Radio Access Network

Radio Access Network Architecture

Key Components
• AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) :
Handles signaling, mobility, registration and
authentication.
• UPF (User Plane Function) : Handles user data traffic
(packet forwarding).
• 5GC : The core network of 5G where AMF and UPF
reside.
• gNB : 5G base station providing high-speed NR (New
Radio) access.
• ng-eNB : 4G LTE base station upgraded to connect with
5G Core.
• This is a multi-connectivity architecture where: A UE can
connect to 5G (gNB) for high data rates and 4G (ng-eNB)
for coverage and stability
• Both nodes are connected to the same 5G Core (5GC)
Interfaces
• NG Interface (green lines)
gNB → 5GC and ng-eNB → 5GC
Enables both 4G and 5G nodes to communicate
directly with the 5G Core.
• Xn Interface (blue lines)
gNB gNB , gNB ng-eNB ng-eNB ng-eNB
Interfaces do Handover , Dual connectivity and Load
balancing.
• Data and control can flow through multiple paths
and improves: Throughput , Reliability and Seamless
mobility
5G NG-RAN architecture with functional split options
Components
• 5GC : The central core network connected via the NG
interface.
• NG-RAN :The radio access network consisting of
gNBs.
Types of gNB Deployment
• Non-Split (Monolithic) gNB : All functions (control +
user + radio) are in a single node
• Simpler deployment
• Less flexible and harder to scale
• Suitable for: Small deployments and Low-latency
local setups
Continued…
• Split gNB (CU–DU Architecture) : The gNB is divided into:
• gNB-CU : Handles higher-layer protocols (RRC, PDCP) and
Centralized control functions . It does decision-making
• gNB-DU : Handles lower layers (MAC, PHY) and Located
closer to users (edge)
Interfaces
• F1 Interface : Connects CU DU and Enables functional split
within gNB
• Xn-C Interface : Connects gNB gNB
• NG Interface : Connects gNB 5GC
Advantages:
• Scalability – Add more DUs without changing CU
• Centralized Control – Better resource management
• Edge Processing – Low latency via DU
• Cloud Integration – CU can run in cloud (virtualization)
5G NR Channel Structure
• These channels describe kind of data is being
transmitted.
• BCCH (Broadcast Control Channel) → System
information (cell config)
• PCCH (Paging Control Channel) → Paging messages
(incoming call alerts)
• CCCH (Common Control Channel) → Initial access
control messages
• DCCH (Dedicated Control Channel) → Control signaling
for a user
• DTCH (Dedicated Traffic Channel) → User data (voice,
video, etc.)
• These channels are classified based on content type.
• Transport Channels (Way of data is carried?)
• These define how data is transported over the air, including
scheduling and error handling.
• BCH (Broadcast Channel) → Carries BCCH
• PCH (Paging Channel) → Carries PCCH
• DL-SCH (Downlink Shared Channel) → Carries most DL data
(CCCH, DCCH, DTCH)
• UL-SCH (Uplink Shared Channel) → Carries UL data (DCCH,
DTCH)
• RACH (Random Access Channel) → Used for initial access
• These channels handle multiplexing, scheduling, HARQ, etc.
• HARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest)
• HARQ is an error control mechanism used in LTE/5G wireless
communication that combines:
• FEC (Forward Error Correction)
• ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest)
• Physical Channels (Actual radio transmission)
• These define how bits are physically transmitted over
radio waves.
• Downlink (Base station → UE)
• PBCH (Physical Broadcast Channel) → From BCH
• PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) → Control
info (scheduling)
• PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) → Main data
channel
• Uplink (UE → Base station)
• PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) → User data +
control
• PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) → From RACH
• PUCCH (Physical Uplink Control Channel) → Control
signals (ACK, CQI)
End-to-End Mapping Example
Downlink Data (DL) : DTCH → DL-SCH → PDSCH
– User data flows from logical → transport →
physical
Uplink Data (UL) :DCCH/DTCH → UL-SCH →
PUSCH
Broadcast Info : BCCH → BCH → PBCH
Paging : PCCH → PCH → PDSCH
Random Access : RACH → PRACH
Activity:
1. Which of the following mappings is correct?
A) BCCH → DL-SCH → PDSCH
B) BCCH → BCH → PBCH
C) PCCH → DL-SCH → PDCCH
D) CCCH → PCH → PDSCH
2. Which channel carries uplink user data?
A) PUCCH
B) PRACH
C) PUSCH
D) PDCCH
3. Which mapping is incorrect?
A) PCCH → PCH → PDSCH
B) DTCH → DL-SCH → PDSCH
C) DCCH → UL-SCH → PUCCH
D) CCCH → DL-SCH → PDSCH
4. A system uses HARQ with:
• Probability of successful decoding in first transmission =
0.7
• If retransmitted, success probability = 0.9
Find overall success probability after at most 2
transmissions.
5. Scheduling (Proportional Fair)
Two users:
• User A rate = 10 Mbps, avg = 5 Mbps
• User B rate = 8 Mbps, avg = 2 Mbps
Who gets scheduled?
Air Interface Protocol Stack
The gNB is split into:
• CU (Central Unit) → higher layers
• DU (Distributed Unit) → lower layers
The split happens at the F1 interface
The bottom four layers are the same for both the user and
control planes:
PHY: The physical layer handles the actual wireless
transmission between devices.
• Transmission characteristics : frequency bands, data rates
• Modulation schemes : QAM
• Channel coding : Polar and LDPC codes for error
protection
• It converts data into radio signals and ensures reliable
transmission over the air.
Medium access control (MAC):
• Regulates access to a shared medium.
• FDMA and single-carrier FDMA.
• Provides priority handling between data packets from
different radio bearers and error correction through HARQ.
Radio link control (RLC):
• Include error correction with ARQ
• Concatenation and segmentation in order to match the
transmitted protocol data unit (PDU) size to the available
radio resources
• Considers in-sequence delivery, and protocol error handing.
Packet data convergence protocol (PDCP):
• Include IP header encryption and decryption, integrity
protection for the user plane data.
• Uses error detection codes, duplication of transmitted PDCP
PDUs over different data paths, and reordering and duplicate
detection of received PDCP PDUs.
SDAP (Service Data Adaptation Protocol)
Maps QoS flows to data radio bearers
Radio Bearers are logical channels that carry data between
the UE and gNB with specific QoS speed, delay (latency)
and eliability(speed, delay and Reliability) settings.
• i.e. radio bearer are “data pipe” over the air interface It
ensures your data is transmitted.
Types of Radio Bearers :
• SRB (Signaling Radio Bearer) :Used for control messages
Carries RRC/NAS signaling (Ex connection setup, handover )
• DRB (Data Radio Bearer) :Used for user data (Ex:
YouTube, WhatsApp, browsing)
NAS (Non-Access Stratum)
Communication between UE and core (AMF)
• RRC (Radio Resource Control)
• Connection management, handover control
• The radio-related functions in the UE
RRC operates using a three-state model
• RRC Inactive state combines benefits of both states:
• RRC Idle : low power consumption (battery efficient)
• RRC Connected : UE context is stored in NG-RAN, so
reconnection is fast with less signaling
• Saves radio resources and reduces unnecessary
signaling overhead
RRC State Transition Model
Channels/Bearer Architecture

QoS flows
from
multiple
UEs may
be
scheduled
as a group
Activity:
1. A packet of size 1500 bytes is transmitted over 5G.
Overheads: PDCP = 20 bytes ,RLC = 10 bytes , MAC = 8
bytes , PHY = 12 bytes and Channel rate = 10 Mbps. Find:
Effective throughput
2. A 3000-byte SDU arrives at RLC. Max RLC PDU size = 1000
bytes. Find: Number of [Link] header = 10 bytes each
what is the Total transmitted data.
3. A UE sends a 2 MB file through a 5G gNB with CU–DU
split. Given: PHY rate = 50 Mbps , PDCP (CU) processing
delay = 3 ms , RLC + MAC + PHY (DU) delay = 5 ms. F1
(CU–DU) latency = 4 ms (one way) Total protocol
overhead = 5% . Find: Total end-to-end delay and
Effective throughput
NG control interface
Functions:
• NG interface management
• UE context management
• UE mobility management
• Transport of NAS messages
• Paging
• PDU session management
• Configuration transfer
• Warning message transmission
RAN–Core Network Protocol Stack
• Protocol stack at the NG interface has interfaces for
user plane and control plane traffic.
• NG user plane interface : NG-RAN -> UPF. Non-
guaranteed delivery of PDUs
• NG control plane interface: NG-RAN -> AMF
GPRS Tunneling Protocol for User Plane (GTP-U):
• Supports multiplexing of traffic of different PDU
sessions (via N3) and carries QoS marking.
• GTP-U tunnels are used to carry encapsulated user
plane PDUs between a given pair of GTP-U tunnel
endpoints.
QoS marking : Tagging packets with priority/handling
information (delay, bandwidth, loss).
Ex:
• Video call → high priority
• File download → normal
• Background sync → low
QoS marking puts a label inside the IP packet header
(Differentiated Services Code Point : 6 bits) to indicate
priority.
NG Application Protocol (NGAP):Application signaling
protocol.
• Provides the control plane signaling between an NGRAN
node and AMF.
• NGAP provides a transport function between the UE and
the AMF by offering NAS signaling transport.
Xn Interface Protocol Stack
• Xn interface between RAN nodes, has separate
protocol interfaces for user plane and control plane
traffic.
• Supports data forwarding and flow control of user
plane PDUs.
Functions:
• Supports interface management,
• UE mobility management (including context transfer
and RAN paging)
• Dual connectivity.
Activity
1. In a 5G system, multiple users share the NG user plane (via
GTP-U tunnels). The scheduler allocates bandwidth based on
QoS priority weights.
User Requested data rate Priority
U1 50 Mbps High
U2 30 Mbps Medium
U3 20 Mbps Low

Total available capacity = 80 Mbps, Scheduler uses weighted fair

allocation . Priority weights: High = 3 , Medium = 2 , Low = 1
Find:
i. Allocated bandwidth to each user
ii. Whether each user’s demand is satisfied
iii. Identify which users experience congestion
2. During an Xn-based handover (using XnAP), a source gNB
forwards in-flight data to a target gNB for multiple UEs.
User Data rate
U1 50 Mbps
U2 30 Mbps
U3 20 Mbps
Total Xn handover duration = 10 ms, Available buffer at
target gNB = 200 KB and Packet size = 1000 bytes
Find:
i. Total data generated during handover
ii. Number of packets forwarded
iii. Whether the available buffer is sufficient
iv. If not, compute buffer deficit and % packet loss
3. In a 5G network with CU–DU split and inter-gNB handover, a
packet experiences delay across multiple interfaces:
• CU–DU via F1AP
• Core interface via GTP-U
• Inter-gNB handover via XnAP
Given :
CU processing delay = 0.8 ms , DU processing delay = 0.5 ms ,
Fronthaul delay (CU–DU) = 1.2 ms , NG interface delay = 2 ms , Xn
handover delay = 3 ms Queueing delay = Dq ms and End-to-end
SLA latency ≤ 7 ms. Find
i. Expression for total end-to-end delay
ii. Maximum allowable queueing delay Dq to satisfy SLA
iii. If actual queue delay is 1.5 ms, determine whether SLA is met
iv. Identify which component(s) must be optimized if SLA is
violated
SLA : Service Level Agreement , performance guarantees a
network/service must meet