FISNFI32EMED.

09
Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi ISN, Rel. 3.2,
Product Documentation, v. 9

IPv6

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IPv6

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and describes only the
product defined in the introduction of this documentation. This documentation is intended for the
use of Nokia Siemens Networks customers only for the purposes of the agreement under which
the document is submitted, and no part of it may be used, reproduced, modified or transmitted in
any form or means without the prior written permission of Nokia Siemens Networks. The
documentation has been prepared to be used by professional and properly trained personnel,
and the customer assumes full responsibility when using it. Nokia Siemens Networks welcomes
customer comments as part of the process of continuous development and improvement of the
documentation.
The information or statements given in this documentation concerning the suitability, capacity, or
performance of the mentioned hardware or software products are given as is and all liability
arising in connection with such hardware or software products shall be defined conclusively and
finally in a separate agreement between Nokia Siemens Networks and the customer. However,
Nokia Siemens Networks has made all reasonable efforts to ensure that the instructions
contained in the document are adequate and free of material errors and omissions. Nokia
Siemens Networks will, if deemed necessary by Nokia Siemens Networks, explain issues which
may not be covered by the document.
Nokia Siemens Networks will correct errors in this documentation as soon as possible. IN NO
EVENT WILL NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS BE LIABLE FOR ERRORS IN THIS
DOCUMENTATION OR FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SPECIAL,
DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL OR ANY LOSSES, SUCH AS BUT
NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITY OR DATA, THAT MAY ARISE FROM THE USE OF THIS DOCUMENT OR THE
INFORMATION IN IT.
This documentation and the product it describes are considered protected by copyrights and
other intellectual property rights according to the applicable laws.
The wave logo is a trademark of Nokia Siemens Networks Oy. Nokia is a registered trademark of
Nokia Corporation. Siemens is a registered trademark of Siemens AG.
Other product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks of their respective owners,
and they are mentioned for identification purposes only.
Copyright Nokia Siemens Networks 2009. All rights reserved.

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Contents

Contents
Contents 3
1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4

Changes in IPv6 5
Common changes in all network elements 5
Changes in SGSN between releases 7.0 and 6.0 5
Changes in Flexi ISN between releases 3.2 and 3.0 6
Changes in GGSN between releases 5 and 4 6

2
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7

Introduction to IPv6 7
Benefits for the operator 13
Requirements 13
Compliance 13
Charging 14
Capacity 14
Restrictions 14
Related features 14

3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6

Description of IPv6 17
IPv6 design 17
IPv6 connection to the IP core network and the Internet 22
IPv6 parameters 23
IPv6 statistics 23
IPv6 alarms 23
Effect of IPv6 on different network elements (GPRS) 24

4
4.1
4.2
4.3

Interfaces of IPv6 29
Operator interfaces 29
Subscriber interfaces 29
External interfaces 29

Glossary 31

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IPv6

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Changes in IPv6

Changes in IPv6
This Feature Description covers Nokia Siemens Networks SGSN Release
7.0, Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi ISN Release 3.2 CD4, and Nokia
GGSN Release 5. Changes are described for each network element
release.

1.1

Common changes in all network elements

These changes are valid for the following releases: SGSN Release 7.0,
Flexi ISN Release 3.2 CD4 and GGSN Release 5.
Changes in content
There are no common changes in content.
Changes in documentation
The description of IPv6 for Nokia 3G SGSN has been removed.

1.2

Changes in SGSN between releases 7.0 and 6.0

Changes in content
IPv6 is supported in the network layer.
Changes in documentation
Added the Chapter IPv6 in the network layer in the Section Introduction to
IPv6.
Added the Lg interface in Chapter External interfaces.

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IPv6

Common changes in all network elements

1.3

Changes in Flexi ISN between releases 3.2 and 3.0

The product name has been changed.
IPv6 is now supported in Flexi ISN.

1.4

Changes in GGSN between releases 5 and 4

New in the GGSN is:

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Support for IMS services in IPv6

DNS discovery for IPv6

DHCP relay agent for IMS parameters.

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Introduction to IPv6

Introduction to IPv6
With Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) it is vital to have a well-balanced
user layer implementation. Implementing IPv6 on the backbone (network
layer) is not critical because currently IPv4 is capable of serving core
networks.
IPv6 in GPRS/3G systems
Some media types in multimedia communications, such as typical data
transport, utilised in Internet access, for example, are very bursty in nature.
The most efficient way of conveying this kind of traffic is by using packetswitched communications. Thus, 3G systems are also defined with packetswitched access for the users to the network as well as packet-switched
data transport in the core network.
3G systems are envisioned to offer the end users mobile access to the
Internet, which will increase the usage of Internet even more in the future.
The basic element of the Internet is the Internet Protocol (IP), defined by
the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). IP is the only protocol layer
that is utilised by every application that can be used through the Internet
and every computer attached to the Internet, making it a natural choice for
the packet switching protocol in the 3G systems.

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IPv6

HLR/
EIR/VLR
SMSCGMSC

BSC/
RNC

SCP

SGSN

Flexi ISN/
GGSN

LIG

CG

IPv4/IPv6 user layer

IPv4/IPv6 network layer

Figure 1.

SGSN in IPv6 network

PDF

SGSN

Flexi ISN/
GGSN

LIG

CG

Internet
IPv4/IPv6

IPv6 user layer

IPv4 network layer
IPv4/IPv6 user layer

Figure 2.

Flexi ISN/GGSN in IPv6 network

Besides being used for packet switched data access, it is becoming

evident that IP will be used for all multimedia communications, including
real-time communications, such as telephony. One reason for this is that
having only one type of switching in the network reduces costs. Another
reason is that packet switching can utilise the available bandwidth in the
network more efficiently than circuit switching, which is traditionally used in
telephony networks.

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Introduction to IPv6

The limited size and structure of the current Internet address space of IPv4
has caused difficulties in handling the explosive increase in the number of
Internet users. Neither network address leasing nor translation are ideal for
the new generation of applications such as IP telephony, mobile IP, and
push applications that assume unique addressing and client reachability.
In addition, emerging network-enabled embedded devices, personal digital
assistants (PDAs), hybrid mobile phones, and home area networks are
going to stress the shrinking availability of globally unique IP addresses.
IPv6 offers a more durable solution.
IPv6 in the Packet Switched Core Network (PS CN) in user layer
Nokia Siemens Networks SGSN, Flexi ISN, and GGSN support the usage
of IPv6 in addition to IPv4 as the user layer protocol. This inclusion of IPv6
in the user layer makes it possible for the users to use IPv6 connectivity
through the GPRS transport plane towards IPv6 networks.
The following figure presents the universal mobile telecommunications
system (UMTS) PS protocol architecture with IPv6 in the IP user layer.
This is the PS CN subsystem protocol architecture in Nokia Siemens
Networks SGSN, and Flexi ISN/GGSN.

R
User

Uu

Iu-PS

Phone

SGSN

RNC

TCP
IPv6
PPP

Gi

Gn
Flexi ISN/
GGSN

End user IPv6 connectivity

PPP

PDCP

PDCP
Backbone
layers

Figure 3.

IPv6

GTP

GTP

GTP

GTP

UDP

UDP

UDP

UDP

IPv4

IPv4

IPv4

IPv4

L2

L2

L2

L2

L2

IPv6 UMTS PS protocol architecture

In the usage of (2G) GSM, the base station system (BSS) does not
introduce many changes: in addition to the UMTS PS domain, there is also
2G GPRS based PS domain. The 2G GPRS protocol architecture is
presented in the following figure.

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IPv6

Gb

Um
BSC

Terminal/
MS

Gn

Gi
Flexi ISN/
GGSN

SGSN

TCP

TCP
End user IPv6 connectivity

IPv6

IPv6

SNDCP

SNDCP

GTP

GTP

LLC

LLC

UDP

UDP

RLC

RLC

BBSGP

BBSGP

IPv4/
IPv6

IPv4

MAC

MAC

NS

NS

L2

L2

GSM RF

GSM

UDP

UDP

IPv4/
IPv6

IPv4/
IPv6

L2

L2

Figure 4.

L2

IPv6 GPRS protocol architecture

As shown in the figures, IP may (and usually does) appear in two layers in
the protocol stacks of the GPRS transport plane that extends from the
terminal to the Flexi ISN/GGSN.
The IPv6 user layer packet transport has the most significant effect in the
terminal and in the Flexi ISN/GGSN, because the IP user layer packets are
tunnelled between these entities and the packets are mostly opaque to the
network elements participating in the tunnelling (the network elements do
not need to examine the IP user layer packet contents).
From the SGSN point of view, the IPv6 user layer does not have a major
impact compared to IPv4. The only new feature introduced by the IPv6
user layer in the SGSN is the IPv6 type PDP context creation. The SGSN
is involved in the PDP context creation between the terminal and GGSN
and thus the SGSN must be able to indicate towards the Flexi ISN/GGSN
that the PDP context type is IPv6.
As the GSM BSS does not perform IP header compression functionalities,
these functionalities reside in the SGSN. Thus, IPv6 user layer is offered
also to users accessing the IPv6 network through the GSM BSS.

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Introduction to IPv6

The Flexi ISN/GGSN is the network endpoint for the PDP context, so it
also has to be able to recognise the IPv6 PDP context type and allocate
the needed IPv6 addresses.
When the IPv6 PDP context has been activated, the terminal can send
IPv6 traffic in the IP user layer towards the Flexi ISN/GGSN, which acts as
the on-link router, in IPv6 terms, offering packet forwarding and routing
services.
The Nokia Siemens Networks implementation of IPv6 User Layer is in
accordance with 3GPP and is aligned with IETF specifications as to how
IPv6 is to be supported for next generation Internet applications.
IPv6 in the network layer
The IPv6 Network Layer feature enables the SGSN to communicate with
other network elements in the GPRS IP network using the IPv6 protocol.
The SGSN includes an IPv4/IPv6 dual stack, thus, the SGSN can
communicate with other network elements either with IPv6 or IPv4.
IPv6 is available by default in the Gp (other PLMN), Ga (charging), and the
Gn (GGSN) interfaces.
In the Gd, Gr, Ge, and Gf interfaces, it is available with the SS7 over IP
feature, as those interfaces are using the MAP protocol or base station
system application part (BSSAP+) protocol (Gs interface), and need
special support from SS7 over IP.
With the Gb over IP feature, IPv6 also becomes available in the Gb
interface towards the BSC. See the Figure IPv6 network layer for the
illustration of the IPv6 network layer.

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IPv6

SNDCP
MS

CAP

CAP

MAP

MAP

TCAP

TCAP

TCAP

TCAP

SCCP

SCCP

SCCP

SCCP

M3UA

M3UA

M3UA

M3UA

SCTP

SCTP

SCTP

SCTP

IPv6

IPv6

IPv6

IPv6

L2

L2

L2

L2

L1

L1

L1

L1

SCP

SGSN

LLC
BSSGP

BSSGP

Network
service
control

Network
service
control

UDP

UDP
IPv6

IPv6

L2

L2

L1

L1

Ge
SGSN

Gr/Gf/Gd
HLR/EIR/GMSC

Gb
BSC

SGSN

GTP

GTP

GTP

GTP

UDP

UDP

UDP

UDP

IPv6

IPv6

IPv6

IPv6

L2

L2

L2

L2

L1

L1

L1

L1

SGSN/GGSN

SGSN

SGSN

Gp/Gn

Ga

BSSAP+

BSSAP+

SCCP

SCCP

M3UA

M3UA

SCTP

SCTP

IPv6

IPv6

L2

L2

L1

L1

CG

SGSN

Figure 5.

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Gs

MSC/VLR

IPv6 network layer

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Introduction to IPv6

2.1

Benefits for the operator

IPv6 in the SGSN enables the operators to use more future proof IP
addressing mechanism for supporting end user applications. IPv6 also
enables the operators to attach a larger number of user equipment to their
network. The operator can sell IP services to companies requiring globally
unique IP addresses. With the IPv6 feature, the operator can use either
IPv4 or IPv6, or both.
The IPv6 network layer feature enables IPv6 end-to-end deployment on
the network level in the GPRS packet core network.

2.2

Requirements
Software requirements
This feature requires a fully functional SGSN environment.
IPv6 in the SGSN requires basic SGSN service functionality. Note that
features SGSN compression and Iu over IP are available from release 6.0
onwards.
Using IPv6 on the network layer requires a 3GPP Release 5 compatible
network. Earlier standardisation levels do not support mixing IPv4 and
IPv6 network elements in the network.
Hardware requirements
IPv6 has no special requirements for hardware in the SGSN or Flexi ISN/
GGSN.

2.3

Compliance
This feature complies with the following:
Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; 3GPP TS
23.060.
For more information, see 3GPP Release 5 documentation.

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IPv6

2.4

Charging
Charging is informed when one of the following session management
operations has been successfully carried out for an IPv6 PDP context:

2.5

mobile-originated (MO) PDP context activation

MO PDP context deactivation

network-requested PDP context deactivation

PDP context activation in a new unit during a routing update when

the packet processing unit (PAPU) or SGSN changes

PDP context removal from old unit during a routing update when the
PAPU unit or SGSN changes

PDP context deactivation due to operator initiated modification

PDP context deactivation due to network error

Capacity
The IPv6 feature has no effect on SGSN capacity. The packet size affects
subscriber in SGSN capacity.

2.6

Restrictions
There are no restrictions relevant to the functionality of this feature.

2.7

Related features
IPv6 in the SGSN is related to the following features:
.

SGSN Compression (SG01008)

Note that this feature is available only for 2G access. For more
information, see Feature SG01008: SGSN Compression, Feature
Description.

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IPv6 User Layer (SG01000)

Iu over IP (SG01119)

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Introduction to IPv6

For more information, see Feature SG02001: SGSN 3G Access

Support, Feature Description and Feature SG01119: Iu over IP,
Feature Description.
.

Security
For more information, see Nokia Siemens Networks Packet Core
Security, System Feature description.

Packet Data Transfer

GPRS Subscriber Data Management (SG01031)

Charging
For more information, see Feature SG01015: Charging, Feature
Description and SG01189: Local Charging Gateway Function,
Feature Description.

Statistics (SG01016)

Interworking with CS Services (SG01018)

SMS Support (SG01010, SG03010)

Priority Based Quality of Service (SG01002)

For more information, see Feature SG01027: Quality of Service,
Feature Description.

Gb over IP (SG01048)

Lawful Interception

SS7 over IP (SG01051)

3G Location Services (SG01172)

IPv6 in the GGSN is related to the following feature:

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Open Shortest Path First version 3 (OSPFv3)

DHCP relay agent for IMS parameters

DNS discovery for IPv6

Support for IMS services as specified in 3GPP Release 5

Lawful Interception

Charging

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IPv6

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Description of IPv6

Description of IPv6
This feature enables the GPRS mobile station (MS) / user equipment (UE)
to connect to an IPv6 packet data network through SGSN. The GPRS MS/
UE activates the PDP context with IPv6 address. In the PDP context
activation, the data transmission connection is created between the MS/
UE and the external packet data network. IPv6 protocol is used.

3.1

IPv6 design
IPv6 header
The following figure presents the IPv6 header.

16

8
Version

Traffic Class
Payload Length

24

32

Flow Label
Next Header

Hop Limit

Source Address

Destination Address

Figure 6.

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IPv6 header

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IPv6

The following list contains the descriptions of each field in the header:
Version
Traffic Class
Flow Label
Payload Length
Next Header
Hop Limit

Source Address

4-bit IP version number = 6

8-bit traffic class field (to be used with DiffServ, and
so on)
20-bit flow label
Length of the IPv6 payload in octets, including
extension headers
8-bit selector, identifying the type of the header
immediately after the IPv6 header
8-bit unsigned integer, decremented by 1 for each
hop and causing the packet to be discarded, if
decremented to zero
128-bit address of the originator of the packet

The IPv6 header yields a total of 320 bits = 40 octets (bytes). Note that the
(basic) IPv6 header is always exactly 40 octets long while the length of the
IPv4 header (at least 20 octets) depends on the options present in the
header. All the optional information is carried in separate extension
headers in IPv6. This arrangement enables the routers to examine more
efficiently whether or not the packet to be forwarded contains optional
information that has to be processed by the router.
Extension headers
In the IPv6 optional Internet layer information is encoded in separate
headers, extension headers, that can be placed between the IPv6 header
and the upper-layer header in the IPv6 packet. The Next Header field in
the IPv6 header and in each of the extension headers indicates the next
extension header or the payload protocol (in the last extension header or
IPv6 header, if no extension headers are present). Thus, the extension
headers form "a daisy chain" of headers. If a particular extension header is
not followed by another extension header or a payload protocol, a Next
Header value of 59 is used to indicate that. Figure Daisy chaining of IPv6
extension headers presents examples of the usage of extension headers.

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Description of IPv6

IPv6 header
Next Header = TCP

IPv6 header
Next Header=
Routing

TCP header + data

Routing Header
Next Header = TCP TCP header + data

IPv6 header

Routing Header

Next Header=
Routing

Next Header=
Authentication

Figure 7.

Authentication
Header
Next Header = TCP

TCP header + data

Daisy chaining of IPv6 extension headers

Initially, there are six mandatory extension headers in a full IPv6

implementation:
.

Hop-by-Hop Options header

The Hop-by-Hop Options header is used to carry information
(options) that has to be examined by every node on the packet's
delivery path.

Routing header (Type 0)

The Routing header is used by the source of an IPv6 packet to list
one or more nodes through which the packet must be conveyed
before reaching its final destination. A special use for the Routing
header will be the usage for route optimization purposes of mobile
IPv6.

Fragment header
The Fragment header is used by an IPv6 source to send a packet
that is bigger than the maximum transmission unit (MTU) allowed in
the packet's delivery path. If a source node notices that the IPv6
packet about to be sent is too big to fit in the path, it can divide the
packet into multiple fragments and send each fragment as a
separate packet to the destination MTU, where the packet will be
reassembled. While IPv4 allows routers to fragment packets, IPv6
does not allow fragmentation by routers, thus allowing only the
source to fragment packets. If a sent packet is bigger than the path
MTU in IPv6, the packet is dropped and the source is informed about
the oversized packet by an Internet control message protocol
(ICMP) message (Packet Too Big).

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IPv6

Destination Options header

The Destination Options header carries optional information
(options) that has to be examined by the packet's destination node
(s).

Authentication header
The Authentication header provides integrity and authentication to
the whole IP packet, including the IP header.

Encapsulating Security Payload

The Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) header provides
confidentiality (encryption) to the IP payload and also to IPv6
extension headers, when these are inserted in the packet in a
position after the ESP header. ESP can also be used to provide
integrity and authentication for the payload (and the ESP header
itself), but not for the whole IP packet. ESP is located after the
Authentication header in the IPv6 packet, if Authentication header is
used.

The nodes (routers) only examine the Hop-by-Hop Options header on the
packet's path to its destination node.
Additionally, when Routing header is used, the packet route can have two
destinations: the ultimate destination (the intended recipient of the packet)
and the next destination (one of the intermediate destinations in the
delivery path, explicitly specified in the Routing header). In this case, a
separate Destination header can be present for both the ultimate
destination and the intermediate destinations (the same Destination
header applies to all of these), or for either of these, or for neither of these.
Header compression in Nokia Siemens Networks SGSN
Compression is available for Nokia Siemens Networks SGSN only for the
2G access. For more information, see Feature SG01008: SGSN
Compression, Feature Description.
IPv6 addresses
IPv6 addresses are 128-bit identifiers for interfaces and sets of interfaces.
A node (irrespective of whether it is a host or a router) can have multiple
interfaces and each interface can have (and almost always has) multiple
IPv6 addresses associated with it. Thus, a node can be invoked by several
different addresses.
There are three types of IPv6 addresses:

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Description of IPv6

Unicast address
This identifies a single interface. A packet sent to a Unicast address
is delivered to the interface identified by that address.

Anycast address
This identifies a set of interfaces. A packet sent to an Anycast
address is delivered to one of the interfaces identified by that
address.

Multicast address
This identifies a set of interfaces. A packet sent to a Multicast
address is delivered to all interfaces identified by that address.

Unlike in IPv4, in IPv6 there are no broadcast addresses, but Multicast

addresses are used instead.
Besides global IPv6 addresses, IPv6 defines special address forms for
locally used Unicast and Anycast addresses:
.

Link-local addresses are designed to be used for addressing within a

single link
The Link-local addresses are used for purposes such as address
autoconfiguration and neighbour discovery, or in cases when no
routers are present on the link. Routers must never forward packets
with Link-local addresses either as the Source Address or the
Destination Address to other links.

Site-local addresses are designed to be used for addressing within a

site
The use of Site-local addresses suppresses the need to allocate
global prefixes and thus global addresses for links in a site. They can
be used, for example, to form private IPv6 networks, not connected
to the Internet. Routers must never forward packets with Site-Local
addresses either as the Source Address or the Destination Address
outside the site.

Interface identifiers in IPv6 Unicast addresses are used to identify

interfaces on a link. Thus, an interface identifier must be unique within that
link. The interface identifier can be unique within a larger scope than a link,
even globally unique. In many cases, the interface identifier is formed from
the interface's link layer address. In most IPv6 addresses, the interface
identifier is required to be 64 bits long, thus leaving 64 bits of the total
address to be used for routing purposes.

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IPv6

3.2

IPv6 connection to the IP core network and the

Internet
From the IPv6 point of view, the Flexi ISN/GGSN functions as the router
that is linked with the terminals with which it has a PDP context. Thus the
introduction of IPv6 in the IP user layer introduces the functionality of an
IPv6 router to the Flexi ISN/GGSN.
Address allocation
When the IPv6 PDP context is being created for a user using a terminal,
the Flexi ISN/GGSN must also allocate an IPv6 address for the terminal.
The Flexi ISN/GGSN allocates a link-local IPv6 address for the mobile
terminal when the PDP context activation is performed. The link-local
address includes an Interface Identifier (64 bits). The terminal can try to
suggest an interface identifier, created by the terminal itself, but this
Interface Identifier is dropped by the SGSN and ignored by the Flexi ISN/
GGSN (if it would receive one), thus the Flexi ISN/GGSN always allocates
the Interface Identifier for the terminal to be used with the PDP context.
When the PDP context has been activated and the mobile terminal has a
link-local address, it sends an ICMPv6 Router Solicitation message to the
Flexi ISN/GGSN, which responds with an ICMPv6 router advertisement
message. The router advertisement includes the 64-bit subnet prefix(es)
that the mobile terminal can use to form its global or site-local IPv6
address(es). The Flexi ISN/GGSN is aware of all of the IPv6 addresses of
the IPv6 PDP contexts it has. Thus, the Flexi ISN/GGSN is able to make
sure that duplicate addresses do not exist for the terminals that are
connected through it and the IPv6 duplicate address detection procedure
(defined in the Stateless Address Autoconfiguration specification, RCF
2462 Dec 98) does not need to be performed by the terminal. If the
terminal attempts to perform the duplicate address detection, the Flexi
ISN/GGSN should just intercept and ignore such messages.
Routing and forwarding packets
The Flexi ISN/GGSN must have IPv6 routing capability. The needed
routing protocols depend on the infrastructure to which the Flexi ISN/
GGSN is attached. If the IPv6 capable Flexi ISN/GGSN is attached directly
to an IPv6 backbone, either routing information protocol for IPv6 (RIPng)
or open shortest path first (OSPF) is required. GPRS systems rely on
OSPF for IPv4, but initially RIPng and OSPFv3 are supported for IPv6 in
Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi ISN and Nokia GGSN.

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Description of IPv6

As a router, the Flexi ISN/GGSN forwards IPv6 packets from the mobile
terminals towards the IPv6 network and vice versa. The Flexi ISN/GGSN
does not examine the IPv6 extension headers, but forwards them without
other processing.
If the Flexi ISN/GGSN is not attached directly to an IPv6 backbone, but
only to an IPv4 backbone, it must use some IPv6 over IPv4 Tunnelling
mechanisms so it can route the IPv6 packets to and from the IPv6 capable
terminals.

3.3

IPv6 parameters
The configurable parameters for the SGSN are described in Nokia
Siemens Networks SGSN documentation, GPRS NS Layer Handling FW
command group.
The configurable parameters for the Flexi ISN/GGSN are described in the
Flexi ISN and GGSN documentation, Access Points in Nokia Siemens
Networks Flexi ISN and Access Points in Nokia GGSN.

3.4

IPv6 statistics
The following counter is used to monitor the IPv6 feature in Nokia Siemens
Networks SGSN:

Table 1.

IPv6 statistics

Counter number

Counter

Description

4031

Count of active contexts

using PDP type IPv6

Number of active PDP

contexts that are using the
IPv6 PDP type.

For more information, see SGSN Counters.

3.5

IPv6 alarms
The following alarms are related to IPv6 in Nokia Siemens Networks
SGSN:

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IPv6

Table 2.

IPv6 alarms

Alarm number

Alarm name

Description

3020

NETWORK VIRTUAL
CONNECTION
UNAVAILABLE

This alarm is set when the virtual connection

is unavailable. Note that the alarm is also set
if the Gb interface is configured over Frame
Relay or over IP using IPv4.

3152

LIB CONNECTION
FAILURE

This alarm is set when the system has failed

to establish the TCP/IP connection to the
Lawful Interception Browser (LIB) or the
connection is lost.

3056

AN INOPERATIVE
CHARGING GATEWAY

This alarm is set when charging is informed

that a Charging Gateway (CG) has been
inoperative or a connection to a CG has been
lost.

For more information, see SGSN Failure Printouts (2000-3999) in Nokia

Siemens Networks SGSN documentation.

3.6

Effect of IPv6 on different network elements

(GPRS)
Dual stack
Both IPv4 and IPv6 are supported (dual stack) from Nokia Siemens
Networks SGSN release 3 onwards. Because the IP backbone used
between the SGSN and Flexi ISN/GGSN is IPv4-based and the Flexi ISN/
GGSN must also be able to route the IPv6 user layer traffic, the Flexi ISN/
GGSN is necessarily a dual stack node.
SGSN
The SGSN implements the following IPv6-related functionality:
.

IPv6 PDP context type negotiation

Flexi ISN/GGSN
The Flexi ISN/GGSN implements the following IPv6 related functionalities:

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Description of IPv6

Address allocation and IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration

procedure (as a router)
This item also includes the functionality of making sure that duplicate
addresses do not exist in the subnets (access points) controlled by
the Flexi ISN/GGSN. Dynamic address allocation has the following
main tasks:
.
managing its internal address pool, including initialisation and
freeing
.
assigning new addresses
.
unassigning used addresses

IPv6 packet filtering and security checks

Some sort of packet filtering has to be done to optimise radio
interface usage. Packets can be either dropped and ignored or some
response messages can be generated.
The following kinds of packets has to be filtered out:
.
All link-local Multicast packets sent by mobile
.
All site-local Multicast packets sent by mobile
.
All global Multicast packets has to be dropped and ignored
.
All duplicate address detection (DAD) messages sent by
mobile has to be dropped and ignored
.
All neighbour discovery protocol (ND) messages with Multicast
destination address sent by mobile has to be dropped and
ignored. However, ND messages with Unicast address would
be forwarded as normally.
The following packet has to be inspected and some response
messages must be generated:
.
Router advertisement messages are created automatically
based on router solicitation message sent by mobile.
Security restrictions:
.
If inter-mobile traffic is not enabled, the mobile cannot send a
packet to another mobile within its home Flexi ISN/GGSN.
.
The mobile cannot send a packet to any interface of Flexi ISN/
GGSN.
.
The mobile cannot send a packet with source address that is
not equal to its own address.

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6to4 tunnelling

configured tunnelling

IPv6 routing protocol (RIPng)

IPv6 routing protocol (OSPFv3)

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IPv6

IMS Services in IPv6

Flexi ISN/GGSN interconnects with the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS)
according to the 3GPP Release 5. New end-user applications like PoC,
instant messaging or video sharing based on IPv6 are then supported with
the help of the Flexi ISN/GGSN. The only new interface between the IMS
and the packet core is the interface between the Flexi ISN/GGSN and the
connection processing server (CPS). The CPS consists of several logical
network elements, like the proxy call session control function (P-CSCF)
and the policy decision function (PDF). With the GGSN Rel 5.0 / Flexi ISN
the Go interface is introduced to allow signalling between the Packet Core
Network and the PDF. The user traffic and the signalling between the UE
and the P-CSCF are handled through the Gi interface and transparent to
the Flexi ISN/GGSN. The IMS interfaces supported in the Flexi ISN/GGSN
are based on IPv6. The IMS licence is needed to enable the Go interface
and the IP multimedia subsystem related functions.
DNS discovery
Flexi ISN/GGSN supports DNS server address request coming from the
MS as specified in the 3GPP 24.008 (Release 5). Flexi ISN/GGSN will
then pass the IPv6 address of the DNS server to the terminal. The
functionality requires IMS license.
DHCP relay agent
Before MS can use IMS services, it needs to determine the IP address of
the P-CSCF. MS may use DHCP to determine the address of the P-CSCF.
Flexi ISN/GGSN will then function as DHCP relay agent. DHCP may be
used to determine the IP address of the DNS server. The functionality is
supported only for IPv6, and it is based on 3GPP standards 23.228,
24.228 and 29.061 (Release 5), and also to IETF RFCs 3315 and 3319.
Lawful Interception Controller (LIC)
LIC supports application level IPv4/IPv6 (in PDP contexts).
Lawful Interception Gateway (LIG)
LIG supports application level IPv4/IPv6 (in PDP contexts).

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Description of IPv6

Table 3.

IPv6 features in Packet Core network elements

Network element

Functionalities of IPv6

SGSN

IPv6 user layer

IPv6 network layer
IPv6 address negotiation

Flexi ISN/GGSN

IPv6 dual stack on user IP layer

Configured tunnelling
IPv6 dynamic address allocation
Support for IMS services in IPv6
DNS discovery for IPv6
DHCP relay agent for IMS parameters

LIG

IPv6 is explicitly allowed for the LIG system

implementation
IPv6 network layer

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IPv6

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Interfaces of IPv6

Interfaces of IPv6

4.1

Operator interfaces
The operator interface in the Flexi ISN and GGSN is Voyager, a graphical
web interface. In the SGSN, the MML commands of the GPRS NS Layer
Handling, FW, are used for managing the IPv6-related interfaces.

4.2

Subscriber interfaces
The IPv6 feature in the SGSN has no subscriber interfaces.

4.3

External interfaces
IPv6 in the SGSN has the following interfaces:

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Gb interface with the base station subsystem (BSS)

Iu interface with the radio access network (RAN)

Gp interface with the Flexi ISN/gateway GPRS support node

(GGSN)

Gd interface with the gateway MSC (GMSC)

Gn interface with the Flexi ISN/GGSN

Ga interface with the charging gateway (CG)

Gr interface with the home location register (HLR)

Gs interface with the mobile services switching centre (MSC)/visitor

location register (VLR)

Gf interface with the equipment identity register (EIR)

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IPv6

LIG interface with the lawful interception controller (LIC ) / lawful

interception browser (LIB)

Lg interface with the gateway mobile location centre (GMLC)

The external interfaces of the Flexi ISN/GGSN are:

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Gi interface with the packet data network

Go interface with policy decision function (PDF)

Ga interface with the CG

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Glossary

Glossary
6to4

Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) address space type

that starts with 2002.
BSS (base station subsystem)
system consisting of several base stations (BS) and
one base station controller (BSC), representing the
radio network in a specific geographical area
CG (charging gateway)
network element which receives charging data
records (CDR) from other network elements, gathers
CDRs of one call together, and then forwards the
collected CDRs to the billing system
DF (delivery function)
delivery function 2 (DF2) is for intercept-related
information or delivery function 3 (DF3) for
communication content
DAD (duplicate address detection)
procedure that an IPv6 host performs to determine
that the address it wishes to use on the logical link is
not already in use
DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol)
protocol used for dynamic IP address allocation
GMLC (gateway mobile location centre)
mobile network equipment which transmits location
information produced by the location server from the
mobile network to the applications which provide
location-based services
GMSC (gateway MSC)
mobile services switching centre (MSC) that makes
the routing interrogation for mobile-terminating calls
GPRS (general packet radio service)
mobile service which gives packet-switched access
over GSM to external data networks

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IPv6

GTP (GPRS tunneling protocol)

protocol used in GPRS for transmitting user data
packets and signalling between GPRS support nodes
(GSN) over GPRS backbone network
LIB (lawful interception browser)
network element that stores the interception-related
information (IRI) and communication content (CC)
which are sent as such to the defined law
enforcement agencies (LEA)
LIC (lawful interception controller)
network element the interface of which is used for
controlling lawful interception and through which the
authorisation authority (AA) can give permissions to
intercept subscribers and the law enforcement
agency (LEA) can use for activating and deactivating
interceptions
LIG (lawful interception gateway)
system of network elements in the GPRS or 3G
network that performs lawful interception
MSC (mobile services switching centre)
mobile network element which performs the
switching functions in its area of operation and
controls the interworking with other networks
ND (neighbour discovery protocol)
series of Internet control message protocol for IPv6
(ICMPv6) messages and processes that manage the
interaction of nodes on the same link (neighbouring
nodes)
OSPF (open shortest path first)
a link-state routing protocol that is used to calculate
routes based on the number of routers, transmission
speed, delays and route cost
PDA (personal digital assistant)
portable device combining a wide range of functions,
such as diary, address book, word processor, and
calculator
PDP (packet data protocol)
network element of the public land mobile network
(PLMN) containing subscriber-related information for
authentication purposes
PLMN (public land mobile network)
mobile network for the specific purpose of providing
land mobile communication services to the public

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Glossary

RAN (radio access network)

third generation network that provides mobile access
to a number of core networks of both mobile and fixed
origin
RNC (radio network controller)
network element in a radio access network, which is
in charge of controlling the use and integrity of the
radio resources
RIP (routing information protocol)
interior gateway protocol used to exchange
information between routers
SNDCP (subnetwork dependent convergence protocol)
layer which provides a convergence functions
between the lower level GPRS protocols and the
various network-level protocols, and compresses
user data to improve channel efficiency
TCP (transmission control protocol)
protocol that provides the transport service located in
the transport layer of the OSI model
UDP (user datagrams protocol)
connectionless transport protocol which provides the
exchange of datagrams without acknowledgement or
guaranteed delivery
VLR (visitor location register)
register of a mobile network where all subscriber
parameters for call set-up are stored as long as the
mobile subscriber is in a location area controlled by
this register

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