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RRC Procedures in LTE Comments v1
RRC Procedures in LTE Comments v1
Version 0.1
Revision History:
ntents
1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................6 2 Purpose..............................................................................................................................6 3 Important Changes in RRC specification for LTE and its difference with legacy 3GRNC system.........................................................................................................................6 4 Architecture.......................................................................................................................9 4.1 RRC State...................................................................................................................9 4.2 Signaling Radio Bearers............................................................................................9 4.3 RRC Functions.........................................................................................................10 4.4 RRC Procedures.......................................................................................................11 4.4.1 Paging...............................................................................................................11 4.4.2 RRC Connection establishment........................................................................12 4.4.3 RRC Connection Reconfiguration....................................................................14 4.4.4 RRC Connection Re-establishment .................................................................16 4.4.5 Initial Security Activation.................................................................................17 4.4.6 RRC Connection Release..................................................................................18 4.4.7 DL Information Transfer...................................................................................18 4.4.8 UL Information Transfer...................................................................................19 4.4.9 Handover Procedure..........................................................................................20 ..........................................................................................................................................22
Reference
Document Name RRC Specification References in Document Date Version 33.331 v
8.1.0
Abbreviations: ARQ HARQ AM ASN.1 ARQ AS BCCH BCH CCCH CCO CP C-RNTI CSG DCCH DRB DRX DTCH DTX DL DL-SCH E-UTRA E-UTRAN ENB EPC EPS FDD FFS GERAN GSM HARQ HRPD IE IMEI IMSI L1 L2 L3 MAC MBMS MCCH MIB Automatic Repeat Query Hybrid Automatic Repeat Query Acknowledged Mode Abstract Syntax Notation.1 Automatic Repeat Request Access Stratum Broadcast Control Channel Broadcast Channel Common Control Channel Cell Change Order Control Plane Cell RNTI Closed Subscriber Group Dedicated Control Channel (user) Data Radio Bearer Discontinuous Reception Dedicated Traffic Channel Discontinuous Transmission Downlink Downlink Shared Channel Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Evolved Node B Enhanced Packet Core Enhanced Packet System Frequency Division Duplex For Further Study GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network Global System for Mobile Communications Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request CDMA2000 High Rate Packet Data Information element International Mobile Equipment Identity International Mobile Subscriber Identity Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Media Access Control Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service MBMS point-to-multipoint Control Channel Master Information Block
MTCH N/A NACC NAS PCCH PDU PDCP PLMN PTM-MC PTM-SC PTP QoS RACH RA-RNTI RAT RB RLC RNTI RRC RSCP RSRP RSSI SAE SAP SI SIB SI-RNTI SI-RNTI SRB S-TMSI TA TDD TM UE UICC UL UM UL-SCH UP
MBMS point-to-multipoint Traffic Channel Not Applicable Network Assisted Cell Change Non Access Stratum Paging Control Channel Protocol Data Unit Packet Data Convergence Protocol Public Land Mobile Network Point-to-Multipoint, Multi-Cell Point-to-Multipoint, Single-Cell Point-to-Point Quality of Service Random Access Channel Random Access RNTI Radio Access Technology Radio Bearer Radio Link Control Radio Network Temporary Identifier Radio Resource Control Received Signal Code Power Reference Signal Received Power Received Signal Strength Indicator System Architecture Evolution Service Access Point Scheduling Information System Information Block Scheduling Information Change RNTI Scheduling Information RNTI Signaling Radio Bearer SAE Temporary Mobile Station Identifier Tracking Area Time Division Duplex Transparent Mode User Equipment Universal Integrated Circuit Card Uplink Unacknowledged Mode Uplink Shared Channel User Plane
1 Introduction
This document provides the details of RRC procedures as specified in 3GPP 36.331 for LTE.
2 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to understand RRC Procedures and RRC IEs for LTE. It will help developers and testing engineer to understand the feature better and utilize their knowledge in various customer sites. This document will also help developer to start thinking design of RRC in LTE.
3 Important Changes in RRC specification for LTE and its difference with legacy 3G-RNC system
Following is the important changes in RRC specification for LTE and its difference with legacy 3G-RNC system. Procedure specific difference is mentioned in specific procedure section. RRC State: - In LTE there is only 2 RRC states i.e. RRC_IDLE and RRC_CONNECTED whereas in 3G-RNC system RRC has a 5 state i.e. IDLE, CELL_FACH, CELL_DCH, CELL_PCH, URA_PCH. In LTE, there is no concept of common and dedicated transport channel, thats why there is no need of CELL_FACH and CELL_DCH state. In LTE there is only shared transport channel are defined. CELL_PCH and URA_PCH is also removed because in LTE. Therefore this will simplifies the RRC State machine handling and improves RRC performance. This will also simplify the RRM algorithm which decides RRC states. Signaling Radio Bearers: - In LTE there is only three SRB is defined i.e. SRB0, SRB1 and SRB2. Still SRB2 is on FFS, whereas in 3G-RNC system RRC has 4 SRBs i.e. SRB0, SRB1, SRB2 and SRB3 (optional). SRB 0: - In LTE SRB 0 is used RLC TM entity over CCCH logical channel in DL whereas in 3G-RNC system RLC UM entity over CCCH logical channel in DL. MAC entity: - In LTE there is only one MAC entity which needs to configured whereas in 3G-RNC system there is 4 different MAC entity based on different type of transport channel i.e MAC-d (DCH), MAC-c/sh (FACH, DSCH), MAC-hs (HS-DSCH) and MAC-e (E-DCH). In 3G-RNC system the state machine which is handling MAC configuration is quite complex. During state transition CELL_FACH->CELL_DCH or CELL_DCH->CELL_FACH lots of signaling was involved. In LTE, since there is only one MAC entity which is easier and simple to configure and have very simple State Machine.
Radio Bearer mapping: - In LTE Radio bearer mapping would be much simpler than the 3G-RNC system because of there is no common and transport channel defined in LTE. In LTE there is no RRC connection mobility defined like cell update and ura update. Domain Identity: - In LTE, there is only one domain identity i.e. PS domain and which is implicit no need to specify anywhere in signaling where as in 3G-RNC system there is two domain identity i.e. CS domain and PS domain identity. Because of these two identities, there was lot of signaling overhead and complexity in RRC design. Now in LTE, there is no Initial UE Message is defined because only one domain identity is there. System Broadcast Information:- In LTE, MIB includes a limited number of most frequently transmitted parameters and SIB Type 1containing the scheduling information that mainly indicates when the SI messages are transmitted where as in 3G-RNC system, MIB includes the frequently transmitted parameters was well as scheduling information. In LTE, only shared channel is defined, so UE is always listening/decoding to the radio frame at L1 and L2 layer, there is no need to define the downlink transport channel configuration in the RRC Reconfiguration message. This will reduce signaling message size effectively. All DL-SCH transport channel information is broadcasted in system information. The above point introduces another very critical feature of DRX calculation since all DL data is on the shared channel. ENB can tell the UE when to decode/listen over the radio frame. This will optimize UE power consumtion. Paging Type: - In LTE there is only one type of paging required where as in 3G-RNC system there is two type of paging defined. This is because there is no CELL_FACH and CELL_DCH state in LTE. Less signaling message in case of Reconfiguration: - In LTE there is only one reconfiguration message to reconfigure all logical, transport and physical channel where as in 3G-RNC system there are number of reconfiguration message i.e. RB reconfiguration , TRCH configuration, PHY configuration. In LTE there is no NBAP protocol, this reduces the latency of the RRC connection establishment and RB management procedure. There is no need to define URNTI, ERNTI, HRNTI, SRNTI in LTE, since there is only one shared MAC entity. In LTE, there in no need to define activation time. Because of this there are lots of synchronizing complexity in 3G-RNC systems i.e. Synchronizing Radio link procedure based on activation time, synchronizing between the various MAC entity. This reduces significantly latency during establishment and reconfiguration of radio bearers. In LTE, there in no need to specify the RRC State in RRC message. For network control mobility, there is one feature which become very important and critical i.e. CQI Reporting. CQI reporting should be fast and correct for taking decision for mobility.
There is no signaling connection release procedure in LTE, since there is only one domain i.e. PS domain and the UE context is shared between the MME and ENB and if UE is active in ENB then it should be active in MME also.
4 Architecture
4.1 RRC State
UE has two RRC state RRC_IDLE:- This state indicates that there is not signaling radio bearer is established i.e. no RRC connection is established. RRC_IDLE state can further characterized as follows o Transfer of broadcast/multicast data to UE. o A UE specific DRX may be configured by upper layers. o UE controlled mobility. o The UE: Monitors control channels associated with the shared data channel to determine if data is scheduled for it. Performing neighboring cell measurements and measurement reporting. Acquires system information. RRC_CONNECTED: - This state indicates that there is signaling radio bearer established i.e. RRC connection is established. RRC_CONNECTED state can be further characterized as follows o Transfer of unicast data to/from an UE, transfer of broadcast/multicast data to UE. o At the lower layers, the UE may configure with a UE specific DRX/DTX. o Network Control Mobility, i.e. handover and cell change order with network assistance (NACC) to GEREN. o The UE: Monitors control channels associated with the shared data channel to determine if data is scheduled for it Provides channel quality and feedback information. Performing neighboring cell measurements and measurement reporting. Acquires system information.
CCCH
DCCH
DCCH
TMUL
SRB 0
TMDL
AMDL
SRB 1
AMUL
AMDL
SRB 2
AMUL
Figure 1 shows the SRB configuration CCCH, DCCH are the logical channel between the RRC and RLC layer. TM-UL is the transparent mode RLC entity used in uplink, UM-DL is the unacknowledgement mode RLC entity used in DL, AM DL is the acknowledgement entity used in DL, AL-UL is the acknowledgement entity used in uplink.
o Establishment/modification/release of point to point RBs carrying user data. o Radio configuration control including e.g. assignment/modification of ARQ configuration, HARQ configuration , DRX configuration; o QoS Control including assignment/modification of semi-persistent configuration information of DL/UL assignment/modification of parameters for UL rate control in the UE, i.e. allocation of a priority and a prioritized bit rate (PBR) for each RB. o Recovery from Radio link Failure. Inter-RAT mobility including e.g. security activation, transfer of RRC context information. Measurement configuration control and reporting: o Establishment/modification/release of measurements (e.g. Intra frequency, inter frequency and inter RAT mobility, Quality, UE internal, positioning) o Configuration and deactivation of measurement gaps; o Measurement Reporting Other functions including e.g. transfer of dedicated NAS Information and non-3GPP dedicated information, transfer of UE Radio access capability information, and support for E-UTRAN sharing (multiple PLMN identities). Multicast/Broadcast Support of self configuration and self-optimisation.
PAGING
Figure 2 Paging Procedure
The purpose of paging Transmit paging information to the UE in RRC_IDLE state. To inform UEs in RRC_IDLE about the system information change. Paging message include paging records for UE which is to be paged. RRC needs to configure the one TM RLC entity over PCCH logical channel to send the paging message to the UE.
The purpose of RRC Connection establishment To establish SRB1 only. This procedure is initiated by the UE when the upper layer request the establishment of a signalling connection while UE is in RRC_IDLE state. UE sends RRC Connection Request message to ENB on SRB 0 and the US shall continue cell re-selection related measurement as well as cell-reselection evaluation. If the contention resolution of the RRC Connection Request is successful, as indicated by the lower layer, wait for RRC Connection Setup Response from ENB. Otherwise retry to send the RRC Connection Request message. ENB performs the Admission Control based on its RRM algorithm. If ENB permits the admission of the UE, ENB sends the RRC Connection Setup message to the UE. RRC Connection setup message contains all the RLC (logical channel) and MAC (transport layer) parameters to establish the SRB1. UE applies the configuration informed in RRC Connection setup message. UE enters into RRC_CONNTECTED state and stop the cell-reselection procedure. After successfully applying the configuration UE sends the RRC Connection setup complete message. Ue-identity = UE_CONTENTION_RESOLUTION_IDENTITY. Setting of UE_CONTENTION_RESOLUTION_IDENTITY
If upper layer provides an S-TMSI. Upper layer will provide the S-TMSI if the UE is registered in the TA of the current cell. o Set Identity Type to S-TMSI o Set the S-TMSI to the value received from upper layer. Else o Set the identity type to random number o Draw a random value and set the Random number to the selected value.
UE
EUTRAN
ENB can reject the RRC connection establishment based on its admission control algorithm. In this case ENB sends RRC Connection Reject message to the UE.
In LTE the default configuration is used for the radio bearer parameters. There is no explicit configuration possible for RB where as in 3G-RNC system explicit configuration is possible. The number of default configuration in LTE is under FFS. RRC Connection Setup Complete message include the nasDedicationInfomation IE which will reduce the NAS signalling delay. In 3G-RNC system the nas information is sent via uplink direct transfer message. Why there is no UE capabilities information in RRC Connection Setup Complete message There is no START value defined in RRC Connection Setup Complete. In 3G-RNC system START value is defined for each domain. But I do not know how this is handled in the LTE.
Question
UE
EUTRAN
UE
EUTRAN
RRC Connection Reconfiguration message is used to establish one or more RBs. In this procedure following broad level IEs are included. Measurement Configuration Nas dedicated information. Radio Resource Configuration. Mobility Control information. Security Configuration UE Related Information. If UE successfully applied the configuration, It sends RRC Connection Reconfiguraion Complete, otherwise RRC Connection Reconfiguration Fail
configurations i.e radio bearer reconfiguration, transport channel reconfiguration and physical channel reconfiguration. RB mapping Info is much simpler as compared to the 3G-RNC system. Transport channel and physical channel information IE is significantly reduced as compared to the 3G-RNC system due to use of shared transport and physical channel. There is no common and dedicated transport and physical channel define in LTE. In LTE, at RRC level only one RNTI is maintained i.e. CRNTI which is generated by MAC layer and informed to RRC Layer. In LTE, there is provision to change the security configuration using RRC Connection Reconfiguration where as in 3G-RNC system, it was handled using security mode command procedure. In LTE, RRC Connection reconfiguration can be also used to send NAS dedicated signalling to the MS to reduce the latency where as this option is not in 3G-RNC system.
UE
EUTRAN
UE
EUTRAN
The UE shall initiate this procedure when security as been activated. The UE initiates the procedure when one of the following conditions is met: Upon re-entry of the service area after having detected radio link failure; Upon handover failure When lower layers detect problems, as specified in TS 36.322 [7];
UE
EUTRAN
UE
EUTRAN
RRC Specification for LTE does not specify about the START value. The security specification is also under FFS.
UE
EUTRAN
DL INFORMATION TRANSFER
UE
EUTRAN
UL INFORMATION TRANSFER
Decision for HO HO Required UN known Message? Relocation Request Relocation Request Ack Un known Message? HO Command HO Preparation failure Forwarding of Data
1. Mobility from EUTRA in RRC Container of ENB 2. HO From E UTRA Preparation request (CDMA 2000) in RRC Container of ENB
Figure 12Protocol Message Flow between UE, ENB and MME in case of HO
The purpose of this procedure is to move a UE in RRC_CONNECTED to a cell using another Radio Access Technology (RAT), e.g. GERAN, UTRA or CDMA2000 systems. The mobility from E-UTRA procedure covers both: Handover, i.e. the MOBILITY FROM E-UTRA message includes radio resources that have been allocated for the UE in the target cell and Cell change order, i.e. the MOBILITY FROM E-UTRA message may include information facilitating access of and/ or connection establishment in the target cell, e.g. system information. Cell change order is applicable only to GERAN. The mobility from E-UTRA procedure applies when signaling radio bearers are established, possibly in combination with EPS bearers.
Decision for HO
Relocation Request Un known Message ? HO Request HO Request Ack HO Failure Un known Message ? Relocation Command Forwarding of Data
RRC Connection Reconfiguration in RRC Container of other RAT HO Notify RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete
Figure 13 Protocol Message Flow between UE, ENB and MME in case of HO
The purpose of this procedure is to, under the control of the network; transfer a connection between the UE and another Radio Access Network (e.g. GERAN or UTRAN) to E-UTRAN. The handover to E-UTRA procedure applies when signaling radio bearers are established, possibly in combination with (EPS) bearers. In case only signaling radio bearers are established, it is FFS if the default EPS bearer is established during handover. It is FFS if handover to E-UTRAN may be initiated while security is not activated in the other RAT.
DL allocation 4. Handover command (new C-RNTI etc. + intraeNB flag) Detach from old cell and synchronize to new cell
Deliver buffered and in transit packets + RLC, MAC, and HARQ context to target sector Deliver data Buffer packets from target sector Synchronisation UL allocation + TA for UE 6. Handover confirm 7. Handover completed