TR-196

Key takeaways

TR-196 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TR-196 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TR-196 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TR-196 (Technical Report 196) is a Broadband Forum technical specification. Its official title is "Femto Access Point Service Data Model." The purpose of this Technical Report is to specify the Data Model for the Femto Access Point (FAP) for remote management purposes using the TR-069 CWMP. FAP is a generic terminology that implies any Radio Access Technology (RAT). In 3GPP's terminology, Home Node B is the name for 3G (UMTS) and Home eNode B for LTE.

Details There are two major releases ("Issue" in BBF terminology) of TR-196 data model. Issue 1 is the first publication which supports UMTS HNB only. It was later expanded to include LTE HeNB and CDMA2000 FAP, and was released as Issue 2.

TR-196 is a specification of Broadband Forum (BBF). But its work is closely related to 3GPP's work on HNB and HeNB, and 3GPP2's work on femtocell. In turn, 3GPP and 3GPP2's work were originally driven by the activities in Femto Forum (now called Small Cell Forum). Most of the work for the first publication of TR-196 was done within Femto Forum. The work was later submitted to 3GPP SA WG5 to standardize it as respective Technical Specifications (TS). It led to the collaboration between 3GPP and Broadband Forum to officially publish it as BBF Data Model called TR-196.

History When Femto Forum (current Small Cell Forum) was launched in 2007, one of the main issues in the Femtocell industry was the lack of standardized femtocell architecture, including the standardized O&M framework. In order to avoid the fragmentation in the market, Femto Forum initially focused on these areas. As the Forum reached consensus, the leading companies brought the joint proposal to 3GPP to standardize the HNB architecture. The standardization in the signalling (Control Plane) architecture later resulted in Iu-h interface in 3GPP. It includes the specification of signalling protocol Home Node B Application Part (HNBAP) and RANAP User Adaptation (RUA). The Data Model was subsequently published by Broadband Forum as TR-196 Issue 1 (Femto Access Point Service Data Model). It is based on Broadband Forum's TR-069 CWMP as the signalling protocol.

Publication of Issue 1 In the second half of 2008, Femto Forum reached agreement on O&M framework to be based on Broadband Forum's TR-069 CWMP as the signalling protocol. This followed the Forum's O&M subgroup to start the HNB Data Model work. It included the definition of object organization and parameters, including the detail XML editing work. At the same time, leading companies proposed a new Work Item (WI) in 3GPP SA WG5 (SA5) for the specification of HNB Data Model ("Information Model" in SA5's terminology). It resulted in the WI "UTRA HNB: 3G Home NodeB OAM&P Type 1 Management Interface." It is worth noting that it was the first time that 3GPP SA5 created specification for Type 1 interface (management interface between Element Manager (EM) and Network Element (NE)). Up to this point, Type 1 interface has been vendor implementation specific only. The specification work in 3GPP SA5 results in the following set of Technical Specifications (TS):

TS 32.581 Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P); Concepts and requirements for Type 1 interface HNB to HNB Management System (HMS) TS 32.582 Home Node B (HNB) Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P); Information model for Type 1 interface HNB to HNB Management System (HMS) TS 32.583 Home Node B (HNB) Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P); Procedure flows for Type 1 interface HNB to HNB Management System (HMS) TS 32.584 Home Node B (HNB) Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P); XML definitions for Type 1 interface HNB to HNB Management System (HMS) The second TS (TS 32.582) defines the "Information Model" for HNB. During the specification work, it was decided that the Data Model itself is to be owned and published by the Broadband Forum (BBF) rather than 3GPP SA5 to have the ownership of it. This agreement led to the collaboration between 3GPP SA5 and BBF. Then BBF subsequently published the Data Model as the BBF specification TR-196 Issue 1.

Publication of Issue 2 After the completion of 3GPP Release 8, a group of companies proposed a new WI "Enhanced Home NodeB / eNodeB: 3G HNB and LTE HeNB OAM&P Type 1 Interface" to define Data Model for LTE Home eNode B. This work in 3GPP SA5 resulted in the following set of Technical Specifications (TS):

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TR-196

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TR-196 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TR-196 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TR-196 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TR-196

In research: TR-196 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TR-196 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TR-196 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Broadband Forum, Telecommunications standards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TR-196 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study TR-196 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TR-196 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TR-196 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TR-196 in simple terms?

TR-196 (Technical Report 196) is a Broadband Forum technical specification. Its official title is "Femto Access Point Service Data Model." The purpose of this Technical Report is to specify the Data Model for the Femto Access Point (FAP) for remote management purposes using the TR-069 CWMP.

Why does TR-196 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TR-196?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TR-196.