VNTelecom

Module 2:

Iu-PS over IP
Formation 3G IP RAN
nvqthinh@vntelecom.org

1 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

2 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

3 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Iu-PS Interface Concept

Iub
Node B RNC Gn Gi
SGSN GGSN Internet
Iur ATM/IP IP
Iub Iu-PS
Node B RNC

UTRAN
Iu-PS: connects a RAN to a Packet-Switched CN
GTP tunnel management
GTP-U tunnel between RNC & SGSN for transporting user packets
Radio Access Bearer (RAB) management
RAB = logical connection between mobile & CN (with assigned radio resources) for
user or data signaling
Radio resource management during RAB establishment or renegotiation
Mobility management:
supporting handover between RNCs
supporting paging functions
Routing area update
Signaling is handled by RANAP (Radio Access Network Application Part)
4 3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 PS call flow over Iu-PS interface

UE Node B RNC Iu-PS SGSN

Initial Direct Transfer | Service Request Initial UE Message
Authentication & security mode check
UL Direct Transfer |Activate PDP context request
RAB Assignment Request
Radio Bearer Setup
RB Setup Complete RAB Assignment Response
Direct Transfer | Activate PDP context accept

Deactivate PDP context request

Deactivate PDP context accept
Iu Release Command
Iu Release Complete

5 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

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 Iu-PS User Plane Protocol structure
IuFP with user IuFP with user
IP packet IP packet
GTP-U GTP-U

UDP UDP
IP IP
AAL5 Ethernet
ATM

The GTP-U tunnel is carried over The GTP-U tunnel is carried

an AAL5/ATM tunnel directly over Ethernet
The ATM cell is 53 bytes so the GTP-U handles IP packet
user IP packet is segmented on fragmentation and re-assembly
several ATM cells (if packet size > MTU)

RANAP is used as a control protocol and establishes GTP-U tunnels between

the SGSN and the RNC
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 GTP overview

UE User Packets
RNC IuPS Gn
Radio Bearer SGSN GTP-U GGSN
GTP-U

Internet

GTP = IP based tunneling protocol

Variants
GTP-C is a control session of GTP, used on Gn interface
GTP-U for carrying user data within GPRS core & between SGSN & RNC
GTP' (GTP prime), a separate protocol used for carrying charging data
GTP-U on IuPS
Identified by a TEID and IP Address (source & destination)
Functions
Data transmission
Tunnel Setup/Release/Error
GTP Echo Request/Response (for resiliency)

8 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Iu-PS Control Plane Protocol structure

RANAP RANAP
SCCP The use of RANAP & SCCP is unchanged SCCP
M3UA performs a role similar to that of MTP3 in
MTP-3B SS7 signaling M3UA
SSCF-NNI M3UA/SCTP = new protocols created by SIGTRAN
to transport SS7 applications over IP SCTP
SSCOP
The difference between M3UA and MTP3 is that
AAL5 instead of transporting messages over TDM/SS7 IP

ATM networks, M3UA transports messages over an IP Ethernet

network using the services of SCTP IP backbone
ATM backbone
Both MTP3 and M3UA route user messages based
on SS7 point codes, but rather than mapping
point codes to SS7 links, M3UA maps them to
SCTP associations

9 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 RANAP functions

Radio Access Bearer (UE - CN bearer) handling

RAB Set-up RANAP
RAB Modification SCCP
Releasing RAB
M3UA
Management of Iu connections
Relocation SCTP
Handling both SRNS Relocation (UE already in target RNC with Iur)
and Hard Handover (simultaneous switch of Radio and Iu)
IP
Transport NAS information between UE and CN (mobility
management, broadcast information) Ethernet
Exchanging UE location information between RNC and CN
Paging request from CN to UE
Security Mode Control
Controls Ciphering and Integrity Checking
Overload and general error handling
More information: 25.413 UTRAN Iu Interface RANAP Signalling

10 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Benefits of signaling over IP (SIGTRAN)

Cost-effective
Replace long-distance TDM leased lines by
cost-effective IP link
Reduce network infrastructure cost by
removing Signaling Transfer Points
IP flexibility & resiliency
Large bandwidth (compared to ATM)
Fault resilient : failure detection &
redundancy by SCTP
Flexible on-demand resource utilization SIGTRAN Architecture
Migration toward all-IP NGN/IMS
architecture

11 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

12 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 M3UA
M3UA SCTP
IP
What is M3UA?
Ethernet
M3UA= MTP (Message Transfer Part) Level 3 User Adaptation Layer
Allows for all the functionality of MTP3 to be done over IP
Transport messages from MTP3 users (SCCP or ISUP) to remote MTP3
users
Route user messages based on SS7 point codes, maps them to
associations
How can M3UA be configured?
M3UA can act either as:
IP Server Process (IPSP)- point-to-point connection with SGSN
Application Server Process ASP (connection via SG)
SGSN
SGSN pc 1
pc 1
sctp 2 S
sctp 2 RNC G ATM backbone
RNC sctp 3 IP backbone
IP backbone (pc 5)
(pc 5) sctp 4 SGSN
SGSN pc 2
pc 2 Via Signaling Gateway
Direct Connections
(ASP)
13 (IPSP)
3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 M3UA
Benefits of M3UA SCTP
IP
Ethernet
Replace physical SS7 links with virtual IP associations
Maintain deterministic qualities demanded in signaling.
Eliminate SS7 bandwidth restrictions
Eliminate SS7 complexity
Deploy existing SS7 call-setup and value added service without
legacy overhead
Point to point or gateway configuration

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 M3UA main concepts

AS: Application Server

ASP: Application Server Process
IPSP: IP Server Process
SG: Signaling Gateway
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 M3UA Terminology

Application Server (AS):

Logical entity representing an application utilizing the services of signaling
transport
Application Server Process (ASP):
A process instance of an AS. An ASP contains an SCTP endpoint
Signaling Gateway (SG):
A signaling node at the edge of the IP network bridging traditional SS7
networks with SIGTRAN networks
IP Server Process (IPSP):
A process instance of an IP-based application that uses M3UA in a point-to-
point fashion. Doesnt depend on the services of an SG
Routing Key:
A set of SS7 parameters. For M3UA, it can be a DPC, DPC/OPC or DPC/SSN
Network Appearance:
M3UA local reference (typically an integer) that, together with a Signaling
Point Code, uniquely identifies an SS7 node; used to distinguish between
signaling traffic associated with different networks being sent between the
SG and the ASP over a common SCTP association.
16 3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 M3UA
M3UA Establishment SCTP
RNC SGSN IP
Ethernet
ASP UP

ASP UP-ACK

NTFY(AS-INACTIVE)

ASP ACTIVE

ASP ACTIVE-ACK

NTFY(AS-ACTIVE)

BEAT

BEAT-ACK

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 M3UA Traffic Model

n: Minimum number of redundant ASPs to handle traffic

k: ASP available to take over for a failed or unavailable ASP

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 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

19 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 M3UA
SCTP SCTP
What is SCTP? IP
SCTP= Stream Control Transmission Protocol Ethernet
A reliable transport protocol (layer 4) operating on top of a
connectionless packet network such as IP
Why SCTP (while having TCP as reliable transport protocol)?
Limitations of TCP (improved by SCTP)
Strict order of transmission delivery of data
Real time issues: TCP is inappropriate for real-time applications
Security issues: TCP is relatively vulnerable to denial-of service attacks
Main differences from TCP
Multi-homing
Multi-streaming: several streams within a connection which is called an
association
What SCTP offers?
Reliable transport protocol
Path/Session failure detection mechanism
Flow control and congestion control
Suitable protocol for carrying signaling data
20 3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 SCTP main concept

21 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 SCTP Terminology

An SCTP endpoint = transport address= IP@ + unique SCTP port

A stream = a unidirectional logical channel between 2 endpoints
Each SCTP stream can be considered as an independent flow of user
messages from one SCTP node to another. The stream independence has the
advantage of avoiding blocking between streams
An Association = a connection made of several streams (at least 2: Rx
and Tx)
A Chunk = a unit of information within an SCTP packet, consisting of a
chunk header and chunk data (init /ack/data)
SCTP packet
Multiple bundles
Verification tag: key to verify
if the packet in correct association

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 SCTP Association Establishment

23 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 SCTP Association Termination
Endpoint A Endpoint B
Endpoint A Endpoint B
Shutdown primitive, SHUTDOWN
stop accepting data ABORT (no data)
closed closed
SHUTDOWN ACK
Validates the chunk
Remove all data Removes the association
Reports termination to
closed its upper layer process
closed

A shutdown of an association is considered a

graceful close
SCTP also allows ungraceful close (ABORT),
either on request from the user or as a result of
an error detected within the SCTP layer
24 3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 Multi-homing vs multi-association
SCTP Association 1 SIGTRAN multi-Homing

SIGTRAN single-Homing SGSN

SGSN
IPIP
IPIPRouter
Router
Router11
Router
RNC
RNC IP@62
IP@62 SCTP
SCTP 11
IP@12
IP@12 IP@82
IP@82
SCTP
SCTP 11 FP 11
GigE FP

IP@
IP@ IP@61
IP@61
GigE

IP@71
IP@71
IP@
IP@
M3UA
M3UA
M3UA
M3UA IP@
IP@
SCTP
SCTP 22 SCTP
SCTP 22
IP@
IP@ IP
IP Router
Router 22
FP 22

Backup IP@81
IP@72 IP@81
GigE FP

IP@72
IP@22
IP@22
IP@92
GigE

IP@92 IP@91
IP@91
Eth link

SCTP Association 2

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 M3UA
SCTP: Reliable data transfer protocol
SCTP
Checksum IP
Transmission Sequence Number Ethernet
Detect transmission gap (loss)
Packet duplication delivery
Selective retransmission mechanism
SACK mechanism
is sent for at least every second to acknowledge the data packet
received
Acknowledges multiple data chunks

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 Example of SACK mechanism

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 Example of SACK mechanism (cont.)

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 SCTP path failure detection

Multi-homing: path failure becomes inactive (secondary), association

is still up
Association fails if all paths become unavailable
Inactive path/association failure is detected by Heartbeat exchanges
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 SCTP association failure detection

30 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Select the correct concept

1. Serves as an active or backup process of

1. Routing key an Application Server

2. ASP 2. Describes a set of SS7 parameters to

identify the signaling
3. 1+0 model
3. Means no ASP redundancy
4. SCTP endpoint
4. Shares the traffic with other active ASPs
5. Loadsharing
5. Can have several association with other
SCTP endpoints

31 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Answer the questions

What is an association?
What is a transport address?
What is a chunk?
What is the TSN?
When an SCTP Endpoint can be considered as Multi-homing?
How does SCTP ensure reachability from one Endpoint to another?

32 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Agenda

Iu-PS interface concept

IuPSoIP Protocol structure
M3UA
SCTP
QoS & Resiliency

33 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 QoS management

Maintain the same QoS perception while migrating from ATM to IP

Three QoS domains involved: RNC + SGSN + IP backbone
IP Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) marking is used
6 bits = define 64 PHB (Per-Hop-Behavior), including
Expedited Forwarding (EF): virtual leased line, low delay, loss and jitter
Assured forwarding (AF): emulates a lightly loaded network (drop me last)
Best effort (BE)/Default Forwarding (DF)
First 3 bits = IP Precedence (CSx)
Header
Version Type of Service Datagram length
length
Identification Flag Datagram Offset

DSCP Unused

Bits 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Class Selector Code Points (IP Precedence)
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 DiffServ main concept

35 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 IuPSoIP QoS mapping

Mapping of 3GPP QoS attributes to IETF DSCP

RNC SGSN

UMTS QoS UMTS QoS

IuR Transport
QoS Iu Transport Iu-PS Iu Transport Gn Transport Gn
QoS QoS QoS
Iub IuB Transport
QoS

Traffic Class DSCP

RANAP Signaling AF41
Conversational CS6/EF
PS Streaming AF4x
Interactive AF1x, AF2x,
AF3x

36 Background DF
3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 IuPS over IP Resiliency

Control Plane resiliency granted by

M3UA handles multiple associations (load sharing or n+k model)
SCTP Association failure is detectable
Multi-homing: active and backup paths belong to single association
IP failure
VRRP (Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol) or HSRP (Hot Standby Router
Protocol) protection
Protected Default Route (PDR)
BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection)

37 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Protected Default Route (PDR)

With PDR, alternate next hops of protected static default IP routes

are monitored and the forwarding information is efficiently managed
to enable route re-programming within 1 second when a route failure
occurs
It is based on the ICMP ping/echo mechanism to monitor the routes
towards the Node B and the SGSN & RNC (next hop router)

RNC Metric 1 ICMP ping

10.10.10.1/30 10.10.10.2/30
ICMP reply Subnet A
Static-route

10.10.10.5/30
10.10.10.6/30
Metric 2
To reach subnet A,
I use GW 10.10.10.2 with metric 1
and GW 10.10.10.6 with metric 2
38 3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol

VRRP is standardized protocol while HSRP is proprietary (Cisco)

The master router sends VRRP advertisement packets every second to
all members of the VRRP group. If the master router fails or becomes
unreachable, the backup router with the highest priority value becomes
the new master router

VRID: 1.1.1.6/29
Master
MasterSlave
RNC EL0
1.1.1.4/29
Subnet A
1.1.1.1/29
EL1

1.1.1.5/29

VRID: 1.1.1.6/29
To reach subnet A, Slave -> Master
I use GW 1.1.1.6 (MAC@ of the
master 00-00-5E-00-01-XX)

39 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Bidirectional Forwarding Detection

Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) is a UDP-based layer-3

protocol that provides very fast routing protocol independent detection
of layer-3 next hop failures
BFD operation
Asynchronous mode: Control packets flow in each direction
Echo mode: Echo packets loop through remote system
RNC NHR 1
Control Packet

BFD CS
RNC Core

100 ms
Gige NH
Card Router Control Packet

300 ms
IP Network PS
VR Core
Control Packet

Gige NH Control Packet

Card Router RNC

NodeB

40 OMC
3G IP RAN formation - 2010
 Resiliency example

ICSU NPGE#1
1.1.1.1/29
Primary
Secondary NPGE#2
1.1.1.1/29

HSRP
PE PE SGSN
RNC 2 PAPU_0
(subnet A)

BB MPLS PAPU_0
UP (subnet A)
GE#1
subnet 2.2.1.1/30 PDR
PE
V GE#2
PE
r 2.2.2.1/30

SS7Cplane
subnet

RNC 1

41 3G IP RAN formation - 2010

 Module summary
Application
UDP/TCP
Things to remember RANAP
IP
M3UA & SCTP association concept SCCP
DiffServ DSCP QoS management
GTP-U M3UA
IP Resiliency mechanism
UDP SCTP
Many concepts will be reused in IuCS over
IP, Iur over IP, Full IP Iub interface IP IP
Ethernet Ethernet

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 End of module

43 3G IP RAN formation - 2010