Section: 5.15 RAN Information Management (RIM) procedures 5.15.1 General
Content: The RAN Information Management (RIM) procedures provide a generic mechanism for the exchange of arbitrary information between applications belonging to the RAN nodes. The RAN information is transferred via the MME and SGSN core network node(s). In order to make the RAN information transparent for the Core Network, the RAN information is included in a RIM container that shall not be interpreted by the Core Network nodes. The RIM procedures are optional both in the RAN and the CN nodes. For the Gb interface the use of RIM procedures is negotiated at start/restart of the Gb link. For the Iu interface there is no negotiation of using RIM procedures or not at Iu link start/restart. The RAN information is transferred in RIM containers from the source RAN node to the destination RAN node by use of messages. Source and destination RAN nodes can be E-UTRAN, UTRAN or GERAN. Each message carrying the RIM container is routed and relayed independently by the core network node(s). Any relation between messages is transparent for the MME/SGSN, i.e. a request/response exchange between RIM applications, for example, is routed and relayed as two independent messages by the MME/SGSN. The interfaces which will be used are the Gb, the Iu, the S1, Gn and the S3 interfaces. The RAN information in the RIM container shall be transparent for the Core Network. An MME or SGSN supporting the RIM procedures provides addressing, routing and relaying functions.