Chapter 3

GPRS Networks and Location Management

In this chapter, we first describe the terminologies and the network components
that are involved in the location management procedures of GPRS. Then we elaborate
the factors that impact the location management traffic in GPRS networks. Finally, our
analysis on the combinations of network operation mode, MS mobility management
states (MM states) and the MS mode of operation will be summarized in a Table.

3.1

MS Class and Network Mode

3.1.1 Terminologies
I. Circuit-Switched and Packet-Switched
In general, digital wireless data is available in two formats: one is the
circuit-switched data that is commonly accessed through a dial-up server, such as an
33

internet service provider (ISP) or other network provider. The circuit-switched data
link is exclusively dedicated during the connection.
The other is the packet-switched data that is where your computer or phone is
constantly connected to a server and 'listens' to the network. If one connects to the
internet from an office LAN (local area network) or cable then his/her internet
connection is always 'live' or packet-switched (provided that the computer is on). The
packet-switched data link is shared among the users.
The two formats carry with their corresponding services, CS services and PS
services, or services in CS domain and PS domain. CS services are based on circuit
switching, and contains, such as conventional voice services and SMS services,
dialed-up to access the ISP. It should also be pointed out that SMS currently available
in GSM networks transmits data on the control channel. CS services have a downfall
that you always have to establish a data connection with your dial-up service.
PS services are based on packet switching and transmit packages of data-packet
that is like the datagram for computer networks, for example, Internet access and IP
phone. SMS is also available through PS domain services. It has an advantage that your
phone is always connected to the network. Emails and messages which have been sent
to you arrive immediately.
II. IMSI and TMSI of MSs
An MS consists of two parts: the terminal equipment that contains the hardware
and software for the radio access, and the subscriber identity module (SIM) that
contains subscriber specifics and location information.
34

The SIM is the size of a credit card or smaller and is removable from the
terminal equipment. It is assigned a unique IMSI (or referred to by ITU-T as
international mobile station identity [4].) number within the GSM network. A user
carrying his/her SIM card can roam between different terminals that are appropriate for
each PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) [5][6][7] coverage area, so as to obtaining
the personalized facilities specified in SIM.
In order to increase confidentiality and to use the radio resource more
efficiently, the IMSI is not normally transmitted over the radio link. Instead, a terminal
is allocated the temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) by the VLR and/or the
SGSN (will be described below) that governing the area where the MS is visiting. The
TMSI is shorter than the IMSI and is only valid within the current visiting area [4].
From now on, the combination of the SIM and its accessed terminal equipment
is referred to as a user or MS, which has the identity including a permanent IMSI and
one or two TMSI (it depends on the number of services which the MS is attached to).
III. IMSI-attached, GPRS-attached
To get access to the above mentioned services, a subscribed MS must be
registered at, or attached to the network. In GPRS, a GPRS-attached MS is registered at
the SGSN and hence can access PS services, which are so-called GPRS services. An
IMSI-attached MS is registered at the MSC and can achieve CS services, which is
named other GSM services in order to distinguish from the GPRS services.
The signaling traffic for performing attachment does not concern the
geographical layout of the registration area, and vice versa. Hence although attach
35

functions are performed in the location management, they are not considered in the
location management design. This is also applied to the detach functions which are the
opposite processes to the attach functions.
In addition to the changes in the ways some protocols and signaling are being
implemented, GPRS has two notable add-ons and/or differences to the GSM system,
namely, the MS and the core network (CN). These differences will be presented in the
next two consecutive subsections.

3.1.2 MS Mode of Operation, or MS Class

A GSM GPRS MS (or GPRS MS for short, by contrast with the term GSM MS
that refers to the MS without PS capability, hereafter.) also comprises of user
equipment (UE), typically a handset that is equipped with packet transmission abilities
[3], and a SIM. For GSM, the UE is only able to use the circuit switching to establish
voice or data connections. Moreover, while a GSM MS has only one TMSI assigned by
VLR, a GPRS MS may be assigned two numbers: a TMSI as the previously described
one, and a P-TMSI (packet TMSI for short) for PS services
Depending on the services which the MS is attached to, a GPRS MS operates in
one of the three modes of operation:
Class-A: the MS is both GPRS and IMSI attached, and can simultaneously provide PS
and CS connections;

36

Class-B: the MS is both GPRS and IMSI attached, but provides either PS or CS
connection at one time. It has the capability of holding a PS transfer when
receiving a CS paging which is generally more delay sensitive;
Class-C: the MS is exclusively GPRS attached [3].
It is important to notice that the MS mode of operation depends on the kind of
services which it is currently attached to; instead of the services it has been subscribed.
For instance, when a class-A MS detaches the PS domain, it becomes a IMSI-attached
only MS; and a successful execution of IMSI attachment procedure makes a class-C
MS become a class-A or -B MS.

3.1.3 Network Operation Mode, or Network Mode

In the CN, GPRS introduces a new set of switching nodes, also known as the
GPRS support nodes (GSN), and a set of supporting interfaces to enhance the
integration with GSM. The GSN that is capable of routing PS data into a separate
network contains IP or other routing functionalities. There are two main functional
entities to be considered, as indicated in Figure 3-1.
The first is the access point for an external data network and is known as the
gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). It contains the routing for GPRS-attached users.
With this information, GGSN is capable of delivering the packet data units (PDU) to
the users current access point. The location information can be obtained from the HLR
via the optional Gc interface, as shown in Figure 3-1.

37

The second is the SGSN that serves the need of mobile users. When a user is
GPRS-attached, the SGSN establishes a mobility management (MM) context
containing information pertaining to routing, security and mobility, such as the identity
of RA and LA where the MS is residing, and the MSs MM states, etc. The SGSN also
ciphers PS traffic, given that the base transceiver station (BTS, in GPRS, BTS replaces
the BS in GSM.) is only responsible to cipher CS traffic [3]. From the specification [3],
it is noted that both the GGSN and the SGSN are collectively known as the GSN, and
they can either be combined into one physical node or be separated and reside in the
same or different networks, of which the latter is to be linked via the Gn interface as
shown in Figure 3-1.
PSTN/ISDN

Core Network

HLR
Gc

D
MSC
/VLR

Internet / PSDN

Gr

Gr

GGSN
SGSN2
Gn

Gs

Gn

GSN

SGSN1
A

GGSN: gateway GPRS support node

SGSN: serving GPRS support node BSC
SIM: subscriber identity module
GSN: GPRS support node
UE: user equipment
Um

Gb

Um
BTS

BTS

BTS
BTS

GSM MS

UE
SIM
GPRS MSs

Figure 3-1 GPRS Network Architecture

The radio channel on the Um interface (see Figure 3-1), which is used by the
SGSN to communicate the GPRS MS via the BSS, is not fixed. The physical channel
38

dedicated to packet data traffic is called a packet data channel (PDCH). A cell that
supports GPRS may allocate one or more shared PDCHs which are taken from the
common pool of physical channel available to the cell, and otherwise used as CS traffic
channels. According to the requirement for flexible adaptation to different traffic
conditions, allocation of PDCHs is based on demand. Furthermore, uplinks and
downlinks are basically used as independent channel resources.
Different logical channels can occur on the same PDCH, which contains both
packet common control channel (PCCCH, which contains packet paging channel) and
packet traffic channel (PTCH). The existence of the PDCH does not imply the
existence of PCCCH. When no PCCCH is assigned in a cell, the signaling exchange
between the SGSN and all GPRS-attached MSs automatically camps on the existing
GSM CCCH (common control channel). When a PCCCH is allocated in a cell, the
signaling exchange between the SGSN and all GPRS-attached MSs camps on it. The
PCCCH can be allocated either as a result of the increased demand for packet data
transfer or whenever there are enough available physical channels in a cell. If the
network withdraws the PCCCH, the MS returns to the CCCH. In case of paging and
location update, the involved physical channel is the sub-channel of PCCCH channel
[8][11].
Critical to an optimal GPRS LM design is the optional Gs interface, as shown in
Figure3-1. In general, the Gs interface bridges the CS domain and the PS domain by
enabling the signaling exchange between MSC and SGSN. As a result, it works only to
the users that have been both GPRS- and IMSI-attached, i.e. class-A and class-B MSs.
39

As discussed previously, GPRS CN supports both CS and PS services in a

separate but parallel network. In view of the location management, a class-A or -B MS
updates its location to the MSC/VLR and the SGSN separately; meanwhile, the MSC
sends CS paging message via CCCH channel for CS services, and the SGSN sends PS
paging message for PS services [3]. Compared to the GSM network, the amount of
signaling traffic on the Um interface of a GPRS networks will increase substantially.
The potential of mobile users extending CS services to PS/CS services, as shown in
Figure3-2(I), will roughly duplicate the location management signaling traffic.
HLR
D

Internet /
PSPDN

Gc
Gr

om
a

PS
dom
ain

in
oma

GGSN
Gn

MSC
/VLR

in

PS
d

a
om

PS Um
do
m
ai n

Gb

do

BSC

CS doma
in

Gs

om
ain

d
CS
CS

a in

signaling interface

signaling and data

transfer interface

Gb

(I) Parallel PS and CS Signaling in the CN

CS

SGSN

ain
om
d
S
/P

BSC

/P
CS

signaling exchange
for PS and/or CS
message(s)
BTS

GGSN
Gn

MSC
/VLR

SGSN

GPRS ClassA/B MSs

Internet /
PSPDN

in

Gr

PS d

CS d
oma
in

Gc

HLR

PSTN/
ISDN

CS
d

PSTN/
ISDN

ain
om
d
S

GPRS Class-A/B MSs

Um

BTS

(II) PS and CS Signaling Association by Gs Interface

Figure 3-2 Gs Bridges the CS Domain and the PS Domain

Fortunately, this amount could be reduced through the introduction of the Gs

interface (Figure3-2(II)). On one hand, the Gs interface allows the SGSN to forward
40

location update information of the IMSI/GPRS attached MSs to the MSC/VLR; hence
the separate CS and PS domain location updates are combined, named combined RA/LA
update. On the other hand, the Gs interface allows the SGSN to convert an MSC paging
message into an SGSN paging message, and then CS message for a
GPRS-/IMSI-attached MS is paged within the RA via the SGSN instead of within the
LA via the MSC directly, namely coordinated paging. The above two processes are
also jointly named as MS coordination. The Gs interface indicates an association
between the MSC/VLR and the SGSN, which implies that the VLR and the SGSN store
the address of each other. The Gs interface saves the signaling traffic on the radio
interface, Um, at the expense of incurring the additional processing cost in the GPRS
CN.
According to the existence of the Gs interface and the presence of PCCCH, the
network operation mode (or the network mode, for short) is defined as follows:
Mode I: The Gs interface exists and cells supporting GPRS may allocate the PCCCH;
Mode II: The Gs interface does not exist and no PCCCH is assigned;
Mode III: The Gs interface does not exist; cells supporting GPRS may allocate the
PCCCH.
From the specification [3], it is noted for the purpose of proper network
operation, the operation mode should be the same for each cell in a registration area.
And the network operation mode (mode I, II/ III) should be indicated as system
information to MSs.

41

The network operation mode (1)decides the paging channel (CCCH or PCCCH)
used by the network to send a paging message for CS services, and (2)impacts the type
of location updates performed by the MSs when they cross the LA boundary or change
the serving SGSN. The second will be elaborated in subsection 3.3. The first is
discussed from a networking perspective and an MS perspective as follows:
Network Perspective
The paging message for PS services is always transmitted on the packet paging
channel that is among the PCCCH, if the PCCCH is allocated in the cells. Otherwise,
this PS paging message transfers on the CCCH paging channel. However, the physical
channel involved in transmitting a CS paging message varies according to the network
operation mode indicated in the cell.
1. If the cell indicates network mode II or III, the absence of Gs interface
implies no paging coordination. Since the paging message for CS services is originated
by the MSC, it is transmitted on the CCCH paging channel;
2. If the cell indicates network mode I, the Gs interface presents and coordinated
paging is allowable. All MSC originated paging for GPRS-attached MSs shall go via
the SGSN. In this case, SGSN relay the CS paging message on the same channel as for
PS paging message. Furthermore, if the desired MSs is exchanging PS data with the
network (i.e. in PS connection), the CS paging message is transmitted on the PDCH,
because CS services is more delay-sensitive and hence prior to PS services.
MS Perspective (Class-A or -B MSs)
1. When the packet paging channel is allocated in the cell, if the cell indicates
42

network operation mode I, the MS needs only to monitor the packet paging channel for
both PS and CS services, and it receives CS paging message on the PDCH when it has
been assigned a PDCH (that is, the MS is in PS connection with the network). If the cell
indicates network mode III, the MS that wants to receive pages for both PS and CS
services shall monitor both the CCCH paging channel and the packet paging channel.
The difference lies in the presence of the Gs interface. Remind that the cell indicates
mode II never allocates the packet paging channel.
2. When the packet paging channel is not allocated in the cell, the MS shall only
monitor the CCCH paging channel. If the MS has been assigned a PDCH, for the cells
indicates mode I, CS paging will be on the PDCH because of the paging coordination.
For the cells indicates mode II/III, CS paging continues on CCCH paging channel.
Mode II differs from mode III on the presence of packet paging channel and
consequently the channel monitored by the MS. As the channel allocation or monitor is
beyond the scope of location management design, we group them as mode II/III and
have the same cost, hereafter. The above discussion is fundamental to define the unit
cost Cpp and Ccp in subsection 5.1. In Chapter 4, based on the above subsection, we will
project the paging traffic to the PS domain and the CS domain respectively.

3.2

Mobility Management States (MM States)

The third parameter that impacts the type of location update to be performed is

the MSs MM states.

43

In CS domain, GPRS retains GSM states, i.e. an IMSI-attached MS can either

be idle or in CS-connection. An IMSI-attached MS in idle state updates its location to
the associated MSC/VLR either periodically or when it changes LA. However, an
IMSI-attached only MS in CS-connection performs handover when it changes its
location, which does not involve the RA/LA design.
In PS domain, GPRS characterizes an MSs MM activities into three states:
GPRS Idle: the MS is not available for PS services and never perform location
management procedure in PS domain. It may perform LA update, provided it is
IMSI-attached. In order to get PS services, the MS must initiate a GPRS
attachment procedure.
Ready: the MS is in PS connection. It is the only state that PDUs are allowed to be
delivered to the MS. The SGSN tracks the MS at cell level and the MS performs
CA update, because a valid MM context is established and is hold by the MS
and the corresponding SGSN. The state transits to Standby if no PDU is
transmitted before a ready timer expires. It transits to GPRS Idle when the MS
or network initiates a GPRS detachment.
Standby: This packet idle state is similar to GSM idle. An MS in this state is
GPRS-attached, and both MS and SGSN have established MM contexts. The
MS is tracked by the SGSN at RA level and performs RA or combined RA/LA
location update procedures. The SGSN may perform paging procedures. The
MS in this state transits to Ready state upon a successful response to a page
from SGSN.
44

Figure 3-3 depicts the described MSs MM states model and state transitions. It
can be anticipated that GPRS class-A/-B MSs may have various combinations of the
state in PS domain and the state in CS domain (hence named state combinations). And
this variety will exaggerate the complexity of GPRS location management design.

MS initiated
GPRS attach

GPRS Idle

Ready

Standby

MS responses to a
page from SGSN

GPRS dettach

LA update *

Ready timer expired

/no PDU transferred

CA update *

See details in
Table1*

* GPRS MS's possible location update procedures.

Figure 3-3 Mobility Management States of the GPRS MS

3.3

GPRS Location Management Procedures

Location management contains two basic processes: paging for information

delivery and location update to facilitate the system keeping track of the MS.
For paging, in accordance with the size of registration area, the SGSN initiates
paging for PS services, while the MSC initiates paging for CS services. If the network
is in mode I, coordinated paging is available. Hence the CS services paging message for
class-A/-B MSs is transmitted via the SGSN and will be broadcast in the related RA.
For location update, the MS executes the procedure under two circumstances:

45

Periodic location update: the MS reports its presence to the network on a periodic basis,
provided it remains switched on, despite sojourning in a registration area for a
prolonged period of time.
All GPRS-attached MSs should perform RA update towards the SGSN
periodically, except class-B MSs engaged in a CS connection. And all IMSI-attached
MSs should perform LA update towards the MSC/VLR periodically, except MSs in CS
connection. Furthermore, if the MS is GPRS/IMSI attached and the network operates in
mode I, a periodic combined RA/LA update replaces the separate periodic RA update
and periodic LA update.
Normal location update: the MS performs normal location update when it detects that
the registration area(s) has changed by comparing the RA number and the LA
number stored in the MS and the numbers that are broadcast by the BTS.
Since the periodic update is charged by timers, only the normal location update
influences the optimal design.

3.3.1 Normal Location Updates

In view of GPRS add-ons which are designed to accommodate PS services, and
in order to conserve and optimally use scarce radio resources, the normal location
update procedure of GPRS differs from that of GSM in three points:
Involved CN Entities
The involved CN entities extend from MSC/VLR and HLR to SGSN,
MSC/VLR and HLR. As a result, the inter/intra-MSC moving in GSM extends to
46

inter/intra-SGSN and inter/intra-MSC moving in GPRS. In the previous research, it is

very common to assume that one MSC/VLR has one LA, while recently, the difference
between inter-switch and intra-switch moving has to be taken into consideration.
HLR
MSC/
VLR

BSC

MSC/
VLR

SGSN

BSC

BSC

BSC

SGSN
BSC

BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS BTS
*#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19
RA 2

RA 1

RA 3

LA 1 (Mode I)
*

CA with the cell number;

LA 2 (Mode I)
Normal location update;

RA 4

RA 5

LA 3 (Mode II)
Periodic location update.

Figure 3-4 Types of Registration Areas for GPRS: CA, RA and LA

Scales of Registration Area

Unlike GSM registration area, which comprises of only LA, the LA of GPRS
networks is further divided into RAs and CAs to accommodate the parallel bursty PS
services, as noted in Figure 3-4. Moreover, although a SGSN serving area may intersect
a MSC servicing area, the RA must be the subset of the LA [3], and each LA should be
governed by one MSC. It is reasonable when we recall that with the shrinking of the
cell-size one MSC governs more than one LAs, and so does the SGSN.
Types of Location Update Procedure
New types of location update procedure are added to the original GSM
procedure. Besides LA update, there are CA update, RA update and combined LA/RA
update. Here we give a summary on the types of GPRS normal location update.

47

1. On account that a network operated in mode II/III executes CS and PS

services in parallel, an RA update happens when a GPRS-attached MS crosses the RA
boundary. It is governed by the SGSN. If it is an inter-SGSN crossing, the update
message will be forwarded to HLR. An LA update happens when an IMSI-attached MS
crosses the LA boundary, and is governed by the MSC/VLR; if it is an inter-MSC
crossing, the update message will be transmitted to HLR.
Generally, one LA includes one or more RA, and an LA update is to be executed
prior to an RA update in the event of simultaneous occurrence [3]. A class-A MS will
consecutively initiate the LA update then the RA update, but a class-B MS will execute
the LA update procedure and the RA update procedure in sequence.
2. If the cells indicate network mode I, a GPRS/IMSI-attached MS executes the
combined RA/LA update instead of separate RA and LA updates when it crosses a RA
or LA boundary.
3. In contrast to GSM where the handover procedure is used when the MS in
CS-connection changes its serving cell (handover consists of mobility management
with location management, but focus on maintaining a users voice connection to the
network when the MS continues to move and change it network access point [34]), in
PS no handover is supported. A CA update is therefore needed when an MS in PS
connection changes its residing cell as mentioned in section 3.2.
To be precise, when moving to a new cell, an MS must leave the ready state,
switch to the new cell, and can only then resume the packet transfer in the new cell.
Moreover, a class-A MS in CS connection will rely on handover procedure [3][9][77].
48

In this instance, the network tracks the MS in ready state on the cell level and the MS
provides the network with the actual selected cell. Since one cell is one CA, the
signaling traffic for CA update does not contribute to the location management design.
In the later consideration, we will drop the signaling traffic for CA update.

3.3.2 State Combinations

In the following, we provide additional elaborations on the location
management procedures when the network and MS are of different combinations of
state.
1. When an MS which is in CS-connection performs handover procedure, it
does not need to update its CS domain location even when it changes residential LA. In
this instance, the PS and CS domain association for this MS, if it exists, retains the
original information (SGSN, VLR address or numbers) and will not be updated until
the CS connection terminates.
Meanwhile, in PS domain, a class-A MS in CS-connection performs RA update
to refresh the SGSN number once it changes residing RA because it supports the
concurrent PS/CS services, but a class-B MS in CS-connection performs no update.
Class-C MSs do not support CS services.
2. Once the CS connection ends, the MS need to refresh its CS domain location
information if it changes residing LA during the connection.
In this instance, if the existing cell is in network operation mode II/III, a standby
class-A performs an LA update and a standby class-B MS performs separate RA and
49

LA updates. If a standby class-B MS changes only residential RA but retains the same
LA during its CS connection, only RA update is needed. And if the cell is operating at
network mode I, a combined RA/LA update will be performed, because the association
(i.e. the Gs interface) between the SGSN and the MSC/VLR will be refreshed by the
combined RA/LA update.

3.3.3 Possible Location Update Procedures

Table summarizes the normal location update procedures performed by MSs
of possible state combinations. The location management procedures given in the table
follow the 3GPP specifications [3] completely, and most of the rules have been
discussed earlier in this section.
The MS executes the procedure listed in the columns titled inter LA (see
Table 1) when there is a change in LA. When there is a change in RA, the MS performs
the procedure listed in the column titled either intra-SGSN or inter-SGSN.

50

MS Mode of Operation

MM States Combination

Services
Attached

PS Domain CS Domain

MS Class

idle
standby

in CSconnec.
CS-connec.
ends

class-A
MSs

idle
GPRSattached;

ready

in CSconnec.
CS-connec.
ends

IMSIattached

idle
standby
class-B
MSs

ready
exclusively
GPRSattached;

class -C
MSs

IMSIattached
only;

GSM MSs

standby
ready
not
applicable

in CSconnec.

Network
Operation
Mode

Inter RA
Intra
SGSN

Inter LA

Inter
SGSN

RA/LA"

II/III

RA"

I/II/III

RA"+ handover

RA"+ LA"

I
II/III

RA/LA"
no action

I/II/III

LA"
CA"

II/III

CA" + handover

CA"

II/III
I
II/III
I/II/III

RA/LA"
RA"

RA"+ LA"

handover

CS-connec.
ends

II/III

idle

I/II/III

not
applicable

I/II/III

RA/LA"
RA"

RA"+ LA"

CA"
RA"
CA"

idle
in CSconnec.

MM Procedure

no action

LA"

I/II/III

RA/LA" a combined RA LA location update procedure; RA"

CA"
LA" an LA location update procedure;

handover
an RA location update procedure;
a CA location update procedure;

Table 1 Possible Location Update Procedures Performed by GPRS MSs

To get a full understanding of GPRS location update, Figure 3-5 briefs the
signaling message of all types of location update.

51

GPRS Core network

Um
MS

BSS

(new) SGSN

old SGSN

GGSN

HLR

(new) MSC/VLR

old MSC/VLR

1 Update Request
2 SGSN Context
Request & Response
3 Update PDP Context
Request & Response
4-1 Update Location

PS
domain
update

4-2 Cancel Location&Ack

4-3 Insert Subscriber Data&Ack
5 LA Update Request

8 Update Accept

7 LA Update Accept

relayed
CS
domain
update

6-1 Update Location

6-2 Cancel Location&Ack
6-3 Insert Subscriber Data&Ack

9 Update Request
Direct
CS
domain
update
1+8: intra SGSN RA update;

10-1 Update Location

10-2 Cancel Location&Ack
10-3 Insert Subscriber Data&Ack
11 Update Accept
1+5+7+8: intra SGSN& intra MSC RA/LA combined update;

1~4 +8: inter SGSN RA update; 1+ 5~8: intra SGSN& inter MSC RA/LA combined update;
9+11: intra MSC LA update;
9~11: inter MSC LA update;

1~5+7+8: inter SGSN& intertra MSC combined RA/LA update;

1~8: inter SGSN& inter MSC RA/LA combined update.

Figure 3-5 GPRS Location Update Procedures

Based on the above discussion and the signaling flow shown in Figure 3-5, we
can define the unit costs Ccu and Cpu, which are related to the radio bandwidth that is
consumed by performing single location update procedure in CS domain and PS
domain (i.e. to MSC and to SGSN), respectively. More discussion will be made in
section 5.1.

52