UMTS RNC Product Description v1 07 July 2010

Product Description

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Document Number: UMT/RAN/INF/012025 Document Issue: 01.07/ EN Document Status: Standard Date of Issue: 29/July/2010 _________________________________________________________________________________________

Radio Network Controller

(9370 RNC)

9370 RADIO NETWORK CONTROLLER (RNC) PRODUCT DESCRIPTION JULY 2010

Document Number: UMT/RAN/INF/012025 | Document Issue: 01.07 / EN | Document Status: Standard

Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary

See Notice on Page 2 2 / 84

Copyright 2010 Alcatel-Lucent. All Rights Reserved.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service

providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video

communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband

networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end

solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on

the move. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com

Notice

The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. At the time

of publication, it reflects the latest information on Alcatel-Lucents offer, however, our policy

of continuing development may result in improvement or change to the specifications

described.

Trademarks

Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Alcatel-Lucent assumes no

responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.





CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................7

1.1 OVERVIEW..................................................................................................... 7

1.2 SCOPE OF THIS DOCUMENT ..................................................................................... 8

2 ALCATEL-LUCENT RNC BENEFITS...........................................................................9

2.1 MARKET LEADER MULTI-SERVICE PLATFORM..................................................................... 9

2.2 HIGHEST DENSITY.............................................................................................. 9

2.3 ONE ARCHITECTURE FOR ALL TRAFFIC PROFILES ................................................................10

2.4 HIGH SCALABILITY ............................................................................................10

2.5 MULTI-SERVICE TRANSMISSION AND IP UTRAN ................................................................11

2.6 PROVEN CARRIER GRADE ......................................................................................11

2.7 EFFICIENT RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT .....................................................................12

3 ARCHITECTURE .............................................................................................. 15

3.1 SYSTEM DESCRIPTION .........................................................................................15

3.2 UMTS RNC ARCHITECTURE...................................................................................16

3.2.1 RNC System Architecture ........................................................................16

3.2.2 Modules.............................................................................................17

3.2.3 RNC Software Architecture......................................................................24

3.3 TRANSPORT NODES: 7670 RSP AND 7750 SR .................................................................25

3.3.1 7670 Routing Switch Platform (RSP) ...........................................................25

3.3.2 7750 Service Router (SR).........................................................................26

3.4 RNC CAPACITY...............................................................................................27

3.4.1 RNC Capacity Metrics.............................................................................27

3.4.2 9370 RNC UA7.1.2 Capacity and Scalability ...................................................27

3.4.3 RNC Capacity Border Limits .....................................................................27

4 INTERFACES .................................................................................................. 29

4.1 UTRAN TRANSPORT ATM TO IP EVOLUTION.................................................................29

4.2 IP TRANSPORT ON IUB ........................................................................................30

4.3 RNC TO CORE NETWORK (IU).................................................................................32

4.3.1 Definition ..........................................................................................32

4.3.2 Implementation ...................................................................................33

4.4 IU-PC INTERFACE.............................................................................................34

4.4.1 Definition ..........................................................................................34

4.4.2 Implementation ...................................................................................34

4.5 RNC TO NODE B (IUB) .......................................................................................37

4.5.1 Definition ..........................................................................................37

4.5.2 Implementation ...................................................................................38

4.6 RNC TO RNC (IUR)..........................................................................................38

4.6.1 Definition ..........................................................................................38

4.6.2 Implementation ...................................................................................40

4.7 IU-BC INTERFACE.............................................................................................40

4.7.1 Definition ..........................................................................................40

4.8 OMC CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS TO THE RNC....................................................................41

4.9 NATIVE INTERFACES SPECIFICATIONS ...........................................................................42

4.9.1 OC-3/STM1 .........................................................................................42

4.9.2 Gigabit Ethernet Interface ......................................................................42

Synchronization ...............................................................................................43

4.10 INTERFACE COMPLIANCE ...................................................................................44





5 RNC FUNCTIONALITY ....................................................................................... 45

5.1 RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (RRM) .......................................................................45

5.1.1 Admission Control ................................................................................46

5.1.2 Congestion Control ...............................................................................47

5.1.3 Packet Switched Call Management .............................................................47

5.2 MOBILITY.....................................................................................................48

5.3 HSPA .......................................................................................................50

5.3.1 HSPA Background..................................................................................50

5.3.2 Alcatel-Lucent HSPA Implementation..........................................................50

5.3.3 Dynamic Power Control ..........................................................................51

5.3.4 Multi-carrier HSDPA Traffic Segmentation....................................................51

5.3.5 HSDPA Mobility ....................................................................................51

5.3.6 Always-On on HSDPA..............................................................................52

5.3.7 Iub Bandwidth Limitation Handling ............................................................52

5.3.8 HSPA+ ...............................................................................................52

5.4 MBMS .......................................................................................................53

5.5 OTHER ALCATEL-LUCENT RNC FUNCTIONS ....................................................................54

5.5.1 Security Features .................................................................................54

5.5.2 Security between RNC and OMC ................................................................55

6 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE .......................................................................... 58

6.1 HARDWARE ...................................................................................................58

6.1.1 Memory.............................................................................................58

6.1.2 CP4 ..................................................................................................58

6.2 HARDWARE HANDLING ........................................................................................59

6.3 SOFTWARE HANDLING .........................................................................................59

6.3.1 Software Management ...........................................................................59

6.3.2 Fault Management ................................................................................61

6.3.3 Configuration Management......................................................................62

6.3.4 Performance Management.......................................................................62

7 PROVISIONING AND ENGINEERING ........................................................................ 64

7.1 MARKET CONFIGURATIONS.....................................................................................64

7.1.1 Scalability..........................................................................................64

7.1.2 Configuration Upgrades..........................................................................64

7.2 CONNECTIVITY................................................................................................64

7.3 INSTALLATION AND COMMISSIONING ............................................................................64

7.3.1 Start-up Tool ......................................................................................64

7.3.2 Software Upgrading ..............................................................................64

8 FUTURE EVOLUTION ........................................................................................ 66

8.1 CAPACITY ROADMAP ..........................................................................................66

8.2 9370 RNC WITH MCPS ......................................................................................66

8.3 COMBO GSM BSC/W-CDMA RNC ...........................................................................67

8.4 RNC USER PLANE SERVER................................................................................68 8.5 RELIABILITY ..................................................................................................69

8.5.1 Principles...........................................................................................69

8.5.2 Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) ...........................................................70

8.5.3 Maintainability ....................................................................................70

8.5.4 Overload Control..................................................................................71

8.6 REGULATORY COMPLIANCES ............................................................................72

8.6.1 Environmental Constraints ......................................................................72

8.6.2 Electromagnetic Compatibility .................................................................73

8.6.3 Safety Requirements .............................................................................73

8.6.4 RNC RoHS Compliance ............................................................................73

8.7 POWER SUPPLY ...............................................................................................74

8.8 VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING ..........................................................................74





8.9 PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS ........................................................................................75

8.9.1 RNC Cabinet .......................................................................................75

8.10 OFFICE LAYOUT & FOOTPRINT .............................................................................76

8.11 RNC ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS ...................................................................76

9 APPENDICES .................................................................................................. 78

9.1 APPENDIX A: REFERENCES.....................................................................................78

9.2 APPENDIX B: REGULATORY STANDARDS ........................................................................79

9.3 APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY OF TERMS.............................................................................81

9.3.1 Acronyms...........................................................................................81

9.3.2 Glossary ............................................................................................84





LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 UTRAN High-Level Architecture ....................................................................................................... 8 Figure 2 - Packet Server Physical view ........................................................................................................... 10 Figure 3 9370 RNC Availability ......................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 4 Alcatel-Lucent 9370 UMTS RNC Cabinet View ............................................................................. 15 Figure 5 9370 RNC Architecture .................................................................................................................... 17 Figure 5 Dual Core Packet Server FP Module .............................................................................................. 19 Figure 6 - 16p OC3/STM1 Card ......................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 7 - 4pt Gigabit Ethernet Module .......................................................................................................... 21 Figure 8 - Fabric Module.................................................................................................................................... 22 Figure 9 Processor Role Assignment in the 9370 RNC (10 DCPS Hybrid ATM/IP Configuration).......... 25 Figure 10 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC ATM Transport ............................................................................................. 29 Figure 11 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC Seamless Evolution to IP Transport.......................................................... 30 Figure 12 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC Native IP IuB ................................................................................................ 30 Figure 13 - Iu-CS Protocol Stacks ATM and IP.............................................................................................. 32 Figure 14 - Iu-PS Protocol Stacks ATM and IP .............................................................................................. 33 Figure 15 - Iu-PC Protocol Stack ...................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 16 - Iub Protocol Stack ATM ............................................................................................................... 37 Figure 17 IuB protocol stack IP ................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 18 IuR Protocol Stack ATM ............................................................................................................... 39 Figure 19 - IuR Protocol Stack IP ................................................................................................................... 39 Figure 20 Iu-BC Interface Protocol Structure Towards Broadcast Domain ............................................. 40 Figure 21 Cell Broadcast Centre Basic Network Structure ........................................................................ 41 Figure 22 - OMC Connectivity (In-Band and Out-of-Band) ........................................................................... 41 Figure 23 Admission Control .......................................................................................................................... 46 Figure 24 - Radius and IPsec security to OMC and RNC ................................................................................ 56 Figure 25 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC Capacity Roadmap ...................................................................................... 66 Figure 26 RNC User Plane Server ..................................................................................................................... 68 Figure 27 - Cooling Unit..................................................................................................................................... 74 Figure 28 - RNC Rear View ................................................................................................................................ 75

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 9370 RNC Scalability with UA06 Software and CP4...................................................................... 27 Table 2 9370 RNC Scalability with UA07 Software and CP4........................ Error! Bookmark not defined. Table 3 - RNC Module MTBF .............................................................................................................................. 70 Table 4 - Environmental Conditions ................................................................................................................ 73 Table 5 - RNC Cabinet Dimensions................................................................................................................... 75 Table 6 - RNC Environmental Characteristics ................................................................................................ 76





1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

The Radio Network Controller (RNC) is a pivotal element in the success of any UMTS

Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) deployment. As such, it is imperative that deployed

RNCs have the ability to scale efficiently and to cater for flexible deployment scenarios. It is

also essential that the RNC possess the capability to improve performance over time, given

the likely exponential growth of wireless data. This performance improvement must be

achieved by applying upgrades that do not interrupt service.

This document provides a description of the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS 9370 Radio Network

Controller (9370 RNC) and its hardware evolution. Its main evolution option doubles RNC's

capacity whilst still only using half of a single cabinet, thus producing the highest density and

capacity RNC on the market.

The 9370 RNC is compliant to the European Union Environmental Directive on the Restriction

of Hazardous Substances (RoHS -2002/95/EC/Article 4). RoHS compliancy is only compulsory

for newly deployed systems (it is not applicable to systems that are already installed).

Alcatel-Lucent's UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) equipment comprises the

Alcatel-Lucent UMTS Node B Family, the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS 9370 RNC and also uses key

elements from Alcatel-Lucents market-leading portfolio of IP products including the 7670,

7750 SR and 7705 SAR IP and ATM multi-service network equipment. Figure 1 illustrates the

position of the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC and the standardized interfaces in the UMTS

network. The RNC acts as the gateway into the Radio Access Network (RAN) with direct

connection to the Alcatel-Lucent 9353 WMS (Wireless Management System) to ensure continuity of service hence maximizing revenue generation.

For further information about any Alcatel-Lucent products please refer to your local Alcatel-

Lucent representative.





Iu-cs Iu-ps

UTRAN OMC

Itf-B

Itf-R

RNC

Iur

RNCIub

Node B

Iu-psIu-cs

Uu

UE

Iub

Node B

Iub

Node B

Iub

Node B

Uu

UEUE

UuUE

Uu

CORE NETWORKPacket/Circuit Switched

Figure 1 UTRAN High-Level Architecture

1.2 Scope of This Document

This document gives customers an overview of the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS 9370 RNC product and

its HW evolutions.

Although this document provides information on Alcatel-Lucent RNC functions, it cannot be

considered as a detailed feature list or a Plan of Record (PoR). This information is provided in

dedicated documents on a per software release basis (e.g. UA05 Feature Planning Guide).

A lot of the terms used in this document refer to definitions of the 3GPP standards. Any time

an Alcatel-Lucent specific term is used, it is explicitly elaborated.

This document is updated regularly under change control. The basis for this document is the

UA07 software release.





2 ALCATEL-LUCENT RNC BENEFITS

The Alcatel-Lucent 9370 RNC product cements Alcatel-Lucents leadership in the RNC product

market for UMTS. The 9370 RNC is the highest density, smallest footprint and simplest to

operate RNC product in the market place. It is also compliant to the European Union

Environmental Directive on the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS -

2002/95/EC/Article 4).

2.1 Market Leader Multi-Service Platform

As the number of UMTS subscribers grow and services become more complex, it is important

for operators to protect their initial investment. The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC delivers

investment protection by using the flag-ship multi-service data platform MSS. The MSS

platform leverages best-in-class industry technology to evolve the following three dimensions:

external interface cards; internal switching fabric; and processing speeds. Providing a proven

packet multi-service platform as part of the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC proves that all of the

related transmission features will be in place and operational from day one. These features

are already operating and running worldwide on the MSS platform. MSS can scale from 40

Gbit/s to 56 Gbps non-blocking internal switching fabric. In addition to over 1000 mature ATM

and IP features on MSS, the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC supports an open architecture

integrating leading edge processors to deliver high-speed high-touch bearer services. This is

indeed the case with the Dual Core Packet Server(DSCP), which uses cutting edge computing

8641D dual core processors to provide unsurpassed processing power.

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC increases operators profit margins by increasing revenue along

with decreasing both Operational Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenses (CAPEX).

2.2 Highest Density

With up to 2.9 Gbps(1 shelf) or 5.8 Gbps (2 shelves) on IuB interface at application layer for a

HSPA+ traffic profile (see [1] for call profile details) and an evolution path for smooth

capacity upgrade, Alcatel-Lucent supports the highest capacity available using half of a single

cabinet. This capacity leadership translates into the following key value-adds:

A reduced number of RNCs, which will lower the overall initial CAPEX and lower OPEX

A reduced number of inter-RNC handovers that will translate into optimal usage of

network resources across the access network and the core network, to support more

subscribers and subsequently increase revenue

A reduced footprint because fewer RNCs are required. This will lower CAPEX

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC is based on off-the-shelf processing technology.





2.3 One Architecture for all Traffic Profiles

In the Control Plane as well as in the User Plane, only one kind of processor module (Dual Core

Packet Server FP) deals with either voice traffic, and/or data traffic. The Dual Core Packet

Server FP performs RLC, MAC, AAL2 conversion, Iu, Iur and Iub User Plane protocols, plus all

the Control Plane functions. Figure 2X provides a view of the PS.

This results in a large capacity gain when compared to a solution where each board is

dedicated to a particular task: the available CPU power will be dynamically allocated to the

specific tasks (either AAL2 or RLC/MAC or Macro Diversity, Radio Resource Management,

etc), and not statically to the tasks that network engineers have foreseen at network

deployment time. It also allows the RNC to seamlessly handle changes in traffic profiles as

compared to ASICs dedicated to particular tasks. The general purpose PS enables Alcatel-

Lucent to introduce HSPA, HSPA and MBMS support on the same platform through a software

upgrade. In addition, Alcatel-Lucent is introduced a next generation Dual Core Packet Server

(DCPS) that can significantly increase 9370 RNC processing capacity.

Furthermore, such a flexible architecture reduces OPEX, since there are a small number of

module types to keep for maintenance purposes.

Figure 2 - Packet Server Physical view

2.4 High Scalability

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC allows scalable growth from a minimum configuration at

network launch to full capacity configuration through software upgrades and interface board

additions.

Increasing the RNCs capacity is extremely easy and flexible for an operator.

A multitude of interfaces are provided, allowing connectivity at E1/T1, STM-1 Channelized

electrical and/or optical interfaces in the 7670 RSP and 7750 SR Transport Nodes, providing

scalability, investment protection and a future evolution path. Additional modules can be

added to the Transport Nodes without affecting service.

Increased traffic processing (Erlangs, Subscribers, Mbps throughput) only requires the addition

of Packet Servers (PS).





In the UA08 release, Alcatel-Lucent introduces the MCPS which will double 9370 RNC capacity,

providing up to 48K Erlangs in a fully populated cabinet comprising two single shelf RNCs.

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC provides a smooth upgrade path which allows operators to

optimize their investment: the high scalability of the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC maps to the

subscriber growth in the network.

2.5 Multi-Service Transmission and IP UTRAN

Alcatel-Lucent supports a variety of transmission interfaces and can therefore be included in

many types of transmission networks, thanks to the high flexibility of connectivity boards in

the 7670 and 7750 Alcatel-Lucent portfolios.

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC is future proof by being IP ready from DAY ONE. Within the

RNC, UMTS application layers (including radio) are independent of the lower layers (transport

layers). An IP deployment is then an operators decision driven by business requirements and

not based on vendor technology availability.

With the Alcatel-Lucent solution, migration to all IP UTRAN can be achieved through software

upgrade and the insertion of redundant Gigabit Ethernet interface cards. The 7670 RSP, 7750

SR and the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC (based on the MSS15K platform) are multi-service

platforms that already support IP.

Alcatel-Lucent supports an ALL IP UTRAN (Iu, IuR and IuB) in UA07.1.

2.6 Proven Carrier Grade

Alcatel-Lucent has a history of delivering highly available, carrier grade and fault redundant

products. The 9370 RNC is the most reliable RNC on the market. Field measurements indicate

that the 9370 RNC has been operating at > 99.999% availability with every software release

since UA4.2. Actual 9370 Availability has consistently beat Alcatel-Lucent predictions as

shown in Figure 3.

Min

ute

s o

f do

wn

time

/sys

/ye

ar

0102030405060708090

100

UA4.0 UA4.1 UA4.2 UA5.X UA6.0 UA7.0

RNC DPM(min/Year)MeasuredRNC DPM(min/Year)Prediction

Measured >99.999% in UA4.2

Min

ute

s o

f do

wn

time

/sys

/ye

ar

0102030405060708090

100

UA4.0 UA4.1 UA4.2 UA5.X UA6.0 UA7.0

RNC DPM(min/Year)MeasuredRNC DPM(min/Year)Prediction

Measured >99.999% in UA4.2

Figure 3 9370 RNC Availability

This performance is demonstrated on a large installed base running high traffic levels:





Over 1400 RNCs shipped

100% of installed RNCs are running HSPA

Average of 170 GBytes of HSPA data per day

The 9370 RNCs best in class reliability is achieved thanks to Alcatel-Lucents rigorous carrier

grade development program which makes availability a focus at all stages of development

from requirements definition through to system level test.

The carrier grade features of the 9375 RNC include:

Minimize frequency and impact of unscheduled outages:

RNC availability is >99.999% available or 5.25 mins downtime per RNC/year

Minimize outages associated with scheduled maintenance procedures:

Provide a hitless (zero outage) patching capability to apply minor bug fixes

RNC major SW Upgrades involve an outage of < 9 mins

RNC intra release SW Upgrades involve an outage of < 7 mins

All critical processors in the RNC are 1+1 spared

If the active processor is taken out of service for any reason (e.g. fault or

maintenance action) there will be no disruption in RNC service

All traffic carrying processors in the RNC are N+P spared using load-balancing (all

traffic carrying processors are active and when one fails the traffic is re-distributed

across the remaining processors)

- The Alcatel-Lucent RNC does not support 1+1 sparing of the traffic carrying

processors as this would significantly increase system cost and lower the capacity of

the RNC

- Reducing outages (scheduled and unscheduled events) release over release

eliminates the need for a 1+1 sparing model for traffic

2.7 Efficient Radio Resource Management

The Alcatel-Lucent Radio Resource Management (RRM) is an essential piece of the UMTS RNC

software that controls the allocation and maintenance of the radio resources during a

communication. Efficient radio resource allocation and management is required to guarantee

QoS (Quality of Service) at maximum capacity.





The main functions related to Alcatel-Lucent's RRM solution are:

Admission Control

The purpose of Admission Control is to admit or deny new users. Alcatel-Lucent's admission

control mechanism consists of two steps and is described in [2]:

RAB Matching Performs the mapping of the requested RAB onto one of the supported Radio Bearer (RB) configurations. This step includes a RAB to RB mapping table which

provides a mechanism to admit a RAB at a rate lower than the requested Maximum Bit

Rate (MBR) according to the cell load and user priority. This function, called intelligent RAB Mapping (iRM), only applies to RABs with an Interactive or Background Traffic Class (TC).

Call Admission Control (CAC) Located in the CRNC, it is the function responsible for deciding whether a request to establish a RAB can be admitted in the UTRAN or not

based on the available resources. Radio CAC is based on power and OVSF codes in the

downlink (DL)and on interference in the uplink (UL) (note that other CAC decisions are

performed at transport and node level i.e. Node B and RNC). CAC is applied:

At initial admission

On RB reconfiguration: RB bit rate downgrading/upgrading, CELL_FACH to

CELL_DCH transition, etc

On mobility: SHO, Inter-frequency HHO & 2G to 3G HHO

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC supports AAL2 CAC i.e. admission control and reservation at

the AAL2 channel level as part of establishing new connections.

Congestion Control

The task of congestion control is to monitor, detect and handle situations when the system is

reaching an overload situation with users that are already connected.

Alcatel-Lucent's congestion control provides two ways to fight against overload:

Preventive actions to avoid overload, using iRM

If overload happens, congestion handling mechanisms bring the system back to normal

load, this is achieved by the iRM pre-emption feature, described in [3]

Note: Congestion Control is not the same as Overload Control (please refer to section 8.5.4).

Power Control

This group of functions controls the level of transmitted power in order to minimize

interference and maintain the quality of the connections. Alcatel-Lucent supports:

DL and UL Outer Loop Power Control

DL and UL Inner Loop Power Control and DL power balancing

UL Open Loop Power Control

Alcatel-Lucent Power control features are described in [5].





Radio Measurements

This function performs measurements on radio channels (located in UE and UTRAN). The

UTRAN processes these measurements and uses them for RRM.

In addition to these functions, Alcatel-Lucent's RRM solution also provides a set of

sophisticated features allowing an operator to make the best use of his radio resources such

as:

Switching from CELL_DCH to CELL_FACH and further to CELL_PCH/URA_PCH (and vice

versa) based on user activity (Always-On feature), described in [4]

RB bit rate downgrading and upgrading based on radio conditions (iRM Scheduling

feature), described in [2]

Adapt the RB to the application data rate (RB Rate Adaptation Feature), described in

[4]

UA05 is a major content release. A detailed description of the new features introduced in that

release can be found in the UMTS 5.0 Access Network Feature Planning Guide.

HSPA Supported

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC and the entire Node B portfolio support HSPA (both DL and UL)

from day one i.e. it is possible to support HSPA technology in Alcatel-Lucents UTRAN solution

with a software upgrade only (assuming the presence of an iCEM on the Node B). Alcatel-

Lucent introduced HSDPA in the UA04.2 software release and HSUPA/E-DCH in UA05. For a

detailed description of Alcatel-Lucents HSPA solution please refer to [6] and [18].

HSPA+ Supported

The Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN supports HSPA+ services starting in UA07 to allow support of

category 12 and 14 terminals. HSPA+ services are supported in the RNC with a software

upgrade only





3 ARCHITECTURE

3.1 System Description

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC is based

on a single shelf and single platform

occupying the lower part of the

cabinet: The RNC platform leverages

best-in-class industry technology,

allowing the UMTS RNC an easy

evolution with the upgrade of the

Packet Server module. The upper

shelf can be populated with a second

UMTS RNC, further increasing

performance per footprint. Above and

beyond taking advantage of over 1000

mature ATM and IP features on MSS,

the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC

transparently incorporates leading

edge processor modules to deliver

high-speed, high-touch bearer

services as well as support of control

plane functionalities and Radio

Resource Management.

Figure 4 Alcatel-Lucent 9370 UMTS RNC Cabinet View

The Alcatel-Lucent 9370 RNC provides many connectivity options:

OC3 or STM1 clear channel

E1 or T1 connectivity *

STM1 or OC3 Channelized electrical or optical *

Gigabit Ethernet

Fast Ethernet *

OC12 *

PoS interface *

Note (*): Using optional 7750 SR, 7670 RSP or 7670 ESE Transport Nodes

Expansion Space

for 2nd UMTS RNC





3.2 UMTS RNC Architecture

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC is responsible for UMTS call and signalling processing along with the

integrated access network OA&M. It also provides layer 2 radio protocol processing as well as

all external interfaces.

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC is based on the Multi-service Switch 15000 system which supports IP,

ATM and voice services. The mapping of the RNC functions, to the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC

are:

The RNC is contained within a single shelf, which includes the Control Plane, User

Plane, Interfaces and OAM systems

All of the external physical interfaces of the RNC are implemented on the same shelf

(IuCS, IuPS, IuPC, IuBC, IuR, and IuB)

The packet distribution function is implemented via HW segmentation/reassembly

functions on each card that enable packets to be effectively transported transparently

across the Multiservice switching fabric

Both User Plane functions and Control Plane functions are implemented by the Dual

Core Packet Server (DCPS) modules

The Iub physical interface terminates in the RNCs 16pOC-3/STM-1 module for ATM and

4ptGigE module for IP. The RNC can support the Iub with direct ATM SPVC and PVC in Clear

Channel OC-3/STM-1 &/or IP Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.

All common equipment is fully duplicated and protected, with continuous in-service and out-

of-service fault detection.

3.2.1 RNC System Architecture

The entire Alcatel-Lucent RNC architecture is based on the Packet Server. The PS makes use

of off-the-shelf commercial standard compliant processors i.e. PCI mezzanine cards (PMCs).

Figure 4X describes the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC system architecture.





Figure 5 9370 RNC Architecture

3.2.2 Modules

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC is based on a Multi-Service platform, composed of redundant 56.3

Gbps switch fabrics interconnecting 14 functional processors (FPs) and a redundant pair of

control processors (CPs). Each FP and CP is connected to each of the switch fabrics via 3.52

Gbps link. The following sections describe all the RNC HW Modules for the 9370 RNC.

3.2.2.1 Control Processor (CP4)

The Control Processor manages all MSS resources, interfaces with the MDM/MDP management

system and contains a local disk for loads and logs.

It is responsible for the following functions:

Control of base RNC functions such as loading, fault detection and sparing

Disk management (20 Gbytes disks minimum)

Ethernet access to MDM/MDP via TCP/IP for Out of band OAM connectivity

IP routing function for IuPS and OMC-B/Node Bs links

The CP4 is introduced in UA6.0 and replaces the CP3. CP4 provides the following benefits:

Highest capacity RNC in the market (with DCPS)

Improved reliability compared to CP3

Higher-reliability 5400 RPM 20G IDE disk drive

ECC detection and correction on CP4 main memory

IP &/or ATMIub, Iur, Iu

CP4CP4 CP4CP4

FabricFabric FabricFabric

Network Management

PCPC PCPC PCPC

MasterMaster MasterMaster

OMUOMU OMUOMU

NINI NINI

. . .

RABRAB RABRAB RABRAB. . .

TMUTMU TMUTMU TMUTMU. . .

Upto 12

Upto 40Upto 14

DCPS Functions (Logical view)

2 per RNC2 per RNC2 per RNC

IP

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

DCPS

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1

IP &/or ATMIub, Iur, Iu

CP4CP4 CP4CP4

FabricFabric FabricFabric

Network Management

PCPC PCPC PCPC

MasterMaster MasterMaster

OMUOMU OMUOMU

NINI NINI

. . .

RABRAB RABRAB RABRAB. . .

TMUTMU TMUTMU TMUTMU. . .

Upto 12

Upto 40Upto 14

DCPS Functions (Logical view)

2 per RNC2 per RNC2 per RNC

IP

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

4ptGigE

DCPS

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1

16ptSTM1





Enable memory parity checking on EMEM

Improved performance

5400 RPM 20G IDE disk (vs. 4200 in CP3), 8 M cache

Faster seeks (10 ms vs. 12 ms) and latency (4 ms vs. 7 ms with CP3)

Improved memory technology - DDR memory supporting DMA bursts at 266 MHz

Up to 2G memory (256 M with CP3)





3.2.2.2 Dual Core Packet Server (DCPS)

The Dual Core Packet Server FP is responsible for all main RNC functions, namely:

Supporting Radio Resource Management

Performance, Configuration and Fault Management

Call processing, Cell and Node B Management

Call Trace Management

Overload controls and load balancing of Control Plane resources

Terminating Radio network interface protocols i.e. RANAP, RNSAP, NBAP

High-touch Bearer processing (for example RLC/MAC Ciphering and Integrity)

Radio protocol handling (MAC, RLC and PDCP)

Interface bearer protocols

Macro-Diversity Handover (frame selection, buffering, synchronization,

combining/splitting)

The DCPS uses three Dual-Core 1.3 GHz 8641D PowerPC processors with a total of six PowerPC

CPU cores with 512 MB per core. The DCPS supports a faster serial rapid IO bus and IP Packet

handling (PQC12). Furthermore, the DCPS is DMA capable and its robustness is improved with

Serial Rapid IO.

The Dual Core Packet Server is provisioned in load sharing redundancy scheme. The load is

shared between the processor cores with an engineering margin i.e. if one PS fails then the

other PSs take over processing.

Figure 6 Dual Core Packet Server FP Module





3.2.2.3 OC3 / STM1 FP

The 16 Port OC-3/STM-1 FP (PQC and MS3 variants available) is a standard MSS 15000 FP which

implements all of the Alcatel-Lucent RNC physical interfaces. The connections created on it

are standard ATM PVCs or SPVC with AAL2 and AAL5 (IP) traffic including OAM flow.

The OC3/STM1 FP has 16 ports and is available in single and multi-mode (multi-mode available

optionally with the MS3 variant). This FP contains 16 OC-3/STM-1 duplex fibre optic

transceivers and supports either one user-network interface (UNI) or one ATM network-

network interface (NNI) for each port. The FP can operate from either side of the

user/network boundary.

Each OC-3/STM-1 ATM port supports a line rate of 155.52Mbit/s that operates in B-ISDN mode.

The OC3 FP runs on Motorola Power PC 750 processors at 233 MHz and with 128 MB of RAM.

It is provisioned in a 1+1 redundancy scheme and supports Automatic Protection Switching and

as such is able to recover from board failure within 50 ms.

Figure 7 - 16p OC3/STM1 Card





3.2.2.4 4-port Gigabit Ethernet FP

The 4-port Gigabit Ethernet (4pGe) FP provides four full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet ports (via SFP

module sockets that support either optical or electrical SFP modules). Separately ordered

small form-factor pluggable (SFP) optical transceiver modules are required to provide optical

signal reception and transmission. For a port on the 4pGe card to be operational, the SFP

socket must be equipped with the appropriate SFP module. The software name (card type) of

the NTHW49 is 4pGe.

Operators wishing to deploy the Alcatel-Lucent RNC in an IP UTRAN simply add 1+1 4ptGigE

cards to the system. If operators want to continue to support ATM on some Iu interfaces e.g.

Iub, then they maintain the 16pOC3 1+1 cards in addition. As there are 16 slots on the RNC

shelf this means that a maximum of 10 PSs can be supported when both OC3 and GigE are

used.

Figure 8 - 4pt Gigabit Ethernet Module

3.2.2.5 MSS15K Fabric

The two MSS15K fabric cards provide high-speed serial links between the processor cards

(Control Processor and Function Processor) of the switch.

Key Fabric attributes:

MSS 15000 has two 56.3 Gbit/s redundant switching fabric cards. Each non-blocking

fabric card interconnects the processor cards in a full mesh network configuration.

Sixteen 3.52 Gbit/s bi-directional serial links connect each fabric card to the sixteen

CP and FP cards of the shelf.

Cell switching is connectionless and self-routing cells to be switched by the fabric

contain QoS and routing tags. The fabric switches cells based on these tags.





With a disabled fabric, the node is in single-fabric (still 56 Gbps capacity) mode and all

processor card cells run on the enabled fabric. MSS 15000 automatically switches between

single and dual-fabric mode depending on the state of the individual fabrics.

Figure 9 - Fabric Module





3.2.2.6 Breaker Interface Panel

The Breaker Interface Panel (BIP) provides a central location where redundant DC power feeds

(nominal -48/-60 V) of up to 100A are connected to the switch and routed to up to four

breaker modules.

Power is distributed from these breaker modules to the shelves and cooling units.

The RNC supports the use of either a two- (single shelf) or a four-breaker (dual shelf) BIP.

The BIP also contains an alarm unit, which monitors system components and generates alarm

indications.

The BIP provides A and B redundant power supplies to each 9370 RNC shelf. Both A and B

distribute power to the shelf via 4 x 25 amp breakers plus 1 x 5 amp for the cooling unit.





3.2.3 RNC Software Architecture

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC software architecture has been designed to provide high

performance, scalability, and robustness. The architecture is aligned with 3GPP standards

objectives of separating control and user plane functionality.

The Processor Cores on the Dual Core Packet Server cards run a well defined set of software

components (see Figure 10). The software running on each core is indicated by its role. The

processor roles supported by the 9370 RNC are the following:

Master: there are two PMC-M per RNC. It is used for the management of all the other Application Processors. It contains the Resource and Transport managers. PMC-Ms are 1+1

spared i.e. 1 active and 1 standby per RNC and must be on separate PSs.

Protocol Converter (PC): there is one per PSFP, with a maximum of 12 per RNC. The functionalities handled by the PC are AAL2 and Segmentation and reassembly (SAR) functions

to do IP/AAL5 conversions and vice versa. PCs are shared N+1.

Radio Access Bearers (RAB): up to 40 per RNC. The functionalities handled by PMC-RAB are high-touch bearer processing, Radio Protocol Handling (MAC, RLC...), Interface bearer, Macro

Diversity Handover. PMC-RABs work in load sharing redundancy.

Network Interface (NI): there are two NI per RNC. PMC-NI hosts the functionality of the MTP3b and SCCP layers of the SS7 stack. PMC-NIs is 1+1 spared i.e. 1 active and 1 standby per

RNC and must be on separate PSs.

Traffic management units (TMU): Up to 14 per RNC. This TMU terminates Radio network interface protocols i.e. RANAP, RNSAP and NBAP. It also supports Radio Resource Management

functionalities. TMUs are shared N+P.

OAM Management Units (OMU): there are two OMU per RNC. It manages Control Plane functions on 9370 RNC (equivalent to Master of user plane), like Performance, Configuration

and Fault management, Call Trace management, Overload Controls and load balancing of

Control Plane resources, Radio Network Subsystem OAM&P. OMUs are 1+1 spared i.e. 1 active

and 1 standby per RNC and must be on separate PSs.

Application role assignment is deterministic in the 9370 RNC as shown in Figure 10. The Dual

Core Packet Server cards in slots 14 and 15 can be replaced by 4 port Gigabit Ethernet cards if

IP interfaces are required.





TMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMU

TMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMU

PC PCPCPCPC PC

PC PCPCPCPC PC

RABRABRABRABRABRAB

RABRABRABRABRABRAB

RABRABRABRABRABRAB

NINIRABRAB RABRAB

Master RABRABMaster RABRAB

OMUOMURABRAB RABRAB

RABRABRABRAB TMUTMU

RABRABRABRABRABRAB

CP4

CP4

OC-3 / STM-1

OC-3 / STM-1

TMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMUTMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMU

TMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMUTMUTMUTMUTMU TMUTMU

PC PCPCPCPC PC PC PCPCPCPC PC

PC PCPCPCPC PC PC PCPCPCPC PC

RABRABRABRABRABRAB RABRABRABRABRABRAB



NINIRABRAB RABRABNINIRABRAB RABRAB

Master RABRABMaster RABRABMaster RABRABMaster RABRAB

OMUOMURABRAB RABRABOMUOMURABRAB RABRAB

RABRABRABRAB TMUTMU


CP4

CP4

OC-3 / STM-1

OC-3 / STM-1

Figure 10 Processor Role Assignment in the 9370 RNC (10 DCPS Hybrid ATM/IP Configuration)

3.3 Transport Nodes: 7670 RSP and 7750 SR

7670 RSP and 7750 SR transport nodes are optional and allow RNC traffic to scale

independently of connectivity: they are used to provide additional connectivity options in

addition to OC3 / STM1 and Gigabit Ethernet. The 7670 RSP is a medium/large RNC transport

node primarily used for RNC aggregation i.e. N:1 (RNC:RSP). The 7750 SR is a carrier grade

multi-service IP/MPLS router. following sections describe the 7670 RSP and 7750 SR equipment

in more detail.

3.3.1 7670 Routing Switch Platform (RSP)

The Alcatel-Lucent 7670 Routing Switch Platform (RSP) is a highly scalable and configurable

switching and routing platform designed to provide carriers with the utmost flexibility to

increase revenue generating opportunities. Optimized for the next generation multi-service

Internet Protocol (IP) network, the Alcatel-Lucent 7670 RSP delivers new VoIP, IP VPN and

multimedia services as well as existing data services and service level agreements.

This multi-service IP platform delivers multiple Layer 3 and Layer 2 services reliably and

concurrently. Any service can be provided, using IP, MPLS, ATM, time division multiplexing

(TDM), frame relay, Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), 10/100 Ethernet, and packet over SONET (POS).

By allowing service providers to harmoniously mix new and traditional services on their

existing infrastructure, they can protect established, high revenue services and role out new

services quickly, throughout the entire serving area.





Currently in the Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN portfolio the following interfaces are deployed:

8p OC3/STM1oCh

8p STM1eCh

2p OC12oCh

16p OC3/STM1c

16p OC3/STM1oPOS

3.3.2 7750 Service Router (SR)

The 7750 SR is a multi-service edge router, optimized for the delivery of high performance

data, voice and video services, the 7750 is available in three chassis sizes (1-slot, 7-slot and

12-slot) all offering a wide range of interfaces with unmatched density and service

performance.

The choice of interfaces offered on the 7750 SR through its cards, MDAs and small-form

pluggable modules allow for great flexibility and can adapt to any mobile networking

requirement. On the other hand, the capacity and port density of the 7750 SR allow for

scalability which is critical for mobile network environments.

Unique platform resiliency and high availability feature enable robust network architectures

that increase overall service availability to > 99.999%.

Currently, in Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN portfolio, the following interfaces are deployed:

60 port 10/100 Base T (Copper)

10 port Gigabit Ethernet

20 port Gigabit Ethernet

20 port 10/100/1000 Base T (copper)





3.4 RNC Capacity

The objective of this section is to provide the reader with basic information on the capacity of

the Alcatel-Lucent UMTS 9370 RNC, focusing on key elements allowing, for instance, to

compare the performance of RNCs from different suppliers. The information provided here is

for information purposes only. Please refer to the Alcatel-Lucent RNC Capacity Roadmap [1]

for official capacity commitments and call profile details.

3.4.1 RNC Capacity Metrics

The RNC capacity is defined in three dimensions:

traffic

coverage

connectivity

These dimensions are independent, thus the RNC capacity is determined by the most

constraining limit. A definition of the metrics and call profile(s) Alcatel-Lucent uses to provide

capacity commitments are provided in the RNC Capacity Roadmap [1].

3.4.2 9370 RNC UA7.1.2 Capacity and Scalability

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC is a very scalable platform, and can be configured to meet different

network capacity needs, as shown in Table 1.

9370 RNC Market Models

4 DCPS 6 DCPS 8 DCPS 10 DCPS 12 DCPS

Node B 600 1000 1400 2000 2400

Cells 600 1000 1400 2000 2400

Speech (Erlangs) 2940 4800 7200 9900 12000

HSPA+ (IuB Mbit/s) 402 672 985 1344 1472

Table 1 9370 RNC Scalability with UA07.1.2 Software and CP4

3.4.3 RNC Capacity Border Limits

Border limits define the maximum operating range of the RNC for a given release i.e. the

maximum capacity figures that cannot be exceeded irrespective of call profile.

The following border limits exist on the RNC:

310 Mbps Iu DL throughput on the current 16pOC3/STM1 (PQC based) Card

A new version of the 16pOC3/STM1 (MS3 based) is being introduced in UA05 that

supports line rate (up to 2.5Gbps) IP forwarding

CELL_PCH and URA_PCH RRC context states are introduced.

A fully configured UA07 9370 RNC with DCPS can support:

- Max number of CS RRC contexts: 14520

- Max number of PS (DCH+FACH) RRC contexts: 17280

- Max number of FACH RRC contexts: 14040





- Max number of CELL_PCH RRC Contexts: 14040

- Max number of total CELL_PCH and URA_PCH RRC contexts: 64080





4 INTERFACES

The Alcatel-Lucent UMTS RNC provides standard defined interfaces towards core networks

(Iu), Node Bs (IuB) and other RNCs (IuR). It also provides an interface to the OMC-R network

management subsystem, along with optional transport facilities to carry OMC-B signalling

between Node Bs and OMC-B. All interfaces are supported over both ATM and IP.

4.1 UTRAN Transport ATM to IP Evolution

Alcatel-Lucent UTRAN and 3GPP transport over ATM is based on a feature rich ATM

implementation. The RNC supports multiple ATM service categories on each interface (Iu, Iur

and Iub). Operators who deploy Alcatel-Lucents UTRAN solution do not have to overbook

scare Iub resources (T1/E1s). Furthermore, Alcatel-Lucent supports Soft PVCs on each Iu, IuB

and IuR interface which provides path redundancy i.e. if a path fails, PNNI will re-route traffic

on a separate S-PVC.

Figure 11 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC ATM Transport

A seamless transition from ATM to IP UTRAN transport is supported through a software

upgrade and the addition of new Gigabit Ethernet interface cards. The Alcatel-Lucent RNC can

simultaneously support IP and ATM interfaces, essential as operators upgrade from ATM Node

Bs to IP Node Bs. Also, operators may wish to keep Node Bs with E1/T1 connectivity over ATM

as Alcatel-Lucents ATM implementation provides the most efficient usage of scarce

bandwidth.





Figure 12 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC Seamless Evolution to IP Transport

4.2 IP Transport on IuB

In addition to ATM, the Alcatel-Lucent RNC supports IP transport on the IuB interface. This is a

key step towards a full IP-RAN network providing OPEX and CAPEX savings to UMTS operators.

Support for a native IP IuB interface (3GPP compliant IP User and Control plane stacks) is

introduced for IP Node Bs (Figure 13).

A native IP IuB interface is introduced through a software upgrade and the addition of two

4ptGigE Cards on the RNC. No forklift is required and the existing STM1 cards can be used for

any interfaces that remain on ATM transport.

Node B

IP NetworkIP NetworkIP NetworkIP NetworkGigE

Ethernet

xCCM

SGW

Node B

IP NetworkIP NetworkIP NetworkIP NetworkGigE

Ethernet

xCCM

SGW

Figure 13 - Alcatel-Lucent RNC Native IP IuB

The introduction of the native IP IuB Interface does not modify the existing RNC carrier grade

mechanisms e.g. 1+1 on critical processors and N+P on traffic processors, continue to function

as is.

Hybrid MacroBTS

ATM Transport

Networks

ATM Transport

Networks ATM

Transport

ATM Transport

IP Transport IP Transport

9370 RNC

IuB IuCS, IuR, IuPS

ATM MacroBTS

IP Transport Networks


CS Core Network

Elements

PS Core Network

Elements

IP Virtual Router Traffic Separation

VLAN GE

VLAN GE

Hybrid MacroBTS

Hybrid MacroBTS

RNCs

ATM Transport

Networks

ATM Transport Networks ATM

Transport

ATM Transport

IP Transport IP Transport

IuB IuCS, IuR, IuPS

ATM MacroBTS

ATM MacroBTS

All traffic on ATM

HSPA on IP

R99 & optionally HSPA


IP Transport Network

CS Core Network Elements

PS Core Network

Elements

IP Virtual Router Traffic Separation

VLAN GE

VLAN GE





The Alcatel-Lucent RNC has the ability to segment the IuB control from the other IP interfaces

thanks to the implementation of a dedicated IuB Virtual Router. If segmentation is not

required, a common virtual router can be used for Iub and other interfaces.





4.3 RNC to Core Network (Iu)

4.3.1 Definition

The Iu interface connects the UTRAN to the Core network. The Iu interface towards the PS-

domain of the core network is called Iu-PS, and the Iu interface towards the CS-domain is

called Iu-CS.

The SCCP is used to support signalling messages between the Core Network Domains and the

RNC. One user function of the SCCP, called Radio Access Network Application Part (RANAP), is

defined. The RANAP uses one signalling connection per active UE and Core Network Domain

for the transfer of layer 3 messages.

Both connectionless and connection-oriented procedures are used to support the RANAP.

The Alcatel-Lucent RNC supports IuFlex which enables many-to-many relations between RNCs,

SGSNs and MSCs.

ATM and IP stacks for Iu-CS and Iu-PS are shown in Figure 14 and Figure 15, respectively. Note,

that Alcatel-Lucent supports IP over Gigabit Ethernet only i.e. IP over AAL5 for control plane is

not planned. IP over AAL5 for PS User plane is also supported.

AAL2

UDP/IP

RTP/ RTCP*)

Data Link ATM ATM Data Link

M3UA

Q.2630.2

RANAP Iu UP Protocol Layer

Transport Network

Layer

Physical Layer

TransportUser

Network Plane

Control Plane User Plane

TransportUser

Network Plane

Transport Network Control Plane

Radio Network

Layer

SSCOP

AAL5

SSCOP

SSCF-NNI

AAL5

MTP3b MTP3b

SCCP

SSCF-NNI

IP

SCTP

ATM

Q.2150.1

*) RTCP is optional.

Figure 14 - Iu-CS Protocol Stacks ATM and IP





IP SSCOP

AAL5

SCTP

MTP3-B M3UA

SCCP

M3UA

RANAP Iu UP Protocol Layer

Tran

spo

rt N

etw

ork

La

yer

Physical Layer

TransportUser

Network Plane

Control Plane User Plane

TransportUser

Network Plane

Transport Network

Control Plane

Rad

io N

etw

ork

Laye

r

AAL5

IP

UDP

GTP-U

Physical Layer

ATM Data Link

IP

SCTP

Data Link ATM

IP

UDP

GTP-U SSCF-NNI

Figure 15 - Iu-PS Protocol Stacks ATM and IP

4.3.2 Implementation

AAL5 virtual circuits are used to transport IP packets across the Iu interface towards the

packet switched domain. Multiple VCs can be used over the interface. There is a one-to-one

relationship between the VC and the IP address as required by Classical IP over ATM.

AAL2 Signalling Protocol (Q.2630.1 formerly referenced as Q.aal2) is used for establishing

AAL2 connections towards the PSTN/ISDN domain.

Dynamic management of GTP tunnel is ensured by user plane towards PS domain.

The physical layer is supported by OC3/STM1, and provides APS/MSP protection.





4.4 Iu-PC Interface

4.4.1 Definition

As wireless communication is inherently mobile, the emergency E911 (in North America) or

E112 (in Europe) service has not been available due to the lack of knowledge of the location

of the user. One method of overcoming this limitation is the Global Positioning System (GPS)

which can be used to locate any point on the earth to within 10 metres under good conditions.

Network A-GPS introduced in UA03.2, consists of locating the geographical position of a

mobile with A-GPS positioning technologies. This location based technology is capable of

enabling a wireless network to pinpoint a users location within 10 metres of the exact

geographical location. To support this technology, the UE must be equipped with a GPS

receiver. The RNC supports an integrated SMLC (iSMLC) from software release UA07.0 or can

be connected to a Standalone A-GPS SMLC (SAS).

The Iu-PC interface is a logical interface for the interconnection of the SAS and the RNC. The

SAS provides information and processing for assisted position calculation. The RNC

communicates between the UE and the Core Network in order to aid the position calculation

and communicate that position to the Core Network.


Standalone SMLC

The RNC connects to the operators IP network using ATM while the SAS connects using

Ethernet. The operator is free to choose at which point in the IP network the Iupc traffic will

pass through an ATM/Ethernet router/gateway.

The Position Calculation Application Part (PCAP) provides the signalling services between the

RNC and the SAS. The Iupc protocol is only defined between the external ATM interface on the

RNC and the external Ethernet interface on the SAS. Within the SAS or the RNC the PCAP

traffic may be carried by different transport mechanisms.

PCAP requests and responses between a PMC-TMU and the SAS are handled by the TCP

Application Layer (TAL) relay function in the PMC-NI. The PCAP based messages are

transported over TCP/TAL/IP/AAL5/ATM. The Iupc transport uses the existing MSS ATM and IP

capabilities to provision IP connectivity between the Iupc address and the SAS IP addresses.

Integrated SMLC

The integrated SMLC (iSMLC) consists of RNC software that implements a combination

geolocation algorithms (e.g. AGPS, Cellid/RTT) within the RNC. The integrated SMLC (iSMLC),

introduced in UA07, is connected to an external Satellite Reference Service (SRS) through

TCP/IP links. The assistance data generation function in the iSMLC makes use of information

from the external SRS to facilitate generation of GPS assistance data. Additionally, the iSMLC

interworks with other subsystems in the RNC which collect measurements from applicable

cells and the UE of interest. Network measurements are forwarded to the particular iSMLC

function which calculates the UE position for network-based positioning methods.





4.4.2.1 Types of A-GPS

Unfortunately, a GPS receiver can take a significant amount of time (one or more minutes) to

determine its exact position (the time to fix) without knowing its approximate position first,

which is obviously not desirable in an emergency. To overcome this limitation two types of

Assisted GPS (A-GPS) services are defined:

UE-assisted: where the location calculation is performed in the network

UE-based: where the location calculation is performed in the handset

To support a UE-assisted positioning attempt involving a single UE, the RNC provides an SAS

with one or more sets of GPS measurement data. Subsequently, the SAS calculates the

position estimate of the specific UE and returns this result to the RNC.

In the UE-based mode, assistance data is transmitted by the wireless network to the UE (as

opposed to waiting for the information from the satellites) with which the location calculation

can be made quickly, thus significantly reducing the time to fix.

A-GPS can reduce the time to fix to less than five seconds, an acceptable delay in an

emergency.

4.4.2.2 A-GPS Services

Position Calculator Service

Are related to a single UE and involve the transfer of GPS measurement data and UE position

estimate data over the Iupc interface between the SRNC and the SAS. They utilize

connectionless signalling transport provided by the Iupc signalling bearer.

Information Exchange Service

Involves the transfer of GPS related data over the Iu-PC interface between the RNC and the

SAS on demand, on modification, or at regular intervals. They use connection-oriented

signalling transport provided by the Iu-PC signalling bearer.





Figure 16 - Iu-PC Protocol Stack

Note: For the UA04.x release the standard transport network layer Iupc protocol stack (shaded in grey) is not supported.





4.5 RNC to Node B (IuB)

4.5.1 Definition

The Iub interface connects the RNC to a Node B allowing negotiation of radio resources, for

example to add and delete cells controlled by the Node B to support communication of the

dedicated connection between UE and SRNC.

Figure 17 - Iub Protocol Stack ATM

Note: Alcatel-Lucents implementation of the IuB interface is fully compliant with 3GPP. Support for ALCAP (Q.2630.2) is optional and will be supported by the Alcatel-Lucent

RNC in UA06 release. An ALCAP protocol is not required in case both UTRAN nodes are

using the IP transport option.

In order to support a seamless transition to IP, the Alcatel-Lucent RNC will simultaneously

support ATM and IP interfaces. The IP Iub control and user plane stacks are shown in Figure

18.

Figure 18 IuB protocol stack IP

NBAP

SCTP

Iub FPs

UDP

IP

Ethernet

C-Plane U-PlaneNBAP

SCTP

Iub FPs

UDP

IP

Ethernet

C-Plane U-Plane





Logical O&M is the signalling associated with the control of logical resources (channels, cells)

owned by the RNC but physically implemented in the Node B. The RNC controls these logical

resources. A number of O&M procedures physically implemented in the Node B impact the

logical resources and therefore require an information exchange between the RNC and Node

B. All messages needed to support this information exchange are classified as Logical O&M

forming an integral part of NBAP over the Iub interface.


The signalling bearer for NBAP is a point-to-point protocol. There may be multiple point-to-

point links between an RNC and a Node B.

ATM

The signalling bearer in the Radio Network Control Plane is SAAL-UNI over ATM in R99. ATM

and AAL2 are used at the standard transport layer for Iub RACH, FACH, and DSCH data

streams. Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and ATM Adaptation Layer type 2 (AAL2) are used

as a transport layer for DCH data streams on Iub interfaces. It is possible to multiplex several

DCH for one user on the same connection. Service Specific Segmentation and Reassembly

(SSSAR) sub layer for AAL2 is used for the segmentation and reassembly of AAL2 SDUs.

The ATM physical layer is supported:

Either by OC3/STM1, with APS protection, if a Transport Node is not used

Or by fractional E1 supporting IMA, if a Transport Node is used

IP

The signalling bearer in the Radio Network Control Plane is NBAP over SCTP over IP. ALCAP

(Q2630.2) is not required on IuB when both nodes are IP based. In Alcatel-Lucents IuB over IP

implementation, Alcatel-Lucent will only support an Ethernet interface (GigE, Fast Ethernet)

and E1 / DS1s L1 interfaces with a transport node. Alcatel-Lucent does not currently plan to

support IP over AAL5.

4.6 RNC to RNC (IuR)

4.6.1 Definition

The IuR interface enables the exchange of signalling information between two RNCs; one or

more IuR data streams may exist.

The SCCP is used to support signalling messages between two RNCs. One user function of the

SCCP, called the Radio Network Subsystem Application Part (RNSAP), is defined. The RNSAP is

terminated at both ends of the Iur interface by an RNC.

Both connectionless and connection-oriented procedures are used to support the RNSAP.

Note: The SCCP/M3UA/SCTP/IP/AAL5 stack is not implemented in the RNC.





Figure 19 IuR Protocol Stack ATM

Note: Alcatel-Lucents implementation of the IuR interface is fully compliant with 3GPP. Support for ALCAP (Q.2630.2) is optional and will be supported by the Alcatel-Lucent

RNC in UA06 release. An ALCAP protocol is not required in case both UTRAN nodes are

using the IP transport option.

Figure 20 - IuR Protocol Stack IP

RNSAP

SCTP

Iur FPs

UDP

IP

Ethernet

C-PlaneU-Plane

M3UA

SCCP






The ATM IuR implementation is as follows

The Signalling bearer for RNSAP is either the SS7 through SSCOP or IP. PVC is

established through AAL5.

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and ATM Adaptation Layer type 2 (AAL2) are used as

a transport layer for DCH data streams on IuR interfaces.

Service Specific Segmentation and Re-assembly (SSSAR) sub-layer for AAL2 is used for

the segmentation and re-assembly of AAL2 SDUs.

AAL2 signalling protocol Capability Set 1 is the signalling protocol to control AAL2

connections on Iur interface.

MTP-3B and SAAL-NNI are used as a signalling for AAL2 signalling. Signalling Transport

Converter for MTP-3B is applied.

The physical layer is supported by OC3/STM1, and provides APS protection.

The IP IuR implementation is as follows:

The signalling bearer in the Radio Network Control Plane is RNSAP/SCCP/M3UA over SCTP over

IP. ALCAP (Q2630.2) is not required on IuR when both nodes are IP based. In Alcatel-Lucents

IuR over IP implementation, Alcatel-Lucent will only support an Ethernet interface. Alcatel-

Lucent do not currently plan to support IuR over IP over AAL5.

4.7 Iu-BC Interface

4.7.1 Definition

The Iu-BC interface, supported from UA05, connects the UTRAN to the Broadcast Domain in

the CN. There shall not be more than one Iu-BC interface from an RNC towards the CN. Figure

21 shows the protocol structure for the Iu-BC.

SABP Protocol Layer

Transport Network

Layer

SA Broadcast Plane

TransportUser

Network Plane

Radio Network

Layer

Data Link ATM

AAL5

IP

TCP

IP

TCP

Physical Layer

Figure 21 Iu-BC Interface Protocol Structure Towards Broadcast Domain





In Alcatel-Lucents implementation, the TCP/IP/AAL5/ATM stack is available.

The Service Area Broadcast Protocol (SABP) is the protocol between Cell Broadcast Centre

(CBC) and RNC needed for the CBC Application. The basic network structure of the CBS is

shown in Figure 22.

Uu

CellBroadcast

Center

(CBC)

UTRAN

RNCNode B

Node BUE

UE

1Iub

IuBC

Figure 22 Cell Broadcast Centre Basic Network Structure

The CBC is part of the core network and connected to a routing node e.g. a 3G SGSN via the

Bc reference point. Thus the CBC can reach every RNC via the user plane of the Iu interface.

On the logical interface between the CBC and the RNC a mandatory protocol shall be defined.

4.8 OMC Connectivity Options to the RNC

The OMC-R link is unique per RNC and is based on TCP/IP over Ethernet (Out-of-Band OMC

connectivity), through the CP board.

In order to deal with sites with no Ethernet connectivity for OAM data, In-Band OAM

management will also be provided, by simply leveraging ATM switching capabilities of the MSS

platform. In this case, IP flow containing OAM signalling will be sent to the OMC-R on top of

AAL5 ATM on the same STM1 that is used to carry Iu protocol. This type of OMC connectivity is

handled by the 16ptOC3/STM1 board. In-Band connectivity will also be supported through the

IP over Ethernet when the 4ptGigE card is available in UA06.

Figure 23 - OMC Connectivity (In-Band and Out-of-Band)

9370 RNC





4.9 Native Interfaces Specifications

4.9.1 OC-3/STM1

The Iu, IuR and IuB interfaces will be supported over the OC-3/STM1 Line Module.

The OC-3 Line Module consists of 16 physical SONET/SDH interfaces configured as STS-3c or

STM-1. The function of the OC-3/STM-1 module is to perform all physical layer functions

necessary in the MSS15K. This includes SONET/SDH overhead processing and transmission

convergence. All physical layer overhead is terminated at the OC-3/STM-1 Line Module. On the

fabric side of the MSS15K, the OC-3/STM-1 module passes and receives ATM cells which are

encapsulated into a proprietary format (Falcon cells) which enable MSS to be multi-service (IP,

Frame-Relay, ATM, MPLS, Ethernet).

The optical budget for the OC3/STM-1 interface is as follows:

Single mode Optical fibre

1310 nm Intermediate Reach (can be used for distances of < 20km)

Laser Output Power: -15.0 dBm

Guaranteed Receiver Sensitivity: -28.0 dBm

Maximum Receive Level: -8.0 dBm

Guaranteed System Gain: 13.0 dB. This interface is compliant with the applicable

sections of the following standards :

ITU-T I.432 ITU-T G.783 ITU-T G. 957

4.9.2 Gigabit Ethernet Interface

The Iu, IuR and IuB interfaces will be supported over the Gigabit Ethernet Line Module.

The 4-port Gigabit Ethernet (4pGe) FP provides four full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet ports (also

known as optical module sockets). Separately ordered small form-factor pluggable (SFP)

optical transceiver modules are required to provide optical signal reception and transmission.

The 4pGe requires that an SFP module be plugged into each of its four optical module sockets

(ports) in order for the card to operate.





Synchronization

The RNC synchronization scheme follows the MSS 15K synchronization scheme. The MSS

network clock synchronization system ensures that the clock used by MSS interfaces is the

identical clock used by all interfaces across the network such that the clock rate of data

entering and leaving are the same. In this way, a MSS node can join a stratum-synchronized

network. Synchronization minimizes frame slips and data loss for the access services that use

it.

Each MSS can run in one of three synchronization modes:

Internal Timing

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UMTS RNC Product Description v1 07 July 2010

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