CRNC: Controlling RNC

SRNC: Serving RNC

DRNC: Drift RNC
SRNC and DRNC are concepts that are tied to a UE-UTRAN connection on the Uu interface. In other words, an SRNC serves a
particular UE and manages the connections towards that UE. Likewise, DRNC fulfills a similar role to the SRNC except that it is
involved only in the case of a soft handover.
Thus the UE initially starts a connection with an RNC that becomes its SRNC. If the UE moves towards a cell edge, SRNC may decide
to put the UE in soft handover state. If the new RLs added to UEs Active Set are under the control of a different RNC, that RNC
becomes the DRNC.
The terms CRNC, SRNC and DRNC are only logical definitions based on functionality. Physically, an RNC may be a CRNC+SRNC or
CRNC+DRNC.
CRNC is responsible for the controlling the resources of a Node-B. It manages common transport resources, code allocation, load and
congestion control. If new radio links (RLs) are to be established CRNC does the job.
SRNC manages the connection to the UE and maintains the UE context within UTRAN. (For this purpose, S-RNTI allocated to the UE
identifies the UE uniquely within the SRNC. This identity is managed by the SRNC and will be reallocated during SRNC Relocation.)
Thus, outer loop power control, handover and RANAP signalling are managed from the SRNC.
DRNC manages resources under its control but relies on SRNC for most decisions and commands.

SRNC Relocation

In Figure, the UE is in SHO in which 2 RLs

DRNC. As the UE continues to move away
are now under the DRNC (Figure (b)).

Since the SRNC no longer manages any o

point it decides to transfer the complete UE
DRNC becomes the SRNC. The new SRN
the CN.

It is always the SRNC that manages the R

layer in UTRAN resides in the SRNC which
parameters to air interface transport chann
procedure is invoked within the SRNC RRC
connection with the UE.

While the UE is in Inter-RNC SHO, Iur is in

DRNC. The DRNC routes data transparen
DRNC may optionally (if configured by the
data between Iub and Iur interfaces. This h
also distributes the processing load betwee
be considerations on which the SRNC dec
the DRNC. Naturally, combining is done on
types of data combining is possible: maxim
based on quality information associated wi