What do you mean by user plane and control plane?

The control plane is responsible for transmitting control signaling, and the user plane transmits actual data.

User plane and control plane are actually divided according to data types. In communication systems, there is usually a difference between the user plane and the control plane. The user plane is real service data, such as voice data or packet service data. The control plane is signaling, which is used to control the establishment, maintenance and release of call flow.

Correspondingly, the user plane of the wireless network layer is voice coding (CS service) or packet data (PS service), that is, real user data; The control plane of the wireless network layer is the control signaling protocols: RANAP(Iu port), RNSAP(Iur port) and NBAP(Iub port), which are used to control the signaling of the call flow.

Extended data:

The user plane of the transport network layer mainly provides the bearer for the control signaling and data of the upper layer. The signaling uses AAL2 and the data uses AAL5, and then the bearer is carried through ATM. The control plane of the transport network layer mainly provides corresponding transport control signaling for the established bearer.

The top-down division of wireless network layer and transport network layer can be understood by referring to TCP network or OSI network layer (physical layer >: transport layer->; Application layer). Accordingly, the wireless network layer can be regarded as the application layer of UTRAN system, and the transport network layer is the transport layer (including the lowest physical layer).