Electronic Engineering

Michael Feramez
GSM Communication Protocol
ELE 52PMC
Personal Mobile Communications
Lecture 4
2
GSM Protocol Layers
Transmission
RR
MM
CM
OAM
User Operator
1. Radio transmission (Physical)
2. Radio Resource Management
3. Mobility Management
4. Communication Management
5. Operation Administration
& Maintenance
3
MS - BS Interface
Messages between the BS and MS are sent in a layered
protocol stack.
A low level set of primitives are defined for transmission
of messages.
Layer 3 messages are transmitted within the primitives.
Upper layers on one side of the interface communicate
with their peer layers on the other side of the interface
by sending messages to the next lower layer.
The process is repeated until the messages reach the
physical layer.
4
Layering of MS-BS Interfaces
Data Link Layer
Layer 3
Physical Layer
5
GSM Protocol Primitives
Request - This primitive is used when a higher layer
requests a service from a lower layer.
Indication - A lower layer on the other side indicates
the Request to the next higher layer using the indication
primitive.
Response - The higher layer on the other side
acknowledges the Indication using the Response
primitive.
Confirm - The lower layer on the requesting side
confirms the request by sending a Confirm primitive to
the next higher layer.
6
Exchange of Primitives
Layer N Layer N
Layer N-1 Layer N-1
CONFIRM INDICATE RESPONSE REQUEST
Peer-to-peer protocol
7
Layer 3 Messages
Radio Resource (RR) messages are used to control the
system physical layer (channel assignment, handover,
ciphering, system information, paging, and MS
information).
Mobility Management (MM) messages are those
message that are unique to an MS that moves from one
area to another.
MM messages are associated with determining the IMSI
and assigning a TMSI, locating and authenticating the
MS.
Circuit-Switched call control messages (call setup, call
disconnect, call status, and call progress messages).
8
Terminologies
IMSI: International Mobile Subscriber Identity
Mobile Country Code (MCC) 3 digits
Mobile Network Code (MNC) 2 digits
Mobile Subscriber Identification (MSIN)
National Mobile Subscriber Identity (NMSI)
TMSI: Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity
9
Call Setup by a Mobile

10
PSTN VLR MSC BSS MS
Call Setup by a Mobile
setup
info for O/G call
complete call
call processing
assignment
assignment
assign complete assign complete
IAM
ACM alerting
answer connect
connect ack
11
Mobile-Terminated Call

12
PSTN HLR MSC BSS MS VLR
Mobile-Terminated Call
IAM
routing info
routing info
info for I/C call
page
page
page request
chan request
assign
page response
page response
process access request
complete call
setup
call confirmed
alert
address complete
connect
connect ack
answer
send info for I/C call (ack)
13
Call Release - Mobile Initiated

14
PSTN MSC BSS MS
Call Release - Mobile Initiated
disconnect
release
release
release complete
release complete
clear command
channel release
clear complete
15
Handoff
Handoff is the process used to allow a call in progress to
continue as the mobile terminal moves between cells.
Handoff may be based on:
Received signal strength
S/I ratio
Network resource management needs

16
Handoff Process
Initiation:
Either the mobile terminal or network identifies the need for a
handoff and alerts the necessary network elements.
Resource Reservation:
The appropriate network elements reserve the resources
necessary to support the handoff.
Execution:
The actual handoff connection of the network resources takes
place.
Completion:
Any unneeded network resources are freed, and access signals
are exchanged following a successful handoff.
17
Intra-MSC Handover

18
BSS MSC BSS MS
Serving Target
Intra-MSC Handover
measurement report
handover request
handover request
handover request ack
handover command
handover command
handover access
physical information
handover detected
handover completed
handover completed
release
release complete
19
Inter-MSC Handover

20
VLR BSS MSC BSS MS MSC
Serving Serving Target Target Target
Inter-MSC Handover
measurement report
handover request
prepare handover
allocate handover number
send handover request
handover request
handover report ack
prepare handover ack
send handover ack
handover command
handover command
handover access
physical info
handover detected
handover complete
handover complete
process access sign
send end sign
release
release complete
send end sign
21
TDMA
In a TDMA system, data from each user is conveyed in
time intervals called slots.
The system groups several slots to make up a frame.
Each slot is made up of a preamble plus information bits
addressed to other stations.
The preamble provides identification and incidental
information and allows synchronisation of the time slot
at the intended receiver.
A period of guard times are used between each users
transmission to minimise crosstalk between channels.
22
TDMA Frame
Preamble Slot 1 Slot 2 Slot n Preamble
One Frame
Pre-
amble
Data
to User
1
Data
to User
N
Data
to User
M
Data
to User
P
Guard Time
23
ALOHA
The first flexible multiple access algorithm was the Aloha
system that was developed in the 1970s.
The basic idea of an Aloha system is simple, let users
transmit whenever they have data to send.
Before transmission, the data is assembled into fixed
length frame (packets).
There will be collision when the transmission of two or
more packets overlap.
In the original Aloha, the sender detects the collision by
listening to the channel output.
24
Collision detection can also be notified by the base
station by means of acknowledgement to the mobile.
In the event that a satellite link is involved, there will be
appreciable delay before the acknowledgement is
received by the mobile.
The acknowledgement delay is much less in the case of
terrestrial cellular but it may still be significant.
When collision is detected, each sending mobile waits for
a random amount of time before trying again. This
process is repeated until the packet is successfully
received by the base station.
25
Packet Collision
t
o
t
o
+t t
o
+2t t
o
+3t t
o
+4t
t
A
B
26
Pure Aloha
t
t
Collision
Collision
A
B
C
27
Slotted Aloha - No Collision
t
o
t
o
+t t
o
+2t t
o
+3t t
o
+4t
t
t
o
+7t t
o
+6t t
o
+9t t
o
+5t t
o
+8t t
o
+10t
A
B
C
28
Slotted Aloha - Collision
t
o
t
o
+t t
o
+2t t
o
+3t t
o
+4t
t
t
o
+7t t
o
+6t t
o
+9t t
o
+5t t
o
+8t t
o
+10t
Collision Collision
A
B
C
29
Efficiency of Aloha Channel
What fraction of all the transmitted packets escapes
collision under the Aloha algorithm ?
Let the packet time denote the amount of time needed
to transmit the standard fixed-packet
Assume an infinite population of users that generate
new packets according to a Poisson distribution with
mean S packets per frame time.
30
Poisson Process
Consider a small time interval Dt (Dt 0), separating times t
and t + Dt as shown below.
t + Dt t
time
Dt
Poisson process is the arrival process used most frequently to
model the behaviour of queues. It has been used extensively in
telephone traffic as well as in evaluating the performance of
telephone switching systems and computer networks.
31
Assumptions
Three basic statements are used to define the Poisson arrival
process.

1. The probability of one arrival in the interval Dt is defined to be
lDt + 0(Dt), for lDt << 1

2. The probability of zero arrival in Dt is 1 - lDt + 0(Dt)

3. The arrivals are memoryless: an arrival (event) in one time
interval of length Dt is independent of events in previous or
future intervals.
32


! k
e T
k p
T
k
l
l

Taking a large finite interval T, the probability of k arrivals in

T is given by:
where k = 0, 1, 2, ..
time
Dt Dt Dt Dt Dt Dt . . . . .
33
Pure Aloha Equation
The probability that no other frames arrive during the vulnerable
period is just P
o
= e-
2G
and using S = G P
o
we get:
G
Ge S
2

The maximum throughput occurs at G = 0.5 with S = 1/(2e)

which is about 18%
34
Slotted Aloha Equation
If time is divided into discrete intervals, each a frame-time long,
called slot and transmissions are allowed to start only at the
beginning of each time slot, we obtain slotted ALOHA:
G
Ge S

At G = 1, P
o
= e-
1
is 37%
35
Throughput versus Offered Traffic
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
G (Offered Traffic)
S

(
T
h
r
o
u
g
h
p
u
t
)
Slotted ALOHA
Pure ALOHA
36
References
Garg, Vijay K and Wilkes Joseph E, Principles &
Application of GSM. Prentice Hall PTR, 1999 - Chapter 9
Garg, Vijay K and Wilkes Joseph E, Wireless and
Personal Communication Systems. Prentice Hall PTR,
1996 Chapter 9