Gprs Architecture: General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)

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GENERAL PACKET RADIO SERVICE (GPRS) INTRODUCTION

The increasing demand for wireless access to the Internet has led to further developments within 2G systems(GSM). Thus we speak of 2.5G systems. General Packet Radio System(GPRS) is a new service for GSM that greatly improves and simplifies wireless access to packet data networks.It provides transmission of IP (Internet Protocol) over exsiting cellular networks,bringing the Internet to the mobile phone.
Comparison of GSM & GPRS

GSM
Data Rates Channel Bandwidth Access Method Modulation Technique Time Slot Allocation Billing Type of Connection 9.6 Kbps 200KHz FDMA/TDMA GMSK One Slot Duration of connection Circuit Switched

GPRS
14.4 to 115.2 Kbps 200KHz FDMA/TDMA GMSK Multislot Amount of data transferred Packet Switched

Circuit switching establishes fixed bandwidth circuits/channels between nodes and terminals before the users may communicate. Packet switching is a communication method in which packets are routed between nodes over data links shared with other traffic. In each network node, packets are buffered (aka "queued in"), resulting in variable delays.

GPRS ARCHITECTURE
New components introduced for GPRS services: PCU ( Packet Control Unit ) SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node) GGSN (Gateway GPRS Support Node) IP-based backbone network Intra PLMN Inter PLMN Border Gateway Charging Gateway Firewall

Old components in GSM upgraded for GPRS services: HLR MSC/VLR BTS BSC Mobile Station

GPRS ELEMENTS
1. Mobile Station ( MS) -- new mobile station is required to access GPRS services Two MS components MT (Mobile Terminal):

Typically a handset used to access the radio interface.

TE (Terminal Equipment): Typically a laptop or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

Three Mobile Station Classes Class A : This class describes mobile phones that can be connected to both GPRS and GSM services at the same time Class B : These mobiles can be attached to both GPRS and GSM services but they can be used on only one service at a time Class C: This classification covers phones that can be attached to either GPRS or GSM services but user needs to switch manually between the two different types

2. Packet Control Unit (PCU) -- separates the circuit switched and packet switched traffic from the user and sends them to the GSM and GPRS networks respectively. 3. Serving GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN) -- A packet version of a MSC in GSM. It forms gateway to the services within the network. It provides variety of services to the mobiles: Packet routing and transfer Mobility management Idle State MS is not using the GPRS services. Standby State- location of the mobile station is known only as to which routing area it is. Active State data is transmitted between a mobile station and the GPRS network. Attach/Detach Authentication Charging data 4. Gateway GPRS Supporting Node (GGSN) -- A packet version of a GMSC in GSM. It used as interface to external packet switched networks. It is also provide the ff: Converts the GPRS packets from SGSN to the PDP format Performs authentication Charging functions 5. IP-based backbone network -Tunneling is the process by which user packets are transported encapsulated in containers and transported through a IP based network. The tunneling protocol in GPRS is called the GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) over the GPRS backbone. Two kinds of GPRS backbone Network: Intra-PLMN backbone network: The IP network interconnecting GSNs within the same PLMN. Inter-PLMN backbone network: The IP network interconnecting GSNs and intra-PLMN backbone networks in different PLMNs

6. Border Gateway (BG) -- a router that can provide a direct GPRS tunnel between different operators' GPRS networks. 7. Charging Gateway (CG) -- collects and processes all of GPRS charging data are generated by all the SGSNs and GGSNs in the network, and passes it on to the Billing System. This data is referred to as Charging Data Records or CDRs. 8. Firewall-- protects an IP network against external attack (for example, hackers from the mobile users or from the Internet)

GPRS BASIC PROCESSES


Attach Process: Process by which the MS attaches (i.e., connects) to the SGSN in a GPRS network. Authentication Process: Process by which the SGSN authenticates the mobile subscriber. PDP activation Process: Process by which a user session is established between the MS and the destination network. Detach Process: Process by which the MS detaches (i.e., disconnects) from the SGSN in the GPRS network.

GPRS INTERFACES
The interfaces in the GPRS network are the following:

Um Gb : Gn : Gr : Gs : Gi : Gf : Gd : Ga : Gp :

between MS and BTS SGSN to BSS between GSNs (GTP) between SGSN and HLR (MAP) SGSN to MSC (BSSAP+) GGSN to external data networks SGSN and the EIR (MAP) between SGSN and the GMSC between GSNs and CG. between other GPRS PLMN

GPRS PROTOCOLS

In a reliable and secure way. Information is passed between the existing GSM network and the GPRS network by employing protocols on two separate planes: Transmission plane protocols are used for the transmission of user data and control functions. Signaling plane protocols are used to convey signaling information that controls and supports the transmission plane functions.

Transmission protocols in the Um interface


Physical layer Protocol Radio Frequency (RF) layer the carrier frequency characteristics and GSM radio channel structures Physical Link layer supports multiple MSs sharing a single physical channel and provides communication between the MSs and the network Medium Access Control (MAC) Protocol handles the channel allocation and the multiplexing, that is, the use of physical layer functions Radio Link Control (RLC) Protocol offers a reliable radio link to the upper layers. o o

Logical Link Control (LLC) Protocol offers a secure and reliable logical link between the MS and the SGSN for upper layer protocols, and is independent of the lower layers. SNDCP (Sub network Dependent Convergence Protocol) provides compression, segmentation and multiplexing of network-layer messages to a single virtual connection.

Transmission protocols in the Gb interface


Base Station System GPRS Protocol (BSSGP) processes routing and quality of service (QoS) information for the BSS. BSSGP uses the Frame Relay Q.922 core protocol as its transport mechanism.

Transmission protocols in the Gn interface


Layer 1 and layer 2 Protocol are vendor dependent OSI layer 1 and 2 protocols that carry the IP datagrams for the GPRS backbone network between the SGSN and the GGSN Internet Protocol (IP) only used in the GPRS backbone network. TCP or UDP used to carry the GPRS Tunnelling Protocol (GTP) PDUs across the GPRS backbone network. TCP is used for user X.25 data and UDP is used for user IP data and signalling in the Gn interface. GPRS Tunnelling Protocol (GTP) allows multi-protocol packets to be tunnelled through the GPRS backbone between GPRS Support Nodes (GSNs).

LOCATION MANAGEMENT
A MS can be in one of three states depending on its current traffic amount; the location update frequency is dependent on the state of the MS Mobile station can be in 1 of the 3 states depending on traffic amount

Idle State : MS is not using GPRS service. Ready State : Performing GPRS Attach, MS gets into READY
State.

Standby State: When MS does not send any packets for


longer period of time, Ready timer Expires.

QoS MANAGEMENT
The Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of typical mobile packet data applications are very diverse. For example diiferent GPRS applications like realtime multimedia, Web browsing, and e-mail transfer need a different QoS support. This QoS becomes a very important feature of GPRS services. GPRS allows defining QoS profiles using the parameters service precedence, reliability, delay, and throughput. These parameters are described below: Service Precedence: The service precedence is the priority of a service in relation to another service. There exist three levels of priority: high, normal, and low. Reliability: The reliability indicates the transmission characteristics required by an application. Three reliability classes are defined, which guarantee certain maximum values for the probability of loss, duplication, mis-sequencing, and corruption of packets. Delay: The delay is defined as the end-toend transfer time between two communicating mobile stations or between a mobile station and the Gi interface to an external packet data network. Throughput: The throughput specifies the maximum/peak bit rate and the mean bit rate.

GPRS LOGICAL CHANNELS


Broadcast channels o Packet Broadcast Central Channel (PBCCH): This is a downlink only channel that is used to broadcast information to mobiles and informs them of incoming calls etc Common control channels: o Packet Paging Channel (PPCH): This is a downlink only channel and is used to alert the mobile to an incoming call and to alert it to be ready to receive data. It is used for control signalling prior to the call set up o Packet Access Grant Channel (PAGCH): This is also a downlink channel and it sends information telling the mobile which traffic channel has been assigned to it. o Packet Notification Channel (PNCH): This is another downlink only channel that is used to alert mobiles that there is broadcast traffic intended for a large number of mobiles. I o Packet Random Access Channel (PRACH): This is an uplink channel that enables the mobile to initiate a burst of data in the uplink Dedicated control channels: o Packet Associated Control Channel (PACCH): : This channel is present in both uplink and downlink directions and it is used for control signalling while a call is in progress. o Packet Timing Advance Common Control Channel (PTCCH): This channel, which is present in both the uplink and downlink directions is used to adjust the timing advance Dedicated traffic channel: o Packet Data Traffic Channel (PDTCH): This channel is used to send the traffic and it is present in both the uplink and downlink directions. Up to eight PDTCHs can be allocated to a mobile to provide high speed data

BENEFITS OF GPRS

Higher Data Rate: Users of GPRS benefit from shorter access times and higher data rates.. GPRS in practice offers session establishment times below one second and ISDN-like data rates up to several ten kbit/s. Easy Billing:GPRS packet transmission offers a more userfriendly billing than that offered by circuit switched billing
can be based on the amount of transmitted data. The advantage for the user is that he or she can be "online" over a long period of time but will be billed based on the transmitted data volume.

DISADVANTAGE OF GPRS
Speed : Most GPRS connections run slower than 56K connections on a computer because of the limitations of the GPRS technology. Reliability: You might notice that your GPRS connection sometimes moves faster than others Voice calls have a higher priority than data packet transmissions, essentially giving you fluctuations in your connection speed Distance Factor: The farther away you are from a base station, the more your performance drops. This problem happens less frequently in urban areas.

GPRS APPILICATIONS
Chat Textural and Visual information Still Images Moving images Web Browsing Document sharing/ Collaborative working Audio Job Dispatch Corporation Email Internet Email Vehicle Positioning Remote LAN Access File Transfer Home Automation

What is Next ?
We have now seen that GPRS is a crucial step in the mobile evolution, and it opens endless possibilities for application developers and users. The next step after GPRS can be either EDGE or UMTS (or both).

Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE): using a new modulation scheme to provide up to three times higher throughput (for HSCSD and GPRS) Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS): a new wireless technology using new infrastructure deployment.

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