LTE Network Architecture

Privileged and confidential. The information contained in this material is privileged and confidential, and is intended
only for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed and others who have been specifically authorized to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this
material is strictly prohibited. If you have received this material in error, please destroy it immediately.

LTE Network Architecture

Basic LTE Network Architecture Overview

Function of the eNodeB

Function of the X2
Function of the Serving Gateway
Function of the PDN Gateway
Some of the functions of the MME

LTE Carriers

RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
Re-Farming
Time-Division Duplexing (TDD)

LTE Network Architecture

Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN)

Evolved Packet Core (EPC)

UMTS Terrestrial Radio

Access Network

HSS

ALL IP NETWORK
MME: Mobility Management Entity

S6a

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)
LTE-UE

MME

X2
S1-MME

S11

Signalling

S5

S1-U

Internet/IMS

LTE-Uu
S3

DATA

DATA
S4

Serving
Gateway

DATA

PDN
Gateway

DATA

SGSN

Connection to
3G network

S3 interface connects MME directly to SGSN for signaling to

support mobility across LTEand UTRAN
3

LTE Network Architecture

Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN)
Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
EPS (Evolved Packet switched System)
UMTS Terrestrial Radio
HSS
EPS Bearer
Access Network
ALL IP NETWORK
'EPS Bearer' as a pipe line through which data traffic flows
PDN
Serving
MME: Mobility Management Entity Gateway
S6a Gateway

Radio Bearer
Evolved
Node B
(eNB)
LTE-UE
Signalling

X2- Bearer
S1
S1-MME

MME

S5 - Bearer
S11
S5

S1-U

Internet/IMS

LTE-Uu
S3

DATA

DATA
S4

Serving
Gateway

DATA

PDN
Gateway

DATA

SGSN

Connection to
3G network

S3 interface connects MME directly to SGSN for signaling to

support mobility across LTEand UTRAN
4

Evolved Node B (eNB)

Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN)
S1-MME

MME

Signalling

HANDOVE
R

Source eNodeB

Target
eNodeB

X2

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

Admission control
Load Control
Packet Scheduling

Evolved Node B (eNB)

DATA

S1-U
Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

In LTE, eNBs (evolved NodeB)

manage radio resource and
mobility:
Admission control
Load Control
Packet Scheduling

Admission control
Load Control
Packet Scheduling

eNodeB Control Plane

control plane
RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION message is the
command to modify an RRC connection.
To establish/modify/release Radio Bearers
To perform Handover
To setup/modify/release Measurements

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

Signalling

RRC Connection Reconfiguration

RRC

PDCP
RLC
MAC

RRC: Measurement Report

Other examples
RRCConnectionReject
RRCConnectionRelease
RRCConnectionRequest
RRCConnectionSetup

PDCP

RLC
MAC
L1

L1
eNode B

RRC

AirInterface

eNode B
6

UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

RLC
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
Application

PACKET
SWITCH

TCP/UDP

PACKET
SWITCH

IP
Relay

RLC
MAC
L1

UE

AirInterface

GTP-U

RLC

UDP

MAC

IP

L1

L1/L2

eNode B

S1

IP

IP

Relay

PDCP

TCP/UDP

Relay

IP

PDCP

Application

PACKET
SWITCH

GTP-U

GTP-U

GTP-U

UDP

UDP

UDP

IP

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2

Serving Gateway

S5/S8

IP

L1/L2

L1/L2
SGi

L1/L2
PDN Gateway

Server

eNodeB interfaces

LTE-Uu
Air-Interface

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

Radio Conditions SINR

MME:
Mobility Management Entity

S1-MME

Control Plane

dynamic adaptive modulation

64QAM

16QAM
Data

QPSK

scheduler

Data

Serving
Gateway

Data

User Plane

S1-U
I need to
give QoS

Serving Gateway
MME: Mobility Management Entity

S1-U

S11

DATA

DATA

S5

Serving
Gateway
EPS Bearer
Radio Bearer

S1 - Bearer

S5 - Bearer

Serving Gateway
MME: Mobility Management Entity

S1-U

S11

DATA

DATA

S5

3G

Serving
Gateway
SGSN

RNC
10

MME
control plane

Home Subscriber Server

Evolved
Node B
(eNB)

HSS

MME:
Mobility Management Entity
IMSI

Tracking
Area

S-TMSI

S1-MME

Signalling

tracking area
update
Attach : IMSI OR GUTI

NAS

NAS
Paging

RRC

RRC Signalling

PDCP

International mobile Subscriber Identity or IMSI

PDCP

RLC

MAC

RRC

RLC
AirInterface

The TMSI It is allocated to a particular subscriber's (U)SIM card)

during initial attach.

MAC

L1

L1

UE

eNode B

11

Paging with s-TMSI

The UE needs to know the MME
id
For routing NAS message to the
appropriate MME

12

Attach Accept

S1-MME

MME:
Mobility Management Entity
Group 1 Code 1

Attach Accept

Periodic TAU: Upon the expiry of timer T3412

Globally Unique Temporary ID

13

Globally Unique Temporary ID

Tracking Area

Tracking Area

MME Group

The TRACKING AREA UPDATING (TAU)

procedure is always initiated by the UE.

MME
Code

MME
Code

NAS: Tracking Area

update

Normal TAU
Combined TAU
Periodic TAU: Upon the expiry of timer T3412
MME load balancing: When the UE receives
RRC CONNECTION RELEASE message
with cause load balancing TAU required', it
initiates TAU procedure

14

User plane - Bearers

LTE-Uu

S1-U

Serving
Gateway

S5

PGateway

PDN

End to End Bearer

External Bearer

EPS Bearer

Radio Bearer

S1 - Bearer

S5 - Bearer

E-RAB

Evolved Packet switched System

15

Bearers
LTE-Uu

S1-U

Packet
Scheduling

Serving
Gateway

S5

PDN

PDN

Default Bearer

Default EPS Bearer :

Be established during Attach Process
Allocate IP address to UE
Does not have specifc QoS (only Nominal QoS is applied).
Packet
Scheduling

PGateway

Dedicated Bearer
Does not allocate any
additional IP address to UE
Is linked to a specified
default EPS bearer

Dedicated Bearer

Dedicated Bearer
Normally be established during the call setup after idle mode.
Have a specific (usually guaranteed) QoS

Packet
Scheduling

Packet
Scheduling

Default Bearer

Default bearers are created on a per PDN

basis.

Dedicated Bearer

Each default bearer comes with an IP

address

16

Packet Data Network Gateway

LTE-Uu

S1-U

Serving
Gateway

S5

PGateway

PDN

The PDN GW provides connectivity to the UE to external packet data networks

by being the point of exit and entry of traffic for the UE.
A UE may have simultaneous connectivity with more than one PDN GW for
accessing multiple PDNs.

The PDN GW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user,
charging support, lawful Interception

17

Traffic Flow Templates (TFT)

Each EPS bearer is associated with a traffic flow template (TFT).
This comprises a set of packet filters, one for each of the packet flows that
make up the bearer.
The PDN GW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user,
charging support, lawful Interception

Packet
filters
Packet
filters

EPS Bearer ID
Data Bearer 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

Packet
filters

Data Bearer 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

Packet
filters

Source address (with subnet mask)

IP protocol number (TCP, UDP)
Destination port
Source port range
Type of Service (TOS) (IPv4)
Flow-Label (IPv6 only)

Dedicated
EPS bearer

PGateway
18

Traffic Flow Templates (TFT)

0

VERS

HLEN

16
TOS

24

31

Total Length

Identification
Time To Live

19

Flags

Protocol

Fragment Offset
Header Checksum

Source IP Address
Destination IP Address
IP Options (If any)

Padding

DATA
...

Packet
filters
Packet
filters

EPS Bearer ID
Data Bearer 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

Packet
filters

Data Bearer 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

GTP-U Tunnel 8

Packet
filters

Source address (with subnet mask)

IP protocol number (TCP, UDP)
Destination port
Source port range
Type of Service (TOS) (IPv4)
Flow-Label (IPv6 only)

Dedicated
EPS bearer

PGateway
19

Bearers-QoS Class Identifier

LTE-Uu

S1-U

Serving
Gateway

Packet
Scheduling

Default Bearer

Packet
Scheduling

Dedicated Bearer

S5

PGateway

PDN

A packet with higher

priority can be
expected to be
scheduled before a
packet with lower
priority.

20

Summary so far
Can you answer this Question
What is meant by an EPS bearer?
virtual connection between two endpoints (e.g. a UE and a PDN-GW)
A QoS Class Index (QCI) that describes the type of service that makes use
of the virtual connection (e.g. conversational voice, streaming video,
signaling, best effort, etc).
Inside each EPS node, the QCI points to more detailed pre-configured QoS
attributes (e.g. maximum delay, residual error rate, etc). These QoS
attributes characterize the type of transport service provided by the virtual
connection
Flow specification that describes the guaranteed and maximum bitrate
(GBR, MBR) of the aggregate traffic flow

21

Summary so far
Can you answer this Question
What is meant by an Traffic Flow Template?
A filter specification that describes the traffic flows (in terms of IP
addresses, protocols, port numbers, etc) for which the transport service is
provided between the two endpoints

filter
Serving
Gateway

P- Gateway

filter

22

LTE Carriers

Privileged and confidential. The information contained in this material is privileged and confidential, and is intended
only for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed and others who have been specifically authorized to receive
it. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this
material is strictly prohibited. If you have received this material in error, please destroy it immediately.

What are the Reference Signals-Used for ?

SINR ave =
Physical Cell Identity

Reference Signals-Used for cell search,

channel estimation and neighbour cell
monitoring (handover & Cell selection)

S
I+N
I = Iown + Iother

Path Loss
DLRS SINR
Path Loss
Traffic SINR

Physical Resource block

QPSK,
16QAM,
64QAM
24

Physical Cell Identity

(PCI) =20

ref signals

Physical Cell Identity

(PCI) =55

64 bit QAM
SIBs/RRC messages

SINR-4dBm

Down Link Bearers

QPSK

I can now send a

measurement report

This is a
shared
channel
(PDSCH
)

Power 41.46

SINR+19dB
m

I am idle I
need to do cell
selection
Lets look at
Ref Signals

25

UE measurements
Cell selection/reselection

In handover, it has to measure the signal

strength/quality of the neighbour cells &
send a report to the network.
Event A5. Serving cell becomes worse than an absolute
threshold and the neighbouring cells is better than
another absolute threshold

In LTE network, a UE measures two

parameters on reference signal:

RSRP (Reference Signal Received

Power)

LTE

3G

In cellular networks, when a mobile moves

from cell to cell and performs cell
selection/reselection

IDLE

LTE

SIBParameters
for cell
selection

GSM

UE makes the decision based

on
Handover
RRC CONNECTION RECONFIGURATION

Serving cell
MME

Measurement
Report A5

neighbouring cell

RSRQ (Reference Signal Received

Quality)
26

UE measurements
In LTE network, a UE measures two parameters on reference signal:

RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power)

RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality)

Qrxlevmin used for cell

selection in 3GPP release 8
Minimum required RX level
in the cell (dBm)

Cell selection/reselection
IDLE
SIB1/3
Parameters for cell
selection

Qrxlevmin and Qqualmin

used for cell selection from
3GPP release 9
Minimum required quality
level in the cell (dB)

Intra Freq Cell Reselection

27

Reference Signal Receive Power

12 sub-carriers

Antenna 1
Without MIMO

RSRP (Reference Signal

Receive Power) is the
average power of
Resource Elements (RE)
that carry cell specific
Reference Signals (RS)
over the entire
bandwidth, so RSRP is
only measured in the
symbols carrying RS

1 ms

Reference Signals occupy

8 out of 168
symbols(14x12)
28

Reference Signal Receive Power

RSRP (Reference Signal Receive Power) is the average power of Resource
Elements (RE) that carry cell specific Reference Signals (RS) over the entire
bandwidth, so RSRP is only measured in the symbols carrying RS
Reference signals similar to CPICH in
WCDMA

Reference signals reduce the maximum

achievable user plane bit rate by
occupying a subset of the resource
block symbol locations

12 sub-carriers

Used for cell search, channel estimation

and neighbour cell monitoring

Without MIMO

Reference signals are distributed in

both the time and frequency domains

Antenna 1

1 ms
Reference Signals occupy
8 out of 168 symbols

RSRP measures signal power from a specific sector while excluding noise and
interference from other sectors
29

Sub
channel
RSRP (Reference Signal Receive Power)
is the average power of Resource
Elements (RE) that carry cell specific
Reference Signals (RS) over the entire
bandwidth, so RSRP is only measured in
the symbols carrying Reference Signals

30

Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)

31

Received Signal Strength Indicator

RSSI is effectively a measurement of all of the power contained in the
applicable spectrum (1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20MHz).
This could be signals, control channels, data channels, adjacent cell power,
background noise, everything.
RSSI varies with LTE downlink bandwidth

Point of interest
32

Reference Signal Receive Quality

RSRP provides information about signal strength and RSSI helps in
determining interference and noise information.
This is the reason, RSRQ (Reference Signal Receive Quality)
measurement and calculation is based on both RSRP and RSSI

RSRQ is defined
as the ratio
NRSRP / (EUTRA carrier
RSSI)

33

Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)

LOADED
UNLOADED
RSRQ affected by cell loads.

34

Reference Signal Receive Quality

Bandwidth 1.4
(MHz)
# of RBs
6
Subcarrier
s

72

10

15

20

15

25

50

75

100

180 300 600 900 1200

Point of interest

RSRQ = n x RSRP/RSSI
RSRQ = 10 log 25 + (-102.77 (- 82 .71)
=13.97 + (-20.06)
=-6.09
35

Measurement Reports: Received Signal Received

Power (RSRP)
Equivalent to CPICH RSCP (absolute power measurement)
Represents the average power of a Resource Element occupied by the
cell specific Reference Signal (excludes the cyclic prefix power)
Average is taken in linear units
Measured from the first antenna port by default
Can also be measured from both the first and second antenna ports
The reference point for the RSRP shall be the antenna connector of the
UE
If receiver diversity is in use by the UE, the reported value shall not be
lower than the corresponding RSRP of any of the individual diversity
branches

36

Measurement Reports: Received Received Signal

Received Quality (RSRQ)
Equivalent to CPICH Ec/Io (signal to noise measurement)
Defined as:
RSRQ = n x RSRP/RSSI

N is the number of Resource Blocks over which the RSSI is measured

RSSI is measured from OFDMA symbols which include the cell specific
Reference Signals for antenna port 0
The reference point for the RSRQ shall be the antenna connector of the UE

37

Summary so far
RSRP provides information about signal strength and
RSSI helps in determining interference and noise
information

RSRQ (Reference
Signal Receive Quality)
measurement and
calculation is based on
both RSRP and RSSI
RSRQ = n x RSRP/RSSI

What does this tell

you?

RSRP level = -70

RSRQ level = -20

38

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
Band 1
2110-2170 MHz

receiver
transmitter

1920-1980 MHZ

Frequency-division duplexing (FDD) means that the transmitter and

receiver operate at different carrier frequencies.
E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

60Mh
z

60Mh
z

Bandwidth 1.4
(MHz)

10

15

20

# of RBs

15

25

50

75

100

Subcarriers

72

180

300

600

900

1200

FOR LTE REL8

39

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
20Mh
z

receiver
Filters
are required

Filters
are required

2110-2130 MHz

Type 1: used for the

LTE FDD mode systems

transmitter
1920-1940 MHZ

Duplex is a scheme whereby transmissions may be sent in both directions simultaneously

Channel separation between the transmission and reception frequencies must be sufficient
to enable the receiver not to be unduly affected by the transmitter signal.
Filters are required within the base station and
also the handset to ensure sufficient isolation of
the transmitter signal without desensitising the
receiver.

E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

40

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
20Mh
z
2110-2130 MHz

LTE Subframes
then consist of
two slots

1920-1940 MHZ

Channel characteristics different in both directions as a result of the use of

different frequencies
Requires paired spectrum with sufficient frequency separation to allow
simultaneous transmission and reception
Type 1: used for the LTE FDD mode systems
41

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

1850-1910

1930-1990

FDD

1710-1785

1805-1880

FDD

1710-1755

2110-2155

FDD

824-849

869-894

FDD

830-840

875-885

FDD

2500-2570

2620-2690

FDD

880-915

925-960

FDD

1749.9-1784.9

1844.9-1879.9

FDD

10

1710-1770

2110-2170

FDD

11

1427.9-1452.9

1475.9-1500.9

FDD

12

698-716

728-746

FDD

13

77-787

746-756

FDD

14

788-798

758-768

FDD

Europe:
Band 7: The 2.6 GHz auctions have been
running in a few countries
Band 8:is currently used mostly by GSM.
The band is attractive from a coverage
point of view due to the lower propagation
losses.

Being low frequency it's also better at penetrating

walls than the 2.6GHz or 1800MHz bands, so it will
provide an improved signal when indoors
42

Frequency-division duplexing(FDD)
E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

1850-1910

1930-1990

FDD

1710-1785

1805-1880

FDD

1710-1755

2110-2155

FDD

824-849

869-894

FDD

830-840

875-885

FDD

2500-2570

2620-2690

FDD

880-915

925-960

FDD

1749.9-1784.9

1844.9-1879.9

FDD

10

1710-1770

2110-2170

FDD

11

1427.9-1452.9

1475.9-1500.9

FDD

12

698-716

728-746

FDD

13

77-787

746-756

FDD

14

788-798

758-768

FDD

Band 8:is currently used mostly by GSM.

The band is attractive from a coverage
point of view due to the lower propagation
losses.Supported Channels (non-overlapping)
E-UTRA
Band

Downlink
Bandwidth

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

60
60
75
45
25
10
70
35

Channel Bandwidth (MHZ)

1.4
42
53
32
17
25

3
20
23
15
8
11

5
12
12
15
9
5
2
14
7

10
6
6
7
4
2*
1*
7
3*

15
4
4*
5*
3
X
4
-

20
3
3*
3*
2
X
3*
-

GSM Bandwidth
Available

43

Time-Division Duplexing (TDD)

TDD means the transmission and reception occur on the same frequency
Same frequency

Dow
n

E-UTRA
Band

Special

Up

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Up

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Dow
n

Dow
n

Duplex
Mode

33

1900-1920

1900-1920

TDD

34

2010-2025

2010-2025

TDD

35

1850-1910

1850-1910

TDD

36

1930-1990

1930-1990

TDD

37

1910-1930

1910-1930

TDD

38

2570-2620

2570-2620

TDD

39
40

1880-1920
2300-2400

1880-1920
2300-2400

TDD
TDD

Dow
n

Dow
n

Dow
n

TDD in unpaired
spectrum,
whereby the
same frequency
channel is used
for both downlink
and uplink
communication

E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

1850-1910

1930-1990

FDD

1710-1785

1805-1880

FDD

1710-1755

2110-2155

FDD

824-849

869-894

FDD

830-840

875-885

FDD

2500-2570

2620-2690

FDD

880-915

925-960

FDD

1749.9-1784.9

1844.9-1879.9

FDD

10

1710-1770

2110-2170

FDD

11

1427.9-1452.9

1475.9-1500.9

FDD

12

698-716

728-746

FDD

13

77-787

746-756

FDD

14

788-798

758-768

FDD
44

Dow
n

Time-Division Duplexing (TDD)

While FDD transmissions require a guard
band between the transmitter and receiver
frequencies.

Down

E-UTRA
Band

Bandwidth
UL (MHz)

Bandwidth
DL (MHz)

Duplex
Mode

1920-1980

2110-2170

FDD

UP

Down

TDD schemes require a guard time or

guard interval between transmission and
reception. This must be sufficient to allow
the signals travelling from the remote
transmitter to arrive before a transmission
is started and the receiver inhibited.

DELAY

Down

Large guard period will limit capacity.

Down

Special

Up

Up

Down

Down

Special

Down

TDD is not normally suitable for use over

long distances as the guard time increases
and the channel efficiency falls.

Down

Down

Down

45

Type 2 LTE Frame Structure

Frame 0

Frame 1

Down

Special

Up

Up

Up

Down

Special

Up

Up

Up

Down

Special

Up

Up

Down

Down

Special

Up

Up

Down

Down

Special

Up

Down

Down

Down

Special

Up

Down

Down

Down

Special

Up

Up

Up

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Special

Up

Up

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Special

Up

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Down

Special

Up

Up

Up

Down

Special

Up

Up

Down

Frame 5

Frame 6

Frame 0 and frame 5 (always downlink in TDD)

Frame 1 and frame 6 is always used as for synchronization in
TDD
Frame allocation for Uplink and Downlink is settable in TDD
46

Questions ?

47

Questions
1. What best describes RSSI?
a. RSSI is the average power of Resource Elements (RE) that carry cell
specific Reference Signals (RS) over the entire bandwidth, so RSSI is only
measured in the symbols carrying RS
b. RSSI is effectively a measurement of all of the power contained in the
applicable spectrum (1.4, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20MHz)
c. RSSI helps in determining interference and noise information
d. b&c
e. None of the above

48

Questions
2. For a 5 MHz bandwidth. The RSSI = -80dBm and the RSRP = -100dbm.
What is the RSRQ?

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

-58 dB
-56.03dB
-60dB
-30dB
-46.04dB
None of the above

RSRQ = 10 log 25 + (-100(- 80 )

=13.97 + (-20)
=-6.03
49

Questions
3. In the Attach Accept message. The Globally Unique Temporary ID is
transmitted?
TRUE
FALSE
4. What best describes the Globally Unique Temporary ID.
a. It contains the IMSI
b. It contains the IMEI
c. It contains the ISDN number
d. MME code, MME group & M-TMSI

e. All of the above

f. None of the Above

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Questions
5. During which procedure the S-TMSI (SAE-Temporary Mobile
Subscriber Identity) and default bearer is allocated?
a. At the time of paging
b. At the time of initial attach
c. All of the above
a. A&B
a. None of the Above

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