White Paper

Radio Resource Management

- Radio Admission Control
and Bearer Control
Radio Resource Management (RRM) is an E-UTRAN
Node B (eNodeB) application level function that
ensures the efficient use of available radio resources.
RRM manages the assignment, re-assignment and
release of radio resources, taking into account single
and multi-cell aspects.
Radio Admission Control (RAC) is a sub-function of
RRM. The task of RAC is to admit or reject the
establishment requests for new radio bearers. The
establishment of a bearer is based on the outcome of
the RAC Algorithms.
Radio Bearer Control (RBC) is also another sub-function
of RRM. The establishment, maintenance and release of
Radio Bearers involve the configuration of radio
resources associated with them. It is based on the
outcome of RBC Algorithm.
This paper primarily focuses on the admission,
establishment and maintenance of radio bearers. We
discuss a strategy for RAC and RBC, including Quality of
Service (QoS) requirements, priority levels and
provided QoS of in-progress sessions and QoS
requirements of the new radio bearer request.

About the Author

Pundalik Kandolcar
Pundalik Kandolcar has been an Assistant Consultant with Tata
Consultancy Services (TCS) in the Telecom group for the past six
years. He has used his experience and understanding of Access
and Bearer Control (ABC) to write this paper.
Mukesh Kumar Das
Mukesh Kumar Das has been an IT Analyst with Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) in the Telecom Next-Gen R&D group for the last
one year. He is involved in Initiatives and Proof of Concept (PoC)
for LTE technology. He has used his experience and
understanding of RAC and RBC to write this paper.
Saugata Mukherjee
The late Saugata Mukherjee worked as a Consultant with TCS in a
large R&D telecom account and with the Telecom Next-Gen R&D
group. He had significant experience in wireless access and core
technologies.

Table of Contents
1

Introduction

Radio Admission control Algorithm

Radio Bearer Control Algorithm

Conclusion

11

Acknowledgement

12

References

12

Abbreviations
Abbreviation/ Acronym

Expansion

RRM

Radio Resource Manager

eNB

eNodeB or E-UTRAN Node B

RAC

Radio Admission Control

RBC

Radio Bearer Control

QoS

Quality of Service

ABC

Access and Bearer Control

LTE

Long Term Evolution

GSM

Groupe Spcial Mobile or Global System for Mobile

Communications

RLC

Radio Link Control

MAC

Medium Access Control

RRC

Radio Resource Control

PDCP

Packet Data Convergence Protocol

CMC

Connection Mobility Control

UE
DRA
PS
ICIC
LB

User Equipment
Dynamic Resource Allocation
Packet Scheduling
Inter-Cell Interference Coordination
Load Balancing

GBR

Guaranteed Bit Rate

AC

Admission Control

RAN

Radio Access Network

ARP

Allocation and Retention Priority

ERAB

E-UTRAN Radio Access Bearer

QCI

Quality Class Identifier

BW

Bandwidth

Introduction
This paper provides an insight into the admission and management of bearers for the efficient use of
radio resources. Admission deals with establishment of a new bearer depending on the feasibility and
availability of resources. Management of bearer is taken care of by bearer control, which deals with the
modification or deletion of bearers.
This paper will be useful for design approach and prototype development from developer prospect .
eNodeB Architecture
eNodeB (eNB) is the hardware, which connects to a mobile phone network that communicates directly
with mobile handsets (User Equipment). It is similar to a base transceiver station (BTS) in Groupe Spcial
Mobile/Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks.
Radio link specific protocols, including the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC)
protocols terminate at the eNodeB. The Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP), which is responsible
for header compression and ciphering, is located in the eNB. In the control plane, the eNB uses the Radio
Resource Control (RRC) protocol for application level RRC.
Figure 1 depicts the eNodeB (eNB) architecture.

Radio Admission Control

Radio Bearer Control
Connection Mobility Control
Inter-Cell RRM
eNodeB Measurement Configuration
& Provision
Dynamic Resource Allocation
RRC
MME
PDCP
RLC
MAC

S1

S-GW

P-GW

PHY

EPC

eNodeB
Figure 1: eNB Architecture

Radio Resource Management (RRM) Overview

Radio Resource Management (RRM) is an eNB application level function that ensures the efficient use of
available radio resources. RRM manages the assignment, re-assignment and release of radio resources
considering single and multi-cell aspects.
The primary goal of RRM is to control the use of radio resources in the system while also ensuring that the
Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of the individual radio bearers are met and the overall usage of
radio resources on the system level is minimized. The objective of RRM is to satisfy the service
requirements at the smallest possible cost to the system, ensuring optimized use of spectrum.
Long Term Evolution (LTE) RRM includes a variety of algorithms that provide services, such as power
control, resource allocation, mobility control, and QoS management to ensure the best use of available
radio resources.
RRM has various functions. Selected key functions are described in the following sections.
Radio Admission Control (RAC)
Radio Admission Control (RAC) admits or rejects establishment requests for new radio bearers.
The goal of RAC is to ensure high radio resource utilization by accepting radio bearer requests if radio
resources are available. This simultaneously ensures proper QoS for in-progress sessions by rejecting radio
bearer requests when they cannot be accommodated.
Radio Bearer Control (RBC)
Radio Bearer Control (RBC) involves the establishment, maintenance and release of radio bearers. RBC is
also concerned with the maintenance of radio bearers of in-progress sessions at the change of the radio
resource situation due to mobility and so on.
RBC is involved in the release of radio resources associated with radio bearers including at-session
termination and handover.
Connection Mobility Control (CMC)
Connection Mobility Control (CMC) oversees the management of radio resources related to idle or
connected mode mobility.
Handover decisions may be based on UE and eNB measurements. In addition, handover decisions can use
other inputs, including neighbor cell load, traffic distribution, transport and hardware resources and
operator defined policies for the account.
Dynamic Allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (DRA)
Dynamic Resource Allocation (DRA) or Packet Scheduling (PS) allocates and de-allocates resources
including buffering and processing resources and resource blocks to user and control plane packets.

Inter-Cell Interference co-ordination (ICIC)

Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) manages radio resource blocks to keep inter-cell interference
under control, based on the feedback from multiple cells.
Load Balancing (LB)
Load balancing (LB) handles uneven distribution of the traffic load over multiple cells. The purpose of LB
is to influence the load distribution in such a manner that radio resources remain highly utilized and the
QoS of in-progress sessions are maintained, and call dropping probabilities are kept to a minimum.

Shared Data

Notifics

(Access, Qos,
Mobility)

E-UTRAN

UEs

Manages & Updates

S1 Interfaces

NW

Data Plane Inputs

Queues, Pending etc

Dynamic Inputs

Application RRM Service

Measurements

RB Measurements, Control Plane Inputs

RRM Adaptation

Configuration Inputs

Application RRM as a service function on the eNB can be considered in the following logical realization
form.

XP Interfaces
(Mobility)

Uu Interface
(Access, Profiles, Qos)

eNB System Level Inputs

Radio Stack
(RRC, MAC, S1, X2 takes
appropriate Procedural
action

Figure 2: Application RRM Logical View

Radio Admission Control Algorithm

Radio Admission Control (RAC) admits or rejects establishment requests for new radio bearers. One of the
approach has been described below which is based on Priority Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR).
Priority GBR Based
It is important to realize that Admission Control (AC) is not standardized shlould be, different realizations
of LTE Radio Access Network (RANs ) will run different admission control algorithms.

Start

Get Available
BW UL/DL?

GBR?

No

Allocate
configured
min non-GBR BW

YES

Allocate Min
BW to all ERABs

YES

Min BW
Configured?
No
Sort the ERAB list
first on priority,
next on GBR basis

End of
ERAB list?

YES

END

No

Is a variable
BW UL/DL<GBR
UL/DL?

Update available
BW UL/DL

YES
Allocate SRB to ERABs

Reject Request

Can trigger RBC?

No

YES
Trigger RBC to
allocate on ARP basis?

Figure 3: Prioritized GBR based RAC Algorithm

The figure above depicts an approach according to which GBR is granted based on priority and GBR
requested. The algorithm in contention situation triggers RBC in which case the allocation happens based
on allocation and retention priority (ARP) parameters.

Pros and Cons

Pros:
n

High priority GBR requests are granted first.

In contention situation, higher priority E-utran Radio Access Bearer (ERABs) can pre-empt lower priority
ones.

Cons:
Pre-emption would lead to release of lower priority ERABs.
Recommendations for operator use
Operators can set Quality Class Identifier (QCI) (QoS profiles) and priority levels for different customer base,
(privileged and others) and allocation would be done on priority and GBR basis. In contention situation a
higher privilege customer gets priority over lower ones and can pre-empt lower ones.

Radio Bearer Control Algorithm

Radio Bearer Control (RBC) involves the establishment, maintenance and release of radio bearers. One of the
approach has been described below based on Fair-share.
Prioritized/Weighted Max-Min Fair Share
While the RAC is concerned with the allocation of initial bandwidth or GBR, RBC algorithm is responsible for
allocating the remaining maximum bandwidth demand. For this, the algorithm considers the overall
resource situation in the E-UTRAN, the QoS requirements of in-progress sessions and QoS requirement for
the new service
Prioritized/weighted max-min fairshare bandwidth allocation technique tries to maximize the minimum
share for non-satisfied flows. Priority/weight is considered during allocation so higher priority gets a higher
share than lower ones.

The Figure on the previous page explains the Algorithm.

Start

For all active Uses get

the ERAB list. Also get
available BW UL/DL

Create ERAB list

Initialize
Total Weight = 0

End of
ERAB list?

Yes

Total Weight+=
Weight
No
Calculate Weight
Weight = (15-QoS
Priority Level)

Calculate Weighted Demand

Weighted Demand =
(MAX BW-GBR)/Weight

All ERABs
allocated?

Yes

No
Calculate FairShare
FairShare=Avail
BW/Total Weights

Update available
BW UL/DL

For all ERABs whose

Weighted Demand<
FairShare, allocate BW

Re-calculate Total
Weights = Weights
(Allocated)

Yes

Atleast one
Demand Fully
Satisfied?

No

End
Calculate Fairshare
Fairshare-(Avail EW/Total
Weights)

Figure 4: Prioritized/Weighted Max-Min Fairshare RBC Algorithm

10

Pros and cons

Pros:
The pros of prioritized/weighted max-min fairshare bandwidth allocation technique are as follows:
n

Normalize demands with corresponding weights.

Allocate resources in order of increasing demands, normalized by weight.

Satisfy users with relatively small demands.

Ensure that users do not get a resource share larger than their demand.

Ensure that users with un-satisfied demands get an equal share of unused resources proportional to their
weights.

Cons:
The cons of the technique are as follows:
Max-min fairness in communication networks assumes that resources (capacities of communication links)
are allocated to flows in advance, as opposed to best-effort networks.
Recommendations for operator use
Different flows might have different QoS requirements, such as:
n

Voice and video flows require different bandwidth (BW) levels.

Customers of video service are willing to pay more to get required BW.

This algorithm helps to categorize users priority and allocate higher BW share to privileged users.

Conclusion
RAC and RBC are vital for eNB operation, session establishment, session continuity and session closure and
network performance optimization while users are on the move or not.
Several studies have shown that users need customized services according to their use and specific
requirements. Users utilizing high BW applications such as online gaming or streaming can have a faster and
an enhanced experience with these algorithms. Users with high privileges in terms of services and QoS will
always get GBR at any point of time.
We consider an optimized access and management approach that can be adapted to engineering
parameters, because accommodating field results is necessary to ensure that system resources are
effectively utilized.

11

Acknowledgement
We (Pundalik Kandolcar and Mukesh Kumar Das) would like to express our gratitude to all those who made it
possible to complete this white paper. We would also like to thank our colleagues from the Next-Gen R&D
Group for all their help and support during the writing of this paper.

References
[1] 3GPP TS 36.101 UE Radio Transmission and Reception http://www.3gpp.org .
[2] 3GPP TS 36.331 RRC Protocol Specification http://www.3gpp.org .
[3] 3GPP TS 36.300 http://www.3gpp.org
[4] 3GPP TS 36.322. E-UTRA radio link control (RLC) protocol specification. ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/Specs/archive/36_series/36.322/
[5] 3GPP TS 36.321. E-UTRA medium access control (MAC) protocol specification. ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/Specs/archive/36_series/36.321/
[6] 3GPP TS 25.913. Requirements for evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) and evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). ftp://ftp.3gpp.org/Specs/archive/25_series/25.913/
[7] http://lte-epc.blogspot.in/2012/03/rrm-functions.html

12

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