Actix Spotlight Desktop User Guide

www.actix.com

June 2013

Desktop User Guide

www.actix.com

The content of this manual is provided for information only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Actix. Actix assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that appear in this documentation.

Copyright © Actix 2013. All rights reserved. All trademarks are hereby acknowledged.

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Contents

1 ABOUT SPOTLIGHT ..................................................................................... 6

1.2 USING SPOTLIGHT TO SOLVE NETWORK PROBLEMS ...................................................... 7 1.3 ABOUT SPOTLIGHT PROJECTS ............................................................................. 10

2 IMPORTING CELL SITE DATA ....................................................................... 11

2.1 IMPORTING NETWORK DATA .............................................................................. 11 2.2 UPDATING CELL SITE DATA ............................................................................... 20 2.3 LOADING CELL SITE DATA ................................................................................ 20 2.4 CELL SITE DISPLAY ........................................................................................ 21 2.5 SETTING THRESHOLDS FOR DATA IMPORT .............................................................. 26

3 STARTING SPOTLIGHT ............................................................................... 27

4 CREATING A PROJECT ................................................................................ 28

4.1 STEP 1: CHOOSE NAME AND TEMPLATE ................................................................. 28 4.2 STEP 2: SET PREFERENCES AND THRESHOLDS ......................................................... 29 4.3 STEP 3: CHOOSE DATA ................................................................................... 32

5 USING THE SUMMARY DASHBOARD ................................................................ 34

5.1 NAVIGATING AROUND SPOTLIGHT ........................................................................ 35 5.2 THE TOP PANEL ............................................................................................. 37 5.3 THE ISSUES PANEL ......................................................................................... 38 5.4 THE MAP ..................................................................................................... 39

6 USING SPOTLIGHT REPORTS ........................................................................ 40

7 USING THE RADIO NETWORK EXPLORER .......................................................... 42

7.1 ABOUT THE RADIO NETWORK EXPLORER ................................................................ 42 7.2 CDMA / EVDO CELL COVERAGE ANALYSIS ............................................................ 44 7.3 CDMA / EVDO NEIGHBOR LIST ANALYSIS ............................................................. 50 7.4 CDMA / EVDO PILOT POLLUTION ANALYSIS .......................................................... 56 7.5 EVDO SYSTEM PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ............................................................... 60 7.6 GSM CELL COVERAGE ANALYSIS ......................................................................... 65 7.7 GSM 2G MISSING NEIGHBORS ANALYSIS .............................................................. 75 7.8 LTE CELL COVERAGE ANALYSIS .......................................................................... 81 7.9 LTE 4G – 3G/2G MISSING NEIGHBORS ............................................................... 85 7.10 UMTS / HSPA 3G NEIGHBOR LIST ANALYSIS ....................................................... 89 7.11 UMTS / HSPA 3G-2G NEIGHBOR LIST ANALYSIS .................................................. 95 7.12 UMTS / HSPA CELL COVERAGE ANALYSIS ......................................................... 101 7.13 UMTS / HSPA CELL PILOT POLLUTION ANALYSIS ................................................. 108 7.14 ABOUT THE INTERFERENCE FACTOR (‘F’ FACTOR) .................................................. 112

8 USING THE EVENT EXPLORER ..................................................................... 115

8.1 ABOUT THE EVENT EXPLORER ........................................................................... 115 8.2 DATA SERVICE ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 118 8.3 DRILL DOWN FROM THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................ 133

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9 PERFORMING A MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS ..................................................... 137

9.1 BEFORE YOU START ...................................................................................... 137 9.2 TO LOAD DATA INTO ANALYZER CLASSIC .............................................................. 137

10 BATCH SECTOR PLOT ............................................................................ 139

11 CREATING A SPOTLIGHT PROJECT TEMPLATE ................................................. 142

11.1 STEP 1: CHOOSE NAME AND STARTING TEMPLATE ................................................ 143 11.2 STEP 2: CHOOSE DEVICES ............................................................................ 144 11.3 STEP 3: CHOOSE KPIS AND REPORTS ............................................................... 148 11.4 STEP 4: CHOOSE ATTRIBUTES ........................................................................ 149 11.5 STEP 5: CHOOSE GLOBAL FILTERS .................................................................. 153

12 TROUBLESHOOTING SPOTLIGHT ................................................................ 154

12.1 NO REPOSITORY DETECTED ............................................................................ 154 12.2 THE MAPS IN YOUR REPORT ARE EMPTY .............................................................. 154

13 APPENDIX A: CELL SITE PARAMETERS ........................................................ 155

13.1 CDMA CELL SITE PARAMETERS ...................................................................... 155 13.2 GSM / GPRS / EDGE CELL SITE PARAMETERS ................................................... 156 13.3 LTE CELL SITE PARAMETERS ......................................................................... 157 13.4 UMTS / HSPA+ CELL SITE PARAMETERS .......................................................... 158

14 APPENDIX B: SPOTLIGHT REPORTS ............................................................ 160

14.1 CDMA SPOTLIGHT REPORT ........................................................................... 160 14.2 EVDO SPOTLIGHT REPORT ........................................................................... 163 14.3 EVDO REV A SPOTLIGHT REPORT ................................................................... 167 14.4 GSM SPOTLIGHT REPORT ............................................................................. 171 14.5 HSPA SPOTLIGHT REPORT ............................................................................ 176 14.6 UMTS SPOTLIGHT REPORT ........................................................................... 181

15 APPENDIX C: CDMA THRESHOLDS, KPIS AND DIAGNOSES ............................... 186

15.1 CDMA THRESHOLDS ................................................................................... 186 15.2 CDMA EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................ 189 15.3 DROPPED CALL DIAGNOSIS FOR CDMA ............................................................. 190

16 APPENDIX D: DATA SERVICE ANALYSIS THRESHOLDS ...................................... 192

16.1 DSA THRESHOLDS...................................................................................... 192

17 APPENDIX E: EGPRS KPIS AND DIAGNOSES ................................................ 199

17.1 EGPRS THRESHOLDS .................................................................................. 199 17.2 EGPRS EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ........................................................... 201 17.3 EGPRS DIAGNOSES .................................................................................... 203

18 APPENDIX F: EVDO KPIS AND DIAGNOSES .................................................. 205

18.1 EVDO THRESHOLDS ................................................................................... 205 18.2 EVDO EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................ 209 18.3 DROPPED CONNECTION DIAGNOSIS FOR EVDO .................................................... 210

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18.4 LOW THROUGHPUT DIAGNOSIS FOR EVDO ......................................................... 212 18.5 SCHEDULING ISSUES DIAGNOSIS FOR EVDO ...................................................... 214

19 APPENDIX G: GSM THRESHOLDS, KPIS AND DIAGNOSES ................................. 216

19.1 GSM THRESHOLDS ..................................................................................... 216 19.2 GSM EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER .............................................................. 220 19.3 CALL SETUP FAILURE DIAGNOSIS FOR GSM ........................................................ 221 19.4 LOCATION UPDATE FAILURE DIAGNOSIS FOR GSM ................................................ 223 19.5 DROPPED CALLS DIAGNOSIS FOR GSM .............................................................. 225 19.6 HANDOVER FAILURE DIAGNOSIS FOR GSM ......................................................... 226

20 APPENDIX H: HSPA THRESHOLDS, KPIS AND DIAGNOSES ................................ 227

20.1 HSPA EVENT EXPLORER ANALYSIS ................................................................... 227 20.2 HSPA CALL DROP ANALYSIS EXAMPLE .............................................................. 227 20.3 HSDPA LOW THROUGHPUT EXAMPLE ................................................................ 230 20.4 HSPA EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................ 234 20.5 HSPA THROUGHPUT KPIS ............................................................................ 238 20.6 HSDPA THRESHOLDS .................................................................................. 240

21 APPENDIX I: LTE THRESHOLDS, KPIS AND DIAGNOSES .................................... 244

21.1 LTE THRESHOLDS ...................................................................................... 244 21.2 LTE_CT THRESHOLDS ................................................................................. 248 21.3 SPOTLIGHT THRESHOLDS .............................................................................. 252 21.4 LTE EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................... 252 21.5 RRC DROP DIAGNOSIS FOR LTE ..................................................................... 254 21.6 CALL DROP DIAGNOSIS FOR VOLTE ................................................................. 256 21.7 LTE IRAT MISSING NEIGHBOR ANALYSIS .......................................................... 258

22 APPENDIX J: UMTS THRESHOLDS, KPIS AND DIAGNOSES................................. 260

22.1 UMTS THRESHOLDS ................................................................................... 260 22.2 UMTS EVENTS IN THE EVENT EXPLORER ............................................................ 264 22.3 DROPPED CALLS DIAGNOSIS FOR UMTS ............................................................ 266 22.4 CALL SETUP FAILURE DIAGNOSIS FOR UMTS ...................................................... 268 22.5 EXCESSIVE CALL DIAGNOSIS FOR UMTS ............................................................ 270

23 APPENDIX L: INFORMATION FOR ADMINISTRATORS ......................................... 271

23.1 HIDING ANALYZER EVENT DIAGRAMS FROM SPOTLIGHT USERS .................................. 271

24 INDEX .............................................................................................. 272

Actix Spotlight Desktop User Guide June 2013 6

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1 About Spotlight

Today’s performance optimization and troubleshooting processes are typically

inefficient, costly, and error prone. Engineering teams commonly use disparate

tools that are poorly integrated lacking the automation and scalability

fundamental for rolling out and maintaining complex wireless networks.

Actix Spotlight lowers the overall cost of performance optimization by delivering

maximum engineering productivity in a managed workflow.

Designed by optimization engineers, for optimization engineers, Spotlight

identifies key performance indicators, provides automated root-cause

troubleshooting, coverage and interference identification, and concise reporting.

Engineers can solve and report on more problems faster by eliminating time

consuming data manipulation and manual deduction.

1.1.1 Radio Network Analyses

Spotlight provides the following analyses for examining the performance of the

radio network:

Coverage and Overspill Analysis – this determines the coverage footprint

of cells and identifies overshoot against coverage design boundaries.

Grade of Service – this determines the relative grade of service for cells,

based on user-defined thresholds.

Pilot Pollution – this automatically identifies inbound vs. outbound pilot

pollution. Prioritizes which cells in the network are strong candidates for

tilts and coverage optimization.

Neighbor List Analyses – this grooms 3G-3G and 3G-2G neighbor lists,

based on scanner data for sites positioned within a user-defined radius.

1.1.2 Event-based troubleshooting

Based on the drive test data provided for the analysis, Spotlight automatically

generates root-cause diagnostics for the most common subscriber problems—for

example, dropped calls.

1.1.3 Reporting

Spotlight displays the results of its automatically generated analyses on

integrated, professional-quality reports including embedded maps.


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1.2 Using Spotlight to solve network problems Spotlight is designed to allow you to follow your own investigations throughout

the various analysis pages and reports.

However, a typical general analysis of the data in Spotlight would be to start from

the Summary Dashboard (shown below). Examine the summary map (1) and

then the appropriate report for the loaded data (2), which might indicate the

presence of one or more problems. Cell coverage, missing neighbors and pilot

pollution problems can be investigated from the Radio Network Explorer analyses

(3); links to these are also shown as Important Issues (4) in the Issues panel of

the Summary Dashboard. These might then point you at specific problem events

which you can examine and diagnose using the Event Explorer (5); links to these

are shown as Critical Issues (6) in the Issues panel.

Some typical scenarios for using Spotlight are outlined below:

1.2.1 Perform a quick overview of network performance

Examine the available Spotlight report(s) to see whether any of the performance

criteria thresholds have been exceeded. If there are any problems, you can follow

1

2 3

4

5

6


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them up by using the Radio Network Explorer or Event Explorer investigation

pages.

Using Spotlight reports (see page 40)

1.2.2 Optimize neighbor lists and export suggested changes to the OMC

Use the Neighbor List analyses in the Radio Network Explorer. This process should

be performed as part of the rollout phase of a network to construct and optimize

the adjacency lists of each cell, and throughout the life of the network as changes

to traffic and tilt affect the coverage pattern and interference interaction between

the cells.

CDMA/EVDO Neighbor List (see p50)

GSM 2G Missing Neighbors (see p75)

LTE 4G-3G/2G Missing Neighbors (see p85)

UMTS/HSPA 3G Neighbor List (see p89)

UMTS/HSPA 3G-2G Neighbor List (see p95)

1.2.3 Determine cell coverage

Use the Cell Coverage analyses in the Radio Network Explorer.

CDMA/EVDO Cell Coverage (see p44)

GSM Cell Coverage (see p65)

LTE Cell Coverage (see p81)

UMTS/HSPA Cell Coverage (see p101)

1.2.4 Identify inbound vs. outbound pilot pollution

Use the Pilot Pollution analyses in the Radio Network Explorer. You can visualize

the offending sectors on the map, determine the relative degree of pollution for

each cell and prioritize which cells in the network are strong candidates for down-

tilts and coverage optimization.

CDMA/EVDO Pilot Pollution (see p56)

UMTS/HSPA Cell Pilot Pollution (see p108)

1.2.5 Identify sites failing their recommended design targets

Use the EVDO System Performance analysis in the Radio Network Explorer (see

p60).

1.2.6 Investigate failure events

Select a Critical Issue from the Summary Dashboard (p42), or open the Event

Explorer (p115).


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1.2.7 Investigate problems in detail at the message level

Select a Critical Issue from the Summary Dashboard, or open the Event Explorer.

Now select the Drilldown option (see p118).


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1.3 About Spotlight projects In Spotlight, a project is a collection of saved application settings and data files

relating to a particular drive test initiative, specifically the:

Template used for the project. This defines the extent of the data from the

drive test files that you want to process and store within Spotlight's

database, and defines which KPIs and reports will be used in the project.

Network information that you want to use (the cellrefs file).

Preferences that determine how the data is to be loaded.

Thresholds that trigger particular conditions or Events in Spotlight's

analyses.

Drive test files that you want to examine.

The term KPI (key performance indicator) means not simply a statistic that

reflects network performance in some way, but also a related pre-defined

analysis. For all of the KPIs that represent an issue, an overall summary is shown

in the Spotlight Summary Dashboard side panel. However, the analysis is

provided in either the Event Explorer or the Radio Network Explorer, depending

on the KPI type:

Event KPIs - Most of these KPIs relate to a specific type of call or session

failure event, such as dropped calls or handover, call setup or location

update failures, etc. and include automated root cause diagnosis and

drilldown to the sequential message data at the click of a button.

However, some of these KPIs relate to general events (such as call

attempts) in order to provide context for the failure events and these do

not include diagnostics and drilldown functionality.

Radio Network KPIs - These KPIs relate to general issues for the radio

network, such as coverage, pilot pollution, missing neighbors, and so on.

For these KPIs, the Radio Network Explorer provides a detailed analysis

that is very specific to the particular issue.

Reports provide summaries, tables, charts, and maps that can be saved as an

Excel workbook or Web page.


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2 Importing Cell Site Data

2.1 Importing Network Data This chapter describes how to import delimited network element data into

Spotlight, using various Analyzer features.

Analyzer’s Network Explorer feature allows you to import network element data,

creating a cell plan file called cellrefs.txt. Network Explorer also lets you browse

and edit this network information once it has been loaded into Analyzer.

In this chapter, CDMA network data is used as an example, but the appendices

show important information relating to other network technologies.

Analyzer’s network data import process requires two files:

A delimited text file that contains unformatted data arranged in tabular

form, with one row for each individual sector in a network.

A blank file, containing only Analyzer header information, to be populated

with formatted data.

2.1.1 Obtaining Site Data in Tabular Format

In order to import cell site data from your own network, you will need to obtain a

delimited text file containing the data listed in the table below. To maximize the

benefit Analyzer can bring to network analysis, the parameters listed in bold in

the table on the following page are required for cell data to function with logged

data in the main workspace. All other parameters are optional. A full list of

network parameters for different technologies is given in Appendix A: Cell Site

Parameters.

The data may come from a network database or a planning tool configuration file.

As long as the data is in a tabular format, with one row for each sector, Analyzer

will be able to import the data.

CDMA Cell Site Parameters for Import:

Parameter Analyzer

Group

Analyzer 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 Latitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude CDMA_Site Longitude Locates Site icons on map.

Sector Number CDMA_Cell Sector ID Sector-specific information useful for display on maps (can be alpha or numeric)

Azimuth CDMA_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the map.


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Parameter Analyzer

Group


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

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

Base Station

Power

CDMA_Cell EIRP Base station power, used in CDMA

Toolkit calculations.

Mobile Country Code

CDMA_Cell MCC For information only.

System Identity CDMA_Cell SID For information only.

Network Identity CDMA_Cell NID For information only.

Broadcast Identity

CDMA_Cell BID For information only.

PctPilot CDMA_Cell PctPilot For information only.

PctTraffic CDMA_Cell PctTraffic For information only.

PctPaging CDMA_Cell PctPaging For information only.

PctSync CDMA_Cell PctSync For information only.

Active Set Search Window Setting

CDMA_Cell SRCH_WIN_A Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations to compare current search window settings with those suggested by Analyzer.

Neighbor Set Search Window Setting

CDMA_Cell SRCH_WIN_N Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations to compare current search window settings with those

suggested by Analyzer.

List of neighbors CDMA_Cell CDMANeighborList Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations to compare current neighbor list

settings to those suggested by Analyzer.

Sector Display – Wildcard

CDMA_Cell Face_Display Use to color sectors on the map by a custom integer field.

Sector Display – Wildcard

CDMA_Cell Azimuth_Display Use to color sectors on the map by a custom integer field.

Sector Display –

Wildcard

CDMA_Cell Phase_Display Use to color sectors on the map

by a custom integer field.


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Parameter Analyzer

Group


Layer Type CDMA_Cell LayerType Use this field to manage multiple cell layers to be displayed and hidden separately.

The figure below is an example of a delimited CDMA file that could be used to

import a site list into Analyzer. Though the columns can be in any order for

import into Analyzer, the figure shows all of the REQUIRED fields. Additionally,

the Excel spreadsheet must be saved as a TEXT file for import into Analyzer.

2.1.2 Guidelines for Formatting Tabular Data

Analyzer does not need the cell site data fields to be listed in a particular order,

but to get the best results, follow these guidelines:

The Site ID field must contain a unique value for each site location.

Beware of non-unique Site IDs – that is, entries that have multiple sets of

latitudes and longitudes for the same Site ID. Duplicated Site IDs will

result in site markers appearing on the map without sector wedges. Site

Names do not need to be unique – they are just used for labeling

purposes.

Position information must be accurate for Analyzer to correctly display

sites in the right location on the map. Longitudes that have a 'West'

notation should be represented as a negative decimal value, as should

latitudes with a 'South' notation. Sites will appear skewed on the map if

the latitude and longitude fields are transposed.


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Before importing new cells into Analyzer, ensure that Analyzer is pointing

to a valid cell site database.

A valid cell site database is a text file in which the first line contains the

text below:

; #NetworkData – datafile

Every Analyzer installation comes with a clean file called cellrefs.txt

located in the directory called:

C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Bin\Cellrefs

The file to be populated need not be named “cellrefs.txt”. Rename this file

with a meaningful name in order to prevent the file from being overwritten

during reinstallation.

To point the Analyzer to the file you wish to populate with the new cell site data,

use the File Location line in the Tools > Preferences dialog. See the section on

Loading Cell Site Data later in this document for more details.

2.1.3 Importing the Data

Once you have obtained your cell site database in delimited format and pointed

Analyzer to a valid cellrefs file, you are ready to open the Network Explorer and

import the site information. The following example is for CDMA technology, but

the method works across all network technologies. See Appendix A: Cell Site

Parameters for more information on other technologies.

1 To access the Network Explorer, select Cells > Network Explorer.


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The Network Explorer display consists of two panels. The left panel

contains a tree view of the network element data. The right panel shows

details about relevant parameters for the current selection. If you have

pointed Analyzer to a cellrefs file containing only header information, you

will not see any cell site data at this time.

2 From the toolbar, select Import > Import From New Template to open

the Import dialog.

3 Select the appropriate network data file.

4 Click Open to display the Import Settings dialog.

5 Give the Template a meaningful Template Name.

6 Check the appropriate Delimiter.

7 In most cases, the default information under the General Settings and

Coordinate Information headers will apply. Adjust these settings if

necessary.

8 Click Next.


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9 Expand the CDMA_Site data node. Click in the Column field next to the

Site_Name parameter. Select the parameter name from your site

database that corresponds to the Site_Name parameter. Repeat for each

of the required fields in the CDMA_Site data node, based on the table

below (See Appendix A: Cell Site Parameters for more information on

other technologies):

Field Mapping required for proper operation?

Site_Name Optional, but this field is frequently used for the site label.

SiteID Required, and this field must be unique for each site in the database.

Latitude Required

Longitude Required


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10 Expand the CDMA_Cell data node. Click in the Column field next to the

Sector_ID parameter. Select the parameter name from your site database

that corresponds to the Sector_ID parameter. Repeat for each of the

required fields in the CDMA_Cell data node, based on the table below (See

Appendix A: Cell Site Parameters for more information on other

technologies):

Field Required for proper operation?

Sector_ID Required. This field can be used to color sectors on the map by face number (i.e. 1 = red, 2 = blue, 3 = green).

Azimuth Required

Beamwidth Required

EIRP Optional

PN Required

MCC Optional

SID Optional


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Field Required for proper operation?

NID Optional

BID Optional

PctPilot Optional

PctTraffic Optional

PctPaging Optional

PctSync Optional

SRCH_WIN_A Optional

SRCH_WIN_N Optional

CDMANeighborList Optional

Face_Display Optional, but map this field to a custom integer field to color sectors on the map by that field. An example of a custom field would be the phase of the site where:

1 = On Air

2 = Under Construction

3 = Planned for Next Year

Azimuth_Display Optional, but map this field to the integer azimuth field in order to color sectors on the map by azimuth range.

Phase_Display Optional, but map this field to a custom integer field to color sectors on the map by that field. An example of a custom field would be the phase of the site where:

1 = On Air

2 = Under Construction

3 = Planned for Next Year

LayerType Optional. Use this field to manage multiple cell layers. Cells can be displayed or hidden on the map by layer.

11 Click Finish when all the columns have been assigned. If the current

workspace contains existing site data, you will be asked whether you want

to remove existing data before importing new data. Select Yes to

overwrite existing data. Select No to append to existing data.

If any errors occur during the import, a pop-up message will indicate that

an error log has been created. The error log specifies the cause of each

error encountered and can be found in:

C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Bin\Cellrefs\ImportErrors.log

12 Inspect the cell data in the Network Explorer by expanding the All_CDMA_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, Location

and ID of the site will appear, as well as a folder containing CDMA Cell

Elements. Drill into the CDMA Cell Elements folder and examine the values

corresponding to each sector.

14 To save the formatted site information, select the Save button.


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15 Close the Network Explorer by clicking the “X” at the upper right hand

corner.

16 After closing the Network Explorer, view a new map by selecting View >

Display New Map.

17 If cell icons do not appear on the map, right click on the CDMA_Cell layer

in the map legend at the left hand side of the map window. Select Zoom to

Layer to zoom the map to the appropriate location. Be sure to close the

map with the “X” at the upper right hand corner to save all changes to the

map view.

If you see site markers appearing on the map

without sector wedges, this is probably due to non-

unique Site IDs in the imported cell site data.

Sites can also appear skewed on the map if the

latitude and longitude information has been

transposed.


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2.1.4 Importing multiple technologies

To import multiple technologies using the same cellrefs file, follow this procedure:

1 Import the first technology and save the cellrefs file.

2 Import the second technology and save that cellrefs file.

3 Using a text editor such as Windows Notepad, copy all of the second

cellrefs file apart from the first line, and paste it in at the end of the first

cellrefs file.

You now have a cellrefs file that can import data for both technologies.

2.2 Updating Cell Site Data You can make minor cell plan changes (a few azimuths, PNs, etc.) directly from the

Network Explorer. Simply browse to find the site and sector of interest and double

click on a single parameter to activate the text.

Be sure to save the modifications before exiting the Network Explorer!

2.3 Loading Cell Site Data In order to display cell sites in Analyzer, and integrate cell site data with real-time

measurements, a formatted cell site database must exist that contains location

and configuration data for each cell site. The previous section explained how to

create a cell site file from a spreadsheet containing network parameters. In

Analyzer, the formatted cell site file is known as the ‘cellrefs’ file, although this

file can have any name.

Analyzer reads cell site data upon opening a new workspace. Therefore, if any

changes to cell site data are made, you must start a new workspace (or reopen

Analyzer) in order for the changes to take effect.

Follow these steps to point Analyzer to a formatted cell site file:

1 From the main menu, select Tools > Preferences.

2 In the Change Preferences dialog, on the File Location line, click on the

name of the current cellrefs file.

3 In the Open dialog, navigate to the cellrefs file you would like to use and

select Open.

4 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.

5 A message box will be displayed saying that the new cellrefs file takes

effect when a new workspace is loaded. Click OK to close the message

box. Analyzer loads cells upon opening Analyzer or starting a new

workspace. From the Main Menu, choose File > New Workspace to

create a new workspace.

6 In the new workspace, click View > Display New Map. If cell icons do not appear on the map, right click on the CDMA_Cell layer in the map

legend at the left hand side of the map window. Select Zoom to Layer to

zoom the map to the appropriate location. Be sure to close the map with

the “X” at the upper right hand corner to save all changes to the map

view.

By default, the cell sites are now visible.


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2.4 Cell Site Display

2.4.1 Displaying Site Labels

By default, site and cell labels will be displayed on the Analyzer map. You can

leave the labels as they are, modify the way they are displayed, or turn them off

entirely. The site labels are displayed independently of cell labels. This allows you

to display of Site Name or Site ID in addition to or instead of PN, Azimuth, or

Beamwidth.

In Analyzer, “sectors” are called “cells” based on the European terminology.

The following instructions specify first site labeling, then cell labeling:

1 In the Layer Control dialog box, select the site layer (named CDMA_Site-

Site_Name)

2 Under the Properties heading in the Layer Control dialog, press the

Labels button.

3 The MapInfo-style Label Properties box will appear. Check each of the

following options:

▫ Show

▫ Allow overlapped text (recommended)

▫ Hide adjacent duplicate text (optional)

4 In the Label Properties box, use the drop down Data Field menu to

determine the label format to display. Currently, there are two formats of

labels from which to choose:

▫ The Site_Name (default) shows only the site name.

▫ The KeyField label shows only the site ID.

5 If you wish to offset the label from the cell site symbol, use the options in the Position box in the Label Properties dialog.

6 If you wish to change the font of the labels, use the Label Style button in

the Properties dialog.

7 Select OK to exit the Label Properties dialog.

The Site Labels have been formatted. Next, format the Cell Labels:

1 In the Layer Control dialog box, select the cell layer (named CDMA_Cell-

Beamwidth-PN)

2 Under the Properties heading in the Layer Control dialog, press the Labels

button

3 The MapInfo-style Label Properties box will appear. Check each of the

following options:

▫ Show

▫ Allow overlapped text (recommended)

▫ Hide adjacent duplicate text (optional)


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4 In the Label Properties box, use the drop down Data Field menu to

determine the label format to display. All CDMA_Cell parameters are

available as options for labeling.

5 The PN Label shows the PN for each sector, displayed next to the sector. If

you wish to offset the label from the cell site symbol, use the options in the Position box in the Label Properties dialog.

6 If you wish to change the font of the labels, use the Label Style button in

the Properties dialog.

7 Click OK in the Label Properties dialog, and then OK in the Layers dialog to

apply the labels.

2.4.2 Coloring Sectors on the Map

By default, sectors are colored by PN on the map. To color the sectors according

to a different field (i.e. Sector_ID, to color sectors by face), or to make all sectors

the same color:

1 Click the Cell Sites button at the top of the map.

2 In the Series drop-down, choose CDMA_Cell.


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3 Use the Cell Color drop-down choose how to color the field. To make all

sectors the same color, specify an unused field (i.e. MCC). To color sectors by face (i.e. 1 = red, 2 = yellow, 3 = blue) choose Sector_ID.

4 Click OK to exit the Sites / Cell Properties dialog.

5 Site coloring will appear as specified. To modify face colors, expand the

CDMA_Cell parameter in the legend. Right-click on individual ranges and choose Selected Range’s Style to modify colors.

Note that the sector need not be colored and labeled by the same parameter. The figure below shows sectors colored by Sector_ID and labeled with the PN. Use the

Layer Control dialog to adjust labeling as desired.


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2.4.3 Searching for Cells

Search for Cells provides a mechanism for locating specific cell sites based on

user-defined search criteria.

To conduct a search:

1 Display site data of interest on the map.

2 From the main menu, select Cells > Search for Cells.

3 From the main menu, select Window > Tile Horizontally or Window > Tile

Vertically to arrange the CellRefs Search dialog and the map in the

workspace.

4 Ensure that CDMA is visible in the Technology drop-down.

5 Use the Add, Edit and Delete buttons to modify search criteria.

6 Click the Search Now button to show in the Results window all matching

cell sites from the current cellrefs file.

7 From the Results window, select a row to highlight and center the

corresponding sector on the map.

8 Click the Highlight All button to highlight all matching sectors on the

map.


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2.4.4 Viewing Cell Site Information

A cell’s Azimuth, Beamwidth and Sector ID can be obtained by running the mouse

over a sector on the map.

To obtain more detailed information on each site or sector:

1 Display site data of interest on the map.

2 From the main menu, select Cells > Display Cell Data.

3 From the main menu, select Window > Tile Horizontally or Window > Tile

Vertically.

4 Click on a sector wedge or site dot on the map. Details about that sector

or site will appear in the Display Cell Data window.


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2.5 Setting Thresholds for Data Import Ensure that before entering Spotlight, you set the appropriate technology

thresholds to enable Spotlight to use your own criteria for identifying particular

events and circumstances. See the relevant appendix for details.


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3 Starting Spotlight

To start Spotlight, click on Actix Software from the Windows Start menu (or, if

you have a combination of licensed products, select Spotlight from the

Engineering Process dialog).

This screen is now displayed:

If you have just started using Spotlight, you will want to create a New

Project.

If you already have an existing project within Spotlight's database, click

the project's related Open button to proceed to the Summary Dashboard.

In the example screenshot shown above, there are several existing

projects.

If you want to Delete a listed project, note that you will be asked to

confirm your choice.

Note that you can also choose to start in classic mode, without the Spotlight

interface and analyses, and directly investigate the data using Analyzer's rich tool

set.


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4 Creating a Project

4.1 Step 1: Choose Name and Template This page is the first step in creating a new Spotlight project.

Type in a unique Project Name.

Project templates define the extent of the data from the drive test files

that you want to process and store within Spotlight's database under the

project name.

Either select a predefined Template from the scrolling list, or click on

New Template to create your own.

Templates shipped as standard with Spotlight are shown in blue and do

not have creation dates associated with them. A Master Template is

available at the bottom of the list, with all KPIs and reports selected.

To delete a particular template, highlight it in the scrolling list and click

Delete Template. Note that templates that are shipped as standard with

Spotlight may not be deleted.

Click Next to go on to the next step.


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4.2 Step 2: Set Preferences and Thresholds

In the second step in creating a new Spotlight project, you must specify a

cellrefs file for your project.

Note A cellrefs file contains network configuration

information in a delimited text format, and is usually

created using the output from a planning tool.

You can also use the settings and thresholds links to set various other

options for your project.

CellRefs – Select a valid cellrefs file that contains the details (name, ID,

and location, etc.) of all of the cell sites and sectors that you want to

analyze. If you want to analyze data from more than one technology, the

cellrefs file must contain the information for all of those technologies.

Note Spotlight always makes a local copy of the

selected cellrefs file, in case the original cellrefs file is

updated to reflect changes made to the network. The

Spotlight project database relies on the associated

cellrefs file remaining unchanged – if it is, the project

will no longer work. Spotlight is designed to be used

for short-duration drive test campaigns, so this

should not present a problem – and if you do need to

use the new cellrefs data, simply create a new

project that references the new cellrefs file.

Settings – Click this link to open the Preferences dialog box. This has

many options, many of which configure the way various specific types of

data are decoded. There are also a number of neighbor list settings for

CDMA and UMTS – these are used to fine-tune the algorithms used by the

neighbor list analyses in the Radio Network Explorer.


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Although you can change these settings using the Data Settings link in the

Radio Network Explorer's top panel, you should set them using the link on

this page when you create the project.

Note When you work in Spotlight, make sure that

you do not enable the Automatic Import options in

the CellRefs group of Preferences.

Thresholds – Click this link to open the Thresholds Editor, where you can

configure the user-defined thresholds that are used in Spotlight.

Thresholds are used in Spotlight in two main ways:

▫ Event detection – Most of the KPIs in the Event Explorer are

ultimately based on event attributes that are detected by the Actix

event detection mechanism as the data is loaded into the project's

repository.

These KPIs are usually based on a single event attribute (for

example, the GSM dropped call KPI is based on the

EventCallDropped event attribute), although a few might be based

on multiple event attributes (for example, when incoming and

outgoing call setup failures are stored in separate event attributes).

Many of the analyses in the Radio Network Explorer are also based

on event attributes. For example, the UMTS pilot pollution analyses

are based on the UuPilotPollution and Uu_Scan_PilotPollution event

attributes.

When an event detection algorithm involves a user-definable

threshold, you can configure the corresponding KPIs and analyses

by changing those thresholds. The thresholds used in the event

detection mechanisms for the various technologies are documented

in detail in the Settings and Preferences section of the help, which

also provides information about which attributes are affected.

The documentation provides information about the names of the

event attributes that underlie each KPI and analysis. This is useful

when reading about event detection thresholds and helps you to

look up the definition of those attributes in the Attribute Help

system.

▫ KPI definitions – Thresholds are used in the queries that define

the raw data that is to be stored in the repository and from which

the various KPIs are derived.

Thresholds are also used in the calculations that are subsequently

performed on the data as it is retrieved from the repository prior to

display in Spotlight.

The documentation provides a list of these thresholds for each

technology.


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4.2.1 What happens to the project’s preferences and threshold settings

After you click the last step’s Done button, Spotlight automatically saves the

preferences and thresholds that are currently selected (including a copy of the

entire cellrefs file). These saved settings are automatically reloaded whenever

you subsequently open the project. This is done for several reasons:

Spotlight does not expect that the cellrefs file will change after you have

started loading data—the addition of even a single cell sector in the

cellrefs file can result in incorrect results within Spotlight (this is why

Spotlight is not compatible with the Automatic Import option for cellrefs

data.)

Changing other preferences and thresholds can result in subtle changes in

how Spotlight decodes data, defines events and determines what to store

in the repository. Although changing these settings after you have started

loading data into the project should not invalidate the results, it can lead

to confusion and the potential for different definitions being used to

generate the same event.

By saving and reloading the cellrefs file and other preferences and thresholds with

the project, Spotlight avoids these potential problems. However, it does mean

that any changes you subsequently make to the preferences and thresholds while

working on the project will be lost next time you reload the project.

For example, you can change the neighbor list preferences using the Data

Settings link in the Radio Network Explorer's neighbor list pages. As soon as you

close the dialog box, the page will be updated to reflect the new settings.

However, next time you reload the project, the neighbor list settings will revert to

those that were selected when you originally created the project.

You should therefore think through your requirements and set the settings and

preferences accordingly before you start loading data.

Note Although you can change preferences and

settings at any time using the Display Thresholds and

Preferences options on the main Tools menu, this is

not recommended when using Spotlight, because

changing the CellRefs file can cause incorrect results

and changing the other settings is potentially

confusing. Although changing most of the

preferences and thresholds will not affect the data

stored in your project's repository, it will affect

drilldown data and any data that you load into

Analyzer Classic for detailed analysis, with a potential

for confusing discrepancies between the two sets of

results. Also, the changes will be lost when you

reload the project, as explained earlier.

Click Next to go on to the next step.


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4.3 Step 3: Choose Data In the third step in creating a new Spotlight project, you must specify the data

files that you want to examine. The template selected in step 1 defines the

information that will be loaded into the project database and how it will be

processed.

Initially, the file list is empty:

Choose the data files to be processed by Spotlight:

If you have just a few files to process, click the Add Files button and

select one or more files, which will be added to the list of chosen files.

If you have a folder full of file to be processed into Spotlight, click the Add

Folder button and select the folder. If underneath the selected folder

there are subfolders that also contain required data files, check the Add

all subfolders box.


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Once the list of chosen files has been populated, you can remove a specific

file by clicking the remove link at the end of the row. You can also use the

Remove All Files button if necessary.

Click Done to load the data and open the Summary Dashboard.

The project will be saved to this folder:

\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Actix\Analyzer\Projects

(depending on your current Windows user settings)

For best use, aim for at least 1GB of free disk space per project. Spotlight

supports a maximum populated data volume of about 3GB.

The entire process of loading data is dependent on

the volume of data to be loaded into the project.

However, once the data has been loaded into the

repository, it can be reattached very quickly.


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5 Using the Summary Dashboard

The Summary Dashboard shows an overview of the data loaded in the current

Spotlight repository project.

If you have configured multiple devices during the template configuration phase,

a separate tab per device will appear in the dashboard.

Note that due to the potential amount of information

on display, Spotlight is designed to be used at full

application window size, so you should keep your

Spotlight application window maximized at all times.


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5.1 Navigating around Spotlight At the top of the page, the navigation bar allows you to move around in Spotlight.

It also provides some useful functions from any stage of your analysis:

Key for the following links:

1 Return to the Summary Dashboard page.

2 Return to the Radio Network Explorer (or Event Explorer) page.

3 Open the 'Choose an Engineering Process' dialog, allowing you to select

another Spotlight project.

4 Filter out files and streams from all analyses (see Global Filters below).

5 Select additional files to load into the current project repository.

6 Specify a folder to be scanned for new files - any files copied there that

match a specified filter are automatically loaded (see Auto Load below).

7 Returns the current Spotlight page to its default appearance.

8 Display help for the current Spotlight page.

5.1.1 Global Filters

If your current project uses Global Filters, a related link appears in the

navigation bar. Click on the link to show a dialog similar to this:

This dialog allows you to specify any files or streams that you want to exclude

from the analysis, and allows you to filter by time (not shown above).

Once you have specified the filter, note that you need to click the Add Filter link

on the right to create the filter.

If you have configured regional filtering, this dialog will also give you the option

to filter by region.


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5.1.2 Auto Load

While Auto Load is active, a selected folder is scanned and any matching files

loaded.

Click the Auto Load link in the navigation bar to show the following dialog:

You can specify a folder (check the box to include subfolders) within which the

Auto Load feature is to look for new files.

The filter allows you to narrow down which files you would like to load. You can

use a ‘*’, so the filter could be, for example, *.cdp.

These settings will be kept until you change them.

When you have selected the folder and filter, click Next >> to display the Status

page:

Note that while this page is open, Auto Load is operating, so this is something

that for example you may want to leave running overnight.

The page shows the queue of files to be loaded and their status. New files to be

loaded are added to the bottom of the list. The progress of the current file load is

shown with a bar below the list.

To deactivate Auto Load and stop the current file load, click Cancel & Close (if

no file is currently being loaded, this button just reads Close).

The above screenshot shows a file with the status: Pending. This status type only

applies to multi-threading-disabled Analyzer.


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5.2 The Top Panel The top panel has buttons

linking to the Event

Explorer and Radio

Network Explorer

pages.

The panel also includes a

Summary table

consisting of information

on the loaded dataset.

The Reports link in this

table displays all the

existing reports defined

to run on the template.

The Log Files link displays a dialog listing the log files processed in the project.

The three tabs allow you to filter by File and Stream, or by Stream.

The Analyzer Classic tab allows you to load selected files for analysis in Analyzer:


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5.3 The Issues Panel On the left of the screen, this

panel highlights particular issues

that have been identified in the

loaded data, based on the

current threshold settings.

If you have access to multiple

technologies in the loaded data,

a drop-down menu at the top of

the panel allows you to switch

between the technologies.

The Critical Issues section

includes event-based key

performance indicators (KPIs)

like dropped call rate, failed call

rate and rate of calls with

excessive setup time.

The Important Issues section

includes the various radio

network analyses. Depending on

the nature of the issue, click on

one of these issues to open the

appropriate analysis on either

the Radio Network Explorer page

or the Event Explorer page.


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5.4 The Map

In Spotlight, the map is an integral part of the interface. The Summary map

shows the entire drive with the default (technology-dependent) attribute plotted:

CDMA EcIo_1stBest

EVDO Consolidated_SINR_For_Nth_Best_Pilot[0]

GSM ServRxLevSub

UMTS / HSPA Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo[0]

The drive test data is

binned according to

the selections made in

step 4 of defining the

project template.

However, any events

displayed on the map

will use the exact

position rather than a

binned position, so

they may not

necessarily align with

the data points.

From this map, you may be able to see one or more areas that may require

investigation, using a Spotlight report or by following a link for a critical or

important issue. Cell sector wedges are color-coded as follows:

green sectors were serving during part of the drive

yellow sectors were seen during the drive but were never serving

empty sectors were not seen during the drive

Note that this image shows the map window

undocked; by default the map view is docked in

Spotlight, resulting in the Map icon being displayed

next to the File menu at the top left of the screen.

Click on this icon to control the size of map window

and its docked or undocked condition.


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6 Using Spotlight reports

Reports are a good place to start when attempting to identify problems in the

loaded data. These can be accessed by clicking on the Reports link from

Spotlight's Summary Dashboard page. Note that, to be available, a report must

have been activated in the current project's template. A report shows all

unfiltered data in the project database for the associated technology.

Here's an example HSPA report:

Navigation tabs on the bottom left

let you explore the various pages of

the report.

Spotlight provides the following

reports:

CDMA (see p160)

EVDO (see p163)

EVDO Rev A (see p167)

GSM (see p171)

HSPA (see p176)

UMTS (see p181)


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On the bottom right, the Show Excel Report button lets you open the report as

a Microsoft Excel file. From here, you can use the functionality of Excel to perform

further analyses on the data, or simply save the report as an Excel file or print it

out. Note that the maps are inserted into the Excel file as linked bitmaps. This

means that if you save the report in Excel for a project (A) and then run the

report again on a different project (B), the map bitmaps will be updated to reflect

the data in project B. If you subsequently reopen the workbook that you saved

for project A, Excel will display a message saying that the workbook contains

links to other data sources and asking whether you want to update them. Make

sure you choose the Don't Update option, because otherwise the report will be

updated with the maps from project B.

The Save button exports the report as a web page. Note that the web page has

an associated subfolder with a unique name containing various image and other

files relating to that report. However, the image files in each subfolder are always

called image1.gif, image2.gif, which may cause you problems in some situations.


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7 Using the Radio Network Explorer

7.1 About the Radio Network Explorer You can access the Radio Network analyses from the Radio Network Explorer icon

at the top of the Summary Dashboard page:

...or by clicking on an appropriate Issue link in the Issues panel on the left of the

Summary Dashboard page:


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The available Radio Network analyses for all technologies are as follows:

CDMA/EVDO Cell Coverage

CDMA/EVDO Neighbor List

CDMA/EVDO Pilot Pollution

EVDO System Performance

LTE Cell Coverage

LTE 4G – 3G/2G Missing Neighbors

GSM 2G Missing Neighbors

GSM Cell Coverage

UMTS/HSPA 3G Neighbor List

UMTS/HSPA 3G-2G Neighbor List

UMTS/HSPA Cell Coverage

UMTS/HSPA Cell Pilot Pollution

When you are viewing a particular Radio Explorer analysis page, you may find

that several analysis conditions apply, depending on the data loaded in the

project. At the top left, you will see a tab for each of these, taking you to the

appropriate analysis.


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7.2 CDMA / EVDO Cell Coverage analysis You can use this analysis to:

Determine the coverage footprint for each cell.

Visualize where a cell is the best server.

Determine the relative grade of service as regards to EcIo, Mobile Rx

Power and Mobile TX Power for selected cell(s), based on user-defined

thresholds.

Visualize where cells are overshooting their coverage design boundary, as

defined by SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold, shown by the red line

surrounding a selected cell.

7.2.1 Before you start

You can use scanner or handset data for this analysis.

7.2.2 Using the cell coverage analysis

1 Click on an appropriate issue link (or on the Radio Network Explorer image

followed by the Cell Coverage tab) to open the Cell Coverage analysis

page.


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Note that drive test data is binned according to the selections made in

step 4 of defining the project template. However, any events displayed on

the map (for example, by using the Events drop-down menu) will use the

exact position rather than a binned position, so events might not align

with the data points.

2 From the top table, click on the column heading # > Dist. to sort the

table by this value.

3 Look for differences between the # > Dist. value and # Samples. Be

careful not to include sectors with low sample counts (for example, below

50) as these will not be statistically relevant.

Here is one such site - Site A, Sector 3. Some samples (highlighted) are

shown well outside the overspill threshold (the red circle around the

selected cell) and close to another cell.


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4 In this example, scanner data is available, so select the Analysis to be

Scanner - Where Seen to visualize the coverage situation for the loaded

data.

Note that as the samples are now no longer seen, this is not a problem.


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Continuing to investigate the sectors from the top table, we find another

potential problem sector, Site B Sector 2.

There may be a problem with the highlighted neighboring sector, which could be

solved by downtilting the selected sector. First, check that the two cells are two-

way neighbors.


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7.2.3 Features of this analysis page

Top Panel - Shows summary information. Clicking on a row in this table

causes the side panel to display more information about the site, and the

map zooms to the site and displays its coverage.

Map - When you click a row in the top table or on a site on the map, the

map shows the coverage wedge for the selected cell, EcIo and the

CDMA_Important_Issues (CDMA Grade of Service) attribute. The red circle

represents the coverage design boundary, configured using

SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold. Data points outside this circle represent

overspill.

Side Panel - When no rows are selected, the side panel displays overview

information. A table shows details of the sites: Best EcIo, Rx Power, and

CDMA Grade of Service. When a site is selected, the panel shows various

KPI values for the site and a histogram of the distances at which the cell

was measured. A red line indicates the maximum range for the analysis,

as defined by SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold.

Filters – Select this link to specify filters for the table on the top panel.

Attributes – List of most commonly used attributes that can be plotted on

the map. Currently plotted attributes are shown in red in the list. The

currently selected attributes will be kept as you move between Spotlight's

analysis pages.

Events – List of the event attributes that can be plotted on the map. So

while looking at pilot pollution you could dump the CDMA Dropped Call

event on the map and quickly find out if the call dropped due to pilot

pollution. Currently plotted events are shown in red in the list.

Analysis – Select Scanner (Best Server/Where Seen) or Handset (Best

Server/Where Seen) analysis. The analysis can operate in two modes:

Best Server and Where Seen. Changing the mode affects the Ec/Io

attribute that is displayed on the map. Best Server mode shows the Ec/Io

when the selected cell was the best server is displayed. Where Seen mode

shows the Ec/Io whenever the cell was measured, and shows the coverage

footprint for only those cells that were the best servers at some point in

the drive.

PN Search – Visualize a PN on the map. Select a PN to color red all the

sites with this PN, so you can quickly identify co-PN locations.

Overview – Displays in the left panel an overview of statistics, plus Grade

of Service percentages for the entire drive. The map also shows the Grade

of Service (the legend also shows sample counts).


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This table shows how the CDMA Grade of Service is computed at each point:

CDMA Grade of

Service

EcIo

condition*

MRx Power

condition*

MTX Power

condition*

Excess interference Within Exceed Within

External interference Within Exceed Exceed

Weak reverse link Exceed Exceed Exceed

Weak forward link Within Within Within

Low Rx signal Exceed Within Exceed

Poor coverage Within Within Exceed

*Conditions:

EcIo compared with CDMA_EcIoCombinedThreshold - This condition is

used in conjunction with Mobile Rx Power and Mobile Tx Power Thresholds

to determine the diagnosis for the dropped call, failed call and voice call

with poor quality. Recommended value is -12 dB. Values should vary

between -16 and -12 dB.

Mobile Rx Power compared with CDMA_MobileRxPowerThreshold - This

condition is used in conjunction with EcIo and Mobile Tx Power Thresholds


with poor quality. Recommended value is -80 dBm. Values should vary

between -75 and -90 dBm.

Mobile Tx Power compared with CDMA_MobileTxPowerThreshold - This

condition is used in conjunction with EcIo and Mobile Rx Power Thresholds


with poor quality. Recommended value is 5 dBm. Values should vary

between 0 and 10 dBm.


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7.3 CDMA / EVDO Neighbor List analysis This lets you use scanner data to optimize neighbor lists for sites within a user-

defined radius of the selected cell. The missing neighbor algorithm generates add,

remove and retain neighbor recommendations for each site and cell based on

scanner measurements, and these can be exported directly to a CSV file for easy

import and to update the switch directly.


For this analysis, the project will need to contain scanner data.

7.3.2 Using the neighbor list analysis

1 To start this analysis, from the Summary Dashboard page click on the

Radio Network Explorer button and click on this tab, or click on an

appropriate Issue in the left-hand Issues panel.

2 If you have not done so before, check the data settings that control the

neighbor list analysis algorithm.

3 Go to the top table and sort by the Add column.

You can now see the sector with the highest number of recommended

additions to its neighbor list.


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4 Click on the top row in the table to show information for that sector.

The map now shows green lines to each new neighbor recommendation.

The thickness of each line shows how well the suggestion meets the

criteria of the analysis. The circle represents the user-defined radius used

by the analysis to identify potential neighbors. The map also displays the

data points used in the analysis.






5 Examine each suggested additional neighbor.

You may have reasons for refusing to accept the suggestion on

geographical grounds (for example, existing cells between the sector and

the suggested addition, as occurs several times in this example), or for

reasons related to the data settings. For example, you may think that the

number of samples was too small to justify the addition - in which case

you may also want to alter the related data setting, which will immediately

update the analysis. Also, you may know that one or more sites will be

going off-air and should not be selected.

If you disagree with a suggested addition, you may want to use the PN

Search feature to find an alternative sector to add to the neighbor list.

Note that in this case you will not be able to output your choice, and will

need to make the correction to the switch manually (for example, by

editing the CSV file).


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6 If you accept all suggestions for a sector, you can click the related button

in the table to mark your choice.

Note that the number beside the button changes to match your selection.

For example, if there were 6 suggested additions in the first row, with

none currently selected for export, the number would show 0/6. If you

clicked the button, the number would read 6/6. If you do not want to

select every recommendation for a sector, you can use the table in the

side panel on the left, which shows each recommendation for a sector

individually. So if you selected 3 additions, this would result in the number

reading 3/6. This can be useful if there are a large number of

recommendations and you need to keep track of how many you have

already selected.

7 Repeat this process for each row in the top table, as necessary.

8 You can now go through the same process for the 'Removals' column.

Note that by default the map does not show lines for removal

recommendations.

9 Once you are satisfied with the recommendations that you have selected,

you can output them to a CSV file. From the top of the page, click the

Export data link.


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Top Panel - Summary information is displayed in the top panel. It includes

in a tabular form number of addition, removals and retains neighbor

recommendations for every site. Clicking on a row in this table causes

neighbor information for the selected cell to be displayed in the side panel,

and lines to neighbors to be drawn on the map.

Map - When a row is clicked in the top panel or a site is clicked on the

map, lines to neighbors are drawn from that site. The circle represents the

user defined radius (Maximum Intersite Distance) used by the analysis to

identify potential neighbors.

Side Panel - Details of the neighbor recommendations are displayed on the

side panel. Check boxes next to a recommendation can be selected for

export to a CSV file.





analysis pages.

Events – List of the event attributes that can be plotted on the map.

Currently plotted events are shown in red in the list.

Export data – Select this link to export neighbor recommendations to a

CSV file.

PN Search – Visualize a PN on the map. Input a PN to visualize on the map

and this feature would color red all the sites with this PN. This helps in

quickly identifying co-PN locations.

Data Settings – This link opens up a dialog box for configuring the

algorithm that Spotlight uses for the missing neighbor analysis, which can

be used to build lists of suggested neighbor cells to add and remove. All of

the options take effect immediately after you click OK. See below for more

information.

7.3.4 Data Settings

Setting Default Description

Ec/Io

Threshold

(dB)

-17 Only scanner measurements above this used-defined EcIo

threshold will be included in the analysis.

Maximum

Neighbors

13 Defines the maximum number of cells in the neighbor list.

Addition

Threshold (%)

1 Defines the percentage of samples that must be reached

to trigger a cell being added as a suggested neighbor. This

is used to reduce the effect of stray signals.


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Removal

Threshold (%)

0.2 Defines the minimum percentage of samples that cells in

the current neighbor list must achieve in order to be

recommended for retention in the list. When the

percentages of samples fall below this threshold, cells will

be recommended for removal from the list.

Minimum

Measurements

50 Only sectors which have been measured above the Ec/Io

Threshold at least this many times will be included in the

analysis. Note that the algorithm works off Binned data.

Maximum

Intersite

Distance

(meters)

20000 Defines the maximum line-of-sight distance in meters

between two cells for one to be considered for inclusion on

the other's neighbor list. For rural areas where the

average intersite distance is naturally greater than a

dense urban environment, use a higher value. To disable

this feature, set this value to 0.

Angle to site

threshold

(degrees)

90 Defines the maximum angle between the edge of a cell's

beam width and the data point, for that cell to be

considered for inclusion in the serving cell's neighbor list.

In this example, the beam width is shown as a darker blue

arc, and the angle to site threshold in lighter blue arcs on

either side. Acceptable data points are within this

threshold of the candidate sector's beam width, and are

also within the Maximum Intersite Distance (the blue

circle). This threshold ensures that missing neighbors are

not suggested from reflected signals or back-lobes, and

also that only cells angled towards the data point are

suggested. To disable this feature, set this value to 0.


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Include

existing

neighbors

Selected Select this option for the current neighbor list in the

cellrefs file to be considered for additions and removals.

Only process

first best PN

Selected Select this option to analyze the neighbors of the best cell

only. De-select this option if you want to analyze the

neighbor list of all of the cells within the reporting range.

Max Neighbor

List Size

32 Allows you to define the maximum number of

recommended neighbors. Note that the more potential

neighbors you add, the longer it will take a handset to find

appropriate neighbors, conceivably resulting in a dropped

call.

Once a potential neighbor list has been calculated for each data point, they are

aggregated by serving cell to produce the recommended neighbor list. This is

compared with the existing list to calculate which are additions, retentions and

removals.


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7.4 CDMA / EVDO Pilot Pollution analysis This lets you quickly identify pilot pollution in the inbound (how the selected

sector is being polluted by other sectors) and outbound (how the selected sector

is polluting other sectors) directions, and view the offending sectors on the map.

You can determine the relative degree of pollution for each cell and prioritize

which cells in the network are strong candidates for downtilts and coverage

optimization.



7.4.2 Using the pilot pollution analysis

1 To start this analysis, from the Summary Dashboard, click on an

appropriate Issue in the left-hand Issues panel, such as Too Many Servers

(a pilot pollution issue). Alternatively, click on the Radio Network Explorer

button and click on the Cell Pilot Pollution tab.

The map shows the drive test data and the Pilot Pollution events. Note

that drive test data is binned according to the selections made in step 4 of

defining the project template. However, events plotted on the map (for

example, by using the Events drop-down menu) will use their exact

position rather than a binned position, so events might not align with the

data points.


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2 Sort the top table by Pilot Pollution Events and click on the top row

(that is, the sector with the most associated pilot pollution problems). In

this example that is CDMA_Site_41, Sector 3, which has 183 pilot pollution

events.

The map now highlights the selected sector. Outbound pollution lines are

drawn in red from the selected sector to the sectors being polluted. The

arrow on each line points from the polluting sector to the polluted sector.

The thickness of the lines indicates the degree to which pilot pollution was

detected for the selected sector, based on the loaded data. Inbound pilot

pollution lines are drawn in blue. Rolling over a line with the cursor shows

a pop-up message box giving more information on the pollution.

The left hand panel displays details of the outbound pollution for the

selected sector. In this example, the selected sector is polluting three

other sectors.


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3 Now de-select the Outbound Pilot Pollution Total box to hide the

outbound polluting lines and select the Inbound Pilot Pollution Total

box.

The left hand panel displays details of the inbound pollution for the selected

sector. In this example, the selected sector is being polluted by five other sectors.

Note that you can also sort this table - for example by distance, which helps you

identify distant sectors that might need downtilting, or if the serving cell needs

uptilting for greater coverage.


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Top Panel - Shows summary information. It includes in a tabular form the

number of pilot pollution events for each site and the total number of

inbound/outbound polluters. Click on a column title to sort the table by

this value. Clicking on a row in this table displays pilot pollution

information for the selected cell in the side panel, and draws lines to

polluters on the map.

Map - When you click a row in the top table or on a site on the map, lines

to inbound as well as outbound pollution are drawn from that site. All the

pilot pollution events involving the site are also plotted on the map. The

lines to polluters have a direction arrow suggesting inbound or outbound

pollution.

Side Panel - Shows details of the inbound and outbound pollution for the

selected site.


Attributes – Lists the most commonly used attributes. Select one or more

to plot on the map. Currently plotted attributes are shown in red in the

list. The currently selected attributes will be kept as you move between

Spotlight's analysis pages.

Events – Lists event attributes, Select one or more to plot on the map. So,

while looking at pilot pollution you could dump the CDMA Dropped Call /

EVDO Dropped Connections event on the map and quickly find out if the

connection was dropped due to pilot pollution. Currently plotted events are

shown in red in the list.

Analysis – Select Scanner or Handset analysis.

Overview – Click to display an overview of pilot pollution for the entire

drive.

PN Search – Visualize a PN on the map. Select a PN to color red all the

sites with this PN so you can quickly identify co-PN locations.


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7.5 EVDO System Performance analysis EVDO system coverage tests are intended to characterize network performance

and coverage, and verify that the system meets the following recommended

performance criteria:

Signal to Interference &

Noise Ratio (SINR)

Packet Error Rate (PER)

Mobile Tx Power

Mobile Rx Power

RLP Rx Throughput

RLP Tx Throughput

DRC Rate


For this analysis, the project will need to contain handset data.

7.5.2 Using the system performance analysis

1 Before using this analysis, from the Summary Dashboard, select the

EVDO Report. Examine the report to obtain an overview of the system

performance.

2 Click on the Radio Network Explorer icon and then the System

Performance tab.


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The System Performance page provides information on whether a

particular performance metric has been met for the various sectors shown

in the top table.


step 4 of defining the project template. However, any Events displayed on

the map (for example, by using the drop-down menu) will use the exact

event position rather than a binned position, so events might not align


3 Select from the Metrics drop-down menu the performance metric that you

want to examine.

4 Click the column title # < Threshold to show the sectors with the highest

number of samples that exceed the performance threshold. Check the #

Samples column to make sure that you are looking at data that is

statistically significant - for example, with 50 or more samples.

The Performance Met column shows whether the currently selected metric

has been achieved or failed for each sector.

5 Click on a row in the table to show various KPI values for the selected site

and a distribution chart for the currently selected metric.


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6 Click on the sector icon next to the Performance Met column heading to

show on the map those sectors that are not performing adequately.


Top Panel - Shows summary information. When no rows are selected,

overview information is displayed in the side panel and on the map, and

by default the SINR analysis is presented. You can select the metric on

which to run the test from the Metrics drop-down menu. A table shows

information on individual sites, including information such as the Average

metric, total samples, performance met/not met result etc. Clicking on a

row in this table causes the side panel to display more information about

the site and a distribution chart for the metric.


map shows the corresponding metric for the selected site.

Side Panel - Displays various KPI values for the selected site and a

distribution chart for the currently selected metric.





analysis pages.


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Events – List of the event attributes that can be plotted on the map.


Metrics – Select the performance metric to be used for the analysis. You

can easily switch between metrics.

Overview – Click on this link to display an overview of system performance

for the entire drive.

PN Search – Visualize a PN on the map. Specify a PN to color red all the

sites with this PN, to quickly identify Co-PN locations.

7.5.4 Performance metrics

Metric Notes

SINR Compares Consolidated_SINR_For_Nth_Best_Pilot_0 with

the user-defined SINR threshold

Average_SINR_PN0_Threshold.

Low SINR % = (Measurement bins with SINR < Thresh) /

(Total Measurement bins)) X 100

Performance criteria met, if:

(1 - % of Low SINR) >

(EVDO_SINR_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %

PER Compares PER_Instantaneous with the user-defined PER

threshold Average_PER_Threshold.

High PER % = (Measurement bins with PER > Thresh) /

(Total measurement bins) X 100


((1 - % of High PER) >

(EVDO_PER_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %

Mobile Rx Power

Compares AGCPower_Received_Antenna0 with the user-

defined Rx Power threshold

EVDO_MobileRxPower_Threshold.

Low Rx Power % = (Meas Bins with Rx Power < Thresh) /



(1 - % of Low RX) >

(EVDO_RXPWR_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %

Mobile Tx Power Compares TotalPower_Transmitted with the user-defined TX

Pwr threshold EVDO_MobileTxPower_Threshold.

High TX Power % = (Meas Bins with TX Power > Thresh) /



(1 - % of High TX) >

(EVDO_TXPWR_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %


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Metric Notes

RLP Rx Throughput Compares EVDO_RLP_Rx_Throughput_Instantaneous with

the user-defined RLP threshold

Average_RxRlpThputInst_Threshold.

Low RLP Rx Thpt % = (Meas Bins with RLP Rx Thpt <

Thresh) / (Total measurement bins) X 100


(1 - % of Low RLP Rx) >

(RLPRxThpt_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %

RLP Tx Throughput Compares EVDO_RLP_Tx_Throughput_Instantaneous with

the user-defined RLP threshold

Average_TxRlpThputInst_Threshold.

Low RLP TX Thpt % = (Meas Bins with RLP TX Thpt <

Thresh) / (Total measurement bins) X 100


(1 - % of Low RLP TX) >

(RLPTxThpt_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %

DRC Rate Compares DataRate_Requested_ShortTermAverage_Kbps

with the user-defined DRC Rate threshold

EVDO_DRC_Rate_Requested_Threshold.

Low DRC % = (Bins with DRC < Thresh) / (Total

measurement bins) X 100


(1 - % of Low DRC) >

(EVDO_DRC_Recommended_Performance_Threshold) %


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7.6 GSM Cell Coverage analysis You can use this analysis to:


Visualize where a cell is the best server.

Determine the relative grade of service as regards to EcIo, Mobile Rx

Power and Mobile TX Power for selected cell(s), based on a user-defined

threshold.

Visualize where cells are overshooting their coverage design boundary as

defined by SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold (drawn as a red circle on the

map).

Visualize the neighbor BCCH, TCH and BSIC plans, within the range

G_Interference_Radius (drawn as a dotted blue circle on the map).



7.6.2 Example of No Dominance

The Summary Dashboard shows an Important Issue: '% area with No Serving

Cell Dominance'. See Coverage criteria to see how this was derived.

1 From the Summary Dashboard, click on an appropriate 'issue' link to open

the Cell Coverage analysis page, for example the issue shown above.

2 Note that several rows in the top table have a low sample count, '#', and

so are unreliable to use in this investigation.


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3 To remove rows with low sample counts, apply a Filter with a threshold

of, say, 50 counts. Click Add Filter and OK.

4 From the Attribute drop-down menu, select an attribute to plot on the

map, base on the related Important Issue from the Summary Dashboard

(for this example, No Serving Cell Dominance):

Important Issue Attribute

Poor Voice Quality ServRxQualSub

Poor Signal Strength ServRxLevSub

No Serving Cell Dominance NumNeighbors within 5 dB

The attribute is used in the calculation to identify the issue, as explained in

Coverage criteria.







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5 Examine the top table of the analysis for indications of poorly performing

cells relating to the Important Issue, and select likely candidate rows.

In the example below, a problem row has been selected. The first map

image shows the 'NumNeighbors within 5 dB' attribute plotted, which

highlights an area of poor dominance (drawn in red). The second map

image shows RxLev (Where Seen) plotted for the same sector, which

shows that it covers an unnecessarily large area. This could be corrected

by applying some downtilt to the sector.


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7.6.3 Example of GSM visualization

This analysis can also be used to highlight and investigate interference issues,

based on the information held in the cellrefs file. In this example, the Quality tab

of the side panel shows a high percentage of Poor RxQual at the same time as

Good RxLev, which is usually an indicator of interference.

1 Use the top table to locate and select cells exhibiting this combination of

poor RxQual and good RxLev.

2 Now from the side panel, select the Visualization tab.

Depending on the information available, up to four radio buttons are

displayed at the top of the panel with which you can pick the required type

of cell plan visualization.

If you have interference, you may need to see if there are any cells in the

area that have the same frequencies. On the map you can see the

selected sector in gray, together with colored co-channel, adjacent lower

and adjacent higher interference sectors. The cell coverage radius is

shown as a red circle, and the cell plan visualization radius is shown as a

dotted blue circle.

If TCH information is present in the cellrefs file, radio buttons will be

displayed for the two TCH display options, and TCHList information will

appear in the pop-up sector information.


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map shows the coverage wedge for the selected cell, EcIo & RSCP. The red

circle represents the user-configured coverage design boundary, and data

points outside this circle represent overspill.

Analysis – The page can operate in two analysis modes: Best Server and

Where Seen. Best Server mode shows the Ec/Io attribute when the

selected cell was the best server (and also RxQual). The Where Seen

mode shows RxLev whenever the cell was measured; coverage footprints

can only be seen for those cells that were best servers at least once during

the drive.

SC Search – Visualize a SC on the map. Input a SC to visualize on the map

and this feature would color red all the sites with this SC. This quickly

identifies co-SC locations.


Events – Lists the event attributes that can be plotted on the map.


Attributes – Lists the most commonly used attributes that can be plotted

on the map. Currently plotted attributes are shown in red in the list. The


analysis pages.

Top Panel - Shows a table of summary information. Clicking on a row in

this table causes the side panel to display more information about the site

and the map zooms to the site and displays its coverage. The table

containing the following information:

▫ Handset (Where Seen / Best Server)

BCCH

# - Number of samples. Ensure that the site you are looking at has

a statistically viable number of samples.

> D(ist.) - Number of samples greater than the coverage design

boundary (defined by SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold).

RxQual, RxLev, (Average, Max, Min). Note that clicking on the icon

only displays the Average value.

% > Beam – Percentage of points outside the cell beamwidth.

% >180 Beam – Percentage of points outside a hypothetical

beamwidth of 180 degrees.

Link Diff – This is the difference between UL and DL pathloss and is

used to highlight cell with possible LNA (TMA) issues, if the

difference is greater the 8 dB, where:

UL = UE Tx Power - BTS Sensitivity + BTS Antenna Gain

DL = BTS EIRP - RxLevSub


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Poor Ql, Poor Lv and No Dom - see Coverage criteria below for

details.

▫ Scanner (Where Seen / Best Server)

As Handset but no RxQual or Link Diff information in the top table.

Side Panel - Each tab displays various KPIs for the selected site. Note that

if you have the Visualization tab selected and you select a sector not

included in the visualization, you will lose the other tabs, and will need to

click on a row in the top table to show them again.

▫ Quality tab - (Handset data only) Shows the percentage of Good

and Poor RxQual and RxLev in the data (see Coverage criteria for

details).


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Distance tab - Displays a histogram of the distances at which the cell was

measured. A red line at the top indicates the maximum range for the

analysis (equating to the red circle on the map), as defined by

SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold (changeable from the Tools, Display

Thresholds command). Note that the side panel only shows Best Server

data, so if you set the Analysis (see below) to 'Where Seen', the map will

only show Where Seen data, so there may appear to be a discrepancy

between the two views.

Visualization tab - Displays BCCH, TCH (if available in the cellrefs file) and

Co BSIC co- and adjacent channel interference on the map by coloring in

the interfering sectors, out to a distance defined by the threshold

G_Interference_Radius (which can be changed using the Tools, Display

Thresholds command). See also the previous worked example of GSM

visualization.

Note that the color is determined by the first satisfied condition, in the

following order: BCCH co-interference, TCH co-interference, BCCH

adjacent upper, BCCH adjacent lower, TCH adjacent upper, TCH adjacent

lower.


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%Intrf or %Interference in the visualization table is the ratio between the

number of interfering channels in common and the sum of all the channels

on the cell. So in the BCCH example below, there is 1 BCCH channel and 3

TCH channels used by the sector. Each row shows only one interfering

BCCH channel, and so the %Intrf is 100% x 1/4 = 25%.

In the TCH example below, there is 1 BCCH channel and 3 TCH channels

used by the sector. Each row shows three interfering TCH channels, and so

the %Intrf is 100% x 3/4 = 75%.


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TCH Co/adjacent Channel % is shown below. This type of

visualization is inappropriate for frequency hopping - that is, where

baseband or synthesized traffic channels are being used.

Co BSIC visualization is shown below. This is used to distinguish

between two different cells which are on the same BCCH. Orange

sectors show that there is another cell on the same BSIC (co BSIC

channel interference), and red sectors show that the cell also has

the same BCCH.


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7.6.5 Coverage criteria

Condition Top table column

or Quality tab*

Criteria

Poor Voice Quality Poor Quality, Poor Ql ServRxQualSub <

G_RxQualSub_Max threshold

Poor Signal

Strength

Poor Leverl, Poor Lv ServRxLevSub <

G_RxLevSub_Min threshold

No Serving Cell

Dominance

No Dom If the sum of all these conditions

is > 2:

((ServRxLevSub-

NborRxLev[n])<5) *

(abs(ServBCCH-

NborBCCH[n])<375), where n is

0 to 5.

Good Design G. Design % Where none of the above

conditions is true.

*This is the percentage of data points where one (or more than one) condition

applies.


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7.7 GSM 2G Missing Neighbors analysis This lets you use scanner data to optimize neighbor lists for sites within a user-

defined radius (Maximum Intersite Distance) of the selected cell.

Where the serving cell cannot carry a call due to interference or poor radio

conditions, the call needs to be moved to a better cell.

If the cellrefs file contains neighbor information, the analysis examines the

relationship between the existing neighbors and the potential neighbors as seen

by the scanner, and generates add, remove and retain recommendations for each

site and cell.

You can export the suggestions made by the analysis directly to a CSV file for

easy import and to update the switch directly.


You will need to have loaded a suitable GSM scanner stream.


1 To start this analysis, from the Summary Dashboard page, click on the


appropriate link in the left-hand Issues panel.


neighbor list analysis algorithm. In this example, we will be interested in

the Minimum Samples and the Addition Threshold. If you alter a data

setting, the analysis will immediately update.

3 Sort the top table by the Add column.


additions to its neighbor list. Check that the Server Count column shows

an acceptable value (you can also define a cutoff threshold using Minimum

Samples in the Data Settings dialog as shown above).


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The map now shows lines to the recommended additions (there are many

additions in this example as the cellrefs file does not contain any 3G-2G

neighbor definitions - therefore there are also no retentions or removals

suggested). The thickness of each line shows how well the suggestion

meets the criteria of the analysis. The circle represents the radius of the

Maximum Intersite Distance (defined in the Data Settings dialog) used by

the analysis to identify potential neighbors.

The map also displays the data points used in the analysis. The side panel

on the left shows each recommendation for a sector individually, sorted by

the % of data points that meet the recommendation algorithm.







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If you accept all suggestions for a sector, you can click the related button







side panel on the left. So if you selected 5 additions, this would result in

the number reading 5/12. This can be useful if there are a large number of


already selected.



the suggested addition), or for reasons related to the data settings. Also,

you may know that one or more sites will be going off-air and should not

be selected. Note that the more potential neighbors you add, the longer it

will take for a handset to find appropriate neighbors, conceivably resulting

in a dropped call. You may well have an upper limit already defined by

your internal guidelines, but you can also control this using the Data

Settings link at the top of the screen and specify a new Max Neighbor List

Size value.


7 You could now go through the same process for the 'Removals' column

(this example contains no 'removals' suggestions). Note that by default

the map does not show lines for removal recommendations.


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Export data link.


Top Panel - Shows add, removal and retention neighbor recommendations

for every site, together with related site information. Clicking on a row in

this table displays neighbor information for the selected cell in the side

panel, and draw lines to neighbors on the map. The box beside each

recommendation type shows which color it will be drawn in on the map -

click on the check box to show or hide that particular recommendation

type (by default, Removals are not shown).

Map - When you click a row in the table or a site on the map, lines to

neighbors are drawn from that site. The circle represents the user-defined

radius (Maximum Intersite Distance) used by the analysis to identify

potential neighbors. The map also shows the data points used in the

analysis.

Side Panel - Shows details of the neighbor recommendations. Check boxes

next to a recommendation can be selected for export to a CSV file.





analysis pages.




CSV file.





information.


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7.7.4 Data settings for this page


RxLev

Threshold

(dB)

-95 The RxLev of the serving cell must be better than this

threshold value for the cell to be considered in this

analysis.

Reporting

Range

(dB)

5 The RxLev of any candidate neighbor cell must be no

worse than this value from the RxLev Threshold for the

cell to be considered in this analysis (so no worse than

–100 dB if using the default value for RxLev Threshold).

Addition

Threshold

(%)


to trigger a cell being added as a suggested neighbor,

where the percentage is:

100 * (No. of samples where cell X is the serving cell to Y)

/ (Total no. of samples where X is the serving cell)

where the thresholds relate to whether Y should be added

(or removed, see below) from X’s neighbor list.

This is used to reduce the effect of stray signals.

Removal

Threshold

(%)






Minimal

Samples




Maximum

Intersite

Distance

(meters)







Only

process

first best

ARFCN



neighbor list of all of the cells meeting the other criteria.

Max

Neighbor

List Size



neighbors you add, the longer it will take for a handset to

find appropriate neighbors, conceivably resulting in a

dropped call.


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Angle to

site

threshold

(degrees)









circle). This threshold ensures that missing neighbors are

not suggested from reflected signals or back-lobes, and

also that only cells angled towards the data point are

suggested. To disable this feature, set this value to 0.




removals.


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7.8 LTE Cell Coverage analysis You can use this analysis to:


Quickly visualize where a cell is the best server, by selecting a cell.

Visually determine where cells are overshooting their coverage design



You can only use scanner data for this analysis.

7.8.2 Example

The Summary Dashboard shows an Important Issue relating to Poor Coverage.

Hovering over the link shows the thresholds used to identify this issue.

Note that these thresholds have already been applied to the loaded data, and

changing the thresholds at this point will have no effect on the analysis.

1 From the Summary Dashboard, click on an appropriate issue link or the

Radio Explorer icon to open the Cell Coverage analysis page.


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2 The Issues panel showed a high percentage of Poor Coverage issues, so

examine the top table of the analysis for indications of poorly performing

cells. Note that several rows have a low sample count and so are

unreliable to use in this investigation.


of, say, 50 counts by selecting #Samples, > and enter 50. Click Add

Filter and OK.

4 Sort by Av RSRP by clicking on the column heading.


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5 Color the cells by RSRP by clicking on the multi-cell icon beside the column

heading (the icon should become colored to indicate this is toggled on).

6 Select the top sector row.

7 Looking at the map, note that there are some samples with poor RSRP

despite being very close to the problem sector.


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Top Panel - Shows a table of summary information. The table contains the

following information:

▫ Scanner

# - Number of samples. Ensure that you are looking at a

statistically sensible number of samples.

> Dist - Number of samples greater than the coverage design


RSRP, RSRQ (Max, Min, Ave).

> Beam – Percentage of points outside the cell beamwidth.

>180 Beam – Percentage of points outside an imaginary


Clicking on a row in this table causes the side panel to display more

information about the site. The map zooms to the site and displays its

coverage.


map shows the coverage wedge for the selected cell, RSRP and RSRQ. The

red circle represents the user-configured coverage design boundary, and

data points outside this circle represent overspill.

Side Panel

Quality tab – Displays a quadrant chart with the percentage values of

points in good/bad RSRP and good/bad RSRQ, as defined by

LTE_Scan_PoorRSRP_Threshold and LTE_Scan_PoorRSRQ_Threshold.

Dist tab – Displays a histogram of the distances at which the cell was

measured. A red line indicates the maximum range for the analysis, as

defined by SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold.

Vis tab – Displays cell details.

Analysis – Select LTE Scanner Where Seen or Best Server analysis mode.

Changing the mode affects the RSRP attribute that is displayed on the

map. Best Server mode shows the RSRP when the selected cell was the

best server. The Where Seen mode shows the RSRP whenever the cell was

measured; coverage footprints can only be seen for those cells that were

best servers at least once during the drive. In multi-carrier environments,

you can perform analyses from the perspective of one carrier.

Cell Search – Visualize a cell on the map. Input a Site Name, Sector ID, or

PCI (previously named L1_CID) to visualize; this feature would color red

all the cell(s) matching the selected criteria.



Currently there are no events to display.




analysis pages.


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7.9 LTE 4G – 3G/2G Missing Neighbors This lets you optimize neighbor lists for sites within a user-defined radius

(Maximum Intersite Distance) of the selected cell.






site and cell.



7.9.1 Using the missing neighbors analysis

This analysis is accessible via the left hand panel under LTE > Important Issues.

Spotlight aggregates the LTE, UMTS and GSM measurements and bins them

according to the template settings (by default 3 arc-second location bins). For

each bin, Spotlight determines which LTE sectors may need IRAT neighbors

defined, based on the data settings for the analysis (see p85). For each bin and

each LTE sector matching the IRAT neighbor analysis criteria, Spotlight

determines which UMTS and GSM sectors should be added, retained or removed

from the IRAT neighbor list based on the thresholds below.

At the end of this process, for each LTE sector, Spotlight has established the

number of bins where the missing neighbor analysis criteria is met, and a

corresponding list of UMTS and GSM sectors with the number of bins where each

sector meets the addition, retention or deletion criteria.

Typically you would now search by Server Count (the number of bins where the

sector is best).













analysis.




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Cell Search – Visualize a cell on the map. Input a Site Name, Sector ID, or

PCI (previously named L1_CID) to visualize; this feature would color red

all the cell(s) matching the selected criteria.

LTE EARFCN, UMTS UARFCN – Specify these UARFCN frequencies to use to

search for missing neighbors.



Currently there are no events to display.




analysis pages.





information.



4G Thresholds

RSRQ

Threshold

(dB)

-10 An LTE sector may only need IRAT neighbors in locations

with poor LTE coverage. This threshold represents the

RSRQ value below which missing neighbor analysis will be

performed in a bin.

RSRP

Threshold

(dBm)

-95 An LTE sector may only need IRAT neighbors in locations

with poor LTE coverage. This threshold represents the

RSRP value below which missing neighbor analysis will be

performed in a bin.

LTE

Threshold

Type

RSRP

Only

This indicates whether Analyzer should use "LTE RSRQ

Threshold", "LTE RSRP Threshold", any of them, or both of

them.

Maximum

intersite

Distance

(meters)

5000 An IRAT sector should not be considered as a missing

neighbor if it is too distant from an LTE sector. This value

defines the maximum distance that a UMTS or GSM sector

should be from a LTE sector above which it will not be

considered as a missing neighbor.

Angle to

site

threshold

(degrees)

90 The LTE IRAT missing neighbor analysis should only be

performed on bins where the LTE sector is expected to

provide coverage. This value defines the maximum angle

the bin should make with the LTE sector azimuth in order

to be considered for the IRAT missing neighbor analysis in

a bin.


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Only

process

first best

PCI

On In a given bin, the UE should be connected to the

strongest LTE sector. Therefore it is usually better to only

optimize an IRAT neighbor list for the best LTE sector in a

bin. If this option is selected, Analyzer will only consider

the best LTE sector for the IRAT missing neighbor

analysis.

3G-2G Thresholds

EcIo

Threshold

(dB)

-15 In a bin, a UMTS sector should only be considered a

missing neighbor if its coverage is sufficient. This

threshold represents the minimum CPICH Ec/N0 value for

a UMTS sector, above which it is considered a valid IRAT

neighbor.

RSCP

Threshold

(dBm)

-95 In a bin, a UMTS sector should only be considered a


threshold represents the minimum CPICH RSCP value for

a UMTS sector, above which it is considered a valid IRAT

neighbor.

RSSI

Threshold

(dBm)

-95 In a bin, a GSM sector should only be considered a


threshold represents the minimum RSSI value for a GSM

cell, above which it is considered a valid IRAT neighbor.

Addition

Threshold

(%)

1 An IRAT sector should only be added to the neighbor list

of an LTE sector if it meets the missing neighbor criteria in

a sufficient number of bins, or else this addition would

increase the risk of radio failures just after the IRAT

handover. For an IRAT sector, this threshold is the

minimum value of the ratio (number of bins where IRAT

sector meets IRAT missing neighbor criteria) / (number of

bins where LTE sector meets IRAT criteria), above which

the IRAT sector is considered for addition to the neighbor

list.

Max GSM

Neighbor

list size

32 This value represents the maximum number of IRAT

missing neighbors that the side panel view will list. If

more IRAT missing neighbors are found, the list will only

show those with the best addition ratio (see "Addition

Threshold (%)").

Max UMTS

Neighbor

list size

32 This value represents the maximum number of IRAT

missing neighbors that the side panel view will list. If

more IRAT missing neighbors are found, the list will only

show those with the best addition ratio (see "Addition

Threshold (%)").


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Removal

Threshold

(%)

0.2 An IRAT sector should only be removed from the neighbor

list of an LTE sector if it meets the missing neighbor

criteria in a very few number of bins, or else one might

remove a valid IRAT neighbor from the neighbor list. For

an IRAT sector, this threshold is the minimum value of the

ratio (number of bins where IRAT sector meets IRAT

missing neighbor criteria) / (number of bins where LTE

sector meets IRAT criteria), below which the IRAT sector

is considered for removal from the neighbor list.


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7.10 UMTS / HSPA 3G Neighbor List analysis This lets you use scanner data to optimize neighbor lists for sites within a user-







site and cell.




You will need to have loaded a suitable GSM scanner stream.




appropriate link in the left-hand Issues panel.



the Minimum Samples and the Addition Threshold. If you alter a data





an acceptable value (you can also define a cutoff threshold using Minimum

Samples in the Data Settings dialog as shown above).


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meets the criteria of the analysis. The circle represents the radius of the

Maximum Intersite Distance (defined in the Data Settings dialog) used by

the analysis to identify potential neighbors.










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For example, there were 12 suggested additions in the first row, with none

currently selected for export, the number would show 0/12. If you clicked

the button, the number would read 12/12. If you do not want to select

every recommendation for a sector, you can use the table in the side

panel on the left. So if you selected 5 additions, this would result in the

number reading 5/12. This can be useful if there are a large number of


already selected.





be selected. Note that the more potential neighbors you add, the longer it

will take a handset to find appropriate neighbors, conceivably resulting in

a dropped call. You may well have an upper limit already defined by your

internal guidelines, but you can also control this using the Data Settings

link at the top of the screen and specify a new Max Neighbor List Size

value.






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Export data link.













analysis.







analysis pages.




CSV file.





information.

Find SC – This link allows you to visualize an SC on the map. Specify an

SC and this feature colors red all the sites using this SC.

Scanner Frequency – The results can be filtered by carrier.


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RxLev

Threshold

(dB)

-95

The RxLev of the serving cell must be better than this

value before the cell will be considered in the analysis.

Reporting

Range

(dB)

5

The RxLev of the serving cell must be no further than this

from the RxLev Threshold before the cell will be

considered in the analysis (so no worse than -100 dB if

using the default values).

Addition

Threshold

(%)


to trigger a cell being added as a suggested neighbor. This

is used to reduce the effect of stray signals.

Removal

Threshold

(%)






Minimal

Samples



analysis. Note that the algorithm works off Binned data

Maximum

Intersite

Distance

(meters)

5000

Defines the maximum line-of-sight distance in meters






Only

process

first best

ARFCN

Selected

Select this option to analyze the neighbors of the best cell



Max

Neighbor

List Size

32

Allows you to define the maximum number of




dropped call.


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Angle to

site

threshold

(degrees)

90

Defines the maximum angle between the edge of a cell's








circle).

This threshold ensures that missing neighbors are not

suggested from reflected signals or back-lobes, and also

that only cells angled towards the data point are

suggested.

To disable this feature, set this value to 0.




removals.


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7.11 UMTS / HSPA 3G-2G Neighbor List analysis This lets you use scanner data to optimize neighbor lists for sites within a user-


Situations where the 3G network cannot carry a call due to interference or poor

radio conditions - and the call needs to be carried out or completed in the 2G

network - are typically caused by missing neighbors. These are cells that have not

been defined in the neighbor list of the strongest cell at a given location, but

which have an RxLevel good enough to be added to the UE’s neighbor list as a

potential cell to hand over from 3G to 2G.




site and cell.




You will need to have loaded the following:

A UMTS scanner stream that relates to a single UMTS frequency.

Increasingly, UMTS scanners are able to scan several frequencies

(identified by the UARFCN) simultaneously.

A GSM scanner or handset stream that was logged at the same time. If a

handset stream is used, it must have been logged in idle mode.

These must have been loaded using a suitable matching cellrefs file, which

must contain a field called GSMNeighborList on the WCDMA_Cell network

element.




appropriate Issue in the left-hand Issues panel:


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the Minimum Sample Count and the Addition Threshold. If you alter a data





an acceptable value (you can also define a cutoff threshold using the

Minimum Sample Count as shown above).



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meets the criteria of the analysis. The circle represents the user-defined


potential neighbors.

















side panel on the left. So if you selected 13 additions, this would result in

the number reading 13/51. This can be useful if, as in this example, there

are a large number of recommendations and you need to keep track of

how many you have already selected.


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be selected. Another problem that arises from this example (due to no 3G-

2G neighbor data in the cellrefs file) is the sheer number of suggested

additions: 51, compared with the maximum permitted number of 32. Note

that the more potential neighbors you add, the longer it will take for a

handset to find appropriate neighbors, conceivably resulting in a dropped

call. You may well have an upper limit already defined by your internal

guidelines.

6 If you disagree with a suggested addition, you may want to use the SC

Search feature to find an alternative sector to add to the neighbor list.

Note that in this case you will not be able to output your choice, and will

need to make the correction to the switch manually (for example, by

editing the CSV file).







Export data link.













analysis.







analysis pages.




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CSV file.

Find SC – Visualize an SC on the map. Specify an SC and this feature

colors red all the sites using this SC.





information.

Scanner Frequency – The results can be filtered by carrier.



UMTS

Threshold

Type

Depending on which measurement your network uses for

determining when to hand over, select EcIo, RSCP, EcIo or

RSCP, or EcIo and RSCP.

EcIo

Threshold

(dBm)

0 A neighboring cell must have an EcIo of less than or equal

to this value to be included on the potential neighbor list.

RSCP

Threshold

(dBm)

-100 A neighboring cell must have an RSCP of less than or

equal to this value to be included on the potential

neighbor list.

GSM

Neighbor

Threshold

(dBm)

-95 If a potential neighbor has passed the UMTS threshold

criteria described above, now the potential neighbor must

have a measured BSIC greater than or equal to this value

to be included on the potential neighbor list.

Minimal

Sample

Count




Maximum

Intersite

Distance

(meters)







Addition

Threshold

(%)


to trigger a cell being added as a suggested neighbor,

where the percentage is:

100 * (No. of samples where cell X is the serving cell to Y)

/ (Total no. of samples where X is the serving cell)

where the thresholds relate to whether Y should be added

(or removed, see below) from X’s neighbor list.

This is used to reduce the effect of stray signals.


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Removal

Threshold

(%)






Only

process

first best

SC




Max

Neighbor

List Size





dropped call.

Angle to

site

threshold

(degrees)









circle).

This threshold ensures that missing neighbors are not

suggested from reflected signals or back-lobes, and also

that only cells angled towards the data point are

suggested.

To disable this feature, set this value to 0.




removals.


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7.12 UMTS / HSPA Cell Coverage analysis You can use this analysis to:


Quickly visualize where a cell is the best server, by selecting a cell.

Visually determine where cells are overshooting their coverage design




7.12.2 Example using handset data

The Summary Dashboard shows an Important Issue relating to Poor Coverage.

Hovering over the link shows the thresholds used to identify this issue.

Note that these thresholds have already been applied to the loaded data, and

changing the thresholds at this point will have no effect on the analysis.

1 From the Summary Dashboard, click on an appropriate issue link or the

Radio Explorer icon to open the Cell Coverage analysis page.

2 The Issues panel showed a high percentage of System Interference issues,

so examine the top table of the analysis for indications of poorly

performing cells. Note that several rows have a low sample count and so

are unreliable to use in this investigation.


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of, say, 50 counts. Click Add Filter and OK.

4 Sort by Ave EcIo by clicking on the column heading.

5 Color the cells by EcIo by clicking on the icon beside the column heading.

Select the top sector row.


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6 Looking at the map, note that there are some samples with poor EcIo

despite being very close to the problem sector.






7 So what other cells are interfering to cause this situation? Experiment with

plotting various Events and Attributes - plotting the Uu_ActiveSet_Count

attribute shows that there is only one clear server, Site 8130 Sector B.

This may indicate a missing neighbor.


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8 Click on the 3G Neighbor List tab. Note that the map and table keep the

focus on the selected cell.

Here we can see that there is a suggested addition to the neighbor list, so

exporting and using that new neighbor should solve the problem. See the

3G Neighbor List analysis for more information.


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7.12.3 Example using scanner data

The Summary Dashboard shows an Important Issue where a large percentage of

data points were identified as being outside the beamwidth of the serving cell.

1 Click on the issue link to open the Cell Coverage analysis page.

2 Filter out any rows with low sample counts, as described in the previous

example.

3 As the problem concerns data points outside the serving cell beamwidth,

sort by >180 Beam by clicking on the column heading.

4 Color the map cells by >180 Beam by clicking on the icon next to the

column heading.

5 Note that the top two sectors are in the same site. Select the top sector

row.


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6 Ensure that in the top panel, you select the Analysis 'Scanner - Where

Seen'.

7 Looking at the map, note that the samples seen for the selected sector

appear in the beam of the other offending sector. Select the other sector

from the table or the map to confirm that this is a crossfeeder situation.


Top Panel - Shows a table of summary information. The table contains the

following information:

▫ Scanner



> Dist. - Number of samples greater than the coverage design


EcNo, RSCP (Max, Min, Ave).

> Beam. – Percentage of points outside the cell beamwidth.

>180 Beam. – Percentage of points outside an imaginary


▫ Handset



> Dist. - Number of samples greater than the coverage design


EcNo, RSCP (Max, Min, Ave).

Link Diff. – This is the difference between UL and DL pathloss and

is used to highlight cell with possible LNA (TMA) issues, if the

difference is greater the 8 dB.


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Downlink Interference factor.

System interference %

Limited coverage %

Poor UL & DL %

Clicking on a row in this table causes the side panel to display more

information about the site. The map zooms to the site and displays its

coverage.


map shows the coverage wedge for the selected cell, EcIo & RSCP. The red

circle represents the user-configured coverage design boundary, and data

points outside this circle represent overspill.

Side Panel - Displays various KPI values for the site selected and a

histogram of the distances at which the cell was measured. A red line

indicates the maximum range for the analysis, as defined by

SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold.

Analysis – Select Scanner (Best Server/Where Seen) or Handset (Best

Server/Where Seen) analysis. The page can operate in two modes: Best

Server and Where Seen. Changing the mode affects the Ec/Io attribute

that is displayed on the map. Best Server mode shows the Ec/Io when the

selected cell was the best server. The Where Seen mode shows the Ec/Io

whenever the cell was measured; coverage footprints can only be seen for

those cells that were best servers at least once during the drive. Note that

in multi-carrier environments, you can perform analyses from the

perspective of one carrier.

SC Search – Visualize a SC on the map. Input a SC to visualize on the map

and this feature would color red all the sites with this SC. This quickly

identifies co-SC locations.







analysis pages.


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7.13 UMTS / HSPA Cell Pilot Pollution analysis This lets you quickly identify pilot pollution in the inbound (how the selected

sector is being polluted by other sectors) and outbound (how the selected sector

is polluting other sectors) directions, and view the offending sectors on the map.

You can determine the relative degree of pollution for each cell and prioritize

which cells in the network are strong candidates for downtilts and coverage

optimization.

You can also select single or multiple events to see lines to the sectors

contributing to the pollution.



7.13.2 Example using scanner data

1 To start this analysis, from the Summary Dashboard, click on an

appropriate Issue in the left-hand Issues panel, such as Too Many Servers

(a pilot pollution issue). Alternatively, click on the Radio Network Explorer

button and click on the Cell Pilot Pollution tab.

2 Sort the top table by Outbound Cells and click on the top row.


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In this example, as the selected sector 55662 looks like the best candidate

for investigation as it has a high number of Too Many Servers events, and

Outbound and Inbound Cell polluters.

3 De-select the Inbound Cells box to hide the inbound polluting lines.

The map now highlights the selected sector. Outbound pollution lines are

drawn in red from the selected sector to the sectors being polluted. The

arrow on each line points from the polluting sector to the polluted sector.

The thickness of the lines indicates the degree to which pilot pollution was

detected for the selected sector, based on the loaded data. Inbound pilot

pollution lines are drawn in blue. Rolling over the lines with the cursor

displays more detailed information (see the example below).

The map also shows the Too Many Server events. Note that drive test data

is binned according to the selections made in step 4 of defining the project

template. However, any events displayed on the map (for example, by

using the Events drop-down menu) will use the exact position rather than

a binned position, so events might not align with the data points.

4 The inbound polluters are shown by blue lines, and that you can hide or

show these polluting lines by clearing or checking the related box in the

top table. De-select Outbound Cells and select Inbound Cells.

5 On the map, to show lines to cells, drag a box around the area with a

cluster of Too Many Server events.


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There is no clear dominator in this area, and a few polluting cells are some

distance away, so you would need to improve the coverage in that area.

In the image below, the EcIo values have been plotted on the map to

confirm the situation near the Too Many Server events.

At this point you could use the Cell Coverage tab to see the best way to

improve the coverage for the selected sector.

6 To see how the selected sector is polluting other sectors, from the top

table, de-select Inbound Cells and select Outbound Cells.


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The selected sector is causing pollution at quite a distance, past much

closer sectors. This confirms that the selected sector may need some

downtilt to avoid causing the pollution and to increase nearby coverage.

Use the Cell Coverage tab to see how best to improve the coverage for the

selected sector.


Top Panel - Summary information is displayed in the top panel. It includes

in a tabular form the number of pilot pollution events for each site and the

total number of inbound/outbound polluters. Clicking on a row in this table

causes pilot pollution information for the selected cell to be displayed in

the side panel, and lines to polluters to be drawn on the map.

Map - Click a row in the top panel or a site on the map, to draw lines to

inbound as well as outbound pollution from that site. All the pilot pollution

events involving the site are also plotted on the map. The lines to polluters

have a direction arrow suggesting inbound or outbound pollution.

Side Panel - Shows details of the inbound and outbound pollution for the

selected site.


Attributes – Lists the most commonly used attributes. Select one or more

to plot on the map. Currently plotted attributes are shown in red in the


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list. The currently selected attributes will be kept as you move between

Spotlight's analysis pages.

Events – Lists event attributes. Select one or more to plot on the map. So,

while looking at pilot pollution, you could plot the UMTS Dropped Call

event on the map and quickly see if the call dropped due to pilot pollution.


Analysis – Select Scanner or Handset analysis.

SC Search – Visualize a SC on the map. Input a SC to color red all the

sites with this SC, so you can quickly identify co-SC locations.

7.14 About the Interference factor (‘F’ factor) With CDMA technology, interference is a critical factor because communication

occurs on the same frequency band and time slot, such as in UMTS FDD mode,

and therefore interference is directly linked to the coverage and capacity of such

a network. So, understanding the relationship between coverage and capacity—

and how it is affected by interference and transmit power—is essential for UMTS

network planning, whether you are looking at a totally new network or a second-

generation network that is migrating to 3G.

One important source of interference in a WCDMA network comes from the

signals transmitted by surrounding cells (inter-cell interference). A satisfactory

Eb/N0 value is of paramount importance in maintaining a satisfactory quality of

service (measured using Frame Erasure Rate or Block Error Rate). As a result, the

interference level is directly related to the user density in the considered cell and

neighbors, and affects both the cell range and capacity of the system. The more

users in the system, the higher the interference and the smaller the cell range.

This is represented by the F factor, defined as Home cell noise/Total noise.

The F factor can also indicate pilot pollution—coverage quality will suffer from an

increased load as the F factor increases. The F factor can be calculated from

measurements as follows:

CPICH Ec/Io = CPICH RSCP – UE RSSI

UE RSSI = Nt + Is + Io

where:

Nt = thermal noise of the UE (-100 dBm)

Is = Interference (received power fraction) coming from same cell

Io = Interference (received power fraction) coming from other cell

We know that in an unloaded network, Is = 2 x CPICH RSCP

So the F factor, Io / Is, can be written as:

F = Io / Is = ( UE RSSI – Nt – (2 x CPICH RSCP)) / (2 x CPICH RSCP)

2 x RSCP is also measured RSCP + 3dB. Of course all additions and subtractions

should be done linearly (first convert from dB to Watts…).

Note that the formula is only valid for unloaded networks that do not experience

much fading.


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A good value for the F factor is below 3 (or 4) over 95% of the cell area. If a cell

has a higher value, the capacity of this cell will be impacted, and even more so

when the network becomes loaded.

Note When examining drive data, the F-Factor is

very dependent on the route, because at the edge of

cells the F-factor will naturally be higher.

7.14.1 Example 1 - Low 'F' factor

In the example below, most of the DL interference (F-factor) is below 5 across

most of the drive.


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7.14.2 Example 2 - High 'F' factor

In the example below, there are areas where the DL interference is high, even

with a cell site in the area (for example - middle bottom). The region could suffer

from capacity issues as the network usage increases. Thus, the region needs

some optimization, in the form of downtilts, azimuth changes, or new sites.


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8 Using the Event Explorer

8.1 About the Event Explorer The Event Explorer provides a detailed analysis of critical failure events. You

could arrive at this page from the Summary Dashboard as a result of clicking on

an appropriate Issue or on the Event Explorer icon.

8.1.1 Worked example investigating dropped calls

In this case, we have chosen to analyze call drops and so all the dropped call

events appear on the map. The cell wedges are color coded to represent dropped

call numbers. The side panel lists all the critical events occurring in the drive.

When using this page, you can work from the data in the top table or from the

diagnostics panel on the left.

The table in the top panel has a row for each site and lists the failure rates for

that site. Note that the table shows a set of KPIs that correspond to the current

Category (selected from a drop down menu above the top table – this prevents

the table from becoming cluttered by only showing a small set of related KPIs at

the same time).


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Selecting the heading sorts the table by that KPI. The symbol beside the top table

heading indicates the additional effect of selection:

Selecting a heading with an icon allows you to visualize the KPIs and events

on the map.

Selecting a heading with an icon allows you to visualize the KPIs and events

on the map and also displays the diagnostics on the left panel.

If the top table shows high values for a

particular problem KPI, check the top

left hand box to enable the selection

boxes for each row. Then check each

row with high problem KPIs. The side

panel is now filtered to show the

events appearing for only the selected

site/sector rows.

If there are many rows in the table,

you might want to sort by the

Diagnostics column to see the

diagnostic types grouped

alphabetically.


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In this example, EcIo has been selected from the Attributes menu at the top and

displayed on the map. There are some poor values surrounding the dropped call

event, which is expected for a handover problem. Plotting pilot pollution events

may also help you to understand the situation here.

Note that drive test data is binned according to the selections made in step 4 of

defining the project template. However, any events displayed on the map will use

the exact position rather than a binned position, so they may not necessarily

align with the data points.

Drilldown allows you to view selected data related to the event on the Drilldown

page, which shows a range of analysis views appropriate to the type of diagnosis.

For more information, see the section on Drilldown on p118.


Filters – The table on the top panel can be filtered by adding filters

through this dialog

Attributes drop-down menu – List of attributes that are most useful in

analyzing drive data. For example, for UMTS data you could select

Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo. From the map, you could see if EcNo is higher around

a dropped call, which would suggest that the call quality was degrading

immediately before the event. See the Attribute / Event Help (available

from the Help menu) for more information.

Events drop-down menu – List of the event attributes that can be plotted

on the map. See the Attribute / Event Help (available from the Help menu)

for more information.


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Detailed event diagnostics - The left hand side panel provides a diagnosis

for the failure event, consisting of these sections:

▫ Causes – Shows possible causes for the event

▫ Further Explanation – Provides details on the causes for the event

▫ Further Analysis – Suggests how to proceed with further analysis

▫ Measurement Information - Provides RF measurement data around

the event

8.2 Data Service Analysis You can use this analysis to examine the data service performance of your

network. Typically this will be for an HSPA network, probably working in

conjunction with some legacy UMTS or GPRS areas.

Note that for this functionality to be available, you

will need to have selected a template that includes

Data Service Analysis when you create your Spotlight

project.

8.2.1 Using the Data Service Analysis Page

The screenshot below shows the Data Service Analysis page.


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The panel reports on the following issues:

Service Setup Failure Rate - Service is used to refer to the end-to-end

connection between the UE and the core network. A Service Setup Failure

is detected when the UE attempts - but fails - to get an IP address (for

instance, if a PDP Context Activation procedure fails).

Service Drop Rate - A Service Drop is detected when the UE loses the

end to end connection to the core network (for instance, after a Routing

Area Update procedure failure).

Task Failure Rate - Task is used to refer to any data upload or

download; for example, an FTP ‘put’ or ‘get’, browsing a web page or a

‘ping’ test. A failure is detected when the Task did not complete (for

instance, if the UE failed to download a file in case of a FTP DL test).

Percentage of FTP or HTTP upload or download tasks below the

absolute threshold value - This corresponds to Tasks for which the

average throughput was less than a configurable threshold*.

Percentage of FTP or HTTP upload or download tasks below the

composite threshold value - This corresponds to Tasks for which the

average throughput was less than a technology dependant threshold*. The

technology threshold is derived by Analyzer from a set of configurable

technology thresholds based on the time the UE spent on each technology.

*Make sure that you set the Data Service Analysis thresholds to suit your

requirements before loading the data. To set the thresholds, from the top menu

select Tools > Display Thresholds and go to the Data Service Analysis

section.

As an example of how the composite threshold value is calculated, consider a

data download Task where the UE spends 80% of the time in Cell_DCH R99 and

20% in HSPA. The composite throughput threshold is:

(80% x ApplicationLowTput_UMTS_DL_Threshold) +

(20% x Application_LowTput_HSDPA_DL_Threshold)

Note the dropdown selector at the top of the left hand panel. This allows you to

select one of several Analysis pages:

DSA Failures (the default page, shown above)

DSA All Services and Tasks

DSA Task Summary


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From the DSA All Services and Tasks page, you can click on the Display All links

to view the related Event Explorer view. The following example screenshot shows

the Event Explorer view for the FTP DL link Display All 57 Tasks:


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To better understand the situation, the user has sorted the table on the left by

Status. The Status codes are:

D - Drop

C - Cancelled by user

I - Interrupted (unknown whether this failed or not)

OK - Successful task

To identify worst/best performing tasks, you could also sort by Throughput.

Scrolling down the left hand panel, you can see useful data service statistics. The

information displayed depends on the task type (upload or download), as well as

the technologies that the UE experienced during the task.


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Once you find an interesting task (for instance, a low throughput task, or task

with multiple Radio Access Technologies), you can select the box next to it and

complete the Drilldown section to define the data that will be included in the

drilldown.

Once you are ready to proceed, click the Begin Drilldown button.


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When the drilldown processing has completed, you will see a drilldown analysis

page similar to this:

If you want to return from a drilldown, go to the top of the left panel and click on

the Event Explorer link.

Several examples of DSA drilldown analysis are included in the following sections.


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8.2.2 Example of a good HSPA+ task

In this HSPA+ example, we can see that the UE is in HSPA+ mode throughout,

that 64QAM modulation usage is high throughout, and CQI, CPICH EcN0, and

CPICH RSCP are all good, whereas frame usage, HSDPA codes and throughput

are all erratic. Note also that the throughput does spike at > 10Mbps.

From these observations we can conclude that:

The radio conditions were good throughout this section of drive, allowing

for maximum download data rate. In these conditions the UE could have

achieved ~10 Mbps.

Although on average the throughput is about 4.5 Mbps, instantaneous

throughput measurements are erratic, ranging from 0 to 10 Mbps. This

behavior is symptomatic of a buffer filling / emptying somewhere along

the data transmission chain. The cause could be that the FTP server

cannot sustain more than 4 Mbps on average, resulting in ‘bursty’ data

transmissions on the air interface.


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8.2.3 Example of a MIMO HSPA+ FTP download

There are three areas of interest in this example:

MIMO statistics

Modulation

TCP slow start

MIMO statistics

Note that the application throughput is ~5 times lower than the HSDPA L1 data

rate: this is because in this log files, there were 5 simultaneous FTP downloads.

In this case, since the UE has been configured to MIMO during the task, the side

panel also shows HSPA+ MIMO measurements statistics. HSPA+ can either be in

MIMO mode or non-MIMO mode, and if in MIMO mode, it can be using 1 transport

block (diversity mode) or 2 transport blocks (spatial multiplexing mode). These

statistics are measured from the portion of the task where the UE is configured in

MIMO mode:

MIMO configuration (%) - This is the ratio of: the number of HSDPA

subframes received when MIMO was configured, to the total number of

HSDPA subframes received.

MIMO CQI Average - This is the average of the CQI measurements sent

whilst the UE is in MIMO mode.

Usage (% frames) - This is measured from subframes received in MIMO

mode. It indicates the percentage of subframes in MIMO mode for which a

single transport block was received, and the percentage for which two

transport blocks were received.

NACK Rate (%) - In MIMO mode, this indicates the HSDPA NACK rate

measured from subframes where a single transport block was received,

and where two transport blocks were received.

Data Rx (%) - In MIMO mode, this indicates how much data was

received on a single transport block transmissions, and how much on two

transport block transmissions.

TB Size Avg. (bits) - In MIMO mode, this indicates the average number

of bits received per TTI.


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In this task we see the following:

In MIMO mode, spatial multiplexing was used 34.16% of the time.

The HSDPA NACK rate is high in MIMO mode and also significantly higher

with spatial multiplexing than with diversity: possibly the Node B settings

should be changed to reduce the NACK rate.

Although the UE received two transport blocks in MIMO mode 34.16 % of

the time, it amounted to 48.80 % of the data received: spatial

multiplexing is more efficient than diversity.


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Modulation

A quick analysis of the HSDPA radio chart tells us that there is a situation

involving modulation usage.

We can break down this task into three periods (labeled in the screenshot):

1 During this first period, the UE is configured for MIMO, during which the

UE sometimes benefits from MIMO spatial multiplexing configuration. The

best modulation is then 16 QAM, because this 3GPP release 7 handset

cannot use both MIMO and 64 QAM modulation at the same time.

2 During this second period, the UE is not configured for MIMO and uses 64

QAM.

3 During this third period, the radio conditions degrade to a point where the

UE is virtually only using QPSK modulation. Eventually the RRC connection

drops, and the data transfer fails.


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TCP Slow Start

We can see that after most of the HSPA cell changes, the HSDPA data rate and

the number of HSDPA codes allocated to the UE both drop to a low value and

then slowly ramp up. This is a typical effect of TCP flow control after a

reconnection, known as TCP slow start.

8.2.4 Example of a problematic HSDPA task

This HSDPA example highlights three problems. These problems are presented in

a declining order of importance (problem 1 being the most significant), based on

the proportion of the call where these conditions were occurring.

Problem 1 – UE spends time in DCHR99 mode

Problem 2 – congestion causing low HSDPA frame usage

Problem 3 – low modulation order


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Problem 1 – UE spends time in DCHR99 mode

Here we can see periods were the CPICH EcN0 is low and the UE is in Cell_DCH

R99 mode. The downlink throughput achieved during these periods is very low

compared to what can be achieved in HSDPA mode. The transition to Cell_DCH

R99 mode could be caused by the poor radio conditions, or possibly the maximum

number of concurrent HSDPA users has been reached on this site.


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Problem 2 – congestion causing low HSDPA frame usage

In this case, although there are good radio conditions (high CPICH EcN0), HSDPA

is being used and the UE is allocated a large number of HSDPA codes when

scheduled, the frame usage is very low. This is likely to be the result of

congestion.


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Problem 3 – low modulation order

In this last case, there are periods of high throughput coinciding with good CPICH

EcN0 and high 16QAM modulation usage, but there are also periods where the

opposite is occurring. In the latter case, the low modulation order is likely to be

responsible for the low throughput.


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8.2.5 Example of a reasonable LTE task

In this LTE example, there is a high (> 10 Mbps) throughput, CQI is at maximum

throughout the call, spatial multiplexing usage is good at > 80%, and system

bandwidth allocation is good at > 80% (40 Resource Blocks in this case).

However, the frame usage is only ~50%, which is probably due to a bottleneck

along the data transmission chain – that is, some equipment or data link cannot

support a throughput higher than 10 Mbps.


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8.3 Drill Down from the Event Explorer All Spotlight analyses in the Event

Explorer and Radio Network Explorer

pages use data from the project

database.

If you want to drill down further to

investigate at the message level, on

the bottom side panel, click on the

check box next to an event to drill

down further.

8.3.1 Why use drilldown?

Initially you will want to be reassured that the Spotlight diagnosis is

correct.

As you become familiar with Spotlight’s event diagnostics, other reasons

to use drilldown may be that you may have some engineering knowledge

or familiarity with the locality that leads you to suspect that the diagnosis

may not be considering these factors.

8.3.2 Specifying a drilldown window

Check the Drill Down box for one or more

events.

In this example on the right, there is only

one dropped call event and that has been

selected, although in practice it is more

efficient to select multiple calls for the

drilldown analysis.

The Drilldown controls let you specify the

amount of data you want to load from the

related data file and display on the

Drilldown page.

A simple method is to check the Load

Entire File box to load the whole file

containing the event for further analysis.

This may take a long time for a large file.

If you leave Load Entire File blank, you can specify a window of time around the

event using the Before Window and After Window fields. Spotlight will only load

data for that time window. This is faster than loading the entire file.

Note If you do not define a large-enough drilldown

window, the window might not include the

appropriate messages that trigger the event.


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The technology of the loaded data determines how the drilldown window actually

operates:

Once you have input the Before Window and After Window values, click on Begin

Drilldown. This will take you to the detailed Drilldown page.


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8.3.3 The Drilldown page

In this example, we are examining a series of dropped call events. The table on

the left shows a row for each Dropped Call event selected for further drilldown,

together with a diagnosis of the cause.

The top Dropped Call event has been selected for drilldown; clicking on the Begin

Drilldown button starts the drilldown process and displays the drilldown page.


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The page shows several views to help you analyze the event in more detail.

Detailed Event Diagnostics are in a panel on the left, also showing the

originating data file name.

A map and the UMTS Event Navigator window display attributes relating to

the selected event.

A Protocol Stack Browser provides detailed messaging around the event.

This set of views, called a screen layout, is standard for this type of event. Each

drilldown that is based on a different failure event will have its own screen layout.

This particular layout provides most of the information needed to diagnose a

dropped call. The UMTS Event Navigator shows the event and the serving SC. The

charts give the SIR, EcNo, RSCP and Tx power information around the event.

Note All the views will have data only for the time

window specified in the previous step.

You can access standard Analyzer views from the View menu, and also make use

of the Replay control to step through the data.


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9 Performing a more detailed analysis

You may want to perform a detailed analysis of the selected data. In order to do

this, you can view a list of the files loaded into the current project's repository

and select which of them to load into Analyzer Classic.

9.1 Before you start You must already have created a project and loaded files into the repository.

9.2 To load data into Analyzer Classic 1 From the Summary Dashboard's Repository Summary table, click on the

Log Files link.

2 Click the Analyzer Classic tab to show a list of loaded files.

3 Check the box to the left of each file that you want to load into Analyzer

Classic.


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Files that are already loaded have their boxes checked and disabled, and

can be unloaded using the Unload All button (which is disabled if there are

no loaded files). Note that this does not affect the project database in any

way.

4 Click the Load Files button. This loads any checked files that are not

already loaded.

Once the load is complete, the current views are minimized and two new

views are displayed: an Attribute Explorer on the left, and a new Task

Window positioned in the top right corner of the available screen area,

containing a single Return to Spotlight link.

5 Perform analyses on the data using the advanced tools available in

Analyzer Classic.

6 When you have finished using Analyzer Classic, you can click on the

Return to Spotlight link, which will restore the Spotlight view. If you do

not want to return to Analyzer Classic and re-examine the selected data,

you can now click on the Unload All button to close files loaded into

Classic. Note that this will not close any files that have been loaded into

Analyzer Classic which are not listed as loaded into the project repository.


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10 Batch Sector Plot

The Batch Sector Plot function lets you export a series of images. Each image

shows a particular attribute plotted in relation to a sector, where a set of selected

criteria apply.

This would be useful if, for instance, you require a set of images to use in a

management report that shows the results from drive test data imported into

Actix Spotlight.

To use Batch Sector Plot

1 From the Spotlight Dashboard, click on the Reports link to open the

Reports dialog.

2 Now click on the Batch Sector Plot link.

This opens the Batch Sector Plot dialog.

3 Select the appropriate Technology. The available options will depend on

the data currently loaded, but include Scanner and Handset for CDMA,

GSM, UMTS, and Handset only for EVDO.


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4 Select the Attribute that you want to display on the output images. The

available options will depend on the selected Technology. Only one

attribute may be exported for each use of this function.

5 Now select the Footprint for the cell in each output image:

Where Seen – the image only includes those points where the cell could

be seen during the drive(s). The cell is only included if it was best server

at some point in the drive(s).

Where Best – the image only includes those points where the cell was the

best server during the drive(s).

6 Select how you want to Plot the results. This depends on the selected

Technology; the example shown is for UMTS Scanner, and the choice is By

SC or By Sector. One image will be exported for each SC, Sector or other

selection that meets the other criteria entered in this dialog.

If by SC (or BCCH etc.) is chosen, then all sectors on

that SC (and UARFCN if defined in the cellrefs) will be

exported in one image. Cells on the same SC but that

were not seen during the drive will not be

highlighted.

7 Select the Min Sample Count threshold. The number of points for the

attribute must be equal to or higher than this value for an image to be

exported.

8 Each image will cover the area of the Union of the bounds of the

attributes, plus the highlighted cells, plus a 4% padding. Select the Map

Image Format:

PNG – The default map image format option, as PNG files are small yet

remain clear.

BMP – This results in much larger graphics files, and is only recommended

if you intend to use the images with Microsoft Excel. If you use Insert

Object in Excel, you have the ability to link to a graphics file. Only links to

BMP files will show the actual image – other formats will only show an

image icon.

The legend for a plot is always output in BMP format regardless of this

selection.

9 Enter the Map Image Size in pixels, where Size X is the width of the

image and Size Y is the height.

10 To display the coverage wedge and overspill circle, check the Coverage

Wedge box. The coverage wedge and overspill distance circle are drawn

by default

11 To export the legend for each image as a separate BMP image, check the

Legend box. The legend is not be exported by default.

12 Once you are satisfied with your selections, click the Generate button.

Spotlight will now cycle through the sectors and create an image for each

one that matches your criteria. Some sectors may appear on the screen

very briefly – these failed to match the selected criteria.


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The images are consecutively numbered and placed in a folder with a

time-stamped name:

yyyy-mm-dd-hhmm.bmp

yyyy-mm-dd-hhmm.png

When the batch run ends, Windows Explorer opens at that folder. Any

legend BMP files are output into the same folder using the same number,

so they can easily be matched to the related plot file.

Some sample results are shown below:


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11 Creating a Spotlight Project Template

Spotlight project templates define which KPIs, reports and attributes are available

within Spotlight, and how the data is to be stored in the repository. Configuring a

project template correctly is important, because it controls not only what analysis

is available, but also how the data is organized and this can affect the validity of

the analysis. In addition, the way you configure the project template can affect

the performance of the projects that are based on it. For example, if you include

KPIs and reports that are not relevant, performance may be slower than

necessary, particularly when creating the project and loading data into it, but also

when subsequently closing and reloading it.

Although Spotlight is based on repository technology, project templates are not

the same as repository templates. When you create a project template using

Spotlight's New Template option, Spotlight also generates a repository template

based on the KPIs and other options that are selected. During this process,

Spotlight uses a default repository template that is supplied with Spotlight.

To create a Spotlight project template, start a new Spotlight project and on the

Creating a New Project: Step 1 page, click New Template.

You then need to fill out options on the following pages:

Step 1: Choose Name and Starting Template

Step 2: Choose Devices

Step 3: Choose KPIs and Reports

Step 4: Choose Attributes

Step 5: Choose Global Filters


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After clicking Done on the last page, you are returned to the New Project start

page, where the new template appears in the list of project templates.

Note For convenience, Spotlight appends the date

on which it was created to the project template's

name.

11.1 Step 1: Choose Name and Starting Template This page is the first step in creating a new Spotlight project template.

1 Template Name - Enter a unique name for the template. This must not

contain any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > |.

2 Based on Template - Select the existing project template on which you

want to base your new template. Note that templates shipped with the

product are shown in blue. The Master Template, which contains all

available KPIs, is at the bottom of the dropdown list.

3 Click Next to go the next page.


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11.2 Step 2: Choose Devices The second step in creating a new Spotlight project template involves defining

how you want the data to be stored. You can choose to combine all of the data

(this is the default) or to separate it into silos called devices. Essentially, you

should separate the data into multiple devices when combining it would be

statistically invalid and the structure of the attributes and KPIs and the statistics

in the reports do not provide a mechanism for separating the data.

11.2.1 How many devices do I need?

Each additional device adds a performance overhead, and so ideally, you should

create the smallest number of devices that are required to separate the data in

such a way that the KPIs and reports will provide statistically valid results. When

determining how many devices to create, you need to consider how and why the

data was logged:

The simplest scenario is when the data was logged by one handset and

optionally one scanner in a single drive test unit. In this scenario, it is

generally safe to combine the data from both logging devices into a single

Spotlight device, because generally, the handset and scanner data is

stored in different attributes and the KPIs and statistics are based on one

type of attribute or another and therefore provide a means of separating

the two types of data. However, you might want to separate the handset

and scanner data into separate devices for convenience or clarity.

Another common scenario is when data is logged by two handsets and one

scanner in a single drive test unit. Typically, one handset does a

succession of short (approximately 90-second) calls separated by 30

seconds of idle time. The other handset is for "long calls", in which the

handset stays in call until the call drops, whereupon the dialer immediately

starts a new long call. Typically, the short calls provide data for event

KPIs, such as the percentage of call setups that were successful, etc.,

whereas the long calls provide data for measuring the radio performance.

Combining the data would normally give misleading results. For example,

the long call data would by definition have an almost 100% dropped call

rate and so if used for event KPIs, it would skew the dropped call rate. For


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this scenario, you should therefore create separate devices for the short

and long call data.

A similar scenario occurs when a single drive test unit has two devices, but

one was used for voice calls and the other for data. Like scanner and

handset data, generally, data logged from voice and data calls is stored in

separate attributes, and KPIs and statistics are typically based on one type

or the other. However, for clarity it is generally advisable to separate the

data into different logical devices. This avoids any risk of combining data

inappropriately and thereby creating invalid KPIs.

All of the drive test scenarios that we have considered so far involve a

single drive test unit (that is, one vehicle plus logging equipment). When

there are multiple drive test units driving different routes on the same

days, there is no reason why you should not combine data logged for the

same purpose in the different drive test units. For example, it would

typically be valid to combine short call data collected by different drive test

units on the same days in different parts of a city or state. However, if the

data was logged for different purposes (such as the short and long call

data described above), you should generally separate it into different

logical devices, for the reasons explained earlier.

Sometimes you may want to base optimization and troubleshooting work

on benchmarking data, which is data that has been collected from several

different operators' networks simultaneously in order that the KPIs from

the various networks can be compared. In this scenario, you would be

interested in the data from your own network only. When Spotlight is to

be used for this purpose, provided all of the data for that network was

logged for the same purpose, you would normally store it in one device.

However, you need to create a suitable filter for the device (as described

below) in order to exclude all of the data from the other networks.

11.2.2 Adding a device

When you create a new project template, by default, Spotlight creates a single

all-purpose device that has no filter. If you want to separate data into multiple

devices, you must specify a filter for each one. The filter identifies the data

streams that are to be loaded into that device. For example, suppose you define

two devices, A and B. When you subsequently select data files to load into the

project, data streams that match the filter for device A will be loaded into device

A, data streams that match the filter for device B will be loaded into device B, and

data streams that do not match either filter will not be loaded. Note that data

streams that match the filter for device A and B will be loaded into both devices.


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1 You create a new device by clicking the Add Device button, which opens

this dialog:

2 Device Name - This is used to identify the device wherever it is used, so

try to make the name meaningful.

3 Filter - This defines a single sequence of characters that must be present

in the stream's long name in order for it to be loaded into this device. The

long name is composed of the stream name preceded by the file name like

this:

FileName:StreamName.

4 Import From File - You can use this button to browse to a typical log file

that will be loaded into the project. When you select the file, Spotlight lists

the name of every data stream that it contains. When you select a name

in the list, Spotlight inserts the stream name into the Filter box above.

Typically, you would then edit it in the Filter box, in order to make the

filter more generally applicable.

5 When you are ready, click Add to add the device to the project template.


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11.2.3 More on device filters

Setting up good device filters takes some thought. Typically, you would use the

Import from File button on several of the log files that you want to use in the

project, in order to examine the pattern of their stream names. Some stream

names include the handset's identifier, such as the mobile identification number

(MIN) or phone number, and sometimes you can use this as the filter.

For example, suppose you are setting up a project template that will be used for

troubleshooting your network's data from a benchmarking study, in which five

handsets were used to log data from five different networks in one drive test unit

(vehicle). If the stream names include the phone numbers, you could base the

filter on the phone number of the handset that was attached to your network.

However, suppose you have several drive test units logging the data and you

want to combine your network data from all of the units. Using the phone

numbers will not achieve this, because even if everything else is the same in each

drive test unit, the phone numbers will always be different.

Typically, the logging equipment has a number of slots into which the handsets

are plugged. Sometimes the slots can be configured with a label (such as the

name of the network), and these are generally incorporated into the stream

names. If the slots in each drive test unit are given the same labels in all of the

drive test units, you could base the filter on the label.

Alternatively, the slots might have an identifying number, which often appears in

parentheses in the stream name, such as (0), (1), etc. These are often used

successfully as filters. However, for this to work correctly, the handsets for your

network would need to be in the same slot in all of the drive tests units.

When filtering on the stream name part of the stream, long names cannot provide

the results you require - you might need to consider filtering on the file name

part of the long name. If necessary, you could rename the files. For example,

consider a benchmarking study, in which the data for each network is written out

to different files. You could include the name or ID of the network in the log file

names and then base the stream name filter on the network name or ID.

If necessary, you might need to rename the files manually or using a script. This

technique can be particularly useful when working with TEMS data.

Click Next to go the next page.


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11.3 Step 3: Choose KPIs and Reports The third step in creating a new Spotlight project template involves selecting the

KPIs and reports that you want to include in the project. Spotlight lists all of the

KPIs and reports that are available.

1 For performance reasons, select only those KPIs and reports that are

relevant for the tasks you plan to perform and the data you plan to load

into the projects based on this template. For example, if you are planning

to load only GSM voice data, deselect all of the KPIs and reports that do

not relate to GSM voice calls.

2 Click Next to go to the next page.


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11.4 Step 4: Choose Attributes The fourth step in creating a new Spotlight project template involves selecting the

attributes that you want to include in the project and defining the binning

settings.

One of the attributes is highlighted in red to indicate that it has been chosen from

the Attribute Picker panel.


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11.4.1 Choose Attributes

The top part of this page has three panels:

Binned Data Queries - This lists the binned data queries that relate to the

KPIs and reports that you selected in Step 3. Each of these contains a

number of attributes and binned queries that are used for display on the

map, etc. When you select a binned data query, the attributes and binned

queries it contains are listed in the central Attributes panel. You cannot

remove these, because they are required for the features that are

associated with the selected KPIs and reports. However, you can add

additional attributes using the Attribute Picker on the right side. Typically

each technology has two or more binned data queries. For example, for

UMTS there are binned data queries as follows:

▫ UMTS UE BinnedData - Contains the handset attributes, and is the

main query used in the Event Explorer Drill Down pages. It is also

used to populate the Radio Network Cell Coverage and Cell Pilot

Pollution pages when the user has selected a 'handset' Analysis.

▫ UMTS Scanner BinnedData - Contains the scanner attributes, and is

used in the Radio Network Cell Coverage and Cell Pilot Pollution

pages when the user has selected a 'scanner' Analysis. It is also

used to populate the Radio Network Neighbor List analysis pages.

▫ UMTS UE SectorHandle BinnedData - This is a special query that is

used internally. Do not add attributes to this query.

▫ UMTS Scanner SectorHandle BinnedData - This is a special query

that is used internally. Do not add attributes to this query.

If you want to add additional attributes, select the appropriate binned data

query to add them to. For example, if you are adding a UMTS scanner

attribute, select the UMTS Scanner BinnedData query.

Queries that have Sector Handle in their name are for internal use and

you should not add any attributes to them.

Attributes - This lists the attributes and binned queries that are in the

binned data query that is selected on the left side and any additional

attributes that you have added using the Attribute Picker on the right side.

The additional attributes are highlighted, indicating that you can remove

them. (You do this by selecting the attribute and clicking Remove

Attribute.)

Attribute Picker - This is a tree view that lists all of the possible attributes.

Select any attributes that you want to include. Make sure you add the

attributes to the appropriate binned data query as described above.

Note that array attributes are shown in the tree view as individual items,

rather than expandable items. What happens when you select an array

attribute depends on the internal structure of the binned data query that is

selected:

▫ Generally, when you select an array attribute, Spotlight

automatically adds a separate item to the list of attributes for each

possible index position (provided there are less than 32 possible

index positions). You can then delete any index positions that you


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do not want to use. For example, for a "Top n" attribute, you might

want to delete all but the first three or four index positions. You

cannot add array attributes that have 32 or more possible index

positions.

▫ However, for some binned data queries (such as the GSM Scanner

BinnedData query), when you select an array attribute, Spotlight

adds it to the list of attributes as a single item (using the array

indexer syntax) and automatically includes every index position for

which there is data.

Note Although Spotlight can handle a considerable

number of attributes, there are limits imposed by the

technologies that underlie the repository technology.

These limits are documented in detail in the

Repository Manager section. Note that the fast

binning option detailed below creates more compact

databases and avoids problems with the limit to the

number of "subselects" documented in the linked

topic.

11.4.2 Binning

The binning settings control how the device's binned data is stored in the

repository and how it is subsequently displayed on the map and the other binned

data views. Note that once the project is created, the binning settings cannot be

changed. For example, changing the binning settings in the Preferences dialog

does not affect data loaded into the Spotlight repository. (However, it does affect

the drilldown data and any Spotlight data that you have loaded into Analyzer

Classic.)

Spotlight always uses the location binning mechanism, which sorts the raw data

values into a geographical grid and then performs an averaging operation to

produce a single value for each square in the grid (sometimes call a bin). This

has the effect of smoothing the data and reducing the number of rows or data

points that would otherwise be stored in the database and subsequently

displayed. The averaging operation that is performed is determined by the

internal attribute definition. For most attributes, a simple average operation is

performed, but some use other operations, such as the mode or count.

The binning options are:

Fast binning - Select this option if you want to use the fast bin

aggregation method (this is recommended). This means that in bins that

the drive test(s) passed through more than once, the results from the last

drive will be displayed. De-select this option if you want the results from

all of the drives to be aggregated together. Although this is technically

more accurate, it is considerably slower, particularly when displaying data

on the map. In addition when working with very large volumes of data, the

increased accuracy is likely to be of limited value in practice. See Fast Bin

Aggregation in the online help for more information.

Units of measurement - The possible units are meters and arc seconds.

You must choose the unit that matches the projection system that you are

using. If the data will be displayed on vector-based maps, you can


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generally use arc seconds and the default projection system, which is the

World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS 84) projection system, which is used

by GPS. However, if the data is to be displayed on raster maps, you should

generally choose the projection system used in those maps and the correct

units for that system. See Map Projections in the online help for an

overview of the issues.

X and Y bin size - These define the dimensions of the squares in the

geographical grid. The X axis corresponds to longitude and the Y axis to

latitude. The sizes must be specified in the appropriate units for the

projection system. The default sizes are 3 arc seconds and 50 meters.

Note that using larger bin sizes reduces the size of the database and

improves performance.

For the Y axis, the approximate size in arc seconds can be calculated from

a size in meters using the following formula:

Where REarth is the radius of the earth (approximately 6,400 kilometers at

the equator).

For example, using this formula shows that a Y axis bin size of 100 meters

is approximately three arc seconds. However, the formula for converting

between meters and arc seconds for the X axis is more complicated,

because it depends on the radius of the earth at that latitude.

X and Y origin - By default, the starting point for the geographical grid is

the false origin (0, 0) defined for the selected projection system. This has

the advantage that, by default, all of the location grids are the same.

However, sometimes you may want to move the start point because, for

example, you want to align the grid with one used in another system. You

do this by specifying an offset for either or both of the coordinates in the X

origin and/or Y origin text boxes. You must specify the offset in the same

units as you used to define the size of the bins (and this must correspond

to the measurement system used by the projection system).


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Projection - Select the projection system that you want to use. The

options in the drop-down list are the projection systems that are

supported directly by Analyzer and that use the units of measurement

selected above. The Default option for arc seconds corresponds to the

WGS 84 projection system. There is no default option for meters, but you

can use one of the ED79 UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) system

options. ED79 UTM is a generic map projection system that divides the

globe up into a number of zones. You need to select the appropriate zone

for the area in which the data was collected. See the online help section

ED79 UTM Zone Lookup for more information.

Click Next to go to the next page.

11.5 Step 5: Choose Global Filters The fifth step in creating a new Spotlight project template involves choosing

whether to enable File/Stream, Time and regional filtering in the project (as well

as the Device filtering enabled in Step 2). If these options are enabled, you can

activate or modify them by clicking on the Global Filters link in the top right of an

analysis page.

For the Regional Filters, you can choose to allow filtering by Cluster Name and

Clutter Type.

Note Regional filtering option is not shown in the

above example. To enable filtering by region, you

need to have already defined the regions, created a

new Spotlight Template and on the Filtering page

checked the relevant region types under Region

Filters.

When you click Done, you are returned to the new project page, where the new

template appears in the list of project templates.


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12 Troubleshooting Spotlight

12.1 No repository detected Spotlight was unable to find your project database. Ensure that your MS SQL

service is active and try to start your project again, following these steps:

1 From the Windows Start menu, select Control Panel, Administrative

Tools, Services.

2 In the table of services, locate the 'SQL Server (ACTIXSQLEXPRESS)' row.

▫ If the Status is 'Paused', from the toolbar, click on the Resume

Service button.

▫ If the Status is blank, from the toolbar, click on the Start Service

button.

▫ If the Status is 'Started', go back to Spotlight and attempt to reload

your project. If you changed your license after creating the project,

you will need to create a new project and reload the data.

3 If the service does not restart, you will need to uninstall and reinstall Actix

Spotlight.

12.2 The maps in your report are empty This is an issue cause by Microsoft Picture Manager, which associates to itself a

number of image file formats. Open Picture Manager, and from the Tools menu

select File Types. Ensure that the box for Windows Bitmap (.bmp) is left

unchecked (that is, empty).


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13 Appendix A: Cell Site Parameters

13.1 CDMA Cell Site Parameters

Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


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 the

map.

Longitude CDMA_Site SiteLongitude Locates Site icons on the

map.

Sector

Number

CDMA_Cell Sector ID

Can be 1,2,3 etc.

or a combination

of site numbers

Sector-specific information

useful for display on maps.

Azimuth CDMA_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on

the map.

Beamwidth CDMA_Cell Beamwidth Governs the shape of the

sector 'wedge' on the map to

reflect the beamwidth of the

antenna deployed at the site.

PN Offset CDMA_Cell PN Used in CDMA Toolkit

calculations, lines to neighbor

cells and to color sectors/sites

on maps to reflect PN

planning.

Base Station

Power*

CDMA_Cell EIRP Base station power, used in

CDMA Toolkit calculations.

Mobile

Country

Code*

CDMA_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code. For

information only.

System

Identity*

CDMA_Cell SID For information only.

Network

Identity*

CDMA_Cell NID For information only.

Broadcast

Identity*

CDMA_Cell BID For information only.

PctPilot* CDMA_Cell PctPilot For information only.

PctTraffic* CDMA_Cell PctTraffic For information only.

PctPaging* CDMA_Cell PctPaging For information only.


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Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


PctSync* CDMA_Cell PctSync For information only.

Active Set

Search

Window

Setting*

CDMA_Cell SRCH_WIN_A Used in Analyzer’s CDMA

Toolkit calculations to

compare current search

window settings with those


Neighbor Set

Search

Setting*

CDMA_Cell SRCH_WIN_N Used in Analyzer’s CDMA





List of

neighbors*

CDMA_Cell CDMANeighborList Used in Analyzer’s CDMA





Sector

Display –

Wildcard*

CDMA_Cell Face_Display Used to color sectors on the

map by a custom integer

field.

Sector

Display –

Wildcard*

CDMA_Cell Azimuth_Display Used to color sectors on the


field.

Sector

Display –

Wildcard*

CDMA_Cell Phase_Display Used to color sectors on the


field.

Layer type* CDMA_Cell Layer_type Text that specifies which cell

layer (for example, by

technology, band, purpose or

status) that the site belongs

to. Used for multiple cell

layers.

*Optional.

13.2 GSM / GPRS / EDGE Cell Site Parameters

Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Site Name GSM_Site SiteName Text description of the Site for

display on map.

Site Number GSM_Site SiteID Numeric identifier for the Site.

Used as the linking column to

associate the GSM_Site and

GSM_Cell rows.

Latitude GSM_Site Latitude Locates Site icons on map.

Longitude GSM_Site Longitude Locates Site icons on map.


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Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Sector

Number

GSM_Cell SectorID

Can be 1,2,3,

etc, or a

combination of

site numbers

Sector-specific ID information

useful for display on maps.

Azimuth GSM_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the

map.

Beamwidth GSM_Cell Beamwith Governs the radius of the

sector 'wedge' icon to reflect

the beamwidth of antenna

deployed at the sector.

Base Station

Power

GSM_Cell EIRP Base Station Power.

Broadcast

Control

Channel

GSM_Cell BCCH Broadcast Control Channel.

Mobile

Network

Code

GSM_Cell MNC Mobile Network Code.

Mobile Color

Code

GSM_Cell MCC Mobile Color Code.

Location

Area Code

GSM_Cell LAC Location Area Code.

Cell ID value GSM_Cell CI Cell ID value.

Base Station

Identity

Code

GSM_Cell BSIC Base Station Identity Code,

comprising of a concatenation

of the NCC and BCC values.

Layer type GSM_Cell Layer_type Text that specifies which cell

layer (for example, by

technology, band, purpose or

status) that the site belongs to.

Used for multiple cell layers.

13.3 LTE Cell Site Parameters

Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Site Name LTE_Site Site_Name Text description of the Site for

display on map.

Site Number LTE_Site SiteID Numeric identifier for the site.

Latitude LTE_Site Latitude Locates site icons on map.


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Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Longitude LTE_Site Longitude Locates site icons on map.

Sector

Number

LTE_Cell Sector_ID Sector-specific information

useful for display on maps (can

be alpha or numeric)

Azimuth LTE_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on the

map.

Beamwidth LTE_Cell Beamwidth Governs the shape of the sector

“wedge” icon to reflect the

beamwidth of antenna deployed

at the site.

EIRP* LTE_Cell EIRP Equivalent Isotropic Radiated

Power – for informational

purposes only.

Downlink

EARFCN

LTE_Cell DL_EARFCN The downlink EARFCN of the

cell. The fields DL_EARFCN and

PCI must be present to

calculate lines to cells.

Layer1 Cell

Identity

LTE_Cell PCI The physical layer cell identity

(previously named L1_CID).

The fields DL_EARFCN and PCI

must be present to calculate

lines to cells.

MCC* LTE_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code – for

informational purposes only.

MNC* LTE_Cell MNC National Domain Code – for


* Optional.

13.4 UMTS / HSPA+ Cell Site Parameters

Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Site Name UMTS_Site SiteName Text description of the Site

for display on map.

Site Number UMTS_Site SiteID Numeric identifier for the site.

Latitude UMTS_Site Latitude Locates site icons on map.

Longitude UMTS_Site Longitude Locates site icons on map.

Sector

Number

UMTS_Cell Sector_ID Sector-specific information

useful for display on maps

(can be alpha or numeric)


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Imported

Parameter

Analyzer

Group


Azimuth UMTS_Cell Azimuth Orients the sector icons on

the map.

Beamwidth UMTS_Cell Beamwidth Governs the shape of the

sector “wedge” icon to reflect

the beamwidth of antenna

deployed at the site.

SC UMTS_Cell SC Used for cell site identification

and to calculate lines to cells.

EIRP* UMTS_Cell EIRP Equivalent Isotropic Radiated

Power – for informational

purposes only.

MCC* UMTS_Cell MCC Mobile Country Code – for


MNC* UMTS_Cell MNC National Domain Code – for


LAC* UMTS_Cell LAC Location Area Code – for


CI* UMTS_Cell CI Cell Identity – for


Neighbor

List*

UMTS_Cell WCDMANeighborList Used to define a pre-defined

neighbor list for each cell.

Used during neighbor list

recommendations analysis.

Layer Type* UMTS_Cell LayerType Configurable text field that

specifies which cell layer (for

example, by technology, band

or status) the site belongs to.

Used for multiple cell layers.

* Optional.


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14 Appendix B: Spotlight reports

14.1 CDMA Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered CDMA data within the current

project database. This is a good place to start using Spotlight, as the report

indicates which thresholds have been passed and which have failed. Related

tables provide additional information to let you decide where to go to follow up

any problems.

14.1.1 Report tab

This tab provides summary information on the loaded data.


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14.1.2 Radio Link tab

This tab provides tables showing radio link information.


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14.1.3 Map tab

This tab provides maps for dropped calls, failed calls and forward FER.


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14.2 EVDO Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered EVDO data within the current




any problems.

14.2.1 Report tab


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14.2.2 Map tab


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14.2.3 Air Interface Quality Analysis tab


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14.2.4 DL/UL Throughput Metrics tab


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14.3 EVDO Rev A Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered EVDO Rev A data within the current



tables provide additional information so you can decide how to follow up any

problems.

14.3.1 Overview Map


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14.3.2 Main

14.3.3 Connection Details


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14.3.4 RF

14.3.5 Throughputs


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14.3.6 Per Flow Throughputs


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14.4 GSM Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered GSM data within the current project

database. This is a good place to start using Spotlight, as the report indicates

which thresholds have been passed and which have failed. Related tables provide

additional information to let you decide where to go to follow up any problems.

14.4.1 Report


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14.4.2 File Overview


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14.4.3 Overview Map


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14.4.4 Radio


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14.4.5 CD Domain


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14.5 HSPA Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered HSPA data within the current




any problems.

14.5.1 Report


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14.5.2 Overview Map


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14.5.3 Radio

The PDF and CDF of ALL the actual CQI samples present in the logs are provided.

In addition, the tables report the following statistics for CQI:

Mean Mode


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Median

Maximum

Minimum

Total # samples

95% Percentile

The HARQ statistics section shows the distribution between ACK, NACK and DTX

samples of all the HARQ processes recorded. Details per call can be accessed at

the bottom of the page by clicking on the link below the table.

14.5.4 HS mobility


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14.5.5 Channel Usage


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14.6 UMTS Spotlight Report This report provides information on unfiltered UMTS data within the current




any problems.

14.6.1 Report


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14.6.2 Overview


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14.6.3 Overview Map


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14.6.4 Radio


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14.6.5 CS Domain and PS Domain


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15 Appendix C: CDMA thresholds, KPIs and diagnoses

15.1 CDMA thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display

Thresholds command. It is important to set your threshold before loading the

data because it will affect the analysis, diagnosis and display of data in Spotlight.

To modify the value, simply click on the associated number and type in the new

value.

15.1.1 Spotlight Thresholds

15.1.1.1 SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold

This threshold is used, if there is no Max_ServerDist information in the cellref and

indicates the maximum serving distance (in meters) a cell should serve. Default is

5000m.

15.1.2 CDMA / Coverage

15.1.2.1 CDMA_AvgForwardFER

This threshold is used for diagnosing areas of poor quality. Recommended value

is 2.

15.1.2.2 CDMA_EcIoCombinedThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with Mobile Rx Power and Mobile Tx Power

Thresholds to determine the diagnosis for the dropped call, failed call and voice

call with poor quality. Recommended value is -12 dB. Values should vary between

-16 and -12 dB.

15.1.2.3 CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExcessInterference

This threshold is used for filtering out files that have percentage of excess

interference cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

15.1.2.4 CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExternalInterference

This threshold is used to filter out the display of data in the CDMA Dashboard that

have percentage of bad EcIo, high Tx, good Rx problems cases less than the

threshold. Recommended value is 2.

15.1.2.5 CDMA_ImportantIssue_FwdLinkProblem


have percentage of forward link problems cases less than the threshold.

Recommended value is 2.


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15.1.2.6 CDMA_ImportantIssue_LowRX


have percentage of low rx problems cases less than the threshold. Recommended

value is 2.

15.1.2.7 CDMA_ImportantIssue_PoorCoverage

This threshold is used for filtering out files that have percentage of poor coverage

cases less than the threshold. Recommended value is 2.

15.1.2.8 CDMA_ImportantIssue_PoorQuality


have percentage of calls with poor quality cases less than the threshold.


15.1.2.9 CDMA_ImportantIssue_RevLinkProblem


have percentage of rev link problems cases less than the threshold.


15.1.2.10 CDMA_MobileRxPowerThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction 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 vary between -75 and -

90 dBm.

15.1.2.11 CDMA_MobileTxPowerMinFilterThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with Mobile Tx Power Max Threshold to filter

out messages when the transmitter is disabled due to high FFER. Default is -30.

15.1.2.12 CDMA_MobileTxPowerMaxFilterThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with Mobile Tx Power Min Threshold to filter

out messages when the transmitter is disabled due to high FFER. Default is 23.

15.1.2.13 CDMA_MobileTxPowerThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with EcIo and Mobile Rx Power Thresholds to


quality. Recommended value is 5 dBm. Values should lie between 0 and 10 dBm.

15.1.2.14 CDMA_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold

This is the absolute number of pilots (with Ec/Ios above

CDMA_PilotPollutionThreshold) required to trigger a pilot pollution event. The

recommended value is 3 and values should lie between 2 and 4.

15.1.2.15 CDMA_PilotPollutionThreshold

This threshold alerts the user of pilot pollution when the signal level falls below

this threshold. Recommended value is -14 dB. Values should lie between -10 and

-18 dB.


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15.1.3 CDMA / Events

15.1.3.1 EVT_CDMAImportantIssue

1 = Turns on the CDMA Important Issue Detect event diagram for CDMA

Troubleshooter; 0 = CDMA Important Issue analysis is turned off to improve file

load speeds. Default is 0.

15.1.3.2 EVT_CDMANeighborListIssueDetect

1 = Turns on the CDMA Neighbor List Issue Detect event diagram for CDMA

Troubleshooter; 0= CDMA Neighbor List Issue Detect analysis is turned off.

Default is 0.

15.1.3.3 EVT_CDMAServerKey

1 = Turns on the CDMA Server Key event diagram for CDMA Troubleshooter; 0 =

CDMA Server Key analysis is turned off to improve file load speeds. Default is 0.

15.1.3.4 UniqueNeighborList

1 = Turns on the unique neighbor list analysis for CDMA, EVDO Troubleshooter; 0

= unique neighbor list analysis is turned off to improve file load speeds. Default is

0.

15.1.4 CDMA / Other

15.1.4.1 CDMA_EcIoInterferenceThreshold

Recommended value is -15 dBm. The maximum should not be higher than 0 and

minimum should not be lower than -25 dBm.

15.1.4.2 CDMA_EVDO_TooManyActivePNsThreshold

In calculating "Too Many Servers", when 4 or more pilots (including the best

server) are within the threshold value in dB of the best server, it creates a "too

many server" event. Recommended value is 5 dB and the minimum and the

maximum should be around 1 and 10 dB.

15.1.4.3 CDMA_TooManyActivePNsThreshold



many server" event. Recommended value is 5 dB and the minimum and the

maximum should be around 1 and 10 dB.

15.1.5 CDMA / Performance

15.1.5.1 CDMA_CallDropRate

This threshold is used to determine the criterion for KPI acceptance in the

Repository views. The Call Drop Rate should not exceed 2% of all successful calls

in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or less than this value, it will be

flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in the KPI table. If it is

higher than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show up as a red cross

in the KPI table. The default value is 2%.


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15.1.5.2 CDMA_CallSetupSuccessRate


Repository views. The Call Setup Success Rate should be in excess of 98% for

most GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or in excess to

this value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in

the KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show

up as a red cross in the KPI table. The default value is 98%.

15.1.5.3 CDMA_CallSetupTime

This threshold is used for determining calls with excessive setup time.

Recommended value is 2000 ms.

15.1.5.4 CDMA_OverAllSuccessRate


Repository views. The Overall Success Rate should be in excess of 98% for most

GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or in excess to this

value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in the

KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show up

as a red cross in the KPI table. The default value is 98%.

15.2 CDMA events in the Event Explorer The following events are displayed in the top table of the Event Explorer:

# Call Attempts

# Dropped Calls

# Failed Calls

# Excessive Setup

These events are affected by the following thresholds:

CDMA_AvgForwardFER

CDMA_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold

CDMA_PilotPollutionThreshold


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15.3 Dropped Call diagnosis for CDMA


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Diagnosis Condition and notes

Coverage Issue Evaluate the CDMA Important Issues parameter

to identify the type of coverage issue present.

Excessive Interference Low EcIo, high MRx Power, low MTx Power.

Poor Coverage Low EcIo, low MRx Power, high MTx Power.

Reverse Link Problem High EcIo, high MRx Power, high MTx Power.

External Interference Low EcIo, high MRx Power, high MTx Power.

Forward Link Problem Low EcIo, low MRx Power, high MTx Power.

Low Rx Signal High EcIo, low MRx Power, high MTx Power.

Poor Quality FER > Average Forward FER threshold.

Neighbor List Issue New originating PN (Sync PN) is not contained

in the neighbor list of the serving cell.

Pilot Pollution 4+ pilots have EcIo >

CDMA_PilotPollutionThreshold.

Other More investigation is needed. Use other tools

and views to refine your understanding of the

problem.


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16 Appendix D: Data Service Analysis thresholds

16.1 DSA thresholds You can modify threshold values for Data Service Analysis using the Tools,

Display Thresholds command. It is important to set your threshold before

loading the data because it will affect the analysis, diagnosis and display of data

in Spotlight. To modify the value, simply click on the associated number and type

in the new value.

16.1.1.1 HSDPA_CQI_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable Channel Quality

Indicator value. The default is 15.

16.1.1.2 HSUPA_SGI_Th€reshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable Serving Grant Index

value. The default value of 18 corresponds to ~10 dB. The HSUPA SGI format

group controls the exact mapping of the threshold values to dB values (shown

below).

Threshold

Value

dB

0 -9.5

1 -8.0

2 -6.6

3 -5.5

4 -4.4

5 -2.7

6 -1.9

7 -1.2

8 0.0

9 1.1

10 2.1

11 2.9

12 4.1

13 5.1

Threshold

Value

dB

14 6.0

15 7.1

16 8.1

17 8.9

18 9.9

19 11.0

20 12.0

21 13.0

22 14.0

23 15.0

24 16.0

25 17.0

26 18.0

27 19.0

Threshold

Value

dB

28 20.0

29 21.0

30 22.1

31 23.0

32 24.0

33 25.0

34 26.0

35 27.0

36 27.8

37 28.8

38 None

63 N/Av

16.1.1.3 HSDPA_Low_CQI_Percent_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum percentage of CQI samples

lower than the CQI threshold. The default is 25.


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16.1.1.4 Jitter_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable Jitter value, in

milliseconds. The default is 10.

16.1.1.5 LTE_CQI_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable CQI value of LTE.

The default is 5.

16.1.1.6 LTE_Low_CQI_Percent_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum percentage of CQI samples

lower than the CQI threshold. The default is 25.

16.1.1.7 Packet_Loss_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable packet loss value, in

percent. The default is 10.

16.1.1.8 Web_Browsing_Duration_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable duration of web

browsing, in milliseconds. The default is 10000.

16.1.2 Event_Control thresholds

16.1.2.1 VoIP_Call_RTP_Timeout_Threshold

This threshold is used to detect dropped calls when no RTP packets are

exchanged for an extended period of time, indicating that the call was

terminated. It is the maximum time between two consecutive RTP messages. The

threshold is not used by the event detection if no RTP packets are logged. The

recommended default is 18000ms, the maximum is 20000ms, and a value of 0

disables the threshold.

16.1.2.2 VoIP_CallSetup_Timeout_Threshold

This threshold is used to detect a call setup failure and is the maximum time

between the ‘INVITE’ message and the ‘180 Ringing’ message. The recommended

default is 18000ms, the maximum is 20000ms, and a value of 0 disables the

threshold.

16.1.3 Internet thresholds

16.1.3.1 TCP_ReTx_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is the maximum acceptable TCP retransmission rate (i.e.

duplicated segments received multiple times by the receiver). Units are percent,

and the default is 2.

16.1.4 Ping thresholds

16.1.4.1 Ignore_First_Ping_Threshold

Often the timer for the first ping request of a task is started when the UE is still in

idle mode, long before the ping request is sent, thus distorting the first RTT


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measurement. When set to 0 (the default), the first ping is treated normally.

When set to 1, the RTT of the first ping is ignored.

16.1.4.2 Ping_RTT_CDMA_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable Ping (ICMP Echo

Reply) RTT value in CDMA. The default is 800.

16.1.4.3 Ping_RTT_DCHR99_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in DCHR99. The default is 200.

16.1.4.4 Ping_RTT_EGPRS_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in EGPRS. The default is 400.

16.1.4.5 Ping_RTT_EVDO_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in EVDO. The default is 180.

16.1.4.6 Ping_RTT_FACH_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in FACH. The default is 250.

16.1.4.7 Ping_RTT_GPRS_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in GPRS. The default is 800.

16.1.4.8 Ping_RTT_HSDPA_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in HSDPA. The default is 150.

16.1.4.9 Ping_RTT_HSPA_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in HSPA. The default is 120.

16.1.4.10 Ping_RTT_HSPAPlus_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in HSPA+. The default is 120.

16.1.4.11 Ping_RTT_LTE_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in LTE. The default is 50.

16.1.4.12 Ping_RTT_Multitech_Threshold


Reply) RTT value in multiple technology mode. The default is 800.


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16.1.5 Report thresholds

16.1.5.1 HSDPA_FrameUsage_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSDPA frame usage value, in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.2 HSDPA_L1_Payloadrate_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSDPA L1 payload rate value, in

kilobits per second. The default is 600.

16.1.5.3 HSDPA_NACK_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSDPA NACK rate value, in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.4 HSDPA_NumberofCodes_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable number of HSDPA codes. The default is

4.

16.1.5.5 HSDPA_SampleCount_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum number of samples of a given HSDPA

measurement type (for instance HSDPA frame usage) below which the task is

considered to have too few measurements to be statistically relevant. The default

is 10.

16.1.5.6 HSUPA_FrameUsage_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSUPA frame usage value, in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.7 HSUPA_L1_Payloadrate_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSUPA L1 payload rate value, in

kilobits per second. The default is 600.

16.1.5.8 HSUPA_NACK_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable HSUPA NACK rate values, in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.9 HSUPA_SampleCount_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum number of samples of a given HSUPA

measurement type (for instance HSUPA frame usage) below which the task is


is 10.

16.1.5.10 HSUPA_SpreadingFactor_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable value for attribute

Uu_HSUPA_SF_NumCodes. The default is 4.


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16.1.5.11 LTE_DL_FrameUsage_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable LTE DL frame usage value in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.12 LTE_DL_MCS_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable DL MCS value. The default is 10.

16.1.5.13 LTE_DL_NACK_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is the maximum acceptable LTE DL NACK rate, in percent. The

default is 25.

16.1.5.14 LTE_DL_Throughput_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable LTE DL throughput value, in kilobits per

second. The default is 3000.

16.1.5.15 LTE_SampleCount_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum number of samples of a given HSUPA

measurement type (for instance LTE DL frame usage) below which the task is


is 10.

16.1.5.16 LTE_to_LTE_DataInterruptionTime_Threshold

This threshold is the maximum data interruption time (in milliseconds) caused by

LTE handover. The default is 2000.

16.1.5.17 LTE_to_UMTS_DataInterruptionTime_Threshold

This threshold is the maximum data interruption time (in milliseconds) caused by

LTE to UMTS redirect. The default is 2000.

16.1.5.18 LTE_UE_RB_Num_DL_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable number of LTE DL resource blocks

allocated to the UE. The default is 10.

16.1.5.19 LTE_UE_RB_Num_UL_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable number of LTE UL resource blocks

allocated to the UE. The default is 10.

16.1.5.20 LTE_UE_FrameUsage_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable LTE UL frame usage value, in percent.

The default is 25.

16.1.5.21 LTE_UE_MCS_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable UL MCS value. The default is 10.

16.1.5.22 LTE_UE_Throughput_Threshold

This threshold is the minimum acceptable LTE UL throughput value, in kilobits per

second. The default is 3000.


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16.1.6 Throughput thresholds

16.1.6.1 Absolute_ApplicationLowTput_DL_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable application

throughput value for downlink for the Below Absolute Threshold KPI. The default

value is 1000 kB/sec.

16.1.6.2 Absolute_ApplicationLowTput_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink for the Below Absolute Threshold KPI. The default

value is 1000 kB/sec.

16.1.6.3 Application_LowTput_GPRS_DL_Threshold


throughput value for downlink in GPRS for the Below Composite Threshold KPI.

The default value is 40 kB/sec.

16.1.6.4 Application_LowTput_GPRS_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink in GPRS for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. The

default value is 10 kB/sec.

16.1.6.5 Application_LowTput_HSDPA_DL_Threshold


throughput value for downlink in HSDPA for the Below Composite Threshold KPI.


16.1.6.6 Application_LowTput_HSDPA_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink in HSDPA for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. The


16.1.6.7 Application_LowTput_HSPA_DL_Threshold


throughput value for downlink in HSPA for the Below Composite Threshold KPI.


16.1.6.8 Application_LowTput_HSPAPlus_DL_Threshold


throughput value for downlink in HSPA+ for the Below Composite Threshold KPI.


16.1.6.9 Application_LowTput_HSPAPlus_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink in HSPA+ for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. The



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16.1.6.10 Application_LowTput_HSUPA_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink in HSUPA for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. The


16.1.6.11 ApplicationLowTput_Idle_DL_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable application threshold

value for downlink in Idle mode for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. Default is

the same as HSPA. Change this to correspond to the network that you are

testing.

16.1.6.12 ApplicationLowTput_Idle_UL_Threshold

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable application threshold

value for uplink in Idle mode for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. Default is

the same as HSPA. Change this to correspond to the network that you are

testing.

16.1.6.13 ApplicationLowTput_UMTS_DL_Threshold


throughput value for downlink in UMTS for the Below Composite Threshold KPI.


16.1.6.14 ApplicationLowTput_UMTS_UL_Threshold


throughput value for uplink in UMTS for the Below Composite Threshold KPI. The



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17 Appendix E: EGPRS KPIs and diagnoses

17.1 EGPRS thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display




value.

17.1.1 EGPRS / Analysis

17.1.1.1 G_Cell_Reselect_Duration

This threshold determines the maximum time for a cell reselection. Any values

above this threshold will be flagged as excessive high cell reselection time.

Default is 15000ms.

17.1.1.2 G_Cell_Reselect_Time

This threshold determines the window during which cell reselections may take

place. Any two reselections occurring within this threshold will be flagged as

abnormally high cell reselections. Default is 15000ms.

17.1.1.3 G_RMAC_C_Value_Min

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable C Value criterion.

Typical values range from -80 to -95, though this is highly dependent on the

coding scheme employed. Default is -85.

17.1.1.4 G_RMAC_CV_BEP_Max

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable CV BEP parameter.

Default is 4.

17.1.1.5 G_RMAC_DL_TS_Min

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable timeslot allocation.

Default is 2.

17.1.1.6 G_RMAC_MEAN_BEP_Max

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable MEAN BEP

parameter. Default is 25.

17.1.1.7 G_RMAC_Power_Reduction_Max

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable Power reduction

values on the RMAC interface. Default is 2.

17.1.1.8 G_RMAC_Sign_Var_Min

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable signal quality

variation as denoted by the RMAC_Sign_Var attribute. Default is 24.


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17.1.1.9 G_RMAC_TAI_Max

This threshold is used to determine the maximum acceptable TAI value. Default is

10.

17.1.2 EGPRS / Events

17.1.2.1 G_T3240_RAUTimer

This timer is used to determine the time (in ms) the system will wait for GPRS

MM Routing Area Update Request messages to be answered with a GPRS MM

Routing Area Update Accept before registering a Routing Area Update Failure.

Default is 15000ms.

17.1.2.2 G_T3310_AttachTimer


MM Attach Request messages to be answered with a GPRS MM Attach Accept

before registering an Attach Failure. Default is 15000ms.

17.1.2.3 G_T3321_DetachTimer


MM Detach Request messages to be answered with a GPRS MM Detach Accept

before registering an Detach Failure. Default is 15000ms.

17.1.2.4 G_T3380_PDPActTimer

This timer is used to determine the time (in ms) the system will wait for GPRS SM

Activate PDP Context Request messages to be answered with a GPRS SM Activate

PDP Context Accept before registering a PDP Context Activation Failure. Default is

8000ms.

17.1.3 EGPRS / Spotlight

17.1.3.1 EGPRS_Duration_Period

This threshold is used to determine the period over which the minimum

acceptable throughput value for RLC / LLC are evaluated in EGPRS. Default is

15000ms.

17.1.3.2 EGPRS_LLC_DL_Min

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable throughput value for

LLC downlink in EGPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of

static / dynamic pdTCHs in your network. Default is 5.

17.1.3.3 EGPRS_LLC_UL_Min


LLC uplink in EGPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.1.3.4 EGPRS_RLC_DL_Min


RLC downlink in EGPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation

of static / dynamic pdTCHs in your network. Default is 10.


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17.1.3.5 EGPRS_RLC_UL_Min


RLC uplink in EGPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.1.3.6 GPRS_Duration_Period

This threshold is used to determine the period over which the minimum

acceptable throughput value for RLC / LLC are evaluated in GPRS. Default is

15000ms.

17.1.3.7 GPRS_LLC_DL_Min


LLC downlink in GPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.1.3.8 GPRS_LLC_UL_Min


LLC uplink in GPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.1.3.9 GPRS_RLC_DL_Min


RLC downlink in GPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.1.3.10 GPRS_RLC_UL_Min


RLC uplink in GPRS. This factor is highly dependent on the typical allocation of


17.2 EGPRS events in the Event Explorer TASK Failure

Low Throughput

High Cell Reselection

Long Cell Reselection

RAU Failure

(10 second window up to the event)

Where time - default(prev_time_where(x), 0) > 5000

and

GPRS_RAU_Reject

or GPRS_RAU_Failure

or GPRS_RAU_Aborted

or TEMSEvent_GPRS_RAU_Failure

or GPRS_Events==13


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or GPRS_Events==14

or GPRS_Events==15

Attach Failure



and

GPRS_Attach_Reject

or GPRS_Attach_Failure

or GPRS_Attach_Aborted

or TEMSEvent_GPRS_Attach_Failure

or TEMSEvent_GPRS_Attach_Aborted

or GPRS_Events==8

or GPRS_Events==9

or GPRS_Events==10

PDP Context Activation Failure



and

GPRS_PDPContextAct_Reject

or GPRS_PDPContextAct_Failure

or GPRS_PDPContextAct_Aborted

or TEMSEvent_GPRS_PDPContextActivation_Failure

or GPRS_Events==2

or GPRS_Events==3

or GPRS_Events==4


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17.3 EGPRS diagnoses


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Poor Radio Conditions default(RMAC_C_Value, -75) <=

G_RMAC_C_Value_Min

Rapidly Changing Radio

Conditions

default(RMAC_Sign_Var, 0) >=

G_RMAC_Sign_Var_Min +

default(RMAC_8PSK_CV_BEP, 7) <=

G_RMAC_CV_BEP_Max +

default(RMAC_GMSK_CV_BEP, 7) <=

G_RMAC_CV_BEP_Max

> 0

Interference default(RMAC_RxQual, 0) >=

G_RxQualSub_Max +

default(RMAC_8PSK_MEAN_BEP, 31) <=

G_RMAC_MEAN_BEP_Max +

default(RMAC_GMSK_Mean_BEP, 31) <=

G_RMAC_MEAN_BEP_Max +

default(ServRxQualSub, 0) >=

G_RxQualSub_Max

> 0

Excessive Power Reduction default(RMAC_Power_Reduction, 0) >=

G_RMAC_Power_Reduction_Max

Low bandwidth allocation default(GPRS_DL_Timeslot_Numbers_Num, 3)

<= G_RMAC_DL_TS_Min +

default(RMAC_DL_NumTimeslots_Used_Actual,

3) <= G_RMAC_DL_TS_Min

> 0

Co/Adjacent Channel

allocations between neighbors

Σ[abs(ServBCCH - default(NborBCCH[n], 0)) <

2] > 0

where n = 0 to 5

AND

default(RMAC_C_Value, -110) >

G_RxLevSub_Min

Distant Serving Cell default(RMAC_TimingAdvanceIndex, 0) >=

G_RMAC_TAI_Max

The 'default' function means 'use the first value in brackets if possible, otherwise

use the second value'.


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18 Appendix F: EVDO KPIs and diagnoses

18.1 EVDO thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display




value.

18.1.1 EVDO / Coverage

18.1.1.1 Average_PER_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average PER (%) for

cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.1.2 Average_SINR_PN0_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average SINR for

PN_Nth_Best_0 (dB) for cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.1.3 CDMA_EVDO_MobileRxPowerThreshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with EcIo and Mobile Tx Power Thresholds to


quality. Recommended value is -80 dBm. Values should vary between -75 and -

90 dBm.

18.1.1.4 CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold

This is the absolute number of pilots (with Ec/Io above

CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollutionThreshold) required to trigger a pilot pollution event.

Default is 3.

18.1.1.5 CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollutionThreshold

In calculating pilot pollution, this threshold sets up the level of interference

required for pegging the events (based on scanner info). When 4 or more pilots

are above this threshold, a pilot pollution event is created. Recommended valus is

-15 dB and the minimum and the maximum should be around -18 and -10 dB

respectively.

18.1.1.6 Max_TxPower_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the maximum Transmit

Power (in dBm) for cluster acceptance.

18.1.1.7 Min_TxPower_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the minimum Transmit

Power (in dBm) for cluster acceptance.


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18.1.2 EVDO / Events

18.1.2.1 EVT_EVDOLowThroughput

1 (default) = Sets low throughput for EVDO troubleshooter; 0 = this analysis is

turned off to gain on file load speeds.

18.1.2.2 EVT_EVDOServerKey

1 (default) = Turns on the EVDO Server Key event diagram for EVDO

troubleshooter; 0 = this analysis is turned off to gain on file load speeds.

18.1.2.3 EVT_VerituneEVDOPilotPollution

1 (default) = Turns on the analysis for EVDO pilot pollution; 0 = this analysis is

turned off to gain on file load speeds.

18.1.2.4 SchedulerAnalysis

1 (default) = Turns on the scheduler analysis for EVDO troubleshooter; 0 = this

analysis is turned off to gain on file load speeds.

18.1.3 EVDO / Network Parameters

18.1.3.1 AccessAttemptDuration_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Access Attempt Setup

time for cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.3.2 ConnectionAttemptDuration_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Connection Attempt

Setup time for cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.3.3 ConnectionReleaseDuration_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Connection Release

time for cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.3.4 PPPSetupTime_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the PPP Session Setup time

for cluster acceptance. Default is 3.

18.1.4 EVDO / Other

18.1.4.1 CDMA_EVDO_DRCRate_0

This is the data rate requested in bps for DRC Index 0. Default is 0.






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This is the data rate requested in bps for DRC Index 13. This value is reserved.

Default is 0.


This is the data rate requested in bps for DRC Index 14. This value is reserved.

Default is 0.


This is the data rate requested in bps for DRC Index 15. The DRC Channel is Off

for Index 15. Default is 0.

















18.1.4.17 CDMA_EVDO_EcIoInterferenceThreshold

Recommended value is -15 dBm. The maximum should not exceed 0 and the

minimum should not be below -25 dBm.


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18.1.5 EVDO / Performance

18.1.5.1 AccessAttemptFailRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the EVDO Access Attempt

Fail rate for cluster acceptance. The default is 5%.

18.1.5.2 AccessAttemptSuccessRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the EVDO Access Attempt

success rate for cluster acceptance. The default is 95%.

18.1.5.3 Average_Rx_RlpRetransmissionRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average Receive RLP

Retransmission rate for cluster acceptance. The default is .3.

18.1.5.4 Average_RxRlpThputInst_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average Receive RLP

Throughput Inst. (kbps) for cluster acceptance. The default is 100 kbps.

18.1.5.5 Average_RxTCHThroughput_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average Receive TCH

Throughput (kbps) for cluster acceptance. The default is 100 kbps.

18.1.5.6 Average_Tx_RlpRetransmissionRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average Transmit RLP

Retransmission rate for cluster acceptance. The default is .3.

18.1.5.7 Average_TxRlpThputInst_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the Average Transmit RLP

Throughput Inst. (kbps) for cluster acceptance. The default is 25 kbps.

18.1.5.8 ConnectionAttemptFailRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the EVDO Connection

Attempt Fail rate for cluster acceptance. Default is 5%.

18.1.5.9 ConnectionAttemptSuccessRate_Threshold


Attempt success rate for cluster acceptance. The default is 95%.

18.1.5.10 ConnectionReleaseSuccessRate_Threshold


Release Success rate for cluster acceptance. The default is 95%.

18.1.5.11 PPPConnectionSuccessRate_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the PPP Connection Success

Rate for cluster acceptance. The default is 95%.


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18.1.6 RevA

18.1.6.1 RL_Throughput_Threshold

This threshold (in kbps) is used to set the Low Throughput event for RL for both

HICAP and LOLAT modes over all packet sizes. All RL Throughput values less than

or equal to RL_Throughput_Threshold value for all continuously

RL_Throughput_TimeLimit_Threshold seconds will be flagged as a Low RL

Throughput issue. The default is 50 kbps.

18.1.6.2 RL_Throughput_TimeLimit_Threshold

This threshold is used to set the time limit in seconds to be used in computing the

Low Throughput event for RL Packets. All RL Throughput values less than or equal

to RL_Throughput_Threshold value for continuously

RL_Throughput_TimeLimit_Threshold seconds will be flagged as Low RL

Throughput issue. Default is 15 seconds.

18.1.6.3 SU_Rx_Throughput_Threshold

This threshold (in kbps) is used to set the Low Throughput event for TC averaged

over time including the time the AN did not serve the AT. All Single User

Throughput values less than or equal to SU_Rx_Throughput_Threshold value for

continuously SU_Rx_Throughput_TimeLimit_Threshold seconds will be flagged as

a Low SU Throughput issue. Default is 500 kbps.

18.1.6.4 T2P_Avg_Threshold

This threshold (in dB) indicates the optimum value above which the transmission

data rate is satisfactory. The default value is 10 dB.

18.2 EVDO events in the Event Explorer The following events are displayed in the top table of the Event Explorer:

# Dropped Connections

# Setup Failures

# Access Attempt Failures

# Excessive Setup

# Low Throughput

# Scheduling Issues

% Low SU Throughput (RevA)

% Low RL Throughput (RevA)

These events are affected by the following thresholds:

Average_PER_Threshold

Average_SINR_PN0_Threshold

CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold

CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollutionThreshold

Average_RxRlpThputInst_Threshold

Average_TxRlpThputInst_Threshold

EVDO_Number_of_Users

T2P_Avg_Threshold (RevA)


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18.3 Dropped Connection diagnosis for EVDO The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Dropped Connection events.


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Abnormal Connection Release ConnectionRelease_Reason parameter gives

the reason for any abnormal connection

releases.

Poor Quality PER > Average PER threshold

Low Signal Average 1st Best SINR <



CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollutionThreshold.



problem.


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18.4 Low Throughput diagnosis for EVDO The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Low Throughput events.


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Low RLP Rx Throughput Ave. Rx RLP Throughput <

Average_RxRlpThputInst_Threshold.

Low RLP Tx Throughput Ave. Tx RLP Throughput <

Average_TxRlpThputInst_Threshold.

Network Overload Number of users > EVDO_Numberof_Users

(Threshold).



Poor Quality PER > Average PER threshold.





problem.


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18.5 Scheduling Issues diagnosis for EVDO The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Scheduling Issue events.


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Network Overload Number of users > EVDO_Number_of_Users

(Threshold).



Poor Quality PER > Average PER threshold.





problem.


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19 Appendix G: GSM thresholds, KPIs and

diagnoses

19.1 GSM thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display




value.

19.1.1 Spotlight


This threshold is used if there is no Max_ServerDist information in the cellref file,

and indicates the maximum serving distance (in meters) a cell should serve.

Default is 5000m.

19.1.2 GSM / Advanced_Handover_Analysis

19.1.2.1 Dragged_Dominance_Hysteresis

This threshold is the dBm hysteresis applied to the Best Neighbor Level to trigger

a loss of dominance of the server. Once a loss of dominance is triggered, and not

re-established before the Dragged_HO_Window timer expires, then any

subsequent Handover Failure or Dropped Call will trigger the Dragged Handover

Failure or Dragged Drop. Dominance loss = ServRxLevSub < (Best_Nbr -

Hysteresis). The default value is 5 dBm.

19.1.2.2 Dragged_HO_Window

This threshold is the number of milliseconds that the MS must lose dominance

for, before a Dragged Handover Failure or Dragged Dropped Call is triggered. The

default value is 10000 ms.

19.1.2.3 Ping_Pong_HO_Window

This threshold is the number of milliseconds during which a handover back to the

previous cell will trigger the Ping Pong Handover Event. The default value is 6000

ms.

19.1.3 GSM / Analysis

19.1.3.1 G_Distance_Max

This threshold is used to determine the maximum distance allowed per cell.

Typically, values in excess of 8000 meters are usually regarded as distant serving

cells.


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19.1.3.2 G_Handover_Min

This threshold is used in conjunction with handover to determine the minimum

possible signal difference for handover to take place. Recommended values are 5-

6 dB.

19.1.3.3 G_MsTxPowStepOrdered_Min

This threshold is used in conjunction with the signal strength to determine

incorrect uplink power balance. This value is usually set to 0 to indicate maximum

uplink power.

19.1.3.4 G_Prolong_Interf_timer

This threshold is used in conjunction with the signal strength and signal quality to

determine prolong interference – that is, good signal strength but bad quality in

this time window will cause a prolong interference event.

19.1.3.5 G_RxLevSub_Min

This threshold is used to determine the minimum acceptable value for signal

strength. Any signal below this threshold is categorized as poor coverage.

Recommended value: -95 dBm.

19.1.3.6 G_RxQualSub_Max

This threshold is used in conjunction with the signal strength to determine

whether there is interference present on the cell. Typically, values in excess of 3

with good signal strength usually indicate the presence of interference.

19.1.3.7 G_TimingAdvance_Max

This threshold is used in absence of the Distance parameter to determine the

maximum distance allowed per cell. Typically, values over 16 (that is,

approximately 8 km) are usually regarded as distant serving cells.

19.1.4 GSM / Cell_Plan_Viewer

19.1.4.1 G_Interference_Radius

This value is used to define a radius of analysis about a selected sector for co-

adjacent interference and neighbors visualizations in the Cell Plan Viewer. You

can set the units to be used (either miles or kilometers) in Preferences, General

Settings, Distance Units.

19.1.4.2 G_ScanSortSigLevel_Min

This value is used in relation to the scanner signal level; for example, in the

Channel Overlap analysis in the GSM Cell Plan Viewer.

19.1.5 GSM / Events

19.1.5.1 G_Timeout_ChannelRequest

This value is used to determine the time (in ms) the system will wait for RR

Channel Request messages to be answered before registering a Call Setup

Failure. Default is 3000 ms.


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19.1.6 GSM / Spotlight

19.1.6.1 SL_GSM_Ant_Gain_Threshold

This threshold is the default Antenna gain, used in the calculation of pathloss. The

default value is 18.4 dB.

19.1.6.2 SL_GSM_BTS_Sens_Threshold

This threshold is the default BTS receive sensitivity, used in the calculation of UL

pathloss. The default value is -120 dBm.

19.1.6.3 SL_GSM_EIRP_Threshold

This threshold is the default EIRP, used in the calculation of DL pathloss. The

default value is 55.

19.1.6.4 SL_GSM_High_TX_Power_Threshold

This threshold is used for determining a ‘High TX’ condition. The default value is

30.

19.1.6.5 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_RxLev_Threshold

This threshold is used in Rapid Pathloss detection, a condition of which is that

RxLev has dropped by at least this threshold value within the defined time

window. The RxQual condition must also be met for Rapid Pathloss to be

detected. The default value is 5 dB.

19.1.6.6 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_RxQual_Threshold


RxQual has dropped by at least this threshold value within the defined time

window. The RxLev condition must also be met for Rapid Pathloss to be detected.

The default value is 2.

19.1.6.7 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_Time_window_Threshold

This threshold is used to define the window over which Rapid Pathloss is

performed. The default value is 3000 ms.

19.1.6.8 SL_GSM_Site_Issues_Dist_Threshold

This threshold is used in the ‘outside beamwidth’ analysis, and only data within

this distance from the site is considered for the analysis. The default value is

5000m.

19.1.7 GSM / Troubleshooter

19.1.7.1 G_Analysis_Time_After

This value is used to determine the time (in ms) allocated to investigate the radio

conditions AFTER the detected event occurrence. Typically, values of 5000 to

10000 ms are used. Values less than 5000 ms will tend to be more accurate, but

less attributes will be detected, while values in excess of 10000 ms tend to have

a high detection of attributes, but with relatively low accuracy since the time

under analysis is large.


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19.1.7.2 G_Analysis_Time_Before

This value is used to determine the time (in ms) allocated to investigate the radio

conditions PRIOR to the detected event occurrence. Typically, values of 5000 to

10000 ms are used. Values less than 5000 ms will tend to be more accurate, but

fewer attributes will be detected, while values in excess of 10000 ms tend to

detect a large number of attributes, but with relatively low accuracy since the

time under analysis is large.

19.1.7.3 G_CallDropRate


repository views. The Call Drop Rate should not exceed 2% of all successful calls

in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal to or less than this value, it will be

flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in the KPI table. If it is

higher than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show up as a red cross

in the KPI table.

19.1.7.4 G_CallSetupSuccessRate


repository views. The Call Setup Success Rate should be in excess of 98% for

most GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal to or in excess

of this value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark

in the KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will

show up as a red cross in the KPI table.

19.1.7.5 G_HandoverSuccessRate


repository views. The Handover Success Rate should be in excess of 98% for

most GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or in excess to

this value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in

the KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show

up as a red cross in the KPI table.

19.1.7.6 G_LocationUpdateSuccessRate


repository views. The Location Update Success Rate should be in excess of 98%

for most GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or in excess

to this value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark

in the KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will

show up as a red cross in the KPI table.

19.1.7.7 G_OverAllSuccessRate


repository views. The Overall Success Rate should be in excess of 98% for most

GSM networks in the busy hour. If the resulting KPI is equal or in excess to this

value, it will be flagged as accepted and will show up as a green tick mark in the

KPI table. If it is less than this value, it will be flagged as failed and will show up

as a red cross in the KPI table.


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19.2 GSM events in the Event Explorer The following event information is displayed in the top table of the Event

Explorer:

GSM: Circuit Switched category

# Call Attempts

#Dropped Calls

# Call Setup Failures

# LU Fails

GSM: Handover Issues category

# HO Att

# HO Fails

GSM: NBR Neighbor Issues category

% Strong NBR

% Strong NBR Diff Band

% NBRs with 5dB

% NBRs with 5dB Diff Band

GSM Diagnoses

Call Setup Failure diagnosis

Location Update Failure diagnosis

Dropped Calls diagnosis

Handover Failure diagnosis


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19.3 Call Setup Failure diagnosis for GSM The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Call Setup Failure events.


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RR Failed An RR Channel Request is not followed by an

RR Immediate Assignment with matching

establishment cause and random reference

within the time period specified by the

G_Timeout_ChannelRequest threshold.

Immediate Reject An Immediate Reject message was received.

Another Call Started Another RR Channel Request with the same


occurs more than 200 milliseconds after the

RR Immediate Assignment and before the

call setup is complete.

Another RR Channel Request with a

different establishment cause or random

reference occurs at any time after the RR

Immediate Assignment and before the call

setup is complete.

CM Service Abort / Reject A CM Service Abort / Reject message was

received.

User Release When a call setup procedure is aborted by the

UE with a UL CC Disconnect message.

Poor Coverage If ServRxLevSub < G_RxLevSub_Min.

Interference If ServRxQualSub > G_RxQualSub_Max.



problem.


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19.4 Location Update Failure diagnosis for GSM The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Location Update Failure events.


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RR Failed An RR Channel Request is not followed by an

RR Immediate Assignment with matching


within the time period specified by the

G_Timeout_ChannelRequest threshold.

Immediate Reject An Immediate Reject message was received.

Another Call Started Another RR Channel Request with the same


occurs more than 200 milliseconds after the

RR Immediate Assignment and before the

call setup is complete.

Another RR Channel Request with a

different establishment cause or random

reference occurs at any time after the RR

Immediate Assignment and before the call

setup is complete.

LU Reject A Location Update Failure message was

received.



System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42)

in either the NAS message or the RR Channel

Release message.



problem.


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19.5 Dropped Calls diagnosis for GSM The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of Dropped Call events.


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System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42)

in either the NAS message or the RR Channel

Release message.

Missing Neighbor Handset: If after the drop, BCH is not in the BA

list, but was before the drop.

Scanner: If one of the top 6 BCH is not in the

BA list before the drop.

Handover Problem If stronger neighbors than the serving cell for a

period. See GSM Dragged Handovers.





problem.

19.6 Handover Failure diagnosis for GSM The diagnosis for Handover Failure is derived directly from the CauseCodeRR

value.

For example:


Handover Impossible

(TA out of Range)

Handover Failure message, CauseCodeRR = 8

Channel mode unacceptable Handover Failure message, CauseCodeRR = 9

Frequency not implemented Handover Failure message, CauseCodeRR = 10


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20 Appendix H: HSPA thresholds, KPIs and

diagnoses

20.1 HSPA Event Explorer analysis

20.1.1 Event Explorer dashboard

In the top table of the Event Explorer dashboard, by default the following HSPA

event KPIs are displayed, aggregated by site:

Call Attempts

Dropped Calls

Call Setup Failures

Average RAW Throughput

RAW Throughput Peak

Cell Change Failures (not yet implemented)

Low Raw Throughput Instances

Low Net Throughput Instances

20.1.2 Detailed Event Diagnostics

Of the HSPA KPIs listed in the top table, these have diagnostic information (and

can be investigated further using the Drilldown mechanism):

Call Drop

Low Raw Throughput

Low Net Throughput

For failure scenarios where a transition to Idle mode occurs (such as the dropped

call under investigation in this example), we strongly recommend that, in the

Drilldown options, you select a long 'After Window' (in the tens of seconds).

Please refer to the description of HSPA KPIs on p227 for details of HSPA

diagnostics.

20.2 HSPA Call Drop Analysis example To access the HSPA Call Drop analysis, select the HSPA Call Drop from either the

HSPA Summary Dashboard in the Critical Issues section, or the top table of the

Event Explorer page. At the top of the Event Explorer page is a list of occurrences

of HSPA Call drops. An associated root cause analysis is shown in the diagnostic

panel on the left.


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The first example of an HSPA Dropped Call is a case of HSPA to R99 transition via

Idle mode. The UE goes out of HSPA coverage and is forced into Idle mode by the

network, which then re-establishes the radio connection on the new site in R99.

The diagnostic panel provides essential information, such as the last SC under

HSPA coverage (104), and the target SC in R99 (45). This can also be clearly

seen on the map. One interesting binned data attribute to display on the map is

the UE state, which indicates what kind of resources (if any) are allocated to the

UE (HSPA, DCH_R99, FACH). By plotting this binned data on the map, we can

confirm the diagnosis, and can visualize the transitions from HSPA to DCH_R99.

20.2.1 Drilldown

You can investigate all the KPIs with diagnostic information with the Drilldown

mechanism.

The dropped call under investigation in this example, includes a transition to Idle

mode, so in the Drilldown options, a long 'After Window' of 30 seconds was

selected.


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The drilldown screen looks like this:

The main aspects to point out from the screen layout are:

The Active Set analysis: it can be clearly seen that at the moment of the

call drop, SC_45 is much stronger than SC_104 (the current HSPA server)

In the Protocol Stack Browser, it is worth noting that the user consistently

reports that SC_45 has a better signal than SC_104 (several Measurement

Report messages), until the network decides to release the radio

connection (RRC Connection Release message). Further down in the

signaling, the user is paged by the network, and the radio connection is

re-established on SC_45, but in R99.

The radio charts report the typical HSPA L1 measurements and give an

idea of the quality of the HSPA connection before the call drops. Due to

the UE dropping to Idle for several seconds, the HSPA radio performance

is less essential for the analysis as the user experience is compromised

anyway. However, the HSPA connection provides a good performance up

to a few seconds before the drops, as the throughput remains at

reasonable levels.


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20.3 HSDPA Low Throughput example You can access the Low Throughput analysis by selecting either Low Raw HS

Throughput or Low Net HS Throughput KPI from the Summary Dashboard's

Critical Issues section, or from the top table of the Event Explorer

Once one of the Low Throughput KPIs is selected, the Event Explorer displays in

the diagnostic panel a list of five occurrences of Low Throughput and associated

root cause analyses.

Three different results from the root cause analysis are shown.

Skip the cases related to HSPA to R99 transition via Idle mode, as they coincide

with the dropped call events seen above. Whenever an HSPA Call Drop event is

detected, a Low Throughput event is also pegged, because transitions to Idle

involve a service interruption noticeable by the user.

The first case to analyze is the event caused by a Direct HS Cell Change - that is,

when the network points the user at another HS server cell. These cases should

introduce relatively short interruptions, so the settings of the thresholds that

control Low Throughput detection (see above) play a fundamental role here. It is

important to highlight that the diagnostic information provides information on the

type of Cell Change in terms of site and frequency. Cell Changes that involve a

change of site cause longer interruptions therefore these are the most common in

the diagnostic panel, like in this demo. If a change of frequency occurs, the

interruption is normally even longer. However, the technology seems not mature

yet to allow Direct Cell Changes with change of frequency (but we have seen

change of frequency cases with transitions to Idle mode).


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Other useful information to mention is signal strength of source and target cell

and all the HSPA physical layer measurement provided before and after the

event. For a well-designed network, the performance should improve following a

Cell Change. That is not always the case, as we will see shortly.

Now look at the second case of

Direct Cell Change shown on the

right.

It highlights that numerous Cell

Changes occurred in a very short

time, and this is a clear example of

network not optimized.

In the Drill-down section, we will be

able to see that the cell changes

occur between the same two cells,

casing a so-called ping-pong

scenario.

The performance slightly increases

right after the cell change, but as we

can see, the quality of the signal

(EcIo) in the target cell is already

degrading.


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Another case that can be shown is

the “Lack of Data to Transmit”

scenario, where throughput is

extremely low but the radio

conditions are good.

In the map the user is very close to

the serving cell, which justifies the

high level of CQI (23) measured

during the low throughput window of

time.

The noticeable quality degradation

after the event is due to radio

condition getting worse, and this will

be clear from the Drill-down page.

However, the “lack of data to

transmit” scenario identified here is

independent of the conditions

occurring after.

20.3.1 Drilldown

All the KPIs with diagnostic information can be investigated further via the

Drilldown mechanism.

Just like for the HSDPA Call Drop KPI, remember to select a long “after window”

in the Drilldown options for scenarios that include Idle transitions.


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For the HS Direct Cell Change case, an After Window of 5 seconds is enough.

The Event Navigator below confirms the occurrence of several HS Cell changes

within a short time. Also, the Protocol Stack Browser window shows the signaling

associated with these mobility procedures. Finally, the radio graphs give an

overview of the level of degradation suffered from this poor design issue.


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For the “Lack of Data to Transmit” case, maintain the Drill-down settings used

above.

Here we can see that despite good radio conditions (check the numeric values of

CQI and its visual representation on the map) throughput is null before the event

detection.

Radio conditions get worse afterwards, and in fact, it is possible to see quite

easily from the Event Navigator form that a HS Cell Change occurs. But as

mentioned above this is another issue and completely unrelated to the lack of

data to transmit.

20.4 HSPA events in the Event Explorer

20.4.1 HSPA Call Drops

An HSPA call is a UMTS PS Call where the UE is in 'HSPA' state. Therefore, the

trigger of HSPA Drop call is the same as UMTS PS Drop call, but a HSPA Drop call

is only pegged when the UE is in HSPA state at the moment the call drops.

Usually, whenever the UE goes from HSPA to Idle without a normal call release,

an HSPA Drop Call event is detected. The most recurrent scenarios are:

Terminal spontaneously (that is, not network-forced) dropping the radio

connection

Network releasing the radio connection for causes other than user

inactivity or normal PDP Context deactivation


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The following failure cases are supported:

Deactivation of PDP Context due to abnormal situations

When the network (SGSN) releases the PDP context for abnormal

scenarios (this is detected via a Deactivation PDP Context Request

downlink message with SM cause different from 'Regular deactivation'.

UE drops to idle

The UE drops to idle when radio link conditions becomes poor. Typical

scenarios are:

- No coverage

- Excessive interference

- The UE is moving in an area where HSPA is not supported (and the

network does not handle direct HSDPA to R99 transitions).

RRC Connection Release

The network (RNC) releases the RRC Connection with a cause other than

'Normal' or 'User Inactivity'.

20.4.2 Low Throughput Issues

Low throughput conditions are detected when the user throughput exceeds a

certain threshold for a specified period of time. The analysis can be based on Raw

MAC-HS throughput or Net MAC-HS throughput.

For more information on Raw and Net MAC-HS Throughput, please see the section

HSPA Throughput KPIs on p238.

You can configure the detection mechanism via the following HSDPA thresholds:

20.4.2.1 Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh

The value (in kbps) under which the instantaneous Raw HSDPA throughput is

considered LOW - It is used in conjunction with the threshold

Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres, to peg Low Raw MAC-HS Throughput

events in Drive Test.

20.4.2.2 Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh

The value (in kbps) under which the instantaneous Net HSDPA throughput is

considered LOW - It is used in conjunction with the threshold

Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres, to peg Low Net MAC-HS Throughput

events in Drive Test.

20.4.2.3 Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres

The time (in msec.) that the HSDPA throughput is allowed to stay under a certain

value (Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh or Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh). If

the throughput stays under those raw or net throughput thresholds for a period

longer than Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres a Low Raw(Net) MAC-HS

Throughput event is pegged for Drive Test


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KPI/attribute Related threshold

Uu_LowRawHSDPAThroughput Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh

Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres

Uu_LowNetHSDPAThroughput Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh

Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres

Uu_HSCellNotBestPilot Uu_WinTimeHSnotBest

Low Tput KPI event (Used for

diagnostic purposes only)

Uu_HSDPALowCQI_Thresh

Uu_HSDPAAvRegularSched_Thresh

Uu_HSDPAAvLowSched_Thresh

Uu_HSDPANet_To_L1_Throu_Thresh

Uu_HSDPAL1_To_Raw_Throu_Thresh

HSDPA Peak Tput (threshold

determines if this is a critical

issue in the Summary

dashboard)

SL_UMTS_DT_Spotlight_CriticalIssues_HSDPAPea

kTput

HSDPA Setup Failure rate HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Failure_Rate

Overall PS Setup Failure rate HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_Overall_PS_Failure_Rate

Average HSDPA Call Setup

time

HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Setup_Time

HSDPA Call Drop rate HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Drop_Rate

Overall PS Call Drop rate HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_PS_Drop_Rate

Average EcIo HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_EcIo_Threshold

95 percentile MAC-HS Tput HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_MACHS_T

hroughput_Threshold

Average RSCP HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_RSCP_Threshold

95 percentile DL TCP Tput HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_TCP_Thro

ughput_Threshold

95 percentile CQI Tput HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_CQI_Thre

shold

95 percentile EcIo Tput HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_EcIo_Thr

eshold

95 percentile RSCP Tput HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_RSCP_Th

reshold

The following failure cases are supported:

20.4.2.4 Raw HS Throughput

Mobility scenarios

Whenever a mobility scenario occurs, expect throughput degradation. The

level of degradation is proportional to the duration of the mobility

procedure, during which the UE receives a limited amount of data - or no

data at all, as with Idle transitions.


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The sub-cases below are self-explanatory and are all mutually exclusive by

definition:

▫ HS Direct Cell change ongoing

▫ Intra-F HS Cell Change via Idle mode

▫ Inter-F HS Cell Change via Idle mode

▫ HS to DCH_R99 direct transition

▫ HS to DCH_R99 transition via Idle mode

Low CQI values

These are detected when the average CQI in the last 3 seconds is below

the user-specified threshold Uu_HSDPALowCQI_Thresh. 30 is the

maximum value a UE can report, and Uu_HSDPALowCQI_Thresh is a

number between 0 and 1. The threshold needs to be a factor ranging from

0 to 1 rather than an absolute CQI threshold between 0 and 30, because

under certain scenarios UEs might only report 15 as the maximum CQI.

Low CQI values are an indication of poor radio downlink conditions.

Lack of data to transmit

This is detected when the Statistical Mode of the Instantaneous Raw Tput

in the last 3 seconds is 0. This scenario typically occurs when there is no

activity (data), but the handset is kept in HSPA mode by the network.

Low scheduling rate

This is detected when in the last 3 seconds, the average scheduling rate

(from the instantaneous scheduling rate dataset Uu_HSDPA_FrameUsage)

is below the user-specified threshold Uu_HSDPAAvRegularSched_Thresh

(0..1). This may occur when more than one HSPA user is present in the HS

Serving Cell where the event is detected.

20.4.2.5 Net HS Throughput

A Low Net HS Throughput can usually be associated with an underlying Raw

Throughput scenario. However, there are some interesting cases where, despite a

good Raw Throughput, the Net Throughput does not reach satisfactory levels:

Low Raw HS Throughput

If Low RAW Tput is also detected, the diagnostic simply reports that the

cause of Net Tput degradation is related to underlying Raw Tput. Check

through the Low Raw Throughput KPI list of occurrences for the right

event (timestamp would be the same as the Low Net Tput event. However

some useful measurement data are included in the table for the Net Tput

KPI and this data might be sufficient).

Low Raw HS Throughput not detected

All the cases listed for Raw Throughput are still valid. However the

diagnostic alerts you that the threshold for Low Raw Throughput event

detection might not be restrictive enough, which would explain why only

Net Throughput issues are detected.


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If high levels of retransmission occur, the 'Further Information' section provides

additional information regarding Net throughput. Two scenarios are analyzed:

High retransmissions due to packet incorrectly received in

Downlink

This is detected when:

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_L1 < Uu_HSDPAL1_To_Raw_Throu_Thresh

Uu_HSDPA_PayloadRate_L1

For the definition of the different types of HSDPA throughput, please refer

to the section on HSDPA Throughput KPIs.

High retransmissions due to poor Uplink quality conditions

This is detected when:

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_MAC < Uu_HSDPANet_To_L1_Throu_Thresh

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_L1

For the definition of the different types of HSDPA throughput, please refer

to the section on HSDPA Throughput KPIs.

20.4.3 Lack of pilot dominance issues

This is essentially very similar to 'Pilot pollution' or 'Too many servers' but

focused on HSDPA. HSDPA requires clear pilot dominance for an efficient service

delivery (good throughput). Identifying zones with a lack of pilot dominance is a

very important task in the rollout and optimization of HSDPA.

20.4.4 HSPA Call Setup Failure

This event is detected whenever a failure occurs during the setup of the HSPA

bearer.

An attempt to establish a HSPA call can be detected only when the bearer is being

set up. Therefore, if a UMTS PS call fails at an early stage, it is not possible to

know whether a R99 or a HSPA bearer would have been used. In these cases, the

Call Setup Failure is pegged only as a UMTS PS Call Setup Failure.

20.4.5 Known Issues

If a particular KPI event (for example, HSPA Call Drop) occurs very close to the

end of the logfile, the event can be missing from the diagnostic panel in the KPI

dashboard. However, the event will be flagged in both the initial dashboard (as

part of the % Call Drop Critical Issue if the relevant threshold condition is

fulfilled) and the top table of the KPI dashboard, leading to a discrepancy in the

number of events displayed.

20.5 HSPA Throughput KPIs The following types of HSPA throughput are provided in the HSPA Network

Acceptance report:

Raw MAC-HS throughput

Net MAC-HS throughput

Net DL TCP throughput

Actix Spotlight Desktop User Guide November 2012 239

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MAC-HS throughput KPIs (e.g. Mean, Mode, 95% percentile) are derived from the

MAC-HS instantaneous throughputs. Both raw and net instantaneous throughputs

are calculated every 200 msecs:

MAC - HS instantaneous throughput = (bytes received by the UE over

200ms)/200ms

The difference between Raw and Net MAC-HS throughput is that Raw throughput

includes ALL the packets scheduled for the UE, while Net throughput does not

include packets unsuccessfully decoded or re-transmitted:

Raw throughput -> All packets received by UE

Net throughput -> Only successfully decoded (not re-transmitted) packets

The following figure further clarifies the approach used for the calculation of Raw

and Net MAC-HS throughput:

Total # packets contributing to Raw MAC-HS throughput -> 7

Total # packets contributing to Net MAC-HS throughput -> 5

20.5.1 Notes

In ideal scenarios, Raw and Net MAC-HS throughput are equal, but in

reality the Net throughput is always lower than the Raw throughput.

For the purpose of throughput calculation, the size of the entire MAC-HS

PDU is used; this includes MAC-HS header and padding. For this reason,

MAC-HS net throughput and RLC throughput do not coincide:

The Net DL TCP throughput is simply the downlink TCP throughput that

excludes TCP re-transmissions.


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20.6 HSDPA thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display




value.

20.6.1 Spotlight Thresholds




5000m.

20.6.2 HSDPA thresholds

The following thresholds are available under the root of the HSDPA node:

20.6.2.1 IUB_THROUGHPUT_PERIOD_THRES

This threshold is used to set the sampling period (in msec.) for the calculation of

MACd throughput over the Iub. Note that MACd throughput includes the header of

RLC and layer above (PDCP, IP, etc.). The default value is 1000 ms.

20.6.2.2 Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value (in kbps) under which the instantaneous

Raw HSDPA throughput is considered LOW - It is used in conjunction with the

threshold Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres, to peg Low Raw MAC-HS

Throughput events in Drive Test. For a definition of Raw HSDPA Throughput see

Uu_HSDPA_PayloadRate_L1. The default value is 400 kbps.

20.6.2.3 Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value (in kbps) under which the instantaneous

Net HSDPA throughput is considered LOW - It is used in conjunction with the

threshold Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres, to peg Low Net MAC-HS

Throughput events in Drive Test. For a definition of Net HSDPA Throughput, see

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_MAC. The default value is 300 kbps.

20.6.2.4 Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres

This threshold is used to set the period of time (in msec.) that the HSDPA

throughput is allowed to stay under a certain value

(Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh or Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh). If the

throughput stays under those raw or net throughput thresolds for a period longer

than Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres a Low Raw(Net) MAC-HS

Throughput event is pegged for Drive Test. The default value is 3000 ms.

20.6.2.5 Uu_ThresGapBeforeThrComparison

This parameter indicates the gap between the end of the Cell Change procedure

and the start of the time interval used to calculate the TCP throughput for

comparison with the throughput during the cell change. The time interval is as

lons as the duration of the Cell Change procedure. The default value is 1000 ms.


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20.6.2.6 Uu_WinTimeHSnotBest

This threshold is used to set the period of time (in msec.) that the EcIo of the HS

Serving Cell is allowed to be lower than the best pilot EcIo in the Active Set. If

the quality of the HS Serving Cell is below the best pilot in the AS for a period

longer than this threshold a Uu_HSCellNotBestPilot event is pegged for Drive

Test. The default value is 1000 ms.

20.6.3 HSDPA / HSDPA_NW_Acceptance Thresholds

These are used for the HSPA Spotlight Reports.

20.6.3.1 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Failure_Rate

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the HSPA call setup failure

rate.

20.6.3.2 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_Overall_PS_Failure_Rate

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the overall PS call setup

failure rate (HSPA and R99).

20.6.3.3 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Setup_Time

This threshold is used to indicate an average HSPA call setup acceptance time.

20.6.3.4 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Drop_Rate

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the HSPA call drop rate.

20.6.3.5 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_PS_Drop_Rate

This threshold is used to indicate a pass threshold for the PS R99 call drop rate.

20.6.3.6 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_EcIo_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction RSCP threshold, to setup thresholds above

which measurements from the UE as seen good for HSPA Network acceptance.

20.6.3.7 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_RSCP_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction EcIo threshold, to setup thresholds above

which measurements from the UE a seen good for HSPA Network acceptance.

20.6.3.8 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_MACHS_Throughput_

Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate the lowest required Raw MAC HS Throughput

value at the 95 percentile for HSPA Network acceptance (unit is kbit/sec).

20.6.3.9 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_TCP_Throughput_Thr

eshold

This threshold is used to indicate the lowest required TCP Throughput value at the

95 percentile for HSPA Network acceptance (unit is kbit/sec).


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20.6.3.10 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_CQI_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate the lowest required CQI value at the 95

percentile for HSPA Network acceptance.

20.6.3.11 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_EcIo_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate the lowest required EcIo value at the 95


20.6.3.12 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_RSCP_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate the lowest required RSCP value at the 95


20.6.4 HSDPA / Spotlight Thresholds

20.6.4.1 Uu_HSDPALowCQI_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value under which the average CQI is considered

low (average calculated on the 5 secs. before the occurrence of a failure event).

NOTE: the threshold is expressed as the ratio (0..1) of the max achievable CQI.

The max achievable CQI is a function of the UE category and the modulation used

(QPSK or 16 QAM). See more information about this threshold under "HSPA Call

Drop". The default value is 0.4.

20.6.4.2 Uu_HSDPAAvRegularSched_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value under which the average HS Scheduling is

a possible sign of regular scheduling in presence of other HSPA users (average

calculated on the 5 secs. before the occurrence of a failure event). NOTE: the

threshold is expressed as a percentage value (0..100). See more information

about this threshold in the help under "HSPA Low Raw Throughput". The default

value is 70%.

20.6.4.3 Uu_HSDPANet_To_L1_Throu_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value under which the ratio between Net HS

Throughput average and L1 HS Throughput average is considered low enough to

assign the cause of Low Net HS Throughput not only to lack of data sent by the

network, but for example due to high retransmission levels. The average of the

Throughput values is calculated on the 5 secs. before the occurrence of the Low

Net Throughput event). NOTE: the threshold is expressed as the ratio (0..1). See

also Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh and Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres

for the exact definition of the Low Net HS Throughput event, and

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_L1 and Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_MAC for a definition of

L1 and Net HS throughput. The default value is 0.7.

20.6.4.4 Uu_HSDPAL1_To_Raw_Throu_Thresh

This threshold is used to set the value under which the ratio between L1 HS

Throughput average and Raw HS Throughput average is considered low enough

to assign the cause of Low Net HS Throughput not only to lack of data sent by the

network, but for example due to high retransmission levels. The average of the

Throughput values is calculated on the 5 secs. before the occurrence of the Low

Net Throughput event). NOTE: the threshold is expressed as the ratio (0..1). See

also Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh and Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres


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for the exact definition of the Low Net HS Throughput event, and

Uu_HSDPA_Throughput_L1 and Uu_HSDPA_PayloadRate_L1 for a definition of L1

and Raw HS throughput. The default value is 0.7.

20.6.4.5 SL_UMTS_DT_Spotlight_CriticalIssues_HSDPAPeakTput

This threshold is used to filter out HSDPA Raw Tput peak performance issues from

the HSPA dashboard that are equal or less this value. The default value is 1500

(kbps).


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21 Appendix I: LTE thresholds, KPIs and

diagnoses

21.1 LTE thresholds

21.1.1 LTE / Cluster_Acceptance

21.1.1.1 LTE_CA_CSFB_Block_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the CS Fallback call setup failure

rate is considered too high. Recommended value is 3.

21.1.1.2 LTE_CA_CSFB_Drop_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the CS Fallback call drop rate is

considered too high. Recommended value is 5.

21.1.1.3 LTE_CA_CSFB_Slow_Setup_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the CSFB Slow Setup threshold, and is

the target above which too many CSFB call setups in a cluster are seen as too

slow. Recommended value is 10.

21.1.1.4 LTE_CA_CSFB_Slow_Setup_Threshold

This is the threshold in milliseconds, above which a CS Fallback call setup time is

considered too long. Recommended value is 8000.

21.1.1.5 LTE_CA_HO_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the RRC handover failure rate is


21.1.1.6 LTE_CA_ReEst_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the RRC re-establishment failure


21.1.1.7 LTE_CA_RRC_Block_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the RRC connection setup failure


21.1.1.8 LTE_CA_RRC_Drop_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the RRC connection drop rate is


21.1.1.9 LTE_CA_Slow_RRC_Setup_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the RRC Setup Time threshold, and is

the target above which too many RRC connection setups in a cluster are seen as

too slow. Recommended value is 10.


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21.1.1.10 LTE_CA_Slow_RRC_Setup_Threshold

This is the threshold in milliseconds, above which a LTE connection setup time is

considered too long. Recommended value is 60.

21.1.1.11 LTE_CA_TaskDL_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the downlink tasks failure rate is


21.1.1.12 LTE_CA_TaskDL_LowTput_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the percentage of uplink tasks that

did not achieve an acceptable throughput is considered too high. Recommended

value is 10.

21.1.1.13 LTE_CA_TaskUL_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the uplink tasks failure rate is


21.1.1.14 LTE_CA_TaskUL_LowTput_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent, above which the percentage of uplink tasks that

did not achieve an acceptable throughput is considered too high. Recommended

value is 10.

21.1.1.15 LTE_CA_UE_GoodCoverage_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with RSRP and RSRQ coverage thresholds,

and is the target above which coverage in a cluster is seen as acceptable.


21.1.1.16 LTE_CA_UE_GoodRSRP_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the RSRP coverage threshold, and is the

target above which the signal strength in a cluster is seen as acceptable.


21.1.1.17 LTE_CA_UE_GoodRSRQ_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the RSRQ coverage threshold, and is

the target above which the signal quality in a cluster is seen as acceptable.


21.1.2 LTE / Event_Control

21.1.2.1 LTE_CSFB_LTEReAttach_Timer

This threshold is the maximum time in milliseconds above which the Attach

procedure on LTE following a CS fallback procedure is considered too slow. A

value of 0 means that the procedure cannot fail because of timeout.


21.1.2.2 LTE_CSFB_LTEReselection_Timer

This threshold is the maximum time in milliseconds above which the reselection

procedure from UMTS Idle to LTE following a CS fallback procedure is considered


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too slow. A value of 0 means that the reselection to LTE is always considered

successful regardless of how much time it took. Recommended value is 15000

ms.

21.1.2.3 LTE_CSFB_LTEReselection_Trigger

This threshold controls the starting point at which the time to reselect LTE from

UMTS Idle is measured. A value of 1 (the default value) means that the time is

measured from the time when the UE received UMTS System Information Block

19. A value of 0 means that that the time is measured from the time when the UE

entered UMTS Idle mode.

21.1.2.4 LTE_CSFB_OnlyUseProtocolMsgs

This threshold controls whether Analyzer should only use protocol messages when

setting CS fallback events. If this threshold is set to 0, then Analyzer will detect

the initiation of the call at the last logging tool marker indicating a call setup

attempt preceding the Extended Service Request message, and set the call start

time to the time of the RRC Connection Request message if the call was initiated

in Idle mode. The default value is 1.

21.1.2.5 LTE_HO_Attempt_timer

Analyzer measures the time in milliseconds it took to perform a handover as the

time from the last measurement report message where the Serving cell is weaker

in terms of RSRP or RSRQ than the best neighbor cell. This threshold is the

maximum time after which a measurement report message where the Serving

cell is weaker in terms of RSRP than the best neighbor cell is considered to be old

to be the cause of a handover. Recommended value is 2000 ms.

21.1.2.6 LTE_HO_Drop_timer

Analyzer pegs a LTE handover fail event if the LTE RRC connection drops after a

RRC Reconfiguration message that triggered a handover. Analyzer may also peg a

handover fail event if the RRC connection drops shortly after the handover

completion. This threshold is the time in milliseconds measured from the RRC

Reconfiguration message during which Analyzer pegs a handover failure if the

RRC connection drops. The handover is considered successful after a handover

completion (RRC Connection Reconfiguration Complete message) when this timer

expires and the RRC connection did not drop, or if the UE receives a DL-DCCH

message. Recommended value is 2000 ms.

21.1.2.7 LTE_NAS_wait_timer

When two LTE NAS messages of the same type (for instance EMM Attach

Request) are logged consecutively in a file, this threshold is used to determine

whether the second LTE NAS message is a duplicate of the first message or

whether the procedure initiated by the first LTE NAS message failed and the

procedure is attempted another time. The unit is milliseconds. Recommended

value is 6000 ms.

21.1.2.8 LTE_Redirection_fromUMTS_timer

Analyzer measures the time elapsed from the RRC Connection Release message

which redirects the UE to from UMTS to LTE, and if this time exceeds the value of

this threshold and the UE is still in UMTS mode, then the redirected cell


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reselection procedure is considered failed. This timer is disabled if its value is set

to 0.

21.1.2.9 LTE_Redirection_toCDMA2000_timer


which redirects the UE to CDMA2000, and if this time exceeds the value of this

threshold and the UE is still in LTE mode, then the redirected cell reselection

procedure is considered failed. This timer is disabled if its value is set to 0.

21.1.2.10 LTE_Redirection_toUMTS_timer


which redirects the UE to UMTS, and if this time exceeds the value of this

threshold and the UE is still in LTE mode, then the redirected cell reselection

procedure is considered failed. This timer is disabled if its value is set to 0.

21.1.2.11 LTE_RRC_DropAfterDetach

This threshold indicates whether Analyzer may peg an LTE RRC drop event

following a successful Detach procedure. A value of 0 (the default value) means

that Analyzer never pegs an LTE RRC drop event following a successful Detach

procedure, a value of 1 means that Analyzer pegs an LTE RRC drop following a

successful Detach procedure if the RRC Connection Release message is not

logged.

21.1.2.12 LTE_t300_wait_timer

This threshold is the default value in milliseconds that the event detection uses

for LTE RRC timer T300. This default value is overwritten if T300 is present in the

log file. Recommended value is 1000 ms.

21.1.3 LTE / Scan_Coverage

21.1.3.1 LTE_Scan_GoodRBs_RelativeRSRP_Threshold

When a scanner measures Reference Signal Receive Power (RSRP) for each

Resource Block (RB), this threshold is used to determine the RSRP value relative

to the strongest RB in terms of RSRP above which an RB is considered good

enough for transmission. Default value is 3.

21.1.3.2 LTE_Scan_GoodRBs_RelativeRSRQ_Threshold

When a scanner measures Reference Signal Receive Quality (RSRQ) for each

Resource Block (RB), this threshold is used to determine the RSRQ value relative

to the strongest RB in terms of RSRQ above which an RB is considered good

enough for transmission. Default value is 3.

21.1.3.3 LTE_Scan_PoorRSRP_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate poor RSRP values from scanner data.

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

dBm.


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21.1.3.4 LTE_Scan_PoorRSRQ_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate poor RSRQ values from scanner data.

Recommended value is -13 dB and the value should range between -10 and -18

dB.

21.1.4 LTE / Spotlight

21.1.4.1 SL_LTE_DT_Spotlight_ImportantIssues_Threshold

This threshold is used to filter out Important Issues from the LTE dashboard that

occur with a frequency greater than this value. Recommended value is 0.

21.1.5 LTE / UE_Coverage

21.1.5.1 LTE_UE_HighPUCCHPower_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate high PUCCH transmit power values from UE

data. Recommended value is 10 dBm. Values should vary between 0 and 20 dBm.

21.1.5.2 LTE_UE_PoorRSRP_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate poor RSRP values from scanner data.

Recommended value is -110 dBm, and the minimum value should not be lower

than -120 dBm.

21.1.5.3 LTE_UE_PoorRSRQ_Threshold

This threshold is used to indicate poor RSRQ values from UE data. Recommended

value is -13 dB. Values should vary between -10 and -18 dB.

21.2 LTE_CT thresholds These Call Trace thresholds are mainly for use with ActixOne.

21.2.1 Cluster_Acceptance_Procedures

21.2.1.1 LTE_CT_CA_Attach_Fail_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent above which the Attach failure rate is considered

too high. The units are in percent and the default value is 5%.

21.2.1.2 LTE_CT_CA_CSFB_Redirection_Fail_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the CS fall back redirection failure rate is

considered too high. The units are in percent and the default is 5%.

21.2.1.3 LTE_CT_CA_Detach_Fail_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold in percent above which the Detach failure rate is considered

too high. The units are in percent and the default value is 5%.

21.2.1.4 LTE_CT_CA_EPS_Procedure_Fail_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the EPS activation or modification failure rate is



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21.2.1.5 LTE_CT_CA_HO_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the RRC handover failure rate is considered too

high. The units are in percent and the recommended value is 3%.

21.2.1.6 LTE_CT_CA_IFHO_Failure_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the RRC handover failure rate is considered too

high. The units are in percent and the default value is 3%.

21.2.1.7 LTE_CT_CA_RRC_Block_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the RRC setup failure rate is considered too


21.2.1.8 LTE_CT_CA_RRC_Drop_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the RRC connection drop rate is considered too


21.2.1.9 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_Attach_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow Attach threshold, and is the

target above which too many Attach procedures in a cluster are seen as too slow.

The units are in percent and the default value is 10%.

21.2.1.10 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_Attach_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which an Attach procedure is considered too

slow. The units are milliseconds and the default value is 60.

21.2.1.11 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_CSFB_Redirection_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow CS fall back redirection

threshold, and is the target above which too many CS fall back redirection

procedures in a cluster are seen as too slow. The units are in percent and the

default is 10%.

21.2.1.12 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_CSFB_Redirection_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which a CS fall back redirection procedure is

considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the default is 50.

21.2.1.13 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_Detach_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow Detach threshold, and is the

target above which too many Attach procedures in a cluster are seen as too slow.

The units are in percent and the default value is 10.

21.2.1.14 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_Detach_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which an Detach procedure is considered too

slow. The units are milliseconds and the default value is 60.

21.2.1.15 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_EPS_Procedure_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow EPS procedure threshold, and

is the target above which too many EPS procedures in a cluster are seen as too

slow. The units are in percent and the default is 10%.


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21.2.1.16 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_EPS_Procedure_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which an EPS activation or modification

procedure is considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the default is 60.

21.2.1.17 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_HO_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow handover threshold, and is the

target above which too many intra-frequency handover procedures in a cluster

are seen as too slow. The units are in percent and the recommended value is

10%.

21.2.1.18 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_HO_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which an intra-frequency handover procedure is

considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the default is 300.

21.2.1.19 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_IFHO_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow handover threshold, and is the

target above which too many inter-frequency handover procedures in a cluster

are seen as too slow. The units are in percent and the recommended value is 10.

21.2.1.20 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_IFHO_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which an inter-frequency handover procedure is

considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the recommended value is

300.

21.2.1.21 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_RRC_Setup_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow RRC setup threshold, and is

the target above which too many RRC connection setup procedures in a cluster

are seen as too slow. The units are in percent and the recommended value is 5%.

21.2.1.22 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_RRC_Setup_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which a RRC Connection setup procedure is

considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the recommended value is

60.

21.2.1.23 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_TAU_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the slow Tracking Area Update

threshold, and is the target above which too many Tracking Area Update

procedures in a cluster are seen as too slow. The units are in percent and the


21.2.1.24 LTE_CT_CA_Slow_TAU_Threshold

This threshold is the time above which a Tracking Area Update procedure is

considered too slow. The units are milliseconds and the default value is 60.

21.2.1.25 LTE_CT_CA_TAU_Fail_Rate_Threshold

This is the threshold above which the Tracking Area Update failure rate is



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21.2.2 Cluster_Acceptance_Radio

21.2.2.1 LTE_CT_CA_DL_High_Nack_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the "high Nack" threshold, and is the

target above which too many HARQ Nack rate measurements in a cluster are

seen as too high. The units are in percent and the default is 10%.

21.2.2.2 LTE_CT_CA_DL_High_Nack_Threshold

This threshold is the average HARQ Nack rate value above which the average

HARQ Nack rate is considered too high. The units are in percent and the default is

20%.

21.2.2.3 LTE_CT_CA_DL_Low_CQI_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the low CQI threshold, and is the target

above which too many CQI measurements in a cluster are seen as too low. The

units are in percent and the default is 20%.

21.2.2.4 LTE_CT_CA_DL_Low_CQI_Threshold

This threshold is the average CQI value below which the average CQI is

considered too low. The default value is 5.

21.2.2.5 LTE_CT_CA_DL_Low_Tput_Ignore_Threshold

In a typical RRC connection, there is a mix of low throughput values

(corresponding to periods of time where the UE is not transferring user data, for

instance during signaling procedures) and high throughput values corresponding

to periods of time where the UE is transferring user data (for instance web

browsing). It may be useful to provide throughput statistics only considering

throughput samples that are above a certain value. This threshold is the downlink

throughput value below which the downlink throughput is ignored. The units are

in Kbps and the default value is 100.

21.2.2.6 LTE_CT_CA_DL_Low_Tput_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the low throughput threshold, and is

the target above which too many throughput measurements in a cluster are seen

as too low. The units are in percent and the default value is 10.

21.2.2.7 LTE_CT_CA_DL_Low_Tput_Threshold

This threshold is the downlink throughput value, above which the downlink

throughput is considered too low. The units are in Kbps and the default value is

1000.

21.2.2.8 LTE_CT_CA_UL_High_Nack_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the "high Nack" threshold, and is the

target above which too many HARQ Nack rate measurements in a cluster are

seen as too high. The units are in percent and the default is 100%


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21.2.2.9 LTE_CT_CA_UL_High_Nack_Threshold

This threshold is the average HARQ Nack rate value above which the average

HARQ Nack rate is considered too high. Units are in percent and the default is

20%.

21.2.2.10 LTE_CT_CA_UL_Low_Tput_Ignore_Threshold

In a typical RRC connection, there is a mix of low throughput values

(corresponding to periods of time where the UE is not transferring user data, for

instance during signaling procedures) and high throughput values corresponding

to periods of time where the UE is transferring user data (for instance web

browsing). It may be useful to provide throughput statistics only considering

throughput samples that are above a certain value. This threshold is the uplink

throughput value below which the uplink throughput is ignored. The units are

Kbps and the default is 50.

21.2.2.11 LTE_CT_CA_UL_Low_Tput_Rate_Threshold

This threshold is used in conjunction with the low throughput threshold, and is

the target above which too many throughput measurements in a cluster are seen

as too low. The units are in percent and the default is 10%

21.2.2.12 LTE_CT_CA_UL_Low_Tput_Threshold

This threshold is the uplink throughput value above which the uplink throughput

is considered too low. The units are Kbps and the default is 500.

21.3 Spotlight thresholds

21.3.1 Spotlight


This threshold is used (for all Cell Coverage analyses) if there is no

Max_ServerDist information in the cellref and indicates the maximum serving

distance (in meters) a cell should serve. Default is 5000m.

21.4 LTE events in the Event Explorer Connections

# Dropped Connections

# Failed Connection

# Attach Failures

Handover

# Failed Handover

# Slow Handover

IRAT UMTS

# Redirection to UMTS OK

# Redirection to UMTS Failures

# Handover to UMTS OK


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# Handover to UMTS Failures

# Redirection from UMTS OK

# Redirection from UMTS Failures

# Redirection to UMTS Time

IRAT CDMA2000

# Redirection to CDMA2000 OK

# Redirection to CDMA2000 Failures


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21.5 RRC Drop diagnosis for LTE The following diagram outlines the procedure used by Spotlight to determine the

diagnosis of RRC Drop events.


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No radio messaging Analyzer detected that the UE dropped from ‘LTE

connected’ mode to ‘LTE idle’ mode but there were not

enough messages (for instance, RRC messages) to detect

within 5 seconds when the drop occurred, and therefore no

reliable diagnosis can be made. This may indicate a logging

tool malfunction.

LTE ANR Failure The UE reported that another intra-frequency or inter-

frequency LTE cell was better than its serving cell, in terms

of RSRP or RSRQ, in an LTE RRC measurement report

message that was not followed by a handover procedure.

Instead the UE received an RRC connection reconfiguration

message requesting to measure the CGI (cell global

identity) of the best cell reported in the measurement

report message.

Missing handover The UE reported that another intra-frequency and inter-



message that was not followed by a handover procedure

(with an LTE RRC connection reconfiguration message).

Poor coverage The serving cell RSRP was less than the threshold value

“LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_PoorRSRP _Threshold”.

Interference The serving cell RSRQ was less than the threshold value

“LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_PoorRSRQ _Threshold”.

Handover fail The LTE RRC drop occurred within the time threshold

“LTE>Event_control>LTE_HO_Drop_timer” of a LTE RRC

connection reconfiguration message for a handover

procedure.

Limited coverage

UL

Just before the drop, the PUCCH or PRACH transmit power

was greater than the threshold value

"LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_HighPUCCHPower_Threshold".

Investigate Further

(unknown

diagnosis)

Use other tools and views to refine your understanding of

the problem.


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21.6 Call Drop diagnosis for VoLTE The following diagram outlines the procedure used by Spotlight to determine the

diagnosis of VoLTE call drop events.


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SIP Release Spotlight detected a SIP error message.

LTE ANR Failure The UE reported that another intra-frequency or inter-



message that was not followed by a handover procedure.

Instead the UE received an RRC connection reconfiguration

message requesting to measure the CGI (cell global

identity) of the best cell reported in the measurement

report message.

Missing handover The UE reported that another intra-frequency and inter-



message that was not followed by a handover procedure

(with an LTE RRC connection reconfiguration message).

Poor coverage The serving cell RSRP was less than the threshold value

“LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_PoorRSRP _Threshold”.

Interference The serving cell RSRQ was less than the threshold value

“LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_PoorRSRQ _Threshold”.

Handover fail The LTE RRC drop occurred within the time threshold

“LTE>Event_control>LTE_HO_Drop_timer” of a LTE RRC

connection reconfiguration message for a handover

procedure.

Limited coverage

UL

Just before the drop, the PUCCH or PRACH transmit power

was greater than the threshold value

"LTE>UE_Coverage>LTE_UE_HighPUCCHPower_Threshold".

Investigate Further

(unknown

diagnosis)

Use other tools and views to refine your understanding of

the problem.


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21.7 LTE IRAT Missing Neighbor analysis The purpose of the LTE inter-RAT missing neighbor analysis is to help building the

GSM and UMTS neighbor list for LTE cells. This inter-RAT neighbor list is required

by the network so that it can inform the UE of which GSM and/or UMTS it should

measure to support handovers from LTE to other technologies.

For this analysis, Spotlight requires the following:

- LTE data: this can be either LTE scanner or LTE handset data.

- GSM and/or UMTS scanner data.

- A cellrefs files with up-to-date LTE network information.

The process is as follows:

For each location bin, Spotlight determines the best LTE sector for each EARFCN,

either from scanner data or handset data.


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Note that if both scanner and handset data are available, then Spotlight will only

use the scanner data.

If that cell meets the missing neighbor criteria, Spotlight increments a counter by

1 for the cell and checks for missing.

For each location bin where the best LTE cell met the missing neighbor criteria,

Spotlight also determines the list of GSM and UMTS sectors measured that met

the missing neighbor criteria.

At the end of this procedure, Spotlight has established the list of LTE cells that

where best cells and met the missing neighbor criteria in at least one bin, and for

each of these bins the list of GSM and UMTS cells that met the missing neighbor

criteria.

As an example for an LTE cell "LTE_Cell_1" that was best LTE cell and met the

missing neighbor criteria in 10 bins we could get the following results:

IRAT cell Number of bins where

missing neighbor criteria

are met

Percentage of bins where

missing neighbor criteria are

met

UMTS_Cell_1 9 90%

UMTS_Cell_2 7 70%

UMTS_Cell_3 2 20%

GSM_Cell_1 8 80%

GSM_Cell_2 1 10%

Cell addition criteria: if an IRAT cell is detected as a missing neighbor this

number of times or more, the cell will be added to the neighbor list.

Cell removal criteria: if an IRAT cell (that is already defined as a neighbor) is

detected as a missing neighbor less than this number of times, the cell will be

removed from the neighbor list.


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22 Appendix J: UMTS thresholds, KPIs and

diagnoses

22.1 UMTS thresholds You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools, Display

Thresholds command. It is important to set your thresholds before loading the



value.

22.1.1 Spotlight




5000m.

22.1.2 UMTS / Scan_coverage

22.1.2.1 Uu_Scan_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold

This is the absolute number of pilots (with Ec/Ios above

Uu_Scan_PilotPollutionThreshold) required to trigger a pilot pollution event.

Recommended value is 3 and the value should be between 2 and 4.

22.1.2.2 Uu_Scan_PilotPollution_RSCP_Threshold

The RSCP threshold used by the “Poor Interference with Strong Signal Strength”

pilot pollution model (a Veritune feature). The default value is -100 dBm, and the

value should be between -90 and -110 dBm.

22.1.2.3 Uu_Scan_PilotPollutionThreshold

In calculating Pilot Pollution, this threshold sets up the level of interference

required for pegging the events (based on scanner info). When 4 or more pilots

are above this threshold, it creates a pilot pollution event. Recommended value

is -15dB and the value should be between -18 and -10 dB.

22.1.2.4 Uu_Scan_Poor_EcNoThreshold

This is used to indicate poor EcIo values from scanner data. Recommended value

is -15 dB and should lie between -18 and -10 dB.

22.1.2.5 Uu_Scan_Poor_RSCP_Threshold

This is used to indicate poor RSCP values from scanner data. Recommended value

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


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22.1.2.6 Uu_Scan_TooManyServers_Count_Threshold

The absolute number of pilots (with Ec/Ios within

Uu_Scan_TooManyServersThreshold of the Ec/Io of the best server) required to

trigger a “too many servers” event (based on scanner info). Recommended value

is 3 and the value should be between 2 and 4.

22.1.2.7 Uu_Scan_TooManyServers_RSCP_Threshold

The CPICH RSCP threshold above which a Uu_Scan_TooManyServers event may

be pegged. The default value is -104 dBm and the value should be between -90

and -110 dBm.

22.1.2.8 Uu_Scan_TooManyServersThreshold



many server" event (based on scanner info). Recommended value is 5 dB and

the minimum and the maximum should be around 1 and 10 dB.

22.1.3 UMTS / Spotlight

22.1.3.1 SL_Ant_Gain_Threshold

This threshold is the default Antenna gain, used in the calculation of pathloss. The

default value is 18.4 dB.

22.1.3.2 SL_BLER_Threshold

This threshold is used for determining a UMTS ‘lost DL channel’ condition. The

default value is 10 dB.

22.1.3.3 SL_BTS_Sens_Threshold

This threshold is the default BTS receive Sensitivity, used in the calculation of UL

pathloss. The default value is -120 dBm.

22.1.3.4 SL_Detectedset_EcIo_Threshold

This threshold is used for determining if a detected set member strong enough to

be consider as a neighbor. The default value is -15 dB.

22.1.3.5 SL_EIRP_Threshold

This threshold is the default EIRP, used in the calculation of DL pathloss. The


22.1.3.6 SL_MaxTimeBetweenRRC_REQandCallStart

This threshold is used for determining UMTS CS calls with excessive setup time.


22.1.3.7 SL_RapidPathloss_EcIo_Threshold


EcIo has dropped by at least this threshold value within the defined time window.

The RSCP condition must also be met for Rapid Pathloss to be detected. The

default value is 5 dB.


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22.1.3.8 SL_RapidPathloss_RSCP_Threshold


RSCP has dropped by at least this threshold value within the defined time

window. The EcIo condition must also be met for Rapid Pathloss to be detected.

The default value is 5.

22.1.3.9 SL_RapidPathloss_Time_window_Threshold

This threshold is used to define the window over which Rapid Pathloss is

performed. The default value is 3000 ms.

22.1.3.10 SL_Site_Issues_Dist_Threshold

This threshold is used in the outside beamwidth analysis, and only data within

this distance from the site is considered for the analysis. The default value is

5000m.

22.1.3.11 SL_UMTS_DT_Troubleshooter_CriticalIssues_Threshold

This threshold is used to filter out critical issues from the UMTS dashboard that

are equal or less then this value. Recommended value is 0.

22.1.3.12 SL_UMTS_DT_Troubleshooter_ImportantIssues_Threshold

This threshold is used to filter out Important issues from the UMTS dashboard

that are equal or less then this value. Recommended value is 0.

22.1.4 UMTS / UE_Coverage

22.1.4.1 Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold

This is used in the Coverage Limited event. If the UeTransmittedPower is greater

than Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold AND the

CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less than Uu_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. The

minimum should not be lower than 0 and the maximum should not be higher than

25 dBm.

22.1.4.2 Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold

This is used in conjunction with the RSCP Interference Threshold for the System

Interference event. If the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is greater than

Uu_RSCP_Interference_Threshold and the CPICH_EcNo_In_ActiveSet is less than

Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold, then a System Interference event appears on the

map. Recommended value is -15 dB. Values should lie between -10 and -18 dBm.

22.1.4.3 Uu_HighUE_TxPower

This is used in the Poor Uplink Coverage event. If the UeTransmittedPower is

greater than Uu_HighUE_TxPower AND the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is greater

than Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold AND the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is greater

than Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold, then Poor Uplink Coverage will appear on the map.

Recommended value is 15 dBm. Values should lie between 0 and 25 dBm.


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22.1.4.4 Uu_LowUE_TxPower

This is used in the Poor Downlink Coverage event. If the UeTransmittedPower is

less than Uu_LowUE_TxPower AND the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less than

Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold AND the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less than

Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold, then the Poor Downlink Coverage event will appear on

the map. Recommended value is -15 dBm. Values should lie between -30 and 0

dBm.

22.1.4.5 Uu_PilotPollutionThreshold

In calculating Pilot Pollution, this threshold sets up the level of interference

required for pegging the 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.

22.1.4.6 Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold

This is used in the Coverage Limited event. If the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is

less than Uu_PoorEcNOThreshold AND CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is less than

Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold AND Ue_TransmittedPower is greater than

Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold, then a Coverage Limited event will

appear on the map. It is also used in the Poor Uplink and Downlink Coverage

event. Recommended value is -15 dB and should lie between -18 and -10 dB.

22.1.4.7 Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold

This is used in three different events. In the cases where

CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet is lower than Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, it will trigger

either a Coverage Limited event or a Poor Downlink Coverage event. In the case

where it is greater than Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, it will trigger a Poor Uplink

Coverage event. Other conditions must be satisfied for these events to occur -

please note the other thresholds involved.

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

22.1.4.8 Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold

This is used for the System Interference event. If the CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet

is greater than this threshold and the CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet is less than

Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold, then a System Interference event appears on the map.

Recommended value is -80 dBm and should lie between -90 and -60 dBm.

22.1.4.9 Uu_TooManyServersThreshold



many server" event (based on scanner info). Recommended value is 5 dB and

the minimum and the maximum should be around 1 and 10 dB.


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22.2 UMTS events in the Event Explorer Circuit Switched KPIs

# Call Attempts

# Dropped Calls

Truncated Calls Drops

# Setup Failures

# Excessive Call Setup

Packet Switched KPIs

# PS Attempts

# Dropped PS

# Failed Connection

Handover Issues

% Handoff Overhead

Based on measurements made when the UE is in RRC connected

mode, this statistic gives the ratio (as a percentage) of the time the

UE spent in handover (i.e. 2 or more cells in the active set) to the

time the UE spent with only 1 active cell.

Note that this statistic needs a valid cellrefs file in order to work

correctly.

# AS Att

(Active Set Attempts) This is the number of active set update

procedures, determined from the RRC signaling.

# AS Fail

(Active Set Failures) This is the ratio of the number of active set

update failures to the total number of active set update procedures.

The number of active set update procedures is determined from the

RRC signaling, and the number of active set update failures

corresponds to the number of active set update procedures for

which the UE sends an RRC Active Set Update Failure message.

# Server Inconsist.

This is the number of times the event Uu_UE_Scan_Issue is set.

This event is set when the best cell measured by the scanner is not

measured by the UE as an active or monitored cell over a period of

time of "Uu_Scan_UE_Timer" milliseconds.

Furthermore, this event is only set if the following conditions are

met:

The UE is in RRC connected mode, and

The scanner's best cell is stronger than the best cell in the

active set, or weaker by less than

"Uu_Scan_UE_dB_Threshold" decibels.


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The thresholds "Uu_Scan_UE_Timer" and

"Uu_Scan_UE_dB_Threshold" are configurable using Tools >

Display Thresholds > UMTS > Event Control.

Hard Handover Issues

# 3G 2G Attempts

# 3G 2G Failures

# 3G 2G OK

# IF Attempts

# IF Failures


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22.3 Dropped Calls diagnosis for UMTS The following diagram outlines Spotlight's procedure for determining a diagnosis

of CS and PS Dropped Call events. Note that the window size used to evaluate the

condition is the period from 5 seconds before the drop, up to the drop itself.


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System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42) in

either the NAS message or the RRC message.

Missing Neighbor SC in Active Set after event < > SCs in Active Set

and Neighbor list before event.

Handover Problem Multiple Active Set update messages are received

and a particular SC is not added to the Active Set.

For the Raked RF Condition, the system picks the diagnosis with the

highest value, providing it is higher 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 within Uu_TooManyServersThreshold dB of

the best server (Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0).

Interference Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet <

Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold (-15 dB) AND

CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet >

Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold (-80 dBm).

Coverage Limitation

Problem

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


Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold (-15 dB) AND



UeTransmittedPower < Uu_LowUE_TxPower (-15

dBm).

Poor UL Coverage

Problem

CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet >




UeTransmittedPower > Uu_HighUE_TxPower (15

dBm).

Lost DL Channel Over 5-seconds, on average,

Uu_Trch_DownlinkBLERAGG >

SL_BLER_Threshold.

Investigate Further

(unknown diagnosis)

More investigation is needed. Use other tools and

views to refine your understanding of the

problem.


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22.4 Call Setup Failure diagnosis for UMTS The following diagram shows the procedure used by Spotlight to determine the

diagnosis of CS and PS Call Setup Failure events:


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System Rejected /

RRC Failure

When an RRC message contains an RRC Reject.

CM Service Abort /

Reject

A CM Service Abort / Reject message was received.

System Released When the cause code is Not Normal (0-31, 42) in

either the NAS message or the RRC message.

Missing Neighbor SC in Active Set after event < > SCs in Active Set

and Neighbor list before event.

Handover Problem Multiple Active Set update messages are received

and a particular SC is not added to the Active Set.

For the Raked RF Condition, the system picks the diagnosis with the

highest value, providing it is higher 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

within Uu_TooManyServersThreshold dB of the best

server (Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0).

Interference Problem CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet <

Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold (-15 dB) AND


Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold (-80 dBm).

Limited Coverage

Problem





UeTransmittedPower >

Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold (10

dBm).

Poor DL Coverage

Problem

CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet < Uu_PoorEcNoThreshold

(-15 dB) AND



UeTransmittedPower < Uu_LowUE_TxPower (-15

dBm).

Poor UL Coverage

Problem

CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet >




UeTransmittedPower > Uu_HighUE_TxPower (15

dBm).

Lost DL Channel Over 5-seconds, on average,

Uu_Trch_DownlinkBLERAGG > SL_BLER_Threshold.

Investigate Further

(unknown diagnosis)

Use other tools and views to refine your

understanding of the problem.


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22.5 Excessive Call diagnosis for UMTS The following diagram outlines the procedure used by Spotlight to determine the

diagnosis of Excessive Call events.

Note that the window size used to evaluate the condition is the period from 5

seconds before the drop, up to the drop itself.


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23 Appendix L: Information for Administrators

23.1 Hiding Analyzer Event Diagrams from Spotlight users Central tools teams may want to hide the details of particular KPI calculations

from their Spotlight users. A checkbox enables this in the Diagram Info dialog in

Analyzer, when defining event diagrams (license permitting). The checkbox is

called ‘Hide diagram from read-only users’.


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24 Index

# 95 percentile CQI Tput, 236 95 percentile DL TCP Tput, 236 95 percentile EcIo Tput, 236 95 percentile MAC-HS Tput, 236 95 percentile RSCP Tput, 236

A Abnormal Connection Release, 211

AccessAttemptDuration_Threshold, 206 AccessAttemptFailRate_Threshold, 208 AccessAttemptSuccessRate_Threshold, 208 Add Device, 146 Analyzer Classic, 137 Another Call Started, 222, 224 Attribute Picker, 150 Auto Load, 36 Average EcIo, 236 Average HSDPA Call Setup time, 236 Average RSCP, 236 Average_PER_Threshold, 205 Average_Rx_RlpRetransmissionRate_Threshold,

208 Average_RxRlpThputInst_Threshold, 208 Average_RxTCHThroughput_Threshold, 208 Average_SINR_PN0_Threshold, 205 Average_Tx_RlpRetransmissionRate_Threshold,

208 Average_TxRlpThputInst_Threshold, 208

B Batch Sector Plot, 139 best serving cell, 44, 65

binned data, 39 Binned Data Queries, 150 binning settings, 151

C Call Drop diagnosis for VoLTE, 256 Call Setup Failure diagnosis for GSM, 221 Call Setup Failure diagnosis for UMTS, 268 CDMA Cell Coverage, 8 CDMA Cell Coverage analysis, 44 CDMA cell site parameters, 155 CDMA events in the Event Explorer, 189 CDMA Neighbor List, 8 CDMA Neighbor List analysis, 50 CDMA Pilot Pollution analysis, 56 CDMA Spotlight Report, 160 CDMA thresholds, 186 CDMA/EVDO Pilot Pollution, 8 CDMA_AvgForwardFER, 186, 189 CDMA_CallDropRate, 188 CDMA_CallSetupSuccessRate, 189 CDMA_CallSetupTime, 189 CDMA_EcIoCombinedThreshold, 49, 186

CDMA_EcIoInterferenceThreshold, 188 CDMA_EVDO_DRCRate_0, 206

CDMA_EVDO_EcIoInterferenceThreshold, 207 CDMA_EVDO_MobileRxPowerThreshold, 205 CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold, 205 CDMA_EVDO_PilotPollutionThreshold, 205 CDMA_EVDO_TooManyActivePNsThreshold, 188 CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExcessInterference, 186 CDMA_ImportantIssue_ExternalInterference, 186 CDMA_ImportantIssue_FwdLinkProblem, 186 CDMA_ImportantIssue_LowRX, 187

CDMA_ImportantIssue_PoorCoverage, 187 CDMA_ImportantIssue_PoorQuality, 187 CDMA_ImportantIssue_RevLinkProblem, 187 CDMA_MobileRxPowerThreshold, 49, 187 CDMA_MobileTxPowerMaxFilterThreshold, 187 CDMA_MobileTxPowerMinFilterThreshold, 187 CDMA_MobileTxPowerThreshold, 49, 187 CDMA_OverAllSuccessRate, 189 CDMA_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold, 187, 189 CDMA_PilotPollutionThreshold, 187, 189 CDMA_TooManyActivePNsThreshold, 188 cell coverage, determining, 8 cellrefs file, 10, 29 Channel mode unacceptable, 226 Choose Attributes, 149 Choose Devices, 144 Circuit Switched KPIs, 264 CM Service Abort / Reject, 222, 269 Co/Adjacent Channel allocations between

neighbors, 204 ConnectionAttemptDuration_Threshold, 206 ConnectionAttemptFailRate_Threshold, 208 ConnectionAttemptSuccessRate_Threshold, 208 ConnectionReleaseDuration_Threshold, 206 ConnectionReleaseSuccessRate_Threshold, 208 Consolidated_SINR_For_Nth_Best_Pilot[0], 39 coverage design boundary, 44 coverage footprint, 44, 65 Coverage Issue, 191 Coverage Limitation Problem, 267 Critical Issues section, 38 CSV file, 52

D data files, 32 Data Service Analysis, 118 Data Settings link, 30 DCHR99 mode, 129 Detailed Event Diagnostics, 136 device filters, 147 Distance tab, 71 Distant Serving Cell, 204 Dragged_Dominance_Hysteresis, 216 Dragged_HO_Window, 216 DRC Rate, 64 Drill Down, 133 Drilldown page, 135 drilldown window, 134 Dropped Call diagnosis for CDMA, 190 Dropped Calls diagnosis for GSM, 225 Dropped Calls diagnosis for UMTS, 266 Dropped Connection diagnosis for EVDO, 210


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E EcIo_1stBest, 39 EDGE cell site parameters, 156 EGPRS diagnoses, 203 EGPRS events in the Event Explorer, 201 EGPRS thresholds, 199 EGPRS_Duration_Period, 200 EGPRS_LLC_DL_Min, 200 EGPRS_LLC_UL_Min, 200 EGPRS_RLC_DL_Min, 200 EGPRS_RLC_UL_Min, 201 empty maps, 154 EVDO Cell Coverage, 8 EVDO Cell Coverage analysis, 44 EVDO events in the Event Explorer, 209 EVDO Neighbor List, 8 EVDO Neighbor List analysis, 50 EVDO Pilot Pollution analysis, 56 EVDO Rev A Spotlight Report, 167 EVDO Spotlight Report, 163 EVDO System Performance analysis, 8, 60 EVDO thresholds, 205 event detection, 30 Event Explorer, 115 EVT_CDMAImportantIssue, 188 EVT_CDMANeighborListIssueDetect, 188 EVT_CDMAServerKey, 188 EVT_EVDOLowThroughput, 206 EVT_EVDOServerKey, 206 EVT_VerituneEVDOPilotPollution, 206 Excessive Call diagnosis for UMTS, 270 Excessive Interference, 191 Excessive Power Reduction, 204 Export data, 52 export suggested changes to the OMC, 8 exporting a series of images, 139 External Interference, 191

F F factor, 112 failure events, investigating, 8 Fast binning, 151 Forward Link Problem, 191 Frequency not implemented, 226

G G_Analysis_Time_After, 218 G_Analysis_Time_Before, 219 G_CallDropRate, 219 G_CallSetupSuccessRate, 219 G_Cell_Reselect_Duration, 199 G_Cell_Reselect_Time, 199 G_Distance_Max, 216 G_Handover_Min, 217 G_HandoverSuccessRate, 219 G_Interference_Radius, 65, 217 G_LocationUpdateSuccessRate, 219 G_MsTxPowStepOrdered_Min, 217 G_OverAllSuccessRate, 219 G_Prolong_Interf_timer, 217 G_RMAC_C_Value_Min, 199 G_RMAC_CV_BEP_Max, 199 G_RMAC_DL_TS_Min, 199 G_RMAC_MEAN_BEP_Max, 199 G_RMAC_Power_Reduction_Max, 199

G_RMAC_Sign_Var_Min, 199 G_RMAC_TAI_Max, 200 G_RxLevSub_Min, 217 G_RxQualSub_Max, 217 G_ScanSortSigLevel_Min, 217 G_T3240_RAUTimer, 200 G_T3310_AttachTimer, 200 G_T3321_DetachTimer, 200 G_T3380_PDPActTimer, 200 G_Timeout_ChannelRequest, 217 G_TimingAdvance_Max, 217 Global Filters, 35 Global Filters, choosing, 153 GPRS_Duration_Period, 201 GPRS_LLC_DL_Min, 201 GPRS_LLC_UL_Min, 201 GPRS_RLC_DL_Min, 201 GPRS_RLC_UL_Min, 201 grade of service, 44 Grade of Service, CDMA, 49 GSM 2G Missing Neighbors, 8 GSM 2G Missing Neighbors analysis, 75 GSM Cell Coverage, 8

GSM Cell Coverage analysis, 65 GSM events in the Event Explorer, 220 GSM Spotlight Report, 171 GSM thresholds, 216 GSM visualization, 68 GSM/GPRS cell site parameters, 156

H Handover fail (LTE), 255, 257 Handover Impossible, 226 Handover Issues, 264 Handover Problem, 226, 267, 269 Hard Handover Issues, 265 High retransmissions due to packet incorrectly

received in Downlink, 238 High retransmissions due to poor Uplink quality

conditions, 238 HS mobility, 179 HSDPA, 130 HSDPA 3G Neighbor List analysis, 89 HSDPA 3G-2G Neighbor List analysis, 95 HSDPA Call Drop rate, 236 HSDPA Cell Coverage analysis, 101

HSDPA Cell Pilot Pollution analysis, 108 HSDPA Low Throughput example, 230 HSDPA Peak Tput, 236 HSDPA Setup Failure rate, 236 HSDPA Spotlight Report, 176 HSDPA thresholds, 240 HSDPA Throughput KPIs, 238 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_CQI_Thres

hold, 236, 242 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_EcIo_Thres

hold, 236, 242 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_MACHS_Th

roughput_Threshold, 236, 241 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_RSCP_Thre

shold, 236, 242 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_95_Percentile_TCP_Throu

ghput_Threshold, 236, 241 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_EcIo_Threshold, 236, 241 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Drop_Rate, 236,

241


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HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Failure_Rate, 236, 241

HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_HSDPA_Setup_Time, 236, 241

HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_Overall_PS_Failure_Rate, 236, 241

HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_PS_Drop_Rate, 236, 241 HSDPA_NW_Acceptance_RSCP_Threshold, 236,

241 HSPA 3G Neighbor List, 8 HSPA Call Drop Analysis example, 227 HSPA Cell Coverage, 8 HSPA Event Explorer analysis, 227 HSPA events in the Event Explorer, 234 HSPA+ cell site parameters, 158

I images, exporting a series of, 139 Immediate Reject, 222, 224 Important Issues section, 38 inbound vs. outbound pilot pollution, identifying, 8 Interference, 204, 222, 224, 226 Interference (LTE), 255, 257 interference factor, 112 Interference Problem, 267, 269 Investigate Further, 255, 257, 267, 269 IRAT Missing Neighbor analysis for LTE, 258 issues panel, 38 IUB_THROUGHPUT_PERIOD_THRES, 240

K key performance indicator, 10 KPI, 10 KPIs and Reports, selecting, 148

L Lack of data to transmit, 237 Limited Coverage Problem, 269 Load Entire File, 133 Location Update Failure diagnosis for GSM, 223 Log Files link, 137 Lost DL Channel, 267, 269 Low bandwidth allocation, 204 Low CQI values, 237 Low Raw HS Throughput, 237 Low Raw HS Throughput not detected, 237 Low RLP Rx Throughput, 213

Low RLP Tx Throughput, 213 Low Rx Signal, 191 Low scheduling rate, 237 Low Signal, 211, 213, 215 Low Throughput diagnosis for EVDO, 212 Low Tput KPI event, 236 LTE

IRAT Missing Neighbor analysis, 258 RRC Drop diagnosis, 254

LTE Cell Coverage analysis, 81 LTE cell site parameters, 157 LTE reasonable task example, 132 LU Reject, 224

M Max_TxPower_Threshold, 205

Maximum Intersite Distance, 53, 54, 75, 76, 85, 89, 90, 95, 97

message level, identifying problems at the, 9 Microsoft Excel, 41 MIMO statistics, 125 Min_TxPower_Threshold, 205 Missing handover (LTE), 255, 257 Missing Neighbor, 226, 267, 269 Mobile Rx Power, 63 Mobile Tx Power, 63 Mobility scenarios, 236 modulation order low, 131 modulation usage, 127

N Neighbor List Issue, 191 neighbor list preferences, 31 neighbor lists, optimize, 8 Network Overload, 213, 215 network performance overview, 7 New Project, 27 New Template, 28, 142 No LTE radio messaging, 255, 257 No repository detected, 154

O Other, 191, 211, 213, 215, 222, 224, 226 Overall PS Call Drop rate, 236 Overall PS Setup Failure rate, 236

P Packet Switched KPIs, 264 PER, 63 Pilot Pollution, 191, 211, 213, 215, 267, 269 Ping_Pong_HO_Window, 216 PN Search, 51 Poor Coverage, 191, 222, 224, 226 Poor DL Coverage Problem, 267, 269 Poor LTE coverage, 255, 257 Poor Quality, 191, 211, 213, 215 Poor Radio Conditions, 204 Poor UL Coverage Problem, 267, 269 PPPConnectionSuccessRate_Threshold, 208 PPPSetupTime_Threshold, 206 Preferences dialog box, 29 project template, 143 Projection, 153

Protocol Stack Browser, 136

R Radio Network Explorer, 42 Raked RF Condition, 267, 269 Rapidly Changing Radio Conditions, 204 relative grade of service, 44 Reports, 40 Repository Summary table, 137 Return to Spotlight link, 138 Reverse Link Problem, 191 RL_Throughput_Threshold, 209 RL_Throughput_TimeLimit_Threshold, 209 RLP Rx Throughput, 64 RLP Tx Throughput, 64 RR Failed, 222, 224 RRC Drop diagnosis for LTE, 254


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RRC Failure, 269

S SchedulerAnalysis, 206 Scheduling Issues diagnosis for EVDO, 214 ServRxLevSub, 39 setting thresholds for data import, 26 settings, saving the project, 31 Show Excel Report, 41 SINR, 63 sites failing recommended design targets,

identifying, 8 SL_Ant_Gain_Threshold, 261 SL_BLER_Threshold, 261 SL_BTS_Sens_Threshold, 261 SL_Detectedset_EcIo_Threshold, 261 SL_EIRP_Threshold, 261 SL_GSM_Ant_Gain_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_BTS_Sens_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_EIRP_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_High_TX_Power_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_RxLev_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_RxQual_Threshold, 218 SL_GSM_RapidPathloss_Time_window_Threshold,

218 SL_GSM_Site_Issues_Dist_Threshold, 218 SL_MaxTimeBetweenRRC_REQandCallStart, 261 SL_Overspill_Dist_Threshold, 44, 65, 71, 81, 101,

186, 216, 240, 252, 260 SL_RapidPathloss_EcIo_Threshold, 261 SL_RapidPathloss_RSCP_Threshold, 262 SL_RapidPathloss_Time_window_Threshold, 262 SL_Site_Issues_Dist_Threshold, 262 SL_UMTS_DT_Spotlight_CriticalIssues_HSDPAPeak

Tput, 236, 243 SL_UMTS_DT_Troubleshooter_CriticalIssues_Thres

hold, 262 SL_UMTS_DT_Troubleshooter_ImportantIssues_Th

reshold, 262 Spotlight projects

about, 10 creating, 28

Spotlight Report, 8 status codes, 121 SU_Rx_Throughput_Threshold, 209 Summary Dashboard, 34

Summary map, 39 System Rejected, 269 System Released, 222, 224, 226, 267, 269

T T2P_Avg_Threshold, 209 TCP slow start, 128 thresholds, 30 thresholds, setting for data import, 26 Too Many Servers, 267, 269 top panel, 37

U UMTS

Excessive Call diagnosis, 270 UMTS 3G Neighbor List, 8 UMTS 3G Neighbor List analysis, 89 UMTS 3G-2G Neighbor List, 8 UMTS 3G-2G Neighbor List analysis, 95 UMTS Cell Coverage, 8 UMTS Cell Coverage analysis, 101 UMTS Cell Pilot Pollution analysis, 108 UMTS cell site parameters, 158 UMTS events in the Event Explorer, 264 UMTS Spotlight Report, 181 UMTS thresholds, 260 UMTS/HSPA Cell Pilot Pollution, 8 UniqueNeighborList, 188 Unload Files button, 138 Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo[0], 39 Uu_CoverageLimitedUE_TxPowerThreshold, 262 Uu_EcNoInterferenceThreshold, 262 Uu_HighUE_TxPower, 262 Uu_HSCellNotBestPilot, 236 Uu_HSDPAAvLowSched_Thresh, 236 Uu_HSDPAAvRegularSched_Thresh, 236, 242 Uu_HSDPAL1_To_Raw_Throu_Thresh, 236, 242 Uu_HSDPALowCQI_Thresh, 236, 242 Uu_HSDPALowNetThrou_Thresh, 235, 236, 240 Uu_HSDPALowRawThrou_Thresh, 235, 236, 240 Uu_HSDPALowThrouMaxTimeWin_Thres, 235, 236,

240 Uu_HSDPANet_To_L1_Throu_Thresh, 236, 242 Uu_LowNetHSDPAThroughput, 236 Uu_LowRawHSDPAThroughput, 236 Uu_LowUE_TxPower, 263 Uu_PilotPollutionThreshold, 263 Uu_Poor_EcNoThreshold, 263 Uu_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, 263 Uu_RSCP_InterferenceThreshold, 263 Uu_Scan_PilotPollution, 30 Uu_Scan_PilotPollution_Count_Threshold, 260 Uu_Scan_PilotPollution_RSCP_Threshold, 260 Uu_Scan_PilotPollutionThreshold, 260 Uu_Scan_Poor_EcNoThreshold, 260 Uu_Scan_Poor_RSCP_Threshold, 260 Uu_Scan_TooManyServers_Count_Threshold, 261

Uu_Scan_TooManyServers_RSCP_Threshold, 261 Uu_Scan_TooManyServersThreshold, 261 Uu_ThresGapBeforeThrComparison, 240 Uu_TooManyServersThreshold, 263 Uu_WinTimeHSnotBest, 236, 241 UuPilotPollution, 30

V Visualization tab, 71 VoLTE

Call Drop diagnosis, 256


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