Annex A: The Different Sets of MAC Management Messages

Overview

In this annex, a short description is provided of the main 802.16 MAC management messages. The order of presentation is globally in the order of appearance in the book. In this annex, the broadcast, initial ranging and basic and primary management messages are presented, i.e. all the MAC management messages. It should be remembered that the secondary management messages are upper layer, not MAC, management messages. The MAC management messages cannot be carried on Transport Connections, i.e. with Transport CID values. Full detils of these messages can be found in the standards ^[1] and ^[2], specifically in Section 6.3.2.3 of the standard and the related PHYsical layers part (Section 8) and TLV encodings (Section 11). The newly added 802.16e messages related to mobility start with MOB.

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Multiple access and burst profile definition Messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
0	UCD, Uplink Channel Descriptor	Transmitted by the BS at a periodic time interval to provide the burst profiles (physical parameters sets) that can be used by an uplink physical channel during a brust in addition to other uplink channel parameters	Broadcast
1	DCD, Downlink Channel Descriptor	Transmitted by the BS at a periodic time interval to provide the burst profiles (physical parameters sets) that can be used by a downlink physical channel during a burst in addition to other downlink channel parameters	Broadcast
2	DL-MAP, Downlink MAP	Downlink access definition. In a DL-MAP, for each downlink burst, DL-MAP_IE indicates the start time and the burst profile (channel details including physical attributes) of this burst	Broadcast
3	UL-MAP Uplink MAP	Uplink access definition. In a UL-MAP, for each uplink burst, UL-MAP_IE indicates the start time, the duration and the burst profile (channel detailes including physical attributes) of this burst	Broadcast

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Mesh network (configuration, entry and scheduling) messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
39	MSH-NCFG, Mesh Network Configuration	Provides a basic level of communication between nodes in different nearby networks, whether from the same or different equipment vendors or wireless operators. Among others, the Network Descriptor is an embedded data of the MESH-NCFG message. The Network Descriptor contains many channel parameters (modulation and coding schemes, threshold values, etc.) which makes it similar to UCD and DCD	Broadcast
40	MSH-NENT, Mesh Network Entry	Provides the means for a new node to gain synchronisation and initial network entry into a Mesh network	Basic
41	MSH-DSCH, Mesh Distributed Schedule	Transmitted in the Mesh mode when using distributed scheduling. In coordinated distributed scheduling, all the notes transmit a MSH-DSCH at a regular interval to inform all the neighbours of the schedule of the transmitting station	Broadcast
42	MSH-CSCH, Mesh Centralised Schedule	A MSH-CSCH message is created by a Mesh BS when using centralised scheduling. The BS broadcasts the MSH-CSCH message to all its neighbours and all the nodes with a hop count lower than a given threshold forward the MSH-CSCH message to neighbours that have a higher hop count. This message is used to request or grant bandwidth	Broadcast
43	MSH-CSCF, Mesh Centralised Schedule Configuration	A MSH-CSCF message is broadcasted in the Mesh mode when using centralised scheduling. The Mesh BS broadcasts the MSH-CSCF message to all its neighbours. All nodes forward (rebroadcast) the message according to its index number specified in the message	Broadcast

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Management of multicast polling groups messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
21	MCA-REQ, Multicast Assignment Request	The BS may add (or remove) an SS to a multicast polling group, identified by a multicast CID, by sending an MCA-REQ message with the join (or leave) command.	Primary management
22	MCA-RSP, Multicast Assignment Response	Sent by the SS in response to an MCA-REQ. Contains mainly the Confirmation Code, indicating whether the request was successful	Primary management

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ARQ messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
33	ARQ-Feedback, Standalone ARQ Feedback message	Standalone ARQ Feedback message. The ARQ-Feedback message can be used to signal any combination of different ARQ ACKs (cumulative, selective, selective with cumulative)	Basic
34	ARQ-Discard, ARQ Discard message	Sent by the transmitted when it wants to skip a certain number of ARQ blocks in the ARQ Transmission Window	Basic
35	ARQ-Reset,ARQ Reset message	Sent by the transmitter or the receiver of an ARQ-enabled transmission in order to reset the parent connection's ARQ transmitter and receiver state machines	Basic

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Ranging messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
4	RNG-REQ, Ranging Request	Transmitted by the SS at initialisation. It can also be used at other periods to determine the network delay and to request a power and/or downlink burst profile change	Initial ranging or Basic
5	RNG-RSP, Ranging Response	Transmitted by the BS in response to a received RNG-REQ. It may also be transmitted asynchronously to send corrections based on measurements that have been made on other received data or MAC messages	Initial ranging or Basic
23	DBPC-REQ, Downlink Burst Profile Change Request	Sent by the SS to the BS on the SS Basic CID to request a change in the downlink burst profile used by the BS to transport data to the SS	Basic
24	DBPC-RSP, Downlink Burst Profile Change Response	Transmitted by the BS on the SS Basic CID in response to a DBPC-REQ message from the SS. If the (required) DIUC parameter is the same as requested in the DBPC-REQ message, then the request was accepted. Otherwise, the DIUC parameter of DBPC-RSP is the previous DIUC at which the SS was receiving downlink data	Basic

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Dynamic service management (creation, change and deletion) messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
11	DSA-REQ, Dynamic Service Addition Request	Sent by an SS or BS to create a new service flow. Service flow attributes, including QoS parameters are indicated	Primary Management
12	DSA-RSP, Dynamic Service Addition Response	Generated in response to a received DSA-REQ; indicates whether the creation of the service flow was successful or rejected	Primary management
13	DSA-ACK, Dynamic Service Addition Acknowledge	Generated in response to a received DSA-RSP	Primary management
14	DSC-REQ, Dynamic Service Change Request	Sent by an SS or BS to change dynamically the parameters of an existing service flow	Primary management
15	DSC-RSP, Dynamic Service Change Response	Generated in response to a received DSC-REQ	Primary management
16	DSC-ACK, Dynamic Service Addition Acknowledge	Generated in response to a received DSC-RSP	Primary management
17	DSD-REQ, Dynamic Service Deletion Request	Sent by an SS or BS to delete an existing service flow	Primary management
18	DSD-RSP, Dynamic Service Deletion Response	Generated in response to a received DSD-REQ	Primary management
30	DSX-RVD, DSx Received Message	Generated by the BS to inform the SS that the BS has correctly received a DSx (DSA or DSC)-REQ message. The DSx-RSP message is transmitted only after the DSx-REQ is authenticated	Primary management

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SS basic capability negotiation messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
26	SBC-REQ, SS Basic Capability Request	Transmitted by the SS during initialisation to inform the BS of its basic capabilities; mainly Physical Parameters and Bandwidth Allocation supported	Basic
27	SBC-RSP, SS Basic Capability Response	Transmitted by the BS in response to an SBC-REQ. Indicates the intersection of the SS and the BS capabilities	Basic

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Registration messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
6	REG-REQ, Registration Request	Sent by the SS in order to register with the BS. Indicates supported management parameters, CS capabilities, IP mode, etc.	Primary management
7	REG-RSP, Registration Response	Sent by the BS in response to a REG-REQ message. Confirms or not authentication. Responds to reg-req capability indications.	Primary management
29	DREG-CMD, De/Re-registration Command	Transmitted by the BS to force the SS to change its access state (stop using the current channel, use it again, use it with restrictions, etc.) Unsolicited or in response to an SS DREG-REQ message	Basic
49	DREG-REQ, SS De-registration Request message	Sent by the SS to the BS in order to notify the BS of the SS de-registration request from the BS and the network	Basic

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SS reset message
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
25	RES-CMD, Reset Command	Transmitted by the BS to force the SS to reset itself, reinitialise its MAC and repeat initial system access	Basic

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Configuration file TFTP transmission completee messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
31	TFTP-CPLT, Config File TFTP Complete message	When the configuration file TFTP download has completed successfully, the SS notifies the BS by transmitting a TFTP-CPLT message	Primary management
32	TFTP-RSP, Config File TFTP Complete Response	In response to TFTP-CPLT, the BS (normally) sends a TFTP-RSP message with an ‘OK’ response	Primary management

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Radio resource management messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
36	REP-REQ, channel measurement Report Request	Sent by the BS to the SS in order to require RSSI (received power level) and CINR channel measurement reports. In license-exempt bands, the REP-REQ message is also used to request the results of the DFS measurements that the BS has previously scheduled	Basic
37	REP-RSP, channel measurement Report Response	Contains the measurement report in accordance with the Report Request	Basic
38	FPC, Fast Power Control	Broadcast by the BS in order to adjust the power levels of multiple SSs simultaneously. The SSs apply the indicated change within the ‘SS downlink management message FPC processing time’. Implementation of the FPC is optional. Power control is normally realised by periodic ranging	Broadcast

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Security messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
9	PKM-REQ, Privacy Key Management Request	Transmits a PKM (Privacy Key Management) protocol message from the PKM client, the SS to the PKM server, the BS	Primary management
10	PKM-RSP, Pricacy Key Management Response	Transmits a PKM protocol message from the PKM server, the BS to the PKM client, the SS	Primary management

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AAS (Adaptive Antenna System) messages
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description (related to AAS operations)	Type of connection
44	AAS-FBCK-REQ	AAS Feedback Request	Basic
45	AAS-FBCK-RSP	AAS Feedback Response	Basic
46	AAS-Beam_Select	AAS Beam Select message	Basic
47	AAS-BEAM_REQ	AAS Beam Request message	Basic
48	AAS-BEAM_RSP	AAS Beam Response message	Basic

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Other
Type (8 bits)	Message name	Description	Type of connection
28	CLK-CMP, SS network Clock Comparison	For service flows carrying information that requires the SSs to reconstruct their network clock signals (ee.g. Bell-Labs DS1, also known as T1, 1.536Mb/s circuit transmission system), CLK-CMP messages are periodically broadcast by the BS	Broadcast

^[1]IEEE 802.16-2004, IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks, Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems, October 2004.

^[2]IEEE 802.16e, IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks, Air Interface for Fixed Broadband Wireless Access Systems, Amendment 2: Physical and Medium Access Control Layers for Combined Fixed and Mobile Operation in Licensed Bands and Corrigendum 1, February 2006 (Approved: 7 December 2005).