System Architecture Evolution

System Architecture Evolution (SAE) is the core network architecture of 3GPP's LTE wireless
communication standard.

SAE is the evolution of the GPRS Core Network, with some differences:

simplified architecture
all-IP Network (AIPN)
support for higher throughput and lower latency radio access networks (RANs)
support for, and mobility between, multiple heterogeneous access networks, including E-UTRA
(LTE and LTE Advanced air interface), 3GPP legacy systems (for example GERAN or UTRAN,
air interfaces of GPRS and UMTS respectively), but also non-3GPP systems (for example Wi-
Fi, WiMAX or CDMA2000)

Contents
SAE Architecture
Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
MME (Mobility Management Entity)
SGW (Serving Gateway)
PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway)
HSS (Home Subscriber Server)
ANDSF (Access Network Discovery and Selection Function)
ePDG (Evolved Packet Data Gateway)
Non Access Stratum (NAS) protocols
EMM (EPS Mobility Management)
ESM (EPS Session Management)
EPC protocol stack
MME (Mobility Management Entity) protocols
SGW (Serving Gateway) protocols
PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) protocols
Support of voice services and SMS
Support for Voice services in EPC
Support for SMS services in EPC
Multiple access networks
3GPP releases
Further reading
See also
References

SAE Architecture
The SAE has a flat, all-IP architecture with separation of control plane and user plane traffic.

The main component of the SAE architecture is the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as SAE
Core. The EPC will serve as the equivalent of GPRS networks (via the Mobility Management Entity,
Serving Gateway and PDN Gateway subcomponents).

Evolved Packet Core (EPC)

The subcomponents of the EPC

are:[1][2]

MME (Mobility Management

Entity)

The MME is the key control-

node for the LTE access-
network. It is responsible for idle
mode UE (User Equipment)
paging and tagging procedure
including retransmissions. It is
involved in the bearer
EPC nodes and interfaces
activation/deactivation process
and is also responsible for
choosing the SGW for a UE at
the initial attach and at time of intra-LTE handover involving Core Network (CN) node relocation. It is
responsible for authenticating the user (by interacting with the HSS). The Non Access Stratum (NAS)
signaling terminates at the MME and it is also responsible for generation and allocation of temporary
identities to UEs. It checks the authorization of the UE to camp on the service provider's Public Land
Mobile Network (PLMN) and enforces UE roaming restrictions. The MME is the termination point in the
network for ciphering/integrity protection for NAS signaling and handles the security key management.
Lawful interception of signaling is also supported by the MME. The MME also provides the control plane
function for mobility between LTE and 2G/3G access networks with the S3 interface terminating at the
MME from the SGSN. The MME also terminates the S6a interface towards the HSS for roaming UEs.

SGW (Serving Gateway)

The SGW routes and forwards user data packets, while also acting as the mobility anchor for the user plane
during inter-eNodeB handovers and as the anchor for mobility between LTE and other 3GPP technologies
(terminating S4 interface and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G systems and PGW). For idle state UEs, the
SGW terminates the downlink data path and triggers paging when downlink data arrives for the UE. It
manages and stores UE contexts, e.g. parameters of the IP bearer service, network internal routing
information. It also performs replication of the user traffic in case of lawful interception.

PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway)

The PDN Gateway provides connectivity from the UE to external packet data networks by being the point of
exit and entry of traffic for the UE. A UE may have simultaneous connectivity with more than one PGW for
accessing multiple PDNs. The PGW performs policy enforcement, packet filtering for each user, charging
support, lawful interception and packet screening. Another key role of the PGW is to act as the anchor for
mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX and 3GPP2 (CDMA 1X and EvDO).
HSS (Home Subscriber Server)

The HSS is a central database that contains user-related and subscription-related information. The functions
of the HSS include functionalities such as mobility management, call and session establishment support,
user authentication and access authorization. The HSS is based on pre-Rel-4 Home Location Register (HLR)
and Authentication Center (AuC).

ANDSF (Access Network Discovery and Selection Function)

The ANDSF provides information to the UE about connectivity to 3GPP and non-3GPP access networks
(such as Wi-Fi). The purpose of the ANDSF is to assist the UE to discover the access networks in their
vicinity and to provide rules (policies) to prioritize and manage connections to these networks.

ePDG (Evolved Packet Data Gateway)

The main function of the ePDG is to secure the data transmission with a UE connected to the EPC over
untrusted non-3GPP access, e.g. VoWi-Fi. For this purpose, the ePDG acts as a termination node of IPsec
tunnels established with the UE.

Non Access Stratum (NAS) protocols

The Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocols form the highest stratum of the control plane between the user
equipment (UE) and MME.[3] NAS protocols support the mobility of the UE and the session management
procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity between the UE and a PDN GW. They define the rules
for a mapping between parameters during inter-system mobility with 3G networks or non-3GPP access
networks. They also provide the NAS security by integrity protection and ciphering of NAS signaling
messages. EPS provides the subscriber with a "ready-to-use" IP connectivity and an "always-on" experience
by linking between mobility management and session management procedures during the UE attach
procedure.

Complete NAS transactions consist of specific sequences of elementary procedures with EPS Mobility
Management (EMM) and EPS Session Management (ESM) protocols.

EMM (EPS Mobility Management)

The EPS (Evolved Packet System) Mobility Management (EMM) protocol provides procedures for the
control of mobility when the User Equipment (UE) uses the Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access
Network (E-UTRAN). It also provides control of security for the NAS protocols.

EMM involves different types of procedures such as:

EMM common procedures — can always be initiated while a NAS signalling connection exists.
The procedures belonging to this type are initiated by the network. They include GUTI
reallocation, authentication, security mode control, identification and EMM information.
EMM specific procedures — specific to the UE only. At any time only one UE-initiated EMM
specific procedure can run. The procedures belonging to this type are attach and combined
attach, detach or combined detach, normal tracking area update and combined tracking area
update (S1 mode only) and periodic tracking area update (S1 mode only).
EMM connection management procedures — manage the connection of the UE with the
network:
 Service request: Initiated by the UE and used to establish a secure connection to the
network or to request the resource reservation for sending data, or both.
Paging procedure: Initiated by the network and used to request the establishment of a NAS
signalling connection or to prompt the UE to re-attach if necessary as a result of a network
failure.
Transport of NAS messages: Initiated by the UE or the network and used to transport SMS
messages.
Generic transport of NAS messages: Initiated by the UE or the network and used to
transport protocol messages from other applications.

The UE and the network execute the attach procedure, the default EPS bearer context activation procedure
in parallel. During the EPS attach procedure the network activates a default EPS bearer context. The EPS
session management messages for the default EPS bearer context activation are transmitted in an
information element in the EPS mobility management messages. The UE and network complete the
combined default EPS bearer context activation procedure and the attach procedure before the dedicated
EPS bearer context activation procedure is completed. The success of the attach procedure is dependent on
the success of the default EPS bearer context activation procedure. If the attach procedure fails, then the
ESM session management procedures also fails.

ESM (EPS Session Management)

The EPS Session Management (ESM) protocol provides procedures for the handling of EPS bearer contexts.
Together with the bearer control provided by the Access Stratum, it provides the control of user plane
bearers. The transmission of ESM messages is suspended during EMM procedures except for the attach
procedure.

EPS Bearer: Each EPS bearer context represents an EPS bearer between the UE and a PDN. EPS bearer
contexts can remain activated even if the radio and S1 bearers constituting the corresponding EPS bearers
between UE and MME are temporarily released. An EPS bearer context can be either a default bearer
context or a dedicated bearer context. A default EPS bearer context is activated when the UE requests a
connection to a PDN. The first default EPS bearer context, is activated during the EPS attach procedure.
Additionally, the network can activate one or several dedicated EPS bearer contexts in parallel.

Generally, ESM procedures can be performed only if an EMM context has been established between the UE
and the MME, and the secure exchange of NAS messages has been initiated by the MME by use of the
EMM procedures. Once the UE is successfully attached, the UE can request the MME to set up connections
to additional PDNs. For each additional connection, the MME activates a separate default EPS bearer
context. A default EPS bearer context remains activated throughout the lifetime of the connection to the
PDN.

Types of ESM procedures: ESM involves different types of procedures such as:

EPS bearer contexts procedures — initiated by the network and are used for the manipulation
of EPS bearer contexts, including Default EPS bearer context activation, Dedicated EPS
bearer context activation, EPS bearer context modification, EPS bearer context deactivation.
Transaction related procedures — initiated by the UE to request for resources, i.e. a new PDN
connection or dedicated bearer resources, or to release these resources. They include PDN
connectivity procedure, PDN disconnect procedure, Bearer resource allocation procedure,
Bearer resource modification procedure.

The MME maintains EMM context and EPS bearer context information for UEs in the ECM-IDLE, ECM
CONNECTED and EMM-DEREGISTERED states.
EPC protocol stack

MME (Mobility Management Entity) protocols

The MME protocol stack consists of:

1. S1-MME stack to support S1-MME interface with eNodeB

2. S11 stack to support S11 interface with Serving Gateway

MME supports the S1 interface with eNodeB. The integrated S1 MME interface stack consists of IP, SCTP,
S1AP.

SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) is a common transport protocol that uses the
services of Internet Protocol (IP) to provide a reliable datagram delivery service to the
adaptation modules, such as the S1AP. SCTP provides reliable and sequenced delivery on top
of the existing IP framework. The main features provided by SCTP are:
Association setup: An association is a connection that is set up between two endpoints for
data transfer, much like a TCP connection. A SCTP association can have multiple
addresses at each end.
Reliable Data Delivery: Delivers sequenced data in a stream (Elimination of head-of-line
blocking): SCTP ensures the sequenced delivery of data with multiple unidirectional
streams, without blocking the chunks of data in other direction.
S1AP (S1 Application Part) is the signaling service between E-UTRAN and the Evolved
Packet Core (EPC) that fulfills the S1 Interface functions such as SAE Bearer management
functions, Initial context transfer function, Mobility functions for UE, Paging, Reset functionality,
NAS signaling transport function, Error reporting, UE context release function, Status transfer.

MME supports S11 interface with Serving Gateway. The integrated S11 interface stack consists of IP, UDP,
eGTP-C.

SGW (Serving Gateway) protocols

The SGW consists of

1. S11 control plane stack to support S11 interface with MME

2. S5/S8 control and data plane stacks to support S5/S8 interface with PGW
3. S1 data plane stack to support S1 user plane interface with eNodeB
4. S4 data plane stack to support S4 user plane interface between RNC of UMTS and SGW of
eNodeB
5. Sxa: since 3GPP Rel.14, the Sx interface and the associated PFCP protocol was added to the
PGW, allowing for the Control User Plane Separation between PGW-C and PGW-U.

SGW supports S11 interface with MME and S5/S8 interface with PGW. The integrated control plane stack
for these interfaces consists of IP, UDP, eGTP-C.

SGW supports the S1-U interface with eNodeB and S5/S8 data plane interface with PGW. The integrated
data plane stack for these interfaces consists of IP, UDP, eGTP-U.
PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway) protocols

Main interfaces supported by the P-GW are:

1. S5/S8: this interface is defined between S-GW and P-GW.

It is named S5 when the S-GW and the P-GW are located Main interfaces that P-GW shares
in the same network (non-roaming scenario) and S8 when with other EPC nodes
the S-GW is located in the visited network and the P-GW
in the home network (roaming scenario). eGTP-C and
GTP-U protocols are used in the S5/S8 interface.
2. Gz: this interface is used by the P-GW to communicate with the Offline Charging System
(OFCS), mainly to send the Charging Data Records (CDRs) of the post-paid users via FTP.
3. Gy: this interface is used by the P-GW to communicate with the Online Charging System
(OCS). The P-GW informs the charging system about pre-paid users payload in real time.
Diameter protocol is used in the Gy interface.
4. Gx: this interface is used by the P-GW to communicate with the Policy and Charging Rules
Function (PCRF) in order to handle Policy and Charging Rules (PCC) rules. These rules
contain charging related information as well as Quality of Service (QoS) parameters that will be
used in the bearer establishment. Diameter protocol is used in the Gx interface.
5. SGi: this interface is defined between the P-GW and external networks, for example, Internet
access, corporate access, etc.
6. Sxb: since 3GPP Rel.14, the Sx interface and the associated PFCP protocol was added to the
PGW, allowing for the Control User Plane Separation between PGW-C and PGW-U.

Support of voice services and SMS

The EPC is a packet-only core network. It does not have a circuit-switched domain, which is traditionally
used for phone calls and SMS.

Support for Voice services in EPC

3GPP specified two solutions for voice:

IMS: A solution for IMS Voice over IP was specified in Rel-7.

Circuit-Switched fallback (CSFB): in order to make or receive calls, the UE changes its radio
access technology from LTE to a 2G/3G technology that supports circuit-switched services.
This feature requires 2G/3G coverage. A new interface (called SGs) between the MME and
the MSC is required. This feature was developed in Rel-8.

Support for SMS services in EPC

3GPP specified three solutions for SMS:

IMS: A solution for SMS over IP was specified in Rel-7.

SMS over SGs: this solution requires the SGs interface introduced during the work on CSFB.
SMS are delivered in the Non Access Stratum over LTE. There is no inter-system change for
sending or receiving SMS. This feature was specified in Rel-8.
SMS over SGd: this solution requires the SGd Diameter interface at the MME and delivers
SMS in the Non Access Stratum over LTE, without requiring the fully signaling neither the
 legacy MSC doing CSFB, nor the overhead associated with the IMS signaling and the
associated EPC bearer management.

CSFB and SMS over SGs are seen as interim solutions, the long term being IMS.[4]

Multiple access networks

The UE can connect to the EPC using several access technologies. These access technologies are composed
of:

3GPP accesses: these access technologies are specified by the 3GPP. They include GPRS,
UMTS, EDGE, HSPA, LTE and LTE Advanced.
non-3GPP accesses: these access technologies are not specified by the 3GPP. They include
technologies such as cdma2000, WiFi or fixed networks. 3GPP specifies two classes of non-
3GPP access technologies with different security mechanisms:
trusted accesses, that the network operator consider trustable from a security stand point
(for example: a cdma2000 network). Trusted non-3GPP accesses interface directly with the
network.
untrusted accesses, that the network operator doesn't consider trustable from a security
stand point (for example, a connection over a public WiFi hotspot). Untrusted non-3GPP
accesses are connected to the network via an ePDG, which provide additional security
mechanisms (IPsec tunneling).

It is up to the network operator to decide whether a non-3GPP access technology is trusted or untrusted.

It is worth noting that these trusted/untrusted categories do not apply to 3GPP accesses.

3GPP releases
The 3GPP delivers standards in parallel releases, which compose consistent sets of specifications and
features.
 Version[5] Released[6] Info[7]
Release 7 2007 Q4 Feasibility study on All-IP Network (AIPN)
First release of EPC. SAE specification: high level functions,
support of LTE and other 3GPP accesses, support of non-3GPP
Release 8 2008 Q4 accesses, inter-system mobility, Single Radio Voice Call Continuity
(SRVCC), CS fallback. Earthquake and Tsunami Warning System
(ETWS). Support of Home Node B / Home eNode B.
LCS control plane for EPS. Support of IMS emergency calls over
Release 9 2009 Q4 GPRS and EPS. Enhancements to Home Node B / Home eNode B.
Public Warning System (PWS).
Network improvements for machine-type communications. Various
Release 10 2011 Q1
offload mechanisms (LIPA, SIPTO, IFOM).
Further improvements for machine-type communications. Simulation
of USSD in IMS. QoS control based on subscriber spending limits.
Further improvements to LIPA and SIPTO. Single Radio Video Call
Release 11 2012 Q3
Continuity (vSRVCC). Single Radio Voice Call Continuity from
UTRAN/GERAN to HSPA/E-UTRAN (rSRVCC). Support of
interworking with Broadband Forum accesses.
Enhanced Small Cells operation, Carrier Aggregation (2 uplink
carriers, 3 downlink carriers, FDD/TDD carrier aggregation), MIMO
Release 12 2015 Q1 (3D channel modelling, elevation beamforming, massive MIMO),
MTC - UE Cat 0 introduced, D2D communication, eMBMS
enhancements.
Introduced LTE-U / LTE-LAA, LTE-M, Elevation beamforming / Full
Release 13 2016 Q1 Dimension MIMO, Indoor positioning, LTE-M Cat 1.4 MHz & Cat
200 kHz

Further reading
3GPP page on SAE (http://www.3gpp.org/The-Evolved-Packet-Core)
3GPP TS 23.401: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal
Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/
23401.htm)
3GPP TS 23.402: Architecture enhancements for non-3GPP accesses (http://www.3gpp.org/ft
p/Specs/html-info/23402.htm)
3GPP LTE-SAE Overview, by Ulrich Barth (https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ae8c/3fe3b84b36d
827364692aa1c93970c44d063.pdf) (SAE in 2006)

See also
LTE
IP Multimedia Subsystem

References
1. 3GPP TS 23.002: Network architecture (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/23002.htm)
2. LTE White Paper
3. 3GPP TS 24.301: Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) protocol for Evolved Packet System (EPS);
Stage 3 (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/html-info/24301.htm)
4. Dispelling LTE Myths (http://www.3gpp.org/Dispelling-LTE-Myths)
 5. 3GPP releases (http://www.3gpp.org/releases)
6. 3GPP Specifications - Releases (and phases and stages) (http://www.3gpp.org/specs/release
s.htm)
7. 3GPP release descriptions (http://www.3gpp.org/ftp/Information/WORK_PLAN/Description_Rel
eases/)
LTE White Paper: "Long Term Evolution (LTE):A Technical Overview" (https://www.3g4g.co.uk/
Lte/LTE_WP_0706_Motorola.pdf) (PDF). Motorola.
Strategic White Paper: "Introduction to Evolved Packet Core" (https://www.webcitation.org/67x
QnUdSe?url=http://downloads.lightreading.com/wplib/alcatellucent/ALU_WP_Intro_to_EPC.pd
f) (PDF). Alcatel-Lucent. Archived from the original (http://downloads.lightreading.com/wplib/al
catellucent/ALU_WP_Intro_to_EPC.pdf) (PDF) on 2012-05-26.
Technical White Paper: "Evolved Packet Core solution: Innovation in LTE core" (https://www.w
ebcitation.org/67xQo3ujx?url=http://downloads.lightreading.com/wplib/alcatellucent/ALU_WP_
EPC_Technology.pdf) (PDF). Alcatel-Lucent. Archived from the original (http://downloads.lightr
eading.com/wplib/alcatellucent/ALU_WP_EPC_Technology.pdf) (PDF) on 2012-05-26.
3GPP TS 32.240: Telecommunication management; Charging management; Charging
architecture and principles (https://portal.3gpp.org/desktopmodules/Specifications/Specificatio
nDetails.aspx?specificationId=1896). portal.3gpp.org.

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