Quality of Service in WiMAX and LTE Networks

Mehdi Alasti and Behnam Neekzad, Clearwire Jie Hui and Rath Vannithamby, Intel Labs IEEE Communications Magazine May 2010

Outline

Introduction QoS in IEEE 802.16e QoS in IEEE 802.16m QoS in Long Term Evolution (LTE) Comparison and Conclusions

Introduction

4G broadband wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.16e, IEEE 802.16m, and 3GPP LTE have been designed with different QoS frameworks

Guarantee different traffic patterns and distinct QoS requirements

QoS in IEEE 802.16e

The QoS framework in IEEE 802.16e is based on service flows

Service Flow

802.16e Service Flow Management

802.16e MS 802.16e BS
DSA_REQ

Dynamic Service Change (DSC) Dynamic Service Delete (DSD) Dynamic Service Activate (DSA)
DSD

DSX_RVD

DSC
DSA_RSP

NULL

DSA OPERATIONAL

DSA_ACK

802.16e Service Flow ID (SFID)

Name I S T B R L S P R Uplink/Downlink Maximum sustained traffic rate Traffic indication preference (Sleeping mode) Maximum traffic burst Minimum reserved traffic rate Maximum latency Fixed-length VS variable length SDU indicator Paging preference (Idle mode) Reserved SIZE 1 6 1 6 6 6 1 1 4
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Service Flow Types in IEEE 802.16

Unsolicited grant service (UGS)

Supports real-time traffic with fixed-size data packets on a periodic basis Supports real-time traffic with variable-size data packets on a periodic basis Supports delay-tolerant traffic that requires a minimum reserved rate Supports regular data services
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Real-time polling service (rtPS)

Non-real-time polling service (nrtPS)

Best effort (BE) service

IEEE 802.16 Bandwidth Request (BR) and Grant Mechanism

Contention-based (nrtPSBE)

BS allocates bandwidth for the BR message MS uses a code-division multiple access (CDMA)-based mechanism piggybacked bandwidth request BS polls MS periodically set poll me (PM) bit in the header of a UGS
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Contention free-based (rtPSnrtPS)

Request/Grant for ertPS (802.16e)

using by VoIP with silence suppression

during a talk spurt

BS provides unicast grants in an unsolicited manner as in UGS An MS uses its periodic allocation for both data transfer and bandwidth request adjustments the allocation is taken from the ertPS SF the MS sends a BR message to the BS with a silence-to-talk-spurt transition
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during a silence period

IEEE 802.16m QoS Framework

IEEE 802.16m advanced air interface (AAI), provides a more flexible and efficient QoS framework

adaptive granting and polling (aGP) service quick access delayed BR and priority controlled access
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adaptive granting and polling (aGP) service

UGS, ertPS, and rtPS are not efficient for applications such as online games, VoIP with adaptive multi-rate (AMR), and delaysensitive TCP based services

more flexible QoS scheduling service to support the adaptation of both the allocation size and inter-arrival

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the new QoS parameters in the aGP service

primary grant polling interval (GPI) and primary grant size; and optional ones: secondary GPI, secondary grant size, and adaptation method

Advanced BS (ABS) grant advanced MS (AMS) UL allocation GPI with grant size ABS poll AMS for BR periodically every GPI

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aGP mechanism

During a service, the traffic characteristics and QoS requirements may change

adaptation of scheduling state includes switching between using primary and secondary SF QoS parameters or changing the GPI and/or grant size

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mix of IEEE 802.16m and legacy IEEE 802.16e

AMS handover from an IEEE 802.16m network to an IEEE 802.16e network

If primary grant size value is equal to the BR header size, it means this aGP SF is primarily polling-based SF, and hence should be mapped to an rtPS SF Otherwise, this aGP SF is primarily a granting based service, and thus should be mapped to an ertPS SF
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Quick Access

the BR message is communicated from MS to BS only after random access is successful

Random access delay is a significant part of UL access delay Quick access in IEEE 802.16m helps reduce the random access delay 12-bit station ID and 4-bit predefined BR index
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Quick Access Message

Contention-based Random Access BW-REQ

5-step contention-based BW-REQ 3-step contention-based BW-REQ

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Delayed BR for BE

The service-specific BR header specifies a minimum grant delay to indicate the minimum delay of the requested grant for BE scheduling service When an AMS is cleaning out its buffers, in one UL transmission it can send a delayed BR asking for future packet(s) with minimum expected grant delay if AMS can predict the future packet(s) arrival time
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Priority Controlled Access

An operator can assign AMS with different access classes and block random access from certain AMSs by assigning a minimum access class of the network higher than the access class of those AMSs The BR timer and random backoff parameters can also use different values to support differentiated random access in IEEE 802.16m
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LTE QoS Framework

The traffic running between a particular client application and a service can be differentiated into separate service data flows (SDFs) SDFs mapped to the same bearer receive a common QoS treatment

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LTE bearer

A bearer is assigned a scalar value referred to as a QoS class identifier (QCI)

Guaranteed bit rate (GBR) Non-guaranteed bit rate (non-GBR)

A non-GBR bearer is referred to as the default bearer, which is also used to establish IP connectivity, similar to the initial SF in WiMAX

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QoS attributes associated with the LTE bearer

QoS class identifier (QCI)

A scalar representing a set of packet forwarding treatments

A parameter used by call admission control and overload control

Allocation and retention priority (ARP)

Maximum bit rate (MBR) Guaranteed bit rate (GBE) Aggregate MBR (AMBR)

The total amount of bit rate of a group of non-GBR bearers

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LTE standardized QCI characteristics

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LTE Air Interface Scheduler

the LTE air interface scheduler uses the following information as input

Radio conditions at the UE identified The QoS attributes of bearers The interference situation in the neighboring cells

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Buffer Status Reporting

The buffer status reporting mechanism informs the UL packet scheduler about the amount of buffered data at the UE

A periodic BSR trigger does not cause a service request (SR) transmission from the UE Otherwise, the SR is transmitted via a random access procedure

Short format can be used to report on one radio bearer group Long format one can be used for four groups

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802.16 and LTE comparison (1/3)

QoS transport unit

IEEE 802.16 service flow between MS and BS LTE bearer between UE and the PDNGW IEEE 802.16 UGS, ertPS, rtPS, nrtPS, BE, and aGP service LTE GBR mechanism is like rtPS; non-GBR mechanism is like BE
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QoS scheduling types

802.16 and LTE comparison (2/3)

QoS parameters per transport unit

LTE MBR and GBR are similar to IEEE 802.16 maximum sustained traffic rate and minimum reserved traffic rate LTE AMBR allows the operator to rate cap the total non-GBR bearers of a subscriber

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802.16 and LTE comparison (3/3)

QoS handling in the control plane

The SF QoS parameters are signaled in IEEE 802.16 via DSx/AAI-DSx messages In LTE the QCI and associated nine standardized characteristics are not signaled on any interface

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Conclusion

Fourth-generation wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.16e, IEEE 802.16m, and LTE are designed to support current and future QoS needs This article explains the QoS framework of IEEE 802.16e, IEEE 802.16m, and LTE, and compares their QoS features against each other
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