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LTE - Long Term Evolution
LTE - Long Term Evolution
LTE/SAE Introduction Orthogonal FDM Multi-antenna Systems E-UTRA Physical Layer E-UTRA Layer 2 and 3 The X2- and S1-interface The Evolved Packet Core LTE/SAE Signalling Procedures
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Foldouts
The use of a term in this document should not be interpreted in a manner that would affect the validity or legal status of any proprietary rights that may be attached to that term. This is a training document and as such simplifies what are often highly complex technological issues. The system or systems described here should therefore be seen in that light, i. E. as simplifications rather than generalizations. Due to ongoing progress in methodology, design, its contents are furthermore subject to revision without prior notice. Apis Technical Training AB assumes no legal responsibility for any error or damage resulting from the use of this document. Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights are reserved. This training material is the confidential and proprietary property of Apis Technical Training AB. It is to be used solely for the purpose for which it was produced and is not to be copied or otherwise reproduced without the prior written permission of Apis Technical Training AB. To our best knowledge, the information in this document is accurate as per the date of publication. Other than by prior written agreement, Apis Technical Training AB will not update or otherwise advise of errors in the document which may be brought to our attention. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Apis Technical Training AB. welcomes customer feedback as part of a process of ongoing development of our documentation in order to better meet our customers' needs. Please submit your comments to our Head Office in Stockholm. Apis Technical Training AB Tjrhovsgatan 21, 5th floor SE-116 28 Stockholm Sweden E-mail: info@apistraining.com
LTE/SAE Introduction
1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................... 1-2 1.2 EVOLVED UTRA & UTRAN........................................... 1-3
1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 Network Architecture................................................................1-3 Requirements on E-UTRA/UTRAN..........................................1-4 Overview of Technical Solutions..............................................1-5
1.4 EVOLVED HSPA (HSPA+) ............................................ 1-9 1.5 REFERENCES .............................................................. 1-10
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - LTE/SAE Introduction Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
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1.1
Background
3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) is the name given to a project within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to improve the UMTS 3G mobile system standard to cope with future requirements. Goals include improving efficiency, lowering costs, reducing complexity, improving services, making use of new spectrum opportunities and better integration with other open standards (such as WLAN and WiMAX). Thus, the term LTE really means a standardisation project. The final outcome from this project will be a new set of standards defining the functionality and requirements of an evolved, packet based, radio access network and a new radio access. The new radio access network is referred to as the Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN) and the new radio access is referred to as the Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA). The LTE project belongs to 3GPP Release 8. The term LTE has recently become more or less synonymous to the (proper) terms Evolved UTRA (the new radio access) and Evolved UTRAN (the new radio access network). With this in mind, the author has taken the freedom to use the terms LTE and E-UTRA interchangeably for the new OFDM-based radio interface. The term E-UTRAN explicitly means the whole radio access network (i.e. it includes the eNBs, the X2interface and the S1-interface). The work on LTE started with a workshop, 2-3 Nov 2004 in Toronto, Canada. The workshop was open to members and non-members of 3GPP. Operators, vendors and research institutes presented contributions with views and proposals on the future evolution of 3G. A set of high level requirements were initially identified: Reduced cost per transmitted bit More services at lower cost with better user experience Flexibility of use of existing and new frequency bands Simplified architecture, open interfaces Reasonable terminal power consumption. It was also recommended that the E-UTRAN should bring significant improvements to justify the standardization effort and that it should avoid unnecessary options. A feasibility study on the UTRA & UTRAN Long Term Evolution was then started in December 2004. The objective was "to develop a framework for the evolution of the 3GPP radio access technology towards a high data rate, low latency and packet optimized radio access technology". The study focused on supporting services exclusively from the Packet Switched (PS) domain. In parallel to, and coordinated with, the LTE project there is also a 3GPP standardisation project relating to the core network. This project is called System Architecture Evolution (SAE) and aims at standardising the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The SAE project was started in December 2004, with the objective to develop a framework for an evolution or
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migration of the 3GPP system to a higher data rate, lower latency, packet optimized system that supports multiple RATs. The EPC will be a fully IP-based core network (all-IP) supporting access not only via GERAN, UTRAN and E-UTRAN but also WiFi, WiMAX and wired technologies such as xDSL. The SAE project also belongs to 3GPP Release 8. A short introduction to the Evolved UTRA/N can be found in section 1.2 in this chapter, and an introduction to the EPC in section 1.3. The Stage 2 set (general architecture, protocol structure and key concepts) of LTE standardisation documents is, according to 3GPP, to be completed at the time of writing this document (Oct 2007). The completion date for the Stage 3 work (i.e. detailed protocol specifications) is still a bit uncertain, but a reasonable estimate is early 2008. The Stage 2 set of SAE standardisation documents are (again according to 3GPP) to be completed by March 2008, with Stage 3 following shortly afterwards. One should be aware that major updates/changes/additions to the E-UTRAN/EPC specs are expected throughout 2008-09. Real-life deployment of LTE/SAE networks should therefore not be expected until 2009-10.
The reader is strongly encouraged to regularly check the 3GPP website (www.3gpp.org) for new versions of the standardisation documents referenced at the end of each chapter in the current document.
1.2
1.2.1
eNB
X2
eNB
The Evolved UTRAN consists of the evolved NodeB (eNB), providing the E-UTRA User Plane (UP) and Control Plane (CP) protocol terminations towards the UE. The eNBs are interconnected with each other by means of
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the X2-interface, e.g. for support of handovers without data loss. The eNBs are connected by means of the S1-interface to the EPC. The S1-interface supports a many-to-many relation between eNBs and MME/SGWs (see section 1.3.1). The X2- and S1-interfaces are described in in chapter 6. The eNB can be seen as a combination of the UMTS NodeB and Radio Network Controller, hosting functions like dynamic resource allocation (through packet scheduling) and radio resource management.
1.2.2
Requirements on E-UTRA/UTRAN
At the onset of the LTE project a series of requirement targets relating to performance, complexity and interworking were defined. Some of these are listed below: Peak data rate: at least 100 Mb/s DL and 50 Mb/s UL (assuming 20 MHz system bandwidth). Control Plane (CP) latency: transition time less than 100 ms from an idle state to an active state, and less than 50 ms between a dormant state (such as R6 CELL_PCH) and an active state. User Plane (UP) latency: less than 5 ms in unloaded condition (single user with single data stream) for small IP packet. CP capacity: at least 200 users per cell should be supported in the active state (5 MHz system bandwidth). Mobility: E-UTRAN should be optimized for low mobile speed (015 km/h) and higher speeds (15-120 km/h) should be supported with high performance. Mobility shall be maintained between 120350 km/h (up to 500 km/h depending on the frequency band). Coverage: the throughput and mobility targets above should be met for 5 km cells with a slight degradation for 30 km cells. Cells range up to 100 km should be possible. Spectrum flexibility: E-UTRA shall operate in different spectrum allocations of different sizes, including 1.25, 1.6, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz in both UL and DL. Operation in paired (FDD) and unpaired (TDD) spectrum shall be supported. Interworking: co-existence in the same geographical area and colocation with GERAN/UTRAN on adjacent channels. E-UTRAN terminals supporting also UTRAN/GERAN operation should be able to support measurement of, and handover from/to, both UTRAN and GERAN. The interruption time during a handover of real-time services between E-UTRAN and UTRAN/GERAN should be less than 300ms. Architecture: the E-UTRAN architecture shall be packet based, supporting real-time and conversational class traffic. The architecture shall minimize the presence of "single points of failure". Complexity: minimised number of options and avoidance of redundant mandatory features.
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1.2.3
There are, of course, drawbacks with OFDM as well. One such drawback is that an OFDM signal exhibits a very high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). This is not really a problem on the network side, but leads to very inefficient use of power amplifiers, and hence high power consumption, in a mobile terminal. The E-UTRA system therefore uses a variant of OFDM for uplink transmission that reduces PAPR. This variant of OFDM is called Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA). Despite the name, there is very little that differentiates SC-FDMA from classic OFDM. Chapter 2 contains more information on OFDM. The use of Multiple Input Multiple Output antenna arrays (MIMO) is an integral part of the E-UTRA standard. The standard supports up to four transmit/receive antennas while the expected baseline configuration is two transmit antennas at the eNB and two receive antennas at the UE. In short, MIMO can be used in two different ways:
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - LTE/SAE Introduction Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
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To transmit more information over the radio interface without using more bandwidth than a single antenna system. The number of antennas used increases the system capacity in a linear manner, i.e. two antennas allows twice the amount of information to be transmitted (or, equivalently, the bitrate is doubled). To transmit the same information, with the same bitrate as a single antenna system, but with less output power (or, equivalently, with higher reliability).
An overview of various MIMO techniques and the mechanisms selected for E-UTRA can be found in chapter 3. The E-UTRA physical layer channel processing chain (channel coding and modulation) is very similar to what is used today for HSPA. It was agreed at an early stage in the standardisation process that Turbo coding should be used for error correction purposes and that the supported data modulation schemes should be QPSK, 16QAM, and 64QAM for downlink and uplink.
Figure 1-2: Constellation diagrams for QPSK (left), 16QAM (middle) and 64QAM (right)
The mapping of modulation symbols onto physical channel resources is very different compared to HSPA though. The nature of OFDM gives rise to the concept of 2-dimensional radio resources. The information to be transmitted over the radio interface is mapped onto a 2-dimensional timefrequency resource grid. The E-UTRA physical layer is described in all its glorious detail in chapter 4. (A common misunderstanding is that OFDM, by itself, makes very high bit rates possible. This is not true. Rather, the very high bit rates mentioned for E-UTRA are made possible first and foremost by a higher transmission bandwidth (up to 20MHz), higher order modulation (64QAM) and the support for MIMO with up to four antennas). The channel and protocol architecture for E-UTRAN layer 2 and layer 3 is quite similar to the one used in UTRAN today. For example, the UE protocol stack is close to identical and the channel hierarchy is still divided
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into logical, transport and physical channels. The E-UTRAN protocol/ channel architecture is described in chapter 4. The exact functionality of the layer 2 and layer 3 protocols in E-UTRAN is, at the time of writing, far from decided. An overview of the expected functionality can be found in chapter 5.
1.3
1.3.1
S3
S4
S1-MME
MME
S11
S1-U E-UTRAN
S5
SGi
SGW
PGW
IMS / Internet /
S2 Non-3GPP access
Figure 1-3 shows the network architecture of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPC consists of three main nodes: the Mobility Management Entity (MME), the Serving Gateway (SGW) and the Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW). The MME may be co-located with the SGW, and the SGW may be co-located with the PGW. Hence, the standard allows a completely collapsed one-node core network or a distributed (easily scalable) core network, or any possible combination in-between. The MME connects to the E-UTRAN via the S1-MME interface and is present solely in the CP. It is responsible for handling mobility and security procedures, such as network Attach, Tracking Area updates (similar to Location/Routing Area updates) and authentication. The MME also connects to the SGSN via the S3-interface. The SGW connects to the E-UTRAN via the S1-U interface and is present solely in the UP. Its prime responsibility is routing and forwarding of user IP-packets. It acts as a UP anchor when the UE moves between 3GPP radio access technologies (S4-interface).
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The PGW connects to the SGW via the S5-interface and to external packet data networks (or IMS) via the SGi-interface. It is responsible for the enforcing of QoS and charging policies. It also acts as a UP anchor when the UE moves between 3GPP and non-3GPP radio access (S2-interface). It should be noted that additional network nodes/functions, not shown in figure 1-3, might be present as well. For example, a Packet Data Gateway (PDG) is needed for non-trusted IP access and a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) is required for IMS controlled QoS and charging mechanisms. The EPC is described further in chapter 7.
1.3.2
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1.4
RNC
Iur Iu/Gn
cSGSN
Gn Gi
NB
xGGSN
IMS / Internet /
A parallel 3GPP R8 project to LTE and SAE is the Evolved High Speed Packet Access, eHSPA, project (also referred to as HSPA+). The proposed eHSPA features represent a logical evolution from todays HSDPA and HSUPA systems. Roughly speaking, the eHSPA project focuses on three areas: Optimising HSPA for real-time packet data services, like VoIP. A large part of achieving this goal relates to a more efficient use of the HSPA control channels. Increasing the system and user throughput. This is achieved by the introduction of higher order modulation (64QAM) and MIMO for HSPA. The theoretical maximum bit rate is around 40Mb/s for the DL and around 20Mb/s for the UL. Simplifying the network architecture. The eHSPA NodeB will take on parts of, or all of, the functionality of the RNC. In addition, the SGSN will be removed from the User Plane path (the so-called one-tunnel solution) allowing IP packets to be routed directly between eHSPA NodeB and GGSN. This can be seen in figure 1-4 above, where cSGSN is the SGSN Controller, and xGGSN is the enhanced GGSN.
Thus, E-UTRA/E-UTRAN and Evolved HSPA have many concepts in common (collapsed architecture, 64QAM, MIMO). As a matter of fact, the performance (bit rates, spectral efficiency etc) of eHSPA is very close to the performance of E-UTRA with 5MHz channel bandwidth. This has led to some level of debate whether to refer to eHSPA as a migration path or a complement or a competing technology.
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1.5
References
23.401 23.402 23.882 25.912 25.913 25.999 36.300 GPRS enhancements for Long Term Evolution (LTE) 3GPP SAE: Architecture enhancements for non-3GPP accesses 3GPP SAE: Report on technical options and conclusions Feasibility study for E-UTRA and E-UTRAN Requirements for E-UTRA and E-UTRAN High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) evolution, FDD E-UTRA/E-UTRAN; overall description; Stage 2
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OFDM
2.1 OFDM BASICS ............................................................. 2-2
2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.1.4 Introduction ..............................................................................2-2 Sub-carriers and Multiplexing ..................................................2-3 Orthogonality............................................................................2-4 Cyclic Prefixes..........................................................................2-6
2.2 OFDM SIGNAL GENERATION ......................................... 2-7 2.3 SC-FDMA.................................................................... 2-8 2.4 REFERENCES .............................................................. 2-10
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - OFDM Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
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2.1
2.1.1
OFDM Basics
(The theory behind OFDM is very mathematical in its nature. The following is just a brief overview in laymans terms to convey the basic characteristics of OFDM. For a deeper understanding of OFDM it is recommended to consult a textbook on the subject)
Introduction
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a digital multicarrier modulation scheme that uses a large number of closely-spaced orthogonal sub-carriers. Each sub-carrier is modulated with a conventional modulation scheme (such as 16QAM) at a low symbol rate, maintaining data rates similar to conventional single-carrier modulation schemes in the same bandwidth. The primary advantage of OFDM over single-carrier schemes is its ability to cope with severe channel conditions without complex equalization filters. Low symbol rate makes the use of a guard interval between symbols affordable, making it possible to handle time-spreading and inter-symbol interference (ISI). OFDM has only become widely used during the last decade or so, but the technology as such is about 50 years old (it was first used around 1957 in an experimental communications system developed for the US Navy). During the 70s and 80s several important theoretical contributions from various sources made it possible to implement more efficient and robust OFDM-based systems. Today, OFDM has proved itself as the preferred radio access technology in a wide variety of communication systems. Some examples of OFDM use: IEEE 802.11a/g (WLAN/WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T and DVB-H) and Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). Some advantages of OFDM: Allows adaptation to severe channel conditions without very complex equalization methods Robust against narrow-band co-channel interference Robust against Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) and fading caused by multipath propagation High spectral efficiency Efficient implementation using FFT Low sensitivity to time synchronization errors Facilitates Single Frequency Networks (i.e. synchronised broadcast from several transmitters). Some disadvantages of OFDM: Sensitive to Doppler shift Sensitive to frequency synchronization problems High peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), requiring more expensive transmitter circuitry and lowering power efficiency.
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2.1.2
Main Path:
n-1
Symbol n
n+1
n-1
Symbol n
n+1
Delayed Path:
Symbol n-3
Symbol n-2
Symbol n-1
Symbol n
Causes ISI
With hundreds or thousands of sub-carriers available it becomes quite straightforward how to multiplex users on the radio interface. Simply allocate different sets of sub-carriers to different users (this is the FDM in OFDM). More complex multiplexing schemes can be implemented by allowing users to share the available sub-carriers both in the frequency domain (FDM) and the time domain (TDM).
f
Sub-carrier n
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Furthermore, sub-carrier frequency hopping schemes may be applied to reduce fading effects that are frequency selective. The transmitter (base station) can also order the receivers (mobile stations) to send feedback information in the form of channel quality reports. This allows dynamic channel dependent scheduling in the base station, making sure that each mobile station is always allocated a subset of sub-carriers where it experiences the least amount of interference. A graphical representation of frequency selective fading effects can be seen in figure 2-3 below.
E-UTRA combines OFDM with FDM and TDM multiplexing schemes as well as sub-carrier frequency hopping and channel dependent scheduling.
2.1.3
Orthogonality
In traditional FDM different users are allocated different frequencies, or channels, for their transmission (e.g. analog 1G systems such as NMT). To avoid interference between these channels the FDM frequencies must be spaced apart- there must be a guard band between them. This leads to waste of the available frequency spectrum.
FDM: guard band between carriers OFDM: carriers can be packed tighter
Saving bandwidth
In OFDM, the frequencies of the individual sub-carriers are chosen in such a way that they do not interfere with each other- they are orthogonal (this is the O in OFDM). The demodulator for one sub-carrier does not 'see'
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the modulation of the others, so there is no crosstalk between sub-carriers even though their spectra overlap. This allows us to pack the sub-carriers much more densely than in a traditional FDM system, thus increasing spectrum efficiency. All the sub-carriers allocated to a given user are transmitted in parallel. Fortunately, the apparently very complex processes of modulating (and demodulating) thousands of sub-carriers simultaneously are equivalent to Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) operations for which efficient Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithms exist, allowing affordable massproduced transceivers. To ensure orthogonality the sub-carriers must have a common, precisely chosen frequency spacing (carrier spacing). This frequency spacing is exactly the inverse of the OFDM symbol duration, called the active symbol period, over which the receiver will demodulate the signal. In the case of E-UTRA the carrier spacing is 15kHz (7.5kHz for MBMS dedicated cells).
Figure 2-5 shows a few sub-carriers represented in the frequency domain (compare figure 2-3). The receiver will demodulate (or sample) each subcarrier precisely where it has it maximum value. Due to the preciselychosen frequency spacing all other sub-carrier have the value zero at this precise frequency, despite that they overlap, thus not creating any interference at all. However, this nice relationship between sub-carriers can be destroyed, resulting in loss of orthogonality and severe bit error rates as a result. The bit errors can be rectified to some extent with the use of error correcting codes, so called Forward Error Correction (FEC). A combination of FEC and OFDM is called Coded OFDM (COFDM). In E-UTRA, OFDM is combined with Turbo coding.
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Such loss of orthogonality can be caused by frequency synchronisation errors due to slight differences in the local oscillators, used for frequency generation, in the transmitter and the receiver. Another cause is Doppler effects arising from the relative motion between the transmitter and the receiver- an effect that must be taken seriously in any mobile system!
2.1.4
Cyclic Prefixes
As mentioned earlier, OFDM is robust against multipath fading due to the long OFDM symbol duration. However, there will always be some intersymbol interference due to multipath echoes, even for OFDM. A further refinement therefore adds the concept of a guard interval. Each OFDM symbol is transmitted for a total symbol period that is longer than the active symbol period by a period called the guard interval or guard period.
Guard period
Useful part
Main Path:
n-1
CP
Symbol n
n+1
Delayed Path:
n-1
This means that the receiver will experience neither inter-symbol nor intercarrier interference provided that any echoes present in the signal have a delay that does not exceed the guard interval. Naturally, the addition of the guard interval reduces the data capacity by an amount dependent on its length. Different systems use different (relative) lengths of the guard interval, common values being 5-25% of the OFDM symbol length. There are several ways to fill the guard interval with information (to avoid turning the transmitter on and off abruptly). A common mechanism is the use of a so-called cyclic prefix. A cyclic prefix (CP) is created simply by selecting the last part of an OFDM symbol, make a copy of it and place the copy in front of the symbol (hence the term prefix). The concept of a guard interval is illustrated in figure 2-6 above.
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By doing so, a continuous signal is created (easier to implement) and any multipath delayed echoes will only cause interference in the CP part of the received OFDM symbol. The receiver treats the CP portion of the OFDM symbol as rubbish and removes it prior to demodulating the information. E-UTRA defines a normal length and an extended length of the CP, to cater for the different requirements of small versus large cells. There are also different CP lengths defined for MBMS transmission, when multiple synchronised eNBs act as a Single Frequency Network (SFN).
2.2
RF
fo
There are several ways to realize an OFDM transmit-receive chain. For example, the addition of a cyclic prefix is not mandatory and filtering/ equalization of the baseband signal (the RF box in fig 2-7) can be done in many different ways. Thus, figure 2-7 below does not represent the way to create an OFDM signal. Coding and Modulation: this step is any conventional Forward Error Correction (FEC) mechanism, such as convolutional coding, and any conventional modulation scheme, such as QPSK or 64QAM. Serial-to-Parallel: a group of modulation symbols are fed to the Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) in parallel. The number of modulation symbols fed to IFFT equals the number of assigned sub-carriers. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform: each modulation symbol is used for modulating one sub-carrier, in effect acting as a complex wight setting the amplitude and phase of the sub-carrier. These modulated sub-carriers are then summed together, creating one OFDM symbol. Cyclic Prefix: the last portion of the OFDM symbol is copied and appended at the front of the symbol. This creates a guard interval with well-defined content.
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RF processing: the OFDM symbols are used for modulation of the actual carrier frequency. In addition, various pulse shaping or filtering techniques may be applied at this stage. The receiving side uses the process in reverse. The IFFT process must be inverted in order to retrieve the information content of the individual subcarriers. This is done with the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Hence, the inverse of the Inverse-FFT is, of course, the FFT.
2.3
SC-FDMA
In chapter 1 it was mentioned that one drawback with OFDM was its high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR). This is a direct consequence of using DFT (FFT) to create the OFDM symbols. The DFT effectively stacks sinewaves on top of each other. It can then of course happen that a large portion of the used sub-carriers happen to have their maximum value at the same time, resulting in a dramatic peak in the total amplitude (or power) of the signal. This puts very high demands on the power amplifier in the signal processing chain and is not desirable in a small portable device, such as a mobile phone, with limited battery capacity.
S Coding Modulation P F F T
M a p p i n g
0 0 0 0
I F F T
Add CP
RF
0 0
fo
The solution for this in the E-UTRA specification is to use a variant of OFDM called Single-Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SCFDMA) for uplink transmission. Figure 2-8 shows the processing cain for an SC-FDMA transmitter. A comparison to figure 2-7 reveals that two additional steps have been added to the processing chain: an FFT transform and a sub-carrier mapping stage (the dotted box in figure 2-8). As for classic OFDM, a block of modulation symbols are fed in parallel into the transform stage, which is now FFT instead of IFFT. The FFT process will now spread each modulation symbol over all sub-carriers instead of using 1-to-1 mapping. In other words, the input signal (modulation symbols) will be spread over the available bandwidth (the available sub-carriers) very much like in a single-carrier system. (It could be worth knowing that SC-FDMA is also referred to as DFT-spread OFDM)
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The sub-carrier mapping stage (mapping in figure 2-8) then feeds the FFT-output to a subset of the IFFT-inputs, with all other inputs set to zero. Thus FFT has size=N and the IFFT has size=M, with M>N. The output from the IFFT stage is now called an SC-FDMA symbol, to which we add a cyclic prefix in the normal manner. Thus, the result of the additional FFT stage is that the created signal exhibits single-carrier properties (the SC in SC-FDMA). Furthermore, different users will be ordered to transmit on different, orthogonal, chunks of subcarriers (the FDM in SC-FDMA). There are different ways of selecting which specific sub-carriers that should be part of the chunk for a given user. For localized SC-FDMA, a set of consecutive sub-carriers are selected (e.g. use sub-carrier number 20-40). For distributed SC-FDMA, the sub-carriers are evenly distributed (e.g. use sub-carrier 5, 10, 15 etc). A third option is to select sub-carriers that are neither consecutive nor evenly distributed, but selected according to some other pattern. This gives us randomized SC-FDMA. Currently, the only option allowed for E-UTRA uplink is localized SC-FDMA.
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2.4
References
25.912 36.211 36.300 Feasibility study for E-UTRA and E-UTRAN E-UTRA; Physical channels and modulation E-UTRA E-UTRAN; overall description; Stage 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OFDM This Wikipedia article gives a good introduction to OFDM and contains numerous references to other websites, white papers and textbooks about OFDM and related topics.
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Multi-antenna Systems
3.1 MULTIPLE ANTENNA SYSTEMS ........................................ 3-2
3.1.1 3.1.2 SIMO/MISO: Receive/Transmit Diversity.................................3-2 MIMO: Multiple Input Multiple Output.......................................3-4
3.3 MIMO FOR E-UTRA ..................................................... 3-7 3.4 REFERENCES ................................................................ 3-9
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3-1
3.1
Any wireless communications system with one transmit (Tx) antenna and one receive (Rx) antenna is referred to as operating in Single Input Single Output (SISO) mode. More antennas (Tx and/or Rx) can be added in order to increase either throughput or reliability. Systems with multiple Tx/Rx antennas are divided into Single Input Multiple Output (SIMO), Multiple Input Single Output (MISO) or Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO). Simple multi-antenna systems have been around, in one form or another, for over 50 years (Guglielmo Marconi used multiple antenna transmission to transmit a Morse signal across the Atlantic Ocean, from England to Newfoundland, in 1901). But until quite recently, the amount of signal processing needed has been too expensive to be practical for large-scale deployment and implementation in small mobile devices. Important factors driving MIMO acceptance today is the advent of in-expensive high-speed Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and significant research breakthroughs in information theory over the last decade. MIMO is currently used in various WLAN systems (IEEE 802.11 family) and in WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family) to name a few. MIMO is also an integral part of the 3GPP R8 standards pertaining to eHSPA and LTE.
3.1.1
TX
RX
In a SIMO system the transmitter has one antenna and the receiver has two, or more, physically separated antennas (the physical separation distance has a direct relationship with the wavelength of the carrier). This allows for receive diversity (Rx diversity). With Rx diversity the receiver picks up two (or more) versions of the same transmitted signal. The receiver may then either:
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select the best input (from one of the antennas), for example based on signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This is called switched diversity. combine the input from all antennas, for example through a process called Maximum Ratio Combining (MRC).
With MRC, channel compensation is applied to each received signal before being linearly combined to create a single, composite, received signal. Rx diversity using MRC is used in challenging propagation conditions when signal strength is low and/or multipath conditions are severe. MRC uses the fact that it is statistically very unlikely that a given signal will undergo deep fading on all Rx channels simultaneously. The possibility of deep frequency selective fades in the composite signal is therefore significantly reduced. Thus, MRC enhances link reliability but it does not increase the nominal system data rate.
TX
RX
In a MISO system the transmitter has two or more physically separated antennas and the receiver has one antenna. This allows for transmit diversity (Tx diversity). With Tx diversity, the transmitter sends redundant copies of a signal to the receiver. Tx diversity is based on the hope that at least one of the copies will be received in a good enough state to allow reliable decoding. One way of realizing Tx diversity is to make use of Space-Time Coding (STC). STC allows the transmitter to use diversity in both the space and time domain. This means that the signal is transmitted through multiple antennas (space) at different points in time (the ST in STC). In the simple case of two antennas, a super-position of 2 modulation symbols (e.g. QPSK symbols) is transmitted on both antennas simultaneously. The very same modulation symbols are then transmitted again with a (very) slight delay. In addition, the modulation symbols will be coded, or weighted, differently for the second, slightly delayed, transmission (the C in STC). As for Rx diversity, Tx diversity enhances link reliability but does not increase the nominal system data rate. However, with a more reliable data channel it is possible to use less output power (resulting in higher system capacity) or to use less robust channel coding (resulting in higher effective throughput).
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3.1.2
TX
RX
Figure 3-3: a MIMO system with two transmit and two receive antennas (2x2)
The magic of MIMO lies in its ability to take multipath reception, which used to be an unavoidable and undesired by-product of radio propagation, and convert it into an advantage that actually multiplies transmission speed and improves throughput. A MIMO system uses the additional signal paths to transmit more information and recombine the signals on the receiving end. It follows naturally that the diversity modes, mentioned in section 3.1.1, as well as true MIMO mode can be used in a system with multiple Tx and Rx antennas. For MIMO, mathematical algorithms are used in order to spread the user data across multiple transmitting antennas. The signals transmitted are defined in 3 dimensions: time, frequency and space. At the receiver, the different signals from each antenna must be identified and separately decoded during the recombination process. Hence, the (mathematical) technique of separating out different paths on the radio link is what allows a MIMO system to transmit multiple signals at the same time on the same frequency, in effect multiplying the capacity of the channel with the number of antennas.
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3.2
3.2.1
MIMO Techniques
Spatial Multiplexing (SM)
Spatial Multiplexed (SM) MIMO systems increase spectral efficiency by utilizing signal processing algorithms to exploit multipath propagation on the MIMO communication link. Independent data streams, using the same time-frequency resource, are sent over different transmit antennae. The receiver is able to separate the multiple data streams by using (known) channel information about each propagation path. The multiple streams of a SM transmission must also be orthogonal to each other. Catastrophic interference would follow otherwise. The orthogonality is achieved by multiplying the transmitted streams with a so-called linear precoding matrix. One should not confuse spatial multiplexing with spatial diversity (which is not true MIMO). The purpose of spatial diversity is to increase the diversity order of a link to mitigate fading by coding a signal across space and time so that a receiver could receive the replicas of the signal and combine those received signals constructively. Spatial multiplexing transmits not replicas of the same signal but different signals. SM achieves higher data rates by re-using the same frequency resources over multiple spatial dimensions, in effect creating (spatially separate) parallel channels for free on the same bandwidth. For example, using two transmit and receive antennas one could transmit two separate data streams, each with data rate 5 Mb/s, resulting in a data rate of 10 Mb/s to the same terminal. At the receiver, multiple antennas are required to demodulate the data streams based on their spatial characteristics (the number of receive antennas is equal to the possible number of separate data streams).
3.2.2
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3.2.3
3.2.4
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3.3
The LTE standard allows (semi-static) switching between the SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO modes on a per UE basis. Both SU- and MU-MIMO in LTE uses fixed codebooks with precoding matrices that are known to eNB and UE. The UE reports the desired precoding matrix to use, but there is no requirement for the eNB to actually use this value. As a consequence, the precoding matrix selected by the eNB must be signalled to the UE. The MIMO mode that can be used is, of course, restricted by the UE capability, e.g. the number of UE receive antennas, and is determined taking into account the slow channel variation. The selected MIMO mode is adapted slowly (e.g. set at the beginning of a data session or adapted with a period of several 100ms) in order to reduce the feedback control signalling required to support MIMO mode adaptation.
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It should be noted that for lower data rates it is more efficient to transmit using a single stream rather than with spatial multiplexing. It can be shown that for a given low rate and a given total transmit power single stream transmission achieves a lower frame error rate. Therefore, MIMO for LTE will most probably use single stream transmission (perhaps using Tx diversity) for lower data rates and spatial multiplexing for the higher data rates. The crossover point at which it becomes more efficient to transmit with spatial multiplexing rather than spatial diversity depends on many factors, the number of receive antennas at the UE being one and the distance between transmitter and receiver being another. In general it can be said that SM is most useful when the distance between the transmitter and the receiver is relatively small.
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3.4
References
25.912 36.211 36.300 Feasibility study for E-UTRA and E-UTRAN E-UTRA; Physical channels and modulation E-UTRA E-UTRAN; overall description; Stage 2
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Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Physical Layer Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
4-1
4.1
Introduction
The E-UTRA physical layer (PHY) offers a highly efficient means of conveying data and control information between the eNodeB and the UE. The E-UTRA PHY employs some advanced technologies that are quite new to cellular applications. These include Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) data transmission, as described in chapters 2 and 3. On the other hand, the LTE standardisation project aims at reusing legacy solutions wherever possible. A reader who is familiar with the UTRAN channel and protocol architecture will therefore feel quite at home with the E-UTRAN channel and protocol architecture. The LTE standardisation project also aims at reducing the overall system complexity, resulting in a simplified layered architecture as compared to UTRAN. The E-UTRA specifications describe both Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) to separate UL and DL traffic. The overall channel architecture, layer 1 processing chain and resource mapping is the same for both. Thus, the content in this chapter pertains to both FDD and TDD, unless otherwise stated. (The expected market preferences dictate that the majority of deployed systems will be FDD.) The generic radio frame structure (frame Type 1) and the TDD specific radio frame structure (frame Type 2) is described in section 4.2. The EUTRA channel architecture, focusing on the physical channels and physical signals, is described in section 4.3. The associated layer 2 and layer 3 protocol architecture is dealt with separately in chapter 5. The layer 1 processing chain for the uplink and downlink data channels is described in section 4.4. Section 4.5 deals with the mapping of uplink and downlink data and control channels onto 2-dimensional time-frequency radio resources.
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4.2
4.2.1
slot 0
slot 19
1 slot = 0.5ms
1 subframe = 1ms
All bandwidth options have the same basic Transmission Time Interval (TTI) of 1ms. As shown in figure 4-1, the E-UTRA radio frames are 10 ms in duration, divided into 10 sub-frames of 1ms duration. Thus, the subframe length coincides with the TTI. Each subframe is further divided into two slots, each of 0.5ms duration. As mentioned earlier, the downlink transmission scheme is based on conventional OFDM with cyclic prefix and the uplink transmission scheme is based on SC-FDMA with cyclic prefix. Both downlink and uplink use the same cyclic prefix lengths and the same sub-carrier spacing of 15 kHz. In addition there is also a reduced sub-carrier spacing, 7.5 kHz, for MBMS-dedicated cells. In the case of 15 kHz sub-carrier spacing there are two cyclic prefix lengths, corresponding to 7 and 6 OFDM/SC-FDMA symbols per slot respectively: Normal cyclic prefix: TCP = 160Ts (symbol #0) and TCP = 144Ts (symbol #1 to #6). The slightly longer CP in the first symbol is in order to preserve the 0.5ms slot timing. Extended cyclic prefix: TCP-e = 512Ts (all symbols). The extended CP is intended for large cells, where larger delay spreads for multipath echoes are to be expected.
The parameter Ts above is called the basic time unit and is defined as being Ts = 1/ (2048 f) seconds, where f is the sub-carrier spacing. The length of Ts corresponds to the 30.72 MHz sample clock for the 2048-point FFT used with the 20 MHz system bandwidth. In case of 7.5 kHz sub-carrier spacing there is only a single cyclic prefix length, TCP-low = 1024Ts, corresponding to 3 OFDM symbols per slot. The generic frame Type 1 can also be used for TDD operation in unpaired spectrum. DL/UL switching points within the frame are then generated by not transmitting in certain symbols (creating a guard period between uplink and downlink transmissions in different sub-frames).
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4.2.2
Frame Type 2
1 Half-frame = 5 ms 1 Radio Frame
#0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #0 #5 #6
DL
UL Uplink Pilot Timeslot Guard Period Downlink Pilot Timeslot Guard Intervals
1 Slot = 1 Subframe
Frame structure Type 2 is only applicable to TDD, with the sole purpose of being backwards compatible with the 1.28Mcps TDD option in UMTS. 1.28Mcps TDD is the Chinese 3G standard, also known as Low Chip-rate TDD (LCR-TDD) or Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (TD-SCDMA). Each 10ms radio frame consists of two half-frames of length 5ms each. The structure of each half-frame in a radio frame is identical. Each halfframe consists of seven slots and three special fields: the downlink pilot timeslot (DwPTS), the guard period (GP) and the uplink pilot timeslot (UpPTS). A subframe is defined as one slot. This frame structure is identical to the one used for TD-SCDMA. Subframe 0 and DwPTS are always reserved for downlink transmission and UpPTS and subframe 1 are always reserved for uplink transmission. For frame structure Type 2 the CP length in the downlink is TCP = 224Ts (normal CP) and TCP-e = 512Ts (extended CP) corresponding to 9 and 8 OFDM symbols per slot respectively. For the uplink the situation is slightly less straightforward when it comes to CP lengths. There are several CP lengths used within each slot, depending on the size of the allocated uplink resource and the index of the SC-FDMA symbol within a slot. The normal CP length is 192, 204, 224, 320, 1024 and 2048Ts, corresponding to 9 SC-FDMA symbols. The extended CP length is 423, 456, 472, 560, 1024 and 2048Ts, corresponding to 8 SC-FDMA symbols.
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4.3
Channel Architecture
CONTROL PLANE RRC PDCP USER PLANE SRB RLC SRB SRB SRB SRB RB RB
Logical Channels
BCCH
PCCH
CCCH
DCCH
MCCH
MTCH
DTCH
MUX/DEMUX
HARQ
HARQ
Transport Channels
BCH
RACH
PCH
DL-SCH
MCH
UL-SCH
PHY
Physical Channels
PBCH
PRACH
PMCH
PUSCH PUCCH
There are three different channel levels in the E-UTRA channel architecture: Logical channels, Transport channels and Physical channels. The logical channels describe the type of information to be transmitted, the Transport channels describe in what format the information is to be transmitted and the physical channels provide the transmission media through which the information is actually transmitted. Some logical channels can be mapped to one of several different transport channels, depending on the transmission characteristics needed. Flows from several logical channels can, in the same time instant, be mapped to the same transport channel. Thus, there is not necessarily a one-to-one relationship between logical and transport channels. Please note also the location of Signalling Radio Bearers (SRB) and Radio Bearers (RB) above the Radio Link Control protocol in figure 4-3. The SRBs are used for RRC control signalling and the RBs are used for any form of data traffic.
4.3.1
Logical Channels
A logical channel is an information stream dedicated to the transfer of a specific type of information over the radio interface. Logical channels are provided between the Radio Link Control (RLC) and Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol layers in UE and eNodeB. There is a general classification of logical channels into two groups: Control Channels and Traffic Channels.
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Control Channels
Broadcast Control Channel (BCCH). Downlink channel for broadcasting system information. BCCH is mapped onto the BCH and DL-SCH transport channels. Paging Control Channel (PCCH). Downlink channel that carries paging information. Always mapped onto the PCH transport channel. Common Control Channel (CCCH). This is a bi-directional channel for transmitting initial RRC control signalling between the UE and eNodeB. The CCCH logical channel is always mapped onto the UL/DL-SCH transport channels. Dedicated Control Channel (DCCH). Point-to-point bi-directional channel for sending dedicated RRC control signalling between the UE and the eNodeB. This channel is always mapped onto the UL/DL-SCH transport channels. Multicast Control Channel (MCCH, optional). A point-to-multipoint downlink only channel used for transmitting Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (MBMS) control information from the network to the UE. This channel is only used by UEs that receive MBMS transmissions. The MCCH is mapped to the MCH transport channel in case of an MBMS-dedicated cell or a cell taking part in Single Frequency Network (SFN) transmission. For mixed traffic cells the MCCH is mapped onto the DL-SCH transport channel.
Traffic Channels
Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH). Point-to-point channel dedicated to one UE (uplink or downlink or both) for transmission of user data. Always mapped onto the UL/DL-SCH transport channels. Multicast Traffic Channel (MTCH, optional). A point-to-multipoint downlink only channel for transmission of multimedia traffic (e.g. mobile TV) from the network to the UE. This channel is only used by UEs that receive MBMS transmissions. The MTCH is mapped to the MCH transport channel in case of an MBMS-dedicated cell or a cell taking part in Single Frequency Network (SFN) transmission. For mixed traffic cells the MTCH is mapped onto the DL-SCH transport channel.
4.3.2
Transport Channels
Transport channels are offered from PHY to MAC for signalling or data transport. Different transport channels are defined by how and with what characteristics the information is transmitted on the physical layer. Information on transport channels is delivered to/from the physical layer in the form of Transport Blocks (TB).
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One or two Transport Blocks are delivered per Transmission Time Interval (TTI). The TTI length selected for E-UTRA is 1ms for most transport channels. A Transport Format (TF) is a combination of TB size (in bits), TTI length and layer 1 channel coding and modulation selected for a given transmission.
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4.3.3
Physical Channels
The E-UTRA specifications define a physical channel as a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers (please refer to section 4.5 for an explanation of the resource element concept).
4-8
The exact timing relationship between uplink data transmission on PUSCH and downlink ACK/NACK on PHICH has not been decided at the time of writing but 2-4ms seem to be reasonable. Physical Multicast Channel (PMCH). This channel carries MBMS data and control in case of an MBMS-dedicated cell or SFN transmission.
4.3.4
Physical Signals
The E-UTRA specifications define a physical channel as a set of resource elements carrying information originating from higher layers. Similarly, a physical signal is defined as a set of resource elements not carrying information originating from higher layers. Hence they constitute pure layer 1 information, in the sense that they originate from layer 1 on the transmitting side and are never visible from higher protocol layers on the receiving side.
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estimates for sub-carriers that do not carry reference signals are computed via interpolation. The exact mapping of the RSs can be seen in figure 4-8 in section 4.5.2 below. Reference Signals are generated as the product of an orthogonal sequence and a pseudo-random sequence. These sequences are standardised and hence known to the UE. From system information (the parameter RSTP mentioned earlier) the UE also knows the output power used by the eNodeB for RS transmission. Specified Reference Signals are assigned to each cell within a network. There are two types of Synchronization Signals: the Primary SS and the Secondary SS. The SSs convey network timing information and are used by the UE during the cell search procedure (e.g. after power-on or cell reselection). The Primary SS provides the UE with slot synchronisation and the Secondary SS provides frame synchronisation. The combination of Primary and Secondary SS also act as a cell-specific identifier called the Physical Cell identity. Overall there are 510 unique sequences possible, meaning that the sequences are reused if the system consists of more than 510 cells. Synchronization Signals use the same type of pseudo-random orthogonal sequences as the Reference Signals.
4-10
From the physical layer perspective, the random access procedure encompasses the transmission of Random Access Preambles until a Random Access Response is received (or the maximum allowed number of preambles have been sent without response). The UE will ramp up its output power for each random access burst transmission until it gets a reply, thus providing a simple initial power control scheme. After this, the eNodeB controls the UE output power by means of a-periodic transmit power commands as part of the uplink grants on the PDCCH.
4.4
4.4.1
CRC Attachment
Scrambling
Modulation
Layer Mapping
RE Mapper
RE Mapper
Figure 4-4 above shows the processing chain for the DL-SCH transport channel. Data arrives to layer 1 over the DL-SCH transport channel in the form of one or more transport block (MAC PDU) per 1ms TTI.
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CRC Attachment
A 24-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check field (CRC) is added for error detection. This information is used in the receiver, after decoding the transport block, to check if the transport block has been correctly decoded or if there are residual bit errors. The receiver transmits a HARQ ACK if the block is successfully decoded or a HARQ NACK if errors are detected.
Channel Coding
The error correcting coder selected for DL-SCH is a Parallel Concatenated Convolutional Code (PCCC) with two 8-state constituent encoders and one turbo code internal interleaver (simply called the Turbo coder in the following). The coding rate of the Turbo encoder is 1/3. This is the same Turbo code used as in R6 UMTS, with the exception that the internal interleavers works differently. Turbo codes are error correcting codes with performance coming very close to the Shannon limit, the theoretical limit of maximum information transfer rate over a noisy channel. Thus, Turbo codes make it possible to increase available bandwidth without increasing the power of a transmission, or to decrease the power used to transmit at a certain data rate. The main drawback is the relatively high decoding complexity. The Turbo coder consists of two recursive convolutional coders that each operate (differently) on the input bit sequence. The output from the coder is three sub-blocks of bits: the Systematic bits, which are identical to the input sequence, and the Parity1 bits and Parity2 bits, which are the output sequences from the two internal convolutional coders. The number of input bits divided by the total number of output bits is referred to as the coding rate (R). In general, if the number of Systematic bits is m and the number of Parity1 and Parity2 bits is n/2 respectively, the coding rate becomes m/(m+n). The Turbo coder used in E-UTRA produces an equal number of Systematic, Parity1 and Parity2 bits. Hence, the coding rate becomes R=1/3. Thus, two redundant but different sub-blocks of Parity bits are sent together with the uncoded payload (the Systematic bits). The two sets of Parity bits are used by the Turbo decoder in the receiver to calculate the probability that the payload bits have been decoded correctly. Each of the two convolutional decoders generate a hypothesis for the payload. The hypothesis bit-patterns are compared and if they differ the decoders exchange the derived likelihoods they have for each bit in the hypotheses.
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Each decoder incorporates the derived likelihood estimates from the other decoder to generate a new hypothesis for the bits in the payload. Then they compare these new hypotheses. This iterative process continues until the two decoders come up with the same hypothesis for the Systematic bits. The DL-SCH always applies an R=1/3 Turbo code for error correction. However, all bits from the three output sequences (Systematic, Parity1, Parity2) are not always sent. The number of bits from each set that are actually transmitted depends on the applied L1 HARQ rate matching.
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Scrambling
The bits in the code word are scrambled with a cell specific scrambling sequence prior to modulation.
Modulation
Standard QPSK, 16QAM or 64QAM modulation mapping, resulting in complex modulation symbols carrying 2, 4 or 6 coded bits respectively.
Layer Mapping
The modulation symbols from one or two (scrambled) code words are mapped onto 1, 2, 3 or 4 antenna ports. Thus, this step is related to MIMO or Tx diversity operation. Basically, a layer corresponds to a spatial multiplexed channel. For E-UTRA the defined configurations are 1x1, 2x2, 3x2 and 4x2 MIMO/diversity. Note that while there are as many as four transmitting antennas (four layers) there are only a maximum of two receivers and thus a maximum of two spatial multiplexed data streams (two code words). For a 1x1 or a 2x2 system there is a simple 1:1 relationship between layers and transmitting antenna ports. However, for a 3x2 and 4x2 system there are still only two spatial multiplexed channels. Therefore, there is redundancy on one or both data streams. The Layer Mapping stage specifies exactly how the extra transmitter antennas are to be employed.
Precoding
This step is also related to MIMO or Tx diversity. Precoding is applied to allow the UE to separate the different antenna streams. There are different standardised code books defined for the cases of spatial multiplexing (SUMIMO and MU-MIMO) and Tx diversity. This corresponds to the SpaceTime Coding discussed in chapter 3.
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4-14
4.4.2
CRC Attachment
Scrambling
Transform Precoding
Channel Coding
RE Mapper
Data/Control Multiplexing
The processing chain for the UL-SCH transport channel is very similar to the one for the DL-SCH. Only differences are described in the following.
Data/Control Multiplexing
Since the PUSCH and the PUCCH physical channels are never transmitted simultaneously, there is instead a possibility to multiplex the PUCCH control information with the uplink data transmitted on the PUSCH. The control information is channel coded separately prior to this stage.
Scrambling
Scrambling with a UE specific scrambling sequence.
Transform Precoding
This is the FFT-spreading step as described for the uplink in chapter 2. That is, the modulation symbols are spread over the entire allocated bandwidth, creating a single-carrier signal.
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4.5
4.5.1
Resource Mapping
Note: the mapping of physical channels to resource elements described in this section assumes the use of frame Type 1 and normal cyclic prefix.
Resource Definitions
#0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #18 #19
Resource Element
OFDM symbols
The downlink and uplink resources assigned to UEs for the DL-SCH and UL-SCH transmission are referred to as Physical Resource Blocks (PRB). A PRB consists of 12 consecutive sub-carriers in the frequency domain. In the time domain a PRB consists of Nsymb OFDM (or SC-FDMA) symbols, where Nsymb is the number of symbols during a slot (7 in this case). The number of resource blocks, NRB, that may be assigned to the UE can range from NRB-min = 6 to NRB-max = 100. The 2-dimensional time-frequency resource can be represented as a resource grid as depicted in Figure 4-6. Each little box within the grid represents a single sub-carrier for one symbol period and is referred to as a Resource Element (RE). Figure 4-6 shows the resource grid for frame Type 1 using the normal cyclic prefix length, resulting in each PRB containing 84 REs. Note that in MIMO operation there is a resource grid for each transmitting antenna.
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The downlink control channels use a slightly different concept. They are formed by aggregation of Control Channel Elements (CCE). Each CCE is, in turn, an aggregation of 1, 2, 4 or 8 mini-CCEs, where each mini-CCE consists of 4 REs. Thus, a CCE varies in size between 4 and 32 REs. Different code rates (i.e. different levels of robustness) for the PDCCH are realized by aggregating different numbers of CCEs or mini-CCEs. Because multiple CCEs can be combined to reduce the effective coding rate the UEs PDCCH assignment can be based on the channel quality information reported (CQI), increasing the chance that the PDCCH can be correctly decoded even for UEs experiencing bad channel conditions. 1, 2, 4 and 8 control channel elements can be aggregated to yield approximate code rates of 2/3, 1/3, 1/6 and 1/12 for the PDCCH.
4.5.2
Downlink Subframe
#0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #18 #19
12 Sub-carriers
Slot #4
Slot #5
Figure 4-7: subframe with PDSCH, PDCCH, PDCCH, PCFICH and PHICH
The resource grid for a downlink subframe is illustrated in figure 4-7 (frame type 1 using normal cyclic prefix length and one antenna port). The grid is shared between all downlink physical channels and signals. Only two PRBs are shown in figure 4-7.
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R1 12 Sub-carriers
R1
R2
R2
R1
R1
R2
R2
R1
R1
R2
R2
R1
R1 RS for antenna port 1
R1
R2
R2 RS for antenna port 2
R2
Antenna RSs are transmitted on equally spaced sub carriers within the first and third from-last OFDM symbol of each slot. In order to successfully receive a MIMO transmission the UE must determine the channel impulse response for each transmitting antenna, as already mentioned.
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In E-UTRA the channel impulse responses are determined by sequentially transmitting known reference signals from each transmitting antenna. Note that the RSs are transmitted on every 6th sub-carrier in a repeated, symmetric, time-frequency pattern. Note also that while one transmitter antenna is sending its Reference Signal, the other antenna is idle.
4.5.3
Slot #1
#4 #5 #6 #0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
#1
#2
#3
DC
36
Antenna RS (1 port)
Secondary SS Primary SS
During cell search the UE needs to find the Primary and Secondary Synchronisation Signals as well as the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH). These are all mapped around the center sub-carrier in the system. This center sub-carrier is called the Direct Current (DC) sub-carrier and never carries any information. The Primary and Secondary SS are transmitted in slot 0 and 10 on 64 subcarriers centered around the DC sub-carrier. The Secondary SS occupies the 6th OFDM symbol and the Primary SS occupies the 7th. The PBCH is transmitted on 72 sub-carriers centered around the DC sub-carrier in the 4th and 5th OFDM symbol in slot 0 and the 1st and 2nd OFDM symbol in slot 1, over 4 consecutive radio frames. Slots 0 and 1 are shown in fig 4-9, including Reference Signals for one antenna port.
4.5.4
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Note that figure 4-10 below only shows two PRBs, while the minimum UE allocation is 6 PRBs (i.e. 36 sub-carriers).
#0 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #18 #19
12 Sub-carriers
Slot #4
RE for PUSCH
Slot #5
RE for Demodulation RS
4.5.5
12 Sub-carriers
12 Sub-carriers
Slot #4
Slot #5
The PUCCH resource is defined by a UE specific code and two consecutive PRBs with frequency hopping at slot boundary. Demodulation RS occupies the 3rd, 4th and 5th SC-FDMA symbol in each slot.
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4.6
References
36.211 36.212 36.213 E-UTRA; Physical channels and modulation E-UTRA; Multiplexing and channel coding E-UTRA; Physical layer procedures
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5.3 UE STATES (RRC AND NAS) ........................................ 5-8 5.4 PDU FORMATS ............................................................. 5-9 5.5 REFERENCES .............................................................. 5-11
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5-1
5.1
Introduction
CONTROL PLANE RRC PDCP USER PLANE SRB RLC SRB SRB SRB SRB RB RB
Logical Channels
BCCH
PCCH
CCCH
DCCH
MCCH
MTCH
DTCH
MUX/DEMUX
HARQ
HARQ
Transport Channels
BCH
RACH
PCH
DL-SCH
MCH
UL-SCH
PHY
Physical Channels
PBCH
PRACH
PMCH
PUSCH PUCCH
The E-UTRA layer 2 and layer 3 protocol architecture can be seen in figure 5-1 above (same as figure 4-3, previous chapter). The protocols are by name and (proposed) function similar to the protocol architecture used in UTRAN. There are two main differences though: Firstly, the E-UTRA protocols are, on the network side, all located in the eNodeB while they are distributed over Serving-RNC, DriftRNC and NodeB in the UTRAN case. Secondly, the E-UTRA versions of these protocols will, when they are completely standardised, all be simplified in terms of complexity and functionality when compared to the UTRAN counterparts.
Section 5.2 deals with the proposed functionality of the E-UTRA layer 2/3 protocols. Section 5.3 describes the UE state machine related to the RRC and NAS protocols. Section 5.4 shows the PDU formats defined for the EUTRA layer 2 and layer 3 protocols. At the time of writing (Oct-07) the specifications pertaining to these protocols are all immature drafts. The reader is therefore strongly advised to regularly check for updated versions of the standardisation documents listed at the end of this chapter.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-2
5.2
5.2.1
5.2.2
5-3
Measurement Control/Reporting
The eNodeB may start, modify or stop a number of measurements in the UE (independently of each other). The measurement reporting can be done periodically or be event triggered. These procedures are used in the RRC Connected state to prepare for handovers.
Handover Control
This procedure includes the necessary control signalling to execute hard handovers between eNodeBs or between eNodeB and some other Radio Access Technology (RAT). E-UTRAN will support handover to/from at least GERAN, UTRAN, mobile WiMAX and CDMA2000 systems.
5.2.3
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-4
The LTE/SAE system uses a security key hierarchy (figure 5-2) with multiple levels. The base keys on the top level (Ciphering Key, CK, and Integrity Key, IK) are only visible to the UE and the home network domain databases (HSS/AuC). On the next level there is a so-called Access Security Management Entity (ASME) key, which is only visible to the UE and the visited MME (the ASME node in figure 5-2 is the MME in case of the Evolved Packet Core). The ASME key is derived from the base CK/IK pair and passed from HSS to the MME. The ASME key is, in turn, used for derivation of the ciphering and integrity keys needed to protect NAS signalling messages (i.e. signalling between UE and MME).
USIM / AuC K
CK, IK
UE / HSS
KASME
UE / ASME
KNAS enc KNAS int KeNB
UE / MME
KeNB-UP-enc KeNB-RRC- int KeNB-RRC-enc
UE / eNB
The ASME key is also used for derivation of an eNodeB key. The eNodeB key, in turn, is used for derivation of keys for ciphering and integrity protection of RRC signalling messages and a key for the ciphering of user data over the radio interface (i.e. between UE and eNodeB). This hierarchy allows the keys in the Home domain, the (visited) EPC domain and the Access domain to be cryptographically separate, while still being produced by the same set of Home domain controlled base keys.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-5
5.2.4
5.2.5
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-6
The scheduler selects a proper Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) and Redundancy Version (RV) for each scheduled MAC PDU based on each scheduled UEs current channel condition, the retransmission status and, possibly, on the UE capabilities. The RV is used as input to the HARQ layer 1 rate matching function discussed in chapter 4. One HARQ Entity within MAC handles the HARQ functionality for one user. The HARQ protocol selected for E-UTRA is of the Stop-and-Wait type (SAW). This means that it is not allowed to transmit a PDU with sequence number N until the PDU with sequence number N-1 is positively acknowledged. Remember that the TTI used in E-UTRA is only 1ms. Each time the UE receives data in a 1ms TTI it must, according to the SAW protocol, send back either an ACK (everything OK, please send next PDU) or a NACK (please retransmit the PDU). The creation and sending of an ACK/NACK takes a certain amount of time. So does the processing of the ACK/NACK in the NodeB. And so does the scheduling of a new re/transmission to this UE. All this is simply impossible to execute before the start of the next 1ms TTI. The consequence is then that it becomes impossible to schedule transmissions in consecutive 1ms TTIs to the same UE, resulting in waste of resources- or at least waste of time. (The same logic holds, of course, for uplink transmissions). The solution is to allow each HARQ Entity to work with several processes simultaneously. When one HARQ process is awaiting ACK/NACK for a transmitted MAC PDU, the scheduler can order transmission of the next MAC PDU from the next HARQ process, that then stops and awaits ACK/NACK, and so on. It is expected that 8 HARQ processes will be sufficient to allow continuous transmission to/from a given UE. Thus, the shortest HARQ round-trip time is expected to be 8ms.
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5-7
5.3
LTE ACTIVE
RRC CONNECTED
LTE DETACHED
From a radio resource point of view there are two operational states for the UE: RRC Idle State and RRC Connected State. In the RRC Idle state the UE is unknown in E-UTRAN and will remain so until it requests the establishment of an RRC Connection. Such a request can be triggered by higher protocol layers in the UE (i.e. mobile originating service request) or by the paging procedure (initiated from the EPC). In RRC Idle state the UE moves around in the network and change from one cell to another through the process of cell reselection. It continuously monitors the broadcasted system information and the paging channel. No data/signalling transmission or reception, except paging and system information, is possible in the RRC Idle state. The RRC Connected state allows data or signalling to be sent or received. The UE enters the Connected state through the establishment of an RRC connection. The UE is always allocated a cell specific identifier, the Cell Radio Network Temporary Identity (C-RNTI) when in Connected state. The C-RNTI is, among other things, used for addressing the UE on the downlink resource assignment channel, the PDCCH. UE mobility is network controlled through handovers. The UE may have a DRX cycle configured in order to allow sleep periods in-between monitoring the PDCCH. RRC Connection Release brings the UE back to RRC Idle state. The NAS states (EPC related states) are aligned with the RRC states. A UE in RRC Idle state is, from the MMEs point of view, in the NAS state LTE Idle. In this state the UE is registered in the MME and has an IPaddress allocated. Whenever the UE detects a change of Tracking Area it performs a Tracking Area update towards the MME.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-8
Paging or a request from higher layers to transmit uplink data or signalling will cause a transition from LTE Idle to the LTE Active state. In LTE Active state the UE has at least one SAE bearer allocated, allowing uplink or downlink data/signalling transfer to take place. The S-TMSI is used to identify/ address the UE in NAS signalling messages. The UE can never be in LTE Active state without also being in RRC Connected state. Transition from LTE Active to LTE Idle can, for example, be triggered by user inactivity. In the LTE Detached state there is no information known about the UE in the eNodeB or the MME. No data or signalling transfer is possible. This state is left/entered through the Attach/Detach procedures.
5.4
PDU Formats
RRC Message or IP Packet
PDCP PDU
Seq. No
PDCP SDU
MAC-I
RLC PDU
Seq. No
E Length Ind. E
RLC SDU 1
.....
MAC PDU
LCID1
L1
E1
MAC SDU 1
.....
Pad
Figure 5-4 shows the PDU formats for (from top to bottom) the PDCP, RLC and MAC protocols. The payload of a given protocol is referred to as a Service Data Unit (SDU). PDCP PDUs only carry one SDU while RLC and MAC PDUs may carry multiple SDUs. The PDCP protocol takes as input either an RRC message (CP) or an IP packet (UP). RRC messages are encrypted and integrity protected. The integrity protection results in a Message Authentication Code for Integrity (MAC-I) field being added at the end of the PDCP PDU. User plane packets are encrypted and compressed but never integrity protected. The PDCP protocol also adds a one or two byte long sequence number, unless configured for transparent operation where no sequence number is present.
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5-9
The RLC protocol takes as input PDCP PDUs. Several PDCP PDUs may be concatenated into one and the same RLC PDU. The RLC protocol may also perform segmentation, meaning that only part of a given PDCP PDU is fitted within one RLC PDU. An RLC sequence number is added for ARQ operation, sequence control and SDU reassembly purposes. One or more length indicator is added to indicate the presence of multiple SDUs, or SDU segments. The presence of the length indicators themselves is indicated with an extension bit (E) following the sequence number and each present length indicator. Thus, the E-bit following the last length indicator will indicate no more length indicator fields present. The MAC protocol takes as input RLC PDUs. Several RLC PDUs may be concatenated into one and the same MAC PDU. One MAC PDU is the same as one Transport Block. Thus, one and the same Transport Block may carry information from more than one logical channel (figure 5-1). The identity number of the logical channel where a given MAC SDU originated is indicated with the Logical Channel Identity field (LCID). The length (in bits) of each MAC SDU is indicated with the Length field (L). There is one LCID/L pair for each MAC SDU in the payload field. The presence of yet another LCID/L pair is indicated with the extension bit (E) following the previous pair. Thus, the E-bit following the last LCID/L pair will indicate no more LCID/L fields. Padding may be added if the total length of the LCID/L/E fields and the associated MAC SDUs do not exactly match the number of bits to be transmitted on the assigned physical resource. One or two Transport Blocks per 1ms TTI are delivered to the physical layer for further processing, as described in chapter 4.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-10
5.5
References
24.801 33.821 36.321 36.322 36.323 36.331 3GPP System Architecture Evolution: CT WG1 aspects (NAS) Rationale and track of security decisions in LTE/SAE E-UTRA; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol E-UTRA; Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol E-UTRA; Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) E-UTRA; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Layer 2 and 3 protocols Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
5-11
X2 and S1-interface
6.1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 6-2 6.2 THE X2-INTERFACE ....................................................... 6-3
6.2.1 X2-interface Protocols..............................................................6-3
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-1
6.1
Introduction
Evolved UTRAN
S1-MME
eNB
MME
X2-C
X2-U
S11
eNB
S1-U
SGW
The X2-interface connects the eNBs within E-UTRAN together. The X2interface is an IP-based interface and can therefore be seen as a point to multi-point interface (the eNB may communicate with every other eNB). The Control Plane (CP) instance of the X2-interface (X2-C) uses the X2 Application Protocol (X2AP) for control signalling purposes between eNBs. The User Plane (UP) instance of the X2-interface (X2-U) uses the GPRS Tunnelling Protocol- User plane (GTP-U) for user data tunnelling between eNBs. The X2-interface is described in section 6.2. The S1-interface connects the Evolved UTRAN with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The termination point for the S1-interface on the E-UTRAN side is the eNB, and on the EPC side the Mobility Management Entity (MME) and the Serving Gateway (SGW). The S1-interface is, like the X2interface, an IP-based point to multi-point interface. The CP instance of the S1-interface (S1-MME) uses the S1 Application Protocol (S1AP) for control signalling purposes between eNB and MME. The UP instance of the S1-interface (S1-U) uses GTP-U for user data tunnelling between eNB and SGW. The S1-interface is described in section 6.3. Section 6.4 deals with network self-organization issues and section 6.5 contains an overview on the so-called home eNB. At the time of writing (Oct-07) all specifications pertaining to the X2- and S1-interfaces are all immature drafts. The reader is therefore strongly advised to regularly check for updated versions of the standardisation documents listed at the end of this chapter.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-2
6.2
6.2.1
The X2-interface
X2-interface Protocols
eNB
eNB
X2AP SCTP IP
Data Link Layer Physical Layer
X2-C
X2AP SCTP IP
Data Link Layer Physical Layer
Handover. Initiated by the source eNB by sending a Handover Request message to the target eNB. The target eNB reserves the necessary radio resources and sends a Handover Request Acknowledge message back to the source eNB. The ACK message contains a complete radio interface Handover Command message, to be sent to the UE, and the preferred Target eNB IP-address for data forwarding over X2 during the handover execution phase.
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6-3
Release resource. After a successful handover, the Target eNB initiates this procedure to inform the Source eNB that it can now stop data forwarding over X2 and release all resources for this UE. Load Indication. The purpose of the Load Indication procedure is to transfer an uplink Interference Overload Indication between intra-frequency neighboring eNBs for interference coordination purposes. The Overload Indication is sent when the eNB experiences too high interference level on some resource blocks. This procedure is linked to the E-UTRAN Inter-Cell Interference Cancellation (ICIC) function, that allows eNBs to agree on what set of OFDM sub-carriers to use at overlapping cell borders.
6-4
6.3
6.3.1
The S1-interface
S1-interface Protocols
eNB
MME
S1AP SCTP IP
Data Link Layer Physical Layer
S1-MME
S1AP SCTP IP
Data Link Layer Physical Layer
eNB
SGW
As seen by comparing figures 6-2 and 6-3 the protocols for the X2- and S1-interfaces are close to identical, with the Application Protocol in the Control Plane being the only difference. Hence only the S1AP protocol is described here.
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6-5
Paging. Enables the MME to page the UE in a specific eNB. The MME initiates the paging procedure by sending a Paging message to each eNB with cells belonging to the Tracking Area(s) in which the UE is registered. The paging response back to the MME is initiated on the NAS layer and is forwarded to MME by the eNB as part of the NAS Signalling Transport procedure. NAS Signalling Transport. This procedure provides means to transport NAS messages to/from a given UE over the S1-interface. (This procedure is in all respects the same as the UTRAN Direct Transfer procedure). Initial Context Setup. This procedure supports the establishment of the necessary overall initial UE Context in the eNB to enable fast Idle-to-Active transition. The UE Context includes: SAE Bearer context, security context, roaming restriction, UE capability info, subscriber type info etc. The procedure is always initiated from the MME, typically in combination with network registration (Attach or Tracking area update). SAE Bearer Management. The SAE Bearer management function is responsible for establishing, modifying and releasing E-UTRAN resources for user data transport with a given QoS (once an initial UE context is available in the eNB). The procedure is always initiated from the MME, with the exception of SAE Bearer Release that may be initiated from the eNB. Handover. Handover preparation and execution signalling over the S1-interface is only needed during inter-RAT handover or when there is no X2-interface present between the Source eNB and the Target eNB. For a normal X2-interface initiated inter-eNB handover a S1AP Handover Notification message is sent from the Target eNB to the MME after the UE has been successfully transferred to the new cell.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-6
6.4
Self-organizing Networks
With the term Self-organizing Networks (SON) is meant the functionality in network elements for self-configuration and self-optimization without (or with minimal) manual intervention.
6.4.1
Self-configuration
Self-configuration is defined as the process where newly deployed network nodes (i.e. eNBs) are configured by automatic installation procedures in order to get the necessary basic configuration for system operation. This process works in the pre-operational state. Pre-operational state is understood as the state from when the eNB is powered up and has backbone connectivity until the RF transmitter is switched on. After power-up the eNB needs to make its presence know to the MME, or MMEs, in the network. This requires that the eNB knows the transport IPaddress of the MME(s). An initial remote IP endpoint to be used for SCTP initialisation is provided to the eNB for each MME in the pre-operational state (the exact mechanism for this is not yet standardised). For each MME the eNB tries to initialize a so-called SCTP association (RFC 2960), using the known initial remote IP endpoint, until SCTP connectivity is established. Once SCTP connectivity has been established the eNB and MME are in a position to exchange application level configuration data needed for the two nodes to interwork correctly. During this process the eNB provides relevant information to the MME (e.g. eNB ID, list of supported Tracking Area(s) etc). The MME similarly provides relevant information to the eNB (e.g. MME ID, PLMN ID etc). When the application layer initialization is successfully concluded, and has been mutually acknowledged by the two peer nodes, the dynamic configuration procedure is completed and the S1-MME interface is operational. It is expected that some form of mutual node authentication procedure is needed prior to initiating this process (i.e. to detect fake or impersonated nodes). The eNB can then download additional configuration software, either from/via the MME or from some network management system. This may include configuration parameters such as: cell-id, neighbour cells (cell-ids, IP addresses), sub-carrier allocation, reference signal mapping, reference signal power, antenna tilt etc.
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6-7
6.4.2
Self-optimization
Self-optimization is defined as the process through which UE and eNB measurements are used to auto-tune the network. This process works in the operational state. Operational state is understood as the state where the RF interface is switched on (i.e. the eNB is being used for real traffic). The current draft specification clearly states that the UE shall (shall is the same as must in 3GPP language) support measurements and procedures that can be used for self-configuration and self-optimisation of the EUTRAN system. It should also be possible to associate the measurements for self-optimisation purposes with location information (e.g. the UE may provide GPS coordinates to the eNB). Such UE-assisted measurements can be used to, for example, optimize neighbour cell lists. The active RRC connections and their accompanying measurements can be used to gather needed information about neighbours. Known neighbours can be checked if they are really appropriate concerning radio conditions and new ones can be included based on information about detected cells received from the UEs. The radio measurements of eNB and UEs together with call events like call drops, failed or ping-pong handovers etc may also influence the handover algorithm used. For example, if certain (average) measurement values fall below a certain threshold a (pre-configured) modified handover algorithm may be used until the problem disappears. Furthermore, through the use of OFDM the opportunity exists to distribute radio interface resources in a dynamic way to optimise the traffic situation or interference situation based on statistical measurements of power and interference level for single sub-carriers or groups of sub-carriers. This may be performed as an intra eNB process, but may also be linked to the X2-interface Load Indication (ICIC) procedure.
6.5
Home eNB
The home base station is not really a new concept since many people today have wireless LAN access points in their homes in conjunction with their broadband access. The standardisation work in 3GPP regarding home base stations belongs to Release 8 and incorporates both UTRAN NodeBs and E-UTRAN eNBs. The following description focuses on the E-UTRAN case but many of the questions and considerations raised apply equally well to the UTRAN case. It is expected that the home eNB will connect to the MME/SGW using the standard S1-interface and to other eNBs using the standard X2-interface. There are many fundamental issues that must be solved before home eNBs can be fully and securely included in the LTE/SAE macro architecture, some of which are touched upon in the following.
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6-8
6.5.1
Node Configuration
Installation of the home eNB should require a minimum amount of manual intervention, both from the user and the operator. The existence of functions for Self-organizing Networks (SON) is expected because the: number of home eNBs may become very large subscribers may switch on and off the home eNB frequently operator may not be able to access the home eNB physically. The home eNB shall therefore be able to download the latest firmware and software to be used, as part of an initial or periodic activation procedure. A possible solution is that the eNB downloads the initial configuration from a known configuration server prior to powering up the radio interface. Thus, initialisation of the home eNB should be automated and require no manual configuration by either the user or network operator. The initialisation process should include also configuration of neighbour relationships, which requires the presence of the X2-interface. It must therefore be possible for the home eNB to trigger establishment and release of the X2-interface between the home eNB and Macro eNBs, as well as accept incoming X2-interface connection requests from Macro eNBs. This is also applicable for the X2 connection to another home eNB. It should be possible for both the owner and the network operator to cause the home eNB to download and install the latest software updates or configuration files. There may also be a function present that allows the operator to switch off the home eNB remotely.
6.5.2
Access Restriction
Naturally, the eNB should only allow access for a single subscriber (or group of subscribers) while all other subscribers must be barred from using it. The cell served by the home eNB is referred to as a Closed Subscriber Group (CSG) cell. As the term suggests, only a UE from a specific user group should be allowed access to that cell. This access restriction is needed because some backhaul links for this type of deployment are not considered to provide adequate QoS to support a large numbers of UEs. There may also be regulatory issues with sharing the backhaul link/eNB access in that location. Finally, the backhaul link may be owned by or paid for by the subscriber and he/she may not be too happy to share the link with others! The user group associated with a specific home eNB needs to be updated, under the supervision of the network operator, by the subscriber which is registered as the owner of the home eNB. When a subscriber is added to the user group by the registered owner the UE of the subscriber should be able to (almost) immediately camp on the cell of the home eNB and then acquire service through the home eNB. This is especially important in the
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-9
deployment scenario where this subscriber has no other means to access the network, i.e. there is no macro-layer coverage available. A UE should not camp on or access a CSG cell if it is not part of the user group that is allowed to access that CSG cell. The exact mechanisms for this is currently still under investigation.
6.5.3
Mobility
The home eNB/CSG cells are part of the network of the operator, and therefore the design needs to support mobility of UEs between the macrolayer network and the home eNB/CSG cells. This is true for both Idle state behaviour (cell re-selection) and Connected state behaviour (handover). The home eNBs will be deployed in order to improve network coverage, to improve network capacity and to offer differentiated billing models. As the user billing could be dependent on whether the UE is using the home eNB or not it is important that the UE, when it is in range, automatically camps on the home eNB. This can be done by setting broadcasted re-selection parameters in such a way that the UE will always prioritize the CSG cell. It is also important that UEs camped on the home eNB do not cause excessive signalling load or processing load if/when the UEs moves frequently between the macro-layer network and the home eNB (e.g. excessive Tracking Area update signalling should be avoided). A possible solution to this is to, during automated initialization, make sure the home eNB belongs to the same Tracking Area as the surrounding macro eNBs. As discussed above the home eNBs will have an associated user group defining which UEs can access the home eNB. The handover procedure needs to take the user group of the Target home eNB into account when deciding whether to handover a UE to a specific home eNB. As the number of home eNBs in the network will become large the proportion of measurements made by a UE which could be wasted may become large, to the point where it affects the mobility performance of the UE/system as well as draining the battery of the UE. It is therefore necessary for the UE to, somehow, be able to avoid unnecessary measurements of home eNBs where it does not belong to the user group. It should be noted that, due to the expected high number of home eNBs and the nature of their deployment, it would not be practical to change the configuration for the mobility procedures (measurements, handover etc) in the macro layer nodes whenever a home eNB is deployed/dismissed.
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6-10
6.5.4
Security
The operators network must be protected from cases where the user (or someone else) is tampering with the home eNB in an un-desired manner. Thus, the implementation of the home eNB must offer appropriate security protecting home eNB users and the connected network from security threats arising from accessing the backhaul link or internal interfaces (or configuration data) within the home eNB. To protect both the operator and the eNB owner it is desirable that mutual authentication, between home eNB and network, and establishment of a secure connection with a Security Gateway (SeGW) is part of the home eNB initialization process. The exact security mechanism to be used and the location of the SeGW function is not yet decided. Furthermore, since the home eNB will be a small, easily portable, device it is desirable for the operator that the home eNB recognises when it is operated in a different country to the HPLMN and, as a result, deactivates itself. Such a function can be important for charging reasons.
6.5.5
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-11
6.6
References
25.820 32.816 32.821 36.410 36.413 36.420 36.423 3G home NodeB study item technical report Telecommunication mgmt; study on mgmt in LTE and SAE Telecommunication mgmt; study on SON for home NodeB E-UTRAN; S1 general aspects and principles E-UTRAN; S1 Application Protocol (S1AP) E-UTRAN; X2 general aspects and principles E-UTRAN; X2 Application Protocol (X2AP)
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - X2 and S1-interface Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
6-12
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Evolved Packet Core Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
7-1
7.1
7.1.1
SGSN
GERAN
Gb Gr
HSS
S6a
S3
S4
S12
S1-MME
S11
MME
S10
PCRF
Rx+ S7
E-UTRAN
S1-U
SGW
S5 (S8a/b)
PGW
IMS / Internet /
SGi
3GPP IP-access
Trusted
S2c
S2b
S2a
Non-trusted
Wn*
ePDG
Wm*
AAA
To HSS Wx*
Figure 7-1 shows the EPC network architecture for the non-roaming case. That is, the access network and the core network both belong to the same operator. The roaming case primarily affects the S5 and S7-interfaces. The legacy interfaces (Gr, Iu and Gb in fig 7-1) are not described here. For several of the EPC interfaces it has not yet been decided what application signalling protocol to use. In the following, the mentioning of a specific signalling protocol is simply omitted in such cases. Mobility Management Entity (MME). The MME manages and stores contexts (i.e. information lists) relating to UEs in both LTE Idle and LTE Active state. The UE context contains parameters such as: IMSI, S-TMSI, current Tracking Area, security keys, UE capabilities and currently assigned EPC bearer QoS.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Evolved Packet Core Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
7-2
The MME is responsible for handling mobility management procedures such as Paging, Attach/Detach and Tracking Area updates. It handles security procedures such as Authentication and allocation of temporary identities (S-TMSI). It is also responsible for the transfer of UE contexts (in a backwards compatible format) to the SGSN in inter-RAT mobility scenarios. MME to SGSN signalling takes place over the S3-interface using the GPRS Tunnelling Protocol- Control plane (GTP-C). The MME connects to the E-UTRAN (eNB) with the S1-MME interface. This interface uses the S1 Application Protocol (S1AP), as described in chapter 6. When needed, the MME updates the HSS with UE location information and retrieves subscription and authentication data. This is done over the S6a-interface using either the Mobile Application Part (MAP) protocol or the DIAMETER protocol. For inter-MME user mobility, the S10-interface is used for UE context transfer between MMEs. The S11-interface connects the MME to the SGW. This interface is used for paging initiation (SGW to MME), handover/re-routing indications and establishment of EPC bearers (MME to SGW). Home Subscriber Server (HSS). The HSS holds subscription profiles and security related information for each registered subscriber. It is an evolved version of the 2G/3G Home Location Register (HLR) that also includes the functionality of the Authentication Centre (AuC). Serving Gateway (SGW). The SGW terminates the downlink data path for UEs in LTE Idle state and initiates paging (to MME) when downlink data arrive for the UE. It manages and stores UE contexts (user IP-address, EPC bearer QoS, eNB/PGW IP-addresses and TEIDs). The SGW connects to E-UTRAN (eNB) via the S1-U interface using the GTP-U protocol. During, and after, a handover to GERAN/UTRAN the SGW acts as User Plane anchor, forwarding downlink user IP-packets to the SGSN via the S4-interface (GTP-U). In case the UTRAN system has a Direct Tunnel architecture (SGSN eliminated from the User Plane) this forwarding takes place over the S12-interface (GTP-U). In the non-roaming case the S5-interface connects the SGW with the PGW for uplink and downlink user IP-packet transfer. In the roaming case the SGW is located in the visited network and the PGW in the home network, connected via the S8a/b-interface. The S5 and S8a-interfaces use GTP-U while S8b uses Proxy Mobile Ipv6, PMIP (RFC 3775).
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Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW). The PGW (also called PDN GW) is the connection between the EPC and external packet data networks, over the SGi-interface. It is responsible for allocation of user IP-addresses. The PGW also acts as the User Plane anchor for mobility to/from IP-access networks other than UTRAN/GERAN. These other IP-access networks are divided into three groups: 3GPP IPaccess, trusted non-3GPP IP-access and non-trusted non-3GPP IP-access. Examples of non-GERAN/UTRAN access networks are: WLAN, xDSL, CDMA2000 and WiMAX. The 3GPP IP-access is the Interworking WLAN access (I-WLAN), first defined in Release 6, connected to PGW with the S2c-interface using the Dual Stack Mobile Ipv6 protocol (DS-MIPv6). Trusted non-3GPP IP-access connects to the PGW with the S2a-interface using PMIP or Mobile Ipv4, MIPv4 (RFC 3344). Non-trusted non-3GPP IP-access needs an ePDG in the connection path. The S2b-interface (PMIP) connects the PGW with the ePDG. Evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG). The ePDG performs access authentication when the UE tries to connect to the home domain. If needed, it performs QoS authorization and generates charging information for the packet data session. It may also perform packet filtering/policing functions. The ePDG connects to the non-trusted access network with the Wn*interface. The ePDG may require interaction with an AAA-server, using the Wm*-interface. Authentication, Authorization and Accounting server (AAA). This function either executes the AAA-functions or, alternatively, provides necessary data for the ePDG to do so. The AAA-server may need to download subscription information from the HSS via the Wx*-interface. Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF). The PCRF provides operator specific (or UE specific) QoS policies and charging rules to the PGW when an EPC bearer is to be established. The S7-interface uses the DIAMETER protocol. In a roaming scenario there may be interaction between a local (visited) PCRF and the home domain PCRF. This inter-PCRF interface is called the S9-interface (DIAMETER). The PCRF retrieves the necessary policy and charging parameters from the proper IMS Application Function (AF) over the Rx+-interface.
Apis Technical Training AB LTE - Evolved Packet Core Copyright Apis Technical Training AB 2007. All rights reserved.
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7.1.2
The broadcast service (or mode) where the transmitted content can be received by all terminals in a given area without restriction (provided the terminal supports MBMS of course). This service does not require any subscription support and no charging will be incurred. The multicast service (or mode) is transmitted solely to terminals that have actively joined a particular multicast group. This service may require subscription support and may also be charged for by the operator.
The MBMS service requires its own infrastructure (i.e. network nodes) and its own set of logical, transport and physical channels. A brief overview of the network architecture for MBMS within the EPC and the required functionality in E-UTRAN/E-UTRA is given in the following sections.
MBMS Architecture
MBMS Gateway M3
MCE
M2 M1
MBMS1
Sm SGmb
eNB
MBMS2
eBM-SC
Content Provider
Evolved Broadcast Multicast Service Centre (eBM-SC) The eBM-SC provides functions for general MBMS service provisioning and delivery. It serves as an entry point for the content provider and authorises, schedules and delivers MBMS transmissions to the EPC. The eBM-SC connects to the MBMS GW via the SGmb-interface.
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MBMS Gateway (MBMS GW) The MBMS GW is a logical entity whose function is the synchronised sending/broadcasting of MBMS data packets over the M1-interface to each eNB transmitting the service. The MBMS GW also performs MBMS session control signalling (e.g. session start/stop time) towards the eNBs (or MCE) over the M3-interface. The MBMS GW may be functionality split into MBMS1 (Control Plane) and MBMS2 (User Plane) functions. If so, they are connected through the Sm-interface. Multicell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE) The MCE is a logical entity that may, or may not, be physically co-located with eNB. If it is co-located with the eNB, the M2-interface does not exist. Its task is to allocate the radio resource (time/frequency resource and the modulation and coding scheme) to be used by all eNBs taking part in MBSFN transmission (see 7.2.3). Note: if the MCE exists as a stand-alone function, it should logically belong to E-UTRAN and not the EPC.
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In an MBMS/unicast mixed cell the MTCH and MCCH are mapped on the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH) or, in case of MBSFN transmission, the MCH. The MBMS packets and the regular unicast packets are timemultiplexed on the DL-SCH through MAC-layer packet scheduling. Uplink resources exist as normal, but the use of HARQ operation (and hence uplink ACK/NACKs) for MBMS transmission is optional. Both MBMS-dedicated and MBMS/unicast mixed cells can partake in MBSFN transmissions.
7.2
7.2.1
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7.2.2
QoS Parameters
Each EPC Bearer (GBR or non-GBR) is associated with an Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP) value, a Maximum Bit Rate (MBR) and a Label. The main purpose of the ARP is to decide whether a bearer establishment/modification request can be accepted or needs to be rejected in case of resource limitations. In addition, the ARP can be used by the eNB to decide which bearer(s) to drop during exceptional resource limitations (e.g. at handover). It should be noted that the ARP is not intended to be used as input to the eNB packet-scheduling algorithm. A Label is an operator-defined value (1, 2, 3, ) that is used as an internal reference to eNB specific parameters that control Radio Bearer packet treatment (e.g. HARQ operation, scheduling weights, packet queue management, admission thresholds etc). There are also 3GPP standardised Label characteristics, relating to specific combinations of Bearer Type (GBR or non-GBR), Layer 2 Packet Delay Budget (L2PDB) and Layer 2 Packet Loss Rate (L2PLR). The purpose of these parameters is to support the configuration of MAC packet scheduling and layer 2 ARQ and HARQ functions (e.g. the setting of scheduling priority weights and the number of HARQ retransmissions).
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7.3
References
23.234 23.246 23.401 23.402 23.882 36.300 36.938 3GPP system to WLAN interworking: system description MBMS; architecture and functional description GPRS enhancements for E-UTRAN access Architecture enhancements for non-3GPP accesses 3GPP SAE: report on technical options and conclusions E-UTRA/E-UTRAN; overall description Stage 2 Improved network controlled mobility between LTE and 3GPP2/WiMAX radio technologies
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