OMD6072 Case Analysis—Congestion ISSUE1.131033203-BSS
Troubleshooting Manual
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Upon completion of this course, you are supposed to be able
to:
Understand the principles of congestion
Analyze and solve congestion problems
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Measurement point for TCH congestion and analysis
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Definition of TCH congestion rate
TCH congestion rate (excluding handover)
=(TCH seizure failures for call + TCH seizure failures for very
early assignment) / (Attempted TCH seizures + Attempted TCH
seizures for very early assignment) *100%
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Definition of TCH Congestion rate
TCH congestion rate (including handover)
=(TCH seizure failures for call + TCH seizure failures for very
early assignment + TCH seizure failures for intra BSC incoming cell
handover (no radio resource) + TCH seizure failures for inter BSC
incoming cell handover (no radio resource) ) / (Attempted TCH
seizures (all) + Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment +
Attempted TCH seizures for intra BSC incoming cell handover +
Attempted TCH seizures for inter BSC incoming cell handover)
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Channel_Active
Channel_Active_Ack
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Receive the MSC assignment request message
Attempted TCH seizures for very early assignment
When there is no resource for SDCCH allocation and very early
assignment is permitted
When channel required is received and channel type is TCH
Attempted TCH seizures for intraBSC incoming cell handover
When intraBSC incoming cell handover request message is received
(non-SDCCH handover request).
Attempted TCH seizures for interBSC incoming cell handover
When interBSC incoming handover request message is received
(handover type is non-SDCCH)
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TCH seizure failures for very early assignment,
TCH seizure failures for interBSC incoming cell handover,
TCH seizure failures for intraBSC incoming cell handover,
TCH seizure failures for intracell handover.
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(1)CONN_FAIL message is received in process of assignment.
(2)CLEAR_CMD is received in process of outgoing BSC handover. The
cause of handover is direct retry.
(3)CLEAR_CMD is received in process of assignment
(4)RR_ABORT_REQ is received in process of outgoing BSC handover and
the cause of handover is direct retry.
(5)RR_ABORT_REQ is received in process of assignment.
(6)MSG_HO_REQ_REJ is received in process of outgoing BSC handover
(direct retry).
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(7) HO_FAIL is received in outgoing BSC handover (direct
retry)
(8) ERR_IND is received in process of assignment.
(9) When assignment failure message is sent.
(10)TN_T7 (direct retry) timeout (outgoing BSC handover
request)
(11)TN_T8 (direct retry) timeout (outgoing BSC handover
complete)
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(1)CH_ACT_NACK is received in the very early TCH assignment
process. (CH_ACT_NACK is received in WAIT_RR_EST status in
satellite transmission BTS)
(2)In very early TCH assignment process, the returned cause is
(internal error) CVI_INTERNAL_ERR when channel is being
allocated.
(3)In very early TCH assignment process, the returned cause is
(channel request illegal) CVI_NO_ACCEPT when channel is being
allocated.
(4)In very early TCH assignment process, no channel is
allocated.
(5)TN_WAIT_CH_ACT timeout in very early TCH assignment
process.
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TCH seizure failures for intraBSC incoming cell handover
measurement point:
TCH channel allocation fails at intraBSC incoming cell
handover
TCH seizure failure for interBSC incoming cell handover measurement
point:
When interBSC incoming cell handover failure message is sent
because there is no TCH channel
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TCH seizure failure for intracell handover measurement point:
In the new TCH activation procedure, this item is measured when the
serving cell receives the CHANNEL ACTIVATION NEGATIVE ACKNOWLEDGE
message from the BTS.
This item is measured if the implementation of intracell handover
procedure fails because the encryption algorithm in Intracell
Handover Request message does not support.
No response after the timer (internal timer, 5 seconds) timeout
when the serving cell activates the new TCH.
In intracell handover procedure, When TCH requested but there is no
TCH available in the serving cell, and this leads to the handover
failure. In this case, this item is measured.
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A interface
After MSC sends Assignment_Req, if trunk circuit at A-interface is
fault, BSC will return Assignment_Failure directly.
In this case, the usually cause is incorrect CIC data configuration
of trunk circuit.
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TCH congestion
TCH seizure failures due to Abis interface and Um interface
failures
Abis interface and Um interface
1. TRX board is faulty or performance unstable
2. Unbalance of uplink/downlink level for BTS
3. Poor quality of uplink/downlink signal caused by
interference
4. SDCCH and TCH belong to different TRX board which have different
coverage.
After BSC sends ASSIGN CMD, BTS transmits it transparently to MS,
and abnormalities occur:
1. MS fails to receive the assignment command (ASSIGN CMD) or the
UA frame from BTS.
2. BTS fails to receive SABM frame or assignment completed message
(ASSIGN COMP) from MS, this causes assignment failure.
The signaling analyzer can be used to analyze the cause of
assignment failure of Abis interface message.
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Causes of high TCH congestion rate
Incorrect configuration of trunk circuit data at A interface
Co-frequency and co-BSIC lead to TCH assignment failure in
handover
Board fault or unstable performance causes the high congestion
rate
BTS hardware is not properly installed, which causes
uplink/downlink signal level unbalance and TCH congestion.
The transmitting power of BCCH TRX is too much higher than that of
TCH TRX in the same cell.
Interference causes the congestion
TCH assignment failure due to isolated site and complicated
topography result in the high congestion rate
When hardware installation causes the unbalanced uplink and
downlink level and TCH congestion.
1. Uplink flow: antenna -->tower
amplifier-->feeder-->lightning arrester-->rack-top
connector--> CDU-->TRX board.
The error with RF cable causes the uplink level difference. Maybe
the connector is not tight.
2. Downlink flow: TRX --> CDU-->rack-top
connector-->lightning arrester-->feeder-->antenna
VSWR alarm occurs to the transmitting tributary of antenna feeder
.
The RF cable is twisted or the connector is not tight
The error of cell antenna connection leads to the differences in
the coverage, thus causing TCH congestion.
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How to locate the causes of high TCH congestion rate
Analyze the causes of congestion remotely
1. Traffic statistics
2. Alarm information
4. Abis interface message analysis
Check BTS on-site
Remote analysis 1: traffic statistics
In “TCH Measurement Function”, check the channels are all busy or
not
If yes, perform load handover or suggest capacity expansion.
If not, check interference bands 1~5. if the cause is interference,
the call drop rate of the cell will also be high.
Register “Receiving Level Measurement Function”
1. Check the result by object to see whether the numbers of uplink
and downlink reports on the same TRX board are balanced. So we can
know the uplink and downlink are balanced or not.
2. Check the result by time to see whether TRX measurement reports
are excessive. So we can know the congestion is related to TRX
board or not .
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Check alarms of the site which has high congestion rate.
Check whether there is any abnormal alarm, such as voltage standing
wave rate alarm, PCM out of frame alarm and uplink data bus alarm.
Judge whether the congestion rate is associated with alarms in
traffic statistics .
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Remote analysis 3: BTS remote maintenance on OMC
On the BTS remote maintenance console, block TCH board in turn.
Observe whether the congestion rate is related to the TRX
board.
Processing principles:
1. If the congestion rate are related to the blocked TRX, check
whether there is interference, check the performance of uplink and
downlink.
2. If the congestion rate is not related to TRX, interference may
exist in the whole cell or the propagation environment.
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Remote analysis 4: Abis interface message analysis.
Trace Abis interface message of the congested BTS, analyze
Assignment CMD sent on SDCCH
If the assignment always fails on a specific TRX board, the cause
may be one of the following:
TRX board faulty or performance unstable.
Uplink/downlink unbalance, hardware problem in uplink or
downlink.
Bad quality of uplink or downlink signal. Analyze TA value of MS to
locate interference.
If the assignment fails on the boards of the whole cell randomly,
analyze the measurement reports. The causes may be the
following:
The topography in the cell coverage is quite complicated.
There is interference in the whole cell, such as interference from
repeater.
After all assignment failures are found on a specific TRX board,
take the following into consideration:
1. MS TA value in the measurement report.
2. Uplink/downlink signal level.
3. Uplink/downlink signal quality.
Analyze the causes for a certain assignment failures , and dialing
test should be performed on-site.
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TCH Congestion
1. According to the TEI values shown in the diagram, the TRX
containing this SDCCH can be identified.
2. With the ARFCN, the TRX containing this TCH can be
identified.
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Check BTS on-site
Check antenna and feeder for any problem of uplink or
downlink.
Dial test at the same place to see whether the assignment failure
always occurs in a certain TRX or in the cell randomly.
Make driving test to see whether there is abnormal handover
relationship and downlink interference, so as to find the cause of
the congestion rate.
Search the interference source with a spectrum analyzer.
Observe whether the topography in the cell coverage is
complex.
The way for on-site dialing test:
1. Carry out dialing test at each carrier and each channel, to
check whether any timeslot or board can not be assignable.
2. Check whether the downlink levels of all carriers are nearly the
same. For TRX with significantly abnormal level, the cause can be
located step by step through changing the board or uplink/downlink
antenna & feeder system.
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Cases of TCH congestion
Case 2: TRX board fault
Case 3: Uplink hardware problem
Case 4: Downlink hardware problem
Case 5: Effect from repeater in the cell
Case 6: Other data configuration mistake
Case 7: Isolated site and complicated topography
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A-interface Data Configuration Mistake
Case 1 fault description :
There is one BSC in the local network. From one day, TCH congestion
rate (excluding handover) of the whole network increase to 4%, and
most of cells are highly congested.
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Case 1 analysis:
Since the frequency had not been changed, Um interface problem is
excluded.
Congestion rate is abnormal for most BTS. In this case, we can
search in a smaller range to see whether the congestion problem is
related to a certain module or data modification.
Analyze the main cause of TCH seizure failure through traffic
statistic and finally locate the problem caused by data or
hardware.
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Case 1 Troubleshooting:
1.Analyze traffic statistics. The problem occurs after BSC data
modified and reloaded. Maybe it is related to BSC reloading.
Analyze traffic statistics and find that the highly congested cells
are all on module 1 of BSC, so the problem should related to module
1.
Check TCH seizure failures (requested terrestrial resource
unavailable), It shows that unavailability of terrestrial resource
is the main cause of high congestion rate in module 1.
The cause of terrestrial resources unavailability is mainly on Abis
interface or A interface. It is quite unlikely that Abis interface
is faulty for many cells in module 1 at the same time. Therefore,
the cause should be the hardware or data at A interface.
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Case 1 Troubleshooting:
2.Check the hardware of A interface and find that the hardware is
normal. A interface hardware problem is excluded.
3. Check the data configuration of A interface trunk circuit and
find that the CIC code of the first 32 timeslots of group 0, module
1 is “65535”. But group 0 of module 1 in the trunk group table
corresponds to the circuit from BSC to MSC. Obviously this CIC
number is wrong. Change it to “0~31”, and then the congestion rate
becomes normal.
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Case 1 conclusion:
1. In trunk circuit data configuration at A interface, CIC must be
correct, otherwise, TCH assignment will fail and the congestion
rate will be high.
2. In the meantime, if the CIC of two FTC boards (multiple trunk
circuits) are the same, this problem will also happen.
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Case 2 fault description :
The configuration of a BTS is S6/4/2 and it had been on service
successfully. One day, the result of traffic statistics shows that
TCH channel in cell 1 (6 TRX) congestion rate comes to 20%.
The traffic volume of the cell is very low, it is about 0.8Erl in
busy hour.
At the same time, the times of “TCH seizure failures for call (no
radio resource)” is 0.
Observe the channel status in cell 1, all of channels are
“Idle”.
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TRX Board Fault
Case 2 analysis:
1. No data has been adjusted and there is no hopping in the cell
and 6 TRXs use different frequencies, it is unlikely that they are
subject to external interference at the same time. Therefore, it
can not be Um interface interference or data problem.
2. Check hardware specifically. Since the problem only occurs to
cell 1, we can block TRX one by one to determine which TRX causes
the assignment failure.
3.Find whether there is hardware fault in the TRX for assignment
failure. Confirm the fault TRX by means of resetting and
replacing.
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TRX Board Fault
Case 2 troubleshooting:
1. Check BT channel status on OMC and find that there is
possibility of TCH seizure failure in BT4 of cell 1.
2. Block TRX4, there is no TCH congestion all the day. It indicate
problem is on TRX4.
3. Unblock TRX4 and reset them, congestion appear again.
4. Go to BTS site and make a dial test on TRX4, TCH seizure failure
still occurs. Interchange the slots of TRX4 and TRX5, make the dial
test again on TRX5. The TCH seizure failure persists.
5. Replace TRX4 and make dial test, there is no TCH
congestion.
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TRX Board Fault
Case 2 conclusion:
1.Faulty TCH TRX board causes TCH seizure failures and high
congestion rate.
2. Usually, the fault of TRX board can not be found on the BTS
maintenance console. The problem can be confirmed by blocking TRXs
in turn.
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Case 3 fault description:
A certain BTS configuration is S6/6/6, the congestion rate of the 3
cells are all high since the BTS on service. Having checked and
confirmed that there is no interference.
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Uplink Hardware Problem
Case 3 analysis:
There is no interference but congestion always exists after the BTS
on service in every cell. Check hardware of the BTS first.
Hardware fault: communication is normal for every cell, so it is
unlikely that there is fault in the hardware of every cell.
Hardware connection: Analyze the traffic statistics for uplink or
downlink and then check the hardware connection of uplink or
downlink.
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Uplink Hardware Problem
Case 3 troubleshooting:
Register traffic statistics “Receiving Level Measurement Function”
and query the result by time. It is found that when the receiving
level and quality of different TRX boards in the same cell are the
same, the number of downlink measurement reports is equivalent, but
the number of uplink measurement reports is not equivalent.
Check hardware and find that the connection of TRX and CDU in the
same cell is incorrect. After correction, the problem is
solved.
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142
58
222
166
46
294
293
105
655
5
0
1
3
0
3
7
0
2
Times of uplink receiving level rank 0 and receiving quality rank
0
Times of uplink receiving level rank 0 and receiving quality rank
1
Times of Uplink receiving level rank 0 and receiving quality rank
2
30 minutes starting from
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 12
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 13
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 14
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 15
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 16
Module ID 1, Cell ID 5, TRX No. 17
The number of uplink reports of the first three TRXs in cell 5
under module 1 differs greatly from that of the last three TRXs. It
can be seen that the uplink signal level of the last three TRXs is
obviously lower than that of the first three TRXs. The level values
corresponding to the receiving level grades are as follows:
Grade 0 : -110~ -100 dBm
Grade 1 : -100~-95 dBm
Grade 2 : -95~-90 dBm
Grade 3 : -90~-80 dBm
Grade 4 : -80~-70 dBm
Grade 5 : -70 dBm
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Uplink Hardware Problem
Case 3 conclusion:
Incorrect hardware connection will cause TCH seizure failure. The
problem can be located accurately by analyzing traffic statistics.
In this case, uplink hardware receiver problem is located through
“Receiving Level Measurement Function”.
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Case 4 fault description:
In a S6/6/5 BTS, one cell has high congestion rate one day. No
adjustment has been performed in this period.
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Downlink Hardware Problem
Case 4 analysis:
There is no parameter adjustment before the fault, so we should
focus on the hardware, to see whether there is any fault or
alarm.
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Downlink Hardware Problem
Case 4 troubleshooting:
Trace Abis interface message of the BTS and analyze the signaling
and find that in process of TCH seizure failure, the uplink signal
in the measurement report from MS is good, after BSC sends
ASSIGNMENT CMD, the downlink channel can not be seized. So the
signal levels of uplink and downlink are not balanced, then ASSI
FAILURE message is appeared. It is also found that the failure
related to the last TRX board of the cell.
Block TRX board and congestion rate of the cell is less than 1%.
There is problem in TRX board of downlink hardware.
Check and find that the VSWR of TX antenna and feeder connected
with this TRX board is higher than 2.5. Process the antenna&
feeder VSWR alarm, problem solved.
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Downlink Hardware Problem
Case 4 conclusion:
Antenna VSWR alarm results in larger loss, less coverage and
assignment failure. When MS is in BCCH TRX coverage, signal level
is good enough, but after assignment a TCH in the board where VSWR
alarm occurs, MS TCH seizure fails and the congestion rate is
increased.
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Case 5 fault description:
When an O2 BTS is expanded to O4, high congestion rate occurs. The
peak value of congestion rate is as high as 40%.
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Case 5 analysis:
Since congestion rate is abnormal after expansion
Check whether the congestion occurs to all TRX. If yes, re-check
the connection of newly added hardware of the BTS to see whether
there is any fault.
If congestion occurs to one or a few TRXs, check the hardware of
these TRXs.
When hardware problem is excluded, consider external causes. For
example, the repeater is not expanded, which results in assignment
failure.
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Case 5 troubleshooting:
Block TRX of the last two newly added TRX on OMC and find that the
congestion rate is lowered to normal status. Perhaps, the problem
is related to newly added boards.
Analyze Abis interface signaling, the assignment failure occurs on
the two newly added TRXs. And SDCCH measurement report analysis
shows that the level on SDCCH is normal and TA value is large.
However, there is no measurement report on SACCH (TCH). Because
sometimes the assignment of the two TRXs succeed, so it is
impossible that these tow newly added TRXs are both faulty.
Operator told that there is a repeater in the cell. When expansion,
the repeater did not lock on the two newly added TRXs. Confirm and
reconfigure repeater, problem solved.
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Case 5 conclusion:
Because of the repeater, the actual coverage areas of the existing
two TRX and the expanded two TRX are different, which results in
the assignment failure.
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Other Data Configuration Mistake
Case 6 fault description:
In network optimization, the congestion rate (including handover)
on busy hours of the two cells is as high as 10%. “TCH seizure
failures excluding handover” and “TCH seizure failures for call (no
radio resource)” are normal. Here, “TCH seizure failures (all)” is
very high, 89 times and 61 times respectively, but “TCH seizure
failures for MOC” is 0”.
The traffic volume is a little lower than that before
optimization.
The interference band is normal.
Congestion rate is normal before optimization.
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Case 6 analysis:
When the network parameters are modified, the congestion rate of
the two cells is higher and only the congestion rate (including
handover) is higher, therefore, radio interference or hardware
fault can be excluded. Mainly analyze whether the handover is
abnormal or not.
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Case 6 troubleshooting:
Register “Incoming Inter Cell Handover Measurement Function” for 15
minutes, and find that all the handovers from cell A
(CGI=*********1768) to these two cells all fail, and the handover
failure cause is not congestion.
Failures of all handovers mean that there is problem with the
handover data. Check the handover data of the two cells and find
that there is co-frequency and co-BSIC as supposed, the two cells
are adjacent cell of cell A, therefore the handover from the cell A
to the two cells will fail.
Change the BCCH and BSIC of one cell, and then the handover problem
disappears and congestion rate become normal.
From the TCH congestion rate (including handover) formula (refer to
Page 6), we can see that it’s necessary to register the “Incoming
Inter Cell Handover Measurement Function” and to analyze which
cells fail on TCH seizure during handover.
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Case 6 conclusion:
Two cells (both adjacent to cell A) with co-frequency and co-BSIC
will result in result in low incoming cell handover successful
rate, but also high TCH congestion rate (including handover).
The case indicates that TCH congestion rate (including handover)
and TCH congestion rate (excluding handover) are different.
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Case 7 fault description:
An O2 site in a suburban county has suffered from high congestion
rate (excluding handover), from 3% to 10% (in proportion to traffic
volume). But the “TCH seizure failures for call (no radio
resource)” is 0%.
1. Block 2 TRX in turn, the congestion rate is serious as
before.
2. Other indexes: call drop rate is high (about 5%). Interference
band is normal.
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Case 7 analysis:
1. Since the congestion rate is not very high, the problem may not
be on the data or hardware.
2. The interference band is normal, so the interference at the Um
interface is unlikely.
3. Analyze the cause of assignment failure. Take call trop rate
into consideration and analyze the receiving performance of uplink
or downlink, including level and quality.
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Case 7 troubleshooting:
Check “Call Drop Measurement” and find that TA value is large when
call drop, the distance is about 25.6Km~31.1Km away from the
BTS.
View “Receiving Level Measurement Function” and find that there are
many measurement reports of low signal level.
Analyze Abis signaling and find that the uplink level is very low
(about -98dBm) when the assignment fails.
Drive test on-site and find the site is isolated, with large
coverage and complicated topography. When the MS is more than 25 Km
away from the BTS, it can receive -90dBm downlink signal. But the
uplink signal is not enough, so TCH assignment fails.
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Case 7 conclusion:
Poor uplink coverage causes the high congestion rate. Adding BTS
can help to obtain a continuous coverage. Change the omni site into
directional site or add TMA can improve uplink strength and avoid
over shooting of downlink.
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Case study of SDCCH congestion
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Formula for SDCCH congestion rate:
SDCCH congestion rate=Attempted SDCCH seizures meeting a SDCCH
blocked state /Attempted SDCCH seizures (all)
Causes of SDCCH seizure:
SDCCH assignment for MOC
SDCCH assignment for MTC
IMSI attach and detach
Note: SDCCH congestion related to attempted SDCCH seizures meeting
a SDCCH blocked state, this is different from TCH congestion.
Attempted SDCCH seizures meeting a SDCCH blocked state refer to no
SDCCH available. It is different from SDCCH seizure failure which
includes attempted SDCCH seizure meeting a SDCCH blocked state,
unsuccessful channel activation (NACK) and channel activation
timeout (timeout)
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Channel Required
Cell immediate assignment request times
Cell SDCCH seizure failure BTSS008015
Attempted SDCCH seizures meeting a SDCCH blocked state (No SDCCH
available)
Immediate Assignment Command
Immediate Assignment Reject
Attempt SDCCH seizures measurement point: after BSC receives
Channel Required.
Attempted SDCCH seizures meeting a SDCCH blocked state measurement
point: BTS finds no SDCCH channel available and cannot activate
channel.
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Causes for SDCCH Congestion and Solutions
Location area border results in excessive location update and SDCCH
attempt
Optimize for location area design
Modify CRH (Cell Reselect Hysteresis)
Modify T3212 for BSC period location update
Solve frequent handover problem between dual-band network
Excessive short messages
Add SDCCH channel
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More SDCCH should be added
Improper configuration of system parameters, RACH system
parameter.
Increase RACH access threshold (overcoming interference).
Decrease maximum re-transmitting times and increase extended
transmission timeslots
Board (TRX) fault and transmission fault result in SDCCH
congestion
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SDCCH congestion cases
Case 2: Transmission equipment board fault
Case 3: Transmission timeslot multiplexer problem
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Case 1 fault description:
In a network, the radio link call setup successful rate is low.
Analyze the traffic statistics and find that SDCCHs congest in a
few sites.
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Case 1 analysis:
Since only a few BTS are congested, register “SDCCH Measurement
Function” and analyze the ratio of SDCCH seizure for different
causes, then we can find the real reason for SDCCH
congestion.
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Case 1 troubleshooting :
1. Register “SDCCH Measurement Function”
In congested cell, SDCCH is attempted about 300-400 times in a
certain hour. The configuration are all S1/1/1. Each cell is
configured with SDCCH/8 channels. Normally, they are enough to
support 300-400 times seizure, but there are dozens of SDCCH
congestion for each cell in busy hour.
It is found that most of SDCCH seizures are for location update.
Analyze the cell locations and find that the congested BTS are at
the border of two location area crossed by railway, most of
location update are in a specific 5 minutes. Query the train
timetable and find that 4 or 5 trains pass there within this
period. When the trains pass by, a large amount of location update
requests from MS.
2. Add SDCCH or enable SDCCH dynamic allocation function, problem
solved.
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Case 1 conclusion:
For SDCCH congestion due to location update, check whether it is
caused by improper setting of location area. Add SDCCH channel or
enable dynamic allocation function to solve the problem.
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Transmission Equipment Board Fault
Case 2 fault description:
After a new BTS30 is on service, SDCCH channels are all in status
“A”, TCH channels are in “I” or “A”. When the call is connected,
the communication is normal. Observe the traffic statistics and
find that SDCCH seizure failure times are more than 1000 (in busy
hour).
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Case 2 analysis:
Since SDCCH is congested after BTS is on service, but communication
is normal.
First check data and hardware. Because the whole site suffers from
congestion problem, interchange Abis link with another BTS (which
has the same site configuration) to confirm whether there is any
data or hardware problem in Abis interface.
If there is no problem with data or hardware, we should analyze the
Abis interface transmission system.
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Case 2 troubleshooting:
Check alarm and find there are LAPD link fault alarm and recovery
alarm (within one second). The alarms appear once per ten
minutes.
Check the data and then interchange Abis link with another BTS
which is in the same configuration, the other site work normally.
But problem of this site persists. So data and BSC hardware have no
problem.
Replace TMU and TRX board in the BTS and the problem
persists.
Measure the transmission and self-loop BIE, then It is found that
there is high BER for transmission. Test the line section by
section and find that one 2M transmission board is faulty. Replace
the board and the problem is solved.
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Case 2 conclusion:
In this case, due to transmission high BER there is too much SDCCH
assignment message but missed, then SDCCH assignment message
re-sent, these cause high congestion rate.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Transmission Timeslot Multiplexer Problem
Case 3 fault description:
Many complaints from subscribers it is difficult to make a call
through 4 sites (ABCD), but there are no related alarm
information.
Check the 4 sites, the board status are all normal. Almost no TCH
channel is seized successfully. Sometimes one TCH status is “A”,
but return to “I” within several seconds.
Operator engineer said that BTS-A was attached with BTS-B, BTS-C
and BTS-D, these 4 BTSs used a primary combiner (a transmission
timeslot multiplexer) and shared one EI .
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Case 3 analysis:
The locate information is helpful to judge that the problem is on
the hardware or the transmission. But it is unlikely that faults
occur to hardware of the 4 BTSs. The transmission lines of the 4
BTSs are related, therefore, check the transmission
carefully.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Case 3 troubleshooting:
1. Observe BIE, there is BER indication for transmission. But there
are no abnormal indication in microwave and optical
transceiver.
2. Check Abis interface signaling and find there are a large number
of PAGING_CMD messages, but only one RF_RESOURCE_INDICATION message
appears occasionally. There is no CHAN_ACTIV, CHAN_ACTIV_ACK or
IMMEDIATE_ASSIGN_COMMAND message. It indicates that SDCCH channel
is not activated.
3. Check data O&M log, no data modified within a few
days.
4. Reload and activate BTS software, and find that system response
is slow even communication timeout. SDCCH is still congested after
software reloaded.
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Case 3 troubleshooting:
5. Reset the primary combiner and initialize the 4 BTSs, SDCCH are
all seized and TCH can be seized successfully. Trace Abis interface
signaling, CHAN_ACTIV, CHAN_ACTIV_ACK or IMMEDIATE_ASSIGN_COMMAND
message appears. SDCCH is no longer congested because MS can make a
call successfully.
6. To avoid the same problem occurring again, it is suggested that
the operator remove the combiner for transmission timeslots
multiplexer.
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Case 3 conclusion:
The transmission problem causes SDCCH congestion by MS channel
request repeatedly. Transmission problem can be caused by different
reasons. In this case, the fault on the primary combiner leads
SDCCH can not be activated, so all BTS connected with this
transmission equipment have the same problem. In handling this type
of problems, try to find the similarity of the problem and finally
locate the problem with the exclusive method.
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