Random Access

Feature Description

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Copyright

© Ericsson AB 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Disclaimer

The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to
continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall
have no liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of
this document.

Trademark List

All trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
These are shown in the document Trademark Information.

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 Contents

Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 Basic Characteristics 1
1.2 Random Access Summary 2
1.3 Additional Information 2

2 Feature Operation 3
2.1 Network Requirements 4
2.2 Feature Operation Sequence Diagram 4
2.3 Process Stages 5

3 Parameters 8
3.1 Introduced Parameters 8
3.2 Affected Parameters 8

4 Network Impact 9
4.1 Capacity 9
4.2 Coverage 9
4.3 Handover 9

5 Associated Features 10
5.1 Prerequisite Features 10
5.2 Affected Features 10
5.3 Affected System Functions 10

6 Performance 11
6.1 KPIs 11
6.2 Counters 12
6.3 Events 13
6.4 False Detections of Preambles 13

7 O&M Information 14

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 Introduction

1 Introduction

This document describes the Random Access (RA) feature and its main
benefits and impacts in the LTE RAN.

The Random Access feature is part of the LTE Basic functions in the LTE
RAN. User Equipment (UE) uses the RA process to gain new or renewed
access and uplink timing synchronization to the network

In the LTE network, the UE uses the RA process to gain access to cells for the
following reasons:

• Initial access to the network from the idle state

• Regaining access to the network after a radio link failure

• As part of the handover process to gain timing synchronization with a new

cell

• Regaining uplink time alignment

• Request uplink grant for UE without dedicated scheduling request

resource

The RA process allows multiple UE, transmitting different RA preamble codes

in uplink on the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), to gain
simultaneous access to a cell.

The RA feature is activated as part of the LTE Basic functions.

Correct operation of the RA function is required to ensure the following

actions:

• Initial access to the network

• Correct operation of LTE handover

• Successful transmission of downlink and uplink data

• Successful UE paging

1.1 Basic Characteristics

This section describes the basic characteristics of the feature.

Feature name: Random Access

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Product identity: DU Radio Node, see Feature Overview.

Baseband Radio Node, see Basic Feature Overview.

Dependencies

This section provides information about the dependency of this feature on

others and features affected by this one. For more detailed information, see
Section 5 on page 10.

This feature has no prerequisite features.

This feature affects the following RAN features:

• Intra-LTE Handover

• Paging, part of LTE Basic

1.2 Random Access Summary

This section describes the benefits of this feature.

The RA process is required for the successful operation of LTE functions

including system access, uplink and downlink data transfer, inter-cell
handover, and paging.

1.3 Additional Information

For more information about this feature and related topics, see the following
documentation:

• 3GPP TS 36.300, Overall description; Stage 2

• 3GPP TS 36.211, Physical Channels and Modulation

• 3GPP TS 36.321, Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification

The latest versions of these documents can be obtained from http://www.

3gpp.org.

For information on planning aspects of the RA feature, see Deployment

Guideline.

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2 Feature Operation

This section describes the Random Access feature in more detail, including
network configuration requirements and operation flows.

The main purpose of the RA process is to allow UE to obtain new or renewed

access to the network and to obtain uplink timing synchronization.

To gain simultaneous access to a cell, the RA process allows multiple UE to

use different RA preamble codes. The RA preamble codes are transmitted in
uplink on the PRACH. The preamble codes exhibit very good cross-correlation
properties. This allows the RBS to detect multiple RA preambles in the same
PRACH activity.

Two different forms of the RA process are used:

• The Contention Free Random Access (CFRA) process is initiated by the

network. It is used when the UE is known to the network. The CFRA uses
a dedicated RA preamble code allocated to the UE for a limited period.
This can increase the probability of RA process success and eliminates
the need for contention resolution.

• The Contention Based Random Access (CBRA) process is initiated by the

UE to gain access to the network. It involves the UE randomly selecting
one RA preamble code from a list of codes available for selection by all
UE in the cell. CBRA requires additional signalling to resolve contention.
Contention can occur when multiple UE attempts are made to access the
cell in the same PRACH subframe using the same preamble code.

The application of CBRA and CFRA to different RA events is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Application of CBRA and CFRA

RA Scenario CBRA CFRA
Initial network access •
Access following a radio link failure •
Incoming Handover between cells • •
Downlink data transfer requiring uplink • •
synchronization
Uplink data transfer requiring uplink •
synchronization
Uplink data transfer without dedicated •
scheduling request resource

The CBRA process can be used for all RA applications. CFRA process is used
for handover and synchronization.

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2.1 Network Requirements

The following must be fulfilled at feature activation:

• The LTE RA process is part of the LTE basic system functions.

• The LTE basic system is configured to allow UE to use CBRA for initial
network access, handover between cells, synchronization for uplink
transfers, and access following a radio link failure. CFRA is disabled by
default. It is used for handover and synchronization purposes as it reduces
the time taken for UE to complete these tasks.

2.2 Feature Operation Sequence Diagram

There are a number of stages involved in the RA process. The flow diagram in
Figure 1 identifies the stages used in the CBRA and CFRA processes.

UE eNB

RA Preamble Assignment 0

1 Random Access Preamble

CFRA
Contention Free
Random Access
CBRA Random Access Response 2 Process Steps
Contention Based
Random Access
Process Steps 3 Scheduled Transmission (MSG3)
HARQ

Contention Resolution (MSG 4) 4

HARQ

L0000113C

Figure 1 RA Process Stages

The CBRA process involves stages 1, 2, 3, and 4. The CFRA process involves
stages 0, 1, 2 and 3. The main difference between the CFRA and CBRA is
that in CFRA the UE is assigned a dedicated preamble code sequence by the
cell so no other UE can attempt an RA using the same preamble code
sequence. This makes the CFRA process faster as the contention resolution
stage 4 is avoided. Stage 3 is not required by the standard specifications if the
CFRA process is active but it is used for robustness purposes.

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2.3 Process Stages

This section describes the main process stages in the feature process flow.

2.3.1 CFRA Preamble Assignment

The first stage in the CFRA process is the assignment of a dedicated
preamble code sequence to the UE. This is shown as stage 0 in Figure 1. For
each LTE cell where the CFRA is enabled, a number of preamble codes are
reserved for CFRA. Pre-assignment of the preamble sequence by the network
makes the RA process faster as there is no need for contention resolution.

The preamble code required for the RA is sent to the UE on the following
downlink dedicated signalling:

• HO command by the serving eNodeB if handover is active

• Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) order if UL synchronization

is active

If the CFRA is disabled, no dedicated preambles are allocated. In this case,

the preambles are used for the CBRA.

For HO, if a CFRA procedure is chosen but eNB fails to receive the scheduled
transmission at stage 3, a PDCCH order is sent to the UE with the same
CFRA preamble for repeating CFRA attempts.

2.3.2 RA Preamble Transmission

The RA preamble transmission is common to both CFRA and CBRA
processes. It is shown as stage 1 in Figure 1.

The UE transmits RA preamble bursts on the PRACH uplink channel. The

network provides information about the PRACH to UE in an overhead
message. This allows the UE to determine when the PRACH channels are
scheduled and also determines the preamble format and code sequence to
use.

The following information is included in the overhead message:

• The LTE Basic system uses preamble format 0 as defined in Section 5.7.1
of 3GPP TS 36.211. This format provides a maximum cell coverage range
of approximately 15 km.

• The LTE Basic system allocates one PRACH occurrence in each 10-ms
radio frame.

• The LTE Basic system applies the unrestricted set of cyclic shifts for
preambles.

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• The High Speed UE feature applies the restricted set of cyclic shifts for
preambles.

The RA transmission process uses open-loop power control. The UE

estimates the transmission power required to achieve a specified reception
power value at the RBS for the first RA burst. Power ramping is used for
subsequent retransmission bursts if they are required. This process continues
until the UE successfully receives a response from the RBS or the maximum
number of retransmission attempts is reached. The open-loop power control
process is detailed in Section 5.1 of 3GPP TS 36.321.

2.3.3 RA Response Message

The RBS generates the RA response message that is transmitted on the
Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to a specific RA Radio Network
Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) address. The RA response message can
contain responses to more than one detected RA preamble code. It is also
possible to send multiple RA response messages within the RA response
window. This means that the RBS can respond to RA attempts from multiple
UE that are transmitted in the same PRACH subframe.

The UE monitors the PDCCH for its specific RA-RNTI address that matches
the subframe number in which the RA preamble burst was transmitted.

The RA response message includes the following information:

• RA preamble sequence code that identifies the preamble sequence code

that has been detected by the RBS

• Initial uplink grant used for transmitting the subsequent data on the uplink
channel

• Time alignment information that ensures that subsequent uplink data

transmissions are time aligned at the RBS receiver, that is, do not interfere
with uplink transmissions from other UE in adjacent subframes

• A temporary Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI)

2.3.4 Contention Resolution

The contention resolution is not used by the CFRA process but the scheduled
transmission shown as stage 3 is still used for robustness purposes.

The contention resolution stages are used by the CBRA process to resolve a
situation where two UEs have attempted an RA using the same preamble
code sequence. They are shown as stage 3 and stage 4 respectively in Figure
1.

In stage 3, the UE undertakes the first scheduled uplink transmission on

Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) following the successful receipt of

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 Feature Operation

an RA response message. The UE provides the network with a unique

identifier in this message.

In stage 4, the RBS echoes the UE identity provided in stage 3. Only a

terminal that finds a match between the identity received in stage 4 and the
identity transmitted as part of the stage 3 declares the RA procedure
successful.

Terminals that do not find a match between the identity received in stage 4
and the respective identity transmitted as part of stage 3 are considered to
have failed the RA procedure and must restart the RA procedure from stage 1.

Both stage 3 and stage 4 use the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ)
process. For further details on the contention resolution process and the
HARQ process, see in Section 5.1 of 3GPP TS 36.321.

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3 Parameters

This section describes parameters introduced by the RA feature and

parameters affected by activating the feature.

3.1 Introduced Parameters

Table 2 describes the parameter introduced by the feature.

Table 2 Introduced Parameters

Parameter Description
rachRootSequence First root sequence number for RACH(1) preamble generation
RACH root sequence is broadcast as a part of system information
distribution and used for preamble detection. For information on
the definition of logical root sequence number, see 3GPP TS
36.211.
Exists for MO classes:

• EUtranCellFDD.rachRootSequence

• EUtranCellTDD.rachRootSequence
cellRange Defines the maximum distance from the RBS where a connection
to a UE can be setup or maintained, or both
Exists for MO classes:

• EUtranCellFDD.cellRange

• EUtranCellTDD.cellRange
cfraEnable This parameter is used to enable or disable the CFRA
Exists for MO classes:

• EUtranCellFDD.cfraEnable

preambleInitialReceivedTarg
etPower
• EUtranCellTDD.cfraEnable
Initial preamble power value in dBm, according to 3GPP TS
36.331 and 36.321.
Default value recommended.
Exists for MO classes:

• EUtranCellFDD.preambleInitialReceivedTargetPow
er

• EUtranCellTDD.preambleInitialReceivedTargetPow
er

(1) Random Access Channel

3.2 Affected Parameters

The implementation of this feature affects no parameters.

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 Network Impact

4 Network Impact

This section describes how the RA feature impacts the network functions and
capabilities.

4.1 Capacity
This section provides information on the impact of the feature on network
capacity.

The LTE Basic system is designed to use one PRACH occurrence in each
frame.

4.2 Coverage
This section provides information on the impact of the feature on network
coverage.

For the LTE Basic system, the cellRange ( EUtranCellFDD.cellRange

or EUtranCellTDD.cellRange ) parameter is fixed to 15 km.

Other cell ranges than 15 km can be set if the Maximum Cell Range feature is
activated.

4.3 Handover
This section provides information about the impact of the feature at handover.

The LTE RA feature affects inter-cell handover outage times. This is because
the UE needs to attempt an RA to the target cell during the handover process
to gain the timing advance information required for subsequent data
transmission to the target cell.

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5 Associated Features

This section describes how the RA feature affects other features and
functions.

5.1 Prerequisite Features

The RA feature is part of the LTE basic system functions. This feature has no
prerequisite features.

5.2 Affected Features

Table 3 lists features that are affected by the RA feature.

Table 3 Affected Features

Feature Description
Intra-LTE Handover The intra-LTE handover processes use the RA process to
determine the correct timing advance information for
communications between the UE and the target RBS.
Paging The LTE Paging feature uses the RA process to gain access to
the RBS.

5.3 Affected System Functions

The RA process is used by UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state that does not
have timing synchronization in the uplink with the RBS. UE without uplink
timing synchronization must perform the RA process to get timing advance
information for subsequent data bursts. Data transmissions to and from the
UE cannot proceed until uplink synchronization is achieved. This has an
impact on the throughput and latency experienced by the UE.

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 Performance

6 Performance

This section describes performance indicators, counters, and events

associated with the RA feature.

6.1 KPIs
Table 4 lists the main Key Performance Indicators (KPI) associated with the
RA feature.

Table 4 KPIs
KPI Description
Initial Bearer Establishment Indicates the performance of the establishment of LTE radio bearers.
Success Rate The bearer establishment process commences with the CBRA process.
HO Procedure Success Indicates the performance of the inter-cell handover.
Rate

For more information, see Key Performance Indicators and Performance

Management (DU Radio Node) or Manage Performance (Baseband Radio
Node).

For an approximate indication of the Random Access Success Rate, see

Section 6.1.1 on page 11.

6.1.1 Random Access Performance Indicator

These equations provide an approximate indication of the Random Access
Success Rate. The equations may not be accurate since they estimate the
amount of detected preambles and assume that a detected preamble is a
random access attempt.

CBRA success rate calculation uses CFRA counters. If CFRA is disabled, the
success rate is calculated as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 2 CBRA Performance Indicator (CFRA Enabled)

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Figure 3 CBRA Performance Indicator (CFRA Disabled)

Figure 4 CFRA Performance Indicator

6.2 Counters
Table 5 lists the important counters associated with the RA feature.

Note: The counters exist in the following MO classes:

• EUtranCellFDD

• EUtranCellTDD

Table 5 Counters
Counter Description
pmRaAttCbra The number of detected CBRA preambles in the cell.
pmRaSuccCbra The number of successfully detected RA Message 3 for CBRA.
pmRaAttCfra The number of detected CFRA preambles in the cell.
pmRaSuccCfra The number of successfully detected RA Message 3 for CFRA.
pmRaAllocCfra The number of allocated CFRA preambles in the cell.
pmRaUnassignedCfraFalse The number of detected CFRA preambles that are not allocated
to any UE.
pmRaUnassignedCfraSum The total number of unassigned CFRA preambles at each
PRACH activity.
pmRaFailCbraMsg2Disc The number of CBRA preambles for which no random access
response (RA Msg2) was sent due to expiry of the random
access response window.
pmRaFailCfraMsg2Disc The number of CFRA preambles for which no random access
response (RA Msg2) was sent due to expiry of the random
access response window.
pmRaFailCbraMsg1DiscOoc The number of CBRA preambles that are discarded because
timing offset of CBRA preamble corresponds to a distance
greater than configured cell range.
pmRaFailCfraMsg1DiscOoc The number of CFRA preambles that are discarded because
timing offset of CFRA preamble corresponds to a distance
greater than configured cell range.

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Counter Description
pmRaFailCbraMsg1DiscSched The number of CBRA preambles that are discarded because
maximum number of RA Msg3 are already scheduled.
pmRaFailCfraMsg1DiscSched The number of CFRA preambles that are discarded because
maximum number of RA Msg3 are already scheduled.
pmRaBackoffDistr The counter shows the distribution of the backoff parameter value
per cell
pmRaContResOnly Number of Msg4 messages sent to the UE with only Contention
Resolution Identity MAC control element.
pmRaContResAndRrcRsp Number of Msg4 messages sent to the UE with Contention
Resolution Identity and RRC Connection Response bundled.
pmRaRrcRspDistr Number of RRC Connection Response or Re-establishment
messages sent to the UE, distributed based on the delay
between the time Msg3 is received and the time they are sent to
the UE.

For more information about the counters, see in Managed Object Model
(MOM).

6.3 Events
This feature has no associated events.

6.4 False Detections of Preambles

Based on the 3GPP requirement for white noise, the false alarm probability is
expected to be less than for all 64 preambles.

Interference increases the false alarm probability, which can be calculated by

considering the ratio between pmRaAttCbra and the number of RA preamble
opportunities during the measurement period, see example in Figure 5, if the
measurement period is 15 minutes.

Figure 5 False Alarm Probability Example

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7 O&M Information

This section provides Operation and Maintenance (O&M) information for the
RA feature.

The RA process is part of the basic LTE system functions. The RA feature is
automatically activated when a cell is unlocked.

The CFRA is disabled by default for all cells but can be enabled in any cell by
setting the cfraEnable ( EUtranCellFDD.cfraEnable or
EUtranCellTDD.cfraEnable ) parameter to true.

The first root sequence number for RACH preamble generation in each cell is
specified by setting the rachRootSequence
( EUtranCellFDD.rachRootSequence or
EUtranCellTDD.rachRootSequence ) parameter.

To reduce the false alarm probability, the recommendation is to set the

rachRootSequence parameter so that it differs by at least 10 and at the
most 827 for any pair of neighboring cells as described in the Deployment
Guideline.

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