Abstract syntax errors occur when the receiving functional S1AP entity:
• receives IEs or IE groups that cannot be understood (unknown IE ID) by the receiving node.
• receives IEs for which the logical range is violated. For example, the IEs ASN.1 definition is 0 to 15, the logical range is 0 to 10, but the (receiving) node receives twelve IEs. Here the values 11 to 15 are not defined, so this is treated as an abstract syntax error.
• does not receive IEs or IE groups when the presence field shows that IEs or IE groups are present in the received message.
• receives IEs or IE groups (that are defined to be part of a message) in the wrong order or with too many occurrences of the same IE or IE group.
• receives IEs or IE groups when the presence field states the IEs or IE groups are not present in the received message.
8.2.1 Criticality information
S1AP messages contain criticality information for individual IEs and IE groups. Criticality information has instructions (on handling an IE or IE group) for the receiver when it receives an IE or an IE group that is not comprehended.
Criticality Information is used in the case of missing IE or IE group abstract syntax errors.
The possible values of the criticality information for an IE or IE group are:
• Reject IE
• Ignore IE and Notify Sender
• Ignore IE
8.2.2 Presence field
The presence field (in the class S1AP-PROTOCOl-IEs, S1AP-PROTOCOL-IEs -Pair, S1AP-PROTOCOL-EXTENSION, or S1AP-PRIVATE-IEs) specifies if the presence of IEs or IE groups is optional or mandatory with respect to RNS application.
The presence field supports the following values:
• optional
• conditional
• mandatory
Examples of abstract syntax errors are:
• If an IE or IE group is not included in a received message and the presence of the IE or IE group is mandatory, or the presence is conditional and the condition is true (according to the version of the specification used by the receiver), an abstract syntax error occurs due to a missing IE or IE group.
Handling protocol errors S1 Interface Description
• If an IE or IE group is included in a received message and the presence of the IE or IE group is conditional and the condition is false (according to the version of the specification used by the receiver), an abstract syntax error occurs due to this erroneously present conditional IE or IE group.
8.2.3 Not comprehended IE or IE group
8.2.3.1 Procedure Code
The receiving node handles the different types of received criticality information of the Procedure Code IE as explained in the following section.
Reject IE
If a message is received with a Procedure Code IE marked with Reject IE, the receiving node rejects the procedure using the error indication procedure.
Ignore IE and Notify Sender
If a message is received with a Procedure Code IE marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node ignores the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure.
Ignore IE
If a message is received with a Procedure Code IE marked with Ignore IE, the receiving node ignores the procedure.
During the error indication procedure (used to reject or report an ignored procedure), the receiving node includes the following in the Criticality Diagnostics IE:
• Procedure Code IE
• Triggering Message IE
• Procedure Criticality IE
8.2.3.2 Type of Message
When the receiving node is not able to decode the Type of Message IE, the error indication procedure is initiated with an appropriate cause value.
8.2.3.3 IEs other than the Procedure Code and Type of Message
The receiving node handles the different types of received criticality information of an IE or IE group, other than the Procedure Code IE and Type of Message IE, as explained in the following section.
Reject IE
If a message initiating a procedure is received containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node:
• does not execute the functional requests of the message.
• rejects the procedure and reports the rejection of one or more IEs or IE groups.
• terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure, if the
information in the initiating message was not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the message (which is used to report the unsuccessful outcome of the procedure).
S1 Interface Description Handling protocol errors
If a message initiating a procedure is received containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node:
• does not execute the functional requests of the message.
• rejects the procedure and reports the rejection of one or more IEs or IE groups.
• terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure, if the
information in the initiating message is not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the message (which is used to report the unsuccessful outcome of the procedure).
If a message initiating a procedure (which does not have a message to report an unsuccessful outcome), is received with one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure.
If a response message is received with one or more IEs marked with Reject IE, the receiving node considers the procedure as terminated and initiates local error handling.
Ignore IE and Notify Sender
If a message initiating a procedure is received with one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the content of the IEs or IE groups.
• continues with the procedure as if the IEs or IE groups were not received
• reports (in the response message of the procedure) that one or more IEs or IE groups have been ignored.
• terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure, if the
information in the initiating message is not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the message (which is used to report the unsuccessful outcome of the procedure).
If a message initiating a procedure (which does not have a message to report the outcome of the procedure) is received, containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the content of the IEs or IE groups.
• continues with the procedure as if the IEs or IE groups were not received.
• initiates the error indication procedure to report that one or more IEs or IE groups have been ignored.
If a response message is received containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the content of the IEs or IE groups.
• continues with the procedure as if the IEs or IE groups were not received.
• initiates the error indication procedure.
Ignore IE
If a message initiating a procedure is received containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE, the receiving node:
• ignores the content of the IEs or IE groups (marked with Ignore IE).
• continues with the procedure, with IEs or IE groups that were not marked with Ignore
Handling protocol errors S1 Interface Description
If a response message is received containing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE, the receiving node:
• ignores the content of IEs or IE groups (marked with Ignore IE).
• continues with the procedure using the IEs or IE groups that were not marked with Ignore IE.
When reporting IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE or Ignore IE and Notify Sender, using a response message defined for the procedure, the Information Element Criticality Diagnostics IE is included in the Criticality Diagnostics IE for each reported IE or IE group.
When reporting IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE or Ignore IE and Notify Sender, using the error indication procedure, the following are included in the Criticality
Diagnostics IE for each reported IE or IE group:
• Procedure Code IE
• Triggering Message IE
• Procedure Criticality IE
• Information Element Criticality Diagnostics IE
8.2.4 Missing IE or IE group
The receiving node handles the missing IE or IE group according to the criticality information for the missing IE or IE group in the received message.
Reject IE
If a received message initiating a procedure is missing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node:
• does not execute functional requests of the message.
• rejects the procedure.
• reports missing IEs or IE groups.
• terminates the procedure and initiates error indication procedure, if the information in the initiating message was not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the message (which is used to report the unsuccessful outcome of the procedure).
If a received message initiating a procedure (which does not have a message to report the unsuccessful outcome) is missing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure.
If a received response message is missing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE, the receiving node considers the procedure as terminated and initiates local error handling.
Ignore IE and Notify Sender
If a received message initiating a procedure is missing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the missing IEs.
• continues with the procedure based on the other IEs or IE groups present in the message.
S1 Interface Description Handling protocol errors
• reports (in the response message of the procedure) that one or more IEs or IE groups was missing.
• terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure, if the
information received in the initiating message was not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the response message.
If a received message initiating a procedure (which does not have a message to report the outcome of the procedure) is missing one or more IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the missing IEs.
• continues with the procedure based on the other IEs or IE groups present in the message.
• initiates the error indication procedure to report that one or more IEs or IE groups was missing.
If a received response message is missing one or more IEs and IE groups marked with Ignore IE and Notify Sender, the receiving node:
• ignores the missing IEs.
• continues with the procedure based on the other IEs and IE groups present in the message.
• initiates the error indication procedure to report that one or more IEs or IE groups was missing.
Ignore IE
If a received message initiating a procedure has one or more missing IEs or IE groups marked with Ignore IE, the receiving node:
• ignores the missing IEs.
• continues with the procedure based on the other IEs or IE groups present in the message.
If a received response message has one or more missing IEs and IE groups marked with Ignore IE, the receiving node
• ignores the missing IEs and IE groups.
• continues with the procedure based on the other IEs or IE groups present in the message.
When reporting missing IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE or Ignore IE and Notify Sender, using a response message defined for the procedure, the Information Element Criticality Diagnostics IE is included in the Criticality Diagnostics IE for each reported IE or IE group.
When reporting missing IEs or IE groups marked with Reject IE or Ignore IE and Notify Sender, using the error indication procedure, the following IEs are included in the Criticality Diagnostics IE for each reported IE or IE group:
• Procedure Code IE
• Triggering Message IE
• Procedure Criticality IE
• Information Element Criticality Diagnostics IE
Handling protocol errors S1 Interface Description
8.2.5 Wrong order, erroneous presence, or multiple occurrence of IEs or IE groups
This section explains how the receiving node handles the messages with IE or IE groups:
• in the wrong order.
• with too many occurrences.
• with a conditional presence, where the IEs or IE groups are present but the condition is not met (for example, erroneously present).
If a message initiating a procedure is received containing IEs or IE groups in the wrong order, or with too many occurrences, or erroneously present, the receiving node:
• does not execute the functional requests of the message.
• rejects the procedure and reports the cause value abstract syntax error (Falsely Constructed Message), using the message normally used to report the unsuccessful outcome of the procedure.
• terminates the procedure and initiates the error indication procedure, if the
information received in the initiating message was not sufficient to determine a value for all IEs that should be present in the message (which is used to report the
unsuccessful outcome of the procedure).
If a message initiating a procedure (that does not have a message to report the
unsuccessful outcome) is received containing IEs or IE groups in the wrong order, or with too many occurrences, or erroneously present, the receiving node:
• terminates the procedure.
• initiates the error indication procedure.
The receiving node considers the procedure as terminated and initiates local error handling, if received response message has IEs or IE groups:
• in the wrong order.
• with too many occurrences.
• erroneously present.