User Guide 1

Conventions usedwithin the text Words in bold mean thatyou can select the item—for example, ‘click Cancel’means ‘click the Cancelbutton’.

Words in italics meanthat the item in italics isa unique part of theinterface—for example,the Map window.

Menu | Command

For example, File | NewWorkspace is short for ‘from the File menu,select New Workspace’.

Ctrl+A means that youhold two keys down atthe same time—‘Ctrl’and ‘A’ in this example.

Alt,V means that youpress and release onekey (‘Alt’), then pressanother key (‘V’).

Showing the contents panel

From the Help window, click the Show button to open the left

hand contents panel. To close the contents panel, click Hide . Ifyou are not sure where your current page is in the help file

structure, click Locate and the appropriate topic title ishighlighted in the left hand panel.

Glossary terms

From the Help window, click the Glossary button to open theglossary for this Help. Click on the first letter of the word you wantto look up, and scroll through the definitions as necessary.

Favourite help pages From the Help window, click the Favourites tab to show a list ofstored help pages. This is empty at first, but if you click Add, thecurrent help page is added to the list.

Back to the start

To return here, click Home . To return to the last page viewed,click Back .

Print

Click Print to print the selected page or all pages in the selectedheading.

Attribute help This shows any available information appropriate to the currentlyselected attribute in the Attribute Explorer window.

Page 1

Actix User Guide Part 1

Tips for maximizing performance

System requirementsMaximizing performanceCell Site Databases - performance tipsChoosing a binning method - performance tipsNetwork Images - performance tipsDrive data collection - performance tipsCreating Reports - performance tips

Page 1


System requirements

The following section defines the recommended and minimum system requirements for successfullyrunning Actix A-Solutions.

If you install your A-Solution on a system that does not meet the recommended configurationrequirements, you might experience the following limitations:

• You may be unable to process large amounts of data

• You may experience delays when trying to perform certain tasks

• You may not be able to take advantage of some mapping capabilities

• Your A-Solution’s advanced correlation and analysis capabilities might not perform asdesired

Recommended system configurationMinimum system configuration

Page 2


Recommended system configuration

Processor (CPU) P4 2.6 GHz or higher

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP

Memory (RAM) 1 GB

Available Hard Disk Space 60+ GB

Page 3


Minimum system configuration

Processor (CPU) Pentium II 400 MHz or higher

Operating System Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional or later.

Memory (RAM) 256 MB

Available Hard Disk Space 1 GB (for the application, drive test data files, mapinformation, and virtual memory needs)

A paging file size of at least 1 GB is recommended on Windows 2000 systems. You can setthe paging file size by modifying the System properties from the Windows Control Panel.

Page 4


Maximizing performance

Assuming you have the recommended PC configuration, here are a set of targeted questions thatfocus on performance.

It takes a long time to display my data on a map in the software. Is there a way toimprove this?

It will always take longer to display the first map, due to the initialization of several keycomponents. Factors contributing to display times are:

• the size of the cell databases used (see Cell Site Databases - performance tips),

• the size of the MapInfo files used

• the overall size of the datafiles used (see Drive data collection - performance tips).

It takes a long time to load my log files. What can cause this, and can it be improved? Many factors contribute to the load time of specific log files. In general, files saved in abinary structure are faster to load then those that are available in ASCII. With emergingtechnologies such as UMTS, cdma2000, EV-DO, etc. the amount of data sent over the airinterface has increased exponentially. Actix is continuing to study ways to manage thisincrease in data volume. The collection equipment also presents alternatives to minimizethe data collected (See Drive data collection - performance tips).

It seems like it takes a long time to load my protocol data (A, Abis, Gb, etc.)? The majority of the time it takes to load protocol data is spent on the running ofpre-defined analysis that are selected using the Choose Scenario option under theTools menu. To improve file load-times, Actix recommends loading only the scenariosneeded for the analysis in question.

Batch loading files into Network Images takes a long time. Network Image templates should only contain those files and queries necessary forgenerating the desired statistical or geographical results. Extraneous parameters orqueries have a direct result on the speed of loading data.

Page 5


Cell Site Databases - performance tips

Actix solutions intelligently translate radio interface parameters to the site and sectors within aclient’s mobile network. This is done by linking a cell site database to the log data processed byActix. Interpretation and translation of radio link data to ‘customer’ data is done during the initialloading of log data into the application. For this reason, if you maintain extensive cell sitedatabases (country-wide, or spanning multiple states/ counties), you may experience an increasein file load times. Also, large cell databases (greater then 300Kb), will take longer to display in theMap window, and increase the memory footprint of the A-Solution application. The chart belowshows the need to balance necessary cell data information and extraneous information. Note thelinear relationship between the size of the file and the memory used by the application.

Non-essential cell database columns only add to the size of the file, thus degrading performance.

Wherever possible, create cell databases in logical, defined clusters that overlap eachother. Only use the full, comprehensive cell database for system-wide networkbenchmarking and in conjunction with the Network Image feature.

Page 6


Choosing a binning method - performance tips

One of the inherent strengths offered by Actix A-Solutions is the ability to selectively choose amethod of binning to best suit the current optimization task. A-Solutions currently bin data whenyou select a display object to examine (map, chart, table, MS Excel - see note). The default methodis 1-second time binning. In a GSM system, this effectively averages the results of twomeasurement reports.

In certain optimization cases (for example, the optimization of dense urban networks, in-buildingapplications, etc.), you may wish to view every measurement that has been collected by thelogging tool. This can be done using message binning with a single message bin size. However,there is a trade-off with analyzing data at this degree of detail. Larger files with many messages orseveral files combined together in a superstream may be inappropriate to analyze with messagebased binning.

Here are some best-practice recommendations for binning modes:

I would like to compare my network to a competitor's, or compare a location of mynetwork today to that of 3 months ago.

Use location binning, 100m or 200m square bin sizes.

I would like to create bins only when there is a change in GPS coordinates. In this case, distance binning at 50m or 100m intervals, is the best alternative.

I am examining a small section of a drive test to solve a very specific problem. In this case, use either message-based binning or time-based binning at 500ms.

I am using the software in an ad-hoc mode and would like a reliable way of viewingdata without compromising performance or measurement results.

The default method of time-based binning at 1 second, 3 seconds, or 5 seconds(depending on the geographic area analyzed) should be sufficient.

Page 7


Network Images - performance tips

Network Imaging is the mechanism for users to load a series of files into the software for thepurposes of system-wide benchmarking.

Use in all cases where the desired output is either a large geographic plot (system-widedrive testing) or statistical analysis based on a set of files greater than 100MB.

Network Imaging batch loads files into an image. The *.DAT file, which saves the contents of thenetwork image, is created after all batch loaded files are complete, rather then during the processof each file load.

To ensure that all relevant data gets written to the DAT file reliably, avoid loading morethen 20 files at once.

Page 8


Drive data collection - performance tips

As the amount of data passing over the air interface continues to increase with the emergence ofwideband voice/data technologies, it is important to bear in mind some basic data-collectionstrategies that can ensure the most efficient use of company resources.

Limit testing logs to 1 hourResist the temptation to collect data for several hours at one time. In general, it is goodpractice to stop a collection session at a logical place and check to be sure that datalogged is not erroneous. This ensures reliable data and makes the data moremanageable for post analysis in Actix solutions.

Collect data for the task at handCollecting scanner data simultaneously with handset data has become an invaluable toolfor optimizing CDMA and UMTS networks. However, there are times when tasks such ascompetitive benchmarking, before and after network audits, etc., rely primarily on datacollected from a handset. In addition, collection-tool log masks provide an effective wayto tailor the data collected more towards voice or data service optimization. Reducingthe number of devices or messages collected generally reduces the overall size of thefiles collected. This can be an effective data management technique.

Page 9


Creating Reports - performance tips

Actix makes the creation of user-definable report templates effortless, by allowing users to have adirect access to MS Excel. The easiest way to get data into reports is to use the right-mouseselection Display on Workbook, which automatically displays three types of datasets in Excel:series data, statistical data, histogram data. Note that series data always takes the longest tore-generate as a template.

For report templates that are designed purely for statistical analysis, create templatesfrom statistical queries, crossttab queries, or histogram queries.

Page 10


Choose an Engineering Process

After startup, choose how you want to proceed by selecting an engineering process. In mostengineering processes, you are guided through a series of predefined analyses and reports thatencapsulate sophisticated radio engineering decision-making knowledge; however, you can alsochoose Analyzer Classic, which allows you to use Analyzer in free analysis mode – that is, you canuse a comprehensive set of data-analysis tools to investigate any message or attribute of interestwithin your logged data.

Note that if you only have one engineering process on your license, you will bypass this screen andgo straight to the entry screen for that process.

Checking the box at the bottom of the screen also lets you bypass this screen and go straight toyour selected engineering process. If in future you want to display this screen, from the File menuselect Start New Engineering Process.

Engineering Processes

CDMA Drive Test TroubleshooterGSM DT TroubleshooterUMTS DT Troubleshooter

End-to-End Service Troubleshooting for cdma2000 1X

Analyzer Classic - Actix Solutions

EGPRS Drive TestIVS for cdma2000 1XRVS for UMTS

Analyzer Classic – free analysis

Managing dataVisualizing dataAnalyzing dataOptimizing networksClassic analysis of UMTS dataClassic analysis of CDMA dataClassic analysis of GSM dataClassic A and Abis analysis

Page 1


Classic analysis of GPRS dataClassic analysis of IS-136 dataClassic analysis of iDEN data

Page 2


Drive Test Troubleshooting

Engineering Processes CDMA Drive Test TroubleshooterGSM DT TroubleshooterUMTS DT Troubleshooter

About radio network troubleshooting and optimization Actix' line of products for radio network troubleshooting and optimization help to accelerate therollout of wireless networks, lower network deployment costs and improve the quality of servicedelivered to wireless customers. Developed specifically for wireless 2.5G and 3G networks, Actixtroubleshooting and optimization products cut through the complexity of new wirelesstechnologies, establishing best practice processes throughout radio engineering teams.

Actix products automate, simplify and streamline radio engineering. Built in diagnostics andtroubleshooting processes embed Actix global wireless experience to deliver accurate, instantsolutions to radio problems. Configurable analysis and KPI reporting provides clear,vendor-independent visibility of true network performance. Actix is also a process managementsolution allowing teams to build in their own KPIs and processes establishing consistent bestpractice engineering focused and evolving with the organizations priorities and challenges.

There is immense pressure during rollout to realize a return on new technology investment.Multiple teams with diverse skills need to overcome new technology complexity and meet tightdeadlines. Actix cuts through the complexity providing clear visibility of real network performanceand driving best practice knowledge and skills throughout an organization.

Page 3


By working with 90% of 3G operators Actix continues to capture solutions to the most difficultrollout challenges, embedding the solution in software. Also, Actix’ high configurability ensuresorganizations can build on this with their own processes and KPIs focused on their own particularchallenges and business goals. By harnessing unprecedented levels of teamwork and focus, Actixusers can rollout with quality and confidence.

Diagnostics and Troubleshooting Troubleshooting is one of the most time-consuming radio engineering tasks. Actix diagnosticsidentify and prioritize critical issues and then recommend a fix, accelerating the resolution ofdropped calls, setup failures, missing neighbors, pilot pollution, poor coverage, systeminterference, handover problems, intersystem handover and more. Diagnostics can be configuredto suit specific network environments, configurations and priorities. Powerful visualization featureslet you drill into any problem and verify a diagnosis.

By building in automated solutions to the most common radio engineering problems, yourorganization can standardize on best-practice processes to the most important problems, leadingto faster rollout and higher service quality, with minimal training and management costs.

Network Acceptance and Optimization • An unbiased, vendor-independent solution with powerful, configurable analysis and

reporting capabilities.

• Able to extract your KPIs from the large data “haystack”.

• Used by leading 3G teams to verify network performance during cluster acceptance.

• Used for network expansion helping teams perform new site integration and networkretunes as well as configuration changes and upgrades.

• Gives you clear, independent vision of true network performance so you can rollout andexpand with confidence.

Quality and Benchmarking Extract key KPIs for voice as well as push-to-talk, MMS, http and more. Understanding true serviceperformance is critical during the deployment of new services and when performing periodic orcompetitive benchmarking. It is also important to monitor service performance during new siteintegration and network upgrades, and Actix helps you to focus on the wireless users.

Process Management • Actix products are an alternative to both “shrink-wrapped” replay tools and costly in-house

systems, providing the best of both worlds by offering a highly tailored solution with nodevelopment costs.

• Configure Actix' predefined processes with the settings and thresholds used by yourteams.

Page 4


• Define new KPIs and reports which represent your organization's priorities.

• Define new analyses and processes which capture the knowledge of top new technologyspecialists so these skills can be employed by every radio engineer. Optionally, use ActixProfessional Services to configure your system on your behalf.

• Cut down on training costs.

• Cut down on complex process documents and crib sheets.

• Manage engineering by deploying simple, effective processes.

Page 5


CDMA Drive Test Troubleshooter

Overview of CDMA DT TroubleshooterSelect Data Sources (CDMA)Dashboard (CDMA)Dropped Calls (CDMA)Failed Calls (CDMA)Calls with Excessive Setup TimeImportant Issues (CDMA)CDMA FiltersCDMA analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (CDMA)

Page 6


Overview of CDMA DT Troubleshooter

With DT Troubleshooter, you can diagnose complex CDMA issues faster than ever, in these easysteps:

• Load the data

• Identify and prioritize the issues

• Diagnose the problem and confirm the resolution

Load the data • Configure event recognition thresholds

• Load multiple logfiles simultaneously

• Select/deselect logfiles and individual handsets as required

Identify and prioritize the issues using the Dashboard The unique design of the DT Troubleshooter Dashboard displays aggregated information from theloaded data. The Dashboard:

• Highlights the critical issues: Dropped Calls, Failed Calls, and Calls With Excessive SetupTime

• Highlights important issues: Excess Interference, Poor Coverage, External Interference,Weak Fwd Link, Weak Reverse Link, Low Rx Signal

• Reviews events and design quality

• Summarizes top ten cell data

Diagnose the cause and confirm problem resolution With one click from the Dashboard, you can drill down into the data set. Follow the issues throughto an analysis page providing a diagnosis for each offending device.

Now, prove the diagnosis with one click. This opens appropriate data views that let you review thediagnosis – if the diagnosis is successful, move on to the next issue!

See also Select Data Sources (CDMA)Dashboard (CDMA)Dropped Calls (CDMA)Failed Calls (CDMA)Calls with Excessive Setup TimeImportant Issues (CDMA)CDMA FiltersCDMA analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (CDMA)


Page 7


Select Data Sources (CDMA)

Note that CDMA DT Troubleshooter is currently designed for troubleshooting voice data. Packetdata anomalies are identified, but any diagnoses produced by Troubleshooter relating to packetdata may require further analysis.

1 Choose data loading settings and load logfiles

Click the Preferences button to open the Change Preferences dialog:

Select a cellrefs file to use for the analysis. This essential file contains information on your networkinfrastructure.

You will be asked to restart the application if you change the selected cellrefs file.

Review the other settings within the dialog and make selections as appropriate. For moreinformation on the Preferences dialog, see here.

Click the Thresholds button and review the settings, making changes as necessary. Thresholdsdefine whether a critical or important condition has occurred or not, so you may want to adjustthese numbers to match your own definitions. For an explanation of each threshold, see here.

The Thresholds and Preferences settings apply to all subsequently loaded files.

Click Load Files and select all the files you wish to include in the analysis.

2 Select one or more handsets from loaded files Once loaded, all files and handsets are displayed as selected by default. If any devices in theseloaded data files are outside the scope of the analysis (for example, PN Scanner data), deselectthem.

Click the Continue button to proceed to the Dashboard.

Page 8


Dashboard (CDMA)

This page provides an overview of the information aggregated from the selected drive test filesand handsets.

Critical Issues This section shows Critical events, broken out where possible by CDMA Service option. The eventsfall into three types:

• Dropped Calls

• Failed Calls

• Calls with Excessive Setup Time

To investigate Critical Issues, click on a row of related events.

More information on the thresholds for these Critical Issues.

Important Issues This section shows events that have reduced the quality of service without necessarily ending anycalls.

To open the Important Issues page, click on Find Out More.

More information on the Important Issues page.

More information on the thresholds for these Important Issues.

Information This section displays summary information for the data. Charts provide Call Summary and HandoffSummary information, with the chart colors indicating:

• Red – unacceptably high compared to the defined threshold

• Amber – slightly worse than acceptable

• Green – within acceptable limits

Page 9


Call Summary – this chart displays the percentage occurrence of the following events:

• Incoming Call Dropped

• Incoming Call Failed Initiation

• Incoming Call Successfully Terminated

• Outgoing Call Dropped

• Outgoing Call Failed Initiation

• Outgoing Call Successfully Terminated

If there are no occurrences of a particular event type, that type is not displayed in the chart.

The Handoff Summary chart shows the percentage frequency of each type of handoff occurring inthe data:

• Softer Handoff

• Softer-Softer Handoff

• Softer Soft Handoff

• Soft Soft Handoff

• 4 Way Soft Handoff



• Hard Handoff

Click here to see the threshold information for these charts.

Following the charts is a summary of the number of sites and sectors included in the drive testdata, and the ten most frequently measured sites and sectors. Useful information for these tensites and sectors is then shown in a table.

To sort the data by a column, click on the column title. An arrow shows by which column the table iscurrently sorted, and whether the column is sorted highest-first or lowest-first.

Page 10


See also Overview of CDMA DT TroubleshooterSelect Data Sources (CDMA)Dropped Calls (CDMA)Failed Calls (CDMA)Calls with Excessive Setup TimeImportant Issues (CDMA)CDMA FiltersCDMA analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (CDMA)

Page 11


Dropped Calls (CDMA)

Dropped Call tables are presented by CDMA Service Option type.

The table shows a row for each Dropped Call event, together with a diagnosis of the cause.

Click on an event row to display more detailed RF information for the 8 seconds before the event,together with expanded information on the diagnosis.

A map and the Voice Event Navigator window display attributes relating to the selected event. Toopen up the map’s legend pane on the left, simply drag the dividing bar left and right. The legendshows information on diagnostic attributes currently displayed on the map. More information onusing the map is available here.

Selecting another event in the same handset data stream simply synchronizes the currentlyselected point in the map; selecting an event for a different handset causes the map andNavigator windows to be redrawn.

In addition to the pre-defined analysis views (map and CDMA Voice Event Navigator), you canaccess any other view or supplement the current views by clicking on the Attribute Explorer icon:

to open the Attribute Explorer window. Find the appropriate attribute and drag it onto the map orright-click and select from a list of display options.

During your analysis, you may have found it necessary to move or remove the existing diagnosticviews and to open one or more new views. To get back to the original layout, select Click here torestore diagnostic views. Note that this will not affect any views you opened earlier.

Page 12


A Critical Event has occurred, but the diagnostic tables show no details - why? This is most likely due to one or more CDMA thresholds being exceeded (most probably theMobileTransmitPower min or max values), which can invalidate the data in the 8-second eventwindow. To force the diagnostic tables to show details for these events, change the thresholdsaccordingly.

Page 13


Failed Calls (CDMA)

Failed Call tables are presented by CDMA Service Option type.

The table shows a row for each Failed Call event, together with a diagnosis of the cause.







Page 14



Page 15


Calls with Excessive Setup Time

Calls with Excessive Setup Time tables are presented by CDMA Service Option type.

The table shows a row for each event, together with a diagnosis of the cause.







Page 16



Page 17


Important Issues (CDMA)

The Important Issues table provides information on the percentage occurrence of the followingconditions:

Condition EcIo MRx Power MTx Power

Excessive Interference Low High Low

External Interference Low High High

Poor Coverage Low Low High

Weak Forward Link Low Low Low

Weak Reverse Link High High High

Low Rx Signal High Low High

Poor Quality The % of CDMA_ConsolidatedFER higher than theCDMA_AvgForwardFER threshold set via the Thresholdsbutton on the Select Data Sources page.

Where:

Low = below the user-defined threshold at the top of the column.High = above the user-defined threshold at the top of the column.

To sort the data by a column, click on the column title.

The other views displayed are the Important Issues Map and the CDMA Radio Link Summary. Toopen up the map’s legend pane on the left, simply drag the dividing bar left and right. The legendshows information on diagnostic attributes currently displayed on the map. More information on

Page 18


using the map is available here.

In addition to the pre-defined analysis views, you can access any other view or supplement thecurrent views by clicking on the Attribute Explorer icon:


To filter specific Important Issues, open the Attribute Explorer window and right-click on thehandset name. You can then select from the range of filters provided.


Page 19


CDMA Filters

In CDMA DT Troubleshooter, to filter specific Important Issues, open the Attribute Explorer windowand right-click on the handset name. You can then select from a range of filters:

• CDMA Excess Interf Filter

• CDMA Poor Cov

• CDMA Low Rx Signal

• CDMA Good Cov

• CDMA Weak Rev Link

• CDMA Unknown Diagnosis

• CDMA External Interferer

• CDMA Weak Fwd Link

• CDMA Poor Quality

See here for more information on filters.

Page 20


CDMA analysis views

CDMA Voice Event NavigatorCDMA Coverage (Radio Link Summary)

Page 21


CDMA Voice Event Navigator

This data view shows several attribute scales against each other on a timeline. The sliding bar canbe used to view a particular location on the timeline, and the timescale viewed in the Navigatorwindow can be selected from the control in the lower right corner.

When you select a particular data point, a line appears, showing the Forward FER, Grade OfService (GOS), PN, Handset State and events at that time.

Page 22


CDMA Coverage (Radio Link Summary)

This data view shows a collection of important values relating to a selected data point on the map.In the example below, the grade of service has been identified as Low Rx Signal.

Note that when cell site data is available, selecting a data point also populates the Active ListFinger Measurements section with name, distance etc. information.

Page 23


Diagnosis and thresholds (CDMA)

User-definable thresholds (CDMA)Critical Issues Diagnosis (CDMA)Call and Handoff Summary Thresholds (CDMA)

Page 24


User-definable thresholds (CDMA)

Critical Condition Diagnosis Thresholds

CDMA_EcIoCombinedThreshold Used with Mobile Rx Power and Mobile Tx Power Thresholds to determine the diagnosis for adropped call, failed call and calls with excessive setup time. Recommended value is -12 dB. Valuesshould vary between -16 and -12 dB.

CDMA_MobileRxPowerThreshold Used with EcIo and Mobile Tx Power Thresholds to determine the diagnosis for the dropped call,failed call and voice call with poor quality. Recommended value is -80 dBm. Values should varybetween -75 and -90 dBm.

CDMA_MobileTxPowerThreshold Used with EcIo and Mobile Rx Power Thresholds to determine the diagnosis for the dropped call,failed call and voice call with poor quality. Recommended value is 5 dBm. Values should varybetween 0 and 10 dBm.

CDMA_CallSetupTime Used to determine calls with Excessive Setup Time (a Critical Issue). Recommended value is 15000ms.

Other Condition Diagnosis Thresholds

CDMA_AvgForwardFER Used for diagnosing voice calls with Poor Quality (an Important Issue). Recommended value is 2.

Dashboard Thresholds

CDMA_ImportantIssue_RevLinkProblem Used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard for files that have percentage of revlink problems cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

CDMA_ImportantIssue_FwdLinkProblem Used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard for files that have percentage of fwdlink problems cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

CDMA_ImportantIssue_LowRX Used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard for files that have percentage of lowRx problems cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExternalInterference Used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard for files that have percentage ofBadEcioHighTxGoodRx cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExcessInterference Used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard for files that have percentage ofexcess interference cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

Miscellaneous Thresholds

CDMA_MobileTxPowerMinFilterThreshold Used with Mobile Tx Power Max Threshold to filter out messages when the transmitter is disableddue to high FFER.

CDMA_MobileTxPowerMaxFilterThreshold Used with Mobile Tx Power Min Threshold to filter out messages when the transmitter is disableddue to high FFER.

Page 25


Critical Issues Diagnosis (CDMA)

Is this a Neighbor List Issue? If this is a Dropped Call event, then the problem might be a Neighbor List Issue.

A simulated neighbor list is built up by searching though messages before the Dropped Call event,moving back in time. When 20 unique PNs have been found, the neighbor list has been populated.

After a Dropped Call, the handset should find the PN to sync on to: if this PN is not in thereconstructed neighbor list or in the Active Server list prior to the drop, then this problem isidentified as a possible Neighbor List Issue.

Is this a Coverage Issue? If the problem is not a Neighbor List issue and fulfills one of the following conditions, that conditionis taken to be the diagnosis:

Condition EcIo MRx Power MTx Power

Excessive Interference Low High Low

External Interference Low High High

Poor Coverage Low Low High

Weak Forward Link Low Low Low

Weak Reverse Link High High High

Low Rx Signal High Low High

Further Diagnosis Necessary High Low Low

Unknown Diagnosis None of the above conditions

Low is where the attribute named at the top of the column is below the related threshold; High isabove the related threshold. Note that the threshold values relating to the attributes shown at thetop of this table are user-configurable via the Threshold button.

This coverage information is held under the Analyzer parameter called CDMA_Important_Issues(displayed under CDMA Event Data, Alerts & Warnings in the Attribute Explorer).


Page 26


Call and Handoff Summary Thresholds (CDMA)

Call Summary chart

Incoming and Outgoing Events Bar color criteria

Green Amber Red

Call Dropped, Call Failed Initiation < 2% n/a > 2%

Call Successfully Terminated > 95% 90-95% < 90%

Handoff Summary chart

Event Bar color criteria

Green Amber Red

All Handoff Events < 30% 30-40% > 40%

Page 27


GSM DT Troubleshooter

Overview of GSM DT TroubleshooterSelect Data Sources (GSM)Dashboard (GSM)Dropped Calls Details (GSM)Call Setup Failures Details (GSM)HO Failures Details (GSM)LU Failures Details (GSM)Important Issues Details (GSM)GSM analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (GSM)

Page 28


Overview of GSM DT Troubleshooter

With DT Troubleshooter, you can diagnose complex GSM issues faster than ever, in these easysteps:

• Load the data


• Diagnose the cause

• Confirm the problem resolution



• Select/deselect logfiles and individual devices as required


• Highlights the critical issues: Dropped Calls, Setup and Handover Failures

• Highlights the important issues: Poor Quality, Interference and Poor Coverage


• Summarizes all logged cell data

Diagnose the cause With one click from the Dashboard, you can drill down into the data set. Follow the issues throughto an analysis page, which identifies one or more of these diagnoses for each offending device:

• No strong cells in area

• Stronger neighbour present

• Adjacent channel interference

• Excessive cell dominance

• Abnormal release due to timer expiry

Confirm problem resolution Now, prove the diagnosis with one click. This opens appropriate data views that let you review thediagnosis – if the diagnosis is successful, move on to the next issue!

See also Select Data Sources (GSM)Dashboard (GSM)Dropped Calls Details (GSM)Call Setup Failures Details (GSM)HO Failures Details (GSM)LU Failures Details (GSM)Important Issues Details (GSM)GSM analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (GSM)


Page 29


Select Data Sources (GSM)

The Select Data Sources page appears as follows:

1 Choose data loading settings and load logfiles Click the Preferences button to open the dialog shown below.

The CellRefs file is an essential file that contains information on your network infrastructure. Selecta cellrefs file to use for the analysis.



Click the Thresholds button to open the dialog shown below. Thresholds define whether a criticalor important condition has occurred or not, so you may want to adjust these numbers to matchyour own definitions.

Page 30


Review the settings, making changes as necessary. For an explanation of each threshold, see here.



2 Select one or more handsets from loaded files Once loaded, all files and handsets are displayed as selected with checkmarks in their boxes bydefault. If any devices in these loaded data files are outside the scope of the analysis, deselectthem.


Page 31


Dashboard (GSM)

This page provides an overview of the information aggregated from the selected drive test filesand devices.

Critical Issues This section shows events that have discontinued the call, broken out where possible by Serviceoption. The events fall into these types:

Dropped Calls

Call Setup Failures

HO Failures

LU Failures

From the dashboard, click on a critical issue type to display the related Critical Issues page.

More information on the thresholds.


To open the Important Issues page, click on Find Out More.

See also Important Issues diagnosis (GSM).

Information This section displays summary information for the data. Charts provide Event Breakdown andDesign Check Summary information.

Page 32


See here for information on how the Design Check is derived.

Following the charts is a summary of the number of sites and sectors measured in the drive testdata. To sort the data by a column, click on the column title.


See also Overview of GSM DT TroubleshooterSelect Data Sources (GSM)Dropped Calls Details (GSM)Call Setup Failures Details (GSM)HO Failures Details (GSM)LU Failures Details (GSM)Important Issues Details (GSM)GSM analysis viewsDiagnosis and thresholds (GSM)

Page 33


Dropped Calls Details (GSM)

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to dropped calls. Thepage shows a table highlighting the Dropped Call events in the data.

See here for information on the diagnosis displayed at the left of each row.

To view further pages in the table, click on the arrows at the bottom of the table.


Select a row in the table. A detailed diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a setof diagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Dropped Call event.

Analysis views GSM State

Drive Test Profile

Message Browser

Map

Event Navigator



During your analysis, you may have found it necessary to move or remove the existing diagnostic

Page 34


views and to open one or more new views. To get back to the original layout, select Click here torestore diagnostic views. Note that this will not affect any views you opened earlier.

Page 35


Call Setup Failures Details (GSM)

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to call setup failures.The page shows a table listing the Call Setup Fail events in the data.

See here for more information on the diagnosis displayed at the left of each row.



Select a row in the table. A detailed diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a setof diagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Call Setup Fail event.


Drive Test Profile

Message Browser

Map

Event Navigator



Page 36



Page 37


HO Failures Details (GSM)

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to handover failures.The page shows a table listing the HO Failure events in the data.




Select a row in the table. A detailed diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a setof diagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected HO Failure event.


Drive Test Profile

Message Browser

Map

Event Navigator




Page 38


LU Failures Details (GSM)

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to LU failures. Thepage shows a table listing the LU Failure events in the data.




Select a row in the table. A detailed diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a setof diagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected critical LU Failureevent.


Drive Test Profile

Message Browser

Map

Event Navigator



During your analysis, you may have found it necessary to move or remove the existing diagnosticviews and to open one or more new views. To get back to the original layout, select Click here to

Page 39


restore diagnostic views. Note that this will not affect any views you opened earlier.

Page 40


Important Issues Details (GSM)

This page displays a list of important issues broken out by file name.

Select a row in the table to display a set of related diagnostic views.

The diagnoses shown in the table are explained here:

Important Issues diagnosis

Design Check


Map




Page 41


GSM analysis views

GSM StateGSM Drive Test ProfileGSM Event Navigator

Page 42


GSM State

This stateform shows many useful data attributes for the currently selected data point on the mapand other data views.

Page 43


GSM Drive Test Profile

This is an example of a chart, showing ServTimingAdvanceActual with ServRxLevSub.

The black vertical line is the synchronisation mark, indicating the data corresponding to thecurrently selected data point on the map and other data views.

Page 44


GSM Event Navigator

The Event Navigator stateform lets you view the entire drive test as a whole, and shows callsequence coloured by BCCH with different events, for a voice call.

Click anywhere on the drive test to synchronise other active data views to this point. You can alsouse the Replay control to play through the file.

The selection in the control at the lower right controls the length of time shown by the EventNavigator window.

Page 45


Diagnosis and thresholds (GSM)

User-definable thresholds (GSM)Critical Issues diagnosis (GSM)Important Issues diagnosis (GSM)Design Check (GSM)

Page 46


User-definable thresholds (GSM)

G_RxLevSub_Min This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable value for signal strength. Any signalbelow this threshold is categorized as poor coverage. Recommended value: -95 dBm.

G_MsTxPowStepOrdered_Min This threshold is used in conjunction with the signal strength to determine incorrect uplink powerbalance. This value is usually set to 0 to indicate maximum uplink power.

G_TimingAdvance_Max This threshold is used in absence of the Distance parameter to determine the maximum distanceallowed per cell. Typically, values over 16 (ie approximately 8km) are usually regarded as distantserving cells.

G_RxQualSub_Max This threshold is used in conjunction with the signal strength to determine whether there isinterference present on the cell. Typically, values in excess of 3 with good signal strength usuallyindicate the presence of interference.

G_Handover_Min This threshold is used in conjunction with handover to determine the minimum possible signaldifference for handover to take place. Recommended values are 5-6 dB.

G_Distance_Max This threshold is used to determine the maximum distance allowed per cell. Typically, values inexcess of 8000 meters are usually regarded as distant serving cells.

G_Analysis_Time_Before This value is used to determine the time (in ms) allocated to investigate the radio conditions PRIORto the detected event occurance. Typically, values of 5000 to 10000 ms are used. Values less than5000ms will tend to be more accurate, but less attributes will be detected, while values in excessof 10000ms tend to have a high detection of attributes, but with relatively low accuracy since thetime under analysis is large.

G_Analysis_Time_After This value is used to determine the time (in ms) allocated to investigate the radio conditions AFTERthe detected event occurance. Typically, values of 5000 to 10000 ms are used. Values less than5000ms will tend to be more accurate, but less attributes will be detected, while values in excessof 10000ms tend to have a high detection of attributes, but with relatively low accuracy since thetime under analysis is large.

Dragged_Dominance_Hysteresis This threshold is the dBm hysteresis applied to the Best Neighbour Level to trigger a loss ofdominance of the server. Once a loss of dominance is triggered, and not re-established before theDragged_HO_Window timer expires, then any subsequent Handover Failure or Dropped Call willtrigger the Dragged Handover Failure or Dragged Drop. Dominance loss = ServRxLevSub <(Best_Nbr - Hysteresis).

Dragged_HO_Window This threshold is the number of milliseconds that the MS must lose dominance for, before aDragged Handover Failure or Dragged Dropped Call is triggered.

Ping_Pong_HO_Window This threshold is the number of milliseconds during which a handover back to the previous cell willtrigger the Ping Pong Handover Event.

Page 47


Critical Issues diagnosis (GSM)

Explanation Condition Notes

Analyzer was unable to determinethe cause of this failure. It is advisableto check if stronger and/or interferingneighbors are present in area, anddetermine which cell(s) are selected inidle mode following this event.

None were met. None

No strong cells in area - signalstrength should be greater than -95 dBmbut signal prior to handover failure was ServRxLevSub dBm.

(ServRxLevSub <= G_RxLevSub_Min)

AND

(array_max(NBorRxLev[]) <= (ServRxLevSub + G_HandOver_Min))

LU Failure usesServRxLevEitherinstead ofServRxLevSub

Call Setup FailureusesServRxLevEither,or, in its absence,ServRxLevSub.

Stronger Neighbor present but nothanded over to better cell with BCCH NborBCCH and (either):

• BSIC NborBSIC

• no BSIC - possible 3rd partyinterference.

(Call Setup Fail just reports the BCCH NborBCCH )

(array_max(NBorRxLev[]) > (ServRxLevSub + G_HandOver_Min))

Adjacent Channel Interference - verifyradio planning on ServingCellID sectorServingSectorID, cell ServCI (with BCCHServBCCH and BSIC ServBSIC).

(abs(ServBCCH-NborBCCH[n]) < 2), n=0to 5

AND

(ServRxLevSub > G_RxLevSub_Min)

Excessive Cell Dominance - checkantenna and neighbor configuration oncell ServCI.


AND

(ServTimingAdvanceActual >G_TimingAdvance_Max)

Stronger Neighbors present,including adjacent channelinterference - verify radio planning onServingCellID sector ServingSectorID cellServCI (with BCCH ServBCCH and BSICServBSIC).

(array_max(NBorRxLev[]) > (ServRxLevSub + G_HandOver_Min))

AND

(abs(ServBCCH-NborBCCH[n]) < 2), n=0to 5

AND


Abnormal release due to timer expiryon cell ServCI.

(CauseCodeRR=3) HO Fail only.

See also User-definable thresholds (GSM)Important Issues diagnosis (GSM)Design Check (GSM)

Page 48


Important Issues diagnosis (GSM)

Important Issue Condition

Poor Quality RxQualSub > G_RxQual_Max

Weak Signal Strength RxLevSub < G_RxLevSub_Max

Stronger Neighbor than Serving Cell RxLevDiff < 0

Stronger Nbor in Different Band RxLevDiffBand < 0

Poor Serving Cell Dominance 0 < RxLevDiff < 5

Poor Serving Cell Dominance in Diff Band 0 < RxLevDiffBand < 5

None None of the above criteria were met.

See also User-definable thresholds (GSM)Critical Issues diagnosis (GSM)Design Check (GSM)

Page 49


Design Check (GSM)

There are three conditions involved in the Design Check.

Poor Level condition (1)

This is true if ServRxLevSub < G_RxLevSub_Min

Poor Quality condition (2)

This is true if ServRxQualSub > G_RxQualSub_Max

No Dominance condition (4)

This is true if the sum of all these conditions is greater than 2:

((ServRxLevSub-NborRxLev[n])<5) * (abs(ServBCCH-NborBCCH[n])<375)

…where n is 0 to 5. Sum the condition values to get the Design Check Value:

DesignCheckValue

Explanation

0 Good Design

1 Poor Level

2 Poor Quality

3 Poor Level and Poor Quality

4 No Dominance

5 No Dominance and Poor Level

6 No Dominance and Poor Quality

7 No Dominance, Poor Level and Poor Quality

The No Valid Data condition displayed in the Design Check Summary chart represents thepercentage of messages that did not contain enough data to meet any of the above conditionsclearly.

See also User-definable thresholds (GSM)Critical Issues diagnosis (GSM)Important Issues diagnosis (GSM)

Page 50


UMTS DT Troubleshooter

Overview of UMTS DT TroubleshooterSelect DataDashboardDropped CallsCall Setup FailuresPilot PollutionPoor Coverage3G-2G HandoverMissing NeighboursDiagnosis and thresholds (UMTS)

Page 51


Overview of UMTS DT Troubleshooter

With DT Troubleshooter, you can diagnose complex UMTS issues faster than ever, in these easysteps:

• Load the data


• Diagnose the problem and confirm the resolution



• Select/deselect logfiles and individual handsets as required


• Highlights the critical issues: Dropped Calls and Setup Failures

• Highlights the important issues: Missing Neighbours, Pilot Pollution, Poor Coverage andHandover Issues


• Summarizes top ten cell data

Diagnose the cause in an instant With one click from the Dashboard, you can drill down into the data set. Follow the issues throughto an analysis page providing a diagnosis for each offending device:

• Interference

• Limited Coverage

• Missing neighbours

• Pilot Pollution

• Poor UL Coverage

• Poor DL Coverage

• Handover Problems

• And more . . .

Confirm problem resolution Now, prove the diagnosis with one click. This opens appropriate data views that let you review thediagnosis – if the diagnosis is successful, move on to the next issue!

See also Select DataDashboardDropped CallsCall Setup FailuresPilot PollutionPoor Coverage3G-2G HandoverMissing NeighboursDiagnosis and thresholds (UMTS)


Page 52


Select Data

1. Choose Settings

Click the Preferences button to open the Preferences dialog:

Select a cellrefs file to use for the analysis. This essential file contains information on your networkinfrastructure.



Click the Thresholds button and review the settings, making changes as necessary. Thresholdsbasically define whether a critical or important condition has occurred or not, so you may want toadjust these numbers to match your own definitions. For an explanation of each threshold, seehere.



2. Load data and select streams Once loaded, all files and handsets are displayed as selected by default. If any devices in theseloaded data files are outside the scope of the analysis (for example, PN Scanner data), deselectthem.


Page 53


Dashboard

This page provides an overview of the information aggregated from the selected drive test files.

Critical Issues This section shows events that have discontinued the call, broken out where possible by Serviceoption.

The events fall into two types:

• Dropped Calls

• Call Setup Failures

To open the appropriate Critical Issues page, from the Dashboard, click on Find Out More.


The Important Issues called out are:

• Pilot Pollution

• Poor Coverage

• 3G-2G Handover Failures

• Missing Neighbours

To open the related Important Issues page, click on Find Out More.

Page 54


Information This section displays summary information for the data. Charts provide Call Summary and HandoffSummary information.

Statistics Summary – this chart displays the percentage occurrence of the following events:

• Call Setup Failures

• Dropped Call Rate

• Overall Call Success Rate

• RRC Connection Rate

• Radio Bearer Setup

• Radio Bearer Reconfig

• Active Set Update

• Cell Update

UMTS Handoff State – this chart displays the percentage frequency of each type of handoff occurring inthe data:

• Single Sector Service

• Softer Handoff

• Soft Handoff

• Soft-softer Handoff

• 3-way Softer Handoff

• 3-way Soft Handoff




Page 55


Following the charts is a table summarizing the ten most frequently measured sites and sectors in thedrive test data. To sort the data by a column, click on the column title.

See also Overview of UMTS DT TroubleshooterSelect DataDropped CallsCall Setup FailuresPilot PollutionPoor Coverage3G-2G HandoverMissing NeighboursDiagnosis and thresholds (UMTS)

Page 56


Dropped Calls

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to dropped calls. Thepage shows a table listing the Dropped Call events in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Dropped Call event.

Possible diagnoses for a Dropped Call event are:

• System Released

• Possible Missing Neighbour

• Possible Handover Problem

• Possible Pilot Pollution Problem (Pilot Pollution, Too Many Servers)

• Possible Interference Problem

• Possible Coverage Limitation Problem

• Possible Poor DL Coverage Problem

• Possible Poor UL Coverage Problem

• More investigation needed

Page 57


Analysis views Map

Voice Event Navigator

Active and Nbor Sets

Ue Measurement Charts



During your analysis, you may have found it necessary to move or remove the existing diagnosticviews and to open one or more new views. To get back to the original layout, select Re-synchviews for this investigation. Note that this will not affect any views you opened earlier.

See also Dropped Calls Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 58


Call Setup Failures

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Critical Issues link relating to call setup failures.The page shows a table listing the Call Setup Failure events in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Call Setup Failure event.

Possible diagnoses for a Call Setup Failure event are:

• System Rejected / Released

• Possible Missing Neighbour

• Possible Handover Problem

• Possible Pilot Pollution Problem (Pilot Pollution, Too Many Servers)

• Possible Interference Problem

• Possible Coverage Limitation Problem

• Possible Poor DL Coverage Problem

• Possible Poor UL Coverage Problem

Analysis views Map





Page 59




See also Call Setup Failure Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 60


Pilot Pollution

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Important Issues link relating to pilot pollution.The page shows a table listing the identified Pilot Pollution conditions in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Pilot Pollution condition.

Analysis views Map

Radio Parameters


In addition to the pre-defined analysis views, you can access any other view or supplement thecurrent views by clicking on the Attribute Explorer icon



See also About pilot pollution

Page 61


Poor Coverage

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Important Issues link relating to poor coverage.The page shows a table listing the identified Poor Coverage conditions in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Poor Coveragecondition.

Analysis views Map

Radio Parameters





See also About System InterferenceAbout Poor Uplink CoverageAbout Poor Downlink CoverageAbout Coverage Limited

Page 62


3G-2G Handover

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Important Issues link relating to 3G-2G handoverproblems. The page shows a table listing the identified 3G-2G handover conditions in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected 3G-2G handovercondition.

Analysis views Map







See also About Handover Problems

Page 63


Missing Neighbours

This page is displayed as a result of selecting the Important Issues link relating to dropped calls.The page shows a table listing the identified Missing Neighbors conditions in the data.



Select a row in the table. A diagnosis and explanation appears below the table, and a set ofdiagnostic views appear, each view synchronised to highlight the selected Missing Neighborscondition. The selection of a row shows on the map where the handover relationship was seen bythe scanner. You can select particular rows in the table and then click the Save selected button tosave the selected rows to a .CSV file, which can then be used for import into an OMC system.

Analysis views Map

Display Cell Data




See also Neighbor List analysis

Page 64


Diagnosis and thresholds (UMTS)

User-definable thresholds for UMTSDropped Calls Diagnosis for UMTSCall Setup Failure Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 65


User-definable thresholds for UMTS

Uu_CallSetupFailure_Num_RRCConnReq This represents the number of RRC Connection Request during call setup before it pegs a call setupfailure. It works in conjunction with Uu_CallSetypFailure_TimeDelay. Recommended value is 3.

Uu_CallSetypFailure_TimeDelay This represents the delay between each of the RRC Connection Request. With the number of RRCConnection Request, users can define their own call setup failure. Recommended value is 2.

Example: If Uu_CallSetupFailure_Num_RRCConnReq = 3 and Uu_CallSetypFailure_TimeDelay = 2,Analyzer will peg a call setup failure only after 6 seconds and all 3 RRC attempts. In other words,1st RRC Conn, wait 2 seconds, 2nd RRC Conn, wait 2 seconds, 3rd RRC Conn, then Call SetupFailure.

Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold This is used in the Coverage Limited event. If the UeTransmittedPower is greater thanUu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold AND the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less thanUu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold AND the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold,then a Coverage Limited event will appear on the map. Recommended value is 10 dBm. Theminimum should not be lower than 0 and the maximum should not be higher than 25 dBm.

Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold This is used in conjunction with the RSCP Interference Threshold for the System Interferenceevent. If the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is greater than Uu_RSCP_Interference_Threshold and theCPICH_EcNo_In_ActiveSet is less than Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold, then a System Interferenceevent appears on the map. Recommended value is -15 dB. Values should lie between -10 and -18dBm.

Uu_HighUE_TxPower This is used in the Poor Uplink Coverage event. If the UeTransmittedPower is greater thanUu_HighUE_TxPower AND the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is greater than Uu_Poor_RSCP_ThresholdAND the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is greater than Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold, then Poor UplinkCoverage will appear on the map. Recommended value is 15 dBm. Values should lie between 0 and25 dBm.

Uu_LowUE_TxPower This is used in the Poor Downlink Coverage event. If the UeTransmittedPower is less thanUu_LowUE_TxPower AND the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_Poor_RSCP_ThresholdAND the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold, then the Poor DownlinkCoverage event will appear on the map. Recommended value is -15 dBm. Values should liebetweeen -30 and 0 dBm.

Uu_PilotPollutionThreshold In calculating Pilot Pollution, this threshold sets up the level of interference required for peggingthe events. When 4 or more pilots are above this threshold, it creates a Pilot Pollution event.Recommended value is -15 dB and should lie between -18 and -10 dB.

Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold This is used in the Coverage Limited event. If the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less thanUu_PoorEcNOThreshold AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold ANDUe_TransmittedPower is greater than Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold, then aCoverage Limited event will appear on the map. It is also used in the Poor Uplink and DownlinkCoverage event. Recommended value is -15 dB and should lie between -18 and -10 dB.

Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold This is used in three different events. In the cases where CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is lower thanUu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, it will trigger either a Coverage Limited event or a Poor DownlinkCoverage event. In the case where it is greater than Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, it will trigger aPoor Uplink Coverage event. Other conditions must be satisfied for these events to occur - pleasenote the other thresholds involved.

Recommended value is -95 dBm and should not be lower than -105 dBm.

Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold This is used for the System Interference event. If the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is greater than

Page 66


this threshold and the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold, then aSystem Interference event appears on the map. Recommended value is -80 dBm and should liebetween -90 and -60 dBm.

See also Dropped Calls Diagnosis for UMTSCall Setup Failure Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 67


Dropped Calls Diagnosis for UMTS

The following diagram outlines the diagnosis procedure used by UMTS DT Troubleshooter todetermine the diagnosis of Dropped Call events. Note that the window size used to evaluate thecondition is 5 seconds before the drop.

Diagnosis Condition and notes

System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42) in either the NASmessage or the RRC message

Missing Neighbour SC in Active Set after event < > SCs in Active Set and Neighbour listbefore event

Handover Problem Multiple Active Set update messages are received and a particular SCis not added to the Active Set.

For the Raked RF Condition, the system picks the diagnosis with the highest value, providing it ishigher than the specified threshold.

Pilot Pollution 4+ pilots in Active or Monitored Set with Ec/No > Uu_PilotPollutionThreshold (-15 dB)

Pilot Pollution:Too Many Servers

4+ pilots in the Active or Monitored Set with Ec/No withinUu_TooManyServersThreshold dB of the best server(Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0)

Page 68


Interference Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold (-15 dB)AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet > Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold(-80 dBm)

Coverage LimitationProblem

CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower > Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold(10 dBm)

Poor DL Coverage Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower < Uu_LowUE_TxPower (-15 dBm)

Poor UL Coverage Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet > Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet > Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower > Uu_HighUE_TxPower (15 dBm)

More Investigation Needed Use other Analyzer tools and views to refine your understanding ofthe problem.

See also User-definable thresholds for UMTSCall Setup Failure Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 69


Call Setup Failure Diagnosis for UMTS

The following diagram outlines the diagnosis procedure used by UMTS DT Troubleshooter todetermine the diagnosis of Call Setup Failure events:

Diagnosis Condition and notes

System Rejected When an RRC message contains an RRC Reject

System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42) in either the NASmessage or the RRC message

Missing Neighbour SC in Active Set after event < > SCs in Active Set and Neighbour listbefore event

Handover Problem Multiple Active Set update messages are received and a particular SCis not added to the Active Set.

For the Raked RF Condition, the system picks the diagnosis with the highest value, providing it ishigher than the specified threshold.

Pilot Pollution 4+ pilots in Active or Monitored Set with Ec/No > Uu_PilotPollutionThreshold (-15 dB)

Pilot Pollution:Too Many Servers

4+ pilots in the Active or Monitored Set with Ec/No withinUu_TooManyServersThreshold dB of the best server(Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0)

Page 70


Interference Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold (-15 dB)AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet > Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold(-80 dBm)

Coverage LimitationProblem

CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower > Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold(10 dBm)

Poor DL Coverage Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet < Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower < Uu_LowUE_TxPower (-15 dBm)

Poor UL Coverage Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet > Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet > Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold (-95 dBm) AND UeTransmittedPower > Uu_HighUE_TxPower (15 dBm)

More Investigation Needed Use other Analyzer tools and views to refine your understanding ofthe problem.

See also User-definable thresholds for UMTSDropped Calls Diagnosis for UMTS

Page 71


Analyzer Classic data analysis

This section assumes that you have selected Analyzer Classic as the Engineering Process fromthe Startup screen.

The sections below describe using A Solutions for free (ad hoc) analysis with different telecomstechnologies. Each section introduces tasks and concepts in a logical order which is not necessarilythe same as that described under Visualizing data and Analyzing data.

The major technologies are described here—other technologies use similar techniques but differentdata attributes.

To reduce the amount of screen area taken up by this help window, you may want to click Hide atthe top left of this window.

Managing dataVisualizing dataAnalyzing dataOptimizing networksClassic analysis of UMTS dataClassic analysis of CDMA dataClassic analysis of GSM dataClassic A and Abis analysisClassic analysis of GPRS dataClassic analysis of IS-136 dataClassic analysis of iDEN data

Page 72


Managing data

Actix Solutions post-process cellular network data. Network performance data can be loaded frommany different sources, including field-test equipment and switch call traces. The data could be aone-off test, or part of a planned series of samples to build up an image of overall networkperformance. Once the data is loaded, a variety of analysis tools and displays provide a clear viewof network performance for engineers, technicians or operations management staff.

Network configuration data You can easily import cell site data and key configuration parameters from planning tools using the Network Explorer, which provides a link to all network data.

Import data You can load log files from all supported data collection formats. However, if your data collectiondevice is not supported, you can import the data as an ASCII text file using the text file importwizard. Note that, in general, loading small files results in increased performance, and loadinglarge files results in decreased performance.

Minimal Load for PCM Link files PCM Link data files can be sizeable, so A Solutions allow such files to be loaded with a relevantsubset of data. The A Solution must be switched into Minimal Load mode for this to work.

Batch processing and data storage The Network Image data import facility allows you process multiple data files at the same time. Theresults of single or multiple analysis sessions can be saved for network trend analysis.

Next: Visualizing data

Page 73


Visualizing data

Problem

1 Manage the data Open data filesImport text filesBatch-load data

2 Filter the data FiltersAttribute ExplorerFavorites

3 View the data Maps, Charts, Tables, WorkbooksReplay, Synchronized data viewsStateForms, Statistics ExplorerMessage Browser

4 Record results Print workbooks, maps, chartsSave workspaceExport as text file

Solution

Next: Analyzing data

Page 74


Analyzing data

Problem

1 Manage the data Open data filesImport text filesMerge data filesBatch-load data

5 Find problem areasusing top-level pre-definedreports

Analysis reportsCDMA StateTipCDMA ToolkitHistograms, Tables

6 Isolate problem areasusing ad hoc methods to drilldown into the data

Filters, QueriesWorkbooks, Message BrowserSynchronized data viewsStatistics Explorer

7 Record results Print workbooks, maps, chartsSave workspaceExport as text file

Solution

Next: Optimizing networks

Page 75


Optimizing networks

Application Layers Each solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type ofnetwork analysis. These ‘application layers’ distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience.

Application layers are provided for CDMA, GSM drive-test analysis, A, Abis and Gb (GPRS), TDMA andiDEN.

CDMA Toolkit The CDMA Toolkit utility provides a task bar designed to automate key CDMA optimization tasks. Afamiliar task-based layout allows you to quickly perform these tasks:

- Search Window analysis

- Neighbor List analysis

- Optimize coverage areas

- Analyze multi-carrier statistics

The Toolkit outputs a series of web-based reports, which can be saved and printed for managerialuse.

Next: Ad hoc or 'free' data analysis

Page 76


Classic analysis of UMTS data

The interface for Actix solutionsConfigure UMTS network informationManage dataMenu options in the Attribute ExplorerView summary dataView attribute dataConfigure your SolutionLoading large amounts of dataIntegrate uplink and downlink dataQueriesGenerate new reports

Page 77


The interface for Actix solutions

After the startup is complete, the application window looks like this:

The arrangement of loaded help files and data display windows is called the current workspace. Youcan save and reuse workspaces as necessary.

You may find it useful to create one or more workspaces to act as templates for future worksessions. Save these to your desktop, so you can double-click them to start your Actix Solutionwith your preferred layouts.

Page 78


Configure UMTS network information

The Network Explorer is a tool available from the Cells menu that allows you to import networkelements from delimited text files, possibly exported from a planning tool. This data is then storedin a file called cellrefs.txt. You can also use the Network Explorer to browse and edit loadednetwork information. This section describes how to import delimited data.

Get site data in table formImport cell site data for the first timeSet a network information file

Page 79


Get site data in table form

In order to import cell site data from your own network, you will need to obtain a delimited text filecontaining the data listed in the table below. To maximize the benefit your Actix Solution can bringto WCDMA network analysis, the parameters listed in bold in the table on the following page are required for cell data to function interactively with logged data in the main workspace. Theremaining parameters are optional.

The data may come from a network database or a planning tool configuration file. As long as thedata is in a tabular format with one row for each sector, your Actix Solution will be able to importthe data.

WCDMA Cell Site Parameters for Import:

Page 80


Page 81


Import cell site data for the first time

Once you have obtained your cell site database in tab-delimited format, you are ready to open theNetwork Explorer and import the site information.

To import the data 1 The initial network data is shown below, and could have been produced from a planning

tool:

2 From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer.

The Network Explorer display consists of two panels. The left panel contains a tree view ofthe network element data. The right panel shows details about relevant parameters for thecurrent selection.

3 On the toolbar, select Import, then Import From New Template to open the Import dialog.

Select the appropriate export data file from your planning tool and click Open to display theCustom Import Wizard.

The Import Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is now displayed:

Page 82


4 Give the Template a meaningful Template Name ('UMTS example' in this example).

5 Check the appropriate Delimiter that separates the data from the file into differentcolumns. If you choose the wrong delimited, you will see the effect in the Data Previewwindow at the bottom of the dialog.

6 In most cases, the default information under General Settings and Coordinate Informationwill apply. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator (thecharacter used to separate the array values under the 'Neighbours' column in the examplefor step 1), adjust these settings as necessary.

7 Click Next.

The Column Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is now displayed. This allows youto associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file.

Note that each of the field names has an associated icon:

Page 83


Key fields You must select a field type for thisfield, but you cannot set a defaultvalue.

Required fields These must be either bound to aparticular type or have a defaultvalue set.

Other fields Binding particular field types orsetting default values is not strictlynecessary for this field.

8 Open up the node called WCDMA_Site. Click on the adjacent field under Column and selectthe parameter name from your site database that corresponds to the Site_Nameparameter. Repeat for each of the fields in the WCDMA_site node.

9 Open the WCDMA_Cell node. Click in the Column field next to Sector_ID. Select theparameter name from your site database that corresponds to the Sector_ID parameter.

You can enter a default value that takes effect if the actual value is unknown. For example, allBeamwidths could be set to 65 degrees.

10 Repeat for each of the fields in the WCDMA_Cell node. A description of each of theseparameters and their use is given in the table at the beginning of this section. For thisexample, we will ignore the following columns: EIRP, MCC, MNC, LAC, CI and BSIC.

11 Click Finish when all the columns have been assigned. The new cell information will beadded at the bottom of the existing list in the Network Element editor.

12 Inspect the cell data in the Network Explorer by expanding theAll_WCDMA_Site_Elements folder in the left-hand pane of the Network Explorer.

13 Double-click on any site name in the right hand pane. The Name, ID, latitude and longitudeof the site will appear, as well as a folder containing WCDMA Cell Elements. Drill into theWCDMA Cell Elements folder and examine the values corresponding to each sector.

14 Save the formatted site information by clicking Save.

15 Close the Network Explorer window by clicking the 'X' at the upper right hand corner.

16 The window shown below is now displayed. Click Yes to overwrite the old settings ('No'would append this information to your existing network data):

17 After closing the Network Explorer, view a new map by selecting View ® Display New Map.

Page 84


18 If cell icons do not appear on the map, right click on the map and select Zoom, Go to Layer,WCDMA_Site… to zoom the map to the appropriate location.

19 Set the cells to be labeled by SC as described earlier.

Page 85


Set a network information file

1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog:

20 Click on File Location to select the text file containing network element data. This file mustbe in the Actix 'cellrefs' format. The information from this cellrefs file takes effect from thenext time a new workspace is created.

Note that you can set up an automatic cellrefs import if your network data is liable tochange frequently (see the online help for details).

21 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.

You will now see a message saying that the new file will take effect with the nextworkspace created or loaded.

You may now want to close and restart your Actix Solution for the change to take effect.

Page 86


Manage data

Load data filesFind data attributes in the Attribute ExplorerDelete data files

Page 87


Load data files

The simplest way to load logfile data is as follows:

1 From the main toolbar, click the Open Logfile button to display the Open dialog.

22 Select an appropriate file.

Files of Type defaults to 'All Formats', but you can select a specific file type to look for. Thisalso illustrates the many file formats available.

The Network Image feature (see later) is more practical than using Open Logfile if you need toanalyse many large logfiles

Page 88


Find data attributes in the Attribute Explorer

The Attribute Explorer window is a graphical display of all loaded data or log files and the datastructure contained within each file. Loaded files are at the highest level, with devices and otherdata streams displayed at lower levels.

The name of each type of element is shown below. Note that the exact structures and icons useddepend on the data file loaded and the group that you are examining.

The exact structures and icons used depend on the data file

In UMTS, you may find it easier to locate attributes using the Find Attribute command which letsyou enter all or part of the attribute's name or help description in a new Attribute Search dialog.

Select Tools, Find Attribute (or use the hotkey Ctrl + Shift + F) to add a search panel is added tothe Attribute Explorer tree-view pane. Enter search criteria about the required attributes into thispanel.

• Find What: Enter some text which is part of the requiredattribute name.

• Stream: Select which stream of data should be searched. ‘<All Streams>’ is set by default.

• Settings:

o Whole Word: Check this to search only for attributeswhere the search text exactly matches the wholeattribute name. Otherwise, search for attributeswhere the search text is contained within theattribute name.

o Case Sensitive: Check this to search only forattributes where the case of the search string exactlymatches the case of the attribute.

• Direction: When ‘down’ is selected, only search for attributesfurther down in the attribute tree from the currently selectedattribute. When ‘up’ is selected, only search for attributesfurther up in the attribute tree from the currently selectedattribute.

• Find Next: Based on the current search criteria, find the nextmatching attribute. This attribute is highlighted in the All tabat the bottom of the Attribute Explorer.

• Find All: Based on the current search criteria, find allmatching attributes in the tree-view. The matching attributesare listed in the Search Results tab at the bottom of theAttribute Explorer.

• Done: The search for attribute panel is closed. Search resultsremain visible in the Search Results tab.

Page 89


Delete data files

To remove a data file from the Attribute Explorer 1 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option.

23 Click Close Logfile.

The data file is now removed from the Attribute Explorer display.

Page 90


Menu options in the Attribute Explorer

From the Attribute Explorerpanel, right-click on a streamor network image to producea series of options, shownon the right.

Most frequently-usedfeatures can be accessed inthis way.

Most analysis methods activated in a similarway by right-clicking on an attribute orevent:

Queries have a different set of options:

Page 91


View summary data

The Attribute Explorer provides several ways in which you can examine summary or overviewinformation on your loaded data:

Once you have used the summary data views to identify problem areas, you can use the attributeviews to examine the data in detail. For more information, see the section View attribute data.

UMTS pre-configured reportsThe Message BrowserThe Protocol Stack Browser

Page 92


UMTS pre-configured reports

Your Actix Solution provides sets or 'application packs' of pre-configured reports, eachconcentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These reports distil advanced analysistechniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of alllevels of experience.

The application packs are listed under the Analysis menu–which ones actually appear depend onthe type of data file loaded.

To use an application pack 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set.

24 From the Analysis menu, select an application pack (in this example, 'UMTS Call Statistics')to open the Cell Explorer window.

25 Use the top pane as necessary to narrow down your selection.

All reports appropriate to your selection are displayed under the Suggested tab. If you wantto use another report, look under the All tab to view all reports available within the currentapplication pack.

26 Double-click on a report icon to open the report window:

Page 93


This will report on all data selected by cell in the upper tree-view panel.

27 As required, use the buttons at the bottom of the window to Save the report as aweb-compatible HTML file set, Print the report to your printer or open the report in Excelusing Show Excel Report.

Page 94


The Message Browser

The Message Browser only appears as a pop-up menu option at the data stream level in theAttribute Explorer.

• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data streamand select Display Message Browser.Display MessageBrowser

The Message Browser combines an event panel (sequentially listing call events) with a panel ofLayer 3 messaging, allowing you to pinpoint the root causes of problems.

Page 95


The Protocol Stack Browser

The Protocol Stack Browser only appears as a pop-up menu option at the data stream level in theAttribute Explorer.

1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data stream and select Protocol StackBrowser:

28 Now select the required browser view.

Each view displays messaging and information appropriate to that view. The exampleshown here is the UMTS UTRAN Protocol Signaling view.

Page 96


View attribute data

From the Attribute Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menuof options:

Select one of the display methods to open the appropriate data display window.

View data in a MapReplay the UMTS dataView data in a FormView data in a ChartView data in a TableView data in a WorkbookAbout synchronized data windows

Page 97


View data in a Map

1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on UTRA_Ue_CarrierRssi and select Display on Map.

29 Click on the Pan button.

2 Click and drag the data around the map window.

3 Experiment with the Zoom buttons.

4 In the Attribute Explorer, open up the 'Event Data' set and under 'Call', drag theUu_CallDropped' event onto the map, which should look similar to this:

Adding various events to the mapped data can help you see where problems are occurring.

5 Drag another data attribute onto the map.

You can also change the size, symbol or color of the data, apply offsets to an attribute ormerge attributes for a multidimensional displaymultidimensional display. See the online helpfor further details.

The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts.

6 To hide a data series, in the legend pane on the left, click in the check box beside theseries name.

Page 98


To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, seethe section 'Configure your Solution'.

Page 99


Replay the UMTS data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file frombeginning to end. You can do this using the Replay Replay featurefeature. To open the Replaycontrol, from the main menu, select Tools, then Display Replay.

Page 100


View data in a Form

While examining data on a map, you can also view a selection of data attributes for the same datapoint by using the Forms tool.

1 From the View menu, select Forms and then an appropriate Form name (from the AttributeExplorer, you can also right-click on the stream name and select Display Form followed bythe form name).

2 In the map window, click Select

and select a datapoint.

The Form window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected. Below are two form windows above a map window, displaying data for theselected data point on the map:

Page 101


See the online help for details on how to create your own forms.

Page 102


View data in a Chart

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute 'UE_TxPow' in a chart window.viewingdata in charts

You can display more than one attribute on the same chart.

2 Select and drag the data attribute 'ServRxQualFull' from the Attribute Explorer window ontothe existing chart.

You can also zoom into selected areas of the chart by defining a frame for the zoom.

3 On the chart, click the upper left corner of the zooming rectangle, and drag down to thelower right extent of the rectangle.

Page 103


4 Release the mouse button to complete the zoom action:

Note that the zoom only operates in the X-axis, not in the Y-axis.

5 Now return the chart its original state and zoom back out by dragging a box, but this timeup and to the right.

6 Use the right mouse button to scroll and pan around the chart window.

Although you can scroll the X-axis for all attributes on the chart, you can only pan the Y-axisfor the last attribute to be displayed on the chart.

Page 104


View data in a Table

Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute.

• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data attribute andselect Display on Table to open the Table.

• Experiment with the other tabs in the window.

Page 105


View data in a Workbook

Workbooks let you examine the data for the selected attribute within a Microsoft Excelspreadsheet.

• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data attribute andselect Display on Workbook to open the spreadsheet.

• See the section Generate New Reports to see how to createconsistent Excel workbook reports.

Page 106


About synchronized data windows

The data in each of these windows is synchronized, so that when displaying the same dataattribute in a map, chart or table, if you select a data point in one window, all related map, chart ortable windows also highlight the data point.

You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the 'UE_TxPow' data attribute.

1 From the map window, click on Select.

Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points.

2 Now click on a data point on the map.

You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, witha line appearing at the equivalent time on the chart:

Page 107


Configure your Solution

Set up MapsChange the size of cell site sectorsShow lines to cells on a mapModifying event detection threshold values

Page 108


Set up Maps

This section shows you how to load MapInfo tabular (.tab) data to present data analyses on mapbackdrops.

1 Create a new map by selecting View ® Display new Map

2 Click on the Maximize icon to maximize the Map window.

3 In the Map Window, click on the Layers icon.

The Layer Control dialog now opens:

Making a checkmark in a layer's box controls:

if the layer is visible

if objects on it can be selected

if the layer can be annotated (uncheckingthis 'locks' the Annotations layer fromhaving any further annotations added)

4 In the Layer Control dialog, click Add toopen the Open Layer dialog.

Select or type in the name of a MapInfoMap (*.tab) file, then click Open.

MapInfo layers are named according tothe geographic location of the data andby the type of data contained in the file.The following table lists some of thecommon abbreviations used for MapInfodata types:

Suffix Layer Type

Y1 RtHwy010_Top

Y2 RtHwy010_Bot

X1 IntShld010

X2 IntShld1040

Page 109


Pc Cultural Points

Pn Natural Points

Pm Municipal Points

R Railroads

H Highways

S Streets

Wr Water (rivers)

Wb Water (bodies of water)

Lm Landmarks

Cb City Boundary

Mc Minor Civic Division

Cy County

5 You may want to modify the layer properties by selecting the layer and choosing thevarious options within the Layer Control Dialog:

Properties ® Labels: Use the Label Properties dialog to show, hide, or modify map labels.

• To turn off labels (recommended to improve map load time),uncheck the Display within range boxes.

• Check boxes also are also available to Allow OverlappedText and Allow Duplicated Text.

• The label font can be controlled through the Label Stylebutton.

• The label position and label offset can be modified at thebottom right corner of the dialog.

• Select OK to exit the Label Properties dialog.

Properties ® Display: Use the Display Properties dialog to control the display features ofthe map layer.

• Override the default vector coloring by checking OverrideStyle and modifying the Layer Style.

• Select OK to exit the Display Properties dialog.

Reorder ® Up and Reorder ® Down: Use the Reorder buttons to change the ordering ofthe layers.

• Moving map layers to the bottom of the stack isrecommended to provide an uncluttered backdrop for cell sitedata and log file parameters.

• Layer Accessibility: To display a layer, check the box next tothe layer name under the eye icon

Page 110


. To make a layer selectable, check the box next to the layername under the arrow icon

. To make a layer writeable, check the box next to the layer

name under the pencil icon .

• Layers ® Remove: Use the Remove button to remove amap layer from the workspace.

6 After modifying any desired layer properties, close the Layer Control dialog with the Closebutton and changes will take effect.

7 Pan the map viewing area to the new map by right-clicking in the map area, then choosingZoom ® Go to Layer and selecting the map layer you just added.

Page 111


8 Reorder the map layers using the Up and Down buttons on the Map Layer dialog toimprove the appearance of the map

9 Right-click on the map and choose Zoom ® Zoom In from the pop-up menu or click on theZoom In button on the Map toolbar.

10 Click and drag a rectangle around a small area of interest on the map. Return the cursorto the passive mode by clicking on the Select button.

11 To return to the previous view, right-click on the map and choose Zoom ®Previous View.

12 For some detailed layers, like the street layers, you can control at what degree ofmagnification they become visible. This helps to eliminate cluttered map displays.

In the case of the S (street names) layer, you can control the point at which the streetnames and street numbers become visible on the map. In the Map Layers, select the Slayer, and use the Properties Display dialog to set the Display within Zoom levels 0-10miles. For the street numbers, use the Properties Labels to set the visible range to 0-3miles. Note what happens as a result of your changes.

Page 112


Change the size of cell site sectors

You may want to change the size of cell site sectors as displayed on a map. This is especially usefulif you are using multiple cell layers.

1 From the map window, click on Cell Sites to open the Sites/Cell Properties dialog.

2 Set the Series to be WCDMA_Cell.

3 Set the Cell Size to be an attribute shared by all related cell sites, such as Layer_type(recommended if available from your cellrefs file) or MCC, and click OK.

4 This will be displayed as a layer in the Legend panel on the left. Expand the new layer toshow one item in the range, called 'Unspecified'.

5 Right-click on this item and choose Selected range's style to open the Style chooser dialog.

6 Set the new font size as required and click OK.

The cell site sectors will now change size to reflect your selection.

Page 113


Show lines to cells on a map

1 From the map window, click on Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.

2 Select the appropriate cells layer.

3 Click Lines to open the Lines Configuration dialog.

4 As shown above, set the Lines draw mode to 'Selection', Color lines with to'Uu_ActiveSet_SC', check that the Disable box is empty, and click OK, then Yes.

5 Close the Layer Control dialog.

6 Zoom In on data points near a cell site, and use Select to pick a data point.

A solid line is drawn to the serving cell site, with dotted lines drawn to neighboring cells.

If 'All datapoints' was selected in the Line layer properties dialog, you would not need toselect a data point—all data points would have a line to their neighbor cells. This can beuseful in some situations.

Page 114


Modifying event detection threshold values

You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display Thresholdscommand. To modify the value, simply click on the associated number and type in the new value.

In the example below, a threshold is available for too many servers. This threshold applies whenfour or more pilots are within a certain range of the best server. In other words, if the threshold isset to 3 dB, an event will appear on the map every time four or more pilots are within 3 dB of thebest server (Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0).

Page 115


Loading large amounts of data

About Network ImagesPerformance limitationsCreate a Network ImageLoad data into a Network ImageView data from a Network Image

Page 116


About Network Images

You may need to load a large amount of data, because you have large logfiles, you have a largenumber of logfiles, or both. To use the Open Logfile command would be time-consuming, and youmight be loading data that you would never actually use in any analysis.

The solution in this case is to use the Network Image function. A Network Image is a repositoryinto which you can load data from many files at the same time. However, only a small subset of theavailable data is loaded. This means less flexibility as you have fewer options with which toexamine the data, so you must think about what you want to achieve before proceeding.

• Use a Network Image when there is a well-known,high-level analysis process and large amounts of data.

• Do not use a Network Image when you need to drill intodetails or follow a very flexible or complex analysis process.

You can also add data to the Network Image later, but for the data stored within the NetworkImage to be consistent, the same binning method and time-offset settings must be used.

In your Actix Solution there are typically several Network Image templates provided for each mobilephone technology, and you can create and maintain as many individual Network Images as youneed, for various analysis purposes.

Page 117


Performance limitations

Binning - When there are a large number of bins, memory usage increases and load speeddeteriorates. Use low-resolution location binning where possible.

Logfiles - It is better to use a few large files than many small files. If you have problems with manysmall files you can load a batch in one worksession, restart your Actix Solution and load anotherbatch.

Scanner data - Network Images are not suitable for use with large arrays of data, and somescanner uses are not possible.

Page 118


Create a Network Image

Network Images are created by selecting an appropriate Network Image template file. One ormore Network Image templates are provided for each technology available for your license.Advanced users can create new templates using the Network Image template Wizard (for detailssee the online help).

To create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network

Image dialog:

30 Select the UMTS Network Image template and click OK.

2 From the Save As dialog, enter a File name and location for the Network Image file and clickSave.

You may want to share this Network Image file with colleagues, so ensure that you savethe file with a sensible name in a suitable location.

The Network Image is saved in the specified location with a .dat file extension, and isdisplayed in the Attribute Explorer panel:

At this stage, the Network Image does not contain any data, so the next step is to load itup with data from existing streams or logfiles.

Page 119


Load data into a Network Image

There are several ways to load data into an existing Network Image. You can also load data into aNetwork Image that already contains data. Note that, for the resulting Network Image to containuseful data, all data loaded into the Network Image must use the same binning method and timeoffset. Data should be binned at a low resolution (for example, 200-meter location binning), andavoid message binning as performance will drop significantly.

To load data into a Network Image 1 If the required Network Image is not already shown in the Attribute Explorer, from the

Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate NetworkImage .dat file and click Open to display the Network Image in the Attribute Explorer.

31 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the Network Image and select the appropriatedata loading option.

2 Select the required data loading option, and choose which stream, folder or multiple logfilesto load.

When the data has been processed, you should see a message window showing theresults for each stream or logfile:

3 Click OK to close the message window.

Page 120


View data from a Network Image

Data in a Network Image is not as flexible as data in a normal Analyzer stream – for example, youcannot perform these actions on the Network Image data:

1. Apply filters

2. Create/edit/run new queries

3. Run custom attributes

4. Create superstreams You can use Maps, Charts, Tables and Workbooks to display Network Image data attributes.

To view data from a Network Image 1 If the required Network Image is not already shown in the Attribute Explorer, from the

Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate NetworkImage .dat file and click Open to display the Network Image in the Attribute Explorer.

32 From the Attribute Explorer, open up the structure underneath your attached NetworkImage.

2 Now view the batched Network Image data attributes in the same way as you would forstandard data attributes, using maps, charts and so on, by right-clicking on the attributesand selecting options from the pop-up menu.

Page 121


Integrate uplink and downlink data

The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol analyzer can be integrated with the drive-testdata. This lets you see how reverse link attributes behave at specific mobile locations.

In Actix Solutions, this technique of integrating data files is known as 'superstreaming'.

1 Ensure that you have loaded the two files that you want to synchronize into asuperstream.

33 From the View menu, select Superstream to open the Superstreaming dialog. This dialogshows all currently available data streams.

2 Change the superstream name from the default to something more meaningful.

3 Check the box of each data stream that you want to combine to form a superstream. Youcan also use the All or None buttons to change the box settings of every listed datastream.

4 Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show the Merge Method options.

5 To superstream data from the reverse link and the forward link, click the CorrelatedParameters option. This lets you select attributes from each stream that correspond to oneanother.

6 Highlight the uplink data stream and select an attribute using the attribute picker button onthe right.

7 Highlight the downlink data stream and select the same attribute.

8 Click OK.

The superstream is now generated and appears in the Attribute Explorer. You can view data fromthe superstream in any of the standard data display windows.

Page 122


Queries

Actix Solutions provide a querying interface that lets you construct simple or complex expressions.These expressions extract meaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or thevalue of other expressions.

As an example, you can create a query that returns statistics for a particular event—such as adropped call—for a given window in time around that event. This is useful when looking for datatrends.

Queries are created and edited from the Tools menu, Analysis Manager option. You can createthese query types:

• Filter queries

• Binned queries

• Histogram queries

• Statistical queries

• Crosstab queries

• Event queries

You can also:

• Perform logical and arithmetic operators

• Save queries to a default Workspace

• Apply filters to queries

See also Create a filterFilter the data

Page 123


Create a filter

This example query is the same as the existing High Mobile Transmit Power.

From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream andselect Filter, then Create a New Filter.

The Filter Wizard opens.

1 Enter 'High Mobile Transmit Power – test' as the name of the filter.

2 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select 'UMTS > DownLink Measurements> UE_TxPow'.

3 Set the filter operation to 'Greater than (>)'.

4 Set the threshold to '0'.

5 Click OK to close the Wizard.

Page 124


Filter the data

Several default filters are provided in UMTS to allow you to select the data that is displayed in theWorkspace.

Right-click on the stream name, then select Filter followed by the filter name to toggle the filter onor off:

Poor Mobile Receive Power CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] < -95 dBm

High Mobile Transmit Power UeTransmittedPower > 0 dBm

Low Mobile Transmit Power UeTransmittedPower < -30 dBm

High Mobile Receive Power CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] > -80 dBm

Poor Ec/No CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] < -15 dB

High Ec/No CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] > -8 dB

Page 125


Generate new reports

You may want to create high-level management reports based on your collected data. You canprint from map and chart windows, but the Workbook function (using Microsoft Excel™) allows youto collate these views and perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated,polished report.

This task assumes that there is an Excel template created from your Actix Solution that you canuse to generate a report. If you do not have a report template, see the online help for details ofhow to create one.

From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and selectan appropriate Microsoft Excel template.

1 Click Open.

2 Select the data source that you want to view in the workbook report.

3 Click OK to process and display the data in the workbook.

You can proceed to adapt the workbook, use other Excel tools on the data, and so on.

Page 126


Classic analysis of CDMA data

This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze CDMA log files. These tasks have beenchosen to demonstrate most of the basic features. Practising these will allow you to be productiveas soon as possible.

For an in-depth understanding of Actix Solutions, you should attend a full training / workshopsession, as these can be tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for thecompany as a whole.

Next: The interface for Actix Solutions

Page 127


The interface for Actix Solutions

After you have selected the Engineering Process to be Classic Analyzer, the application windowlooks like this:

The arrangement of loaded help files and data display windows is called the current workspace.

You can save and reuse workspaces as necessary.

You may find it useful to create one or more workspaces to act as templates for future worksessions. Save these to your desktop, so you can double-click them to start up with yourpreferred layouts.

Next: Import CDMA network information

Page 128


Configure CDMA network information

Import CDMA network informationSet a CDMA network information file

Page 129


Import CDMA network information

You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called ‘cellrefs’, although itcan be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, viewand edit the cellrefs file.

If you manually create a cellrefs file, you must have this as the first line: ;#NetworkData - datafile

If you import the file using Network Explorer, this line is added automatically.

To maximize the benefit for CDMA network analysis, the following parameters should be included indata imported into the tool.

Parameter Workspace Name Purpose

Site Name CDMA_Site SiteName Text description of the Site for display on map.

Site Number CDMA_Site SiteID Numeric identifier for the Site.

Latitude CDMA_Site SiteLatitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude CDMA_Site SiteLongitude Locates Site icons on map.

Sector Number CDMA_Cell Sector ID Can 1,2,3,etc, or a combination of sitenumbers

Sector-specific information useful for display on maps.

Azimuth CDMA_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the map.

Beamwidth CDMA_Cell Beamwith Governs the shape of the sector ‘wedge’ icon to reflectthe beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site.

Base Station Power CDMA_Cell EIRP Base station power, used in CDMA Toolkit calculations.

PN Offset CDMA_Cell PN Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations, lines to neighborcells and to color sector/site icons on maps to reflect PNplanning.

MCC CDMA_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code

SID CDMA_Cell SID System Identity

NID CDMA_Cell NID Network Identity

BID CDMA_Cell BID Broadcast Identity

Layer type Layer_type Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, bytechnology, band, or status) that the site belongs to.Used for multiple cell layers.

To import the network information 1 From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window.

8 From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template to open the Importdialog.

9 Select the appropriate network data file.

10 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard.

11 Give the Template a meaningful Description.

12 Under Delimiters, check Tab.

13 Under General Settings, enter ‘1111’ for Ignore header rows and ‘;;;;’ for Array (list)Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator,set these options accordingly.

14 Click on the Column Settings tab.

The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column ofdata in the text file.


Key fields Required fields Other fields

15 Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field.

Page 130


16 Select a column binding from the drop-down list. The Wizard then displays the selectedparameter against the appropriate column.

17 Select the appropriate column bindings for CDMA Site and Site Name. Repeat this for theSiteID, Latitude, and Longitude.

18 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under CDMA Cell. Use the Cell IDcolumn for the CDMA Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, PN, MCC, SID, NID, andBID. These parameters are described in the table at the top of this section.

19 Click Finish when all the columns have been assigned. The new cell information will beadded at the bottom of the existing list in the Network Explorer.

When the cellrefs file is updated, you should use the template you have created on the new file,so you do not have to repeat work you have already done, including the column-by-columnparameter assignment.

Next: Set a CDMA network information file

Page 131


Set a CDMA network information file

1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.

20 Click on File Location to select the text file containing network element data. This file mustbe in the Actix 'cellrefs' format. The information from this cellrefs file takes effect from thenext time a new workspace is created. Note that you can set up an automatic cellrefs importif your network data is liable to change frequently.


You will now see this message:

Next: Load CDMA data files

Page 132


Load CDMA data files

1 From the toolbar, click the Open Logfile button:

This displays the Open dialog.


Files of Type defaults to ‘All Formats’ but you can select a specific file type to look for. This alsoillustrates the many file formats available.

Next: Find and use CDMA data in the Attribute Explorer

Page 133


Find and use CDMA data in the Attribute Explorer


1 Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your datarelates to the structure shown above.

In the example below, the file ‘MyFile1’ contains a data stream called ‘Qualcomm MDM 1900’(the number is the data stream number within the file, starting from zero). The ‘CDMA’group contains the ‘Pilot Sets’ set, which contains the ‘SearcherMaxEnergy’ data attribute:

However, the only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streamsand data attributes.

The logical tree-view layout of the Attribute Explorer allows you to drill down and identify alllogged data. Once you have located the appropriate data attribute, you can open it in adata window—for example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheet—to examine the data indetail.

You can also use Find Attribute from the Tools menu to locate a particular attribute.

You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool.

You may also want additional information about a particular data attribute.

See here for more information on CDMA event detection.

23 Select 'ActiveDelay_Max1'.

24 From the Help menu, select Attribute Help to open the attribute help window.

Page 134


25 Click the button to dock the attribute help window and drag it to a useful position.

26 Select a new attribute. Note that the help now provides information on that attribute.

Next: Delete CDMA data files

Page 135


CDMA Event Detection

The CDMA event detection engine identifies key network events in CDMA IS-95, IS95-B and IS.2000networks by monitoring the air interface messaging. Using this messaging, the engine tracks thehandset ’s state as it moves between Idle, Origination, and Dedicated states.

Idle State – This is the state that the phone is in, before a call is originated or received. After acall is terminated through normal or abnormal means, it returns to the Idle State.

Origination State – This is the state that the phone is in after an Origination or PageResponse is sent on the access channel, but before the forward and reverse traffic channelsare active.

Dedicated State (Conversation) – This is the state that the phone is in, after transmissionhas started on both the forward and reverse traffic channels.

The start state is the default state for all phones until an air interface message is received.Based on this message, the phone is immediately transitioned to the appropriate state. Thisallows for log files where the phone is already in origination or conversation.

See also CDMA Event Technical Reference

Page 136


CDMA Event Technical Reference

Call Completed This attribute indicates successful outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:

Origination or Enhanced Origination message

Followed by a Service Connect or a Service Connect Completion message

Call Dropped This attribute indicates abnormal call terminations triggered by the following sequence of events:

Outgoing Call Setup OK or Incoming Call Setup OK (defined below)

Not followed by a Forward Release Order

Followed by a return to the Sync Channel

Call Setup Time Call Setup time provides the difference in time between the Service Connect Completion messageand the associated Origination, Enhanced Origination, or Page Response message.

CDMA Call Id Call ID provides an integer identifier for each call in a log file.

CDMA Call Type CDMA Call Type provides a description for each call in a log file:

0 Outgoing Call Successfully Terminated

1 Incoming Call Successfully Terminated

2 Outgoing Call Failed Initiation

3 Incoming Call Failed Initiation

4 Outgoing Call Dropped

5 Incoming Call Dropped

CDMA to AMPS Handoff Fail This attribute indicates failed handoff attempts for mobiles handing off from a CDMA system to anAMPS system. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages:

Analog Handoff Direction message

Not followed by an Extended Handoff Completion message

Followed by another Analog Handoff Direction message

CDMA to AMPS Handoff OK This attribute indicates successful handoff attempts for mobiles handing off from a CDMA system toan AMPS system. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages:

Analog Handoff Direction message

Followed by an Extended Handoff Completion

Handoff Interval Handoff Interval provides the difference in time between the sequential Handoff events.

Handoff OK This attribute indicates handoff events for mobiles handing off within the same carrier of a CDMAsystem. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages:

Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Directionmessages

Followed by a Handoff Completion or Extended Handoff Completion messages

Handoff Time Handoff Time provides the difference in time between the Handoff Completion, or Extended

Page 137


Handoff Completion messages and the associated Extended Handoff Direction, Universal HandoffDirection, or General Handoff Direction messages.

Hard Handoff OK This attribute indicates successful hard handoff attempts for mobiles handing off between carriersor CDMA systems. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages:

Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Directionmessages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True

Followed by a Handoff Completion or Extended Handoff Completion message in response tothe previously identified Direction message

Hard Handoff Retry This attribute indicates a retransmission of a hard handoff command for mobiles handing offbetween carriers or CDMA systems. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:

Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Directionmessages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True

Followed by another Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or GeneralHandoff Direction messages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True without receiving a HandoffCompletion or Extended Handoff Completion message

Incoming Call Fail This attribute indicates failed incoming call attempts triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:

Page Response message

Not followed by a Service Connect Completion

Followed by another Page Response message or a transition back to Idle mode

Incoming Call OK This attribute indicates successful incoming call initiations triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:

Page Response message

Followed by a either a Service Connect or Service Connect Completion message

Outgoing Call Fail This attribute indicates failed outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:


Not followed by a Service Connect Completion message

Followed by an Origination message or a transition back to idle mode

Outgoing Call OK This attribute indicates successful outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence ofmessages:


Followed by a Service Connect or a Service Connect Completion message

When determining hand-off events, the HDM_SEQ and LAST_HDM_SEQ counters are used toensure that the correct events are identified.

Page 138


Delete CDMA data files




Next: View summary data using tables

Page 139


View CDMA summary data

Table viewThe Message Browser

Page 140


Table view


• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data attribute ‘DownLink Measurements >EcIo_1stBest’ and select Display on Table.

This opens the Table window:


Next: The Message Browser

Page 141


The Message Browser

The Message Browser differs from the previous data windows in that it only appears as a pop-upmenu option at the data stream level in the Attribute Explorer.

• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Display MessageBrowser.


Next: View CDMA data

Page 142


View CDMA data

From the Attribute Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menuof options.

• Right-click on a data attribute.

A pop-up menu opens, similar to this:

Selecting one of the display methods opens the appropriate data window.

Next: View CDMA data in the Map window

Page 143


View CDMA data in the Map window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘EcIo_1stBest’ in a map window.




31 In the Attribute Explorer, open up the ‘Event Data’ set and drag the ‘CallDropped’ eventonto the map, which should look similar to this:



You can also change the size, symbol or color of the data, apply offsets to an attribute ormerge attributes for a multidimensional display. See the online help for further details.


33 Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute data

Page 144


on the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data.

To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, seethe section Configure Maps.

Next: Replay the CDMA data

Page 145


Replay the CDMA data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file frombeginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control on the main toolbar:

Next: View CDMA data in StateForms

Page 146


View CDMA data in StateForms

While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point byusing the StateForms tool.

1 From the Attribute Explorer window, right-click on the stream name and select Display Form, then the name of the form.

34 In the map window, click Select and select a data point.

The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected. Here is an example Navigator-type StateForm:

You can synchronize all views in other open data windows by clicking on the timeline inNavigator-type StateForms like this.

Other StateForms provide information for the currently selected point in the drive test:

Page 147


35 If you have scanner data in your logfile, start another StateForm window.

36 Right-click on the form and select Open File, then select a form (.axw) file for a scanner.

37 Right-click on the form and select Stream Selector, then the scanner stream.

Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for CDMA and othertechnologies. See Create a new StateForm for details.

Next: Print the CDMA data

Page 148


Print the CDMA data

1 From the map window, click Print to open the Map Layout Designer, which starts with thePage Setup dialog open.

38 Set the paper size, orientation and margins, and specify the header and footer for thepage. Click OK to continue.

You can now see the Map Layout Designer window.

39 Click on the map, legend, headers or footers to edit, move or resize them as necessary.

40 To check on what the map will look like when printed, click Print Preview.

41 When satisfied with the layout, click Print to open the standard Windows Print dialog.

Next: View CDMA data in the Chart window

Page 149


View CDMA data in the Chart window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘EcIo_1stBest’ in a chart window.


42 Select and drag the data attribute ‘ForwardFER’ from the Attribute Explorer window ontothe existing chart.



Page 150




45 Now return the chart its original state by dragging a box, but this time up and to the right.

46 Use the right mouse button to drag the axes around the chart window.

Although you can drag the Y-axis for all attributes on the chart, you can only change theX-axis for the last attribute to be displayed on the chart.

Also, you will see that a pop-up menu appears when you release the right mouse button.You would usually activate this menu by a single right-click.

47 Select Chart Properties to display this dialog:

Page 151


48 Experiment with changing various display parameters and observe the effect on the chart.

Next: View synchronized CDMA data

Page 152


View synchronized CDMA data


You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the ‘EcIo_1stBest’ dataattribute.




You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, witha line appearing at the equivalent ‘EcIo_1stBest’ point on the chart:

Next: Generate CDMA reports

Page 153


Generate CDMA reports


1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Exceltemplate.

50 Click Open.



Page 154



Next: Configure Maps: Map backgrounds and layers

Page 155


Configure Maps

Map backgrounds and layersShow lines to cells on a mapChange the size of CDMA cell site sectors

Page 156


Map backgrounds and layers

In the earlier example that looked at displaying data in a map window, there was no backgroundmap image to put the data into context. This section shows you how to add a background andarrange the layers within a map window.

1 Display a data attribute in a map window.

53 Click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.

Making a checkmark in a layer’s box controls:



if the layer can be annotated (unchecking this ‘locks’ the Annotations layer from havingany further annotations added)

54 In the Layers box, click Add.

55 Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files (see MapInfo layers).

56 Click Open to display the selected file(s) in the Layer Control dialog.

The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window.

57 Click Up and Down to move 'example' to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top.

58 Click Close to return to the map view.

In a new installation, the map location defaults to 0° longitude, 0° latitude, so you willneed to arrange the map view to display the new map.

59 Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map area, then choosing Zoom, Go toLayer and selecting the new map layer.

60 Use the Zoom and Pan controls to arrange the map as required. To zoom in to an area,click Zoom In, then click and drag a rectangle around the area of interest.

For some detailed layers—like the Street layers—you can control at what degree ofmagnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter.

61 Right-click on the map window and select Map Layers to display the Layer Control dialog.

62 Select the S1 (street names) layer.

63 Click Display to open the Display Properties dialog.

64 Check Display within Zoom range and enter '0' for Min Zoom and '10' for Max Zoom.

65 Now do the same for the street numbers layer, but set the visible range to 0-3.

Page 157


Next: Show lines to cells on a map

Page 158


MapInfo layers

MapInfo layers are named according to the geographic location of the data (for example, theabbreviated US state name and/or county name), and by the type of data contained in the file.Here are some of the common abbreviations used for MapInfo data types:

Suffix Layer Type

Y1 RtHwy010_Top

Y2 RtHwy010_Bot

X1 IntShld010

X2 IntShld1040

Pc Cultural Points

Pn Natural Points

Pm Municipal Points

R Railroads

H Highways

S Streets

Wr Water (rivers)

Wb Water (bodies of water)

Lm Landmarks

Cb City Boundary

Mc Minor Civic Division

Cy County

Other MapInfo layers: Voting District, Native AmericanLands, Sub-MCD, State level tables (school districts andelevation contours).

For example, the MapInfo layer named GAFULTS.TAB contains street-level data for Fulton County,Georgia.

Page 159



1 From the map window, click on Layers to open the Layer Control dialog, which should looksimilar to this:



68 Set the Lines draw mode to ‘Selection’ and Color lines with to ‘PN_1stBestEcIo’, checkthat the Disable box is empty and click OK, and Yes.



A solid line is drawn to the primary sector, with dotted lines drawn to the other activesectors.

Page 160


If 'All datapoints' was selected in the Lines Configuration dialog, you would not need toselect a data point—all data points would have a line to their primary sectors. This can beuseful in some situations.

Next: Change the size of CDMA cell site sectors

Page 161


Change the size of CDMA cell site sectors



71 Set the Series to be CDMA_Cell.

72 Set the Cell Size to an attribute shared by all related cell sites, such as Layer_type(recommended if available from your cellrefs file) or MCC, and click OK.


74 Right-click on this item and choose Selected range's style to open the Style chooserdialog.



Page 162


CDMA pre-configured reports

With each solution are a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type ofnetwork analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience.

The application layers are listed under the Analysis menu–which ones actually appear depend onthe type of data file loaded. Note that if you do not have a loaded data file, the Analysis menuoption will be grayed-out.

A description of the reports contained within each application layer is provided after the nextsection.

To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set.

76 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer (in this example, 'CDMA Distant ServerAnalysis').

Once you select an application layer, this window opens:

The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure against various statisticsproduced by the application layer.

77 Use the top pane as necessary to narrow down the data in your selection.

All reports appropriate to your selection are displayed under the Suggested tab. If you wantto use another report, look under the All tab to view all reports available within the currentapplication layer.

78 Double-click on a report icon to open the report window. This will report on all dataselected in the upper tree-view panel.


Reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for anew analysis, you need to re-run these Custom Attributes directly from the Custom AttributeManager:

• Distance_Input

• EcIo_Threshold_Input

You can now re-run the application layer.

CDMA Drive Test application layers

Page 163


Next: CDMA StateTip

Page 164


CDMA Drive Test application layers

CDMA Summary ReportsCDMA Cluster OptimizationCDMA Distant Server AnalysisCDMA Event Inspection

Page 165


CDMA Summary Reports

These reports are for cdmaOne technology.

Call Statistics SummaryA summary of major call events and cdmaOne performance statistics.

FER and EcIoForward FER and Combined_EcIo statistics.

Handoff StateA breakdown of cdmaOne Handoff State.

Mtx and MrxMobile Transmit and Mobile Receive Power performance statistics.

Handset Distant Server AnalysisPrompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculatethe number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key performance metrics by CDMAcarrier frequency, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance.

Page 166


CDMA Cluster Optimization

Summary ReportDesigned for Forward and Reverse Link data for cdmaOne systems.

Cluster Optimization Measurement ChartsForward and Reverse FER PDF & CDFs, EcIo_Combined statistics.

Page 167


CDMA Distant Server Analysis

CDMA Scanners Distant Server DelaysPrompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculatethe number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key delay metrics obtained from aPN scanner, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance.

CDMA Scanners Distant Server EcIoPrompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculatethe number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key EcIo metrics obtained from aPN scanner, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance.

Page 168


CDMA Event Inspection

Call Dropped Window StatsFor every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before thedrop.

Setup Failure Window StatsFor every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before thedrop.

Page 169


CDMA StateTip

The CDMA StateTip utility provides a synchronized view of Handset and PN Scanner data, allowingfor a detailed evaluation of neighbor list and pilot pollution problems.

By displaying the state of many different engineering parameters at a given trouble spot, you canbest judge how to make changes to correct the problem.

The StateTip provides a simple but powerful window (shown on the right of the window in theabove example) that is fully configurable and synchronizes with all other active windows.

Next: CDMA Toolkit

Page 170


CDMA Toolkit

Once you are familiar with the basic techniquesof ad-hoc data analysis, you may like to use theCDMA Toolkit utility. CDMA Toolkit automateskey CDMA optimization tasks, and appearswithin the interface as a task bar to the right ofthe Attribute Explorer.

The Toolkit uses a task-based layout to let youperform these analyses:

• Search Window analysis

• Neighbor List analysis

• Optimize coverage areas

• Analyze multi-carrier statistics

Every analysis contains several web-based reports, each of which can be saved and printed out formanagement use.

Next: Integrate reverse and forward link data

Page 171


Integrate reverse and forward link data

The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol analyser can be integrated with the drive-testdata. This lets you see how parameters such as EcIo behave at specific mobile locations.

In Actix Solutions, this technique of integrating data files is known as ‘superstreaming’.







85 Highlight the uplink data stream.

86 From the attribute picker button on the right, select ‘Cell_PN_Primary’.

87 Highlight the downlink data stream.

88 From the attribute picker, select ‘PN_Primary’.

89 Click OK.


Next: Aggregate CDMA data

Page 172


Aggregate CDMA data

Actix' adaptable data structure lets you select different aggregation modes for the data, dependingupon how you want to view the data. These aggregation modes are supported:

• Location/grid

• Time

• Message

• Distance

To change the aggregation mode—also known as the ‘binning’ mode:


90 Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.

91 Click Apply.

Next: Use Queries

Page 173


Use Queries

The querying interface assists you in constructing simple or complex expressions. Theseexpressions extract meaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or the valueof other expressions.



• Filter queries

• Binned queries




• Event queries

You can also:




Next: Create a filter

Page 174


Create a filter

This example query is designed to filter poor quality in CDMA data.

1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create aNew Filter.


92 Enter ‘Poor Quality’ as the name of the filter.

93 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select ‘CDMA > DownLinkMeasurements > ForwardFER’.

94 Set the filter operation to ‘Greater than (>)’.

95 Set the threshold to ‘5’.


If you already have a filter applied to the stream, you will see this dialog:

Page 175


97 Click Yes.

Any other data display windows update to show the areas with poor quality.

You can turn off this and any other filters from the Attribute Explorer, just by clicking onthem.

Back to: Ad hoc or 'free' data analysis

Page 176


Classic analysis of GSM data

This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze GSM log files. These tasks have beenchosen to demonstrate most of the basic ad-hoc analysis features. Practising these will allow youto be productive with your Actix Solution as soon as possible.

For an in-depth understanding, you should attend a full training / workshop session, as these canbe tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for the company as a whole.


Page 177





Next: Import GSM network information

Page 178


Configure GSM network information

Import GSM network informationSet a GSM network information file

Page 179


Import GSM network information

You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called 'cellrefs', although itcan be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, viewand edit the cellrefs file.

To maximize the benefit brought to GSM network analysis, the following parameters should beincluded in data imported into the tool.


Site Name GSM_Site_SiteName Text description of the Site for display on map.

Site Number GSM_Site ID Numeric identifier for the Site. Used as the linkingcolumn to associate the GSM_Site and GSM_Cellrows.

Latitude GSM_Site Latitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude GSM_Site Longitude Locates Site icons on map.

Sector Number GSM_Cell Sector ID Can be1,2,3, etc, or a combination ofsite numbers

Sector-specific ID information useful for display onmaps.

Azimuth GSM_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the map.

Beamwidth GSM_Cell Beamwith Governs the radius of the sector 'wedge' icon toreflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at thesector.

Base Station Power GSM_Cell EIRP Base station power

BCCH GSM_Cell BCCH Broadcast control channel.

MNC GSM_Cell MNC Mobile Network Code

MCC GSM_Cell MCC Mobile Colour Code

LAC GSM_Cell LAC Location Area Code

CI GSM_Cell CI Cell ID value

BSIC GSM_Cell BSIC Base Station Identity Code, comprising of aconcatenation of the NCC and BCC values.


To import GSM network information 1 From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window.






103 Under General Settings, enter '1111' for Ignore header rows and ';;;;' for Array (list)Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator,set these options accordingly.






Page 180


106 Select a column binding from the drop down list. The Wizard then displays the selectedparameter against the appropriate column.

107 Select the appropriate column binding for Site Name from inside the GSM Site group.Repeat this for the SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude.

108 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under GSM Cell group. Use theCell ID column for the GSM Sector ID, and repeat for the Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, BCCH,MNC, MCC, LAC, CI, and BSIC columns. A description of each of these parameters and theiruse appears in the table at the top of this section.


When the cellrefs file is updated, you should use the template you have created on the new fileso that you do not have to repeat work you have already done, including the column-by-columnparameter assignment.

Next: Set a GSM network information file

Page 181


Set a GSM network information file





You may now want to close and restart for the change to take effect.

Next: Load GSM data files

Page 182


Load GSM data files





Next: Find and use GSM data in the Attribute Explorer

Page 183


Find and use GSM data in the Attribute Explorer


1 Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile.

See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file ‘edgec1’ contains a data stream called ‘Tems’ (the number is the data stream number withinthe file, starting from zero). The ‘GSM’ group contains the ‘UpLink Measurements’ set, whichcontains the ‘ULDTXUsed’ data attribute:






113 Select 'ServRxLevFull'.

114 From the Help menu, select Attribute Help to open the attribute help window.


Page 184



Next: Delete GSM data files

Page 185


Delete GSM data files




Next: View summary data: using tables

Page 186


View GSM summary data


Page 187


Table view


• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data attribute ‘DownLink Measurements >ServRxLevIdle’ and select Display on Table.




Page 188


The Message Browser


• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data stream and select Display MessageBrowser.


Next: View GSM data

Page 189


View GSM data





Next: Viewing GSM data in the Map window

Page 190


Viewing GSM data in the Map window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘ServRxLevFull’ in a map window.




121 In the Attribute Explorer, open up the ‘Event Data’ set and drag the ‘EventCallCompleted’event onto the map, which should look similar to this:


Page 191



You can also change the size, symbol or color of the data, apply offsets to an attribute ormerge attributes for a multidimensional display. See the online help for details.


123 Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute dataon the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data.


Next: Replay the GSM data

Page 192


Replay the GSM data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file frombeginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control on the main toolbar.

Next: View GSM data in StateForms

Page 193


View GSM data in StateForms




The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected, looking similar to this:

Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for GSM andother technologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm.

Next:Print the GSM data

Page 194


Print the GSM data







Next: View GSM data in the Chart window

Page 195


View GSM data in the Chart window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘ServRxLevFull’ in a chart window.


129 Select and drag the data attribute ‘ServRxQualFull’ from the Attribute Explorer window ontothe existing chart.




Page 196









Next: View synchronized GSM data

Page 197


View synchronized GSM data


You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the ServRxLevFull data attribute.




You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, witha line appearing at the equivalent ‘ServRxLevFull’ point on the chart:

Next: Generate GSM reports

Page 198


Generate GSM reports

You may want to create high-level management reports based on your collected data. You canprint from map and chart windows, but the Workbook function allows you to collate these viewsand perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated, polished report.

1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate MicrosoftExcel template.

137 Click Open.




Next: Configure Maps: map backgrounds and layers

Page 199


Configure Maps

Map backgrounds and layersShow lines to cells on a mapChange the size of GSM cell site sectors

Page 200





140 From the map window, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.






142 Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) file (see MapInfo layers).

143 Click Open to display the new map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.

Page 201



144 Click Up and Down to move 'example' to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top.





For some detailed layers, you can control at what degree of magnification they becomevisible. This helps to minimize map clutter.


149 Select a detailed layer—for example, street names.




Page 202






154 Set the Lines draw mode to ‘Selection’ and Color lines with to ‘ServBCCH’, check that theDisable box is empty, and click OK, and Yes.




Page 203


If 'All datapoints' was selected in the Lines Configuration dialog, you would not need toselect a data point – all data points would have a line to their serving cells.

Next: Change the size of GSM cell site sectors

Page 204


Change the size of GSM cell site sectors



157 Set the Series to be GSM_Cell.






Page 205


GSM Application Layers

Each Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particulartype of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience.


The following application layers are available:

GSM DT Design Validation and Quick AnalysisGSM DT Handover Settings & Power Control Analysis

To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set.

162 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer (in this example, 'DT Design Validationand Quick Analysis').

Once you select an application layer, this window opens:




164 Double-click on a report icon to open the report window:

Page 206


This will report on all data selected in the upper tree-view panel.


Next: Integrate uplink and downlink data

Page 207


GSM DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis

This analysis contains the following reports:

Call DetailsCounts of CC, RR & MM messages, with a summary showing call and handover success rates.

Design ValidationBreakdown of good/bad design, and a chart of poor design by class of poor design.

Measurement ChartsGraphs showing distribution of RxLevSub, RxQualSub and TA.

Neighbour Level - Single BandShows percentage of samples where at least one neighbour is stronger than the serving cell, andneighbours within 5 dBm from the server for PDF and CDF, in table and graph form.

Neighbour Level - Double BandShows percentage band usage, intra/inter band handover and neighbours within 5dB from theserver for PDF and CDF, in table and graph form.

Page 208


GSM DT Handover Settings & Power Control Analysis

This analysis contains the following reports:

Handover QualityGraph of quality measurements for the whole file, and for the five seconds before and the fiveseconds after each handover.

Handover LevelGraph of change in downlink received level due to handover, measured in the five-second windowsbefore and after each handover.

Handover IntervalGraph shows the time interval between handovers.

Handover ClassificationShows percentage breakdown between good/poor design, and poor design by class.

Power DistributionHistogram of power in dBm by number of occurrences, also showing the mean dBm.

Power Step DistributionHistogram of power step changes in dB.

Power Step IntervalHistogram of the time interval (in seconds) between power step changes.

Page 209



The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol can be integrated with the drive-test data. Thislets you see how parameters such as ULRxQual behave at specific mobile locations.









172 From the attribute picker button on the right, select ‘ServRxLevFull’.


174 From the attribute picker, select ‘ServRxLevFull’.

175 Click OK.


Next: Aggregate GSM data

Page 210


Aggregate GSM data

Actix A Solutions have an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modesfor the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These aggregation modes aresupported:

• Location/grid

• Time

• Message

• Distance

To change the aggregation mode—also known as the ‘binning’ mode:


176 Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.

177 Click Apply.

Next: Use Queries

Page 211


Use Queries

The querying interface lets you construct simple or complex expressions. These expressions extractmeaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or the value of other expressions.



• Filter queries

• Binned queries




• Event queries

You can also:





Page 212


Create a filter

This query is designed to filter poor quality in GSM data.




179 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select ‘GSM > DownLink Measurements> ServRxQual’.

180 Set the filter operation to ‘Greater than or equal to (>=)’.




183 Click Yes.



Back to: Analyzer Classic data analysis

Page 213


Classic A and Abis analysis

There are three main ways you can do PCM Link data analysis:

• Using Actix Scenarios

• Using user-defined analyses

• Developing user-defined analyses

Next: Choose A or Abis Scenarios

Page 214


Using Actix PCM Link Scenarios

This is the standard method for PCM Link analysis, and follows this general pattern:

1 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet.

184 Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios.

185 Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Minimal Load'.

This avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time.

186 Load the logfile to be examined.

187 Select an application layer.

188 Narrow the data selection.

189 Display the results in a report.

190 Use ad-hoc tools to identify problem areas in the logfile.

These tools, such as maps, charts, tables, the Message Browser (and so on) are describedin GSM analysis.

See also Choose A or Abis ScenariosChoose Gb ScenariosAbout Load Time, Full Load and Minimal Load

Page 215


Using user-defined analyses

These are non-standard analysis methods produced by advanced users for co-workers.

1 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet.

191 Set or import the appropriate Load Time Queries from the Analysis Manager.

192 Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Minimal Load'.

This avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time.

193 Load the logfile to be examined.

194 Use custom reports to analyze data.

See also Set as Load Time queryImport a queryAbout Load Time, Full Load and Minimal Load

Page 216


Developing user-defined analyses

This is for advanced users who want to expand on the reports and queries provided as standardwith , using their own expert knowledge of the technology and their network.

1 Start your Actix Solution.

195 Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Full Load'.

196 Load a small example logfile.

197 Write Load Time Queries and Reports as required.

Crosstab and Event queries can be used with PCM Link data to create suitable callanalyses (that is, queries that can be used with the Statistics Explorer).

198 Set Load Mode back to 'Minimal Load' before attempting to examine any new logfiles.

See also About Load Time, Full Load and Minimal Load

Page 217


Choose A or Abis Scenarios

Scenarios are collections of analyses that can be performed on any PCM Link data as it is loaded.You select the Scenarios you need, depending on the tasks you want to perform. However, themore Scenarios that are selected, the longer the data takes to load, so only the basic analysis setsare selected by default.

Note that you must have at least one A or Abis (as appropriate) Scenario selected for A and Abisanalysis features to work correctly.

For more information on Scenarios, see About Load Time, Full Load and Minimal Load.

To choose a Scenario 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.

199 Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.

Next: The Statistics Explorer

Page 218


The Statistics Explorer

The Statistics Explorer is a powerful data-manipulation tool that lets you rapidly pinpoint problemsby displaying statistical data from Crosstab and Event queries. For other features of the StatisticsExplorer, see the Statistics Explorer help.

To use the Statistics Explorer 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.

200 Select 'Abis Call Analysis'.

201 Open the Abis file.

202 From the View menu, select Statistics Explorer.

203 From the Queries pane on the left of the Statistics Explorer, select Analyze ConnectionErrors or Analyze Handover Failures. Note that queries beginning with 'Analyze' can beused for call analysis.

The processed data is now displayed in the Statistics Explorer.

Next: Abis Call Analysis

Page 219


Abis Call Analysis

Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the Statistics Explorer, you can create a callanalysis stream of selected data to view from the Attribute Explorer.

1 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data.

204 Click Analyze.

The stream of the selected data appears in the Attribute Explorer:

The data in this new stream can now be analyzed using maps, charts, tables etc.

Next: Filter the Attribute Explorer

Page 220


Filter the Attribute Explorer

Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the Statistics Explorer, you can reduce thequantity of data displayed in the Attribute Explorer.

1 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data.

205 Click Filter.

The Attribute Explorer now only shows data relating to the row selected in the StatisticsExplorer.

206 When you have finished examining the filtered data, click Filter again to switch off thefiltering.

Next: Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data

Page 221


Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data

PCM data—for example from A, Abis or Gb logfiles—can be combined with drive test data collectedat the same time. This means that the GPS coordinates in the drive test data can be matched tothe uplink information, so the uplink information (or the difference between uplink and downlinkinformation) can then be plotted on a map.

To Superstream the data 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.

207 Select 'Abis Call Analysis'.

208 Open the PC Link file and the drive test file to be superstreamed.

209 From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT to open the PCM-Link/Drive TestSuperstreaming dialog.

210 Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s) and PCM-Link stream(s).

211 Select the appropriate Search Method settings for synchronizing the data streams.

212 Click OK to begin the superstreaming process.

When the process is complete, the superstream is displayed in the Attribute Explorer, andthe normal data displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be used to examinethe data.

Next: GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports

Page 222


GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports

See the section GSM Application Layers for information on how to use application layers.

A data file must be loaded and a valid CellRefs file must have been set.

You must also select a Scenario for the related application layer option to be displayed under Tools | Analysis, as not all A and Abis Scenarios are checked by default.

GSM A application layersGSM Abis application layers

Back to: Analyzer Classic data analysis

Page 223


GSM A application layers

Because an A interface log file carries data for an entire BSC, it is useful for certain statisticalanalysis. It provides a broader scope than Drive Test or Abis data, with more detail than can befound in the OMC.

A General AnalysisA Handover AnalysisA Subscriber Analysis

Page 224


A General Analysis

By default, this is loaded when you open an A interface logfile. Launched from the Analysis menu,this contains a variety of statistical reports that evaluate how the network is being used.

Each report can be run against the entire file, a single cell or a selection of cells.

Location UpdateCount, percentage and breakdown of Location Update messages, types and reject causes.

Clear CauseCause Code count and percentage for Clear Command messages.

Services RequestedCount, percentage and breakdown.

Channel AssignmentAssignment message count and percentage, Assignment Failure breakdown.

Channel Assignment by CellAssignment message count and percentage for each cell.

Connection AnalysisCount and percentage of SCCP Connection messages. Breakdowns of SCCP Services Requestedand CSSP Connection Refused Causes.

Connection Analysis by CellConnection statistics for each cell.

Page 225


A Handover Analysis

This provides statistical analysis of both Intra- and Inter-BSC handovers. It is useful for identifyinghandover problems as well as analysis of LAC boundaries.

Handover CauseHO Performed and HO Required-Attempt cause counts, percentages and graph.

Handover Reject and Fail CauseCounts, percentages and graph for HO Request Reject and Failure.

BSS Handover Cause by CellIntra-BSC handover statistics for each cell.

SSS Handover Cause by CellInter-BSC handover statistics for each cell.

Handover Messages by CellInter-BSC outgoing and incoming statistics for each cell.

BSS Handover MatrixIntra-BSC Handovers by Source and Target.

SSS Handover MatrixInter-BSC Handovers by Source and Target.

Page 226


A Subscriber Analysis

Subscriber Analysis takes advantage of useful information encoded in the IMSI and EIMI code. Actixautomatically extracts this and creates new attributes in the Attribute Explorer tree when the file isopened with Full Load. For example, from the IMEI handset, details such as the TAC (Type ApprovalCode) can be obtained. The IMSI contains the subscriber's MCC and NCC (Country and Networkcodes).

For maximum performance, log files can be opened in Minimum Load with specific queries enabledto collect this information. Before loading the log file, select Tools, Choose Scenario and selectSubscriber Analysis. This enables queries and reports in Subscriber Analysis.

Handset TypesBreakdown of mobile handsets based on Type Approval Code.

Channel TypeSpeech and Data channel type counts and percentages.

ClassmarkClassmark count, phase and graph.

Roaming by CountryLists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers from each country in a table and graph.

Roaming by NetworkLists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers from each network in a table and graph.

Page 227


GSM Abis application layers

The Abis Interface is a good place to collect high-resolution data as perceived by real customers.Compared to Drive Test, one advantage is that it captures uplink measurements as well asdownlink. It is better for statistical analysis because it measures the network as experienced byactual customers, rather than by a single drive test route. The main disadvantage is the absenceof GPS location information.

Abis Quick AnalysisAbis Balance and SensitivityAbis Network DesignAbis Traffic Handovers and Failures

Page 228


Abis Quick Analysis

By default, this is enabled when you load an Abis log file. It contains a selection of the mostcommonly used reports.

Traffic StatisticsSetup, TCH and SDCCH statistics by TRX.

Quality DistributionCounts of uplink and downlink quality, and graphs of downlink quality vs downlink level and uplinkquality vs uplink level.

Timing Advance and InterferenceInterference vs timing advance followed by interference definition chart.

Handover StatisticsStatistics by TRX for incoming, outgoing and intra-cell handovers and directed retries.

Connection FailureStatistics for TCH and SDCCH, and cause breakdown.

Link Balance DistributionGraph showing corrected downlink level – corrected uplink level.

Page 229


Abis Balance and Sensitivity

A selection of reports for the analysis of Link and Path Balance.

System SensitivityMean uplink and downlink quality and number of valid points for a range of levels. In a lowinterference situation this indicates sensitivity of BTS equipment.

Link Balance DistributionGraph showing corrected downlink level – corrected uplink level.

Link Balance by TimeslotGraphs showing mean link balance by TRX and by timeslot.

Link Balance UL vs DLA bubble chart with downlink balance on the x axis and uplink balance on the y axis. Ideally mostmeasurements will form a 45-degree line.

Link Balance by DL LevelThis report shows mean link balance vs. downlink level. This can help identify balance problems.The number of measurements is also given to indicate the validity of each sample.

Page 230


Abis Network Design

This is useful for network design validation and troubleshooting quality and interference problems.It contains a number of reports to help pinpoint the severity and location of poor qualitymeasurements.

Quality DistributionBasic histogram showing distribution of uplink and downlink quality measurements, as well asuplink and downlink bubble charts. These indicate the number of samples based on bubble size,with level on the x axis and quality on the y axis.

Poor Quality ContributorsUplink and downlink bubble charts to help identify the location of quality problems. The bubble sizeindicates the number of measurements, with level on the x axis, timing advance on the y axis, andquality range indicated by the bubble color.

Level and InterferenceInterference vs downlink Rx level followed by interference definition chart. Interference calculationis based on a combination of level and quality measurements.

Timing Advance and InterferenceInterference vs timing advance followed by interference definition chart. Interference calculation isbased on a combination of level and quality measurements.

Page 231


Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures

This contains statistical information to analyse traffic volume and the cause of failures, as well ashandovers and handover failures.

Traffic StatisticsSetup, TCH and SDCCH statistics by TRX.

Channel ConfigurationBreakdown by cell and TRX.

Handover StatisticsStatistics by TRX for incoming, outgoing and intra-cell handovers and directed retries.

Handover Fail CauseCount and breakdown of handover fail causes.

Handovers by TargetStats and graph of handovers by BSIC-BCCH.

Connection FailureStatistics for TCH and SDCCH, and cause breakdown.

Error Indication CauseCause breakdown for TCH and SDCCH.

Handset PerformanceBreakdown of mobile handset performance statistics based on Type Approval Code.

Page 232


Classic analysis of GPRS data

There are three main ways you can do Gb Link data analysis:

• Using Actix Scenarios

• Using user-defined analyses

• Developing user-defined analyses

For more information on GPRS analysis, see GPRS analysis engineering notes.

Next: Choose Gb Scenarios

Page 233


Choose Gb Scenarios

Scenarios are collections of analyses that can be performed on any PCM Link data as it is loaded.You select the Scenarios you need, depending on the tasks you want to perform. However, themore Scenarios that are selected, the longer the data takes to load, so only the basic analysis setsare selected by default.

Note that you must have at least one Gb Scenario selected for Gb analysis features to workcorrectly.

For more information on Scenarios, see Load Time Queries in each Scenario.

To choose a Scenario 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open this dialog:

213 Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.

Next: Gb pre-configured reports

Page 234


Gb pre-configured reports

See the section GSM Application Layers for information on how to use application layers.

A data file must be loaded and a valid CellRefs file must have been set.

You must also select a Scenario for the related application layer option to be displayed under Tools | Analysis, as not all Scenarios are checked by default.

GPRS Gb application layers

Back to: Examine Gb Load Time Queries

Page 235


GPRS Gb application layers

GPRS Gb Signaling AnalysisGPRS Gb Throughput Analysis

Note that the following Scenarios do not correspond to an application layer, although eachcontain one Load Time Query:

Gb TCP Session AnalysisGb TLLI AnalysisGb Throughput AnalysisMS TLLI Analysis

Each Load Time Query can be examined using the Statistics Explorer. For more information see Load Time Queries in each Scenario.

Page 236


GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis

Msg BreakdownCan be used as a high-level overview of the messaging used at each protocol layer of the Gbinterface.

MM AttachAttach count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value, attach type and attach result.

MM DetachMOD and MTD detach count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value and detach type.

MM RA UpdateRAU count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value, update type and update result.

MM Error ConditionsBreaks down the GMM cause values reported in the GMM status messages.

SM Error ConditionsSM cause value breakdowns for uplink and downlink.

SM PDP ContextCount, percentage, and cause value breakdowns for MS-initiated and network-initiated activations.

SM PDP Context DeactivationCount, percentage, and cause value breakdowns for MS-initiated and network-initiateddeactivations.

Flow Control StatisticsBVC and MS Flow Control Statistics including bucket size and leak rates.

Discarded LLC-PDU StatisticsShows average LLC frames discarded and Octets deleted.

Cell Update TableShows the GPRS cell update occurrences using the Cell Identity in the uplink messages of theBSSGP protocol layer.

Flush StatisticsShows Flush Action and average number of Octets affected.

Page 237


GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis

TCP Traffic Type AnalysisUsing the Source and Destination ports from the TCP header, the traffic type for the data packetscan be analyzed.

UDP Traffic Type AnalysisAs above but uses the Source and Destination ports from the UDP header.

Page 238


Examine Gb Load Time Queries

If you have selected one or more Scenarios, the related Load Time Queries are displayed in the Attribute Explorer.

To display a Load Time Query in the Statistics Explorer 1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the appropriate Load Time Query to open the

pop-up menu.

214 Select Display the Statistics Explorer.

The Statistics Explorer opens with the Load Time Query selected. All other queries are alsodisplayed in the Queries panel, and may be selected as required.

Next: Load Time Queries in each Scenario

Page 239


Load Time Queries in each Scenario

Gb Signaling Analysis This Scenario's Load Time Queries are those used in the application layer of the same name.

Gb Throughput Analysis The 'Traffic Type' Load Time Queries are those used in the Gb Throughput Analysis applicationlayer, but there are also eight other Load Time Queries containing useful information that can bedisplayed in the Statistics Explorer.

These Scenarios each contain one query:

Gb TCP Session AnalysisGb TLLI AnalysisGb Throughput AnalysisMS TLLI Analysis Display one of these queries in the Statistics Explorer, highlight an interesting row and click theAnalyze button.

In the example below, Gb Handset Analysis has been displayed in the Statistics Explorer. The userhas identified a high number of PDP Activation Failures for a particular mobile, and so clicksAnalyze.

This generates a new analysis stream for the mobile in question that can be examined in theProtocol Stack Browser (without needing to set the Load Mode to 'Full') and the Message Browser.

Page 240


Next: Analyze GPRS Drive Test data

Page 241


Analyze GPRS Drive Test data

You can analyze GPRS Drive Test data using charts, queries and so on just like any other drive testdata.

The data attributes shown in the box are described under:

• Calculating Block Error (BLER) and Block Success Rates

• Timing

• Bit Sums

Next: Map DT files lacking GPS data

Page 242


Map DT files lacking GPS data

Some GPRS Drive Test files do not contain GPS data. If you want to display data on a map, you willneed to:

1 Create your own GPS data file using your logging tool.

215 Use the Text Import Wizard (File | Import Text File) to import the log file

216 Superstream the imported file with the GPRS Drive Test file (as described in the sectionSuperstream PCM Link/Drive Test data in the chapter Analyzing A and Abis data).

You can now plot the superstreamed data attributes on a map.

Back to: Ad hoc or 'free' data analysis

Page 243


Classic analysis of IS-136 data

This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze IS-136 log files. These tasks have beenchosen to demonstrate most of the basic analysis features. Practising these will allow you to beproductive as soon as possible.



Page 244





Next: Import IS-136 network information

Page 245


Configure IS-136 network information

Import IS-136 network informationSet an IS-136 network information file

Page 246


Import IS-136 network information


To maximize the benefit that can be brought to IS-136 network analysis, the following parametersshould be included in data imported into the tool.

Parameter Name Purpose

Site Name IS-54/IS-136_Site_SiteName Text description of the Site for display on map.

Site Number IS-54/IS-136_SiteID Numeric identifier for the Site.

Latitude IS-54/IS-136_SiteLatitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude IS-54/IS-136_SiteLongitude Locates Site icons on map.

Sector Number IS-54/IS-136_Cell Sector IDCan 1,2,3, etc, or a combinationof site numbers

Sector-specific information useful for display onmaps.

Azimuth IS-54/IS-136_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the map.

Beamwidth IS-54/IS-136_Cell Beamwith Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon toreflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site.

Base Station Power IS-54/IS-136_Cell EIRP Base station power

ACCH IS-54/IS-136_Cell ACCH Analog control channel.

Color Codes IS-54/IS-136_Cell Color_Codes A list of color codes (SAT and DVCCs) separated bysemicolons. This list is designed to match theentries in the Traffic_Channels field. Used fordetermining likely serving and neighbor cells.

DCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCC Digital Color Code used to determine lines to servingcells for Analog servers in idle mode.

DCCH IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCCH Digital Control Channel

DVCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell DVCC Digital Voice Color Code

Traffic_Channels IS-54/IS-136_CellTraffic_Channels

A list of traffic channels separated by semicolons.This list is designed to match the entries in theColor_Codes field. Used for determining likelyserving and neighbor cells.

MCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code

SID IS-54/IS-136_Cell SID System Identity


To import IS-136 network information 1 From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window.

For more information, see Network Explorer.








Page 247







226 Set the appropriate column bindings for IS-54/IS-136_Site and SiteName. Repeat this forthe SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude.

227 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under IS-54/IS-136 Cell. Use theCell ID column for the IS-54/IS-136_Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, ACCH, DCC,Color_Codes, Traffic_Channels, DVCC, DCCH. A description of each of these parametersand their use appears in the table at the top of this section.



Next: Set an IS-136 network information file

Page 248


Set an IS-136 network information file






Next: Load IS-136 data files

Page 249


Load IS-136 data files





Next: Find and use IS-136 data in the Attribute Explorer

Page 250


Find and use IS-136 data in the Attribute Explorer



See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file ‘0408_001’ contains a data stream called ‘Tems IS136 1900 (0)’ (the number is the datastream number within the file, starting from zero). The ‘IS-136’ group contains the ‘Dedicated Radio Link’ set, which contains the ‘FACCH_CurChannel ’ data attribute:






232 Select 'DVCC'.

233 From the Help menu, select Attribute Help.

Page 251




Next: Delete IS-136 data files

Page 252


Delete IS-136 data files




Next: View summary data using Tables

Page 253


View IS-136 summary data


Page 254


Table view


• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data attribute ‘DownLink Measurements >FACCH_CurBER_Level’ and select Display on Table.




Page 255


The Message Browser




Next: View IS-136 data

Page 256


View IS-136 data





Next: View IS-136 data in the Map window

Page 257


View IS-136 data in the Map window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘FACCH_CurRSSI’ in a map window.




240 In the Attribute Explorer, open up the ‘Event Data’ set and drag the ‘Call_Dropped’ eventonto the map, which should look similar to this:

(Here there is only one dropped call, as the drive-test is completed.)







Page 258


Next: Replay the IS-136 data

Page 259


Replay the IS-136 data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file frombeginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control on the main toolbar.

Next: View IS-136 data in StateForms

Page 260


View IS-136 data in StateForms




The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected.

Note that in this example, an appropriate cellrefs file has not been set, so no Cell or SectorID information is displayed.

Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for IS-136 and othertechnologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm.

Next: Print the IS-136 data

Page 261


Print the IS-136 data







Next: View IS-136 data in the Chart window

Page 262


View IS-136 data in the Chart window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ‘FACCH_CurRSSI’ in a chart window.


248 Select and drag the data attribute ‘DedicatedCell_BER’ from the Attribute Explorer windowonto the existing chart.




Page 263








Page 264



Next: View synchronized IS-136 data

Page 265


View synchronized IS-136 data


You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the ‘FACCH_CurRSSI’ dataattribute.




You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, witha line appearing at the equivalent ‘FACCH_CurRSSI’ point on the chart:

Next: Generate IS-136 reports

Page 266


Generate IS-136 reports

You may want to create high-level management reports based on your collected data. You canprint from map and chart windows, but the Workbook function allows you to collate these viewsand perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated, polished report.


256 Click Open.




Next: Configure Maps: Map backgrounds and layers

Page 267


Configure Maps

Map backgrounds and layersDisplay IS-136 network informationShow lines to cells on a map

Page 268










260 In the Layers box, click Add to display the Open Layer dialog.

261 Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files. For details, see MapInfo layers.

262 Click Open to display the map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.


263 Click Up and Down to move the new 'examplemap' layer to the bottom and 'Annotations'to the top.

Page 269








268 Select a detailed layer—for example, S1 (street names).



271 Now do the same for the street numbers map layer, entering a zoom range of 0-3.

Next: Display IS-136 network information

Page 270


Display IS-136 network information

To display your network information on a map window, you must have your network informationdefined in a text file (usually called ‘cellrefs’, although it can be given any name) before you canimport it. You can use the Network Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file.

You should see graphics for each cell site appear on the map, but they may be too big or twosmall.

To alter the size of the cell symbols You may want to change the size of cell site sectors as displayed on a map. This is especially usefulif you are using multiple cell layers.


272 Set the Series to be <tech>_Cell.







Page 271






279 Set the Lines draw mode to ‘Selection’ and Color lines with to ‘DedicatedCell_BER’, checkthat the Disable box is empty, and click OK, then Yes.




Page 272


If 'All datapoints' was selected in the Lines Configuration dialog, you would not need toselect a data point – all data points would have a line to their serving cells.

Page 273


TDMA pre-configured reports

Each Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particulartype of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience.


You must also have set a valid CellRefs file.

Use an application layerTDMA application layers

Next: Integrate uplink and downlink data

Page 274


Use an application layer

1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and a cellrefs file selected.

282 From the Analysis menu, select Summary Reports.

Once you select an application layer, the application layer window opens. The top paneshows a tree-view of the network structure against various statistics produced by theapplication layer.



284 Double-click on a report icon to open the report:

Page 275




Reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for anew analysis, you need to re-run this Custom Attribute directly from the Custom AttributeManager:

• Distance_Input


Page 276


TDMA application layers

TDMA Summary Reports

Page 277


TDMA Summary Reports

These reports will only run reliably on Tems IS-136 data. This is due to current limitations on ourevent detection for IS-136. The most robust format supported for IS-136 to date is Tems. It is alsoprimarily designed for all digital files.

TDMA Call StatisticsSummary call statistics for TDMA log file(s).

BER and RSSI StatsPDF and CDF of BER and RSSI.

Handoff Quality BreakdownFor a five-second window around each handoff, the report determines if the handoff was to abetter or worse RSSI and a better or worse BER.

Handoff Quality StatsFor a five-second window around the handoff event, this reports PDF and CDF of the RSSI and BERbefore and after the event. From this report, you can see if the majority of handoffs occurred to abetter or worse quality condition.

Dropped Call StatsFor every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a five-second window before thedrop.

Tems- C to A StatsAvailable only for Tems IS-136 data, the report returns relevant stats for potential serving cellsundergoing adjacent channel interference. The lower and upper adjacent C/A measurement is lessthen 9 dB.

Page 278



The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol can be integrated with the drive-test data. Thislets you see how parameters such as ‘DedicatedCell_SignalStrength’ behave at specific mobilelocations.









292 From the attribute picker button on the right, select ‘DedicatedCell_SignalStrength’.


294 From the attribute picker, select ‘DedicatedCell_SignalStrength’.

295 Click OK.


Next: Aggregate IS-136 data

Page 279


Aggregate IS-136 data

Actix Solutions have an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modesfor the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These modes are supported:

• Location/grid

• Time

• Message

• Distance

To change the aggregation (‘binning’) mode:


296 Under Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.

297 Click Apply.

Next: Use Queries

Page 280


Use Queries

The querying interface lets you construct simple or complex expressions. These expressions extractmeaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or the value of other expressions.



• Filter queries

• Binned queries




• Event queries

You can also:





Page 281


Create a filter

This query is designed to filter poor quality in IS-136 data.




299 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select ‘IS-136 > DownLinkMeasurements > ForBER’.

300 Set the filter operation to ‘Greater than (>)’.




303 Click Yes.



Next: Analyzer Classic data analysis

Page 282


Classic analysis of iDEN data

This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze IS-136 log files. These tasks have beenchosen to demonstrate most of the basic analysis features. Practising these will allow you to beproductive with as soon as possible.



Page 283





Next: Configure iDEN network information

Page 284


Configure iDEN network information

Import iDEN network informationSet an iDEN network information file

Page 285


Import iDEN network information


To maximize the benefit that can be brought to iDEN network analysis, the following parametersshould be included in data imported into the tool.


Site Name IDEN_Site_SiteName Text description of the Site for display on map.

Site Number IDEN_SiteID Numeric identifier for the Site.

Latitude IDEN_SiteLatitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude IDEN_SiteLongitude Locates Site icons on map.

Sector Number IDEN_Cell Sector ID Can use1,2,3, etc, or a combination ofsite numbers

Sector-specific information useful for display onmaps.

Azimuth IDEN_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the map.

Beamwidth IDEN_Cell Beamwidth Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon toreflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site.

Base Station Power IDEN_Cell EIRP Base station power

CCCH IDEN_Cell CCCH Common control channel. Can be used to color thesector wedges.

Color Codes IDEN_Cell Color_Codes A list of color codes separated by semicolons. Thislist is designed to match the entries in the TCH_Listfield. Used for determining likely serving andneighbor cells.

DCCH IDEN_Cell DCCH Digital Control Channel

DVCC IDEN_Cell DVCC Digital Voice Color Code

TCH_List IDEN_Cell TCH_List A list of traffic channels separated by semicolons.This list is designed to match the entries in theColor_Codes field. Used for determining likelyserving and neighbor cells.

MCC IDEN_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code

CI IDEN_Cell CI Cell Identity


To import iDEN network information 1 From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window.










Page 286





313 Set the default value for that field as appropriate.

314 Select the appropriate column bindings for IDEN Site and Site Name. Repeat this for theSiteID, Latitude, and Longitude.

315 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under IDEN Cell. Use the Cell IDcolumn for the IDEN Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, CCCH, Color_Codes,TCH_List. A description of each of these parameters and their use appears in the table atthe top of this section.



Next: Set an iDEN network information file

Page 287


Set an iDEN network information file






Next: Load iDEN data files

Page 288


Load iDEN data files




Files of Type defaults to 'All Formats' but you can select a specific file type to look for. Thisalso illustrates the many file formats available.

Next: Find and use iDEN data in the Attribute Explorer

Page 289


Find and use iDEN data in the Attribute Explorer



See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file'atlantW' contains a data stream called 'Nextel iDEN Handset (0)' (the number is the datastream number within the file, starting from zero). The 'iDEN' group contains the 'DownLinkMeasurements' set, which contains the 'ServRSSI' data attribute:






320 From the Help menu, select Show Context Help.

321 Click the button to dock the attribute help window and drag it to a useful position, asshown here:

Page 290



Next: Delete iDEN data files

Page 291


Delete iDEN data files




Next: Table view

Page 292


Table view


• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data attribute 'DownLink Measurements >ServRSSI' and select Display on Table.




Page 293


The Message Browser




Next: View iDEN data

Page 294


View iDEN data





Next: View iDEN data in the Map window

Page 295


View iDEN data in the Map window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute 'ServRSSI' in a map window.




327 In the Attribute Explorer, open up the 'Event Data' set and drag the 'HandOver_Complete'event onto the map, which should look similar to this:






Next: Replay the iDEN data

Page 296


Replay the iDEN data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file frombeginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control from the main toolbar.

Next: View iDEN data in StateForms

Page 297


View iDEN data in StateForms




The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected.

Note that in this example, an appropriate cellrefs file has not been set, so no Cell or SectorID information is displayed.

Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for iDEN and othertechnologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm.

Next: Print the iDEN data

Page 298


Print the iDEN data







Next: View iDEN data in the Chart window

Page 299


View iDEN data in the Chart window

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute 'ServRSSI' in a chart window.


335 Select and drag the data attribute 'ServSQE' from the Attribute Explorer window onto theexisting chart.




Page 300








Page 301



Next: View synchronized iDEN data

Page 302


View synchronized iDEN data


You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the 'ServRSSI' data attribute.




You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, witha line appearing at the equivalent 'ServRSSI' point on the chart:

Next: Generate iDEN reports

Page 303


Generate iDEN reports


This task assumes that you have created an Excel template that you can use to generate areport. If you do not have a report template, see Reports for details of how to create one.


343 Click Open.




Next: Map backgrounds and layers

Page 304











348 Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files. For more information see MapInfo layers.

349 Click Open to display the new map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.

Page 305



350 Click Up and Down to move the new 'examplemap' layer to the bottom and 'Annotations'to the top.







355 Select a detailed layer—for example, S1 (street names).



358 Now do the same for street numbers, entering a zoom range of 0-3.

Next: Display iDEN Network Information

Page 306


Display iDEN network information

To display your network information on a map window, you must have your network informationdefined in a text file (usually called ‘cellrefs’, although it can be given any name) before you canimport it. You can use the Network Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file.

You should see graphics for each cell site appear on the map, but they may be too big or twosmall.

To alter the size of the cell symbols You may want to change the size of cell site sectors as displayed on a map. This is especially usefulif you are using multiple cell layers.


359 Set the Series to be <tech>_Cell.






Page 307


iDEN pre-configured reports

Each Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports that concentrate on a particular type ofnetwork analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience.


You must also have set a valid CellRefs file.

A description of the reports contained within each application layer is provided after the nextsection.

To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded.

364 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer.

Once you select an application layer, the application layer window opens.




366 Double-click on a report icon to open the report.

Page 308




To reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for anew analysis, you need to re-run this Custom Attribute from the Custom Attribute Manager:

• Distance_Input


iDEN Drive Test application layers

Next: Aggregate iDEN data

Page 309


iDEN Drive Test application layers

iDEN Summary ReportsiDEN Event Inspection

Page 310


iDEN Summary Reports

iDEN Call StatisticsSummary of major call events and performance statistics.

iDEN SQE and RSSI BreakdownRSSI and SQE PDFs and CDFs.

Handoff Quality BreakdownFor a five-second window around each handoff, determines if the handoff was to a better or worseRSSI and a better or worse SQE.

Handoff Quality StatsFor a five-second window around the handoff event, gives PDF and CDF of the RSSI and SQEbefore and after the event. Shows if the majority of handoffs occurred to a better or worse qualitycondition.

iDEN Distant Servers- HSPrompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell. Returns key performancemetrics by Serving Site, for cases where the maximum serving cell distance is exceeded.

Page 311


iDEN Event Inspection

Dropped Call StatisticsFor every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before thedrop.

Handover Failure StatisticsFor every handover failure, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before theevent.

Measurement Inquiry StatisticsFor every measurement inquiry, this reports key performance metrics for an 8-second windowbefore and after each event.

Measurement Reports Exceeded at HandoffReturns key performance parameters for instances where the number of measurement reports, 8seconds before handoff, exceeds a user-defined threshold.

Page 312


Aggregate iDEN data

Actix software has an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modes forthe data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These modes are supported:

• Location/grid

• Time

• Message

• Distance

To change the aggregation ('binning') mode:


368 Under Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.

369 Click Apply.

Next: Use Queries

Page 313


Use Queries

Actix provides a querying interface that lets you construct simple or complex expressions. Theseexpressions extract meaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or the valueof other expressions.



• Filter queries

• Binned queries




• Event queries

You can also:





Page 314


Create a filter

This query is designed to filter poor quality in iDEN data.



370 Enter 'Poor Quality' as the name of the filter.

371 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select 'iDEN > DownLink Measurements> ServSQE'.

372 Set the filter operation to 'Less than ( < )'.

373 Set the threshold to '-20'.



375 Click Yes.


You can turn off this and any other filters from the Attribute Explorer, just by clicking on

Page 315


them.

Next: Analyzer Classic data analysis

Page 316


Importing network cell site data

About using network cell site dataAutomatic ImportConfiguring Automatic ImportImport TemplatesNetwork Data Input FilesDefining new types of data

Preferences dialog

Page 1


About using network cell site data

Why import network data? Network data, such as cell configuration and site location, provides valuable context tooptimization with drive test and protocol trace data. Actix Solutions provide essential analysis andvisualization features that associate measured data with network data, thereby streamlining theoptimization process.

Automatic Import The Automatic Import feature ensures that users are always using the latest network data. Once itis configured correctly, no user action is required. If newer data is available, it is importedautomatically during the application start-up.

See also About using network cell site dataAutomatic ImportConfiguring Automatic ImportImport TemplatesNetwork Data Input FilesDefining new types of data

Page 2


Automatic Import

The Automatic Import feature ensures that users are always using the latest network data.

To maintain optimal performance automatic checks are performed before importing new data. Thisensures that network data is not imported unless the source data has actually changed. If theAutomatic Import is enabled, it will be triggered by any of the following:

• The network data input file name has changed

• The template has changed

• The network data input file date/time is newer than that of the most recent import

For more information, see: Configuring Automatic Import.

Page 3


Configuring Automatic Import

Automatic import can be configured using preferences. From the Tools menu, select Preferences.

From the Preferences dialog:

1 Specify a CellRefs file. This file is populated with network data by the import process. Thedefault file is cellrefs.txt.

2 Check Enable Automatic Import. This turns on the Automatic Import feature.

3 Choose a network data file you wish to automatically import. These files are stored in theNetwork Data Archive and broken out by region. These files have been exported from thenetwork configuration and Metrica systems. Note that in the 'Automatic' folder, each file isoverwritten every day. This is to ensure that users always import the latest network data.In the 'Manual' folder, filenames include the date and are kept for historical reference.

4 Choose an import template.

For more information, see Import Templates.

Page 4


Import Templates

What are templates for? Network data can come from a wide range of databases and systems. Traditionally, sharing thisdata between software systems from different vendors has been difficult. Import templatesprovide a fully configurable mechanism to define the format of network data so it may be easilyimported into Actix Solutions. Once a template has been defined, it may be shared between usersand re-used. New data may be manually imported using a predefined template with just a fewclicks, or may be automatically imported using a predefined template with no user effort required.

Import Wizard The Import Wizard may be used to define templates for manual or automatic Import.

With the Import Wizard, a user may define the format of a network data input file and define howthe source data is mapped to Actix fields.

Step 1 In this dialog, the user defines the format of the import file. The user can choose the templatename, delimiters, heading options, array separators (e.g. for neighbor lists) and the geo-projectionsystem (for translating latitude and longitude to WGS84).

Step 2 In this dialog, the user associates network data with Actix fields. For each Actix field, the userchooses a field from the input data and defines the default value (in case the field is empty).

Page 5


It is possible to configure the software to load additional fields. For more information, see Definingnew types of data .

Note that as a minimum, the network data input file must contain certain data. Also, there is arecommended maximum number or rows and columns to ensure good performance.

See also The Network Explorer.

Page 6


Network Data Input Files

File format The network data input file should be a tab-, space- or comma-separated file with one row of dataper cell. A heading row is optional. Latitude and longitude may be represented in any standardprojection system.

Required fields The network data input file shall contain at least the following columns:

• SiteID

• Latitude

• Longitude

• Sector_ID

• Azimuth

• Beamwidth

GSM • BCCH

• CI

UMTS • SC

IS136 • CCCH

Example: Technology Site Name Site ID Lat Long Sector ID AZIMUT Antenna 3db Hor EIRP BCCH MCC MNC

LAC CI BSIC

GSM 02AER1 02AER 50.89725 4.485166667 02AER1 40 65 0 Not in use 69 206 1 102 12611



Additional fields may be defined by the user. For more information about defining additional typesof data, see: Defining new types of data.

Recommended file limits To ensure good performance, we suggest that you do not load too much network data.Recommended limits are:

• Up to 3000 cells. In a large network, consider creating separate network data files for eachregion.

• Up to 20 data fields. Note that numerical fields use less memory and perform better thanstrings.

Page 7


Defining new types of data

Process overviewThe .ini configuration file

Page 8


Process overview

As well as the default data fields, it is possible to add new fields so that they may be displayed inActix software.

By default, the supported fields are defined by a configuration file (DefNetworkData.ini).

To add new fields, create a custom configuration file:

1 First, make a copy of DefNetworkData.ini with a different name. This new file should haveexactly the same name as your cellrefs file except the file type should be “.ini”. (E.g. If yourcellrefs file is called “cellrefs.txt”, your configuration file should be called “cellrefs.ini”)

2 Now edit the new configuration file. (e.g. “cellrefs.ini”) to add the new field:

3 Add the new field to the appropriate network element.

4 Define this new field. For more information, see The .ini configuration file.

5 Finally, use the Import Wizard to edit the import template. This is how you associate datain your network data input file with the new data type. See The Network Explorer.

Page 9


The .ini configuration file

This configuration file defines the structure and format of the cellrefs file used by Actix solutions tostore network data. The .ini file contains two key sections, [Network Elements] and [Fields].

[Network Elements] This section defines the fields belonging to each network element. All of the required fields arelisted here, as well as optional fields. For example:

[Network Elements]

GSM_Site=Site_Na

me

SiteI

D Latit

ude Longitude

GSM_Cell=GSM_SiteIDForCe

ll

Secto

r_ID Azimu

th Beamw

idth EIRP BCCH MCC MNC LAC CI BSIC BSCID Face_

Displ

ay

Azimuth_Di

splay

Phase_Disp

lay

Adding new fields Additional fields should be added to the appropriate network element.

For example:

GSM_Cell=GSM_SiteIDForCe

ll

Secto

r_ID Azimu

th Beamw

idth EIRP BCCH MCC MNC LAC CI BSIC BSCID Face_

Displ

ay

Azimuth_Di

splay

Phase_Display DropCallRa

te

[Fields] In this section, the following properties of each field are defined:

• The format group is defined. E.g. String, integer, degrees, percentage etc. Format groupscontain rich data type and formatting information.

• Optionally, fields can be marked as “Required” or “Key”. “Required” means that the field isexpected by other Actix functions. “Key” means that the field is required and must beunique. Some fields are neither “Key” nor “Unique”.

• If the field maps one network element to another, the related field is defined using the“Ref” keyword.

For example:

[Fields]

GSM_SiteIDForCell=Ref:GSM_Site:SiteID:CellSite#Cell:key

MSCID=Ref:GSM_MSC:ID:Parent#Child

BSCID=Ref:GSM_BSC:ID:Parent#Child

Site_Name=string

SiteID=string:key

Latitude=Degrees:required

Longitude=Degrees:required

Sector_ID=string:key

Azimuth=Degrees:required

Beamwidth=Beamwidth Angle:required

Adding new fields For additional fields, make an entry in the [Fields] section. For each field, choose a format group.Some standard format groups are Float, String, Integer and Boolean. For more information pleasecontact Actix Support. The “Ref”, “Key” and “Required” fields are optional.

For example:

Page 10


DropCallRate=Float

Page 11


Workspaces

About workspacesAbout Screen LayoutsAbout the Attribute ExplorerAbout the Statistics ExplorerAbout CDMA StateTipAbout CDMA ToolkitAbout binning dataWorkspace toolbar reference

How to… Set application preferencesUse workspacesOpen a data fileImport a text fileRun an analysis on the dataFind a specific attributeShow a menu of attribute optionsView an attribute in a data windowUse the Replay ControlUse StateFormsView a data stream in the Message BrowserView the results of a queryCreate Screen LayoutsOpen a Screen LayoutExport data to a fileUse Load Time QueriesMerge data streamsModify event detection threshold valuesAdd Screen Layouts to the main menu

Page 12


About workspaces

The workspace constitutes all data display windows within the Actix application window, togetherwith the panel on the left called the Attribute Explorer.

When you start your Actix Solution, you start with an empty workspace, but you can load apreviously saved workspace. A workspace contains the layout of all windows plus all loaded datafiles and all defined items such as reports and queries.

How to… Use workspacesOpen a data fileImport a text fileRun an analysis on the dataFind a specific attributeShow a menu of attribute optionsView an attribute in a data windowUse the Replay ControlUse StateFormsView a data stream in the Message BrowserView the results of a queryCreate Screen LayoutsOpen a Screen LayoutExport data to a fileUse Load Time QueriesMerge data streamsModify event detection threshold valuesAdd Screen Layouts to the main menu

See also About the Attribute ExplorerAbout the Statistics ExplorerAbout CDMA StateTipAbout CDMA ToolkitAbout binning dataWorkspace toolbar reference

Page 13


About Screen Layouts

A screen layout is an arrangement of views on your screen, such as that shown below, that can besaved and later reloaded.

For example, when troubleshooting a UMTS dropped call, you might like to arrange your screenwith a map and stateform displaying active set RSCP measurements, together with the Replaycontrol and the Attribute Search available. You can now save this arrangement as a screen layoutand use it again and again each time you troubleshoot the same type of problem.

How do Screen Layouts differ from workspaces? Both screen layouts and workspaces save the arrangement of views on the screen. The differenceis that a workspace saves the entire worksession, including all loaded logfiles.

Feature Purpose Notes

Workspace Use it to save everything about a current session sothat you may continue that session, with the samedata, later on.

Saves nearly everythingabout your current session,including which logfiles youhave opened.

Screen layout Use it to save any arrangement of views that youlike to use quite often. You can re-use the layoutagain and again with different logfiles.

Only saves the arrangementof views on your screen.

See also Create Screen Layouts

Open a Screen Layout

Add Screen Layouts to the main menu

Page 14


About the Attribute Explorer

The Attribute Explorer window—on the left of the application window—graphically displays all loaded data files and the data containedwithin each file. The example on the right also shows the AttributeHelp window docked underneath. This provides help on attributesas they are selected in the Attribute Explorer.

The logical groupings in the tree-view layout let you drill down toall logged data held under the Loaded Data Files section. Loadedfiles are at the highest level, with data streams produced for eachlogging device, and data groups, sets and attributes displayed atlower levels:

You can view stream messages in the Message Browser window byright-clicking on them and selecting Display Message Browserfrom the pop-up menu. You can open option menus for mostobjects in the Attribute Explorer.

Click on the plus and minus signs in front of an object to open andclose that part of the tree. Opening a branch displays any objectsat a lower level in the structure.

You can also open data analysis windows called forms or stateforms. Right-click on the stream name, select Display Form and thenselect the appropriate form. The actual pre-defined forms available are different for each Actix Solution.

Although the Attribute Explorer looks similar to the Microsoft Windows Explorer, the structure shown under a log file is a logicaldisplay of data—there is no corresponding set of files or folders on your hard drive.

Page 15


Once you have found the appropriate data attribute, you can use the mouse to drag and drop the attribute from the Attribute Exploreronto a data display window. This window can be a map, chart, spreadsheet or table, and can also be opened by right-clicking on anattribute and selecting an option.

When examining the data from a drive test, you may want to step through each data point in sequence. The Replay Control allows youto do this.

Maps, charts, tables and the Message Browser are synchronized, so that if you click on a data point, message or row of data, theequivalent point is displayed in each open window.

You can also produce artificial data streams by merging data files together. This process is called ‘superstreaming’. In the examplebelow, a drive test and a call trace file have been superstreamed so that uplink data can be displayed on a map.

You can also superstream PCM Link data (for example, an Abis file) with drive test data.

Page 16


At the bottom of the Attribute Explorer window are these tabs:

• The All tab shows all items displayed in the Attribute Explorer.

• The Favorites tab shows only certain user-defined attributes, selected by right-clicking on an attribute and selecting Add ToFavorites. You may find this useful if you only regularly use a few particular attributes.

• The Search Results tab is described under Find a specific attribute.

You can also right-click on the attribute to open a pop-up command list. From this list you can select various display options for theattribute.

See also View an attribute in a data windowView a data stream in the Message BrowserSynchronizing binned and message-based views

Page 17


About binning data

Binning is a method of grouping and averaging the data loaded from a log file.

Initially the data to be binned is partitioned according to a user-defined criterion. This binningcriterion can be specified in terms of:

• Time

• geographic Location

• Distance traveled

• Message number

For example, with Time binning based on one-second intervals, data values are sorted according tothe time at which they were logged. All values are sorted into one-second ‘bins’.

An averaging operation is then performed on the data collected in each bin, to produce a singlevalue. This operation may be a simple Mean or one of a number of other operations such as Modeor Minimum value. The appropriate operation for each data attribute is automatically used.

The net result of this process is a data set comprising values averaged from the original set of datavalues and it is this data set that is viewed on graphs, charts and reports

One example of an application of binning is the export of CW scanning data into a propagationprediction tool. This is often done as part of a validation process by RF Planning departments. Sinceplanning tools handle data in geographic bins, it can be useful to convert the CW data into bins ofthe correct size before exporting. The Location binning mode is ideal for this task.

To set the default binning settings for the workspace, from the Tools menu, select Preferences.This opens the Preferences dialog.

See also Preferences dialogAggregate CDMA data, GSM data, IS-136 data, iDEN dataCreate a Binned QueryImport a text fileCreate custom attributesSynchronizing binned and message-based views

Page 18


Synchronizing binned and message-based views

The Map, Chart and Table are binned views – that is, they display binned data. You can select a binby selecting a point or row in these views.

The Message Browser, Protocol Stack Browser and StateForms are message-based views. Theydisplay data taken directly from the messages in the logfile.

Binned data views Message-based data views Maps

Charts

Tables

Message Browser

Protocol Stack Browser

StateForms

Often, data from many messages contributes towards each binned data point. This complicates thesynchronization between binned and message views, and this is resolved by the message-basedviews synchronizing, if possible, to the particular message within the bin that contains the selectedattribute. If there is no message with that attribute, a message in the middle of that bin will beselected.

Page 19


How to...

Set application preferencesUse workspacesOpen a data fileImport a text fileRun an analysis on the dataFind a specific attributeShow a menu of attribute optionsView an attribute in a data windowUse the Replay ControlUse StateFormsView a data stream in the Message BrowserView the results of a queryCreate Screen LayoutsOpen a Screen LayoutExport data to a fileUse Load Time QueriesMerge data streamsModify event detection threshold valuesAdd Screen Layouts to the main menu

Page 20


Preferences dialog

To display this dialog, from the Tools menu, select Preferences.

Note that any changes made here will require either a new workspace or for Analyzer to berestarted before the changes will take effect. Decode Settings, Load Mode etc. are only appliedas data files are loaded into Analyzer.

Setting Notes

Repository

User data location Select the folder to act as a data store for your datarepository. Note that a usable data store location willprobably have many Gb of available space.

CellRefs

File Location Specifies the text file containing network element data. Thisfile must be in the Actix 'cellrefs' format. The information fromthis cellrefs file takes effect from the next time a newworkspace is created.

Automatic Import

Enable AutomaticImport

Check this box to override the cellrefs file specified above,and instead automatically import a new file using an importtemplate (both specified below). This is useful in situationswhere the network element data is liable to be updatedfrequently.

Note that each Automatic Import will overwrite yourexisting cellrefs.txt file.

Automatic ImportInput File

Specifies the text file containing network element data,which is imported automatically in future when the systemdetermines that the file has been updated. The informationfrom this file takes effect from the next time a newworkspace is created.

Automatic ImportTemplate

Specifies the template to be used for the automatic networkelement data import. A set of default templates are providedfor the main network technologies.

WCDMA Neighbour List Reporting Range Cells from the active and monitored sets must fall within this

value of the best pilot to be included in the neighbor list (thedefault is 5dB).

Maximum Size The maximum number of neighbor cells allowed in the list atany one time (the default is 15). This should be set to yournetwork infrastructure's maximum adjacency list size.

Addition Threshold This threshold is used to set the percentage of counts thatneeds to be reached to trigger a Neighbour addition. This isto reduce stray signals affecting the choice.

Removal Threshold This threshold is used to set the percentage of counts thatneeds to be reached to trigger a Neighbour removal.

Minimal Samples This is the minimal number of bins necessary to include thatparticular SC in the calculations. This is to removestatistically invalid measurements from the suggestions.

Include ExistingNeighbours

Check this box if the current neighbour list attached to thecellref should be considered for additions or removals.

Only process firstbest SC

Check this box to only include the adjacency list of the Nthbest cells in the suggested list. Clear this box to analyse theadjacency list of all cells within the Reporting Range.

General Settings

Page 21


Auto Synch to Stream If this is selected, clicking on a new stream name in theAttribute Explorer automatically synchronizes all data viewsin the Workspace to show data from that stream.

GPS Interpolation This takes effect from the next time a file is loaded.

Drive-test data is often affected by inaccuracies in GPSnavigation devices. These inaccuracies can be caused invarious ways—often through the ‘selective availability’artificially introduced into the system for civilian signals, butalso by atmospheric conditions and operation in urban areaswhere the line-of-sight to GPS satellites changes veryquickly. The end results are ‘jumps’ or gaps in thepositioning of the data. If the distance over time betweenconsecutive points exceeds a threshold (‘Distance Units’)and GPS Interpolation is checked, the actual position of thedata is automatically estimated.

Distance Units This takes effect immediately.

This defines the distance threshold used for ‘GPSInterpolation’.

Use Small Toolbars Check this box to use smaller toolbar buttons that will takeup less screen space. Uncheck to go back to normalWindows-size buttons.

Time Offsets This takes effect from the next time a file is loaded.

Switch or Mobile time offsets are used to shift the start timeof call trace files taken in various parts of the world so thatthey can be viewed in other time zones properly.

Binning These settings take effect immediately, and affect files thatare currently loaded.

Binning Mode Time—This mode combines data in the time domain. Datapoints are generated in increments of time, with theduration of each increment determined by the setting ‘Time(ms)’.

Location—This mode groups data into bins in a spatial grid.The ‘Location’ settings are used to define the grid.

Distance—The Distance bin mode combines data in binscorresponding to distance to neighbour by the test mobile.The ‘Distance’ setting defines this bin size.

Message—This mode combines data with respect to thetiming of received messages. When this mode is selected,data is combined within bins, defined by the time stamps ofsequential messages logged by the test mobile.

Time (ms) If using the ‘Time’ Binning Mode, this specified the durationin milliseconds of each bin size.

Distance (m) If using the ‘Distance’ Binning Mode, this specifies the binsize in units of meters from the first point in the data file.

Message If using the ‘Message’ Binning Mode, this specifies thenumber of messages over which the data will be averaged.

Location These settings are used for the Location Binning Mode.

Projection The units of the X Size and Y Size will depend on theProjection method selected here.

X Size / Y Size These define the X and Y widths of each cell in the grid forthe Location Binning Mode.

Map projection systems such as WGS84 will require that thegrid size must be entered in units of seconds (of latitude andlongitude). With local-grid co-ordinate systems such as UKNGR, all values are entered in units of meters – X being theEasting value and Y the Northing.

Page 22


Decode Settings These values take effect from the next time a file is loaded.

Minimum Valid SignalLevel (dBm)

Defines the minimum threshold for which an RSSI is valid. Onloading a log file, signals are filtered out below thisuser-defined range.

Ec/Io Threshold forDelay (dB)

Used to calculate the threshold at which multipathcomponents are counted in the delay histograms for theActive, Candidate, Neighbor, and Remaining sets from thesearcher finger data.

Scan Resolution(chips)

Defines how often measurements are reported, measured inchips.

Number of multipaths Defines the number of multipaths that will be extracted anddisplayed in the Attribute Explorer.

Scanner ScanResolution

Defines how often scanner measurements are reported,measured in chips.

Pilot Increment Used to calculate the PN Offset (units of 64 chips) associatedwith the PN Phase (units of chips) data reported in the CDMAair-interface messaging. PN Offset is calculated by dividingthe PILOT_PN_PHASE by 64 and then rounding to theclosest integer multiple of the PN increment entered. Thisfeature forces all PN Offsets calculated to be part of a validPN reuse plan.

Too Many NeighborsThreshold

Defines the maximum number of entries in the neighbourlists. When neighbour list entries in the air interfacemessaging exceed this threshold, an event(TooManyNeighbors) is displayed in the Attribute Explorerand a warning message is indicated in the *.warning outputfile.

Weak Ec/Io PilotThreshold

Defines when the best server pilot has dropped beneath atolerable threshold and is considered weak. This displays anevent (WeakPilotAlert) in the Attribute Explorer and in thewarning file.

Display Cell Identityas Hex

Check the box to display the Cell Identity (CI) in hexadecimal(rather than decimal) in the Message Browser.

No of Frame Errors ina Burst

Defines the size of a burst for Burst Error Rate calculations(time series parameter: For_FBER).

Searcher Threshold The dB threshold for reporting QUALCOMM Searcher data isset to 15dB. This control is no longer used.

Ec/Io Threshold (dB) Determines whether a multipath component may beevaluated and displayed in the Attribute Explorer. TheExplorer will only display the top n multipaths, where n is the‘Number of multipaths’.

Use 20ms resolutionfor CDMA

This enables you to view some measurements at a higherresolution than is logged by the phone. For example, MarkovStatistics are logged every two seconds for 100 frames.Checking this box break this information into messages foreach frame and places them evenly every 20ms in the file.

Show Nortel call tracedata selection dialog

No – Load the data normally.

Yes – Displays the dialog, which provides basic informationfor each call trace and a check box to select the trace. Selectonly those traces you wish to load.

Scanner LoadMode

These options control the loading of scanner data (collectedconcurrently with network drive data). At present, thisfeature has only been implemented for CW scanners fromAgilent, Comarco, or Tems RSAT.

Page 23


Load Mode Select between:

No Scanner Data – Disables loading of scanner data.

No by_chan data – Loads just the 'top n' or 'best server'scanner data.

Load all scanner data – Loads all the scanner data.

Load Speed Default Select between:

Load Time Message Filtering (fast) – The default setting, thisfilters out statistically unimportant message information todecrease load time and increase the number of files that canbe loaded.

Load All – Loads all messages.

GSM Bands Used

Bands Check only those bands used in your network, to minimizefile load times.

PCM Link

Load Mode This is used for PCM Link data such as A, Abis and Gb files.Select between:

Minimal (default) – Only loads data produced by the currentlyattached Load Time Queries.

Full – Loads the entire file.

PCU Abis Vendor For example, Alcatel.

A-interface filestandard

ITU (Europe) / ANSI (USA). This setting takes effect from thenext time a file is loaded.

Agilent MDB These settings take effect from the next time a file is loaded.

Show Agilent dataselection dialog

Select No to load all data from an Agilent file.

Select Yes to display the dialog when opening an Agilent file.The dialog allows selection of specific data sets rather thanloading the entire file.

The following controls can also be selected from the Agilentdialog:

Intermediate filehandling

Remove intermediate files after load / Keep intermediatefiles in log-file folder / Keep intermediate files in selectedfolder.

Intermediate filefolder

Select the file location.

Use intermediate filesif available

No / Yes.

Agilent SD5 These settings take effect from the next time a file is loaded.

Show Agilent-specificattributes

Check the box to show Agilent-specific attributes.

EcIo Nth Best Sorting Sort by EcIo Aggregate/EcIo Max.

Nethawk UMTS Switch Direction – Connectors on Nethawk probes are oftencrossed. If this occurs, check this box to decode uplinkmessages as downlink and downlink messages as uplink.

WCDMA This sets the values for the WCDMA Soft Handoveralgorithm, as indicated in the 3GPP specifications.

Reporting RangeEvent1A/1B/1C (dB)

Add/Remove/Replace cell.

HysteresisEvent1A/1B/1C (dB)


Page 24


Time to TriggerEvent1A/1B/1C (ms)


Max. Active Set Size(up to 8)

Specify the maximum size of the Active Set (1-8).

Invex3G Decodes Invex3G files directly by reading the bytes from thefile. The original and default way of decoding Invex3G fileswas through the Invex3G reader. Analyzer decode madecalls to the Invex3G reader to obtain the message bytes tobe decoded. Using the reader adds overhead causing longerfile load times.

The Native File Decoder option speeds up the decodegreatly. Currently this functionality works only for CDMA dataexcept CDMA PN Scanner data - so it works for filescontaining CDMA 1x, CDMA EV-DO and IP data.

CDMA MessageTime Reference

Select between:

Logging Device Time

CDMA System Time – allows easy automatic super-streamingof call trace and drive test files.

Page 25


Use workspaces

To… Do this…

Create a new workspace Select File, New Workspace

Open an existing workspace Select File, Open Workspace

Save a workspace Select File, Save Workspace As…

Select File, Save Workspace

All loaded data files and positions of all data display windows—such as maps and charts—and their contents.

Open a new Attribute Explorerwindow

Select View, Display Attribute Explorer

Search for an attribute Select Tools, Find Attribute. See here.

Add an attribute to the Favorites tab

Right-click on an attribute and select Add To Favorites. Selectedattributes appear in the Favorites tab:

Page 26


Open a data file

• From the File menu, select Open Logfile .

The name of the data file now appears in the Attribute Explorer window under Loaded DataFiles. You can now click on and open out the file’s data structure.

How to… Batch load data files

Page 27


Import a text file

Importing a text file for the first timeImporting a text file using a configuration file

Page 28


Importing a text file for the first time

From the File menu, select Import Text File to open the Text File Import Wizard.

For each step of the Wizard, enter the appropriate information and click Next to proceed.

1 Select the name of the text file to import.

If an Import Configuration was saved from a previous text import, you have the option to use itfor this import.

2 Select the delimiters to separate the data fields. The Data Preview pane shows the rawdata, with lines indicating how the data will be separated.

If appropriate, select First line contains attribute names to automatically name each datacolumn. Appropriate formatting and binning options will be selected where possible.

3 If you did not select the 'First line' option, click on each data field and enter an Attributename or select on from the attribute picker (shown below).

You can also change the default formatting and binning options.

Bin operation Does this for each bin… Count Returns the number of values.

Mean Returns the average value.

Linear Mean Converts log values to linear values, averages the result, thenconverts this average linear value back to a log value.

GSM RxQual As Linear Mean, but used for RxQual values ranging from 0-7.

Max Returns the highest value.

Most Returns the most frequent value.

Most Hold As Most but retains the last value. Used for attributes wherevalues are reported infrequently.

4 If desired, save the Import Configuration defined in this Wizard, and click Finish tocomplete the import.

The text file is displayed in the Attribute Explorer just like any other data file.

Page 29


Importing a text file using a configuration file

If you already have a configuration file generated using the Text File Import Wizard, you can edityour text file so that the first line just contains the name of the .dat file, but without the .datextension. You can then use the normal File, Open Logfile command to load the data.

Page 30


Run an analysis on the data

Once you have loaded a logfile, you can select an analysis type, which allows you to run one ormore pre-configured analysis reports.

1 From the Analysis menu, select an appropriate analysis.

The Application Pack dialog opens to show network information with related informationderived from the logfile data. Potential problem areas are highlighted in red.

2 Select one or more 'problem' network elements from this view.

This narrows down the data to be included in a report (useful for A/Abis files or any largefiles).

Underneath the top section of the dialog is a tabbed section containing icons for eachreport within the analysis. The Suggested tab shows all reports appropriate to the currentlyselected network elements. The All tab shows all available reports for the analysis,regardless of suitability for the selected data.

3 Double-click a report icon to open a report window on the selected data.

4 From here you can Save the report as a web (*htm) page, Print the report or open it inExcel by clicking Show Excel Report.

Page 31


Find a specific attribute

If you cannot easily locate the attribute(s) you want to investigate, you can use the Find Attributefacility.

1 From the Tools menu, select FindAttribute.

2 Controls are now displayed atthe top of the Attribute Explorer.Set them as appropriate to findyour attributes:

Under Find what, enter all or partof the attribute name, or selectfrom a list of previous searches.

Either select a specific data Stream or leave the defaultoption <all streams>.

Select Whole word to onlysearch for attributes with nameswhich exactly match the textentered above. If left blank, thesearch will include all attributesthat use part of the entered textin their names.

Select Case sensitive to onlysearch for attributes where theupper- and lower-case lettersmust match exactly.

Select Direction to be Up or Downthe Attribute Explorer tree fromthe currently selected attribute.

3 To find and highlight the nextattribute that meets these searchcriteria, click Find Next.

4 To display all results of thesearch in the Search Results tab,click Find All.

Page 32


Here are the results from theabove example if the Find Allbutton was clicked:

5 When you have finished yoursearch, click Done to dismiss thesearch controls.

Page 33


Show a menu of attribute options

• From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on an attribute to show a pop-up menu. This menulists all the options that you can perform involving this attribute.

See also Add to FavoritesDisplay on TableDisplay on new mapDisplay on new WorkbookDisplay on new chart

Page 34


View an attribute in a data window

1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the attribute to open a pop-up menu.

2 Select one of the Display options.

3 The attribute now appears in a new data window of the selected type.

If a chart window is already open, you can also drag an attribute from the Attribute Explorer anddrop it onto an existing data window.

See also About chartsAbout mapsAbout tablesAbout workbooksUse the Replay Control

Page 35


Use the Replay Control

Use the Replay control on the main toolbar:

Click on the Step buttons to move forwards and backwards by one message at a time. Note thatseveral clicks may be required before any change is visible on the Map, depending on the binningsettings.

Click on the Play buttons to move at a selectable multiple of real-time speed through the data. Inthis case, some messages may be dropped as necessary to allow the data to be highlighted at theset speed. The Select Options button allows you to override this and force the Replay control toPlay All Messages.

Page 36


Use StateForms

While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point byusing a StateForm.

1 From the View menu, select Display Form and then the appropriate form.


The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point youselected. A typical StateForm looks similar to this:

If you have more than one stream that you want to view using the StateForm, right-click on theStateForm window and select Stream Selector. This toggles on or off a drop-down menu at thetop of the StateForm from which you can select another data stream.

Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms as required.

See also Create a new StateForm

Page 37


Create a new StateForm

To create a new form 1 From the Tools menu, select StateForms Editor to open a blank StateForm window.

2 Right-click on the StateForm window to display the StateForm menu.

3 From the menu, select Design Mode to switch on StateForm editing.

The StateForm window will look similar to this:

At the top of the window, under the Stream Selector, is a drop-down control allowing youto select from available sheets in the current StateForm, and a set of buttons that allowsyou to create a New Sheet or File, Open and Save Files, and open the Sheet Manager (forcontrolling all the sheets you create):

You can toggle the display of this toolbar by right-clicking on the form and selecting SheetSelector.

Underneath the Sheet Selector toolbar are buttons for Deleting, Cutting, Copying andPasting objects, and Toggling Design Mode:

Next to these are buttons for Selecting objects, and for creating text Labels, AttributeValue, Array Attribute Value, Time Chart and Scan Chart objects plus a Group Box forvisually dividing up the StateForm:

The Design Mode area that represents the final StateForm is indicated by a background ofdots.

On the right of the window, display characteristics are shown for a selected object (in thisexample, an Attribute Bar in the upper right of the StateForm has been selected).

You can also right-click on the StateForm window and select New File, Open or Save.

To create a new object on the form 1 Click (on either) Text, Attribute Value, Array Attribute Value, Time Chart or Scan Chart.

2 In the Design Mode area, click and drag to create a new object.

This object will now appear highlighted, with its characteristics shown in the panel on theright.

Page 38


3 Click in the empty field under 'Attribute' and type in a data attribute name or select onefrom the attribute picker.

4 Change any other characteristics for the object as required.

To create a new sheet for the file A form can have more than one sheet, which might, for example, correspond to different modesof analysis.

1 Right-click on the StateForm window and select New Sheet.

2 Design this sheet in the normal way.

3 Save the form.

To select a different sheet from a form 1 Right-click on the StateForm window and select Sheet Selector.

This displays a drop-down list of all available sheets in the current form.

2 Select the required sheet.

See also Sheet ManagerCreate a Time ChartEdit Series PropertiesCreate a Scan ChartActix expression syntax & examples

Page 39


Sheet Manager

When in a StateForm with the Sheet Selector and related buttons visible, you can open the SheetManager dialog by clicking the last button on the right:

The Sheet Manager dialog is shown below:

A StateForm can have one or more sheets, which can be opened using the Sheet Selector control.The Sheet Manager allows you to copy and move sheets to and from new and existing StateForms.The Manager shows two panes, the one on the left for the current StateForm and the other paneas a working area which can be saved in its own right as a new StateForm. The buttons in themiddle copy a selected sheet from its current pane to the other side.

Delete – Removes a selected sheet from its pane.

Rename – Allows you to rename the selected sheet.

Open – Displays the sheets of a selected StateForm file in the right pane. The name of theStateForm is displayed above the pane.

Save – Saves the StateForm in the right pane.

Save As – Saves the sheets in the right pane as a new StateForm file. The name of the StateFormis displayed above the pane.

New File – Deletes all existing sheets from the right pane, ready to create a new StateForm.

Cancel – Closes the window. Any changes to the left pane are ignored.

Done – Closes the window. Any changes to the left pane are now part of the current StateForm.

Page 40


Create a Time Chart

About time charts Here is an example of a time chart:

To create a time chart

When in the StateForm Design Mode window, you can click on the Time Chart button to createa time chart object.

Then draw the chart where you want it, and set the size by dragging or by using the propertypanel shown below.

Next, double-click Chart on the property panel or click the […] button to open the Time ChartProperties dialog:

Page 41


The chart properties allow every configurable aspect of the chart to be set (this information ispersisted in the XML StateForms file along with all other StateForms information). The key aspectsof the configuration are:

Page 42


Chart Layout

Percent pre/post sync point This is the percentage of the chart time line which will remain visible when a sync occurs. Forinstance, if a chart shows the left-most visible point at time 10:00:00 and the right-most visiblepoint at 10:10:00 and “Percent pre/post sync point” is set to 10%, then a sync at time 10:00:30will cause the chart to be re-drawn (probably with the new sync-point in the middle of the chart –unless this point is close to the start or end of the time range for the steam – in which case thesync-point will be repositioned to avoid displaying a lot of blank space).

Time range (ms) (0 = all) This value sets the time range for the displayed X-axis in milliseconds. For instance, if this value isset to 600000 (10 minutes), then a 10 minute “window” of data will be displayed in the chart.Setting this value to small numbers can result in many points on the chart corresponding to thesame message number (when messages occur less frequently than the time interval betweenconsecutive points on the chart).

A special case is made when this value is set to 0. In this case the entire range of time in thestream is shown in the chart view. For instance, if a stream covers a 32.5 minute range and the“Time range (ms) (0 = all)” value is set to 0, and then the entire 32.5 minute range of the streamis shown within the chart view.

Pixels increment This value sets how many horizontal pixels on the computer display are actually used for the chartdisplay. The reason for controlling this is to avoid over-writing chart data with other data and alsoto make the chart display faster by avoiding duplicating information. In general, point series will bedrawn with a thickness of 2 or more pixels (points of 1 pixel width are quite difficult to see), hence,it makes sense not to draw a point at every pixel if each point is more than one pixel wide.

For example: say the “Pixels increment” is set to 2 and there are 600 pixels horizontally across thechart series display area. Only every other pixel will be equated to a data point in the stream (300pixels used to represent data points). If the time-range for the chart is set to 600000 (10 minutes)then each used pixel corresponds to a time-range of 2000ms (2 seconds).

Background

General The general background of the chart is the area on which the series and the legends are drawn.

When no new data The “no new data” situation occurs when a time point on the X axis is at the same messagenumber in the stream as the previous point. This setting allows the background color to bechanged in these circumstances so that the user can see that data is being repeated. This canhappen for a number of reasons:

• The “Time range (ms)” value is set to a small number (for a given a number of chart pixels)such that there is often a situation where there are no new messages within the shorttime period between X axis points. For example, if at a certain point in a file messagesoccur every 500ms or so, the “Time range (ms)” is set to 10000 (10 seconds) and thenumber of used pixels is 200, then each X pixel corresponds to around 50ms and, hence,10 X pixels represent 1 message.

• A “pause” or other kind of inactivity has occurred in the logging equipment and there areno new values for a period of time.

Before/after data This controls the color and cross-hatching of the background when the chart displays X points at atime before (or after) the earliest (or latest) valid data point time in the stream.

X Axis This is the color of the background where the X Axis is drawn (if present) – that is, below the mainseries.

Y Axis + Legend The color of the background of the Y axis and legend area (if present) to the right of the mainseries.

Page 43


Fonts This controls the fonts used to display the legend text, event text and X axis. The font name,height and (in some cases) text color is controlled from these settings.

X-Axis and X Slider

Axis area height (0 = no X axis) This controls the height (in pixels) of the area used to display the X axis (set this value to 0 if no Xaxis is required). The X axis is generally used to display the time at the left and right edges of theseries traces.

Slider height (0 = no slider)

The slider allows the series display to be “panned” left and right using a scroll-bar. Thissetting controls the height of the slider bar as well as the height of the “X scale picker”which is a drop-down list of available time-ranges for the X axis. Selecting 0 for the sliderheight removes the slider and X scale pickers.

Marker Expr This is an expression in the standard Actix expression syntax which is used to define the valuesdisplayed at the minimum (left) and maximum (right) points of the X Axis. Generally, this will be atime related value such as the formatted value of the time at this point. Note that the expressionTime will return the relative time from the start of the stream (in ms). The actual time can be foundby adding this to the absolute time at the start of the stream.

Series This is a list of the series displayed in the chart. Click the Add button to add a new series. Select aseries by clicking it. Use the Edit button to edit a series. Press Delete to delete the series. Add andEdit result in the Series Properties dialog being displayed.

Line Settings This area controls the Width, Color and Style for various lines drawn in the chart:

Sync-line This is the vertical line indicating the current sync-point.

Axis-line This is the line used to form the (optional) Y Axis.

Grid-line The lines drawn (optionally) to show various Y Axis levels as a horizontal grid across the chart.

Page 44


Legend + Axis These settings control the layout of the Y Axis and Legend area.

Left margin The space between the right of the series display area and the legend/y-axis display area (inpixels).

Axis width The width reserved for drawing a (vertical) Y axis (in pixels).

Legend width The width (in pixels) of the area reserved for drawing the legend text (note that each series canmodify this value – often this is needed when horizontal legend text is mixed with vertical as theseobviously have different widths).

Global Expressions These expressions can be used in Tool-tips (see the Tool-tip details under the Series Properties).To Add/Delete/Edit, use the buttons to the side. These expressions use the standard Actixexpression syntax which is described in Actix expression syntax & examples.

Clicking on the Edit button opens the Global Expression dialog:

Page 45


Edit Series Properties

Clicking on the Edit button within a StateForm's Time Chart Properties dialog opens the SeriesProperties dialog:

Series Type

Various series types are available, described below. This setting controls the availability ofsome of the other dialog options.

• Point – a single point for each data value.

• Line – a line drawn between the previous (valid) data value and the current data value.Gaps appear when the previous point is invalid. If the previous point is invalid and the nextpoint is also invalid, a single point is drawn.

• Bar – a vertical bar from the base of the series Y axis up to the data value. Data valuesequal to the minimum value on the Y axis appear as a single point.

• Rail – this is like a Bar but the height is fixed (not dependent on value). It is useful fordisplaying state changes, and so on.

• Event – includes an icon, vertical line through event, event text and event number(counting from the first event of this type in the stream) which can all (optionally) bedisplayed.

Data-Tip Expression This controls the text displayed when the user moves the mouse over a data value in the series(including event icons, and so on).

The expression can include Global Expressions by putting %% around the Global Expression name.For example, if a Global Expression is called LevAndQual then it can be included in a Data-Tip byputting %%LevAndQual%% in the expression. The effect of this is exactly as though the text ofthe specified Global Expression had been copied into this expression in place of the%%globexprname%%.

Page 46


Value Expression

Expression The Value Expression is used (if not blank) to define the value of each point in the series. Forinstance, to display the most recent value of the attribute ServRxLevFull minus the most recentvalue of the attribute ServRxLevSub, use the expression:

state(ServRxLevFull) – state(ServRxLevSub)

Format Group Format groups are used to control formatting of values, specify value ranges, and so on. If a ValueExpression is used (the Value Expression box is not blank), then the selection in this drop-downlist sets the Format Group used to format values of the Value Expression, and so on.

Format Mode When a value is formatted using a Format Group, various settings (for example, the presence ofunits text on the end of the formatted value) can be controlled using this drop-down list.

Attribute

Attribute If a Value Expression is not used, the setting made using this Actix attribute picker controls thedata attribute to be displayed on the chart series.

Array Idx This is the Array Index, which is used for array attributes.

Hold Attribute Value This is used to fix the attribute value – that is, the most recent previous value of the attribute isused (if valid). This is equivalent to using the state() function in an expression.

Data Point and Line Settings

Validity Expression The Validity Expression can be used to remove values from the display of a series. This can beused to stop invalid data being displayed. If no Validity Expression is specified, all points that havevalid values are displayed.

An example of where this is beneficial is for a measurement value such as ServRxLevFull when themeasurement has no meaning (such as when the phone is in Idle Mode).

To do this, set the 'Validity Expression' to 'state(HandsetMode) < 2'.

In some cases, the value will have been invalidated when Idle Mode was entered, so the use of aValidity Expression would be unnecessary.

Data Point Width, Color and Style These settings control the thickness, color and style (solid, dash, dot, and so on) of the line usedto draw data points. For Point styles, only the color and thickness settings are used. In all cases,the color setting is overridden if the 'Color Range Expression' is used (see Color RangeExpression).

Event Line Width, Color and Style These settings control the thickness, color and style (solid, dash, dot, and so on) of the verticalline drawn (optionally) through each event in an Event series.

Event Line This check-box controls whether an Event Line (vertical line drawn through each event) isdisplayed.

Across Whole Chart This check-box controls whether the Event Line (see above) is drawn across the entire chart (orjust across the Event series).

Page 47


Event Icon and Text

Event icon name This setting controls the icon displayed for an event. This can be any icon resource in a DLL file.The syntax for specifying the DLL file and icon identifier is as follows:

DLLFileName, iconID

If the DLLFileName is blank the standard Actix DLL AtxRes.dll is assumed (this contains most of theicons used in Actix A Solutions. If a path to the DLL is not specified as part of the name, the DLL isassumed to be in the same directory as the main application executable. Some example iconidentifiers are listed in the Example Icon Identifiers section.

Event Icon Y Offset This is the offset (in pixels) to draw the icon above the base of the Y axis for this series.

Event Text This is the event text to display with icon.

Extra Text Y Offset This is an offset which can be applied to the Event Text to move it relative to the Y axis for thisseries.

Number This displays the Event number (of the specified event) in the stream. For instance, the firstHandover OK in a stream will have number 1, the second 2, and so on.

Page 48


Color Ranges

Color using expr This expression (if not blank) is used as the basis of the coloring for each data point. This is onlyused if the 'Color range expr' is also specified. In this case, the color of each data point is definedby evaluating the 'Color using expr' and then applying the coloring defined by the 'Color rangeexpr' (see below).

Color range expr This is a color range expression as used in other parts of the StateForms. If it is blank, the color foreach data point is derived from the fixed color specified in the Data Point and Line Settings box(see above).

The syntax takes the form:

H1, V1, H2, V2; ...

Where:

H1 is the high end of the first (lowest value) range (inclusive - this value is included in the range)

V1 is the value of the expression if the attribute value is in the first range (equal to or less thanH1)

H2 is the high end of the second (next lowest values) range

V2 is the value of the expression if the attribute value is in the second range

... and so on.

Hx can be * which means a very high value (the rest of the number space about the last range)

Vx can be: RGB(r,g,b) where r is a Red component value, g is Green, b is Blue (range 0..255 foreach)

Example (value of Color Legend property):

-90, RGB(255,0,0), -80, RGB(0,255,0), -70, RGB(0,0,255), *, RGB(0,0,0)

This displays:

red for values <= -90

green for values > -90 and <= -80

blue for values > -80 and <= -70

black for values > -70

Min / Max Values If the 'Use specified Min and Max' check box is checked then the Min and Max values for the series(used to define the Y scaling and in the Axis and Min/Max value display) will be those defined in theMin and Max edit boxes. If not checked the values for Min and Max are defined by the FormatGroup (unless no format group is available in which case the Min and Max box values are indeedused).

Page 49


Series Positioning

Y Height This defines the height (in pixels or percent – see below) of the Y axis used for this series.

Y Height is Percent Checking this box controls whether the Y Height value is a percentage of the overall chart seriesdisplay area, or (if not checked) is in pixels. The use of a percentage allows scaleable chartdisplays to be defined. For instance, a chart can be defined in which one band shows a line chartand one shows a bar chart. These can be defined to have percentage based heights (and offsets)and hence to scale up or down based on the overall chart height.

Y Offset This defines the position (in pixels or percent) of the base (bottom) of the Y axis for this serieswithin the overall chart series display area.

Y Offset is Percent This controls whether the Y Offset value is in pixels (if not checked) or is a percentage (if checked)of the overall chart series display area.

Y Height is Max If checked this box overrides the other Y Height settings and sets the Y Height to the whole of thechart series display area above the Y Offset. So, for instance, if this is checked and the Y Offset is 0then this series occupies the entire chart series display area.

Legend and Y Axis

Show Legend This check box controls whether the legend text for this series is to be shown. If it is shown anamount of space defined by the 'Legend width' property (in the main Chart Properties) + the 'Extralegend width' (see below) is allocated in the Y Axis display area for the legend for this series. Thisensures that legends and Y axes are not drawn on top of each-other (unless you want them to be – which can be achieved by setting the Extra legend width to negative numbers, and so on!).

Horizontal Legend Checking this box causes the legend text for this series to be shown horizontally rather thanvertically. Generally, you need to use the 'Extra legend width' with this setting to get a wideenough space for the legend text to be displayed.

Show Min/Max Checking this box causes Min and Max values to be displayed next to the Y Axis.

Show Y Axis Checking this box causes the Y Axis to be displayed.

Legend Text This is the text used for the legend. If blank, the Value Expression (if not blank) or Attribute Name(if Value Expression is blank) is used.

Legend Text Color Color of the legend text.

Grid Lines This determines if grid lines are displayed horizontally across the chart area.

Extra legend width Sets the number of pixels of extra space allocated to the legend – this is mainly useful forhorizontal legends (see explanation above).

Page 50


Create a Scan Chart

About Scan Charts Scan Charts show bar charts of data held in Array Attributes. This can be used to produce displayslike a spectrum analyzer of scanner data or a chart of Nth best neighbours.

To create a Scan Chart

1 When in the StateForm Design Mode window, you can click on the Scan Chart button tocreate a scan chart object.

2 Then draw the chart where you want it, and set the size by dragging or by using theproperty panel shown below.

3 Next, double-click Chart on the property panel or click the […] button to open the Bar ChartProperties dialog:

Page 51


The chart properties allow every configurable aspect of the chart to be set (this information ispersisted in the XML StateForms file along with all other StateForms information).

Background

General The background colour of the chartspace.

X axis The background colour of the area below the X axis.

Y axis The background colour of the area to the right of the Y axis.

Page 52


Attributes

X Num Bars This is the number of bars in the chart but it can be overidden by the 'Number of Bars to Display'field in the Layout and Legend Section.

X Values This is an array of the values to be used on the X axis. So in the GSM Neighbour example shownabove the X value is NborBCCH.

Y Values This is an array of the Y value broken down by the X value. In the GSM Neighbour example abovethe attribute NborRxLev_by_arfcn is used as the Arfcn is equivalent in this instance with the BCCHgiving the RxLev of the Neighbour cells broken down by BCCH.

Scan Msgs This must be set to an attribute that is present in all messages that the chart should look at. It isa bit like a mandatory exclusive filter. So for Neighbour RxLev measurements the NborBCCH mightbe a sensible attribute to set.

Array Index for Scan Msgs

Font Name + Height (pixels) + Color

Bar Label This is the font/colour of the text expression that is put at the top of each bar.

Legend This is the font/colour of the text expression that forms the Y-axis Legend.

X Axis This is the fon/colour of the text expression that is placed at the bottom of each bar.

X Axis and Bar Labeling

Axis Area Height This is the size of the space below the X axis.

Axis Label This is the text expression that is displayed down the Y axis.

Bar Label This is the text expression shown at the top of each bar.

Axis label Horizontal When enabled the X axis labels are displayed horizontally rather than vertically.

Bar Label Horizontal When enabled the bar labels are displayed horizontally rather than vertically.

Line Settings

Bar Border Line Border of the Bar settings.

Axis Line Line settings of the Axis lines

Grid Line Line settings of the Grid lines

Page 53


Bar Color

Default

Color using Expression This can be used to give an attribute expression from which to determine a value on which acolouring rule can be used.

Expr format group This defines the format group of that expression - allowing the use of 'format by colour group'.

Color Ranges This can be used to define a colour range expression that defines the colours for different values.

Layout and Legend

Number of Bars to Display This sets an absolute number of bars to appear. This overides the 'X Num Bars' setting.

Chart Left The amount of space in pixels to the left of the chart

Chart Right The amount of space in pixels to the right of the chart

Y Axis Left The amount of space in pixels to the right of the Y axis.

Bar Space % The amount of space in percentage of bar width between bars.

Y axis Width The width of the Y axis.

Legend Width The width of the Legend in the Y axis

Legend Text The Text expression that is displayed on the Y axis.

Legend On Enable/Disable the Legend

Legend Horiz When enabled the Legend is displayed horizontally rather than vertically.

Show Min/Max When enabled the maximum and minimum values are shown on the Y axis.

Data Tip Expression This is a text expression that will appear as a tool tip when the mouse hovers over a bar.

See also Create a new StateFormSheet ManagerCreate a Time ChartEdit Series PropertiesActix expression syntax & examples

Page 54


Actix expression syntax & examples

Actix expressions are used in many places for generating both numerical values and textoutputs. Examples are as follows:

Numerical value outputs

state(ServRxLevFull)

default(state(ServRxLevFull), -110)

Text outputs

“ServRxLevFull “ + state(ServRxLevFull) + “\r\n”

- note the \r\n creates a carriage return in a Tool-tip, etc. Note: to get an expression to format as a text string you need to include at least one textstring and the “” string doesn’t count.

See also Expression Builder function reference

Page 55


View a data stream in the Message Browser

1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data stream to display a pop-up menu.

2 Select Display Message Browser. The data stream now appears in the Message Browserwindow.

See also About the Message Browser

Page 56


View the results of a query

1 From the Attribute Explorer window’s Queries heading, select the appropriate query.

2 Right-click on the query to display the pop-up option menu.

3 Select the desired choice from the menu.

See also About chartsAbout tablesAbout workbooksUse workspacesEdit an existing analysis

Page 57


Create Screen Layouts

To create a Screen Layout 1 Arrange the views on your screen as required:

2 From the View menu, select Screen Layouts, Save Screen Layout to open this dialog:

The Save Screen Layout dialog allows you determine what happens when the screen layoutis re-opened.

Windows to Save - This area shows a list of currently open windows.

- Uncheck any windows that you do not want to include in the screen layout configuration.

- Click on the window name to edit the name (for example, Map1 in the above example).Changing the name here will change the title of the window when the screen layout is

Page 58


re-opened. Note that you can only edit the names of windows.

Close all windows before opening this layout - This checkbox determines what happensto other windows when the screen layout is opened. If the box is not checked, the newwindows will appear on top of other windows which are already open.

File Name – Specify the name and location of the Screen Layout configuration file.

See also Screen Layout configuration filesShare Screen Layouts

Page 59


Screen Layout configuration files

When you save a Screen Layout .asl file, a layout folder with the same name plus an appended"_VT" is also created in the same location. The layout folder contains a configuration file for eachindividual view within the screen layout:

Page 60


Share Screen Layouts

Screen Layouts can be a handy tool to share an optimization process throughout a group ororganization.

Be sure to copy the sub-folder as well as the layout file.

For example: A team leader may define a Screen Layout for troubleshooting a handoverproblem. By giving a copy of the layout files to other users, they may all use the same processeach time they troubleshoot the same type of problem.

Page 61



To open a Screen Layout 1 From the View menu, select Screen Layout, Open Screen Layout.

2 Select the layout file.

You can also right-click on the stream name and select Screen Layouts, Open Screen Layout.

Different screen resolutions Screen Layouts are designed to work well on a variety of screen resolutions, so Layouts designedfor one resolution still function well on a larger or smaller screen.

Stateforms and Replay are restored at a fixed rather than relative size.

See also About Screen Layouts



Page 62


Export data to a file

You may want to export data to a file.

1 From the File menu, select Export as Text to open the Export Wizard.

2 For each step of the Wizard, enter the appropriate information and click Next to proceed.

Wizard Step 1—select the data stream that you want to export data from.

Wizard Step 2—select one or more data attributes that are to be exported.

Wizard Step 3—specify the export format using the options provided:

Data Process Method – choose whether or not to use the current binning settings on thedata before it is exported.

Delimiter Type – select how you want each data item to be separated.

Hold last valid value – check to cause the last valid data value that was exported to bere-exported when an invalid value is encountered.

Export time as absolute time – check to force time attribute data to be exported inabsolute time in the format ‘hh:mm:ss dd-mm-yyyy’. By default, when exporting the timeattribute the time data is exported in relative time.

Write column heading as first line – check to generate a header containing the names ofall the attributes.

Output unit type – check to include the unit type in the header.

Export to File – enter the location and the name of the output file.

3 Click Finish to write the text file using the specified format.

Page 63


Use Load Time Queries

When using 'PCM link' data from—for example—A/Abis or Gb logfiles, you may find that the most ofthe data in these files is not relevant to your requirements. Load Time queries allow you to onlyload the data that you need for your analyses.

To select one or more Load Time queries Ensure that under Tools | Preferences, Load Mode is set to 'Minimal'.

Either:

• Import the Load Time queries

• Set existing queries to be Load Time queries

Once you have selected one or more Load Time queries, all subsequently loaded data files will beprocessed by the queries, and you can analyse the data just like normal data attributes.

See also About Load Time, Full Load and Minimal LoadSet as Load Time queryImport a querySuperstream PCM Link and Drive Test data

Page 64


Merge data streams

1 From the Tools menu, select Create Superstream to open the Superstreaming dialog. Thisdialog shows all currently available data streams.

2 Check each data stream that you want to combine as a superstream.

3 Click Settings to expand the dialog.

4 Select the Merge Method settings:

Use timestamps – this uses timestamp data within each stream to synchronize the data.

Correlated Parameters – use specified data attributes to correlate the data streams. Toachieve a strong correlation, choose attributes that represent the same measurement onthe uplink and downlink, as shown in this example of superstreaming GSM drive test andcall-trace data streams:

Time Offsets – select this to apply a shift to the time value for one of the streams. This is agood option for superstreaming mobile and land-based log files collected using speechquality equipment.

5 Click OK to start the superstreaming.

See also Superstream PCM Link and Drive Test data

Page 65


Superstream PCM Link and Drive Test data

PCM Link data, for example from A, Abis or Gb logfiles can be combined with drive test datacollected simultaneously. This allows the GPS coordinates from the drive test to be matched to theuplink information, so the uplink information or the difference between uplink and downlinkinformation can then be plotted on a map.

1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.

2 Select an appropriate Load Time Query (e.g. Abis Call Analysis).

3 Now Open the PCM Link file and the drive test file to be superstreamed.

4 From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT to open the PCM-Link/Drive TestSuperstreaming dialog.

5 Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s).

6 Select the appropriate PCM-Link stream(s).

7 Select the appropriate Search Method settings for synchronizing the data streams.

8 Click OK to begin the Superstreaming process.

When the process is complete, the superstream is displayed in the Attribute Explorer, andthe normal data displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be used to examinethe data.

Page 66


Modify event detection threshold values

You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display Thresholdscommand. To modify the value, simply click on the associated number and type in the new value.

In the UMTS example below, a threshold is available for too many servers. This threshold applieswhen four or more pilots are within a certain range of the best server. In other words, if thethreshold is set to 3 dB, an event will appear on the map every time four or more pilots are within3 dB of the best server (Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0).

See also CDMA thresholdsGSM thresholdsUMTS thresholds

Page 67



This section is not available for the products RVS, IVS or SVS.

An Advanced Design user may create a screen layout which can be displayed directly in the menus.This is an easy way to allow other users to access targeted applications them to create easy touse targeted applications for other users.

You will need to restart your Actix solution before you can see the Screen Layout appear in themenu:

You could set the Menu and Menu Label to create an entirely new menu item:

Page 68


Screen Layouts that are saved as Menu Options are saved (together with their related subfolders)in the folder:

\Actix\Analyzer\ScreenLayouts

To remove the layout, delete the appropriate configuration files.

See also About Screen Layouts



Page 69


Workspace toolbar reference

This control Does this…

New Workspace Discards the current workspace for an empty workspace.

Open Workspace Discards the current workspace for a specified workspace.

Save Workspace Saves the current workspace as an .xml file.

Open Logfile Loads a specified logfile.

Page 70


Documents

User Guide 1