Modern cellular networks including lte long term evolution and the evolving lte advanced provide highspeed and highcapacity data services for mobile users. All the feature of lte where you will explore lte in yourself. The evolution of mobile networks towards lte highly specializes and isolates the functionality of the ran. The figures shown below provide mapping of protocols to corresponding specifications. In lte architecture, core network includes mobility management entity mme, serving gateway sgw, packet data network. Each one of them is built in a standard way described by. Mobile networking concepts and protocols cnt 5517 dr. A simple way to understand telecom protocol stacks is to divide them in three different layers. The introduction indicates that this will be an exploration of network packets using wireshark, and that the focus will be on the core protocols present on most modern networks, and that the intended audience encompasses anyone from network novice on up. The ran of an lte network is comprised of the mobile terminals, known as user equipment. As we become more reliant on wireless connectivity, the security of voice and data transmissions on the network becomes increasingly important. Network and protocol architecture ltesae network architecture epc evolved packet core base station control plane and user plane protocol stacks epc protocol stacks. Aug 31, 2014 show full abstract paper, we focus on mobile core network nodes such as the mme, hss, s and p gateway as standardized for the lte evolved packet core epc. Through a mobile device, it is possible to hit both the subscriber and the linked corporate network, if any and the mobile core network, as well as to launch attacks on the internet.
Next, the interfaces between the eps entities and the protocol stack across the. Lte advanced architecture lte advanced protocol stack. Lte eutran and its access side protocols radisys white paper 3 radio protocol architecture access stratum logically, lte network protocols can be divided into control plane responsible for managing the transport bearer and user plane responsible for transporting user traffic. Full access to mobile multimedia at high speed is an offer very hard to resist for the common internet consumers. The introduction indicates that this will be an exploration of network packets using wireshark, and that the focus will be on the core. Epc testing enables wraparound testing of the core network elements in lte and is used in functional and load testing of lte core network elements.
Besides these methodological contributions, we make the following insightful observations about lte network usage. Sgsn controls the user plane tunnel establishment and establish a direct tunnel between utran and s gw as shown in fig. An indepth study of the sae core entities and their functionality, the. Lte advanced protocol stackphy, mac, rlc, pdcp, rrc, nas. Although 3g was the first technology to give real mobile access to the web, it wasnt until lte long term evolution or sometimes called 4g, that our lives became completely mobile. In functional testing, epc can send or receive any protocol messages of the supported interfaces. This article provides a thorough overview of this protocol. Illustration of 2g3glte mobile core network 1 this section provides an overview of gtp and mobile core networks for both 3g and lte networks.
Protocols on the uu interface are described in ts 23. See the tables below for details run a crossreference compatibility check of this device on a specific network and country using the following links. System architecture evolution sae is the core network architecture of 3gpps lte wireless communication standard. Show full abstract paper, we focus on mobile core network nodes such as the mme, hss, s and p gateway as standardized for the lte evolved packet core epc. It aggregates all the traffic from number of home enbs to core network. Umts network architecture and protocols mcgrawhill education. Protocol signaling procedures in lte radisys white paper 3 classify traffic streams using dpi and then, based on the operators policies, offload part of the traffic directly onto the internet while sending the. Feb 11, 2015 lte long term evolution introduction 1. Implementing cisco lte packet core networks duration. Lte introduction 14 long term evolution lte is the latest step in moving forward from the cellular 3g services to 4g. Our lte epc cores are highly scalable, high performance and resilient to ensure highest uptime and availability. Introduction to mobile core network linkedin slideshare. Unlike 3g, however, 4g uses ip even for voice data. The core network software lte mme can easily be connected to it to build a highly configurable lte network inabox.
The air interface and packet core enable the lte mobile user to connect to external data networks such as the internet. The ran of an lte network is comprised of the mobile terminals, known as user equipment ue, and enodebs, or lte base stations. User plane protocols figure 2 shows the protocol stacks for. Lte systems can use either snow 3g or aes128 encryption. Epc testing lte network elements load testing exfo. Contents lte introduction lte protocol layer sae architecture non access stratumnas protocols epc protocol. The radio protocol architecture for lte can be separated into control plane architecture and user plane architecture as shown below at user plane side, the application creates data packets that are processed by protocols such as tcp, udp and ip, while in the control plane, the radio resource control rrc protocol writes the signalling messages that are exchanged between the base station and. Jul 04, 2016 irat ho srvcc, csfb, cco, and rwr, measgap, x2ho, harq, tti bundling, drx, qos, carrier aggregation, icic, eicic. This protocol tunnels user data between enodeb and the s gw as well as between the s gw and the p gw in the backbone network. In lte architecture, core network includes mobility management entity mme, serving gateway sgw, packet data network gateway pdn gw where as eutran has eutran nodeb enb.
To find 3gpp lte specification, click at the corresponding protocol in the images below. Reference point for the control plane protocol between eutran. This document presents the lte network architecture as the first technical document of lte area. See the tables below for details run a crossreference compatibility check of this device on a specific network and country. The evolution of umts towards hspa advanced and lte is described in terms of overall system architectures, protocols and operational features. Packet guide to core network protocols is a book that i wanted to like. Lte eutran and its access side protocols radisys white paper 3 radio protocol architecture access stratum logically, lte network protocols can be divided into control plane responsible for managing. They are very intricate and depend on a multitude of protocols. The lte network called eps evolved packet system is an endtoend e2e all ip network. An overview of telecom wireless protocol stack layers nutaq. The lg g600k g6 td lte supports 4 gsm bands, 2 umts bands, and 6 lte bands. The main interfaces in lte are uu, s1mme, x2, s1u, s11 and s5. Thereafter, the chapter covers the protocol architecture applicable over these interfaces.
Lte interfaces and protocols telecommunications blog. Like 3g, 4g networks are ipbased internet protocol, meaning that it uses a standard communications protocol to send and receive data in packets. Lte architecture the infrastructure of an lte cellular network comprises the eutraeutran air interface and the evolved packet core epc, which includes the gateways, mobility management and. Lte mobile broadband networks might look like an obvious job for a wireless network engineer. Traffic offloaders typically will be deployed as bumpinthewire boxes between the.
Protocol signaling procedures in lte radisys white paper 3 classify traffic streams using dpi and then, based on the operators policies, offload part of the traffic directly onto the internet while sending the remaining traffic to the core network. The evolved umts terrestrial radio access network eutran. As shown 5g network uses flat ip concept so that different rans radio access networks can use the same single nanocore for. The radio protocol architecture for lte can be separated into control plane architecture and user plane architecture as shown below. Describe and be able to plan and design an lteltea packet core and radio network. Dec 31, 2010 the picture shows main network elements, interfaces and the protocols used in lte. Lte architecture article about lte architecture by the free. Lte provides a packet switched model at the sap, but retains a circuit switched model at the phy. Diagnosing channel issues using gtp protocol messages in. The epc consists of the mobility management entity mme1, serving gateway sgw2, packet data network gateway pgw3, and policy and charging rules function pcrf4. Polaris networks offers a family of lte network equipment emulators as a lowcost alternative to lte equipment manufacturers to replace real devices enodeb, mme, sgw, pdngw during product development and system quality assurance phases. Long term evolution protocol overview nxp semiconductors.
Lte interfaces allow mme, sgw and pgw to cooperate with other network. This course is focused on lte, and is designed to help network professionals improve their skills and understanding of the architecture fundamentals of lte and the required interworking to cdma or umts technologies. Third party epc can also be interfaced within the enb to build a private lte network due to the standard interfaces of the enb such as s1mme, s1u, x2ap which are fully compliant with 3gpp specifications. Figure 2 shows the user plane protocol stacks for the lte network. An indepth study of the sae core entities and their functionality, the interfaces and the protocols used over those interfaces follows. Epc node commissioning and integration network target. The highlevel network architecture of lte is comprised of following three main components. Apply to engineer, planning engineer, wireless engineer and more. Illustration of 2g3g lte mobile core network 1 this section provides an overview of gtp and mobile core networks for both 3g and lte networks. Irat ho srvcc, csfb, cco, and rwr, measgap, x2ho, harq, tti bundling, drx, qos, carrier aggregation, icic, eicic. Lte architecture the infrastructure of an lte cellular network comprises the eutraeutran air interface and the evolved packet core epc, which includes the gateways, mobility management and subscriber databases. At user plane side, the application creates data packets that are processed by protocols such as tcp, udp and ip, while in the control plane, the radio resource. Modern cellular networks including lte long term evolution and the evolving lteadvanced provide highspeed and highcapacity data services for mobile users.
This course is focused on lte, and is designed to help network professionals improve their skills and. Lte bandwidths, bit rates and ue categories eps network architecture 0 e utra and evolved packet core network architecture 0 nodes. Lte security, protocol exploits and location tracking. We offer a complete range of epc and ip core infrastructure for small, medium and large scale networks. This article provides a thorough overview of this protocol stack, including the sublayers and corresponding interactions in between them, in a manner that is more intuitive than in the respective. Sae is the evolution of the gprs core network, with some differences. These are the backbone network protocols used for routing user data and control signalling.
Lte network architecture and protocols design, deployment and. For network administrators, support professionals, and system designers, intimate knowledge of the network protocols that are the foundation of the internet is crucial. Polaris networks offers a family of lte network equipment emulators as a lowcost alternative to lte equipment manufacturers to replace real devices enodeb. With increased data rates, improved spectrum efficiency and packetoptimized system, lte technology is set to drive machine to machine technology and data intensive. The long term evolution standard lte is a wireless communications, highspeed data standard for mobile phones and data terminals. As shown 5g network uses flat ip concept so that different rans radio access networks can use the same single nanocore for communication. Diagnosing channel issues using gtp protocol messages in lte. But underneath the antennas, the core network engineer is the one that ensures full connectivity in the entire mobile network although 3g was the first technology to give real mobile access to the web, it wasnt until. The lg g600k g6 tdlte supports 4 gsm bands, 2 umts bands, and 6 lte bands. Its basis stands in the gsmedge and umtshspa network technologies, with changes in terms of an increased capacity and higher speed by simplifying the core network and using a different radio interface.
Eps is divided into two parts lte part which deals with the technology related to a radio access network eutran and epc part which deals with the technology related to a core network. The picture shows main network elements, interfaces and the protocols used in lte. Contents lte introduction lte protocol layer sae architecture non access stratumnas protocols epc protocol stacks 32 2 6 17 26 1 3. While a full accounting of the security functions in lte is.
Moreover, it describes the lte network architecture. Third party epc can also be interfaced within the enb to build a private lte network. While a full accounting of the security functions in lte is beyond the scope of this whitepaper, it is important to note that lte includes mutual authentication of the ue and the network. The smooth operation of 4g services requires a scalable, properly working lte core network, among others.
Evolved packet core epc, which was specified at the same time as lte 3gpp release 8, as the core network to accommodate lte and other radio access systems 1. Lte transport network layer is built on ip transport, similar to the user plane but for the reliable transport of signaling messages sctp is added on top of the internet protocol. Our zeroepc solutions for smaller and closed networks. Interfaces and their protocol stacks lte and beyond tech. Within an lte network, lte interfaces connect the various components to or within the core interfaces allow the mme, sgw and pgw to cooperate with other network elements e. Modern telecommunication standards like gsm and lte are some of the most complex engineering works in the world. Lg g600k g6 tdlte frequency bands and network compatibility. Our lte epc cores are highly scalable, high performance and resilient to. Rans supported by 5g architecture are gsm, gprsedge, umts, lte, lte advanced, wimax, wifi, cdma2000, evdo, cdma one, is95 etc. On the user plane, packets in the core network epc are encapsulated in a specific epc protocol and tunneled between the pgw and the enodeb. The core network software lte mme can easily be connected to it to build a highly configurable lte networkinabox. Different tunneling protocols are used depending on.
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