Universal Mobile

Telecommunication Service

-Adityaa Anand
 What is UMTS?

• UMTS is a 3rd Generation mobile cellular system based

on the GSM standard.

• Developed and maintained by 3GPP(3rd Generation

Partnership Project).

• It uses Wideband Code Division Multiple Access radio

access (W-CDMA) technology to provide greater spectral
efficiency and bandwidth mobile operators.
 UMTS Architecture

• It uses same core network as GPRS and uses an entirely

new radio interface.

• The Radio Network in UMTS is called UTRAN (UMTS

Radio Access Network) and is connected to the core
network via Iu interface.
 A Abis
BSC
GSM BSC
BSC

NSS
A Iu-CS
Node B RNC
UMTS IuR
Node B

Iu-PS
RNC
Node B
 USER UMTS TERRESTRIAL RADIO
CORE NETWORK
EQUIPMENT ACCESS NETWORK

GMSC PSTN/PLMN

Node B MSC
Iub
Radio Network
Controller
VLR HLR/HS
Node B S
IuR

SGSN
Radio Network
Node B Iub Controller
GGSN PDN/PLMN

Node B
 User Equipment
• User Equipment is same as the Mobile Station that we have
in GSM. It is any device used directly by an end-user to
communicate.

• It handles the following functions-

1. Mobility Management

2. Call Control

3. Session Management

4. Identity Management
 USIM

• USIM is a part of the User Equipment.

• USIM refers to Universal Subscriber Identity Module and

works on Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.

• The physical card is known as UICC (Universal Integrated

Circuit Card) and USIM is an application running on top of
UICC.
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
Network

• UTRAN allows connectivity between UE and core network.

• The UTRAN which is sometimes referred to as Radio

Network Subsystem (RNS) comprises of two main
components-

1. Radio Network Controller

2. Node B
 Node B

• Node B is the term used within UMTS to denote base

station transceiver.

• This part of the UMTS contains transmitters and receiver

to communicate with the UEs within the cell.

• It participates with the RNC in the resource management.

 Radio Network Controller
• This element of the UTRAN controls the Node Bs that are
connected to it. i.e., the radio resources in its domain.

• The RNC undertakes the radio resource management and

some mobility management functions, although not all.

• It is also the point where data encryption/decryption is

performed to protect users from eavesdropping.

• In order to facilitate effective handover between Node Bs

under control of different RNCs, the RNC not only
communicates with the Core Network but also neighbouring
RNCs.
UTMS Terrestrial Radio Network/
Radio Network Subsystem
To Core
Network

RNC

Node B Node B Node B

UE UE UE
 UTRAN Interfaces
• There are several elements defined for the UTRAN
elements-

1. Iu- connects the UTRAN to the core network

2. Iub- The Iub connects the Node B and the RNC within the
UTRAN.

3. Iur- The Iur interface allows communication between

different RNCs within the UTRAN.
 Core Network

• With Mobile Application part, UMTS uses the same core

network standard as GSM.

• This allows simple migration for existing GSM operators.

However, the migration part to the UMTS is still costly:
while much of the core infrastructure is shared by GSM,
the cost of obtaining a new spectrum licenses and
overlaying UMTS at existing towers is high.
• In the view of different ways in which data may carried, the
UMTS may be split into two different areas:

1. Circuit switched elements: These elements are primarily

based on GSM network entities that carry data in circuit
switched manner, i.e., permanent channel for duration of
the call.

2. Packet switched elements: These network entities are

designed to carry packet data. This enables much higher
network usage as the capacity can be shared and data is
carried around as packets which are routed according to
their destination.
 Circuit Switched Elements

1. Mobile Switching Centre (MSC): It is essentially the same

as within GSM, and it manages the circuit switched calls
under way.

2. Gateway MSC (GMSC): It is effectively the interface to

the external networks.
Packet Switched Elements
1. Serving GPRS Node (SGSN): As the name implies, the entity was first developed when
GPRS was introduced, and its use has been carried to the UMTS network architecture. Its
functions include:

- Mobility Management: When an UE attaches to the Packet Switched Domain of the UMTS
Core Network, the SGSN creates MM information based on the mobile’s current location.

- Session Management: The SGSN manages the data sessions providing the required quality
of service and also managing what are termed as PDP (Packet Data Protocol), i.e., the pipes
over which the data is sent.

- Interaction with other areas of network: The SGSN is able to manage its elements within the
network only by communicating with other areas of network, e.g, MSC and other circuit
switched areas.

- Billing: The SGSN is also responsible for billing. It achieves this by monitoring the flow of
user data across the GPRS network. CDRs (Call Detail Records) are generated by the
SGSN before being transferred to the Charging Entities (Charging Gateway Functions,
CGF).
2. Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN): It is the central
element within the UMTS packet switched network. It
handles inter-networking between between the UMTS
packet switched network and the external packet
switched networks, and can be considered as a very
sophisticated router. In operation, when the GGSN
receives a data addressed to a specific user, it checks
whether the user is active and then forwards the data to
the SGSN serving the particular UE.
 Shared Elements
1. Home Location Register (HLR): This database contains all the
administrative information about each subscriber along with their
last known location. In this way UMTS is able to route calls to
the relevant RNC/Node B.

• When user switches on their UE, it registers the users last known
location and from this it is possible to determine the which Node
B it communicates with so that incoming calls can be routed
appropriately.

• Even when the UE is not active (but switched on), it re- registers
periodically to ensure that the network (HLR) is aware of its latest
position with their current or last known location on the network.
2. Equipment Identity Register (EIR): The EIR is the entity
that decides whether the given UE equipment may be
allowed onto the network.

• Each UE has a number known as International Mobile

Equipment Identity (IMEI). This number, is installed in the
equipment and checked by the network at the time of
registration.

3. Authentication Centre (AuC): The AuC is protected

database that contains the secret number also contained
in the USIM card.
 To Public Networks..

PSTN Internet

UMTS Core
Network
AuC
GMSC GGSN

HLR

MSC SGSN
EIR

RNS RNS RNS

 3G Direct Tunnel
(3GDT)
• 3GDT enables the setup of GPRS Tunnelling Protocol (GTP) tunnel for transporting the payload traffic
between a GGSN and an RNC directly, thus bypassing the SGSN.

• GPRS Tunnelling protocol is a group of IP based communication protocols used to carry GPRS within
GSM, or UMTS. The tunnel separates the user traffic from the control traffic and reduces the payload
traffic through the SGSN.

• A direct tunnel has advantages including:

- Improved user experience (for example, expedites webpage delivery, reduces round trip delay for
conversational services) by eliminating switching latency from the user plane.

- Direct tunnel functionality implements optimisation to improve the usage of user plane resources
(and hardware) by removing the requirement from the SGSN to handle user plane processing.

• A major consequence of deploying direct tunnelling is that it produces a significant increase in control
plane load on both SGSN and GGSN components of the packet core. Hence deployment requires
highly scalable GGSNs since the volume and frequency of update PDP context messages to the
GGSN will increase substantially. The SGSN platform capabilities ensure that the control plane
capacities will not be the limiting factor with direct tunnel deployment.
• The direct tunnel architecture allows the establishment of direct user
plane (GTP-U) tunnel between RAN Equipment (RNC) and the GGSN.

• Once a direct tunnel is established , the SGSN continues to handle

control plane (RANAP/GTP-C) signalling and retains the responsibility of
making the decision to establish direct tunnel at PDN context activation.
RNC Architecture (IPA 2800)
• Functional Unit Categories
in RNC-

1. Management, Control
Computer and Data
Processing Units

2. Switching and Multiplexing

Units

3. Network Interface Units

4. Timing and Hardware

Management Units
 Management, Control Computer
and Data Processing Unit
• The Management, Control Computer and Data Processing Unit comprises
of-

1. DMCU (Data and Macro Diversity Combining Unit)

2. GTPU (Gateway Tunneling Protocol Unit)

3. ICSU (Interface Control and Signalling Unit)

4. NEMU (Network Element Management Unit)

5. OMU (Operation and Maintenance Unit)

6. RRMU (Radio Resource Management Unit)

7. RSMU (Resource and Switching Management Unit)

 Data and Macro Diversity
Combining Unit (DMCU)
• Consists of 8 Digital Signal Processing Units using SN+
redundancy concept

• Functions-

- Handles L2 Protocol processing such as RLC-C, MAC-

C, etc.

- Encryption

- GTP Termination
 Gateway and Tunneling
Protocol Unit (GTPU)

• Facilitates the connection between the RNC and the

SGSN by performing the processes of the GTP protocols.

• Functions-

- Routing based on GTP tunnel ID

- UDP/IP protocol termination.

 Interface Control and
Signalling Unit (ICSU)
• Handles signalling and the associated traffic control functions.

• Functions-

- Admission Control

- Radio Resource Management

- Handover Control

- Packet Scheduling

- Signalling Protocols to Iu, Iub and Iur interfaces, including NBAP, RNSAP,
and RANAP

- Monitoring and recovery of the signalling links.

 Network Element
Management Unit (NEMU)

• NEMU provides a graphical user interface and is

responsible for element management tasks, as well as
interfacing the Network Management System.
 Operation and Maintenance
Unit (OMU)
• Performs System Maintenance functions, such as Hardware Management System (HMS)
supervision, and the associated centralised recovery functions.

• OMU has two dedicated hard disk units, which serve as redundant storage for the entire system
software, the event buffer for intermediate storage of alarm, and the radio network configuration
files.

• Functions-

- Serves interface between the RNC and Operations and Maintenance Server.

- Responsible for basic system maintenance functions.

- Connects to and controls duplicated system hard disks containing the RNC operating software
and fallback software.

- Stores the Radio Network database, ATM/ IP configuration database, Equipment database,
Alarm History database.

- Monitors the status of the network and blocks the faulty units if necessary.
 Radio Resource
Management Unit (RRMU)

• Performs RNC-wide paging and IPA2800 messaging.

 Resource and Switch
Management Unit (RSMU)
• RSMU controls the switch fabrics in RNC and establishes connections for calls according to requests from
computer signalling units (ICSU).

• Functions-

1. ATM switching and management functions comprise:

- Establishment of both external and internal connections via SFU, including ATM circuit hunting.

- Management and control of SFU, A2SU and MXU.

- Transmission Resource Management

2. DSP Resource management tasks comprise:

- Supervision and management of DMCU units, including necessary software upload procedures.

- Allocation of the DSPs and associated computer resources to different tasks, such as micro diversity
combining and data traffic.

- Management of ATM connections within DMCU.

 Switching and Multiplexing
Unit

• Based on ATM technology.

• The ATM technology provides the required capacity and

flexibility to support various traffic types within the network.

• Support capacity and traffic switching within the RNC.

• It is comprised of three Functional Units:

1. Switching Fabric Unit (SFU)

2. Multiplexer Unit (MUX)

3. A2SU, AAL2 Switching Unit

Switching Fabric Unit (SFU)

• Functions-

- Serves as the main switch fabric of the network

element.

- Support both point to point and point to multipoint

connection topologies.
 Multiplexing Unit (MXU)
• The MXU units enable connection of low-to-medium bitrate signal
processing units and computer units, as well as low-bit-rate interface
units, to the ATM switch fabric by performing the multiplexing and
demultiplexing of ATM cell and perform ATM layer management,
processing functions such as header translation, UPC/NPC parameter
control, Operations and Maintenance functions, traffic management,
performance monitoring and collection of performance data.

• Function-

- Multiplexes traffic from the various tributary units to the ATM SFU.

- Allows the efficient usage of switching resources for low bitrate

NIUs.
A2SU, AAL2 Switching Unit

• A2SU unit handles layer type 2, AAL2 , switching. A2SU is

an AAL type 2 CPS mini-packet switching unit, which is
used in association with the Multiplexing Unit (MXU) for
facilitating connections between the main Switch Fabrics
(SFU) and the low-to-moderate bitrate units
 Network Interface Units
• Responsible for connecting the RNC with other Network Elements (SGSN,
MSC, RNC, etc.) by executing physical and ATM layers functions.

• Functions-

- Buffer management and scheduling

- Policing and statistic

• One network interface unit may have more than one physical interface, each
interface can be configured to be used as an Iu, Iub, or Iur interface.

• Unlike the previously mentioned 2 functional units category, the network

interface FUs are optional units and their configuration (type and number of
used FUs) may vary from operator to operator depending on the RNC
configuration.
• Below are the 4 different functional units used in interfacing the RNC with the
other network elements-

1. NIP1 (Network Interface Unit PDH):

- Provides upto 16 PDH interfaces which are usually used to connect the RNC
with the NDBs.

2. NIS1/ NIS1P (Network Interface Unit STM-1):

- Provides upto 4 SDH Interfaces.

3. NPS1/ NPS1P (Network Interface Unit SDH):

- Provides upto 8 STM-1/ 2 STM-4 SDH interfaces.

4. NPGE/ NPGEP (Network Interface Unit SDH):

- Provides upto 4 ethernet interfaces.

 Timing, Power Distribution and
Hardware Management Units

• Comprises of two functional units-

1. Timing and Hardware Bus Units (TBU)

2. Power Distribution Subsystem (PDS)

 Timing and Hardware Bus
Unit
• Functions-

- RNC synchronisation with other network elements.

- Timing and synchronisation between the RNC functional

units

• The system functionalities are distributed over two functional

units-

1. TSS3 /-A (Timing and Synchronisation, SDH stratum 3)

2. TBFU (Timing Buffer Unit)

 Timing and Synchronisation,
SDH stratum 3 (TSS3/-A)

• Has two modes of operation, free run and external source,

in free mode, the FU generates its internal clock while in
external source, the FU synchronises its local oscillator to
an external source clock.

• Receives the external clock and distributes it to all the FUs

and the TBFU to be distributed to all the FUs that are not
directly connected to the TSS3.
 Timing and Hardware Bus
Unit (TBFU)

• Receives the clock from TSS3 and distributes it to the FUs

that are not directly connected to the TSS3.
 Redundancy Principle
• Duplication (2N)

- One special unit dedicated for one active unit software in the unit pair is kept synchronised (hot-
standby) -> fast switchover.

• Replacement (N+1)

- One or more units to be spare units for a group allocating resources to a unit defines it as active ,
not allocating resources define to be spare unit and can replace any active unit in the group->
slower switchover, requires warming (cold-standby) users responsibility to change the working
state of the unit to reflect the resource allocation situation to leave at least one spare unit.

• Load Sharing (SN+)

- No spare units, group acts as a resource pool number of units selected so that there is
overcapacity, if a few units are disabled, the whole group can still perform its function.

• No Redundancy (n)

- No special requirement for reliability.

Redundancy of Different
Components in RNC
Unit Redundancy Unit Redundancy

A2SU SN+ PDU 2N

DMCU SN+
SFU 2N
GTPU SN+
TBU 2N
ICSU N+1
NIS1 2N (optional)
RSMU 2N
FDU n
RRMU 2N
NEMU n
MXU 2N

OMU 2N EHU n

WDU 2N NIP1 n
RNC Architecture (IPA2800)