Hi list,
While I was experimenting with osmo-qcdiag and other LTE stuff, I want to add NAS/EPS as a new payload type for gsmtap.h.
Unlike GSM and UMTS, LTE introduced separate layer for encryption of NAS and RRC. As a result, while NAS messages are piggybacked to LTE RRC, but after NAS security had been activated only encrypted NAS messages are available at RRC layer. This is reflected into the baseband diagnostics of various makers: Qualcomm provides separate diagnostic item for LTE NAS (both encrypted and plain) and RRC. Separate payload type for LTE RRC and LTE NAS will solve this issue. I can submit a patch if this looks positive.
Also, I have a question regarding ARFCN field. Currently (in version 2) ARFCN is a 16-bit integer, with 2-bit of flags (PCS band, uplink) therefore making 14-bits available for raw value. This causes some problem in LTE:
1) EARFCNs for uplink are starting from 18000, which is larger than 2^14 2) There are EARFCNs even larger than 2^16 (Bands 65+, LTE-U frequencies) 3) No separate indicator for ARFCNs used by UMTS/LTE-TDD network
Also in UMTS, there are overlapping UARFCNs between bands, which necessitates a separate field for band indicator. Changes regarding these will break the GSMTAP header structure, therefore I want to discuss about how these could be addressed.
Best Regards, Shinjo