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Interworking Architecture Between 3GPP and WLAN Systems

This article explores the architecture and usage of 3GPP subscription for WLAN, authentication and authorization processes, user data routing and access to services, and charging in the interworking between 3GPP and WLAN systems.

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Interworking Architecture Between 3GPP and WLAN Systems

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  1. Interworking ArchitectureBetween 3GPP and WLAN Systems 張憲忠, 何建民, 黃瑞銘, 紀嘉雄, 李有傑

  2. Outline • Introduction • 3GPP • Assumed De Facto WLAN system architecture • Usage of 3GPP subscription for WLAN • Authentication and Authorization • User data routing and access to services • Charging • Conclusions

  3. 3GPP • Third Generation Partnership Project • a joint initiative of European, U.S., Japanese, and Korean telecommunications standardization organizations • For UMTS • Developing an interworking architecture as an add-on to the existing 3GPP cellular system

  4. De factoWLAN system architecture

  5. Usage of 3GPP subscription of WLAN

  6. Usage of 3GPP subscription of WLAN (cont.) • WLAN UE • WLAN user equipment • terminal equipped with a SIM/USIM card • AAA • typically a RADIUS server used for authentication, authorization, and accounting • HSS • Home subscriber servers (HSS) • HSSs together with the already distributed SIM/USIM smart cards and established global roaming agreements between 3GPP system operators

  7. 3GPP-based WLAN access authentication and authorization • Network selection • Authentication and key agreement in IEEE 802.11i • Authentication and authorization in 3GPP-WLAN interworking • Reusing 3GPP legacy home location registers

  8. Network selection • Network selection in GSM and UMTS • UE discovers the available networks, or more specifically the public land mobile network identifiers (PLMN IDs) • In 3GPP-WLAN interworking, it is more complex • The WLAN operator may have • agreements with one or more local GSM or UMTS operators, which in turn may have roaming agreements with the user’s home operator or • direct agreements between wireless ISPs and the home operator.

  9. Solution for visited network selection for WLAN • based on the Network Access Identifier (NAI) • Format of NAI • Username portion, followed by the @ character and a realm portion

  10. Solution for visited network selection for WLAN (cont.) • If the WLAN access network cannot route the request to the home network, the UE is provided with a list of supported VPLMNs • UE selects the preferred VPLMN, reformats its NAI to contain also the VPLMN ID, and starts authentication again with its “new” ID

  11. Authentication and key agreement in IEEE 802.11i • 802.11i • a scalable authentication, access control, and key agreement framework based on the IEEE 802.1x standard. • Authentication and key agreement functions can be implemented by using RADIUS and the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) • EAP • Provides a “wrapper” or framework for any multi-round-trip authentication protocol to be transported • DIAMETER can alternatively be used

  12. Authentication and authorization in 3GPP-WLAN interworking

  13. Authentication and authorization in 3GPP-WLAN interworking (cont.) • Two new EAP methods, EAP SIM and EAP AKA, have been specified for 3GPP-WLAN interworking • EAP SIM specifies an authentication and key agreement protocol based on the GSM SIM algorithms • EAP AKA encapsulates the UMTS Authentication and Key Agreement (AKA) within EAP.

  14. Authentication process • The WLAN access network is connected to the 3GPP AAA proxy via Wr. • The 3GPP AAA proxy forwards authentication signaling between the WLAN access network and the 3GPP AAA server. • Where no visited PLMN IDs are involved, the Wr reference point connects the WLAN access network directly to the 3GPP AAA server • In the roaming case, the reference point between the 3GPP AAA proxy and 3GPP AAA server is Ws.

  15. Authentication process (cont.) • The authorization information and authentication vectors needed in the authentication protocols are stored (or generated) by the HSS • 3GPP AAA server retrieves this information from the HSS exchange over the Wx reference point

  16. Reusing 3GPP legacyHome location registers

  17. Reuse HLR and VLR • Before 3GPP-WLAN interworking compatible HSS implementations are available, the existing home location registers (HLR) can be used for generating authentication vectors • D’ reference point • represents a subset of the operations used in the D reference point locating between a visitor location register (VLR) and the HLR • 3GPP AAA server uses the same Mobile Application Part (MAP) messages to retrieve authentication vectors from the HLR as a VLR uses, according to those CN specifications.

  18. User data routing and access to services

  19. Data routing • In the simplest case, the user data is directly routed from the WLAN access network to the Internet. • Optionally, an aggregate site-to-site tunnel can be set up between a WLAN access network and a 3GPP network to divert the complete user plane through the operator network

  20. The need of tunneling • The home or visited operator may also want to provide services that are accessible only in a private IP network, • MMS, WAP, IMS • Home operator may also wish that all user data were routed via the home network to collect independent charging Information and apply any operator policies.

  21. IP network selection • Based on a parameter called a WLAN access point name (W-APN) • After the IP network has been selected using the W-APN, appropriate tunnels are established to route the user data to the selected IP network

  22. Termination of tunnel • Tunnel will be terminated in the home operator network by a network element called the packet data gateway (PDG) • WLAN access gateway (WAG), may also be required to implement tunneling

  23. Charging model • Postpaid charging • Prepaid charging

  24. Postpaid charging • The charging information collection happens via so-called charging gateways (CGs). • Each operator collects information about all chargeable events in their network to their own CG • CG consolidates this information and passes it further to the operator’s billing system for further processing.

  25. Prepaid charging • When the user uses the services, the operator online checks the resulting charging information and deducts a corresponding amount from the available credit of the user • In a 3GPPWLAN interworking system this type of prepaid credit control is handled by the online charging system (OCS)

  26. Charging for WLAN access (1)

  27. Charging for WLAN access (2) • Charging information about WLAN access therefore needs to be collected at the WLAN access network and forwarded to the 3GPP visited and home networks • After authorization to access the WLAN access network is completed, a user-specific accounting session is established between the WLAN access network and the 3GPP home network • This accounting session is established with standard AAA accounting signaling, and the referencepoint for this signaling is Wb.

  28. Charging for WLAN access (3) • The 3GPP AAA server collects and consolidates accounting information and forwards it as WLAN access call detail records (WLAN CDRs) toward the CG over the Wf reference point.

  29. Charging for postpaid users • In the billing system this information is then used for clearing the charges between the home network operator, visited network operator, and WLAN access network provider as well as for creation of bills for postpaid users.

  30. Charging for prepaid users • Before authorizing a prepaid user to access the WLAN, the 3GPP AAA server has to make a credit reservation from the user’s prepaid account in the OCS • the 3GPP AAA server monitors the received accounting information from the WLAN access network. • When the downloaded credit is to be exhausted a new credit request from OCS is triggered • At the termination of the WLAN connection the 3GPP AAA server returns any unused credit back to the OCS.

  31. Home network IP-flow-based charging • All the specific remote services are accessed via the PDG within the home network • PDG is connected to the OCS by the Gy reference point and to the CG by the Gz reference point • Charging information can be collected at the PDG.

  32. Conclusions • Functionalities of 3GPP-WLAN interworking system • reuse of 3GPP subscription • Network selection • 3GPP-system-based authentication, authorization, and security key agreement • user data routing and service access • end user charging • All these functionalities are assumed to be achieved without setting any 3GPP-specific requirements on the actual WLAN access systems • Rely on the existing functionality providing by IEEE 802.11 standards

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