Alcatel 9156 RNO.pdf

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EVOLIUM A9156 RNO Product Description

Alcatel-Lucent File Reference Date Edition PagePDA956E5.DOC 3DC 21119 0001 TQZZA 02/08/2004 05 1

All rights reserved. Passing on and copying of this document, use and communication of its contents not permitted without written authorization.

EVOLIUM A9156 RNO

Radio Network Optimization Tool

Product Description


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SCOPE

Within the GSM-network life cycle, radio network engineering is one of the most important

challenges for the network operator.

The network life is characterized by different phases each of them requiring engineering

activities:

- Network design and coverage planning,

- Network deployment,

- Network operation,

- Network optimization,

- Network extension planning.

Initial networkdesign

Initial networkdesign

RadioNetworkPlanning

RadioNetworkPlanning

DeploymentDeployment

OptimizationOptimization

Networkunder

supervision

Networkunder

supervisionRadio fine tuning

Densification

Figure 1: The radio network life cycle

In particular network planning and optimization are the key activities to provide a good Quality of

Service (QoS) in the mobile network. Quality of Service is, apart from offered telecom services,

the differentiation criteria to satisfy the mobile network users, to avoid a drift away of subscribers

and to attract new ones.

Alcatel provides tailored services in order to support operators in the radio-network-engineering

activities. A set of powerful tools supports the network planning and optimization tasks that are

offered in these services.


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Figure 2: Tools for radio-network-engineering activities

The computer-based radio-network-engineering tools A9155 RNP [2], and A9156 RNO can be

embedded in the overall Alcatel GSM Network Management environment. Here, they help to speed

up the related activities that get more and more complex due to the very fast developing and

increasing networks.

The above picture is as well introducing the A9157-LASER tool that focuses its activity in network

stability and unavailability computation. Fore more information about A9157-LASER, please refer

to [5].

This product description presents the A9156 RNO tool, version 3.0 and 4.0, supporting radio-

network- optimization activities and associated with the EVOLIUM Base Station System, releases

B6, B7.2 and B8.


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CONTENTS

1. REFERENCES...................................................................................................... 6

2. ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................. 63. OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................ 7

4. ARCHITECTURE AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT ............................................................. 8

4.1 Hardware platform and physical connections ...................................................... 8

4.1.1 Hardware configurations ..................................................................... 9

4.1.2 Hardware requirements .....................................................................10

4.1.3 Connection through an HMI server ........................................................11

4.2 Working and operational environment .............................................................12

4.2.1 Working environment........................................................................12

4.2.2 Operational environment ...................................................................13

5. FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION....................................................................................16

5.1 User interface...........................................................................................18

5.1.1 Network resources management...........................................................19

5.1.2 Properties and functions ....................................................................19

5.1.3 Spreadsheet ...................................................................................20

5.1.4 QoS notebook .................................................................................20

5.1.5 Geographical representation...............................................................22

5.2 Radio-resource-configuration handling.............................................................24

5.2.1 Radio-resource-configuration monitoring ................................................24

5.2.2 Logical-parameter dependency checking ................................................25

5.3 Quality-of-Service handling...........................................................................25

5.4 Diagnosis .................................................................................................25

5.5 Tuning ....................................................................................................28

5.5.1 Tuning session.................................................................................28

5.5.2 Export ..........................................................................................29

5.6 Customization...........................................................................................30

5.6.1 Parameter reference value .................................................................30

5.6.2 Parameter checking rules...................................................................31

5.6.3 Diagnosis scenarios ...........................................................................31

5.6.4 QoS-indicator thresholds ....................................................................32

5.6.5 QoS reports ....................................................................................32

5.6.6 Working zone..................................................................................35

5.6.7 Cell zone .......................................................................................35

5.6.8 Import export .................................................................................36


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6. ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION FEATURES .......................................................................37

6.1 Radio measurement statistics........................................................................37

6.2 QoS and resource unavailability correlation.......................................................39

6.3 Indicators customization (from B8) .................................................................40

6.4 Geographical Thematic layers .......................................................................40

7. ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS .................................................................................41


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1. REFERENCES

[1] allinOne: Alcatel Service for Mobile Operators

[2] 3DC 21119 0013 TQZZA, EVOLIUM A9155 RNP V6 for GSM and UMTS Product Description

[3] 3DC 21076 0005 TQZZA, EVOLIUM A1353-RA OMC-R Product Description

[4] 3DC 21144 0027 TQZZA, Radio Measurement Statistics (RMS) - including MAFA in Release B7

[5] 3DC 21119 0011 TQZZA, EVOLIUM A9157 LASER Product Description

2. ABBREVIATIONS

BSS Base Station System

FTP File Transfer ProtocolHMI Human Machine Interface

LAC Location Area Code

LAN Local Area Network

LASER Lucid network Availability, Stability and Events Reporting tool

MAFA Mobile Assisted Frequency Allocation

MMI Man-Machine Interface

NPA Network Performance Analyzer

OMC-R Operation and Maintenance Center - Radio part

QoS Quality of Service

RMS Radio Measurement StatisticsRNO Radio Network Optimization

RNP Radio Network Planning

TRE TRansceiver Equipment

WAN Wide Area Network


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3. OVERVIEW

This product description presents A9156 RNO, the Radio Network Optimization tool provided by

Alcatel as part of its comprehensive set of solutions for GSM850 / GSM 900 / GSM 1800 / GSM 1900

network management. A9156 RNO is also used by Alcatel optimization teams for allinOne

services.

A9156 RNO supports GSM network operators in radio-network-optimization activities.

By the full integration of network design and performance analysis tools, the network-optimization

process can be significantly improved and speeded up. A9156 RNO allows the network operator to

provide permanently optimal Quality of Service in his network and thus to guarantee a high level

of customer satisfaction.

A9156 RNO capitalizes the expertise and methods collected by Alcatel in the area of radio network

optimization through its long and worldwide experience in the GSM activity. Through the

implementation in a computer tool, every network optimizer can profit of the excellent Alcatel

know-how in the area of radio network optimization. Moreover, A9156 RNO gives the opportunity

to the operator to enhance the tool by adding his own procedures and rules.

The operator using A9156 RNO will be able to improve the efficiency and reliability of his

optimization process.

In order to support radio network optimization activities, A9156 RNO allows to

- check the consistency of resource design and configuration,

- monitor the QoS,

- diagnose the QoS decrease cause,

- tune the radio resources configuration.

These functions make the A9156 RNO an essential tool to

- detect network misbehaviors,- help the optimization team to focus on the most urgent issues,

- fix the quality of service problems in a quick and accurate way,

- decide the corrective actions to apply on the network.


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4. ARCHITECTURE AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT

4.1 Hardware platform and physical connections

A9156 RNO is a client-server application that can be configured dependent on the size of the

network to be optimized. A single server configuration is provided for very small networks (see

chapter 4.1.1).

The network optimization data, except the QoS data (indicators), is stored centralized on the

A9156 RNO server, a Windows 2000 server. The QoS data are located centrally in the NPA [3]

database for access from different types of users (not A9156 RNO only).

LAN

NPAQoS Database

A9156 RNO - Server

A9156 RNO - Workstations

LAN

OMC-R

Figure 3: A9156 RNO Network topology in LAN

environment

For the access to the QoS data the

A9156 RNO server is connected to the

NPA database via a Local Area Network

(LAN). A LAN connection in

combination with TCP/IP protocol is

mandatory.

A number of A9156 RNO workstations

(based also on Windows 2000) provide

user-machine communication and

perform the network optimization

processing in a distributed topology.

The workstations are connected to the

A9156 RNO server via LAN. A solution

based on third party software for

remote connection can be used in WAN

environments for connection of the

workstations to the server. This

solution is based on addition of an HMIserver using Citrix Metraframe XP third

party (see chapter 4.1.3 for more

information).


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Data exchange with the OMC-Rs and network planning tools is done by a file transfer mechanism

(e.g. FTP protocol). A lower bandwidth between A9156 RNO server and the OMC-Rs or network

planning tool can thus be supported (for example, over a WAN).

4.1.1 Hardware configurations

To fit with different network sizes, five A9156 RNO configurations are supported.

The following table presents the available A9156 RNO configurations with the maximum number of

cells that can be optimized and the related number of required servers and workstations.

Configuration

name

Type Number of

Cells

Number of

servers

Number of

workstations

Small Standalone 250 1 0

Standard Client /

Server

2000 1 5

Large Client /

Server

5000 1 10

XLarge1 1 Client /

Server

7000 1 17

XLarge2 2 Client /

Server

8000 1 17

Table 1: A9156 RNO configurations

The Small (Standalone) configuration is composed of a single standalone server with reduced

hardware performance and capacity. It is the appropriate solution for networks with a small

number of cells to be optimized.

The Standard to XLarge2 configurations are suited for optimization of medium and very large

networks and allow parallel working of several optimizers.

1 XLARGE1 configuration available from B7 software release

2 XLARGE2 configuration available from B8 software release


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4.1.2 Hardware requirements

A9156 RNO is running under a Windows 2000 environment on dedicated powerful PCs. In each

A9156 RNO configuration the hardware is equipped with a high performance processor and

sufficient memory and disk capacity for an appropriate performance in the optimization

execution.

A 21 screen provides the right resolution for the sophisticated graphical user interface of

A9156 RNO. Each PC is equipped with an Ethernet-card for communication purposes.

The machines (at the date of the edition of this document) proposed by Alcatel for the A9156 RNO

are the following:

PC configuration PC Client PC Standalone PC Server

Model HP XW 4000 HP Proliant ML 370G3

Processor Pentium IV 2.8 GHz Xeon 2.4 GHz(or more)

Ram Memory 512 Mb DDRam 1 Gb DDRam

Hard diskATA/100 EIDE

40 Go

Ultra 160 SCSI

10000 tr/mn

36 Gb

SCSI Ultra Wide 2

4 x 18 (or 36) Go

SCSI Card with Ext port Ctrl Ultra SCSI Ctrl Ultra SCSI 160

Ethernet card10/100 Mbits

X (integrated)

Video cardNvidia Quadro 4

200NVS 64 Mo AGPATI rage XL vido 8 Mb

Monitor 21 " 17 "

RAID 5

controller systemX

Operating

system

Windows 2000 (NT5) SP4

Workstation

Windows 2000 (NT5) SP4

Server

Table 2: A9156 RNO HW configurations


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4.1.3 Connection through an HMI server

WAN

Operators Workstations

NPAQoS Database

A9156 RNO - Server

LAN

OMC-R

A9156 RNO HMI Server

OMC-R

OMC-R

Figure 4: A9156 RNO Network topology in WAN

environment

In case A9156 RNO clients cannot be

installed on the same LAN than the

A9156 RNO server (distant sites, need

for remote locations, wide network,

etc), introduction of an HMI server

allows to lower the need for

bandwidth between the server and the

clients. A minimum bandwidth of 128

kbits/s is necessary while 256 kbits/s

between the clients and the HMI server

is recommended. The corresponding

topology is available in the figure in

the left.

The HMI server is a PC equipped with a

Citrix Metaframe license.

The Citrix Metaframe license is not delivered by Alcatel and has to be purchased by the customer.

Alcatel can nevertheless delivers the convenient PC Citrix hardware. It is based on the same

Hardware configuration than the delivered PC client (see above chapter) but using more memory:

1.5 Gb of RAM.


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4.2 Working and operational environment

4.2.1 Working environment

For an integrated use of A9156 RNO in an overall radio-network-management environment,

A9156 RNO can interface with one Radio Network Planning tool (e.g. A9155 RNP), one or several

OMC-Rs and one performance database of NPA for data exchange. The number of OMC-Rs that can

be connected to A9156 RNO is limited by the NPA capacity.

A9156 RNO is compatible to be used in the environment of Alcatel BSS releases. It can interface

with:

- several OMC-R versions,

- single version of NPA that can interface with several OMC-R versions,

- single version of A9155 RNP that is compatible with several BSS releases.

A9156 RNO B7 can interface

Quantity Alcatel Product Product Release

Several 3 OMC-R B6, B7

1 NPA B7 (B6 compatible)

1 A9155 RNP V5.x/V6.x

A9156 RNO B8 can interface

Quantity Alcatel Product Product Release

Several 3 OMC-R B7, B8

1 NPA B8 (B7 compatible)

1 A9155 RNP V6.x

Table 3: A9156 RNO connectivity

Independent from its functional evolution, the tool will be of course able to support also future

BSS releases.

3A9156 RNO must be connected to the same number of OMC-Rs as NPA (refer to [3])


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Furthermore, A9156 RNO is designed in such an open way that it is possible to develop interfacing

to non-Alcatel RNP-tools on customer request. This interfacing is not part of the default offer and

can be developed by third party companies or by Alcatel. It is based on a public file specification

between A9156 RNO and any Radio Network Planning tool.

4.2.2 Operational environment

A9156 RNO data exchange concerns not only the import of operational and planning data, but

moreover the download of the optimized radio network configuration to the operational network

(OMC-R parameters tuning).

In regular intervals A9156 RNO collects data from the operational network (daily) and from the

network- planning database (as soon as a new planning iteration is ready):

- Planned radio resource design from the radio-network-planning data base,

- Geographical data from the radio-network-planning database,

- Operational radio resource design from the operational network,

- Operational values of logical parameters from the operational network,

- QoS indicators (performance measurement results) from the operational network.

Figure 5: A9156 RNO data exchange

OMC-ROMC-R

RNP(e.g A9155) OMC-R

NPA A9157LASERPM data Alarms

State changesLogs

Unavailability indicators

Planne

d

radioreso

urced

esign

QoS

ind

ica

tors

Optimized

logical-parametersvalues

Operational

radioresourcedesignand

logical-parametersvalues

A9156RNO


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4.2.2.1 Cell identification

A9156 RNO (as well as NPA) provides two modes for cell identification:

- CellId (CI mode)

- LAC+ CellId (LAC/CI mode)

The cell identification mode has to be decided at cell installation. Alcatel highly recommends

using the CI mode which means that the CI has to be unique over the region managed by A9156

RNO. This recommendation is mainly due to the fact that the LAC has to be considered as an

attribute of the cell and not as part of its identifier. In fact, during network optimization, it

happens that LAC have to be rearranged, in order to avoid too many location updates and

generation of signaling in the A interface. If the LAC has to be changed and the operator has

decided that the cell identifier is LAC+CI, a cell whose LAC has been changed would be consideredby A9156 RNO as a new cell. In such case, all the cell history, in terms of parameters history and

QoS history would be lost.

4.2.2.2 Import of cell design from radio planning

For each iteration of radio network planning, the related cell design can be loaded from the

network- planning tool into the A9156 RNO database on user demand.

The data package imported from RNP contains:

- Cell description (functional type, frequency band, number of TRXs, hopping mode, HSN, ...

),

- Cell class (rural, suburban, urban, dense urban),

- Planned frequency plan,

- Planned neighborhood plan,

- Geographical calculation results (best server maps).

The data can be imported as files. A9156 RNO supports, as a standard, the file format supplied by

the Alcatel radio network planning tool A9155 RNP. Customization to other RNP output file formats

are possible.

4.2.2.3 Import and export of operational logical configuration from OMC-R

Periodically, via a batch process, A9156 RNO loads the operational logical configuration from the

OMC-R. For that purpose A9156 RNO uses the Alcatel OMC-R export/import-file interface for

logical parameters provided through the ACIE (Alcatel Configuration Import Export interface) of

the OMC-Rs.

This data package imported from the OMC-R contains:


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- Cell description,

- Operational frequency plan,

- Operational neighborhood plan,

- Physical network topology (MSC, BSC, BTS, cell links),

- Operational logical-parameters settings.

The data are imported as files.

It is possible to export the optimized logical configuration from the A9156 RNO to the OMC-R. The

data is provided by A9156 RNO in form of an ASCII file. When exporting such data (tuning sessions),

each impacted OMC-R receives, through an FTP transfer, this ASCII file.

An application, known as the Tuning Browser and running at the OMC-R, allows then to browse

the tuning session file contents for helping the OMC-R operator understand the purpose and

location of the modifications. If the OMC-R operator agrees with the sent modifications, the

Tuning Browser will generate the appropriate ACIE files that can the be applied on the impacted

OMC-Rs.

Such an approach allows a global automation of the tuning process, with no need to retype

modifications at the OMC-R. Moreover, this is a safe process in the way that only the OMC-R

operator is aware of field events (exhibitions, sports meetings, etc.) and will never apply

something on the field if it would interfere with these events.

4.2.2.4 Access to quality-of-service indicators

On A9156 RNO user demand, a request is sent to the NPA data base in order to get quickly (or

calculate) QoS indicators required for QoS reporting and diagnosis. Experts are also able to access

to BSS raw counters for deeper analysis.


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5. FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION

A9156 RNO supports the network optimizer with any function to evaluate and correlate all the

imported data for each cell of the BSS network. Thus it helps to detect QoS degradation much

faster and to propose immediately appropriate correction tasks and an improved logical

configuration for the radio network.

Of course, A9156 RNO is used by means of a modern graphical user interface. All actions are simply

accessible through menus. Data and optimization results are presented not only in well-arranged

tables but moreover in geographical maps where applicable.

A9156 RNO processes the loaded data in order to support the optimizer in:

- radio-resource-configuration handling,

- QoS handling,

- QoS-problem diagnosis,

- radio-parameter tuning.

The radio-resource-configuration handling of A9156 RNO allows verifying the operational logical-

parameter settings by comparing the operational values with reference values following GSM and

expert rules. Additionally, the operational cell design is verified by comparison with the planned

design. In order to follow the evolution of the logical-parameters settings, the imported

operational values are stored in the A9156 RNO database and appropriate reports can be requested

at any time.

The A9156 RNO Quality-of-Service handling allows monitoring the QoS indicators. Special functions

allow to identify the worst or best cells related to a QoS indicator, to get reports on the QoS

evolution and to compare the service quality of different cells. Comparing QoS-indicator values

with predefined thresholds, A9156 RNO allows a very fast verification of the quality of service in

each single cell. The cell QoS functions can be used on cell areas defined as cell zones in RNO

terminology. More details about cell zones are available in chapter 5.6.7.

For QoS-problem diagnosis A9156 RNO helps to investigate the QoS weakness cause. Correctiveactions and/or extra investigations are proposed by the tool. In order to benefit directly from any

optimizer's field experience, A9156 RNO allows integrating new diagnosis scenarios. Thus the

network optimizer can rely on the diagnosis rules supplied by Alcatel, but also on the ones derived

from his own optimization experience.


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In the end of a network optimization session the A9156 RNO radio-parameter-tuning function

allows to use the results of the optimization session (monitoring, checking, diagnosis) for tuning

the radio configuration, in order to correct network misbehavior. The A9156 RNO user can define

radio-resource-configuration modifications and propose them to the OMC-R operator. It is under

the responsibility of the OMC-R operator to apply it to the BSS using the previously described

Tuning Browser. A9156 RNO allows both unitary and massive parameters changes.

Moreover, A9156 RNO allows the optimizer to tune cells neighborhood with the help of the

geographical representation. All cells belonging to a circle around the considered cell are neighbor

candidates; for each of those candidates, a color is used to display the handover cost in terms of

signaling (intra BSC, inter BSC or inter MSC). Thanks to the traffic flow measurements indicators,

existing neighbors provide the number of handover performed on them to quickly detect useless

ones.

Finally, A9156 RNO allows also tuning cells frequencies, for punctual usage before a new frequency

plan is computed. This feature is especially useful to change the frequency of a very interfered

TRX.

The following figure summarizes the different RNO jobs available for the optimizer.

Indicators

Raw counters

Reports

Operational vs.reference

Operational vs.planned

Rules

Parameters

Frequencies

Neighborhood

Check QoS Diagnose Tune

Evolution

Multi-object comp.

Warnings

Call drop rate

Call setup successrate

Etc...

Customize

Everything from the same MMI !Everything from the same MMI !

Figure 6: A9156 RNO main jobs

A9156 RNO is designed in a way to be as flexible as possible to users' specific needs. For that

purpose the A9156 RNO administrator can customize the previously mentioned functions. For

example he can define and modify logical-parameter reference values, logical-parameter checking

rules, diagnosis scenarios, QoS reports and QoS thresholds.


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5.1 User interface

The user interface is the core of A9156 RNO. From here the optimizer can communicate with the

tool. He is provided with all necessary information, commands, processing results etc. in order to

handle and use the A9156 RNO functions.

A9156 RNO user interface is very intuitive and uses the latest graphical methods to provide a clear

representation of any kind of data. So-called gadgets are used to present objects (e.g. cell, QoS

indicator, logical parameter, etc.) and data sorted by different criteria. Gadgets are grouped into

notebooks according to the use of the gadgets (e.g. selection of cells and parameters, or display of

QoS indicators). Data is displayed in tables or charts and splitters allow the user to quickly

reorganize the user-interface look.

Figure 7: A9156 RNO - main MMI window


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Thanks to an object-oriented design of the user interface, all actions are simply accessible through

contextual menus. Only the relevant commands are provided depending on the selected object(s).

Most manipulations can be done through the drag-and-drop mechanism or with the help of menu

bars and icon bars.

The main A9156 RNO user interface is composed of five areas:

- Network resources management,

- Properties and functions,

- Spreadsheet,

- QoS notebook,

- Geographical representation.

5.1.1 Network resources management

The resources of the network (like cells) are

displayed in tree gadgets and can be selected

from there.

Different tree gadgets are used to display the

network resources by different sort criteria.

Sorting can be done by LAC, hardware

topology, cell type or Routing Area (for GPRS)

for example. In addition to the cell name,

the LAC and cell-Id are provided as well as an

icon representing the cell type.

A quick search and properties dialogue is available

in order to find easily specific network resources

(e.g. cells) or types of resources (e.g. micro-

cells).Figure 8: Example for tree gadget (cells

sorted by LAC)

5.1.2 Properties and functions

Properties (logical parameters) and functions belonging to a network resource are also displayed

inside tree gadgets and can be selected from there.

There are dedicated gadgets for display and selection of


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- logical parameters or logical-parameter rules, grouped into families according to their GSM

functions,

- design parameters like BCCH, LAC, neighborhood, etc.,

- QoS indicators, QoS counters or QoS reports, also grouped into families.

5.1.3 Spreadsheet

The spreadsheet part of the MMI is used to display values of the logical parameters of the network.

By selecting one or more network resources and one or more properties (or functions), the

spreadsheet is filled automatically after a drag-and-drop operation by the user. Depending on the

chosen properties, the spreadsheet will contain values (e.g. for parameters), icons (e.g. for rules)

or lists.

A quick filter can be applied on spreadsheet. It will highlight problems by coloring the cells of the

spreadsheet where a problem has been identified. For example, if the user is looking at the values

of QoS indicators in some cells, the filter will color the spreadsheet cells where the indicator is

above defined thresholds. The color legend can be defined by the A9156 RNO user. Some

spreadsheet cells have a contextual menu, which allows access to the diagnosis for example.

Figure 9: Spreadsheet - logical-parameter values - filter and refresh-carto mode activated

Complementary to the filter a refresh-carto option can be set. If set, all the cells (or their serving

area) which are colored in the spreadsheet, becomes colored also in the geographical

representation (section 5.1.5).

For quick exchange purposes, the spreadsheet contents can be exported to Microsoft Excel.

5.1.4 QoS notebook

The QoS notebook is designed to display QoS reports based on user selections. A QoS report is

composed of several graphs, each displaying a set of defined QoS indicators for a selected set of

network resources (cells) and the defined report period.

Each graph can be displayed either as a diagram (graph) or as a spreadsheet, depending on the

user's choice. In the diagram view, a cursor allows to display the indicator values at a certain time

(defined by the cursor position). Zooming and scrolling are also possible in the diagram view.


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A powerful feature of the QoS notebook is the facility to link the cursors and/or zooms in all

diagrams and spreadsheets. Thus a direct comparison between the QoS-indicator values at a

certain time is possible.

Figure 10: QoS notebook

As for the spreadsheet, the QoS report can be exported to Microsoft Excel.


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Figure 11: RNO QoS report exported in Microsoft Excel

5.1.5 Geographical representation

The geographical representation capability is an interesting complement to the tree gadgetsrepresentation described in sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2. Cells, BTSs, BSCs, MSCs, OMC-Rs or

adjacencies are displayed with geographical maps in the background. Thus the location of the

network elements, the sectorization, the type and the status - if the refresh-carto option is used

in the spreadsheet - of cells can be seen at a glance.


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A9156 RNO is able to extract contours from A9155 RNP strongest server maps. If not using A9155,

an ASCII format file is specified to create contours for other Radio Network Planning tools. Since

this extraction could be quite complicated, a basic mathematical algorithm can be executed to

associate to each cell, a polygon which is a rough estimation of the cells area of service. This

algorithm does not take into account power parameters nor antenna information, except the

azimuth.

Figure 12: Geographical area with cells contours colored according to call drop rate severity

Contextual menus on cells allow a quick identification of interfered cells, serving-cell area,

neighborhood, etc. Finally, it is possible to choose any group of cells in the geographical re-

presentation and make them selected in the different tree gadgets described before.

The A9156 RNO geographical representation supports standard vector formats.


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5.2 Radio-resource-configuration handling

The radio-resource-configuration handling of A9156 RNO allows verifying the operational logical-

parameter settings by comparing the operational values with reference values following GSM and

expert rules. Additionally, the operational cell design is verified by comparison with the planned

design. In order to follow the evolution of the logical-parameter settings, the imported

operational values are stored in the A9156 RNO database and appropriate reports can be requested

at any time.

5.2.1 Radio-resource-configuration monitoring

A9156 RNO manages the history of logical parameters. For that purpose, the tool stores different

values for each logical parameter:

- The operational value, the one retrieved recently from the operating network.

- The reference value, defined by the optimization expert for the entire network.

- The n last operational values. These values are useful for quick history of parameters on

cells to quickly see the impact of logical parameters modifications on QoS.

- The forecast values which are the new ones proposed by the optimizer in the tuning

process.

Figure 13: History of parameters changes

The A9156 RNO user can demand the display of all these logical-parameter values for a selected

set of network resources (cells, couple of adjacent cells, BSS). The parameter values are displayed

in the spreadsheet. In order to correlate parameter setting with QoS reports, it is also possible to

show the parameter value for a certain date.


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Thefilter mode launches the comparison between one of the historical logical-parameter values

and its reference value. Detected inconsistencies are highlighted in the spreadsheet and in the

geographical area (optional).

Furthermore, the A9156 RNO user can also display the planned cell design. Then, in the filter

mode, a comparison of the planned and the operational design can be performed.

5.2.2 Logical-parameter dependency checking

The logical-parameter dependency checking supports the optimizer in the verification of the GSM

or optimization rules for the operational network.

Thanks to the A9156 RNO graphical user interface, the optimizer can select a set of cells and a set

of rules (section 5.6.2) to perform a check. The result of the check is displayed in a spreadsheet in

a very synthetic way. The geographical mode triggers the indication of all those cells that are not

in line with the rules.

5.3 Quality-of-Service handling

The A9156 RNO Quality-of-Service handling allows monitoring the QoS indicators. Special functions

allow to identify the worst or best cells related to a QoS indicator, to get reports on the QoS

evolution and to compare the service quality of different cells. Comparing QoS indicator values

with predefined thresholds, A9156 RNO allows a very fast verification of the quality of service in

each single cell.

The optimizer can select and launch simultaneously any predefined QoS report (section 5.6.5).

A9156 RNO provides a powerful dynamic graphical user interface that eases QoS-report analysis.

An expert-investigation mode allows the optimizer to select directly a set of QoS-indicator and

network resources (cells, BSS, TRXs, etc.) from a list in order to build spreadsheets. The filter

mode launches the comparison between QoS-indicator values and their predefined QoS thresholds.

Detected inconsistencies are highlighted in the spreadsheet and in the geographical area

(optional).

5.4 Diagnosis

For QoS-problem diagnosis, A9156 RNO helps to investigate the QoS weakness cause. Corrective

actions and/or extra investigations are proposed by the tool. In order to benefit directly from any

optimizer's field experience, A9156 RNO allows integrating new diagnosis scenarios. Thus the

network optimizer can rely on the diagnosis rules supplied by Alcatel, but also on the ones derived

from his own optimization experience.


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Figure 14: Diagnosis scenario example

Whenever a QoS

indicator reaches

its predefined alert

threshold,

A9156 RNO offers

the diagnosis

feature to the

optimizer, in order

to find out the

possible cause of

the QoS

degradation.


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Figure 15: Diagnosis report

The diagnosis is based on the diagnosis scenarios defined for the concerned QoS indicator. If no

scenario for this QoS indicator is defined yet, it can be created by the optimization expert (section

5.6.3).

A9156 RNO executes the diagnosis scenario and produces a detailed report on the diagnosis result.

In order to make this diagnosis result transparent to the optimizer, the diagnosis report contains

any relevant information:

- A detailed description of every test which was performed during the execution of the

scenario,

- The decision path,

- The list of suspected problems,

- The recommended action plan to overcome the problem.


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A diagnosis execution can be launched in an interactive way from the MMI. A batch-mode

execution is also available in A9156 RNO. Thanks to the batch mode, it is possible to schedule the

execution of a diagnosis without the presence of the optimizer. For example, diagnosis can be

performed automatically each night. Then, the diagnosis results will be available for the optimizer

already in the morning.

5.5 Tuning

In the end of a network-optimization session the A9156 RNO radio-parameter-tuning function

allows to use the results of the optimization session (monitoring, checking, diagnosis) for tuning

the radio configuration, in order to correct network misbehavior. The A9156 RNO user can define

radio-resource-configuration modifications, frequency changes and neighborhood modification and

propose them to the OMC-R operator. It is under the responsibility of the OMC-R operator to apply

them to the BSS using the Tuning Browser.

Figure 16: The RNO Tuning Browser

5.5.1 Tuning session

A tuning session provides a set of consistent operations to the optimizer. These operations can

concern one or several cells, or even a whole working zone. During such a tuning session, the

optimizer can define a sequence of operations:

- Set a new value to a logical parameter,


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- Set the reference value to a logical parameter,

- Modify the neighborhood relationship,

- Modify one or more cell frequencies,

- Suggest a system modification using textual information for the OMC-R operator.

A tuning session can be created, modified and exported to the OMC-R. On top of that, A9156 RNO

will offer facilities to check the logical configuration proposed in a tuning session and to check if

the tuning session has been applied by the OMC-R operator.

Figure 17: Tuning frequencies from geographical area

5.5.2 Export

The set of operations defined during a tuning session can be exported from the A9156 RNO to the

OMC-R. The export corresponds to an ordered action list that should be performed by the OMC-R

operator.

A9156 RNO can then automatically convert the tuning session contents into an ACIE file that can

be applied on the OMC-R with no need of manual data capture by the operator.


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5.6 Customization

A9156 RNO can be applied in any operational environment. For that, it can be adapted to the

specific network conditions of an operator and by taking benefit of his optimization experience.

All values that allow adapting the A9156 RNO to operator needs and wishes, i.e. the definition of

references in A9156 RNO, can be customized.

In order to allow an immediate use of A9156 RNO, all customizable values are set with default

values provided by Alcatel at delivery. Thus, every network optimizer can also directly benefit

from Alcatel's strong experience in GSM network optimization.

Customization is to be done by the operator himself. A dedicated access right is necessary for that

task (refer to section 6).

5.6.1 Parameter reference value

The reference value of a logical parameter is the one recommended by the optimization expert (it

may be different to the operational value which is applied in the system). It shall ensure that the

desired behavior of the GSM system is obtained for each GSM function (e.g. handover, ...).

Each logical parameter managed by A9156 RNO has a reference value that can be modified by an

optimization expert. Allowed deviation ranges can be defined. Furthermore, A9156 RNO allows

defining different parameter reference values, depending on the cell type, the cell class, the cell

capacity and the release.

Figure 18: Reference value manager


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With the help of the parameter reference values, the operator is able to manage consistent sets of

logical-parameter settings in order to

- configure a specific network behavior regarding to cell selection, paging, handover, power

control or GPRS,

- take into account new cell functionality,

- take into account specific geographical and traffic environment (planned cell class).

A9156 RNO is delivered with default reference values, reflecting the Alcatel parameter-setting

experience.

5.6.2 Parameter checking rules

A parameter checking rule expresses the functional dependency between a set of parameters of a

cell, a BSS or a couple of adjacent cells. The rules are classified into two categories:

- GSM rules which are based on the system specification,

- Optimization rules which are based on optimization experience.

In order to benefit from field experience, in accordance to its open approach, A9156 RNO offers a

rule editor that allows an optimization expert to modify or create parameter checking rules. He

can use logical, comparison or arithmetic operators to define constraints on logical parameters.

Example:

IfBSAG_BLK_RES between [0, 2] then CCCH_CONF= 0

A9156 RNO offers also the capability to define the validity of the rule according to the cell type

(micro, umbrella, ...), the cell class (dense_urban, rural, ...), the cell capacity (e.g. up to three

TRXs) and the BSS release (e.g. BSS B8).

Default GSM rules based on Alcatel release specifications and predefined optimization rules based

on Alcatel optimization know-how are delivered with A9156 RNO.

5.6.3 Diagnosis scenarios

The A9156 RNO diagnosis scenarios provide a mighty feature to capitalize the optimizers' QoS-

analysis experience and know-how in the tool.

A diagnosis scenario is an analysis tree, based on a QoS indicator. This indicator may indicate a

reduced quality of service, e.g. the call-drop rate. The scenario stores all the possible ways to

investigate a quality-of-service problem with the data available in the A9156 RNO.


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In order to benefit from field experience, A9156 RNO offers the ability to an optimization expert

to create or modify diagnosis scenarios. He has to his disposal a specific powerful graphical

language to build the tree and to perform a combined test request on:

- logical-parameter setting,

- cell design (interference, neighborhood, ... ),

- planned information,

- rules evaluation,

- QoS-indicator value.

A set of default diagnosis scenarios is integrated in A9156 RNO. Thus the user benefits directly

from the excellent Alcatel know-how in QoS analysis.

5.6.4 QoS-indicator thresholds

A9156 RNO offers the capability to the optimization expert to define alert thresholds and validity

conditions on QoS indicators. Three alert thresholds can be defined for each QoS indicator. The

validity condition determines when the indicator is significant.

It is possible to define three QoS-requirement levels: low, medium and high. The different QoS-

requirement levels can be applied to areas with different needs on the network quality (e.g. in

network areas with very high traffic volume it is more important to provide the best QoS than in

rural areas with low traffic). For each QoS-requirement level three severity levels can be defined.

A set of default alert thresholds and validity conditions is delivered with A9156 RNO. They take

into account the customer Quality-of-Service requirements.

5.6.5 QoS reports

A QoS report is an arrangement of consistent graphs for a set of QoS indicators. It is needed to

monitor quickly and efficiently the quality of the network services.

A9156 RNO provides four types of QoS reports. These reports are delivered as a standard with thetool.


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-Multi-object comparison report:

Each graph of this report compares cells (or BSS, TRXs, , etc.) regarding to a set of QoS

indicators at one date.

Figure 19: Multi-object comparison report

- Mono-object evolution report:

Each graph of this report displays the evolution of a set of QoS indicators for one cell (orBSS, TRXs, etc.) between two dates.

Figure 20: Mono-object evolution report


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- Multi-object evolution report (B8):

Each graph of this report displays the evolution of one QoS indicators for several cell (or

BSS, TRXs, etc.) between two dates.

Figure 21: Multi-object evolution report

- Warning report:

Each graph of this report displays an ordered list of cells according to a selection criteria on

a dedicated QoS indicator. For example it is possible to get a list of the 20 worst cells

regarding the call-drop rate, or a list of all cells where the call-drop rate reached an alert

threshold or whose call drop rate has increased compared to the previous week (QoS

warnings per variation).

Figure 22: Warning report


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A9156 RNO offers to the optimization expert the capability to modify or create any kind of QoS

report. Thus, he is free to define which QoS indicators shall be displayed in the report.

For the purpose of report customization, a set of defaults QoS-report templates is provided in the

tool. These templates can easily be modified by the optimization expert. They are based on the

Alcatel experience on QoS analysis and give already a good arrangement of the relevant QoS

indicators.

5.6.6 Working zone

A working zone defines an area on which an optimizer performs his network optimization

activities. In fact it is a network resource filter.

A working zone can be defined either by selection of single cells (identified by their ) or

by selection of a set of cells belonging to the same

- ,

- ,

- ,

- ,

- ,

- ,

The combination of different selection criteria is also possible. The defined working zones are

stored in the A9156 RNO database.

A9156 RNO offers to each optimizer the ability to define his own working zone (e.g. all micro-cells

of a given town, or all cells belonging to a specific LAC, etc.). Thus, the optimizer can register and

apply his named and self-defined filter to select the cells he is responsible to monitor.

5.6.7 Cell zone

The Cell zone is a user defined filter that works on the current Working zone. The purpose of acell zone is to extract from a working zone all the cells following specific criteria based on:

- logical parameters (for example, all cell with RX_LEV_ACCESS_MIN > -98),

- design parameters (for example, all the cells with EFR or hopping activated),

- QoS indicators (for example, all the cells whose previous days call drop rate > 3%)

Thanks to union and intersections using the above possibilities, the user is able to create very

interesting cell zones. Once the cell zones are created, it is possible to compute consolidated QoS

indicators on them for evolution or comparison purposes.


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Typical examples of usage are:

- comparing performance of zones where hopping is installed or not,

- following the evolution of the QoS of a zone before and after a new frequency plan has been

applied.

- etc

5.6.8 Import export

In order to quickly exchange customized data between different A9156 RNO servers, an import

export manager is available. Customized data means:

- logical parameters reference values,

- rules,

- QoS indicators thresholds,

- QoS indicators reports,

- Diagnosis scenario,

The outputs (export function) of this manager are ASCII files that can be sent to other A9156 RNO

servers where they will be imported.

Figure 23: RNO import / export manager


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6. ADVANCED OPTIMIZATION FEATURES

Previous chapter has given an overview of the different powerful jobs available with A9156 RNO.

This chapter is zooming on some specific A9156 RNO features that provide an outstanding help in

optimizers daily job.

6.1 Radio measurement statistics

Radio Measurements are of prime importance for operators, allowing them to constantly check the

Quality of Service (QoS) and then tune the various network parameters to optimize this QoS.

Traditionally, these measurements were obtained through measurement campaigns realized on the

field by teams of technicians using appropriate tools: trace mobiles, protocol analyzers, etc.

With the Radio Measurement Statistics (RMS) features, most of these measurements are now

available directly from the network itself, providing instantly the following advantages:

exhaustiveness: measurements are constantly available for any area in the network, for any

period of time; no need to decide a priori which area has to be measured;

flexibility: no need to plan in advance measurement campaigns depending on measurement

equipment or staff availability; results are available at any time; it is possible to focus on

demand on any aspect of measurement results

The RMS feature has been introduced with Alcatel BSS Release B7 and provides a great benefit

when used with A9156 RNO. Thanks to this feature, the operator is able to:

detect interfered frequencies,

assess the quality of the cell coverage,

detect and quantify cell unexpected propagation,

assess the traffic distribution in the cell from statistics on reported neighbor cells,

evaluate the voice quality in the cell,

etc.

The RMS can be classified in the following way:

Radio related statistics reported per TRX

on neighbor cells (C/I)

on MAFA frequencies (C/I)

on downlink and uplink quality & level

on number of consecutive bad speech frames (BFI)

on Radio Link Counter (uplink only)


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on Path Balance

on Timing Advance

on Power and number of channel seizures Voice quality statistics reported per TRX

9 Voice quality indicators, computed from analysis of RxLev, RxQual and FER.

A9156 RNO provides powerful reports based on RMS results, facility to correlate RMS results and

other QoS indicators or to correlate them with changes on the network (new frequency or

neighborhood plan, parameters tuning, etc...).

A9156 RNO can also generate an experience matrix from RMS measurements for the frequency

planning tool, and can recommend frequency changes thanks to MAFA results availability. The

experience matrix is mandatory for frequency plan computation, since it is measured in the real

network and not issued from theoretical propagation algorithms that are not always valid,

especially in dense urban areas. Interference detection is empowered in A9156 RNO diagnosis

module thanks to RMS C/I matrixes.

Following screen shots are A9156 RNO reports using RMS.

Figure 24: Example of RMS report: Distribution of Timing Advance


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Figure 25: Example of RMS report: Split of noisy calls causes

For more information about RMS, please refer to document [4]

6.2 QoS and resource unavailability correlation

When a cell has a bad Quality of Service (congestion for example), it is important for the optimizer

to know if this bad QoS is due to a pure radio problem or to a hardware failure or maintenance

action that led to unavailability of the corresponding equipment. For example, if a cell with 4 TRX

had, during the day, 2 of the 4 TREs out of service, there is a big probability that it would have

had some congestion during this period.

NPA is able to import unavailability indicators that would reflect the availability percentage of the

corresponding resource (cell or TRX for example) on the day. This import is done thanks to the

interface between NPA and LASER as drawn in right part of Figure 2: Tools for radio-network-

engineering activities.

A9156 RNO is able to use these indicators for display or as an optional filter for warning reports

(for example, display the 20 worst cells of the working zone, in terms of congestion, and having an

unavailability less than 5% during the day).

Being able to know if a bad QoS is due to a hardware failure or a maintenance action is a must for

optimization teams; it allows them to focus on problems they are responsible of. A9156 RNO

allows knowing this information at every time, avoiding the need to go to the OMC-R or any other

product to find the answer.


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6.3 Indicators customization (from B8)

Figure 26: QoS indicator creation

RNO is providing a rich set of QoS

indicators that allow the optimizer to

carefully follow the networks quality

of service and take corrective actions

in case it is not optimal. These

indicators are based on Alcatel

experience around optimization. In

some cases, operators want to define

their own QoS indicators formulas, to

capitalize their expertise in the RNO

product. The RNO QoS indicators editor

is aiming at offering such service. The

operator is able to define his own

indicators formulas from a friendly

graphical editor. Once indicators have

been created, they are available for all

RNO QoS related functions like QoS

reports for example.

Note that in case of usage of RNO and

NPA B7, flexibility is offered to create

custom indicators with NPA.

6.4 Geographical Thematic layers

Figure 27: Predefined thematic layers

Thematic layer is a common

feature of GeographicalInformation Systems (GIS) like

MapInfo. The purpose is to color

parts of the geographical

representation, according to user

requests on the QoS indicators,

the parameter values, the analysis

results etc

A9156 RNO provides a thematic

layer editor where each operator


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Figure 28: Thematic layers edition

is free to enter his own requests

and the associated colors

depending on the results. Default

layers like traffic distribution or

frequency reutilization are

provided.

The results are mapped on cell

contours (when analysis is done on

cells) to provide a good

representation, even at low zoom

levels.

This feature avoids the need for

this kind of representation on

external applications, thus saving

time and providing more power

for the A9156 RNO user.

7. ADMINISTRATIVE FUNCTIONS

Figure 29: Administration workshop

A9156 RNO provides a set of administrative functions that guarantee a secure and flexible use for

all operational conditions.

A9156 RNO provides two levels of access rights:

- optimizer, and


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- expert (also called the administrator)

Each user is either an expert or an optimizerand is identified by a user name and a password.

The expert has all rights and can use every function of A9156 RNO. He manages the user access

and he is responsible for A9156 RNO customization. That means, he is allowed to

- define parameter checking rules,

- define logical-parameter reference values,

- define diagnosis scenarios,

- define QoS-indicator alert thresholds,

- define new cell classes.

Except of these functions, the optimizercan use all other functions provided by A9156 RNO.

End of document

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