Ethernet Jumbo Frames

Baseband Radio Node

Feature Description

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A

Copyright

© Ericsson AB 2016–2020. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Disclaimer

The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to
continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall
have no liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use of this
document.

Trademark List

All trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
These are shown in the document Trademark Information.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Contents

Contents

1 Ethernet Jumbo Frames Overview 1

2 Dependencies of Ethernet Jumbo Frames 3

3 Feature Operation 4
3.1 Switching and Bridging Operation 4
3.2 IP Routing and IP Termination Operation 4

4 Parameters for Ethernet Jumbo Frames 5

5 Network Impact 6

6 Performance 7
6.1 KPIs 7
6.2 Counters 7
6.3 Events 7

7 Feature Activation and Deactivation 8

8 Engineering Guidelines for Ethernet Jumbo Frames 9

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

Ethernet Jumbo Frames

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames Overview

1 Ethernet Jumbo Frames Overview

This feature allows Ethernet frames with a maximum payload length of

9000 bytes.

Access Type: NR LTE WCDMA

Feature FAJ 121 1896 FAJ 121 1896 FAJ 121 1578
Identity:
Value NR High- LTE Base Package WCDMA Base
Package Band Base Package
Name: Package
NR Low/Mid-
Band Base
Package
Value FAJ 801 FAJ 801 0400 FAJ 801 0359
Package 4002/5LM
Identity:
FAJ 801
4002/5H
Node Type: Baseband Baseband Radio Node Baseband Radio
Radio Node Node
DU Radio Node
DU Radio Node
Licensing: Basic feature. Basic feature. No license Basic feature. No
No license is is required. license is required.
required.

Summary
The Ethernet Jumbo Frames feature allows Ethernet frames with a maximum
payload length of 9000 bytes. An Ethernet jumbo frame is defined as having a
payload larger than 1500 bytes.

Jumbo frames provide a more efficient use of the available network bandwidth in
high traffic conditions. When this feature is enabled in the network, the number
of packets per second is reduced for all involved devices. This means that the
feature efficiently handles traffic when packet processing has become a
bottleneck.

The baseband unit supports jumbo frames on the Ethernet ports. To use this
functionality, the MTU value must be configured accordingly.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 1

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

Note: The default MTU for baseband IP interfaces is 1500 bytes. This can be
modified in the InterfaceIPv4 MO or the InterfaceIPv6 MO. Using a
larger MTU size for the IP interfaces can have a negative effect on the
performance.

To send IP packets that exceed the Ethernet MTU, the IP layer must first
fragment the packets to align with the Ethernet MTU. For Ethernet jumbo frames,
the RBS supports the MTU 9000 bytes. The MTU used can be lower than the
configured MTU depending on the frame types that the baseband unit supports.

Using Ethernet jumbo frames with the MTU 9000 bytes might cause
fragmentation for traffic sent over the Uu interface.

2 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Dependencies of Ethernet Jumbo Frames

2 Dependencies of Ethernet Jumbo Frames

Table 1 Feature Dependencies

Feature Relationship Description

Ethernet Switching (FAJ 121 4413) Related
Static Routing(FAJ 121 4412) Related There is a lower risk of fragmentation
when Ethernet Jumbo Frames are
used on all interfaces.
OSPFv2 (FAJ 121 4727) Related There is a lower risk of fragmentation
when Ethernet Jumbo Frames are
used on all interfaces.

Hardware
No special hardware requirement is expected for this feature.

Limitations
No limitations for this feature.

Network Requirements
The jumbo frame size must be supported by all Ethernet switches the jumbo
frames cross. The configured frame size must be supported by all destination
Ethernet ports.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 3

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

3 Feature Operation

3.1 Switching and Bridging Operation

The Ethernet Jumbo Frames feature is always enabled for switching and bridging
operations. Jumbo frames are supported for both tagged and untagged frames.
The operation flow is the following:

Steps

1. A packet with a payload of up to 9000 bytes is received on a port of the

switch or bridge.

2. The packet is switched or bridged in the same way as ordinary Ethernet

packets, as described in Ethernet Switching. The MAC learning process and
tables remain the same. This means that the packet is either sent out on the
outgoing interface, or broadcast out on all interfaces except the incoming
interface. This is independent of whether the packet is a normal or jumbo
frame.

3.2 IP Routing and IP Termination Operation

The IP routing and termination operation flow is the following:

Steps

1. A packet with a payload of up to 9000 bytes is received on a port of the

router, or is generated internally for sending on an outgoing interface.

2. The packet is routed as an ordinary IP packet with a length of up to 1500

bytes, as described in Static Routing and OSPFv2.

3. Fragmentation is performed, if necessary to avoid sending an IP packet or

fragment larger than the configured MTU of the outgoing link.

4. The packet or fragment is sent out on the outgoing interface.

Even though jumbo frames are supported on both incoming and outgoing
interfaces, fragmentation can still be required if the interfaces have a
different Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU). Note that some equipment in
the network, although they support jumbo frames, cannot support frames
with payloads of up to 9000 bytes.
If fragmentation is not allowed, the packet is discarded and an ICMP too
big message is sent back to the source.

4 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Parameters for Ethernet Jumbo Frames

4 Parameters for Ethernet Jumbo Frames

This feature is affected by a parameter related to the MTU.

Table 2 Parameters
Parameter Type Description
InterfaceIPv4.mtu Affecting See MOM description.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 5

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

5 Network Impact

The implementation of this feature has no impact on the network.

6 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Performance

6 Performance

6.1 KPIs
This feature has no associated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

6.2 Counters
This feature has no directly associated counters.

6.3 Events
This feature has no associated events.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 7

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

7 Feature Activation and Deactivation

Ethernet Jumbo Frames is a basic feature. It requires no activation.

8 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Engineering Guidelines for Ethernet Jumbo Frames

8 Engineering Guidelines for Ethernet Jumbo

Frames

Using Ethernet Jumbo Frames with the MTU 9000 bytes might cause
fragmentation in the traffic sent over the Uu interface.

For optimal performance, the MTU in the EPC and the UE must be configured so
that the PDU of the GTP-U does not exceed 1916 bytes. This is because the
maximum PDCP SDU size is 1888 bytes, which equals the supported MTU size
over the Uu interface.

Note: The maximum supported GTP-U packet size is 1930 bytes. This includes
the GTP-U header, which is 28 bytes. Therefore, the maximum size of
the PDCP SDU is 1902 bytes. 14 bytes are reserved for future extensions.

For possible configurations of S1 and NG traffic, see Table 3.

Table 3 S1 and NG Traffic Configurations

S1-U Oute Oute UDP ESP ESP ESP IPv4 IPv6 UDP MTU
or r r Head Over Over Over Head Head Head on
NG- IPv4 IPv6 er head head head er er er the
U Head Head (NAT (ENC (ENC (ENC S1
IpIn er er Trav R_N R_AE R_AE Inter
terf ersal ULL) S_CB S_GC face(
ace ) (1)
C)(1) M)(1) 2)(3)

Prot
ocol
Stac
k
IPv4 20 8 1944
/UD bytes bytes bytes
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 8 1964
/UD bytes bytes bytes
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 10 20 8 1974
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv4
/UD
P/

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 9

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

S1-U Oute Oute UDP ESP ESP ESP IPv4 IPv6 UDP MTU
or r r Head Over Over Over Head Head Head on
NG- IPv4 IPv6 er head head head er er er the
U Head Head (NAT (ENC (ENC (ENC S1
IpIn er er Trav R_N R_AE R_AE Inter
terf ersal ULL) S_CB S_GC face(
ace ) (1)
C)(1) M)(1) 2)(3)

Prot
ocol
Stac
k
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 10 20 8 1982
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 10 20 8 1994
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 10 40 8 1994
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 10 40 8 2002
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 10 40 8 2014
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes

10 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Engineering Guidelines for Ethernet Jumbo Frames

S1-U Oute Oute UDP ESP ESP ESP IPv4 IPv6 UDP MTU
or r r Head Over Over Over Head Head Head on
NG- IPv4 IPv6 er head head head er er er the
U Head Head (NAT (ENC (ENC (ENC S1
IpIn er er Trav R_N R_AE R_AE Inter
terf ersal ULL) S_CB S_GC face(
ace ) (1)
C)(1) M)(1) 2)(3)

Prot
ocol
Stac
k
/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 38 20 8 2002
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 38 20 8 2010
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 38 20 8 2022
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 38 40 8 2022
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv6
/UD
P/

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 11

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

S1-U Oute Oute UDP ESP ESP ESP IPv4 IPv6 UDP MTU
or r r Head Over Over Over Head Head Head on
NG- IPv4 IPv6 er head head head er er er the
U Head Head (NAT (ENC (ENC (ENC S1
IpIn er er Trav R_N R_AE R_AE Inter
terf ersal ULL) S_CB S_GC face(
ace ) (1)
C)(1) M)(1) 2)(3)

Prot
ocol
Stac
k
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 38 40 8 2030
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 38 40 8 2042
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 26 20 8 1990
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 26 20 8 1998
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 26 20 8 2010
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes

12 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04

 Engineering Guidelines for Ethernet Jumbo Frames

S1-U Oute Oute UDP ESP ESP ESP IPv4 IPv6 UDP MTU
or r r Head Over Over Over Head Head Head on
NG- IPv4 IPv6 er head head head er er er the
U Head Head (NAT (ENC (ENC (ENC S1
IpIn er er Trav R_N R_AE R_AE Inter
terf ersal ULL) S_CB S_GC face(
ace ) (1)
C)(1) M)(1) 2)(3)

Prot
ocol
Stac
k
/
IPv4
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 26 40 8 2010
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv4 20 8 26 40 8 2018
/UD bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
P/ES
P/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U
IPv6 40 26 40 8 2030
/ESP bytes bytes bytes bytes bytes
/
IPv6
/UD
P/
GTP-
U

(1) Minimum ESP overhead size depends on the IPsec configuration, that is, the selected
encryption algorithm: CBC = (8 header + 16 IV + 2 tail + 12 ICV) bytes, GCM = (8 header + 8 IV
+ 2 tail + 8 ICV) bytes.
(2) The MTU on the S1 interface must be set in the InterfaceIPv4 and InterfaceIPv6 MOs.
These MOs must have the same MTU value if they refer to same Ethernet Port, VLAN Port, LAG
Port, or Bridge MO in the encapsulation.

155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04 13

 Ethernet Jumbo Frames

(3) For TCP packets, end-to-end IP packet size can be limited by configuring the MSS value of the
TCP in the SGW, the PGW, or the UE. This method does not apply to UDP packets to the UE.

For traffic that is routed between the InterfaceIPv4 and the InterfaceIPv6
MOs, the MTU on the IP interface can be configured to the maximum value of
9000 bytes.

The EN-DC X2-U and S1-U interfaces can share an IP interface for NR or LTE
traffic. For the EN-DC X2-U interface, the GTP-U encapsulation length is
increased because of the size of the NR RAN Container GTP-U extension header.

Note: The additional extension header for the X2-U interface is part of the
GTP-U encapsulation. The extension header size affects the MTU on the
UE, but not the MTU for the S1-U interfaces on the baseband, or the LTE
or the NR EPC. This is considered for the calculations shared in the
document for the MTU in the UE.

RELATED INFORMATION

Manage Transport Network

14 155/221 04-LZA 701 6014/1 Uen Z14A | 2021-01-04