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• Diagnosing and solving quality of service problems with drive test and
switch data.
Actix Analyzer provides the ideal solution for your network optimization
problems. It supports a wide range of file formats and provides you with a
straightforward user interface.
• Drive test and call trace files may be combined to link forward and
reverse link data.
GPRS and EDGE Protocols - A-SVS supports the analysis of GPRS and
EDGE networks. GPRS parameters are available for all major collection
vendors. EDGE support is currently available for Nemo, and will soon be
available for TEMS and XTel. Data testing measurements provide
technology independent data protocol metrics provided by wireless data
collection equipment.
Data Visualization
Preconfigured StateForms - A number of preconfigured GSM and GPRS
StateForms enable the user to quickly identify and troubleshoot important
network events.
Protocol Stack Browser – The Protocol Stack Browser allows the user to
quickly browse through messages by examining the header only. Once a
message of interest is identified in the top pane of the Protocol Stack
Browser, the details of the message can be examined in the bottom pane.
Licensing
Several licensing options are available to meet the varied needs of
different customers.
Analyzer Shortcut
Actix Folder
Start Button
Main Menu
Toolbar
Workspace
Status Bar
Setting up Maps
This section shows you how to load MapInfo tabular (.tab) data to present
data analyses on map backdrops.
Current Layers
Layer Options
7. In addition to the Essex County highway layer, open the Middlesex and
Suffolk County highway layers and modify their labels and visibility as
in Step 7.
8. After modifying any desired layer properties, close the Layer Control
dialog with the Close button and changes will take effect.
Map Toolbar
In the case of the highway layer, you can control the point at which
the highway names and highway numbers become visible on the map.
In the Map Layers, select the highway layer, and use the Properties
Display dialog to set the Display within Zoom levels 0-10 miles. For
the highway numbers, use the Properties Labels to set the visible
range to 0-3 miles. Investigate the impact of your changes.
View Entire Map – Right-click in the map and select Zoom → View
Entire Map. Zooms out to show the entire map area you have defined.
Panning – Right-click in the map and select Tool → Pan. The cursor will
change to a hand symbol. Click and drag to move the map in the viewing
pane.
Centering – Right-click in the map and select Tool → Center, then click
on a point in the map window. The map will pan with the point you
selected as the center.
Zoom to Map Scale - permits the user to display the map based on
common map scales. This may be useful if it is desired to overlay printed
maps from Analyzer over other maps or coverage predictions.
Note: When you are finished panning and zooming, and have the map
showing the area you are interested in, remember to return the cursor to the
passive mode by clicking on the Select button on the map toolbar.
Later in the course, we will show you how to format your own data for
recognition by Analyzer. For now, we will point Analyzer to a pre-
formatted cellrefs file, and then display the sites on the map.
1. In the Layer Control dialog box, select the site layer (named
GSM_Site-Site_Name)
2. Under the Properties heading in the Layer Control dialog, press the
Labels button.
4. In the Label Properties box, use the drop down Data Field menu to
determine the label format to display. Currently, there are two label
formats from which to choose:
o The Site_Name (default) shows only the site name.
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:
8. In the Layer Control dialog box, select the cell layer, which is named
GSM_Cell-BCCH-Beamwidth
9. Under the Properties heading in the Layer Control dialog, press the
Labels button
10.The MapInfo-style Label Properties box will appear. Verify that each
of the following boxes is checked:
o Show
11.In the Label Properties box, use the drop down Data Field menu to
determine the label format to display. All GSM_Cell parameters are
available as options for labeling. BCCH is a popular labeling option, as
it allows you to quickly identify the BCCH frequency on each sector.
12.If you want to offset the label from the cell site symbol, use the
options in the Position box in the Label Properties dialog.
13.If you want to change the font of the labels, use the Label Style
button in the Properties dialog.
14.Click OK in the Label Properties dialog, and then OK in the Layers
dialog to apply the labels.
Analyzer has four modes for determining how to divide data into bins:
message binning, time binning, distance binning, and location binning.
1. Load the following drive test files by selecting File → Open Logfile or
2. Expand the file tree in the workspace and select the NemoGSM (0)
stream from the Nemo Drive Test 1 file.
3. Expand the layers under the NemoGSM (0) stream, then expand the
GSM node and examine each data group and parameter, as shown in
Figure 7.
The following data groups are created under the GSM node:
• Target Cell Info – Information about the target cell for a handoff
including BCCH and BSIC.
• Neighbor Cell Info – BCCH, BSIC, and RxLev for each neighbor. In
addition, all neighbor measurements are broken out by channel
number.
• Ping Statistics – This group contains metrics for any ping session
within the logfile.
• HTTP Statistics – This group contains metrics for any HTTP session
within the logfile.
Right-click on several of the parameters under each group and note that
they can be displayed on tables, maps, charts, and in workbooks.
Information for the site data node parameters will be generated if a valid
cellrefs file is loaded in the Analyzer when a logfile is loaded. The site data
node contains information resulting from the integration of the cell plan
information and drive test data. This information can be displayed on
maps, charts, tables, and workbooks like all regular drive test
parameters. The site data node information appears in the workspace
similar to the illustration below.
Favorites Tab
1. Display the serving cell signal level for the handset stream NemoGSM
(0) on the map from the file Nemo Drive Test 1. First, select
Downlink Measurements → ServRxLevSub. Then right-click and
select Display on Map.
Notice that the legend appears to the left of the map. The count for
each range is in parentheses to the right of the range.
Note: The ranges set for the map are also used for grouping data for
histograms in workbooks and the histogram tab on tables. Changes
made to the ranges on the map legend will also be made to these
other views.
7. To accept the changes you have made to the legend settings, click OK.
8. After clicking OK, you will be presented with the Selected Legend box.
To overwrite the existing default legend range settings with your new
settings, click OK.
9. To keep your default legend range settings as they are and add your
new legend settings as an alternate set of legend ranges, type in a
name for the new set of ranges, then click OK.
If you prefer, you can use the Offset Tool instead of entering specific x
and y offsets.
a. To use the Offset Tool to offset RxQual from RxLev, click on
the Layers button to get into the Layer Control Dialog.
b. Click on the Offset Tool button. Your cursor will change from
an arrow to a ‘+’.
c. Click any where on the map. Your cursor will stay at ‘+’ and
will now have a dotted line connecting it to the point you just
clicked.
Visibility
Check Boxes
RxQual Stream
1.1.1.1.1.1 R
You can view the serving or neighbor cells for more than one point on the
map by clicking on the Area Select button on the map toolbar and
choosing one of the options now available on the toolbar, either Select
Box, Select Radius, or Polygon Select.
1. To create this type of plot, click on the Layers button on the map
toolbar.
2. Select the Lines to Serving Cells layer
4. Select the All datapoints option for the Lines draw mode.
5. For the Technology, choose GSM from the drop-down list.
6. For the Color lines with, choose ServBCCH.
7. For Label lines with, choose None.
Data
Data Field – Select this option to display the parameter value next to the
data point.
Formatted Field – Select this option to display the parameter name and
value next to the data point.
Visibility
Allow Overlapped Text – Use this option to draw all labels, even if they
overlap partially or fully.
Hide adjacent duplicate text – Controls whether each adjacent bin with
the same data value has a label displayed. Disable this feature for
parameters like Serving Channel Number or Site ID where the point of
interest is where a change occurred.
Display within range – Use this option for layers like maps or cell sites
when you would like to see the values when zoomed in close to the area
but the labels clutter then viewing area when zoomed farther out.
Styles
Label style – This button opens the Text Style box. From this box you
can modify the font face, size, background color, and text effects for the
label text.
Across the line – Used with Lines to Cells layers, choose this option to
have the labels drawn in the direction of the line to cell.
Along the line – Used with Lines to Cells layers, choose this option to
have the labels drawn horizontally, across the line to cell.
Label X offset – Set the vertical distance from the label to its data point.
Label Y offset – Set the horizontal distance from the label to its data
point.
5. For the ServBCCH layer, Data Field. For visibility, check Show and
Allow overlapped text. For the position, set Label X offset to -10 and
Label Y offset to 5.
6. In the Layer Control dialog, select the RxLev. Select the Data Field
option. For visibility, check Show and Allow overlapped text. For the
position, set Label X offset to 10 and Label Y offset to -15.
Figure 21 - Map with Labels Displayed and Formatted For RxLev and
ServBCCH
• To turn on or off the scale, right-click on the map area and click to
check or uncheck Show Scale.
1. With the Nemo Drive Test 1 file open in the Workspace, expand
Downlink Measurements and select ServRxLevSub.
2. Right-click on ServRxLevSub and choose Display on Chart from the
pop-up menu. Your chart should look like this:
7. Drag and drop a few events onto this chart. The events will appear
on the chart as vertical lines.
8. Drag and drop the dropped call event onto the chart you currently
have open.
9. Click and drag a rectangle from upper-left to lower-right on the chart
around the second dropped call.
• GPRS RLC / MAC – Message pane displays GSM Layer 3, and GPRS
RLC and MAC messages
button to find the next occurrence of this text string in the file.
Continue the search by clicking the Find Next icon to find each
subsequent occurrence of the string.
4. Select the All Rows button at the top of the Protocol Stack Browser
to view all messages including Layer 3 and handset-specific messages.
As with the maps and charts, the Protocol Stack Browser synchronizes
with other data views. To try this out, display a parameter, such as
ServRxLevSub on a map. Click on a point on the map and watch as the
Protocol Stack Browser scrolls to highlight the message in the top pane
and display the complete message contents in the bottom pane.
2. Click on the Histogram tab to see the ranges and their counts. The
ranges on the Histogram tab are determined by the ranges set in the
map legend.
3. Click on the Statistics tab to view the automatically calculated
statistics.
4. Add RxLev to the table by right-clicking on the RxLevSub parameter in
the workspace and dragging it onto the table.
5. Display the dropped call event on a map. Click on the dropped calls to
synch the map with the table.
Notice the series data being displayed in Excel with time, latitude, and
longitude.
You can move through data displayed on a chart, map, or table. The
stream selection box allows you to choose which stream to watch. It will
display all open logfiles, whether or not you have a parameter from the
stream displayed.
1. Display RxLev from NemoGSM (0) on a map, then drag the dropped
call event onto the same map.
2. Display the dropped call, RxQual, RxLev, and ServBCCH on a
table.
3. Use the Window menu to tile the map and table horizontally.
4. To access the replay tool, select Tools → Display Replay.
Stream Selection
Play Backward
Play Speed
5. Making sure that the NemoGSM (0) stream is selected in the replay
tool, select a point on the map, near the beginning of the drive.
6. Click on the Step Forward button to move to the next point on the
drive.
7. Notice that the selection box on the map moves to the next data point
in the drive. The table has also updated by highlighting the relevant
data.
8. Experiment with the remaining buttons to see how they interact with
the rest of the views.
• GSM CW Scan
View the GSM Current Channel form for the Nemo Drive Test 1
sample file:
Stream Selection
Box Bar
StateForms File
Options Toolbar
Parameter
Values
1. If you do not already have the StateForms file displayed, click Tools
StateForms Editor. Click Open File and choose the gsm
handset.axw file.
Attribute Window
Delete – Removes an object from the form. Using the delete key on
your keyboard will not work.
Cut – Removes an object from the form and puts it on the clipboard.
Toggle Design Mode – To exit the design mode and return to the
view mode, click the Toggle Design Mode button.
Select – To put the cursor into select mode to allow you to select an
object on the form.
Label – Click and drag a rectangle, then type your text into the
Caption field in the attribute window.
Time Chart – Click and drag to define the chart area. One or more
parameters can be displayed on a line chart to see how the values
vary across the drive.
Scan Chart – Click and drag to define the chart area. This type of
chart is used to display information like signal levels from neighbor or
scanner information in bar chart form.
On the GSM handset form currently open, we will add timing advance and
serving cell distance, with serving cell distance displayed in miles instead
of meters.
1. Click on the Toggle Design Mode button to open the StateForms file
in design mode if you are not in design mode already.
2. Hold down the CTRL key and select the RxLev and RxQual meters, as
well as the labels for those meters. With these items selected, click the
Delete button.
3. Add the ‘Timing Advance’ label by clicking on the Label button.
Click and drag the rectangle where you would like the label to
appear.
o Font Height: 10
6. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 for the RxQual label, setting the caption to
‘RxQual’.
7. To create the Attribute Bar for RxLev, click the Attribute Value
button and drag a rectangle to the right of the RxLev label object.
8. Select the RxLev Attribute Value object and make the following
modifications in Attribute Window:
o Specify Min+Max: True
o Font Height: 10
9. For the RxQual attribute value, click the Attribute Bar button and drag
a rectangle to the right of the RxQual Attribute object.
10.Select the RxQual Attribute Bar object and make the following
changes in the Attribute Window:
o Specify Min+Max: True
o Font Height: 10
11.To add the Group Box object, click the Group Box button and click
and drag a rectangle around the other objects on the form.
12.Select the Group Box object and make the following modifications in
the Attribute Window:
o Caption: Network Parameters
o Font Height: 12
13.Click the Save As button and save the StateForms file in the State
Forms directory and call it Training StateForms.axl.
14.Return to the View Mode by clicking the Toggle Design View button.
15.Test your new StateForms file by displaying a parameter from the
NemoGSM(0) stream on a map, selecting that stream in the
StateForms window, then selecting a point on the map.
Analyzer supports GSM call trace data from most major base station
equipment vendors. Call trace data by itself may be displayed on an
Analyzer table, chart, workbook, or message browser. When merged with
drive test data collected at the same time as the call trace, GPS
coordinates contained in the drive test file are associated to data points
from the call trace. This procedure allows the display of uplink data on a
map, and allows the engineer to obtain a picture of the uplink
performance of the network.
In this section, you will look for uplink problems on the sample network
using call trace and drive test data.
1. Load the following call trace files into the Analyzer workspace. The
logfiles can be found in the C:\Program
Files\Actix\Analyzer\DataFiles folder.
o Ericsson MTR 1.txt
2. Expand the Ericsson MTR 1 data file and explore the contents.
Display a parameter on a table. Notice that the file includes downlink
and uplink parameter values, but does not contain location data for
each parameter.
3. Display the parameter ULRxQualFull from the Uplink
Measurements group on a chart. Though it is easy to see when the
areas of poor uplink RxQual occurred, there is no way to know where
in the network these areas are located.
In this example, a parameter common to the drive test and call trace files
is specified in order to merge on. Files may also be merged on time, as
long as the base station and drive test equipment times are synchronized.
1. Load the drive test and the switch data files from the CD into the
Workspace:
o Drive test: Nemo Drive Test 1.dt1
1. Ensure that the following files are loaded in the Analyzer workspace:
o Network Drive 1.dt1
The data contained in a network image file differs from normal logfiles, in
that the image file contains only the parameters specified and is binned
according to the image definition. Network image files are pre-configured
by Actix. Please contact Actix technical support for any specific requests
for network image templates.
Queries are a means of searching and filtering data based on events and
thresholds you define. Queries operate on binned data and are written
using Boolean expressions and arithmetic operations containing data
parameters from one or more data streams. Analyzer supports six types
of query and filter analyses:
• Filter Analysis
• Statistic Analysis
• Histogram Analysis
All custom analyses can be saved for future use through the Analysis
Manager:
• Browse to a folder that you wish to save your query in. Analyzer’s
default structure provides the C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Queries
folder for an easy place to store queries.
Filter Analysis
You can create a filter that highlights those points that have RxQual
greater than or equal to 4 to identify all the locations on the drive with
poor quality of service.
A filter analysis tests data on a single criterion and passes the data if the
criterion is met. Follow the steps to create a new filter:
7. Click OK to create the filter. Analyzer will automatically apply the filter
to any information already displayed in the workspace.
Repeat the exercise above to create a filter for good signal strength.
Assume that good signal strength is indicated by ServRxLevSub greater
than or equal to –90 dB.
You can also use the filter function to determine which locations are being
served by distant cells. We will use a threshold of 6000 meters for this
filter.
ServingCellDistance in Miles
By default, Analyzer displays the serving cell distance in meters. A simple,
yet very useful example of a binned query is the conversion of the serving
cell distance from meters to miles.
A custom state form may be used in conjunction with the query results in
order determine the why handovers are dragging. Synchronize the GSM
Neighbors state form with the map to investigate some of the areas
suffering from dragging handovers. Refer to the StateForms section for
instructions on using Analyzer StateForms.
Run the crosstab query on the Nemo Drive Test 1 handset stream.
3. For the Trigger Selection, use the attribute picker to select GSM →
Event Data → EventCallDropped. The parameter will show up in the
triggering window.
13.In the Statistic window, select the method to calculate the statistic. In
this case, select Last Value. Click OK when finished with the Statistic
window.
14.Repeat steps 7 through 13 above to define the following statistics
(choose an appropriate name for each one). The statistics that do not
require the use of the State() function can be picked using the
Attribute Chooser instead of the Expression Builder.
Run the event query on the Nemo Drive Test 1.dt1 handset stream.
This section describes how to import delimited data into Analyzer, and
how to configure the Automatic Import tool.
1. The Site ID field must contain a unique value for each site location.
Beware of non-unique Site ID's - that is, entries that have multiple
sets of lats/longs for the same Site ID. Non-unique Site ID's will result
in site markers appearing on the map without sector wedges. Site
Names need not be unique - they are used for labeling purposes only.
2. Position information must be accurate in order for Analyzer to display
sites in the correct location on the map. Longitudes that have a 'West'
notation should be represented as a negative decimal, as should
latitudes with a 'South' notation. Sites will appear skewed on the map
if the latitude and longitude fields are transposed.
• A valid cell site database is a text file in which the first line contains
the text below:
; #NetworkData – datafile
C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Bin\Cellrefs
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 on page 17 for more details.
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.
8. Expand the GSM_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 GSM_Site data node, based on the
table below:
9. Expand the GSM_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 GSM_Cell data node, based on the
table below:
10.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.
11.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
Application Packages
Actix Analyzer v4.1 contains application packages specific to each mobile
technology supported by the software. The application packs are a series
of reports, each focusing on a particular aspect of mobile network
optimization. The two packs currently available for GSM users are:
Once you have selected one of the Application Packs from the menu, an
Application Pack window will appear. The window is divided into two
panes. The top panel is referred to the Cell Explorer, and it contains a
summary of major call events and statistics for the selected stream.
Information in the cell explorer is organized by serving site and sector.
The bottom pane is called the Report window and contains a list of
available reports associated with the selected application pack. Once
executed, the results of the reports can be saved, printed, and shown in
their raw form in Microsoft Excel.
Cell
Report
Window
Figure 66 - Report Options for the DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis
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DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis
This application pack contains the following reports:
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DT Handover Settings and Power Control
This application pack contains the following reports:
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Running a Pre-Defined Report
Since Application Packs are built into the Analyzer, they may not exactly
meet your team’s reporting requirements. Additionally, App Packs can
only be run on a single stream of data. Analyzer Reports allow you to
create custom reports using Microsoft Excel, and those reports may
include data from multiple streams. Reports from multiple measurement
sources allow you to compare data collected simultaneously or look at
your network before and after making a change.
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Figure 69 - Results of the Before and After Network Change Report
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Creating a Custom Report
Creating your own formatted report template is as easy as viewing the
data you require on a workbook, and then formatting the report page
using Excel.
The objective of this section is to create a simple report, like the one
shown below, to display a histogram distribution and statistics for the
RxQualSub parameter. Since RxQual is the parameter that provides the
best estimate of user-perceived voice quality, the value of this parameter
throughout a network is of great importance.
1. Ensure that the Nemo Drive Test 1 file is loaded into the Workspace.
2. Select the parameter ServRxQualSub from GSM → Downlink
Measurements. Right-click on it and choose Display on Workbook.
Excel will launch. The Workbook will contain three sheets, which can
be accessed by clicking on the corresponding tab at the bottom sheet
window.
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3. Click on any blank sheet in the workbook and rename the sheet
“Report”.
4. Click on the Histogram Formatted Data tab. Click and drag to
define a window around the data set, including the column headers.
5. Select the chart icon from the top menu bar of Excel: .
6. The chart wizard will open:
7. Select a simple column chart and follow the Wizard prompts and
instructions.
8. Click the Finish button in the chart wizard and a basic chart will be
created.
9. Cut and paste the new chart onto the “Report” sheet in the workbook
or choose to have the chart inserted as an object on the Report sheet.
10.To place the mean and standard deviation statistics in the table in your
report, type “=” in the cell you would like to hold the value on the
Report sheet. Then switch to the Statistic Formatted Data tab and
select the cell containing the data you wish to add to your report.
Press Enter after selecting that cell to create the reference.
11.Add a title to the worksheet, position the histogram on the page,
format a table around the statistics and add any other desired
formatting.
12.From the Excel main menu, select File → Save. Save the file in
C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Reports folder and name it
RxQual_Histogram_and_Statistics_Report.
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13.Close the Excel workbook.
4. Select the Nemo Drive Test 2 handset stream and watch the
formatted report regenerate for the new data.
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Printing Data
A-SVS features two different ways to obtain printed map outputs. The
Map Layout Designer may be used to arrange the map and legend on the
page, add a title, and preview the output. The Quick Print option allows
you to bypass the Map Layout Designer and print the map with a legend
in a fixed position.
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Saving Your Preferred Layout
In Analyzer, the workspace includes all data display windows within the
Analyzer application window, together with the Workspace Explorer.
Saving a workspace in Analyzer allows you to save the following items:
• Window layouts
To save your workspace click File → Save Workspace As and give the
file a name. The Analyzer file structure includes a ‘Workspaces’ folder that
can be used to hold your saved workspaces, though you can save a
workspace to any location.
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Where to Get More Help
Help File
Analyzer includes comprehensive online help, which can be accessed by
clicking on Help menu on the main menu. The primary help
documentation can be found under Help → Contents. You can look up
information about a particular topic either by choosing an item from the
index or by entering keywords and performing a search.
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Specific information, like the definition of engineering parameters, can be
accessed by clicking on Help → Attribute Help. You can look up an item
in the alphabetized list, or you can open the Attribute Help window, and
then click on an item in the Workspace.
The contents of the Help window can be printed, stored under Favorites,
and resized or minimized to enable side-by-side review as operations are
performed in Analyzer.
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Technical Support
Technical support is available by phone, email, and on the Actix Web site.
Technical personnel are located in Reston, VA, USA, London UK, and
Singapore to provide assistance. In the US technical support can be
reached at:
1 (877) 722-2849
If you are calling outside of hours, please leave your contact information
and a brief description of the nature of the call.
Email: support@actix.com
When contacting Actix Support please have your license key number and
the software revision number you are using ready to speed up the
resolution of your problem. The version number of the software is
available by going to Help → About Analyzer.
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Actix Web Site
Our Web site is located at: www.actix.com and can be accessed directly
from the Online Help menu under Visit the Actix Web site. In addition to
containing information about Actix, the Analyzer, and other products, it
contains further application modules for Analyzer for common
optimization tasks, and sections on Frequently Asked Questions.
Additional copies of this manual are available from Actix support or from
your instructor
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Appendix A – GSM Event Definitions
Event Definition
Call Completed For GSM log files that contain air interface messaging, a Call Completed event is triggered if the
following criteria occur:
Handover Fail Contains geographically referenced occurrences for all handoff failures.
For Grayson and compatible GSM log files, a handoff failure event is triggered if the following
sequence of messages occurs:
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Event Definition
Incoming Call OK An incoming call initiation event is triggered if the following sequence of messages occurs:
? DL CC: Setup
? UL CC: Alerting
Incoming Call Setup Fail An incoming call setup failure is triggered if the following sequence of messages occurs:
? CC: Setup
? UL CC: Setup
? DL CC: Alerting
Outgoing Call Setup Fail An outgoing initiation failure is triggered if the following sequence of messages occurs:
? CC: Setup
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Appendix B – GPRS Optimization
Parameters
As GPRS network become more prevalent, GSM performance engineers
will become responsible for ensuring the integrity of these data networks.
Although GPRS networks share radio resources with GSM network, the
analysis and optimization procedures for these two types of networks are
not the same.
GPRS network drive tests must be designed to capture the aspect of the
network of interest. When analyzing GPRS drive test data, the
parameters of interest are different than when analyzing GSM drive test
data. This document provides some suggestions for the design of GPRS
drive test scenarios, and describes areas of interest when analyzing this
data with Actix A-Solutions.
Throughput analysis
• The purpose of this test is to determine the GPRS data rate over the
air interface and for the end user application.
• FTP uploads and downloads provide the maximum channel usage over
a continuous time period, providing a good picture of maximum
throughput attainable.
• FTP test files should be large enough to provide a good test case, but
small enough to avoid being affected by uncontrollable variables. Ideal
file sizes are 300 kb for download testing and 100 kb per upload
testing. Zipped files are ideal, as they contain compressed data that
will not be subject to very much extra compression during
transmission.
• The FTP server ideally should be located within the GPRS network on
the Gi interface. Locating the server within the GPRS network
eliminates internet-related variables for testing purposes.
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Latency and signaling analysis
• The purpose of this test is to verify the GPRS message sequences, and
the time between key GPRS events. This type of test might be used to
verify the operation of new network equipment.
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o LLC Throughput (Logical Link Control) provides the data
rate between the mobile and the SGSN and can be found in the
GSM → GPRS Data → Vendor Specific group.
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• GPRS Radio Conditions – The best indicators of GPRS radio
conditions are RLC_DL_BLER and RLC_UL_Retransmissions, both
of which can be found in the GSM → GPRS Data → Vendor Specific
group. RLC_DL_BLER indicates the percentage of corrupt blocks
received that cannot be decoded by the mobile.
RLC_UL_Retransmissions indicates unacknowledged blocks sent by
the mobile that must be resent. High RCL_DL_BLER or
RLC_UL_Retransmission values typically result in lower throughput.
Diminished
throughput and
high BLER
• TFI and TBF – Timeslots are shared between GPRS users. Each GPRS
user is granted a Temporary Flow Identity (TFI), Temporary Block Flow
(TBF) on the uplink and on the downlink. Each data transmission in a
timeslot includes a TFI indicating to which mobile the data
corresponds. During a constant stream of data (i.e. FTP download),
the mobile will keep the same TFI. During sporadic transmit or receive
activity, the mobile will constantly release and be allocated new TFIs.
During sporadic activity, TFIs will be assigned in consecutive numerical
order if no other users are on the cell. TFI numbers will jump if there
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are multiple users on the cell. GPRS performance will suffer the more
users share the same resources.
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looks good, but application throughput is poor. Some potential TCP
problems are:
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Appendix C – StateForms Attributes
There are six types of objects that can be placed on a StateForms sheet.
In addition, the sheet itself has attributes which can be set. Below is a list
of the attributes associated with the sheet and with the Label, Attribute
Value, and Array Attribute Value objects.
Sheet Attributes
To access the sheet properties, click on any part of the sheet that is not
occupied by an object.
Attribute Function
Sheet Width Set the width of the StateForms sheet.
Sheet Height Set the height of the StateForms sheet.
Auto Scale When set to ‘True’ the size of the objects on the sheet will scale up or down to fill the sheet as the
sheet window size is changed.
Background Set the background color of the sheet.
Grid Size Set the spacing for the design mode grid of dots.
Snap to Grid Set to ‘True’ to automatically align the top left corner of the object with the design grid.
Label Attributes
Attribute Function
Caption The text that will be displayed in the label.
Back Color Background color of the label.
Back Color Override Set to ‘True’ to activate the background color you have selected.
Border Line Adds a border around the label.
Border Sunken Makes the label appear depressed.
Text Color Select a text color.
Font Auto Size Set to ‘True’ to have the font size change to fill the label area or set to ‘False’ to set the font size
yourself.
Font Height Select a font size.
Font Use Default Set to ‘True’ to keep the font plain, set to ‘False’ to Activate Bold and Italic settings.
Font Name Select a font face.
Font Italic Make the text italicized.
Font Bold Make the text bold.
Left Distance from the left edge of the label to the left edge of the form.
Top Distance from the top of the label to the top of the form.
Width Width of the label.
Height Height of the label.
Extent Right Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the label scale as the form size is changed in View Mode.
Extent Bottom Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the label scale as the form size is changed in View Mode.
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Attribute Value
Attribute Function
Specify Min+Max Set to ‘True’ to specify the minimum and maximum values when the attribute value object is used as
an attribute value bar
Bar Range Min Set the minimum value for the attribute value bar
Bar Range Max Set the maximum value for the attribute value bar
Bar Color Set the color that will fill the attribute bar as the parameter value changes
Use Value Color None – used when you want to displayed the attribute value as text without a color behind it.
Text – used to display the parameter value as text rather than a level bar.
Background – used to fill in the entire attribute value bar in with the bar color.
Value Bar – Use this setting to fill the attribute value bar in with the bar color to indicate the level of the
parameter value.
Show Value Text Set to ‘True’ to display the parameter value as text
Show Min Text Set to ‘True’ to display the text showing the minimum value of the attribute level bar
Show Max Text Set to ‘True’ to display the text showing the maximum value of the attribute level bar
Show Minor Ticks Set to ‘True’ to display the divisions you would like to divide the attribute level bar into
Show Major Ticks Set to ‘True’ to display the subdivisions you would like to divide the attribute level bar into
Minor Tick Spacing Set the size of the divisions into which you would like to divide the attribute level bar.
Major Tick Spacing Set the size of the subdivisions into which you would like to divide the attribute level bar.
Attribute Use the Analyzer tree of parameters to select the attribute whose value you would like to display.
Attr. Array Index For parameters that are arrays, enter the index of the array element whose value you would like to
display.
Attr. Value Hold Holds the last valid value of the parameter until a new valid value is collected.
Expression To display an expression instead of a straight parameter value, type the expression here as it would
appear in the Binned Query expression builder.
Expr Format Group Select the format group for the expression you are using
Expr. Fmt. Mode Normal –
No Default –
Append Units – Use to display the units that correspond to the expression when a format group for the
expression has been set.
Convert Units –
Expr. Decimals Set the number of decimal places in the result of the expression.
Display Validity ----
Text Change Flag Set to ‘True’ to highlights changes in the parameter value from the preceding data point to the current
data point by changing the color used to display the parameter value.
Text Change Color Set the color used to indicate a change in the parameter’s value.
Color Legend ----
Color by Format Group Set to ‘True’ to color the level bars using the color scheme established in the map legend.
Color Value Expr. ----
Back Color Background color of the attribute value.
Back Color Override Set to ‘True’ to activate the background color you have selected.
Border Line Adds a border around the attribute value.
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Attribute Function
Border Sunken Makes the attribute value appear depressed.
Text Color Select a text color.
Font Auto Size Set to ‘True’ to have the font size change to fill the array value area or set to ‘False’ to set the font size
yourself.
Font Height Select a font size.
Font Use Default Set to ‘True’ to keep the font plain, set to ‘False’ to Activate Bold and Italic settings.
Font Name Select a font face.
Font Italic Make the text italicized.
Font Bold Make the text bold.
Left Distance from the left edge of the attribute value to the left edge of the form.
Top Distance from the top of the attribute value to the top of the form.
Width Width of the attribute value.
Height Height of the attribute value.
Extent Bottom Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the attribute value scale as the form size is changed in View
Mode.
Extent Right Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the attribute value scale as the form size is changed in View
Mode.
Attribute Function
Array Columns Number of columns in the array attribute value matrix.
Array Rows Number of rows in the array attribute value matrix.
Array Base Offset To begin displaying parameter values starting at a location in the array other than its beginning, specify
the index of the first array element you would like to display.
Specify Min+Max Set to ‘True’ to specify the minimum and maximum values when the attribute value object is used as
an attribute value bar.
Bar Range Min Set the minimum value for the attribute value bar.
Bar Range Max Set the maximum value for the attribute value bar.
Bar Color Set the color that will fill the attribute bar as the parameter value changes.
Use Value Color None – used when you want to displayed the attribute value as text without a color behind it.
Text – used to display the parameter value as text rather than a level bar.
Background – used to fill in the entire attribute value bar in with the bar color.
Value Bar – Use this setting to fill the attribute value bar in with the bar color to indicate the level of the
parameter value.
Show Value Text Set to ‘True’ to display the parameter value as text.
Show Min Text Set to ‘True’ to display the text showing the minimum value of the attribute level bar.
Show Max Text Set to ‘True’ to display the text showing the maximum value of the attribute level bar.
Show Minor Ticks Set to ‘True’ to display the divisions you would like to divide the attribute level bar into.
Show Major Ticks Set to ‘True’ to display the subdivisions you would like to use for the attribute level bar.
Minor Tick Spacing Set the size of the divisions into which you would like to use for the attribute level bar.
Major Tick Spacing Set the size of the subdivisions into which you would like to use for the attribute level bar.
Attribute Use the Analyzer tree of parameters to select the attribute whose value you would like to display.
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Attribute Function
Attr. Value Hold Holds the last valid value of the parameter until a new valid value is collected.
Expression If you would like to display the value of an expression instead of a simple parameter, enter the
expression here as it would appear in the expression builder.
Expr. Format Group If you are using an expression, select the format group for the expression to be displayed..
Expr. Frmt. Mode Select the format group for the expression you are using.
Expr. Mode Normal –
No Default –
Append Units – Use to display the units that correspond to the expression when a format group for the
expression has been set.
Convert Units –
Expr. Decimal Set the number of decimal places in the result of the expression.
Display Validity ----
Text Change Flag Set to ‘True’ to highlights changes in the parameter value from the preceding data point to the current
data point by changing the color used to display the parameter value.
Text Change Color Set the color used to indicate a change in the parameter’s value.
Color Legend ----
Color by Format Group Set to ‘True’ to color the level bars using the color scheme established in the map legend.
Color Value Expr. ----
Back Color Background color of the array attribute value.
Back Color Override Set to ‘True’ to activate the background color you have selected.
Border Line Adds a border around the array attribute value.
Border Sunken Makes the array attribute value appear depressed.
Text Color Select a text color.
Font Auto Size Set to ‘True’ to have the font size change to fill the array attribute value area or set to ‘False’ to set the
font size yourself.
Font Height Select a font size.
Font Use Default Set to ‘True’ to keep the font plain, set to ‘False’ to Activate Bold and Italic settings.
Font Name Select a font face.
Font Italic Make the text italicized.
Font Bold Make the text bold.
Left Distance from the left edge of the array attribute value to the left edge of the form.
Top Distance from the top of the array attribute value to the top of the form.
Width Width of the array attribute value.
Height Height of the array attribute value.
Extent Bottom Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the array attribute value scale as the form size is changed in View
Mode.
Extent Right Set to ‘True’ to make the contents of the array attribute value scale as the form size is changed in View
Mode.
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