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4G Core Network
Key Nodes
Rahul Kaundal
www.itelcotech.com
4G Core Network (EPC) ( S t a n d a l o n e : N o n – R o a m i n g ) )
NAS Signaling User subscription data
Registration
Access Authentication
Authentication credentials
RRM Mobility management control Updates location register
Access
User/control
plane
Connection
setup
MME HSS
Record Billing
SGW PCRF Policy rules for data
rates ,QoS, quota
Packet routing & fwd.
Tx level Pkt marking (UL/DL)
Local mobility anchor (Inter eNB)
EUTRAN
PGW
QoS handling
Control Plane UE IP allocation
Mobility anchor Evolved Packet Core (EPC)
User Plane UL/DL charging
MME – Mobility Management Entity HSS – Home Subscriber Subsystem
PCRF – Policy & Charing Rule Function SGW – Serving Gateway
PGW – Packet Data Network Gateway
MME (Mobility Management Entity)
MME hosts the control plane and has following functionality -
NAS Signalling & Security
Mobility Management
Authentication &
Registration MME
Connects with other Inter
CN node
SGW selection
MME (Mobility Management Entity)
Mobility Management Entity - The MME hosts the control plane and has following functionality -
• NAS (Non-Access Stratum) signalling and security. Non-access stratum is a functional layer in the LTE protocol stacks between
the core network and user equipment. This layer is used to manage the establishment of communication sessions and for
maintaining continuous communications with the user equipment as it moves.
• Connects with other Inter CN node signalling for mobility among other 3GPP access networks such as GERAN and UTRAN. Co-
existence of multiple technologies are required in Network and inter core network signalling plays a major role in it.
• Idle mode UE Reachability (including control and execution of paging retransmission)
• Tracking Area list management (for UE in idle and active mode)
• Selection of PDN GW and Serving GW for UE at initial attach or during intra LTE Handover
• SGSN selection for handovers to 2G or 3G 3GPP access networks
• Authentication
• Bearer management including dedicated bearer establishment.
SGW (Serving Gateway)
The Serving GW terminates the user plane interface towards E-UTRAN
Transport level packet
marking in the uplink
Mobility Anchor point for
inter-eNodeB /inter 3GPP
Packet routing and
forwarding SGW
ECM-IDLE mode downlink Lawful Interception
packet buffering
For each UE associated with the EPS, at a given point of time, there is a single Serving GW
SGW (Serving Gateway)
The Serving Gateway terminates the user plane interface towards E-UTRAN & its functions include:
• Mobility Anchor point for inter-eNodeB
• Mobility Anchor point inter-3GPP (terminating S4 and relaying the traffic between 2G/3G system and PDN GW). Connectivity to a
GGSN is not supported
• ECM-IDLE mode downlink packet buffering and initiation of network triggered service request procedure
• Lawful Interception (LI) refers to the facilities in telecommunications and telephone networks that allow law enforcement
agencies with legal authorization to selectively wiretap individual subscribers
• Packet routing and forwarding
• Transport level packet marking in the uplink. e.g., setting the Diff Service Code Point (DSCP), based on the QCI (QOS Cell
Identifier), and optionally the ARP (Allocation Retention) priority level, of the associated EPS bearer
• Accounting for inter-operator charging - Serving GW generates accounting data per UE and bearer
• Sending of one or more "end marker" to the source eNodeB, source SGSN or source RNC immediately after the Serving GW
switches the path during inter-eNodeB and inter-RAT handover
PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway)
PDN GW provides connectivity to the UE to external packet data networks by being the point of exit and entry of
traffic for the UE
Per-user based packet filtering
UE IP address allocation
Transport level packet
marking – UL/DL PGW
Lawful Interception
DL rate enforcement
PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway)
The PDN GW provides connectivity to the UE to external packet data networks by being the point of exit and entry of
traffic for the UE. It hosts the following functions -
• Per-user based packet filtering (by e.g., deep packet inspection)
• Lawful Interception
• UE IP address allocation
• Transport level packet marking in the uplink and the downlink
• UL and DL service level charging, gating, and rate enforcement
• DL rate enforcement based on APN-AMBR (Access Point Name Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate)
• Anchor for mobility between 3GPP and non-3GPP technologies such as WiMAX
HSS (Home Subscriber Server)
HSS stores and updates the database containing all the user subscription information, including User identification &
User subscription
User identification and
addressing
User profile information
Roaming Authorization HSS
Radio path ciphering and
Service Provisioning Support integrity protection
HSS (Home Subscriber Server)
Sample of User identification & User subscription in HSS
HSS (Home Subscriber Server)
The HSS (Home Subscriber Server) is the concatenation of the HLR (Home Location Register) and the AuC
(Authentication Centre).
• The HLR part of the HSS oversees storing and updating, when necessary, the database containing all the user subscription
information, including (list is non exhaustive):
- User identification and addressing – this corresponds to the IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) and MSISDN (Mobile
Subscriber ISDN Number) or mobile telephone number.
- User profile information – this includes service subscription states and user-subscribed Quality of Service information (such as
maximum allowed bit rate or allowed traffic class).
• The AuC part of the HSS oversees generating security information from user identity keys. This security information is provided to
the HLR and further communicated to other entities in the network. Security information is mainly used for:
- Mutual network-terminal authentication.
- Radio path ciphering and integrity protection, to ensure data and signalling transmitted between the network and the terminal is
neither eavesdropped nor altered
PCRF (Policy Charging and Rule functions)
PCRF is responsible for making policy decisions and charging rules
PCRF can also be integrated with different platforms like billing, rating, charging, and subscriber database or can also
be deployed as a standalone entity
PCRF aggregates information to and from the network, OSS to make policy and charging rule for each user where
network might offer multiple services levels and quality of service
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