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Introduction to GPRS
Introduction
Overview:
General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) has been specified to optimize the way data
is carried over GSM networks with new requirements for features, network capacity and
bearer services. This chapter gives an overview of a General Packet Radio Services (GPRS)
network and other Data Networks in Europe and throughout the world. This section also lists
the history of GPRS, the services provided & the main benefits.
The GSM system architecture includes, the air interface (Um), the Abis and the A Interface
and others mentioned later in this document. The GSM functionality is between the Mobile
station (MS), the Base Station Subsystem (BSS) and the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC).The
BSS includes two types of elements: the Base Transceiver Station(BTS) which handles the
radio interfaces towards the MS and the Base Station Controller (BSC) which manages the
radio resource and controls handovers. A BSC can manage several BTSs. Through the MSC,
the GSM system communicates to other networks such as the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Circuit Switched Public Data
Network (CSPDN) and Packet Switched Public Data Network (PSPDN). GSM specifies 4
databases, the Home Location Register (HLR), the Visitor. Location Register (VLR) and the
Authentication Centre(AUC) and Equipment Identity Register (EIR).The ETSI Standard
introduces two new elements, the Serving GPRS support Node (SGSN) and the Gateway
GPRS Support Node (GGSN)(Shown in the diagram below as shadowed objects) are
introduced to create an end-to-end packet transfer mode.
Figure 1-2 GPRS System Architecture.
The HLR is enhanced with GPRS subscriber data and routing information. Two services are
provided;
Point-To-Point (PTP)
Point-To-Multipoint (PTM)
Independent packet routing and transfer within the Public Land Mobile Network
(PLMN) is supported by a new logical network node called the GPRS Support Node (GSN).
The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) acts as a logical interface to external packet data
networks. The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) is responsible for the delivery of packets
to the MSs within its service area. Within the GPRS network, Protocol Data Units (PDUs) are
encapsulated at the originating GSN and decapsulated at the destination GSN. In between the
GSNs, Internet Protocol (IP) is used as the backbone to transfer PDUs. This whole process is
defined as tunneling in GPRS. The GGSN also maintains routing information used to tunnel
the PDUs to the SGSN that is currently serving the MS. All GPRS user related data needed by
the SGSN to perform the routing and data transfer functionality is stored within the HLR. The
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has specified GPRS as an overlay
to the existing GSM network to provide packet data services. In order to operate a GPRS
service over a GSM network, new functionality has to be introduced into existing GSM
Network Elements and new Networks elements have to be integrated into the existing
operators GSM networks. The Base Station Subsystem (BSS) of GSM is upgraded to support
GPRS over the air interface. The BSS works with the GPRS Backbone System (GBS) to
provide GPRS service in a similar manner to its interaction with the Switching subsystem for
the circuit switched services. The GPRS backbone system manages the GPRS sessions set up
between the mobile terminal and the network, by providing functions such as admission
control, Mobility Management and Session Management. Subscriber and equipment
information is shared between GPRS and the switched functions of GSM by the use of a
common HLR and the co-ordination of data between the VLR and the GPRS support nodes of
the GBS. The GBS is comprised of two new network elements, the Serving GPRS Support
Node (SGSN) and the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). GPRS will be the Industry
Standard interface for mobile packet systems. The maximum data rate is 171.2 kbps gross
rate.
1.2 Development/History
1.2.1 Development:
Over the last ten years, there have been numerous predictions that Mobile Data is about to
explode in the marketplace and indeed, most of the data trends confirm this. With the rapidly
advancing technology it does appear that mobile data will become a widespread reality, but
perhaps not quite as quickly as first thought. Until now, the only GSM data services available
have been the Short Message Service (SMS)and low speed bearer services for fax and data
transmission at9.6kbps. The general take up of these services has been slow and only a very
small percentage of mobile users (estimated at 3-5%) are enabled for data services. The
current data rate for GSM is 9.6 kbps. To maintain competitive edge, modifications and
enhancements will need to be made. The proposed enhancements will mean an increase in the
amount of user data to be carried across the network. These have included the High-Speed
Circuit Switched Data (HSCD) which has data rates up to 57.6kbps and General Packet Radio
Service (GPRS) which has up to171.2 kbps.
1.2.2 History:
The following section lists the main development dates associated with GPRS.
• GPRS has been established at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute
(ETSI) in 1994
• ETSI R97 was the first issue of the GPRS standards
History of GPRS
Date Event
1969 Advanced Research Projects Agency of the
U.S.Department of Defense (ARPA)
Contract award
1983 APPnet moves to TCIP/IP
1987 National Science Foundation’s TCIP/IP
based
NET work (NSFnet) funded to provide
regional sites & backbone
1991 Gopher is introduced
1991 Commercial Internet Exchange CCIX7 set
up for commercial traffic
1992 First Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD)
specifications appear
1992 World-wide web is introduced
1993 Wireless Data Cellular Digital Packet Data
(CDPD) forum started
the Internet and X.25 networks as external PDNs. The GGSN also provides address
translation services. Rate adaptation services between the GBS and external networks may
also be included in the GGSN. The Border Gateway provides connectivity to another
Operator’s GPRS network. New interfaces will be required to connect the new entities to the
existing GSM network elements. These interfaces will be pre-fixed with the character ’G’ and
will support both traffic and signal
connections.
Figure 2-1 The Principal GPRS Network Architecture
Unlike circuit switched services, packet services allow concurrent usage of the same resources
by multiple users. In order to support GPRS in a GSM network, the BSS has to be upgraded
to support packet services and a GPRS Backbone System (GBS) has to be added to the basic
GSM network to provide packet connection from GPRS capable mobile stations to other
packet users, both fixed and mobile.
Figure 2-2 Architecture Overview :
A GPRS operator managed IP domain and Domain Server to map logical names for
each element connected to the GBS domain to IP addresses
Multiple Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN) which provide packet service
management for GPRS subscribers
Multiple Gateway GPRS Support Nodes GGSNs which provide subscribers with
access to external packet data networks and Public Land Mobile Networks PLMNs
A GBS Management Network Element Manager (NEM) called an Operations and
Maintenance Centre for the GBS or OMC-G
A Performance Gateway function that collects Measurement Data from the GSNs and
forwards to a Performance Monitoring Centre
A Charging Gateway function that collects Accounting Data from the GSNs and
forwards to a Billing Centre
The IP domain may be entirely operator provisioned or part of a larger IP network operated as
a Virtual Private Network domain. The Network supporting the IP domain is called the GPRS
Backbone Network (GBN).
interface. New logical radio packet channels provide packet access to the GPRS BSS and the
PCU handles these packet channels and forwards packets to the SGSN.
The SGSN is a new network element that is the master of packet access to the GPRS
system. In a similar way to the MSC for GSM, the SGSN provides service to Mobile Stations
for packet transfer. The SGSN is the master of packet transmission through the GPRS system.
The SGSN provides Admission Control, Packet Service Management and GPRS Mobility
Management. Unlike the MSC, the SGSN additionally provides several access level options
in the form of multiple Quality of Service (QoS) options and Session Management.
2.4.2 SGSN Connections:
The SGSN The SGSN contains the following connections:
Connection to the GSM BSS via the Gb - interface
Connection to the HLR via the Gr - interface
Connection to the EIR via the Gf- interface
Connection to the GSM MSC/VLR via the Gs - interface
Connection to the SMS - SC via the Gd- interface
Connection to other PLMNs via the Gp – interface
2.4.3 SGSN Functions:
The SGSN carries out the following functions:
Network Access Control (CDR Collection, QoS Admin,Authentication)
Packet Routing (GBS to other GSNs, GTP Tunneling, Address Translation, Address
Resolution, IP Functions)
GPRS Mobility & Session Management (PDP Context, HLR Updates)
Logical Link Management (sliding window, ciphering, traffic support, RIL3 support)·
Compression
GSM Circuit Switched Interactions (Paging, etc)
BSS Queue Management (Queuing of data/users)
Data Packet Counting (Billing)
Gb Resource Management (Flow Control of BVCs over Gb,Frame Relay - PVC, NS -
VC for support of BVCs, Support ofE1 Physical Layer)
2.4.4 GGSN :
The GGSN is a new network element that provides access from the GBS to external
packet data networks such as the Internet. The gateway is primarily an IP router. The GGSN
provides routing across the GBS on GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) request from the SGSN
and out onto the external network. This entity is therefore responsible for managing both
routing of traffic from multiple SGSNs and access to the external network this it is connected.
The GGSN provides dynamic IP addresses on request from a SGSN, if a static address is not
requested by the MS and manages routing of requests from external Packet Data Networks
(PDN) to both PDP active and non-PDP active, GPRS attached MSs.The GGSN and the
SGSN functions may be combined in a single physical unit or in different physical nodes. The
connection between the GGSN and the SGSN, i.e. the G n interface, utilizes IP routing
functionality and as such, standard IP routers may be found on this interface between the two
GSNs (GPRS Support Nodes). When the GGSN and the SGSN reside in different locations,
the connection is made via the Gp interface. The Gp interface has the same functionality as the
Gn interface with additional security such as firewall.
2.4.6 GGSN Connections:
The GGSN contains the following connections:
Connection to the SGSN via the Gn - interface
Connection to other PDNs via the Gi - interface
Connection to other PLMNs via the Gp – interface
GGSN Functions
The GGSN carries out the following functions:
Access Control (Firewall between GBS and PDN / Message screening)
Packet Routing and Transfer (GBS to other GSNs, GTP, Relay from GBS to PDN, IP
Routing over PDN, APN Addressing)
Data/Packet counting
The GGSN is the first point of interconnection from a PLMN to a PDN.
2.5 Packet Control Unit :
The Packet Control Unit (PCU) is a new functional entity of GPRS. The GSM Phase
2+ GPRS Standards introduces the Packet Control Unit (PCU) as the functional entity that
handles all packet traffic related tasks within a BSS or a cell. It can be implemented in the
Base Transceiver Station (BTS), then called Integrated Packet Control Unit (IPCU), as well as
in the Base Station Controller Frame (BCF), then it is called Remote Packet Control Unit
(RPCU) .The Packet Control Unit (PCU) is the unit that adds the packet Functionality to the
Base Station System (BSS). It controls the radio interface which allows multiple users to
access the same radio resource
Additionally it also provides the Gb interface.
Figure 2-3 Placement of PCU
In the downlink direction, the Packet Control Unit (PCU) receives data from the Gb interface
unit (GBIU) in the form of Logical Link Control (LLC) Protocol Data Units (PDUs). Its task
is to segment them into Radio Link Control blocks (RLC) and schedule the transmission at the
radio interface per slot and per mobile station. In the uplink direction, the Packet Control Unit
(PCU) receives data in form of Radio Link Control blocks (RLC) from the Channel Codec
Unit (CCU). Its task is to reassemble the Radio Link Control blocks (RLC) into complete
Logical Link Control frames, which then are transferred via the Gb interface to the Serving
GPRS Support Node (SGSN).The Packet Control Unit (PCU) needs to do this for each mobile
context established at the radio interface. Up to eight subscribers are allowed to share the
same radio resource in each direction, i.e. PDCH.
To achieve higher data rates for packet transfers, the Packet Control Unit (PCU) is able
to assign multiple radio resources to a single user. The Packet Control Unit (PCU) is a logical,
not a physical unit implemented in the Base Station System (BSS).
2.6 The Gb Interface Unit (GBIU):
The GBIU is a term that is used to cover all functions that are provided by the Gb interface.
The Gb interface has-been introduced by the Standards to provide packet data transport
functionality between the BSS area and the GPRS backbone system.
The G b interface is an open standard interface allowing GPRS equipment from
different vendors to co-operate.
IT comprises Frame Relay (FR), Network Services (NS) and the Base Station
Subsystem GPRS Protocol (BSSGP). In the downlink theGBIU receives PDU’s from the
SGSN and forwards them to the addressed PCU or the GSE, if it is a signaling PDU. In the
uplink the GBIU receives PDU’s from the PCU or the GSE and transfers them to the SGSN.
The data link and sub network layer of the Gb interface is based on Frame Relay. The Gb
interface allows load sharing through the usage of multiple links and provides limited
protection against link failures
Address Field: This field is the comprise of two octets. It is used to carry the Data
Link Connection Identifier (DLCI) which is needed for routing the frame between
different nodes. In the address field there is also an Address Field Extension (EA) that
indicates the last octet in the address field. There are also some bits to indicate
whether a frame has encountered some congested resources, the Forward Explicit
Congestion Notification (FECN)and the Backward Explicit Congestion Notification
(BECN).Another bit, the Discard Eligibility bit (DE) is used in case of congestion in a
network to indicate a specific frame that can be discarded.
Information Field: The purpose of this field is to carry the user information
Frame Check Sequence: The purpose of this field is to determine any errors that may
have occurred during transmission. In Frame Relay there is only a error detection not a
error correction !Frame Relay
Frame Relay Structure Legend:
EA Address field extension bit
C/R Command response bit (not used)
FECN Forward explicit congestion notification
BECN Backward explicit congestion notification
DLCI Data link connection identifier
DE Discard eligibility indicator
End of 2
This layer contains two functions: The RLC function provides a radio solution
dependent reliable link. The MAC function controls the access signalling procedures for the
radio channel, and the mapping of LLC frames onto the GSM physical channel.
All fields in the GTP header shall always be present but the content of the fields differs
depending on if the header is used for signalling messages or T-PDUs.
The set of protocol entities above SNDCP consists of commonly used network
protocols. They all use the same SNDCP entity, which then performs multiplexing of data
coming from different sources to be sent using the service provided by the LLC layer.
The Network Service Access Point Identifier (NSAPI) is an index to the PDP context
of the PDP that is using the services provided by SNDCP. Each active NSAPI shall use the
services provided by the Service Access Point Identifier (SAPI) in the LLC layer. Several
NSAPIs may be associated with the same SAPI.
3.4.2 SNDCP Service Primitives:
Below the service primitives used for communication between the SNDCP layer and
other layers are explained.
3.4.3 SN-DATA:
The request primitive is used by the SNDCP user for acknowledged transmission of N-
PDU. The successful transmission of SN-PDU shall be confirmed by the LLC layer.
The request primitive conveys NSAPI to identify the PDP using the service. The indication
primitive is used by the SNDCP entity to deliver the received N-PDU to the SNDCP user.
Successful reception has been acknowledged by the LLC layer.
3.4.4 SN-UNITDATA:
The request primitive is used by the SNDCP user for unacknowledged transmission of
N-PDU. The request primitive conveys NSAPI to identify the PDP using the service and
protection mode to identify the requested transmission mode. The indication primitive is used
by the SNDCP entity to deliver the received N-PDU to the SNDCP user.
3.4.5 SNDCP Service Functions:
SNDCP shall perform the following functions:
Mapping of SN-DATA primitives onto LL-DATA primitives.
Mapping of SN-UNITDATA primitives onto LL-UNITDATA primitives.
Multiplexing of N-PDUs from one or several network layer entities onto the
appropriate LLC connection.
Establishment, re-establishment and release of acknowledged peer-to-peer LLC
operation.
N-PDU buffering at SNDCP for acknowledged service.
Management of delivery sequence for each NSAPI,I independently.
Compression of redundant protocol control information (for example TCP/IP
header) at the transmitting entity and decompression at the receiving entity. The
compression method is specific to the particular network layer or transport layer
protocols in use.
Figure: 3-5 Transmission Flow through SNDCP
For SNDCP headers used for SN-UNITDATA, some additional are added. This comprises the
segment number field, the extension (E) bit and the N-PDU number field which is used to
identify a particular N-PDU.
The SNDCP header contains the following fields:
.
Control field:
The control field typically consists of between one and three octets although may under some
circumstances be comprised of up to 36 octets. The control field identifies the type of frame.
Four types of control field formats are specified:
I format - confirmed information transfer.
S format - supervisory functions.
UI format - unconfirmed information transfer.
U format - control functions.
Figure 3-8 Control Field
interface. To travel across the Gb interface, the PDU requires further modification. This is
carried out by the Sub network Dependent Convergence Protocol (SNDCP), the Logical Link
Protocol (LLC) and the Base Station System GPRS Protocol (BSSGP) before being carried
towards the BSS on the Gb interface via a Frame Relay network.
Figure 3-10 SGSN Activity
Rectangular interleaving of one Radio Block over four bursts inconsecutive TDMA
frames.
Procedures for detecting physical link congestion.
Synchronization procedures, including determining and adjusting the MS timing
advance parameters.
Monitoring and evaluation procedures for radio link signal quality.
Cell selection and re-selection procedures.
Transmitter power control procedures.
Battery power conservation procedures, for example
Discontinuous Reception (DRX) procedures.
BSS Activity:
Data and signalling messages arrive at the BSS via the Gb interface. The frames
arriving at the Packet Control Unit (PCU) pass through BSSGP where the information and
signalling messages are separated into LLC frames, GPRS Mobility Management (GMM)
information and Network Management (NM) information. With regards to data and signalling
messages destined for the GPRS MS, the LLC frames pass through a relay entity (LLC relay)
before entering the RLC and the MAC layer respectively. The RLC/MAC layer provides
services for information transfer over the physical layer.
packet data services. The paging for circuit switched services on PPCH is applicable
for class A and B GPRS MSs.
Packet Access Grant Channel (PAGCH) For downlink only PAGCH is used in the
packet transfer establishment phase to send resource assignment to an MS prior to
packet transfer. It is used to allocate one or several PDTCHs.
Packet Notification Channel (PNCH) For downlink only PNCH is used to send a Point
To Multipoint (PNCH will be standardized in the future) - Multicast (PTM-M)
notification to a group of MSs prior to a PTM-M packet transfer. A ’PTM-M new
message’ indicator may optionally be sent on all individual paging channels to inform
MSs interested in PTM-M when they need to listen to PNCH. The PNCH will be
standardized in the future.
3.7.2 Packet Broadcast Control Channel (PBCCH):
PBCCH broadcasts packet data specific system information. If PBCCH is not allocated,
the packet data specific system information is broadcast on the Broadcast Control Channel
(BCCH). The PBCCH is only found on the downlink.
3.7.3 Packet Dedicated Control Channels (PDCCH)
Packet Dedicated Control Channels (PDCCH) is comprised of the following:
Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH) PACCH transfers signalling
information related to a given MS. The signalling information includes for example,
acknowledgments and power control information. PACCH carries also resource
assignment and reassignment messages, comprising the assignment of a capacity for
PDTCH(s) and for further occurrences of PACCH. The PACCH shares resources with
PDTCHs, that are currently assigned to one MS. Additionally, an MS that is currently
involved in packet transfer, can be paged for circuit switched services on PACCH. The
PACCH can be found on both uplink and downlink.
Packet Timing advance Control Channel, uplink (PTCCH/U) PTCCH/U is used to
transmit random access burst to allow estimation of the timing advance for one MS in
packet transfer mode.
X - Idle frame
T - Frame used for PTCCH
B0 - B11 - Radio blocks
3.8.2 Channel Configuration :
The figure below gives an example of a possible channel configuration. Note that the
BCCH channel is transmitted in time-slot 0 on the first defined frequency. It must always be
present to enable the mobile stations to find the broadcast channels more easily
Figure 3-16 Time-Slot Configuration
on the downlink is comprised by the USF. In that way it enables the coding of eight different
USF states which are used to multiplex the uplink traffic.
One USF value is assigned only to one MS per PDCH. On the PCCCH, one USF
value is used to indicate the PRACH. The other USF values are used to reserve the uplink for
different mobile stations. On PDCHs which are not carrying PCCCH, the eight USF values
are used to reserve the uplink direction for different mobile stations. One of the USF values
has to be used to prevent any collision on the uplink channel, if a mobile station without an
USF is using an uplink channel. The USF is either pointing to the next uplink Radio Block or
the sequence of four uplink Radio Blocks starting with the next uplink Radio Block.
3.8.4 Temporary Block Flow:
A Temporary Block Flow (TBF) is a physical connection that is used by the two RR entities
in the MS and the BSS to support the unidirectional transfer of Logical Link Control (LLC)
Packet Data Units (PDUs) on packet data physical channels. It is the allocated radio resource
on one or more PDCHs and it comprises a number of RLC/MAC blocks carrying one or more
LLC PDUs. A Temporary Block Flow is only temporary and also only maintained for the
duration of a specific data transfer.
3.8.5 Temporary Flow Identity:
For every Temporary Block Flow there is a Temporary Flow Identity(TFI) assigned by
the network. This assigned TFI is always unique among all the other concurrent TBFs in each
direction and is used instead of the mobile station identity in the RLC/MAC layer. On the
opposite direction, the same TFI value may be used at the same time. It is assigned in a
resource assignment message that precedes the transfer of LLC frames belonging to one TBF
to or from the mobile station. The same TFI is included in every RLC header of aRLC/MAC
data block belonging to a specific TBF and may be used in the control messages (here other
addressing can be used, e.g.TLLI) associated to the LLC frame transfer in order to address the
peer RLC entities.
Service precedence
Reliability
Delay
Throughput
Service precedence This parameter is used for indicating the priority of maintaining
the service. Service precedence parameter specifies which packets have a priority and
which packets could be discarded.
Three different levels of service precedence are defined:
High precedence (high priority) this service commitments will be maintained prior to
all other precedence levels
Normal precedence (normal priority) this service commitments will be maintained
prior to all Low priority users
Low precedence (low priority) This service commitments will be maintained after all
the other service precedence have been completed.
Mapping of packet data logical channels
3.10 Reliability:
The Reliability parameters indicate the different transmission characteristics that are
required by an application.
There are four different reliability parameters:
Probability of loss of Service Data Units (SDUs)
Duplication of SDUs
Mis-sequencing of SDUs
Corruption of SDUs
3.11 GPRS MS
3.11.1 Mobile Station Equipment:
The current market view on GPRS terminals is that Class B and C MSs will be
available in Q2 2000. This is the general view held by all terminal manufacturers.
Three types of terminal class will be supported:
End of 3
GPRS Mobility Management (GMM) and Session Management (SM) services, are
enhancements operated directly over the GPRS defined Logical Link Control (LLC) layer
between the Mobile Station (MS) and the SSGN.
Figure 4-1 GPRS Attach/Detach States
Inactive.
4.3.1 PDP Context Activation Procedure Diagram
PDP Context Activation Procedure
4 The SGSN inserts the NSAPI along with the GGSN address in its PDP context. If the MS
has requested a dynamic address, the PDP address received from the GGSN is inserted in the
PDP context. The SGSN selects Radio Priority based on QoS Negotiated, and returns an
Activate PDP Context Accept (PDP Type, PDP Address, TI, QoS Negotiated, Radio Priority,
and PDP Configuration Options) message to the MS. The SGSN is now able to route PDP
PDUs between the GGSN and the MS, and to start charging.
4.3.4 Quality of Service (QoS)
For each PDP Address a different quality of service (QoS) profile may be requested. For
example, some PDP addresses may be associated with E-mail that can tolerate lengthy
response times. Other applications cannot tolerate delay and demand a very high level of
throughput, interactive applications being one example. These different requirements are
reflected in the QoS profile.
of a number of Radio Blocks. Opposite to the one phase access, the two phase access offers
the possibility to the mobile station to transfer information about its capability to the network.
In the two phase access, the network responds to the channel request with the
immediate assignment which reserves the one uplink radio block for transmitting the packet
resource request message which carries the complete description of the requested resources
for the uplink transfer. Thereafter, the network responds with the Packet Resource assignment
reserving resources for the uplink transfer. If there is no response to the Packet Channel
Request within a predefined time period, the MS makes a retry after a random back off time.
5.2 Uplink Data Transfer:
Efficient and flexible utilization of the available spectrum for a packet data traffic
(one or more PDCHs in a cell) can be obtained using a multi-slot channel reservation scheme.
Blocks from one MS can be sent on different PDCHs simultaneously, thus reducing the
packet delay for transmission across the air interface. The bandwidth may be varied by
allocating one to eight time slots in each TDMA frame depending on the number of available
PDCHs multi-slot capabilities of the MS and the current system load. The master slave
channel concept requires mechanisms for efficient utilization of PDCH uplink(s). Therefore,
the Uplink State Flag (USF) is used on PDCHs. The 3 bit USF at the beginning of each Radio
Block that is sent on the downlink points to the next uplink Radio Block.
It enables the coding of 8 different USF states which are used
to multiplex the uplink traffic. The channel reservation command includes the list of allocated
PDCHs and the corresponding USF state per channel. To an MS, the USF marks whether it
can use the next uplink radio block on the respective PDCH for transmission. An MS
monitors the USF and according to the USF value, identifies PDCHs that are assigned to it
and starts transmission. This allows efficient multiplexing of blocks from a number of MSs on
a single PDCH. Additionally, the channel reservation command can be sent to the MS even
before the total number of requested PDCHs is free. Thus, the status flags not only result in a
highly dynamic reservation but also allow interruption of transmission in favour of pending or
high priority messages. On the PCCH, one USF value is used to denote PRACH
(USF=FREE). The other USF values USF=R1/R2/[0085].R7 are used to reserve the uplink for
different MSs. After the blocks have been transmitted in the reserved time slots, an
acknowledgment should follow from the BSS and sent to the PACCH.
In the case of an acknowledgment, which includes a bitmap of correctly or erroneous
received blocks, a Packet Resource Assignment for retransmission, timing advance and power
control , only those blocks listed as erroneous are retransmitted.
Figure 6-1 GPRS Mobile Terminated Packet Transfer
polling the MS. The MS sends the ACK/NACK message in the reserved Radio Block which
is allocated in the polling process. In the case of a negative acknowledgment, only those
blocks listed as erroneous are retransmitted.
Figure 6-2 GPRS Mobile Terminated Packet Transfer
Conclusion
Based on the initial purpose of this project, we can say that the demand of high data rate is not
a big problem for the GPRS/EDGE connection. As said in the beginning of the Report, the
coming out of multimedia applications such as television or Internet on mobile stations,
requires an optimization of the connection. Now we know that this could be reached by using
additional techniques without having bad implications. Using algorithms in order to rise the
CIR while having the same behavior of the throughput is a very good starting point for the
optimization of the GPRS system. The work done in this project has been based on two
different algorithms turned toward the interference optimization (PC and IS). After our
simulations it appears clear that the implementation of different algorithms has a considerable
effect on the performance of our system in terms of carried traffic and CIR level. One of the
most important results is that a system in which there are no added techniques, it is the most
easy to create but is also the one that shows the worst performance. On the other hand, a
system with an inter-cell scheduling (which is definitely not complex to obtain) can improve
the CIR of the users having a very small payment in terms of throughput. Moreover, another
observation can be done about the Power Control algorithm: from our simulation it is possible
to notice that the introduction of the PC do not have a big effect on the throughput behavior,
and at the same time it has a very high improvement of the CIR level; it means that its
implementation, even if make the system more complex, gives better results in term of
interference optimization.