Mobile Computing

Chapter 7
GPRS
Asoke K Talukder
Hasan Ahmed
Tata McGraw Hill
 GPRS
General Packet Radio Service
Step to efficiently transport high-speed data over the current
GSM and TDMA-based wireless network infrastructures
Deployment of GPRS networks allows a variety of new
applications ranging from mobile e-commerce to mobile
corporate VPN access
GPRS allows for data speeds of 14.4 KBps to 171.2 KBps,
which allow for comfortable Internet access
Allows for short bursty traffic, such as e-mail and web
browsing, as well as large volumes of data
 GPRS

No dial-up modem connection is necessary

Offers fast connection set-up mechanism to offer a perception
of being always on or always connected
Immediacy is one of the prime advantages of GPRS
 QoS in GPRS
Allows definition of QoS profiles using the parameters of
service precedence, reliability, delay and throughput
Service precedence is the priority of a service in relation to
another service which can be either high, normal or low
Reliability indicates the transmission characteristics required
by an application and guarantees certain maximum values for the
probability of loss, duplication, mis-sequencing and corruption of
packets
Delay parameters define maximum values for the mean delay
and the 95-percentile delay
Throughput specifies the maximum/peak bit rate and the mean
bit rate
 GPRS Network Architecture
GPRS uses the GSM architecture for voice
To offer packet data services through GPRS, a new class of
network nodes called GPRS support nodes (GSN) are introduced
GSNs are responsible for the delivery and routing of data
packets between the mobile stations and the external packet data
networks (PDN)
Two main GSNs are Serving GSN (SGSN) and Gateway GSN
(GGSN)
 SGSN
SGSN is at the same hierarchical level as the MSC and so,
whatever MSC does for voice, SGSN does for packet data
SGSNs tasks include packet switching, routing and transfer,
mobility management, logical link management, authentication
and charging functions
SGSN processes registration of new mobile subscribers and
keeps a record of their location inside a given service area
Location register of the SGSN stores location information (like
current cell, current VLR, etc.) and user profiles of all GPRS
users registered with this SGSN
SGSN sends queries to HLR to obtain profile data of GPRS
subscribers
 GGSN
GGSN acts as an interface between the GPRS backbone
network and the external packet data networks and functions like
a router in a LAN
GGSN maintains routing information that is necessary to
tunnel Protocol Data Units (PDUs) to the SGSNs that service
particular mobile stations
GGSNs convert the GPRS packets coming from the SGSN into
the appropriate packet data protocol (PDP) format for the data
networks like Internet or X.25
GGSN stores the current SGSN address of the user and users
profile in its location register while performing authentication and
charging functions related to data transfer
GPRS System Architecture
 GPRS Network Enhancements
Base Station System (BSS) needs enhancement to recognize
and send packet data and this includes BTS upgrade to allow
transportation of user data to the SGSN. BTS, too, needs to be
upgraded to support packet data transportation between BTS and
MS (mobile station).
HLR needs enhancement to register GPRS user profiles and
respond to queries originating from GSNs regarding these
profiles.
MS (mobile station) for GPRS is different from that of GSM.
SMS-GMSCs and SMS-IWMSCs are upgraded to support
SMS transmission via the SGSN.
 Channel Coding
Channel coding is used to protect the transmitted data packets
against errors
Channel coding technique in GPRS is quite similar to the one
employed in conventional GSM
Under very bad channel conditions, reliable coding scheme is
used where redundant bits are added to recover from burst errors
Under good channel conditions, no encoding scheme is used
resulting in a higher data rate
Transmission Plane Protocol Architecture
 Signaling Plane
Protocol architecture of the signaling plane
comprises protocols for control and support of the
functions of the transmission plane and includes
GPRS attach and detach, PDP context activation,
control of routing paths and allocation of network
resources.
Between SGSN and HLR as well as between SGSN
and EIR, an enhanced Mobile Application Part (MAP)
is employed which is a mobile network specific
extension of the Signaling System SS#7 used in
GSM and transports the signaling information
related to location updates, routing information, user
profiles and handovers.
MAP messages are exchanged over Transaction
Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) and Signaling
 GPRS Backbone
It includes the transmission plane between SGSN and GGSN.
User data packets and signaling information within GPRS
networks are encapsulated using GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP)
which is also used in both intra-PLMN (between SGSN and
GGSN within one PLMN) and inter-PLMN (between SGSN and
GGSN of different PLMNs).
GTP protocol tunnels the user data packets through GPRS
backbone by adding GPRS specific routing information in the
form of GTP packets which can carry data packets from both IP
and X.25 data networks.
Finally, GPRS backbone has an IP/X.25-over-GTP-over-
UDP/TCP-over-IP transport architecture.
 BSS-SGSN Interface

The BSS-SGSN interface is divided into four layers:

1. Sub-Network Dependent Convergence Protocol (SNDCP)
which transfers data packets between SGSN and MS,
multiplexes several connections of the network layer onto one
virtual logical connection of the underlying LLC layer and
does segmentation, compression-decompression of user data.
2. Logical Link Control (LLC) is data link layer protocol for
GPRS which functions similar to Link Access Procedure-D
(LAPD) and assures the reliable transfer of user data across a
wireless network.
 BSS-SGSN Interface

3. Base Station System GPRS Protocol (BSSGP) delivers

routing and QoS related information between BSS and SGSN.
4. Network Service layer manages the convergence sub-layer
that operates between BSSGP and Frame Relay Q.922 Core
by mapping BSSGPs service requests to the appropriate
Frame Relay services.
 Air Interface
Air interface of GPRS comprises data link layer and physical
layer.
Data link layer between MS and BSS is divided into three
sublayers: the logical link control (LLC) layer, the radio link
control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer.
Physical layer between MS and BSS is divided into two
sublayers: the physical link layer (PLL) and the physical RF layer
(RFL).
 LLC Layer
Logical Link Control (LLC) layer provides a reliable logical
link between an MS and its assigned SGSN as its functionality is
based on HDLC (High Level Data Link Control) protocol and
includes sequence control, in-order delivery, flow control,
detection of transmission errors and retransmissions.
Encryption is used.
Variable frame lengths are possible and both
acknowledged and unacknowledged data
transmission modes are supported.
 RLC Layer
Radio Link Control (RLC) layer establishes a reliable link
between MS and BSS.
It also does segmentation and reassembly of LLC frames into
RLC data blocks and ARQ of uncorrectable data.
 MAC Layer
Medium Access Control (MAC) layer controls the access
attempts of an MS on the radio channel shared by several MSs by
employing algorithms for contention resolution, multi-user
multiplexing on a packet data traffic channel (PDTCH) and
scheduling and prioritizing based on the negotiated QoS.
 PL Layer
Physical Link Layer (PLL) provides services for information
transfer over a physical channel between the MS and the network.
Its functions include data unit framing, data coding and
detection and correction of physical medium transmission errors.
Physical Link Layer uses the services of the Physical RF Layer.
 PRF Layer
Physical RF Layer (RFL) performs the modulation of the
physical waveforms based on the sequence of bits received from
the Physical Link Layer above.
It also demodulates received wave forms into a sequence of
bits that are transferred to the Physical Link layer for
interpretation.
 Radio Resource Management
On the radio interface, GPRS uses a combination of FDMA
and TDMA.
A series of logical channels are defined to perform functions
like signaling, broadcast of general system information,
synchronization, channel assignment, paging or payload transport.
Such channels can be divided into two categories: traffic
channels and signaling channels.
GPRS traffic channels are allocated when data packets are sent
or received and they are released after the transmission of data.
GPRS allows a single mobile station to use multiple time slots
of the same TDMA frame for data transmission which is known as
multi-slot operation and uses a very flexible channel allocation.
 Radio Resource Management
Uplink and downlink channels are allocated separately which
efficiently supports asymmetric data traffic like Internet.
Physical channels to transport user data packet are called
Physical Data Traffic Channel (PDTCH) which are taken from a
common pool of all channels available in a cell.
Mapping of physical channels to either packet switched data
(in GPRS mode) or circuit switched data (in GSM mode) services
are performed dynamically depending on demand.
Demand-wise, the number of channels allocated for GPRS can
be changed. For example, physical channels not currently in use
by GSM can be allocated as PDTCHs to increase the bandwidth
of a GPRS connection.
 Security
GPRS security is similar to the existing GSM security.
SGSN performs authentication and cipher setting procedures
based on the same algorithms, keys and other criteria of GSM.
GPRS uses a ciphering algorithm optimized for packet data
transmission.
 Attachment and Detachment in GPRS
MS registers itself with SGSN of GPRS network through a
GPRS attach which establishes a logical link between the MS and
the SGSN.
Network checks if MS is authorized to use the services; if so, it
copies the user profile from HLR to SGSN and assigns a Packet
Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (P-TMSI) to the MS.
To exchange data packets with external PDNs after a
successful GPRS attach, an MS must apply for an address which
is called PDP (Packet Data Protocol) address.
For each session, a PDP context is created which contains PDP
type (e.g. IPv4), PDP address assigned to the mobile station (e.g.
129.187.222.10), requested QoS and address of the GGSN that
will function as an access point to the PDN.
 Attachment and Detachment in GPRS
Such a context is stored in MS, SGSN and GGSN while with
an active PDP context, the MS is visible to the external PDN.
A user may have several simultaneous PDP contexts active at a
given time and user data is transferred transparently between MS
and external data networks trough GTP encapsulation and
tunneling.
Allocation of the PDP address can be static or dynamic.
In case of static address, the network operator permanently
assigns a PDP address to the user while in other case, a PDP
address is assigned to the user upon the activation of a PDP
context.
 PDP Context Activation
Using the message activate PDP context request, MS informs
the SGSN about the requested PDP context and if request is for
dynamic PDP address assignment, the parameter PDP address will
be left empty.
After necessary security steps, if authentication is successful,
SGSN will send a create PDP context request message to the
GGSN, the result of which is a confirmation message create PDP
context response from the GGSN to the SGSN, which contains
the PDP address.
SGSN updates its PDP context table and confirms the
activation of the new PDP context to the MS.
Disconnection from the GPRS network is called GPRS detach
in which all the resources are released.
PDP Context Activation
 Mobility Management
Mobility Management functions are used to track its location
within each PLMN in which SGSNs communicate with each other
to update the MSs location in the relevant registers.
Profiles of MSs are preserved in VLRs that are accessible to
SGSNs via the local MSC.
A logical link is established and maintained between the MS
and the SGSN at each PLMN.
At the end of transmission or when a mobile station moves out
of area of a specific SGSN, the logical link is released and the
resources associated with it can be reallocated.
 Routing
Routing is the process of how packets are routed in GPRS.
Here, the example assumes two intra-PLMN backbone
networks of different PLMNs. Intra-PLMN backbone networks
connect GSNs of the same PLMN or the same network operator.
These intra-PLMN networks are connected with an inter-
PLMN backbone while an inter-PLMN backbone network
connects GSNs of different PLMNs and operators. However, a
roaming agreement is necessary between two GPRS network
providers.
Gateways between PLMNs and external inter-PLMN backbone
are called border gateways which perform security functions to
protect the private intra-PLMN backbones against malicious
attacks.
 Routing
Lets say that GPRS MS located in PLMN1 sends IP packets to
a host connected to the IP network (e.g. to a Web server connected
to the Internet).
SGSN that the MS is registered with encapsulates the IP
packets coming from the mobile station, examines the PDP
context and routes them through the intra-PLMN GPRS backbone
to the appropriate GGSN.
GGSN de-encapsulates the packets and sends them out on the
IP network, where IP routing mechanisms are used to transfer the
packets to the access router of the destination network and finally,
delivers the IP packets to the host.
 Routing
Let us also say that home-PLMN of the mobile station is
PLMN2.
An IP address has been assigned to MS by the GGSN of
PLMN2 and so, MSs IP address has the same network prefix as
the IP address of the GGSN in PLMN2.
Correspondent host is now sending IP packets to the MS onto
the IP network and are routed to the GGSN of PLMN2 (the home-
GGSN of the MS). The latter queries the HLR and obtains the
information that the MS is currently located in PLMN1.
It encapsulates the incoming IP packets and tunnels them
through the inter-PLMN GPRS backbone to the appropriate
SGSN in PLMN1 while the SGSN de-encapsulates the packets
and delivers them to the MS.
Routing
 Routing
HLR stores the user profile, the current SGSN address and the
PDP addresses for every GPRS user in the PLMN.
When the MS registers with a new SGSN, HLR will send the
user profile to the new SGSN.
Signaling path between GGSN and HLR may be used by the
GGSN to query a users location and profile in order to update its
location register.
 Communicating with IP Networks
A GPRS network can be interconnected with Internet or a
corporate intranet and supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
From an external IP networks point of view, the GPRS
network looks like any other IP sub-network, and the GGSN looks
like a usual IP router.
Each registered user who wants to exchange data packets with
the IP network gets an IP address which is taken from the address
space of the GPRS operator maintained by a Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server.
Address resolution between IP address and GSM address is
performed by the GGSN using the appropriate PDP context.
 Communicating with IP Networks
Domain Name Server (DNS) managed by the GPRS operator
or the external IP network operator is used to resolve host name.
To protect the PLMN from unauthorized access, a firewall is
installed between the private GPRS network and the external IP
network.
Thus, GPRS can be seen as a wireless extension of the Internet
all the way to a MS or mobile computer as mobile user has a
direct connection to the Internet.
Communicating with IP Networks
 Data Services in GPRS
Any user is likely to use either of the two modes of the GPRS
network: application mode or tunneling mode.
In application mode, user uses the GPRS mobile phone to
access the applications running on the phone itself. The phone
here acts as the end user device.
In tunneling mode, user uses GPRS interface as an access to
the network as the end user device would be a large footprint
device like laptop computer or a small footprint device like PDA.
The mobile phone will be connected to the device and used as a
modem to access the wireless data network.
 GPRS Handsets
GPRS terminal can be one of the three classes: A, B or C.
Class A terminal supports GPRS data and other GSM services
such as SMS and voice simultaneously. This includes
simultaneous attach, activation, monitoring and traffic. As such, a
class A terminal can make or receive calls on two services
simultaneously while supporting SMS.
Class B terminal can monitor GSM and GPRS channels
simultaneously, but can support only one of these services at any
time. Therefore, a Class B terminal can support simultaneous
attach, activation, and monitoring but not simultaneous traffic.
Users can make or receive calls on either a packet or a switched
call type sequentially but not simultaneously. SMS is supported in
class B terminals.
 GPRS Handsets
Class C terminal supports only non-simultaneous attach. The
user must select which service to connect to. Therefore, a class C
terminal can make or receive calls from only the manually
selected network service (and so, the service that is not selected is
not reachable). The GPRS specifications state that support of
SMS is optional for class C terminals.
Each handset will have a unique form factor. So, terminals will
be available in the standard form factor with a numeric keypad
and a relatively small display. Other types of phones with
different form factors, color displays, cameras are common apart
from the latest smart phones.
 Bearers in GPRS
Bearer services of GPRS offer end-to-end packet switched data
transfer.
GPRS supports two different kinds of data transport services:
point-to-point (PTP) services and point-to-multipoint (PTM)
services.
GPRS continues to support SMS as a bearer.
Wireless Application Protocol is a data bearer service over
HTTP protocol, supported by GPRS.
Multimedia Messaging Service, too, is supported by GPRS.
 Applications of GPRS
Chat
Multimedia Services
Virtual Private Network
Personal Information Management
Job Sheet Dispatch
Unified Messaging
Vehicle Positioning
Location based services and Telematics
 Limitations of GPRS
Limited cell capacity for all users
Lower access speed in reality
No support of GPRS Mobile Terminate Connection for a
mobile server
 Billing and Tariffing
Minimum charging information that must be collected are:
Destination and source addresses
Usage of radio interface
Usage of external Packet Data Networks
Usage of the packet data protocol addresses
Usage of general GPRS resources and location of the Mobile
Station
 Billing and Tariffing
Various business models exist for charging customers as
billing of services can be based on the transmitted
data volume, the type of service, the chosen QoS
profile, etc.
GPRS call records are generated in the GPRS
Service Nodes.
Packet counts are passed to a Charging Gateway
that generates Call Detail Records that are sent to
the billing system.