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LongTermEvolution:SimplifytheMigrationto4GNetworksCisco

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Long Term Evolution: Simplify the Migration to 4G

Networks
Updated: Feb26,2013

WhatYouWillLearn
WiththeconvergenceoftheInternetandwirelesscommunications,mobiledataservicesareundergoing
tremendousgrowth.However,themobilewirelessenvironmenthasbeenchallengedtokeepupwiththe
growth,inpartbecauseoflimitationsonaccessspeed.Ifmobileoperatorsaretosucceedintoday's
communicationslandscape,theymustcontinuetofocusonthequalityofexperiencefortheirusers.
Thispaperoutlineshowmobileoperatorscanpreparetheirnetworkstosupportfourthgeneration(4G)
broadbandservicesthatwillimprovetheuserexperienceandyieldnewrevenueopportunities.Specifically,it
addressestheroleofLongTermEvolution(LTE),aThirdGenerationPartnershipProject(3GPP)standardthat
providesmuchgreaterspectralefficiencythanthemostadvanced3Gnetworks.BenefitsofanLTEnetwork
include:
Simplemigrationfrom2Gor3Gto4Gwithoutacompleteequipmentupgradeinasinglecommoncore
platform
Fast,smoothtransitiontoEvolvedPacketCore(EPC),anallIPcorenetworkthatsupportshigher
throughput,lowerlatency,andmobilitybetween3GPPandnon3GPPradioaccesstechnologies
Corenetworksolutionthatoptimizesbackhaul
Convergedmobilityandpolicymanagementsooperatorscanchooseanyaccesstechnologywithouta
completeoverhaulofexistingIPcoreorIPcoreoverlay
Intelligenceinthenetworktodeliverhigherbandwidthmultimediaservicesinteractingwithand
understandingkeyelementswithinthemultimediacore

Overview
Designatedasafourthgeneration(4G)mobilespecification,LTEisdesignedtoprovidemultimegabit
bandwidth,moreefficientuseoftheradionetwork,latencyreduction,andimprovedmobility.Thiscombination
aimstoenhancethesubscriber'sinteractionwiththenetworkandfurtheracceleratethedemandformobile
multimediaservices.Withwirelessbroadband,userscanmorereadilyaccesstheirInternetservices,suchas
onlinetelevision,videostreaming,blogging,socialnetworking,andinteractivegamingallwhilemobile.
Changesinmobilecommunicationshavealwaysbeenevolutionary,andthedeploymentofLTEwillbethe
same.Itwillbeatransitionfrom3Gto4Goveraperiodofseveralyears,asisthecasestillwiththetransition
from2Gto3G.Asaresult,mobileoperatorsmustlookforstrategiesandsolutionsthatwillenhancetheir
existing3Gnetworkswhileaddressingtheir4Gdeploymentrequirementswithoutrequiringacomplete
equipmentupgrade.
Specifically,mobileoperatorsneedthemultimediacorenetworktobereadilyupgradabletomeetthe
requirementsoftheSystemArchitectureEvolution(SAE),the4GcorenetworkarchitectureoftheLTE
standard.
Solutionsalreadydeployedinthemarketmayincludemanyoftheelementsrequiredofthe4Gnetwork,
includingintegratedintelligence,simplifiednetworkarchitecture,highbandwidthperformancecapabilitieswith
ondemandscalability,andenhancedmobility.Onlysolutionscapableofsupportingmultiplefunctionsina
singlenodethroughasoftwareupgradewillprotecttoday'sinvestmentfortomorrow'snetworkandavoida
costlyreplacementoftheexistingsystems.

EvolvingthePacketCore
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RadioaccesssolutionsareaprimaryconsiderationoftheLTEdeploymentstrategy,becauseLTEaffectsthe
mobileoperators'mostvaluedasset:spectrum.Asanequallyimportantpartofthisequation,themultimedia
corenetworkwillplayacentralroleinenhancingmobility,servicecontrol,efficientuseofnetworkresources,
andasmoothmigrationfrom2Gor3Gto4G.Asaresult,SAEcallsforatransitiontoa"flat",allIPcore
network,calledtheEvolvedPacketCore(EPC),whichfeaturesasimplifiedarchitectureandopeninterfacesas
definedbythe3GPPstandardsbody.AkeyEPCgoalistoenhanceserviceprovisioningwhilesimplifying
interworkingwithnon3GPPmobilenetworks.ThestandardspromiseanallIPcorenetworkwithasimplified
andflattenedarchitecturethatsupportshigherthroughput,lowerlatency,andmobilitybetween3GPP(Global
SystemforMobileCommunications[GSM],UniversalMobileTelecommunicationsService[UMTS],andLTE)
andnon3GPPradioaccesstechnologies,includingCodeDivisionMultipleAccess(CDMA),WiMAX,WiFi,
HighRatePacketData(HRPD),evolvedHRPD(eHRPD),andEuropeanTelecommunicationsStandards
Institute(ETSI)definedTelecomsandInternetConvergedServicesandProtocolsforAdvancedNetworks
(TISPAN)networks.
Asaresult,mobileoperatorsarelookingforthebestmultimediacoresolutionstodeliveranoptimumuser
experienceandbuildanefficientnetwork.Keyconsiderationsforthemultimediacorenetworkinclude:
Integrationofintelligenceattheaccessedge:Asagreatervarietyofservicesandusertypescrossthe
mobilenetwork,itiscriticaltoincreasenetworkandsubscriberintelligence.Throughthisintelligence,
includingqualityofservice(QoS)andpolicyenforcement,mobileoperatorswillbetterunderstandindividual
usersandtheirtransactionsandbeabletoshapetheserviceexperienceandoptimizenetworkefficiency.
Simplifiednetworktopology:InordertodelivertheenhancedperformanceofLTEeffectively,thenetworkwill
needtobesimplifiedandflattened,withareductionofelementsinvolvedindataprocessingandtransport.
Optimizedbackhaul:Withtheintroductionof4G,thetransportbackhaulisacriticalconsiderationthatmany
arerealizingafterthefact.Itisveryimportanttodeployacorenetworksolutionthatisflexibleenoughto
offersmoothmigrationfromcentralized(longerbackhaul)todistributed(shorterbackhaul)corenetwork
nodes.
Convergedmobilityandpolicy:Maintainingthesubscribersessionisanimportantconsiderationduring4G
to2Gor4Gto3Gmobilityevents.Additionally,unifiedpolicymanagementinthenetworkiscriticalfor
offeringefficientservicedeliveryovermixed4Gand2Gor3Gnetworksandprovidingdifferentiated
servicesandapplicationswithflexiblechargingandbillingoptions.Itisthereforeimportanttodeployacore
networkbasedonasinglemobilityandpolicycontrolparadigm.
Increasedperformancecharacteristics:ClearlytheintentofLTEistoimprovetheperformanceandefficiency
ofthenetwork.TorealizethefullpotentialofLTE,mobileoperatorsmustdeploycoresolutionsthatcan
meettheflexibledemandsgeneratedbyincreasedmobilemultimediaservicesandagrowingsubscriber
base,includingincreasednetworkcapacityrequirements.Thesecoresolutionsalsomustbeabletoscale
multidimensionallyinthousandsofcalltransactionspersecond,highernumbersofsessions,and
significantincreaseinthroughputoveraheterogeneousaccessnetwork.
Migrationfrom2Gor3Gto4G:AsmobileoperatorsmigratetheirnetworkstoLTE(Figure1),theywillseek
tominimizecostsandmaximizesubscriberusage.Thesegoalswillrequirecoresolutionsthatcanaddress
2Gand3Gnetworkrequirementswhilebeingusedfor4Gnetworkintroductions.Operatorswillwantto
avoidacompleteequipmentupgradewhiledeployingbestinclasssolutionsbasedonopenstandards.
Additionally,mobileuserswillexpectauniformserviceexperienceacrossbothnetworks,withconsideration
tothebandwidthdifferences.
Figure1.MigrationtoWirelessBroadband:LTEIstheNextStepontheMigrationPathtoWirelessBroadband

Althoughitislikelythattheevolutionto4Gtechnologieswilltakemanyyears,itisimperativeformobile
operatorstoidentifythemultimediacoreelementsnowthatwillmosteffectivelymigratethemtoa4Gnetwork
inthefuture.
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Solutionsdesignedforthespecificrequirementsofthenextgenerationmultimediacorenetworkincludethe
capabilitytosupport2G,3G,and4Gfunctionsinasingleplatform(Figure2).Thesesolutionswillprovide
majorbenefitstomobileoperatorswhowanttomigratetheirnetworkssmoothly,maximizetheirinvestments,
andoffertheircustomersanexceptionalexperience.
Figure2.IntegratedMultimediaCorefor2G,3G,and4G:AsMobileOperatorEvolvetoLTE,TheyWillBenefit
fromSolutionsThatCanIntegrate2G,3Gand4GFunctionsinaSingleNode

StandardInterfacesandProtocols
EPCalsosupportsstandardinterfacesandopenprotocolsaimedatenablingoperatorstolaunchservicesand
applicationswithInternetspeedwhilealsoreducingtheoverallcostperpacketthroughtheinherent
advantagesofgoingallIP.
Standardizedinterfacesandprotocolsalsoenableoperatorstoachieveabestinclassapproachwiththeir
networkinfrastructure.Byeliminatingproprietaryprotocols,operatorscanoperateanopennetworkthat
empowersthemtoselectthevendorstheydeemmostqualifiedtodeliveraspecificnetworkfunctionwithout
havingtoworryaboutinteroperabilityproblems.

ConvergedMobilityandPolicyManagement
In2Gand3Gnetworks,diverseschemeswereusedformobilitymanagementwithinandacrosstheaccess
technologyboundary.So,anoperatorchoosingtodeploy2Gaccesstechnologyofonekindand3Gaccess
technologyofadifferentkindhadtodeploytwodivergentmobilitymanagementschemesinthesamenetwork.
Thisnecessitycausedseriousproblems,and,moreimportantly,impededrapiddeploymentofsomeaccess
technologies.EPCisanattempttoaddressthisdivergentmobilitymanagementproblem.
Withasinglecomprehensivearchitecture,EPCsupportsallaccesstechnologies,including2G,3G,and4G,
fromallstandardsdefiningorganizations.ThebasisofthisconvergenceistheuseofanIETFdefinedmobility
managementprotocolsuchasProxyMobileIPv6(PMIPv6).Ifanoperatorwantstodeployanyaccess
technologywithanEPC,asinglemobilitymanagementprotocolsuchasPMIPv6isallthatisrequired.This
realityisasignificantsteptowardbuildingasinglecommonIPcoreforfutureaccesstechnologieswith
seamlessmobility.Itgivesoperatorsthefreedomtochooseanyaccesstechnologywithouthavingtoworry
aboutacompleteoverhauloftheirexistingIPcoreoranIPcoreoverlay.

CommonCorePlatform
ThebenefitsofanEPChighlightthegrowingimportanceofacommonpacketcoreacrossmultipleaccess
technologies.Asmanyoperatorstransitionfromdisparate3Gspecifications(UniversalMobile
TelecommunicationsService[UMTS]andCodeDivisionMultipleAccess2000[CDMA2000])toLTEandEPC,
thereisthepotentialforsignificantnetworksimplificationandcostsavings,aswellasgreaterefficiencieswithin
thecorenetwork.
IntegratingEPCNetworkFunctions
TheEPCspecificationscallouttheMobilityManagementEntity(MME),ServingGateway(SGW),andPacket
DataNetworkGateway(PGW)asspecificnetworkfunctions,butdonotdefinethemasseparatenodesinthe
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network.Inkeepingwiththesimplerandflatterarchitectureintentions,thesethreefunctionscanlogicallybe
integratedintoonenode(Figure3).However,asolutionthatiscapableofthisintegrationandcandeliverthe
benefitsofsuchintegrationisnecessary.
Figure3.CombiningNetworkFunctionsIntoaSingleCarrierClassPlatform:SupportforMultipleNetwork
TechnologiesandtheCorrespondingMultimediaCoreNetworkFunctionsinaMultiaccess,Multiservice
Environment

Forinstance,theMME,SGW,andPGWcanbecombinedintoonecarrierclassplatform.Bycollapsingthese
functions,operatorscouldreducethesignalingoverhead,distributesessionmanagement,andusethecontrol
anduserplanecapabilitiesofthecarrierclassnode.
Alternatively,anoperatorcoulddeploytheMMEseparatefromthecombinedSGWandPGW,resultingin
reducedsignalingoverhead(S5andS8wouldbeinternal),fewerhopsonthebearerpath,lessbackhaul,
reducedsignalingontheS7interface,andalowersessionrequirementforthePGW.Thissetupalsoprovides
forasinglelocationforpolicyenforcementandchargingdatageneration.
Additionally,colocationof2Gand3GServingGPRSSupportNodes(SGSNs)withtheMMEwillsignificantly
reducesignalingandcontexttransferoverhead.Thiscolocationwillalsobecriticalto2G,3G,and4Gmobility
andsessionmanagement.Theadvantageofintegratingorcollapsingfunctionalelementsintoonecarrierclass
nodeisparamounttothegoalsofsimplifyingandflatteningthenetworkwhilealsoreducinglatency.

Convergenceof3Gand4GCoreNetworks
TheconceptofcollapsingEPCfunctionscanbetakenastepfurther(Figure3).ThemovetoLTEwillbean
evolution,meaningmany3G,2.5G,andeven2Gnetworkswhether3GPPor3GPP2willremainoperational
formanyyearstocome.MobileoperatorscanseizethisopportunitytocombineEPCfunctionswithGPRSand
UMTSfunctions(3GPPGGSN,andSGSN),easingnetworkmigration,reducingsignalingoverhead,enhancing
resourceusagebysharingcommonsessiondatastorage,andimprovingmobilitybetween2Gor3Gand4G
accesssystems.Mostimportantly,operatorshavethepotentialtoachievethisgoalwithoutacompletesystem
upgradebyusingtheirexisting3Gdeployedbase.Usingtheirexistingbaseresultsindramaticcapitaland
operationalsavingsandreducesriskinvolvedinaddingnew,unprovenaccesstechnology.
EasingtheMigration
InnovativesolutionscurrentlydeployedaroundtheglobealreadymeetmanyoftherequirementsofLTEand
EPC,suchasintegratedintelligence,simplifiednetworkarchitecture,highbandwidthperformancecapabilities,
andenhancedmobility.Somesolutionsarecapableofsupporting2Gand3Gtodayonasingleplatform,and
throughsoftwareupgradescansupport4GfunctionswhenLTEnetworksaredeployed.
Mobileoperatorswillbenefitfromsolutionsthatcanprovide2Gand3Gfunctionsnowandevolveto4G
functionslaterwithoutreplacingcostlysystemsandequipmentthatwillstillbeneededtosupportlegacy
networkswhilesubscriberstransitiontothenewnetwork.
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WhetherexistingsystemsaredeployedasSGSN,GatewayGPRSSupportNode(GGSN),PacketDataServing
Node(PDSN),CiscoMobileWirelessHomeAgent,orothergatewayfunctions,theymustbedesignedtobe
integratedwithorupgradedtothe4GfunctionalelementsMME,SGW,PGW,andCiscoEvolvedPacketData
Gateway(ePDG)throughasimplesoftwareupgrade.

IntelligenceintheNetwork
Keytocreatinganddeliveringhighbandwidthmultimediaservicesin2G,3G,and4Gnetworksandmeeting
subscriberdemandisthecapabilitytorecognizedifferenttrafficflows,therebyallowingfunctionalelementsto
shapeandmanagebandwidthwhileinteractingwithapplicationstoaveryfinedegreeanddeliveringthequality
ofservicerequired.Thisgoalisachievedthroughsessionintelligencethatusesdeeppacketinspection
technology,servicesteering,andintelligenttrafficcontroltodynamicallymonitorandcontrolsessionsonaper
subscriberandperflowbasis.
Theinteractionwithandunderstandingofkeyelementswithinthemultimediacalldevices,applications,
transportmechanisms,andpoliciesrequires:
Sharinginformationwithexternalapplicationserversthatperformvalueaddedprocessing
Exploitinguserspecificattributestolaunchuniqueapplicationsonapersubscriberbasis
Extendingmobilitymanagementinformationtononmobilityawareapplications
Enablingpolicy,charging,andQoSfeatures

2016Ciscoand/oritsaffiliates.Allrightsreserved.
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