the inclusion by the SRNC of the HSDPA User Plane congestion field FSN in HS-DSCH Data frames sent over Iub This parameter defines the E-DCH congestion delay before sending a TNL congestion notification with delay built-up to the Node B. This parameter defines the E-DCH congestion delay before sending TNL congestion with no congestion to the Node B after delay congestion was detected. This parameter defines the number of E-DCH frames to be lost in sequence before sending TNL congestion with frame loss congestion to the Node B. This parameter defines the number of E-DCH frames to be received in sequence before sending a TNL congestion notification with no congestion to the Node B after frame- loss congestion was detected.

HSDPA25902

HsdpaCongestionFieldFSNInclusio nAllowed

HSDPA25902

EDCHCongestionDelayThreshold

EDCH25902

EDCHDeCongestionDelayThreshol d

EDCH25902

NumberOfFrameBeforeEDCHCong estion

EDCH25902

NumberOfFrameBeforeEDCHDeCo ngestion

EDCH25902

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Class & Category 3

Name edchDeSequencingWaitTimer

Description This parameter allows configuring a delay before declaring frame loss congestion. UL Iub FP Congestion Indication frames are repeated at this period until the congestion is detected either by congestion caused by frame loss or congestion caused by delay built-up

Related object EDCH25902

EdchCongestionControlNotificatio nBackoffTimer

EDCH25902

Node B parameters

Name Congestion Detection HsdpaCongestionDetection

Description

Related object

Class & Category

This parameter controls the activation of the congestion detection on the Node B and the inclusion by the Node B of the congestion status in the HS-DSCH Capacity Allocation. This parameter controls the activation of the enhanced delay build-up detection algorithm on the Node B This parameter defines the HSDPA congestion delay detection threshold before considering the MAC-d flow going over ATM as congested This parameter defines the HSDPA decongestion delay detection threshold before considering the MAC-d flow going over ATM as noncongested

BtsEquipment

HsdpaDelayPerIubReference

BtsEquipment

HsdpaCongestionDelayThresholdA TMHigh

BtsEquipment

HsdpaCongestionDelayThresholdA TMLow

BtsEquipment

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Class & Category 3

Name HsdpaCongestionDelayThresholdI PHigh

Description This parameter defines the HSDPA congestion delay detection threshold before considering the MAC-d flow going over IP as congested. This parameter defines the HSDPA decongestion delay detection threshold before considering the MAC-d flow going over IP as noncongested This parameter defines the number of consecutive HSDPA Iub frames lost before declaring a MAC-d flow in frame loss congestion. This parameter defines the number of consecutive HSDPA Iub frames (with consecutive FSN) to be received before switching back to no congestion after frame loss congestion. This parameter allows configuring a delay before declaring frame loss. This is used only when HSDPA is conveyed over IP.

Related object BtsEquipment

HsdpaCongestionDelayThresholdI PLow

BtsEquipment

NumberOfFrameBeforeHSDPACon gestion

BtsEquipment

NumberOfFrameBeforeHSDPADeC ongestion

BtsEquipment

hsdpaDeSequencingWaitTimerIP

BtsEquipment

UL Congestion Management IsEdchBandwidthLimitationAllowe d The parameter is used to activate the E-DCH congestion control algorithm in the Node B. This timer controls the periodicity where the Node B modifies the reduction factor. This parameter controls the reduction applied to the reduction factor when frame loss is detected. This parameter controls the reduction applied to the reduction factor when Delay build up is detected. BtsEquipment 3

edchBLSupervisionTimer

BtsEquipment

edchBLStepReductionFrameLoss

BtsEquipment

edchBLStepReductionDelay

BtsEquipment

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Class & Category 3

Name EdchBLStepIncrease

Description This parameter controls the increase applied to the reduction factor when Delay build up is detected. This parameter corresponds to the internal timer to start or re-starts at each time the MAC-d flow status is set to ORANGE or RED. This parameter corresponding to the maximum bit rate that is supported in the Iub.

Related object BtsEquipment

edchBLMACdFlowTimer

BtsEquipment

EdchBLIubBandwidth

BtsEquipment

Counters For IUB congestion detection ./Aal2If Managed Object ./Aal2If/BP ./IpIf/BP Definition Counter Name Type Triggering Event Screening The counter indicates the number frames received with a delay higher than the configured threshold. VS.EdchFramesWithDelayBuildUp Cumulative The counter is incremented every time an FP frame is received, AND if the delay build-up was above the configured limit. None

./Aal2If Managed Object ./Aal2If/BP ./IpIf/BP Definition Counter Name Type The counter indicates the number frames lost. VS.EdchFramesWithFrameLoss Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a gap in the FSN number is detected. It is increased of the number of frames that has been lost.

Triggering Event

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Screening None

./Aal2If Managed Object ./Aal2If/BP ./IpIf/BP Definition Counter Name Type Triggering Event Screening The counter indicates the number of frames received. VS.EdchTotalFramesReceived Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a frame is received. None

Managed Object Definition Counter Name Type

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number frames received with a delay higher than the configured threshold, for the ATM transport. VS.HsdpaFramesWithDelayBuildUpATM Cumulative The counter is incremented every time an FP frame is received over ATM, AND if the delay build-up was above the configured limit. None

Triggering Event

Screening

Managed Object Definition Counter Name Type Triggering Event Screening

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number frames received with a delay higher than the configured threshold, for the IP transport. VS.HsdpaFramesWithDelayBuildUpIP Cumulative The counter is incremented every time an FP frame is received over IP, AND if the delay build-up was above the configured limit. None

Managed Object Definition Counter Name

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number of frames received over ATM. VS.HsdpaTotalFramesReceivedATM

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Type Triggering Event Screening Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a frame is received on ATM. None

Managed Object Definition Counter Name Type Triggering Event Screening

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number of frames received over IP. VS.HsdpaTotalFramesReceivedIP Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a frame is received on IP. None

Managed Object Definition Counter Name Type

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number frames lost over ATM. VS.HsdpaFramesWithFrameLossATM Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a gap in the FSN number is detected. It is increased of the number of frames that has been lost. None

Triggering Event

Screening

Managed Object Definition Counter Name Type

BTSEquipment The counter indicates the number frames lost over IP. VS.HsdpaFramesWithFrameLossIP Cumulative The counter is incremented every time a gap in the FSN number is detected. It is increased of the number of frames that has been lost. None

Triggering Event

Screening

For UL IUB congestion management

Managed Object

BtsEquipment

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The counter indicates the number of periods where the reduction factor VS.EdchBLReductionFactor Value Each edchBLSupervisionTimer period 0: reduction factor equal 100% (meaning no Iub congestion was detected.) 1: the reduction factor is between 95 and 100 (100 excluded) 2: the reduction factor is between 90 and 95 (95 excluded) 3: the reduction factor is between 85 and 90 (90 excluded) Screening 4: the reduction factor is between 80 and 85 (85 excluded) 5: the reduction factor is between 70 and 80 (80 excluded) 6: the reduction factor is between 60 and 70 (70 excluded) 7: the reduction factor is between 50 and 60 (60 excluded) 8: the reduction factor is between 25 and 50 (50 excluded) 9: the reduction factor is between 0 and 25 (25 excluded)

Definition Counter Name Type Triggering Event

Fault management No modification.

7.2 GUARANTEED BIT RATE/MIN BR OVER HSDPA AND FAIR SHARING OF RESOURCES
Real Time Media (Video or Audio) Streaming applications require GBR service, which before UA06.0, is only supported on DCH. In addition, some operators request at least for their high priority users, the possibility of guarantying a minimum bit rate also for Interactive and background services. This minimum bit rate is to be offered when congestion is encountered in the network. This operator concern applies primarily for HSDPA because DCH being a dedicated channel, normally provides a guaranteed capacity to the user (at least as long as it is not moved to CELL_FACH state). However, even for DCH, the transport has to evolve to make sure not to block data in case of congestion.

Starting from UA06.0, it is possible to offer GBR services on HSDPA, for PS streaming RABs, and interactive/background services with operator-defined Minimum bit rate (MinBrForHsdpa). This not only requires evolution in the radio domain, but also in the transport domain, as explained in section 7.1. MinBR is also defined for R99 Interactive and background services (MinBrForR99). This can be achieved if the UA06.0 enhanced congestion control algorithm is activated.

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From various sources, it seems that many UEs do not really provide the QoS parameters according to application needs. In at least some cases, they are not able to provide the Traffic Class, let alone the Max bit rate, guaranteed bit rate, THP, etc. The operators have partial means to overcome this difficulty by providing the parameters in lieu of the UE: the UE sends a SETUP or PDP CONTEXT ACTIVATION message to the Core Network with some Non Access Stratum parameters, the CN checks the NAS parameters, checks the subscription rights of the UE (thanks to a dialog between MSC or SGSN and HLR), and builds up the parameters necessary for the RAB ASSIGNMENT REQUEST message to the RNC. The CN may also supersede or provide the THP parameters. It also provides the ARP parameters, which can for instance reflect the user subscription: a user choosing a higher quality (more expensive) subscription will benefit from better treatment, with better THP and ARP values. Whether the information is initially coming from the UE or from the HLR, the RNC gets what it knows about the RAB parameters in the RAB assignment request message. However, some parameters are optional (e.g. ARP) and the RNC thus sometimes needs to guess, e.g. based on traffic class (for instance a speech call without provided ARP will then be considered as more important than an interactive call without ARP). Per 3GPP definition (TS 25.413, [A5]), all RAB include a Maximum Bit Rate, only streaming and conversational RABs include the GBR parameter (this GBR can be set from 0 up to MaxBR). Only interactive RABs include the THP. Although TS 23.107 ([A2]) foresees only THP 3 values (which is also the number of different behaviours supported in Alcatel-Lucent implementation), TS 25.413 authorizes 15 values for THP. Any RAB may include ARP parameter. For Interactive and Background services, the lack of GBR potentially prevents the operator to guaranty a quality of service to his/her subscribers. In order to overcome this limitation, some operators want the possibility in the RNC to configure a Minimum Bit rate that needs to be modulated according to subscriber priority, as far as it can be known by the RNC, i.e. according to the ARP value and THP value when applicable. In this release, MinBR can be configured for HSDPA I/B RABs. Use of this MinBR is further detailed in section 7.2.2.. The sections hereunder will summarize the way to offer GBR and MinBR over HSDPA, thanks to the BP feature. It will also address evolution of transport related to support of GBR/MinBR over DCH.

7.2.1 GUARANTEED BIT RATE FOR STREAMING TRAFFIC OVER HSDPA


Starting from UA06.0, streaming data for HSDPA and DCH are by default carried on the same VCC. This VCC benefits from an ATM priority (by its ATM Transfer Capability also known.as. Service Class) intermediate between conversational traffic and I/B traffic on DCH. Therefore, in case of congestion, streaming traffic over HSDPA will get a higher priority than Interactive/Background traffic, even if on DCH, thus maintaining the possibility to achieve the guaranteed bit rate.

Congestion on the interface is closely monitored thanks to transport counters of transmitted data per QoS.

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In case a congestion on streaming data is observed by transport layer (more precisely, if the amount of data sent for the conversational + streaming QoS implies that there will be queueing reaching the maximum allowed duration for streaming at the interface point where the bit rate is limited to the Iub interface capacity), the transport layer sends an x-off message to each MAC/RLC context of streaming QoS, including an x-off time-out value depending on the observed congestion level and calculated by transport. The message contains a congestionFlag set to False. Data is not transmitted for the duration of x-off time-out. The x-off message is also sent when there is no problem for conversational + streaming, but there is a congestion problem for another QoS (no data of that QoS could be sent during the last 10 ms). In that case, the message sets to true the congestionFlag and is sent to indicate to streaming RABs to limit their rate to at most MAC-hs GBR during the x-off time-out. When x-off time-out expires and congestionFlag was false, MAC/RLC layer resumes data transmission to frame protocol at MAC-hs GBR. From there, it applies a slow start to reach the optimal rate dictated by credit allocation from Node B and data availability coming from Iu interface (unless a new x-off slows down the application again before). Credit allocation by Node B is part of the HSDPA flow control mechanism and is described in [R8]. Data rate is also slowly increased starting from MAC-hs GBR after expiry of x-off time-out after a congestion period affecting another QoS than streaming (i.e. congestionFlag was set to true). Slow start allows to achieve fair sharing between contending RABs, not only streaming RABs but also other QoS RABs.

Although GBR is not met during the short x-off time-outs, once averaged over longer time periods, GBR should be met, unless the operator allows too much overbooking.

7.2.2 MIN BIT RATE FOR INTERACTIVE/ BACKGROUND TRAFFIC OVER HSDPA
The operator has the possibility to declare a minimum bit rate for interactive or background applications. In case of congestion for interactive/background service, the behaviour is similar to that described in the previous section, except interactive / background services do not benefit from the high priority QoS dedicated to streaming traffic class services.

In recommended configurations: Conversational traffic is mapped on QoS0, Sreaming traffic is mapped on QoS1, Interactive/background traffic on DCH is mapped on QoS2 Interactive/background traffic on HSDPA is mapped on QoS3.

If the amount of traffic measured on QoS0 + QoS1 + QoS2 reaches the corresponding threshold (denoted BpTh2), an x-off message is immediately sent to QoS2 RABs, indicating an x-off time-out. During this x-off time-out, no data should be sent, and after x-off time-out, data sending can be resumed at up to MinBrForR99 for QoS2 RABs, and will then slowly increase up to maximum Bit rate
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allowed by the radio bearer configuration, if enough data is available from Iu side and no new congestion is encountered. If a QoS is blocked for 10 ms (data of that QoS could not be sent during 10 ms), an x-off message is sent to all non-conversational QoS RABs indicating the congestion situation (congestionFlag set to true) with an x-off time-out. For QoS2 RABs, this will limit data sending to transport at MinBrForR99 during the x-off time-out. The end of congestion will then be indicated by an x-on message: the data rate will slowly increase from MinBrForR99 up to maximum bit rate allowed by data availability from Iu side and by radio configuration. Similarly, when the amount of traffic measured on QoS0 + QoS1 + QoS2 + QoS3 reaches a threshold (denoted BpTh3), an xoff is sent to QoS3 RABs, indicating an x-off time-out. During this x-off timeout, no data should be sent, and after x-off time-out, data sending can be resumed at up to MinBrForHsdpa for QoS3 RABs (unless a new x-off is received). If data from a QoS is blocked during 10 ms, all non-conversational QoS RABs will receive an x-off message indicating congestion (congestionFlag set to true). While the x-off time-out is running, data rate for QoS3 RABs is limited to MinBR. QoS3 RABs with no MinBR configured should not be allowed to send any data until x-off time-out expiry or reception of x-on message After x-off time-out expiry, data sending for QoS3 RABs may resume, slowly increasing from MinBR up to the maximum bit rate allowed by credits sent by Node B and by data availability from Iu side. Data can be sent at at least MinBR all the time, except for x-off time-outs. If averaged over reasonable duration, MinBR can then be met, unless the operator allows too much overbooking. In that latter case, there will be too many x-off messages and the MinBR cannot be met.

8 ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS


8.1
3G 3GPP A2EA AAL-2 ADSL AESA AIS ALCAP ANSI APS ATC ATM

ABBREVIATIONS
Third Generation Third Generation Partnership Project AAL-2 service Endpoint Address ATM Adaptation Layer type 2 Asynchronous DSL ATM End System Address Alarm Indication Signal Access Link Control Application Protocol American National Standards Institute Automatic Protection Switch ATM Transfer Capability Asynchronous Transfer Mode
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BBU BP BpThn BW CAC CBR CFN CN CR CRNC CS DCH DHO DL DPC DRNC DRT DS DSCP DSL ECR E-DCH EBR ER ERQ FN FN FP FSN GBR GPRS H-BBU Base Band Unit Bandwidth Pool Backpressure Threshold level n (n= 1, 2 or 3). BandWidth Connection Admission Control Constant Bit Rate Connection Frame Number Core Network Committed Rate Controlling RNC Circuit Switched Dedicated Channel Diversity HandOver DownLink Destination Point Code Drift RNC Delay Reference Time Delay Sensitive Differentiated Services Code Point Digital Subscriber Line Equivalent Cell Rate Enhanced DCH (=HSUPA) Equivalent Bit Rate Equivalent Rate Establish ReQuest Frame Number Functional Note Frame Protocol Frame Sequence Number Guaranteed Bit Rate General Packet Radio Service HSPA BBU

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HLR HSDPA HSDSCH HSPA HSUPA ICP IETF IMA IP ITU-T LIU LTOA MAC MAC-d MAC-hs MaxBR MinBR MGC MGW MSC MTP3-B NBAP NDS NFD NGN NNI O&M OAM OC-3 PC PCR PDH Home Location Register High Speed Downlink Packet Access High Speed Downlink Shared CHannel High Speed Packet Access (=HSDPA + HSUPA) High Speed Uplink Packet Access (=E-DCH) IMA Control Protocol Internet Engineering Task Force Inverse Multiplexing for ATM Internet Protocol International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standards sector Line Interface Unit Latest Time Of Arrival Medium Access Control MAC entity in charge of DCH MAC entity in charge of HSDPA Maximum Bit Rate Minimum Bit Rate Media Gateway Controller (also called MSC server) Media GateWay Mobile Switching Center Message Transfer Part Layer 3 Broadband Node B Application Part Non Delay Sensitive Network Facilities Data Next Generation Network Network Network Interface Operation & Maintenance Operation, Administration and Maintenance Optical Carrier 3 (155 Mbit/s) Point Code Peak Cell Rate Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy

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PDU PMD sublayer PNNI PR PS PSN PW PWE3 QAAL2 QoS RAN RAB RAN RANAP RDI RLC RNC RNCWS RNL RNS RNSAP SCCF SCCP SCR SDH SDSL SDU SGSN SHO SONET SRNC SS7 Protocol Data Unit Physical Medium Dependent sublayer Private NNI Peak Rate Packet Switched Packet Switched Network PseudoWire PseudoWire Edge to Edge Emulation = AAL type 2 signalling protocol: specified in ITU-T recommendations Q.2630.1 and Q.2630.2 Quality of Service Radio Access Network Radio Access Bearer Radio Access Network Radio Access Network Application Part Remote Defect Indication Radio Link Control Radio Network Controller RNC Window Start Radio Network Layer Radio network subsystem Radio network subsystem Application part Service Specific Coordination Function Subsystem Connection Control Protocol Sustainable Cell Rate Synchronous Digital Hierarchy Synchronous DSL Service Data Unit Serving GPRS Support Node Soft Hand Over Synchronous Optical Network Serving RNC Signalling System number 7

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SSSAR STM-1 STP TC TC sublayer TNL TOA TOAWE TOAWS TR TS TTI UBR UBR+ UE UL UMTS UNI UP URC UTRAN VBR VBR-RT VBR-nRT VC VCC VCI VCL VCLTP VP VPC Transmission Timing Interval Unspecified Bit Rate Unspecified Bit Rate, with the additional indication of MDCR: Minimum Desired Cell Rate User Equipment UpLink Universal Mobile Telecommunications System User Network Interface User Plane Universal Radio Controller Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Variable Bit Rate Variable Bit Rate Real Time Variable Bit Rate non Real Time Virtual Channel Virtual Channel Connection Virtual Channel Identifier Virtual Circuit Link ATM VCL Termination Point Virtual Path Virtual Path Connection Service Specific Segmentation and Reassembly Sublayer Synchronous Transport Module level 1 (155 Mbit/s) Signalling Transfer Point Traffic Class Transmission Convergence sublayer Transport Network Layer Time Of Arrival Time Of Arrival Window End Time Of Arrival Window Start Technical Report Technical Specification

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VPI VPT Virtual Path Identifier Virtual Path Termination

8.2

DEFINITIONS

TERM Network Facilities Data

DEFINITION The Network Facilities Data Record is stored in the backplane memory of the OneBTS. In contains parameters / information relating to such things as ATM ports / Links etc. This data is nonvolitile and is read on boot to configure the application.

END OF DOCUMENT

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