Protocols

• Although the GPRS n/w consists of several different

nodes, it represents only one IP hop
• GTP enables tunneling of PDUs between GSNs, by adding
routing information
• Below GTP, TCP/IP and IP are used as the GPRS
backbone protocols
• SNDCP carries network layer protocol data (IP/X.25) in a
transparent way
• It provides data and header compression also, to improve
channel efficiency
Session: 5 5.1
 Mobility management
• Two procedures:
– GPRS Attach/Detach (towards SGSN/HLR)
• Makes MS available for SMS over GPRS
• Paging via SGSN
• Notification of incoming packet
– PDP Context Activation/Deactivation
• Associate with a GGSN
• Obtain PDP address (e.g. IP)

Session: 5 5.2
 GPRS Attach/Detach
• Before an MS can use GPRS services it must register with
an SGSN
• Network checks if the user is authorized, copies user
profile from HLR and assigns a packet temporary mobile
subscriber identity (p-TMSI) - procedure called attach
• It is possible to perform combined GPRS/GSM attach
procedures
• Detach can be done either with the MS or the network
(SGSN/HLR)

Session: 5 5.3
 PDP context
• To exchange data with external PDNs after attach, MS
must apply for one or more addresses used in the PDN
• For each session, a PDP context is created which
describes characteristics of session
– PDP context contains PDP type (IPV4), PDP address (IP) of
MS, the requested quality of service (QoS) and address of
GGSN
• PDP context makes MS “visible” to PDN
– PDP context is stored in MS, SGSN and GGSN
– Logical tunnel between MS and GGSN
Session: 5 5.4
 Location management
• To keep track of users’ current location so that
incoming packets can be delivered
• MS frequently sends location updates to its current
SGSN
– Too frequent updates wastes battery power and
uplink capacity
– Too few updates implies MS will have to be paged,
causing additional delay
• State Model, in which frequency of updates
depends on one of three states of the MS
Session: 5 5.5
 GPRS MS states
• GPRS protocol stack (MS) can take on 3 different
states
– IDLE
– STANDBY
– ACTIVE/READY
• Data can only be transmitted in the ACTIVE state

Session: 5 5.6
 MS - state model

• In Idle State MS is not

reachable
• With GPRS Attach MS moves
into ready state
• With Detach, it returns to Idle
state: all PDP contexts are
deleted
• Standby state is reached when
MS does not send data for a
long period and ready timer
expires

Session: 5 5.7
 Location management
• In Idle state, no location updates are made
• An MS in Ready state informs its SGSN of every change of
cell
• In Standby state SGSN will only be informed when Routing
Area changes (RA consists of several cells, a Location
Area of several RAs)
• MS makes a “Routing Area Update request”
• To find current cell of an MS, paging must be done within
the routing area
• MS in Ready state does not need paging
Session: 5 5.8
 Routing to MS
• IDLE state
– No logical PDP context activated
– No network address (IP) registered for the terminal
– No routing of external data possible
– Only multicast messages to all GPRS handsets
available

Session: 5 5.9
 Routing to MS
• STANDBY state
– Only routing area is known
• RA is defined by operator
– When downlink data is available, packet paging
message is sent to routing area
– Upon reception, MS sends it's cell location to the
SGSN and enters the ACTIVE state

Session: 5 5.10
 Routing to MS
• ACTIVE state
– SGSN knows the cell of the MS
– PDP contexts can be activated/deactivated
– Can remain in this state even if data is not transmitted
(controlled by timer)

Session: 5 5.11
 PDP Contexts
Maintains a session or logical tunnel between MS and GGSN

• PDP Context activities

– Activation
– Modification
– Deactivation
• PDP address allocation can be
– static - assigned by operator of users’ home PLMN
– dynamic- assigned on activation of PDP context
Session: 5 5.12
 PDP Context procedures
• MS initiated
MS BSS SGSN GGSN
Activate PDP Context Request
Create PDP Context
Request

Create PDP Context

Response

Activate PDP Context Accept

Session: 5 5.13
 PDP Context procedures
• GGSN initiated
MS BSS SGSN GGSN
Packets from external

PDU notification req.

PDU notification resp.

Request PDP Context activation

Create PDP Context

Activate PDP Context Request Request
Create PDP Context
Activate PDP Context Accept Response

Session: 5 5.14
 GPRS routing

Session: 5 5.15
 GPRS routing
• MS from PLMN-2 is visiting PLMN-1
• IP address prefix of MS is the same as GGSN-2
• Incoming packets to MS are routed to GGSN-2
• GGSN-2 queries HLR and finds that MS is currently
in PLMN-1
• It encapsulates the IP packets and tunnels them
through the GPRS backbone to the appropriate
SGSN of PLMN-1
• SGSN decapsulates and delivers to the MS
Session: 5 5.16
 GPRS QoS
• Each GPRS subscription is associated with one QoS
profile (HLR); consists of 4 parameters:
– precedence: operator defined priority; 3 classes
– delay: includes radio access delay (uplink) or radio
scheduling delay (downlink), radio transit delay, GPRS-
network transit delay; upto 4 classes supported
– reliability: error/loss rates/probabilities; upto 4 classes
supported
– throughput: specified by maximum bit rate and mean bit rate

Session: 5 5.17
 GPRS QoS
• SGSN will negotiate QoS for the flow
– Based on subscribed default in HLR, requested
profile from MN and current availability of GPRS
resources
– SGSN does admission control to each PDP context
activation
– SGSN can re-negotiate QoS with MN even during
run time

Session: 5 5.18
 GPRS QoS classes
• Four traffic classes
– conversational,streaming, interactive, background - they
differ in delay sensitivity
• (1) conversational, streaming: for carrying real-time flows
– for telephony and video
– forward error correction
• (2) interactive, background: for traditional internet traffic
– interactive class has higher response
– better error recovery using retransmissions

Session: 5 5.19
 QoS - Conversational class
• Requirements set by human perception
• Assumed to be relatively non-bursty
• Real time, low delay - Voice
• Characterized by
– maximum bit rate
– guaranteed bit rate
– guaranteed transfer delay
• rest optional, but usually specified
• lower classes specify fewer parameters
Session: 5 5.20
 GPRS: Payload handling
• Packets are divided into different QoS delay
classes according to assigned priority
• Within a time period, all packets from a QoS delay
class with high priority are delivered before packets
from a class with lower priority
• Traffic from the same delay class can be queued in
a FIFO fashion
• SGSNs discard PDUs in order to preserve
committed QoS levels (QoS class1 PDUs take
precedence over class 2 PDUs etc.)
Session: 5 5.21
 GPRS capacity
• Difficult to estimate actual bandwidth available to the GPRS
user - will vary a lot
– depending on time of day
– total number of active users
– current geographical location and others...
• Technical Limitations to capacity
– Allocation of time slots - between GSM and GPRS and
which multislot classes available
– Restrictions in terminals
– Availability of coding schemes

Session: 5 5.22
 Channel coding schemes

Channel Coding Data bits in radio Data rate per time slot Max data rate
scheme block in kb/s on radio layer per 8 slots kb/s
CS-1 181 9.05 72.4
CS-2 268 13.4 107.2
CS-3 312 15.6 124.8
CS-4 428 21.4 171.2

The later coding schemes reduce the amount of forward

error correction, so they need a strong signal. In practice,
carriers may never commit to these coding schemes.

Session: 5 5.23
 GPRS capacity
• Maximum data transmission rate (radio) is 4
timeslots at 13.4 kbps (53.6 kbps)
• data rates will be further restricted due to
– number of active GPRS users
– amount of retransmissions
– quality of service
– level of compression
• indicative value for average transmission rate seem to
be around 30kbps at radio level. (GSM World)

Session: 5 5.24
 GPRS security
• User must have a SIM card
• Network can request a password from the user
using either CHAP or PAP protocols
• For privacy GPRS encrypts the airlink
• Between GGSN and the external networks carriers
can optionally use IPSec
• Also since GPRS runs on IP, end-to-end security
can be obtained using VPNs
Session: 5 5.25
 GPRS charging
• Can be based on
– data volume
– duration of call
– type of service
– destination point

• Charging data output from SGSN and GGSN is encoded

in ASN.1/BER and transferred via ftp to a Charging
Gateway Function (CGF) node (Billing Gateway)

Session: 5 5.26
 GSM v/s GPRS
Auth.
Auth. Email via GPRS
Email via GSM Server Email
Server Email
Server
Server User
User Modem Modem
GPRS Internet
GSM PSTN Internet

Virtual Authenticated
GPRS Data path to Email
Tunnel server
INITIAL CALL PROCESS TIME (s) INITIAL CALL PROCESS TIME (s)

• GSM Call 4 • GPRS Call 4

• TrainModem 30 • Login and Authenticate 11
• Login and Authenticate 11 • Download mail 180
• Download mail 180

Total 3 min 45s Total 3 min 15s

SUBSEQUENT CALL SUBSEQUENT CALL

• Repeat Above 3 min 45s • Not applicable –

Permanent Virtual Circuit 0min 0s
Session: 5 5.27
 GPRS summary
• Enables many users to share radio resources by
dynamic, on-demand, multi-slot allocation
• Provides connectivity to external packet data
networks
• Modification to the GSM air-interface
• Addition of new GPRS Support Nodes
• Assignment of PDP context to MS
• Enables volume-based charging as well as duration
based charging
Session: 5 5.28