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LTE, 4G, EPC, MME, PGW, SGW, Interfaces and beyond tech-blog by Bart Barton
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Interfaces and their protocol stacks


After familiarising with main network elements, time has come to better know interfaces between those
elements.
Interfaces are allowing MME, SGW and PGW cooperating with other network elements( e.g. HSS or PCRF).
Each one of them is built in standardised way described by 3GPP.org. Each interface described here is taken
from 23.401 3GPP.org documentation.
Please keep in mind, that the documentation is (sometimes) bigger than we need it to be, so not every aspect
of interfaces is described here.

ABOUT ME

Bart Barton

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Lets start with big picture of situation in which user is not roaming.

155

I'm a M .Sc, B.Eng of Telco and


Electronics from Poland who
graduated both of his degree on
M ilitary University of Technology in
Warsaw, Poland. I've created this
blog to help myself as others
gaining knowledge on LTE/4G and
beyond. Hope that it will be, or
maybe even was, useful to You.
When there is nothing to do, there
is always something to do. Except
doing the dishes, and so on. ;-)

Fig.1. Non-roaming architecture by 3GPP

Figure above is showing only 4G interfaces, additional interfaces for 2G and 3G are described in TS 23.060.
As I probably wrote earlier Serving Gateway (SGW) and PDN Gateway (PGW) could be put in one chassis.
As it comes to scenario with roaming architecture standards are describing two ways of dealing with it.
Two roaming scenarios:

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where traffic is routed from home network to UE by S8 interface,


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attach (4)
CDF (2)
CDR (1)
CSFB (2)
CTF (3)
DNS in LTE (6)
ECM (2)
EM M (4)
GUTI (3)
Gx (3)
Gy (3)
Handover (4)
Fig. 2. Roaming architecture scenario with home routed traffic

where there is local breakout with home operator's application functions only, and separate from
that with visited operator's application functions only.

IM EI (1)
Interfaces (4)
M M E (9)
M M E Selection (2)

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OCF (1)
OCS (3)
OFCS (2)
PCC (2)
PCEF (2)
PCRF (2)
PGW (3)
Resource (6)
S1 (5)
S5/S8 (1)
S6a (2)
SGs (3)
SGW (4)
Sy (1)
TAU (3)
TM SI (2)

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Fig. 3. Roaming architecture for local breakout, with home operator's application functions only

2014 (3)
2013 (21)
2012 (19)
December (3)
October (1)
M ay (1)
April (1)
M arch (4)
February (1)
January (8)
LTE attach procedure
Gy interface - sitting between
OCS and PCEF
Gx interface - sitting between
PCRF and PCEF
Offline Charging System (OFCS)
- introduction to G...
Online Charging System (OCS)
- introduction to Gy ...
Interfaces and their protocol
stacks
Functions of main LTE packet
core elements - M M E, ...
This is where it all start

Fig. 4. Roaming architecture for local breakout, with home visitor's application functions only

Keeping that in mind, now we can go straight through interfaces their functions and protocol stack.
Information flow could be divided into two groups, one is Control Plane, and the other is User Plane.
The Control Plane consists of protocols for control and support of the user plane functions:
controlling the E-UTRA network access connections, such as attaching to and detaching from EUTRAN;
controlling the attributes of an established network access connection, such as activation of an IP
address;
controlling the routing path of an established network connection in order to support user mobility;
and
controlling the assignment of network resources to meet changing user demands.

Control Plane interfaces:


S1-MME interface between eNodeB and MME.
Reference point for the control plane protocol between E-UTRAN and MME.

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Fig. 5. Protocol stack of S1-MME interface

Where:
S1-AP (S1 Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between the eNodeB and MME.
SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol): This protocol guarantees delivery of signalling messages
between MME and eNodeB (S1). SCTP is defined in RFC 4960
S3 interface between SGSN and MME.
It enables user and bearer information exchange for inter 3GPP access network mobility in idle and/or active
state.

Fig. 6. Protocol stack of S3 interface

LIV E TRAFFIC

Where:
GTP-C (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for the Control Plane): This protocol tunnels signalling messages between
SGSN and MME
UDP (User Datagram Protocol): This protocol signaling messages. UDP is defined in RFC 768.

S4 interface between SGSN and SGW.


It provides related control and mobility support between GPRS Core and the 3GPP Anchor function of Serving
GW. In addition, if Direct Tunnel is not established, it provides the user plane tunnelling.

Fig. 7. Protocol stack of S4 interface

Where:
GTP-C (mentioned above): This protocol tunnels signalling messages between SGSN and SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S5 or S8 interface between SGW and PGW.
S5: It provides user plane tunnelling and tunnel management between Serving GW and PDN GW. It is used for
Serving GW relocation due to UE mobility and if the Serving GW needs to connect to a non-collocated PDN GW
for the required PDN connectivity.
S8: Inter-PLMN reference point providing user and control plane between the Serving GW in the VPLMN
(Visited PLMN) and the PDN GW in the HPLMN (Home PLMN). S8 is the inter PLMN variant of S5.
Difference between those two interfaces is S5 is used in one network entity(no roaming scenario), and S8 is
being used to connect Visiting PLMN where user is with his Home PLMN.

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Fig. 8. Protocol stack of interface S5 or S8

Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between SGW and PGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between SGW and PGW. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S10 interface between MME and other MME.
Reference point between MMEs for MME relocation (e.g handover) and MME to MME information transfer.

Fig. 9. Protocol stack of S10 interface

Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between MMEs.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between MMEs. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S11 interface between MME and SGW.
Reference point between MME and Serving GW.

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Fig. 10. Protocol stack of S11 interface

Where:
GTP-C: This protocol tunnels signalling messages between MME and SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers signalling messages between MME and SGW. UDP is defined in RFC 768.
S6a interface between MME and HSS.
It enables transfer of subscription and authentication data for authenticating/authorizing user access to the
evolved system (AAA interface) between MME and HSS.

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Fig. 11. Protocol stack of S6a interface

Where:
Diameter: This protocol supports transferring of subscription and authentication data for
authenticating/authorizing user access to the evolved system between MME and HSS (S6a). Diameter is
defined in RFC 3588.
SCTP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. SCTP is defined in RFC 4960.
S13 interface between MME and EIR.
It enables UEEIR.

Fig. 12. Protocol stack of S13 interface

Where:
Diameter: This protocol supports UE identity check procedure between MME and EIR (S13). Diameter is defined
in RFC 3588.
SCTP: This protocol transfers signalling messages. SCTP is defined in RFC 4960.
SBc interface between CBC and eNodeB.
Reference point between CBC and MME for warning message delivery and control functions.
Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) was a solution for the special requirement of an Earthquake and Tsunami warning
system (ETWS) created for Japan, introduced in Rel. 8. It utilizes the existing interfaces between UE and MME
in control plane. Additionally the MME is connected to the CBC via the SBc interface. In LTE/4G SBc interface is
fully standardized and based on SCTP.

Fi g. 13. Protocol stack of SBc i n terface

Where:
SBc-AP (SBc Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between CBC and MME. This protocol supports
transfer of warning messages.
S1-AP (S1 Application Protocol): Application Layer Protocol between the eNodeB and the MME.
SCTP: This protocol guarantees delivery of signalling messages between MME and eNodeB (S1). SCTP is defined
in RFC 4960.

User Plane interfaces:


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User Plane in a big picture.

Fig. 14. User Plane

S1-U interface between eNodeB and SGW.


Reference point between E-UTRAN and Serving GW for the per bearer user plane tunnelling and inter eNodeB
path switching during handover.

Fig. 15. Protocol stack of S1-U interface

Where:
GTP-U (GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for the user plane): This protocol tunnels user data between eNodeB and
SGW.
UDP: This protocol transfers user data. UDP is defined in RFC 768.

S4 interface between UE with 2G access and PGW.


S4 interface is also being used to connect UE with 3G access and PGW.
It provides related control and mobility support between GPRS Core and the 3GPP Anchor function of Serving
GW. In addition, if Direct Tunnel is not established, it provides the user plane tunnelling.

Fig. 16. Protocol stacks of S4 interfaces used to connect UE from 2G network to PDN

Where:
GTP U: This protocol tunnels user data between SGSN and the S GW as well as between the S GW and the P GW
in the backbone network. GTP shall encapsulate all end user IP packets.
UDP/IP: These are the backbone network protocols used for routing user data and control signalling.
Protocols on the Um and the Gb interfaces are described in TS 23.060.

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Fig. 17. Protocol stacks of S4 interfaces used to connect UE from 3G network to PDN

S12 interface between UE from 3G network and PGW.


Reference point between UTRAN and Serving GW for user plane tunnelling when Direct Tunnel is established. It
is based on the Iu-u/Gn-u reference point using the GTP-U protocol as defined between SGSN and UTRAN or
respectively between SGSN and GGSN. Usage of S12 is an operator configuration option.

Fig. 18. Protocol stack of S12 interface used to connect UE from 3G network to PDN

Where:
GTP U: This protocol tunnels user data between UTRAN and the S GW as well as between the S GW and the P
GW in the backbone network. GTP shall encapsulate all end user IP packets
UDP/IP: These are the backbone network protocols used for routing user data and control signalling.
Protocols on the Uu interface are described in TS 23.060.
SGSN controls the user plane tunnel establishment and establish a Direct Tunnel between UTRAN and S GW as
shown in Fig. 18.

Sources:
23.401 3GPP.org
Evolution of 3G Network - book on google books

Posted by Bart Barton at 2:48 PM

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Labels: Interfaces, MME, PGW, S1, S5/S8, S6a, SGW


Location: Budapest, Hungary

17 comments

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Top comments

Eric Shen 6 days ago - Shared publicly


Is GTP-U (over S1-U between eNodeB and SGW) ciphered?
1 Reply

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sanket ghate 3 weeks ago - Shared publicly
Very useful indeed
1

Akhilesh soni 4 months ago - Shared publicly


This page is really helpful. Knowledge has to be shared like this.
1 Reply

Vijay Reddy 1 month ago - Shared publicly


very useful and organized
1 Reply

Andrew Caruana via Google+ 2 months ago - Shared publicly


Very intersting reading :)
1 Reply

swagata mukherjee 1 month ago - Shared publicly


Useful article . Thanks
+1
2
1

1 Reply

Joseph wa kamula 2 months ago - Shared publicly


Excellent effort Bart
1

muhammad mujtaba 2 months ago - Shared publicly


good one
1 Reply

Jofuntube via Google+ 2 months ago - Shared publicly


1 Reply

Ranjit kumar 4 months ago - Shared publicly


1 Reply

Anonymous 5 months ago


Ueful article on Knoweldge sharing.

Anonymous 10 months ago


Thanks for your reply I guess SCTP HBs are only sent in s6a multi-homing connections.
Would you know the 3GPP standard that defines the "mandatory" behaviour of SCTP? For
some reason I'm not seeing any HB for s6a when in single-homing mode.

Anonymous 10 months ago


Is it mandatory that heartbeats are sent in SCTP s6a single homing connections?

Bart Barton 10 months ago


Oh yes they are. As through the heartbeats the SCTP's path management function
monitors the reachability of the end nodes. From troubleshooting point of view those
messages are helping to define on which layer there is a connectivity problem. I would
even said that because of that and probably few others features SCTP was chosen to
be used. Please correct me if I'm wrong on the last one (or any of the above).

Anonymous 1 year ago


Very nice document, I like it a lot. But X2 interface is missing

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Anonymous 1 year ago


I love this document, i just read it today, but tomorrow i will try to look for some more
details on User-plane. very nice..

Anonymous 1 year ago


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