Radio Link Control Protocol- RLC

>Introduction
Scope and Objectives

Scope
› RLC transparent mode entity
› RLC unacknowledged mode entity
› RLC acknowledged mode entity
› RLC PDUs

Objectives
› Explain why we need three RLC modes
› Describe the RLC entities, their function
and the RLC PDUs in each mode
>Radio Link Control protocol
RLC Protocol Entity
RLC Services
Expected From Lower Layers:
Provided to Upper Layers:
• Data transfer
• Transparent data transfer
• Notification of a transmission
• Unacknowledged data transfer
opportunity
• Acknowledged data transfer
• Notification of HARQ delivery failure
from transmitting MAC entity
RLC Functions

Segmentation and re-assembly • In-sequence delivery

• Concatenation • Duplicate detection
• Padding • Flow control
• Transfer of user data in TM, UM • RLC Re-establishment
and AM
• Protocol Error Detection
• Error correction (ARQ) and Recovery
>RLC Entities & Modes
RLC Entities
RLC Transparent Mode Entity
UE/ENB ENB/UE
radio interface

TM-SAP TM-SAP

Transmitting Receiving
TM-RLC TM-RLC
Transmission entity entity
buffer

BCCH/PCCH/CCCH BCCH/PCCH/CCCH
RLC Unacknowledged Mode Entity
UE/ENB ENB/UE
radio interface
UM-SAP UM-SAP

Transmission SDU reassembly

buffer
Transmitting Receiving
UM-TLC UM-RLC
entity entity
Segmentation & Remove RLC
Concatenation header

Reception buffer &

Add RLC header
HARQ reordering

DTCH DTCH
RLC AM Entity
AM-SAP

Transmission
RLC control SDU reassembly
buffer

Remove RLC header

Segmentation & Retransmission
Concatenation buffer

Reception buffer &

HARQ reordering

Add RLC header

Routing

DCCH/DTCH DCCH/DTCH
>RLC PDU
Protocol Data Units - PDU
› RLC Data PDU
– TM PDU, UM PDU, AM PDU and AMD PDU Segment

› RLC Control PDU

– STATUS PDU
RLC Transparent Mode PDU

› The RLC TM PDU introduces no overhead

› TM is used for signaling on BCCH and PCCH

RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU
› Header: Fixed Part (FI, E, SN) + Extension Part (Es, LIs)
› UM RLC Entity configured by RRC to use either 5 bit SN or 10 bit SN

UMD PDU with 5 bit SN (No LI ) UMD PDU with 10 bit SN (No LI )
RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU,
5 bits SN, cont

UMD PDU with 5 bit SN PDU with 5 bit SN

(Odd number of LIs, i.e. K = 1, 3, 5, …) (Even number of LIs, i.e. K = 2, 4, 6, …)
RLC Unacknowledged Mode PDU,
10 bits SN, cont

UMD PDU with 10 bit SN UMD PDU with 10 bit SN

(Odd number of LIs, i.e. K = 1, 3, 5, …) (Even number of LIs, i.e. K = 2, 4, 6, …)
RLC Acknowledged Mode PDU
› AM RLC Entity uses10 bit SN
› Header: Fixed Part (D/C, RF, P, FI, E, SN) + Extension Part (E(s), LI(s))

AMD PDU with 10 bit SN (No LI )

RLC Acknowledged Mode PDU
Information Element: E bit
› Extension bit
– Fixed header
Value Description
0 Data field follows from the octet following the fixed part of the
header
1 A set of E field and LI field follows from the octet following
the fixed part of the header

– Extension part of the header

Value Description
0 Data field follows from the octet following the LI field
following this E field
1 A set of E field and LI field follows from the bit following the
LI field following this E field
Information Element:
Length Indicator, LI
› Length Indicator (LI) field
The LI field indicates the length in bytes of the corresponding data field
element present in the RLC data PDU delivered/received by an UM or an AM
RLC entity.

The value 0 is reserved.

Information Element:
Framing Information field, FI

Value Description
00 First byte of the Data field corresponds to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field corresponds to the last byte of a RLC SDU.
01 First byte of the Data field corresponds to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field does not correspond to the last byte of a RLC SDU.
10 First byte of the Data field does not correspond to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field corresponds to the last byte of a RLC SDU.
11 First byte of the Data field does not correspond to the first byte of a RLC SDU.
Last byte of the Data field does not correspond to the last byte of a RLC SDU.
Information Element:
Segment Offset, SO

› The Segment Offset field indicates the position of the AMD

PDU segment in bytes within the original AMD PDU.

› The first byte in the Data field of the original AMD PDU is
referred by the SO field value "000000000000000"
Information Element:
Last Segment Flag, LSF

› Last Segment Flag field

Value Description

0 Last byte of the AMD PDU segment does not correspond

to the last byte of an AMD PDU.
1 Last byte of the AMD PDU segment corresponds
to the last byte of an AMD PDU.
Information Element:
Resegmentation Flag, RF

Value Description
0 AMD PDU
1 AMD PDU segment
Information Element: Poll, P

› Polling bit field

Value Description
0 Status report not requested
1 Status report is requested
Information Element:
Control Pdu Type, CPT

› Control PDU Type bit field

Value Description
000 STATUS PDU
001-111 Reserved
(PDUs with this coding will be discarded
by the receiving entity for this release of the protocol)
>Summary
Summary

Data transfer in Concatenation,

Acknowledged, segmentation and
Unacknowledged reassembly of RLC
and Transparent SDUs (AM & UM)
mode

Examples
Error correction by
ARQ (AM) • VoIP: UM
• TCP-based traffic: AM
TM is only used for SRBs when
no RLC UM or AM entity is set
up yet.
More Information
› 3GPP Technical Specifications 36-series
– 3GPP TS 36.331 E-UTRA; RRC Protocol specification
– 3GPP TS 36.323 E-UTRA; Packet Data Convergence Protocol
(PDCP) specification
– 3GPP TS 36.322 E-UTRA; Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol
specification
– 3GPP TS 36.321 E-UTRA; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol
specification
– 3GPP TS 36.300 E-UTRA; Overall description