EPG on Juniper

          

Based on the Juniper M320 or M120 router, the EPG supports Physical Interface Cards (PICs) of the following types:

·         EPG services PIC: All EPG application software entities run on the EPG services PIC. These entities consist of Globe Session Controller (GSC), SGW Session Controller (SSC) and PGW Session Controller (PSC) for Control Plane, and Packet Processor (PP) and L2TP Packet Processor (TPP) for User Plane. The EPG services PIC is PB-GGSN3 Services PIC.

·         Network interface PIC: The network interface PIC provides 1GE or 10GE Ethernet connectivity for the EPG.

·         Standard services PIC: the standard services PIC runs platform-generic services, such as encapsulation and decapsulation of user payload into Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) or IPsec tunnels.

For EPG on Juniper, the following Network Interface PICs are supported:

·         2-Port Gigabit Ethernet  PIC

·         4-Port Gigabit Ethernet PIC

·         8-Port Gigabit Ethernet PIC

·         10-Port Gigabit Ethernet PIC

·         1-Port 10Gigabit Ethernet PIC

Note: The 10-Port Gigabit Ethernet PIC is only used by the EPG on M320 router.

Both M120 and M320 routers contain 4 and 8 Flexible PIC Concentrators (FPCs) respectively, which are used for the PIU container installation. In addition, two compact FPC (cFPC) slots are available on the M120 router for transport purposes only.

A single FPC or a cFPC slot in the EPG on M120 router has a maximum throughput of 10 Gbps full duplex.  A single FPC slot on the M320 router has a maximum throughput of 16 Gbps or 20 Gbps full duplex. 

EPG- Evolved Packet Gateway

The EPG combines the GGSN, SGW and PGW functions in one physical node. In addition, the evolved platform adaptation layer supports the EPG application running on both operating systems: Junos OS (the OS of Juniper M series routers) and IPOS (the OS of Smart Services Router), 

The EPG is available on different hardware platforms:

·         Juniper (M320, M120)

·         Smart Services Router (SSR 8020)

The EPG based on Juniper hardware is simply called EPG on Juniper and the EPG based on SSR hardware is respectively called EPG on SSR. In the EIN documents, these terms are used to distinguish between these hardware platforms. If the hardware platform does not matter, the EPG term covers all possible EPG configurations.

The EPG on SSR has an increased capacity, up to 10 times greater than the EPG on Juniper. Therefore, the EPG on SSR has a big impact on the PS core network, and this needs to be sustained in terms of capacity from the other PS network elements and transmission systems.

The EPG on SSR is not a product designed only for high capacity networks. Its scalable configuration suits it perfectly for small and medium networks with potential for further extensions.

The EPG can be ordered and deployed in the following deployment modes for single and combined functions:

·         GGSN only functionality

·         PGW only functionality

·         SGW only functionality (applicable only to EPG on SSR)

·         Combined SGW and PGW

·         Combined GGSN and SGW and PGW

PS core network

The PS core network consists of two parts, the traditional General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) core network and the new Evolved Packet System (EPS) core network. The PS core network connects mobile subscribers to Packet Data Networks (PDNs) such as the Internet, corporate networks or operator services networks. a functional overview of the PS core network.

Logical entities and interfaces are shown in black and form a 2G/3G network, while the blue boxes and lines in Figure  show the LTE/EPC related parts. The LTE/EPC network can be regarded as an extension and evolution of existing 2G/3G networks. From a node implementation perspective, there is no strict border between the two networks. The corresponding logical entities of GPRS and EPS networks can be deployed concurrently in Ericsson PS core nodes, such as the SGSN-MME and EPG; these are marked in red. In addition, Ericsson GPRS nodes can be upgraded with EPC functionality by software only.

Network evolution is supported by the following Ericsson PS core products.

·         Serving GPRS Support Node - Mobility Management Entity (SGSN-MME) - The SGSN-MME acts either as the SGSN for GPRS core network, or as the MME for EPC network, or as a combination of both SGSN and MME.

·         Evolved Packet Gateway (EPG) - EPG allows simultaneous combination of the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN), Serving Gateway (SGW), and PDN Gateway (PGW) functions on one physical node.

As part of the evolution of EPC, the Policy and Charging Control (PCC) architecture, shown in Figure 3, is mainly provided by the Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), the Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF), the Application Function (AF) and the Online/Offline Charging System (OCS and OFCS) entities. Ericsson Service-Aware Charging and Control (SACC) solution provides complete and validated PCC functions based on the following Ericsson PS core products:

·         Service Aware Policy Controller (SAPC) - SAPC implements the PCRF function as described by the 3GPP PCC standards.

·         Service Aware Support Node (SASN) - SASN is a standalone PCEF entity and can be deployed on the Gi/SGi interface between the EPG and Internet Security and Gateway functions.

·         EPG - as a combined gateway platform for GGSN, SGW and PGW, the EPG contains a PCEF function for PCC architecture. The service awareness function in the SACC Solution is based on an advanced packet inspection available integrated in EPG or  standalone in SASN.