What is ISR?

ISR means Idle Mode Signaling Reduction. This is a feature that allows an EPS su
bscriber to roam between E-UTRAN and UTRAN/GERAN coverage while in IDLE state wi
thout updating Routing Area / Tracking Area to MME / SGSN.
ISR is mandatory to be supported in an EPS capable UE but can be optionally conf
igured in the EPC core network (S4 SGSN and MME)
Why is it needed?
The deployment of E-UTRAN network will co-exist with existing UTRAN and GERAN ne
tworks. So it is possible that within the same are a subscriber moves between E-
UTRAN and UTRAN/GERAN coverage. This should not generate unnecessary signalling
with the core network when the UE is in IDLE state. So what is IDLE state? It me
ans that the UE is not having a signaling connection towards the core network (S
GSN / MME). When in IDLE state,
packet transfer will not happen.
When is ISR activated?
ISR is activated ONLY on the following cases:
CASE 1
1. Subscriber is already registered in a MME (EMM-REGISTERED state at MME)
2. Subscriber is in ECM-IDLE state in the UE.
3. Subscriber does a RAU into UTRAN / GERAN. RAU request carries P-TMSI mappe
d from GUTI. SGSN checks if ISR is activated in the config. If yes, it returns t
he ISR active flag in RAU accept to UE
4. UE sees that its current TIN is GUTI and hence sets its TIN to "RAT Relate
d TMSI"
5. SGSN sends Update Location to HSS / HLR. HLR / HSS does not send Cancel Lo
cation to MME. A release 8 HLR / HSS keeps an EPS subscriber registered at both
MME and SGSN at the same time.
CASE 2
1. Subscriber is already attached in a SGSN
2. Subscriber is in PMM-IDLE state in the UE.
3. Subscriber does a TAU into E-UTRAN. TAU request carries GUTI mapped from P
-TMSI. MME checks if ISR is activated in the config. If yes, it returns the ISR
active flag in TAU accept to UE
4. UE sees that its current TIN is P-TMSI and hence sets its TIN to "RAT Rela
ted TMSI"
5. MME sends Update Location to HSS / HLR. HLR / HSS does not send Cancel Loc
ation to MME.
How does the UE know that ISR is activated and hence it need not do RAU / TAU wh
ile roaming within the TAI list / RAI in IDLE mode?
If TIN is set to "RAT Related TMSI" then UE knows that ISR is activated.
When does ISR get deactivated in UE?
ISR is deactivated in following scenarios
1. TIN = "RAT Related TMSI" and RAU / TAU into a new RA / TA outside of the s
tored TAI list / RAI. Upon successful completion of the new RAU, TIN will be set
to P-TMSI. Upon successful completion of new TAU, TIN will be set to GUTI.
2. TIN = "RAT Related TMSI", periodic RAU timer expires (probably lost radio
coverage in UTRAN), starts deactivate ISR timer and the deactivate ISR timer als
o expires. TIN will be set to GUTI
3. TIN = "RAT Related TMSI", periodic TAU timer expires (probably lost radio
coverage in E-UTRAN), starts deactivate ISR timer and the deactivate ISR timer a
lso expires. TIN will be set to P-TMSI
Will ISR be activated if current TIN is same as the temporary identifier of the
RAT to which UE is doing an update procedure?
No. For example if TIN = P-TMSI, and UE does a RAU into a new RA, the SGSN retur
ns a new P-TMSI. The context transfer is between two RAs in the same radio techn
ology. So even if the SGSN includes the "ISR Activated" flag in RAU accept, UE s
hould set its TIN to P-TMSI only.
How is a downlink packet delivered to the UE when it is registered with both MME
and SGSN and the UE is in IDLE state?
S-GW sees that it has an active GTP-C v2 tunnel with an S4-SGSN and MME and henc
e it sends downlink data indication to both of them. Both SGSN and MME initiate
paging. The UE responds to one of them with a service request.
Once the radio bearer establishment is completed and service request procedure i
s completed, the S-GW sends a stop paging request to the other RAN from which se
rvice request was not received. For example if the UE latched onto E-UTRAN,
stop paging will be sent to SGSN.
Is ISR done when roaming from MME to a Gn/Gp SGSN?
No. ISR is applicable only between MME and S4 SGSN.

Updates:
Found the book
"SAE and the Evolved Packet Core: Driving the Mobile Broadband Revolution"
covering this topic in good detail. Preview of it is available in Google books.
The ISR chapter, luckily is there for preview