The Importance of GTP

GTP – or GPRS Tunneling Protocol to give it its full name – has been around for some time. Originally created to allow IP sessions to be conveyed across circuit-switched GPRS networks, it remains the core protocol behind data transmission in mobile networks and is fundamental to the success of UMTS (3G) and emerging LTE (4G) networks.

Although the network architecture continues to evolve, GTP is responsible for the transport and control of user data in packet format between the various nodes. As such, it’s essential that GTP flows proceed smoothly and accurately, ensuring that data is delivered correctly and at the correct need.

This is particularly important when we consider the massive growth in mobile data traffic that has already taken place – and that is forecast for the coming years. According to Cisco, mobile data traffic will grow at a CAGR of 92% between 2010 and 2015.

What’s more, the volume of mobile video traffic will grow at the highest rate for any specific application covered, accounting for 2/3rds of all mobile traffic by the end of the period covered. This will not only place a strain on network capacity, but it will demand high performance – users will want to be able to watch, download and, significantly, upload more and more video content in real-time.

Mobile network operators (MNOs) need to plan for this – and some have taken steps to introduce video optimization and buffering solutions, but the smooth management of the network demands more. MNOs have to be able to monitor network performance and troubleshoot issues. They have to be able to proactively manage user experience and that means accessing the vast and growing volume of data traversing the network so that they can identify problems before they have an impact on the network.

GTP is critical to this – MNOs have to be able to access GTP streams, a task made more complex by the fact that there are actually three protocols within the GTP family. GTP-C conveys signaling information between core nodes; GTP-U carries user data; and GTP-P provides charging data for sessions.

MNOs must be able to passively connect to all of these interfaces in order to obtain the information they need to identify and resolve issues. This demands high-performance, specialized hardware solutions, so that the control applications can be focused on reacting and controlling the resulting flow of information. In evolving mobile networks, the ability to access GTP information is crucial to an optimized user experience.

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