Content for TS 29.244 Word version: 18.4.0

1 Scope p. 17

The present document specifies the Packet Forwarding Control Protocol (PFCP) used on the interface between the control plane and the user plane function.

PFCP shall be used over:

the Sxa, Sxb, Sxc and the combined Sxa/Sxb reference points specified in TS 23.214.
the Sxa' and Sxb' reference points specified in TS 33.107. In the rest of this specification, no difference is made between Sxa and Sxa', or between Sxb and Sxb'. The Sxa' and Sxb' reference points reuse the protocol specified for the Sxa and Sxb reference points, but comply in addition with the security requirements specified in clause 8 of TS 33.107.
the N4 interface specified in TS 23.501 and TS 23.502.
the N4mb interface specified in TS 23.247.

In this specification the term CP function applies to control plane nodes such as SGW-C, PGW-C, TDF-C, SMF and MB-SMF.

In this specification the term UP function applies to user plane nodes such as SGW-U, PGW-U, TDF-U, UPF and MB-UPF.

The prefix PFCP in message and procedure names is used to indicate that messages and procedures are common and used on Sx, N4 and N4mb reference points. A PFCP session refers to both Sx and/or N4 sessions, or to an N4mb session. A PFCP association is established between a CP function and a UP function, i.e., for EPC, between an SGW-C/PGW-C/TDF-C and an SGW-U/PGW-U/TDF-U, and for 5GC, between an SMF and a UPF or between an MB-SMF and MB-UPF.

In the related stage 2 specifications the prefix Sx, N4 and N4mb is used for these common procedures realised by PFCP.

Clauses or paragraphs that only apply to EPC or 5GC are indicated by the label "for EPC" or "for 5GC".

2 References p. 17

The following documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of the present document.

References are either specific (identified by date of publication, edition number, version number, etc.) or non-specific.
For a specific reference, subsequent revisions do not apply.
For a non-specific reference, the latest version applies. In the case of a reference to a 3GPP document (including a GSM document), a non-specific reference implicitly refers to the latest version of that document in the same Release as the present document.

[1]

TR 21.905: "Vocabulary for 3GPP Specifications".

[2]

TS 23.214: "Architecture enhancements for control and user plane separation of EPC nodes; Stage 2".

[3]

TS 29.281: "General Packet Radio System (GPRS) Tunnelling Protocol User Plane (GTPv1-U)".

[4]

RFC 768: "User Datagram Protocol".

[5]

RFC 791: "Internet Protocol".

[6]

RFC 2460: "Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification".

[7]

TS 23.203: "Policy and charging control architecture; Stage 2".

[8]

TS 29.212: "Policy and Charging Control (PCC); Reference points".

[9]

TS 29.274: "3GPP Evolved Packet System. Evolved GPRS Tunnelling Protocol for EPS (GTPv2)".

[10]

TS 36.413: "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); S1 Application Protocol (S1AP)".

[11]

TS 29.213: "Policy and Charging Control signalling flows and Quality of Service (QoS) parameter mapping".

[12]

RFC 5905: "Network Time Protocol Version 4: Protocol and Algorithms Specification".

[13]

RFC 2474: "Definition of the Differentiated Services Field (DS Field) in the IPv4 and IPv6 Headers".

[14]

TS 23.401: "General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enhancements for Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) access".

[15]

TS 22.153: "Multimedia Priority Service".

[16]

RFC 4006: "Diameter Credit Control Application".

[17]

TS 32.251: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Packet Switched (PS) domain charging".

[18]

TS 32.299: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; Diameter charging application".

[19]

TS 23.060: "General Packet Radio Service (GPRS); Service description; Stage 2".

[20]

TS 33.107: "3G security; Lawful interception architecture and functions".

[21]

TS 29.251: "Gw and Gwn reference points for sponsored data connectivity".

[22]

RFC 2474, "Definition of the Differentiated Services Field (DS Field) in the IPv4 and IPv6 Headers".

[23]

RFC 7230: "Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP/1.1): Message Syntax and Routing".

[24]

TS 23.007: "Restoration procedures".

[25]

TS 29.303: "Domain Name System Procedures; Stage 3"

[26]

RFC 5905: "Network Time Protocol Version 4: Protocol and Algorithms Specification".

[27]

RFC 1035: "Domain Names - Implementation and Specification".

[28]

TS 23.501: "System Architecture for the 5G System"

[29]

TS 23.502: "Procedures for the 5G System"

[30]

IEEE 802.1Q: "Virtual Bridged Local Area Networks"

[31]

IEEE 802.3: "IEEE Standard for Ethernet"

[32]

RFC 826: "An Ethernet Address Resolution Protocol or Converting Network Protocol Addresses".

[33]

RFC 4861: "Neighbor Discovery for IP version 6 (IPv6)". .

[34]

TS 38.415: "NG-RAN; PDU Session User Plane Protocol".

[35]

TS 32.422: "Telecommunication management; Subscriber and equipment trace; Trace control and configuration management".

[36]

RFC 4282: "The Network Access Identifier".

[37]

RFC 2865: "Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS)".

[38]

RFC 3162: "RADIUS and IPv6".

[39]

TS 29.061: "Interworking between the Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) supporting packet based services and Packet Data Networks (PDN)".

[40]

TS 23.527: "5G System; Restoration procedures".

[41]

TS 29.512: "5G System; Session Management Policy Control Service; Stage 3".

[42]

TS 38.300: "NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall Description; Stage 2".

[43]

TS 29.510: "5G System; Network Function Repository Services; Stage 3".

[44]

TS 23.503: "Policy and Charging Control Framework for the 5G System".

[45]

TS 32.255: "Telecommunication management; Charging management; 5G data connectivity domain charging; Stage 2".

[46]

TS 29.512: "Session Management Policy Control Service, Stage 3".

[47]

TS 33.127: "Security; Lawful Interception (LI) architecture and functions".

[48]

TS 23.003: "Numbering, addressing and identification".

[49]

TS 29.561: "5G System; Interworking between 5G Network and external Data Networks; Stage 3".

[50]

TS 29.502: "5G System, Session Management Services; Stage 3".

[51] Void

[52]

RFC 2236: "Internet Group Management Protocol, Version 2".

[53]

RFC 3376: "Internet Group Management Protocol, Version 3".

[54]

RFC 4604: "Using Internet Group Management Protocol Version 3 (IGMPv3) and Multicast Listener Discovery Protocol Version 2 (MLDv2) for Source-Specific Multicast".

[55]

RFC 2710: "Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6".

[56] Void

[57]

TS 23.316: "Wireless and wireline convergence access support for the 5G System (5GS)".

[58]

IEEE Std 802.1AS-2020: "IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks--Timing and Synchronization for Time-Sensitive Applications".

[59]

TS 24.193: "Access Traffic Steering, Switching and Splitting; Stage 3".

[60]

RFC 8803: "0-RTT TCP Convert Protocol".

[61]

TS 29.571: "5G System; Common Data Types for Service Based Interfaces; Stage 3".

[62]

RFC 8684: "TCP Extensions for Multipath Operation with Multiple Addresses".

[63]

TS 24.539: "5G System (5GS); Network to TSN translator (TT) protocol aspects; Stage 3".

[64]

TS 33.501: "Security architecture and procedures for 5G system".

[65]

TS 24.250: "Protocol for Reliable Data Service; Stage 3".

[66]

TS 23.682: "Architecture enhancements to facilitate communications with packet data networks and applications".

[67]

RFC 2661: Layer Two Tunneling Protocol "L2TP"

[68]

RFC 2868: RADIUS Attributes for Tunnel Protocol Support

[69]

TS 23.548: "5G System Enhancements for Edge Computing; Stage 2".

[70] Void

[71]

RFC 3986: "Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax".

[72]

TS 23.247: " Architectural enhancements for 5G multicast-broadcast services; Stage 2".

[73]

TS 29.564: "5G System; User Plane Function Services; Stage 3".

[74]

TS 29.500: "5G System; Technical Realization of Service Based Architecture; Stage 3".

[75]

RFC 4122: "A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace".

[76]

RFC 9000: "QUIC: A UDP-Based Multiplexed and Secure Transport".

[77]

RFC 9114: "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Version 3 (HTTP/3)".

[78]

RFC 9298: "Proxying UDP in HTTP".

[79]

TS 26.522: "5G Real-time Media Transport Protocol Configurations".
→ to date, still a draft

[80]

TS 29.585: "5G System (5GS); Session Management Function (SMF) / Centralized User Configuration (CUC) to Access Network Talker Listener (AN-TL) and Core Network Talker Listener (CN-TL) protocol aspects; Stage 3".
→ to date, still a draft

[81]

RFC 9331: "Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) Protocol for Very Low Queuing Delay (L4S)".

[82]

RFC 3550: "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications".

[83]

RFC 3711: The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP"

[84]

RFC 6184: "RTP Payload Format for H.264 Video"

[85]

RFC 7798: "RTP Payload Format for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)"

[86]

RFC 8285: "A General Mechanism for RTP Header Extensions".

3 Definitions, symbols and abbreviations p. 20

3.1 Definitions p. 20

For the purposes of the present document, the terms and definitions given in TR 21.905 and the following apply. A term defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same term, if any, in TR 21.905.

Associated PDU Session:

A PDU Session associated to a multicast session that is used for 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery method and for signalling related to a user's participation in a multicast session such as join and leave requests.

Associated QoS Flow:

A unicast QoS Flow that belongs to the associated PDU Session and is used for 5GC Individual MBS traffic delivery method. The associated QoS Flow is mapped from a multicast QoS Flow in a multicast MBS session.

Common Tunnel EndPoint Identifier (C-TEID):

See definition in clause 3.1 of TS 29.281. It is used for the delivery of user plane traffic using multicast transport via a common GTP-U tunnel to NG-RAN nodes over N3mb and/or to UPFs over N19mb.

CP function:

A node with a Control Plane function (see TS 23.214) supporting one or more PFCP entities. A Control Plane function, i.e. a Control Plane Node, is identified by the Node ID that is set to either an FQDN or an IP address.

Low Layer Source Specific Multicast address (LLSSM):

It is used to deliver user plane traffic using multicast transport to NG-RAN nodes over N3mb and/or to UPFs over N19mb. The destination multicast IP address identifies the multicast group, while the related unicast source IP address identifies the source of the multicast traffic (MB-UPF). The MB-UPF sets the outer header of the DL UP packets with the respective source IP address and destination multicast IP address.

Match Field:

a field of the Packet Detection Information of a Packet Detection Rule against which a packet is attempted to be matched.

Matching:

comparing the set of header fields of a packet to the match fields of the Packet Detection Information of a Packet Detection Rule.

MBS ingress address:

It is used for the delivery of DL MBS UP traffic using unicast transport to the MB-UPF over N6mb or Nmb9 interface. The MBS ingress address identifies the MB-UPF's unicast IP address and port number for receiving DL data.

Multicast transport:

the delivery of user plane traffic by IP multicast transport, as opposed to IP unicast transport. Multicast transport is supported over N3mb, N19mb and N6mb interfaces, but is not supported over Nmb9.

Node:

Either a CP function or an UP function supporting one or more PFCP entities. A Node is identified by the Node ID, which is set to either an FQDN or an IP address.

PFCP Entity:

An endpoint in a CP (or UP) function supporting PFCP, that is identified by the IP address. The IP address of a PFCP entity may or may not be the IP address included in the Node ID.

Source Specific Multicast address (SSM):

It is used to deliver user plane traffic using multicast transport. The destination multicast IP address identifies the multicast group, while the related unicast source IP address identifies the source of the multicast data (e.g. AF/AS or MBSTF).

Unicast transport:

the delivery of user plane traffic by IP unicast transport, as opposed to IP multicast transport. For MBS, unicast transport is supported over N3mb, N19mb, N6mb and Nmb9 interfaces.

UP function:

A node with a User Plane function (see TS 23.214) supporting one or more PFCP entities. A User Plane function, i.e. a User Plane Node, is identified by the Node ID that is set to either a FQDN or an IP address.

3.2 Abbreviations p. 21

For the purposes of the present document, the abbreviations given in TR 21.905 and the following apply. An abbreviation defined in the present document takes precedence over the definition of the same abbreviation, if any, in TR 21.905.

5MBS

5G Multicast-Broadcast Service

ADC

Application Detection and Control

ATSSS

Access Traffic Steering, Switching, Splitting

ATSSS-LL

ATSSS Low Layer

BAR

Buffering Action Rule

Branching Point

CN-TL

Core Network Talker Listener function

Control Plane

CUC

Centralized User Configuration

DDDS

Downlink Data Delivery Status notification with UPF buffering

DDoS

Distributed Denial of Service

DEI

Drop Eligible Indicator

DetNet

Deterministic Networking

DNAI

Data Network Access Identifier

DSCP

Differentiated Services Code Point

DS-TT

Device-Side TSN Translator

eMPS

enhanced Multimedia Priority Service

FAR

Forwarding Action Rule

F-SEID

Fully Qualified SEID

F-TEID

Fully Qualified TEID

Internet Protocol

IPUPS

Inter-PLMN User Plane Security

IPv4

Internet Protocol version 4

IPv6

Internet Protocol version 6

I-SMF

Intermediate SMF

L2TP

Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol

L4S

Low Latency, Low Loss and Scalable Throughput

LAC

L2TP Access Concentrator

LMISF

LI Mirror IMS State Function

LNS

L2TP Network Server

Multi-Access

MAR

Multi-Access Rule

MBS

Multicast/Broadcast Service

MB-SMF

Multicast/Broadcast Session Management Function

MB-UPF

Multicast/Broadcast User Plane Function

MBSF

Multicast/Broadcast Service Function

MBSTF

Multicast/Broadcast Service Transport Function

MPQUIC

Multi-Path QUIC

MPTCP

Multi-Path TCP Protocol

MT-EDT

Mobile Terminated Early Data TransmissionNR New Radio

NPN

Non-Public Network

NW-TT

Network-side TSN Translator

PCC

Policy and Charging Control

PCP

Priority Code Point

PCEF

Policy and Charging Enforcement Function

PCRF

Policy and Charging Rule Function

PDI

Packet Detection Information

PDR

Packet Detection Rule

PFCP

Packet Forwarding Control Protocol

PFD

Packet Flow Description

PGW

PDN Gateway

PGW-C

PDN Gateway Control plane function

PGW-U

PDN Gateway User plane function

Personal IoT Network

PLR

Packet Loss Rate

PMF

Performance Measurement Function

PMIC

Port Management Information Container

PSA

PDU Session Anchor

PTP

Precision Time Protocol

QER

QoS Enforcement Rule

RDS

Reliable Data Service

RTT

Round Trip Time

S8HR

S8 Home Routed

SDF

Service Data Flow

SEID

Session Endpoint Identifier

SGW

Serving Gateway

SGW-C

Serving Gateway Control plane function

SGW-U

Serving Gateway User plane function

SMF

Session Management Function

SNPN

Stand-alone Non-Public Network

SRR

Session Reporting Rule

SX3LIF

Split X3 LI Interworking Function

TDF

Traffic Detection Function

TDF-C

Traffic Detection Function Control plane function

TDF-U

Traffic Detection Function User plane function

Talker Listener

TMGI

Temporary Mobile Group Identity

Transport Network

ToS

Type of Service

TSC

Time Sensitive Communication

TSCTS

Time Sensitive Communication and Time Synchronization

TSCTSF

Time Sensitive Communication and Time Synchronization function

TSN

Time Sensitive Networking

TSSF

Traffic Steering Support Function

UDP

User Datagram Protocol

UL CL

Uplink Classifier

UMIC

User Plane Node Management Information Container

User Plane

UPF

User Plane Function

URR

Usage Reporting Rule

VID

VLAN Identifier