WCDMA Radio Network Functionality

Part 8
WCDMA Channel Switching

9/038 13 - EN/LZU 108 5686 Rev PA2 WCDMA Channel Switching

Agenda: WCDMA Channel Switching

• Introduction
• Overview of the channel switching algorithm
– Channel description
– Traffic characteristics
– Algorithm outline
• Detailed algorithm descriptions
– Common to dedicated
– Dedicated to common

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The Channel Switching Algorithm

• Purpose:
– to determine, per best effort RAB, if it is necessary to
switch UE connected substates e.g. from a common
to a dedicated channel.
• Reason
– for best effort traffic for a particular user there should
be large variations in time in the offered traffic (bursty
nature of traffic) so that it is not efficient to keep up
resources for a dedicated channel continuously.

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Dedicated mode states

• Cell_DCH
– Dedicated control channels (DCCH) are used for control
signaling and dedicated traffic channels (DTCH) is used for user
data transmission. DCCH and DTCH is mapped onto dedicated
transport channels (DCH)
• Cell_FACH
– The UE is able to transmit control signals and data packets on
the RACH and monitors the FACH to receive DL information. A
dedicated control channel (DCCH) or a common control
channel (CCCH) is used for control signaling and a dedicated
traffic channel is used for user data transmission. These are all
mapped onto a common transport channel (RACH or FACH)

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 Different Packet Transmission Schemes for
Efficient Transmission

– Small and infrequent packets:

• transmitted on the common random access channel as the
data is attached to the random access bursts (UL RACH).
• benefit: these packets will experience very short delays. For
the downlink the FACH performs similar tasks.
– Large or frequent packets
• dedicated channel is used (UL/DL DCH
• benefit: fast quality based power control is up and running,
which results in a high spectrum efficiency.
• benefit: packets on dedicated channels can be scheduled by a
scheduling algorithm.
Note: control information (pilot bits, power control bits and TFI) is transmitted on dedicated channel even
when no packets are transmitted: –> The channel is prepared for new arriving packets. Finally the dedicated
channel is released when it has been unused during a certain amount of time.
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WCDMA Channel Switching - Introduction

– Each channel (FACH/DCH) requires resources that are “fixed”

allocated to that channel (Resources = DL channel codes, RBS
HW spreaders, RAKES, coding processors etc).
– Regardless if the channel is used or not the resources are
allocated to that channel and no other one can use them.
– In the RNC each user has resources allocated, regardless of
which channel that is used.
– The most limiting resource is the air-interface resources
(interference/power, codes & RBS HW) so therefore it is
important to optimise the usage of those as much as possible.
– To achieve good efficient usage of these resources (=high
capacity) it is very important to only use as much as really
required, not more or less.

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 Channel Type Switching (Uplink Example)

User 1 User 2
Random-Access Random-Access
Request Request

Random-Access Channel
Switch to Switch to
dedicated TTime-out common
Packet Packet Packet

Dedicated Channel
Release dedicated
channel

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Channel Description

• Channel switching handles switching between

transport channels. For the logical channels,
DTCH and DCCH, this switching is transparent.
• Transport channels and physical channels
– Dedicated channels, DCH/DCH
– Common channels, RACH/FACH (and CPCH/DSCH)
– Paging channel, PCH
• Logical channels
– DCCH and DTCH

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WCDMA Downlink (FDD)
Logical Channels Transport Channels Physical Channels
(Layers 3+) (Layer 2) (Layer 1)

CPICH
Null Data S/P
Common Pilot Channel
Cch 256,0 Gain
Sync Codes(*)
BCCH BCH Data P-CCPCH(*) PSC
S/P
Broadcast Control Ch. Broadcast Ch. Encoding Primary Common Control Physical Ch.
Cch 256,1 Gain

PCCH PCH Data GP Σ

Paging Control Ch. Paging Ch. Encoding
SSCi
S-CCPCH
S/P
CCCH Secondary Common Control Physical Ch. SCH (Sync Channel)
GS
Common Control Ch. Cch Gain
FACH Data
CTCH Forward Access Ch. Encoding
Common Traffic Ch. DPCH (Dedicated Physical Channel)
CCTrCH One per UE
DCCH DCH Data
Dedicated Control Ch. Dedicated Ch. Encoding Cell-specific
Scrambling Downlink
DTCH DCH Data Code RF Out
Dedicated Traffic Ch. 1 Dedicated Ch. Encoding M
DPDCH (one or more per UE)
U M
Dedicated Physical Data Ch.
X U
X
S/P
Σ I+jQ
I
Filter
Cch Gain
Σ I/Q
Modulator
DTCH DCH Data Filter
Dedicated Traffic Ch. N Dedicated Ch. Encoding Q
DPCCH (one per UE)
Pilot, TPC, TFCI bits
Dedicated Physical Control Ch.

SHCCH DSCH Data PDSCH

S/P * Note regarding P-CCPCH and SCH
DSCH Control Ch. Downlink Shared Ch. Encoding Physical Downlink Shared Channel
Cch Gain
Sync Codes are transmitted only in bits 0-255 of each timeslot;
P-CCPCH transmits only during the remaining bits of each timeslot
AICH
Access Indication data S/P
(Acquisition Indication Channel)
Cch Gain
PICH
Paging Indication bits S/P
(Paging Indication Channel )
Cch Gain
AP-AICH
Access Preamble Indication bits S/P
(Access Preamble Indication Channel )
Cch Gain
CSICH
CPCH Status Indication bits S/P
(CPCH Status Indication Channel )
Cch Gain
CD/CA-ICH
CPCH Status Indication bits S/P
(Collision Detection/Channel Assignment )
Cch Gain

9/038 13 - EN/LZU 108 5686/ 9 Rev PA3 WCDMA Channel Switching

WCDMA Uplink (FDD)
Logical Channels Transport Channels Physical Channels
(Layers 3+) (Layer 2) (Layer 1)
Chd Gd
CCCH RACH Data PRACH
Common Control Ch. Random Access Ch. Coding Physical Random Access Ch.
Σ
RACH Control Part

Chc Gc j
Chd Gd
DTCH (packet mode) CPCH Data PCPCH UE
Dedicated Traffic Ch. Common Packet Ch. Coding Physical Common Packet Ch. Scrambling Uplink
Σ Code
RF Out
PCPCH Control Part

I
I+jQ Filter
Chc Gc j I/Q
Σ Filter
Mod.
Chd,1 Gd
Q
CCTrCH DPDCH #1
Dedicated Physical Data Ch.
DCCH DCH Data Chd,3 Gd
Dedicated Control Ch. Dedicated Ch.Encoding DPDCH #3 (optional)
Dedicated Physical Data Ch. ΣI
Chd,5 Gd
DTCH DCH Data
DPDCH #5 (optional)
Dedicated Traffic Ch. 1 Dedicated Ch.Encoding M Dedicated Physical Data Ch.
U Chd,2 Gd
X DPDCH #2 (optional) Σ
Dedicated Physical Data Ch.
Chd,4 Gd
DTCH DCH Data DPDCH #4 (optional)
Dedicated Traffic Ch. N Dedicated Ch.Encoding Dedicated Physical Data Ch.
DPDCH #6 (optional)
Chd,6 Gd
Σ
Dedicated Physical Data Ch. Q
Chc Gd j
DPCCH
Pilot, TPC, TFCI bits
Dedicated Physical Control Ch.

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Traffic Characteristics

• User data
– The packet switched, best effort traffic is mainly generated by web
browsing, email and file transfer and especially web browsing is
expected to be of very bursty nature.
– This traffic belongs to the “interactive” or “background” classes which
have no guaranteed bit rates and no delay requirements.
– TCP and WAP will probably the mostly used internetworking
protocols
• Control data
– The control data is mainly RRC messaging
– SMS is also transferred via the control data.

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RAB States Overview and Channel Switching

PS 64/64 PS 64/384

Dedicated → Common Dedicated → Common

CS CC CS CC

RACH/FACH

Common → Dedicated

CC = Congestion Control

CS = Channel Switching

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WCDMA Channel Switching
RNC RBS
RANOS*

UE

Configuration
Collecting statistics
TRAM*

Measurements

Parameter selection Measurements

Viewing performance Channel switching functionality

* Optional products

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Traffic Flow

NAS_DT NAS_DT
DTCH
RRC RRC low prio high prio

RLC RLC RLC RLC RLC

(UM) (AM) (AM) (AM) (AM)

MAC

transport bearer

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Detailed Algorithm Descriptions

• Common to dedicated
• Dedicated to common

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Dedicated to Common (DL Example)

The sum of all throughputs (per RLC

flow) is measured

DTCH DCCH (low) DCCH (high)

RLC flows to be multiplexed into a
particular transport channel i.e. DCH

If this througput is low a switch to a

common channel is indicated

9/038 13 - EN/LZU 108 5686/ 16 Rev PA3 WCDMA Channel Switching

Dedicated to Common
DOWNSWITCH TIMER starts

again (for stability reasons)

RLC buffer load (kbps) (UL/DL)

downswitchTimeThreshold

downswitchThreshold

Time (ms)

DOWNSWITCH TIMER stops

DOWNSWITCH TIMER starts DOWNSWITCH TIMER expires

and switch from dedicated to common

9/038 13 - EN/LZU 108 5686/ 17 Rev PA3 WCDMA Channel Switching

 Common to Dedicated (DL Example)

In the DL, the sum

If this sum becomes too large, a
of these buffers is
switch to dedicated is triggered
measured

DTCH DCCH (low) DCCH (high)

RLC flows multiplexed into a particular
transport channel i.e. FACH

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Common to Dedicated

RLC buffer size (bytes) (UL/DL)

dlRlcBufUpswitch or ulRlcBufUpswitch

Time (ms)

PENDING TIME AFTER TRIGGER starts and a new measurement report is sent to request upswitching

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 CS (only DL considered in figure)
DTCH

DTCH buffer

dlRLCBufUpswitch
DCCH (High)

Σ
500bytes
DCCH (high) buffer

DCCH (low)

STOP DCCH (low) buffer

downswitchTimeThreshold

(16kbps) Sum of all buffers

Throughput DOWNSWITCH TIMER
measurements start (1sec)
again Admission Control
downswitchThreshold

(8kbps) YES
NO
Sum of all three
throughputs
Timer expires
PENDING_TIME_AFTER_TRIGGER

START Common Dedicated (0.5

(0.5sec)
sec)EXPIRES
START

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 Simulation of Timer Values
4.5 1.6
4 1.4

Switch frequency [Hz]

Output power [W]

3.5 1.2
3
1
2.5
0.8
2
0.6
1.5
1 0.4
0.5 0.2
0 0
0 0.5 1 2 5 0 0.5 1 [s] 2 5
Timer [s] Timer

Trade-off between capacity and switch frequency

Note: simulation of downlink assuming web traffic, time scale not linear

9/038 13 - EN/LZU 108 5686/ 21 Rev PA3 WCDMA Channel Switching