ENodeB
Mobile phone network element
E-UTRAN Node B, also known as Evolved Node B (abbreviated as eNodeB or eNB), is the element in E-UTRA of LTE that is the evolution of the element Node B in UTRA of UMTS. It is the hardware that is connected to the mobile phone network that communicates directly wirelessly with mobile handsets (UEs), like a base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM networks.
Traditionally, a Node B has minimum functionality, and is controlled by a Radio Network Controller (RNC). However, with an eNB, there is no separate controller element. This simplifies the architecture and allows faster response times.
01Differences between an evolved Node B and a Node B
Air interface
eNB uses the E-UTRA protocols OFDMA (downlink) and SC-FDMA (uplink) on its LTE-Uu interface. By contrast, NodeB uses the UTRA protocols WCDMA or TD-SCDMA on its Uu interface.
Control functionality
eNB embeds its own control functionality, rather than using a RNC (Radio Network Controller) as does a Node B.
Network interfaces
eNB interfaces with the System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core (also known as Evolved Packet Core (EPC)) and other eNB as follows:
- eNB uses the S1-AP protocol on the S1-MME interface with the Mobility Management Entity (MME) for control plane traffic.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “ENodeB”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- CableFree LTE Remote Radio Head (RRH).jpg by OxfordScience, CC BY-SA 4.0
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