EDX Software Reference Manual Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems

EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems Reference Manual Table of Contents

Reference Manual Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems Table of Contents

1. WiMAX Systems ................................................................ NDM-WM-1
1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 1.5. 1.6. 1.7. 1.8. What is the WiMAX Section of the Network Design Module? ........................... NDM-WM-2 Installing the Network Design: WiMAX Systems Module ................................... NDM-WM-2 Starting a WiMAX System Design ............................................................................ NDM-WM-2 Accessing the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems Functions ............... NDM-WM-2 System Details / Service Area .................................................................................... NDM-WM-3 Preamble Code Planning ............................................................................................. NDM-WM-6 Neighbor Lists .............................................................................................................. NDM-WM-7 Frequency Planning ..................................................................................................... NDM-WM-9 1.8.1. Frequency Planning Parameters ............................................................................................ NDM-WM-10 1.8.2. Automatic Frequency Planning (AFP) ................................................................................... NDM-WM-9 1.9. Traffic Planning for WiMAX Systems.................................................................... NDM-WM-15 1.9.1. Traffic Data Source ................................................................................................................ NDM-WM-15 1.9.2. Packet Switched Traffic Definitions and Densities ........................................................... NDM-WM-15 1.10. WiMAX Studies.......................................................................................................... NDM-WM-17 1.11. WiMAX Study System Reports ............................................................................... NDM-WM-21

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1. WiMAX Systems
1.1. What is the WiMAX Section of the Network Design Module?
The Network Design Module is an optional EDX software module connected to EDX SignalPro. The WiMAX Systems Section of the Network Design Module (NDM-WMX) gives you the advanced, specialized system engineering capabilities needed to design, re-configure, and optimize fixed and mobile WiMAX networks. The NDM-WM contains special data entry dialog boxes in which you can specify the particular fixed or mobile WiMAX or WiBRO system profile in use, frame duration, and other details pertaining to that system as well as allowing access to special area studies for those system types. In performing its tasks, this module makes use of many basic signal level calculation techniques that are accessed through EDX SignalPro. A cell site sector (whether omni-directional or sectorized), is analogous to a transmitter site in EDX SignalPro. When you run a WiMAX study map, the program will extract terrain and land use (clutter) data, calculate signal levels, and build a composite area study grid in the same way it does in the main program for a transmitter site (see Section 8.5 for the main Reference Manual). It will create .rad files for each cell sector just as it did for each transmitter site. It is helpful to review Section 8.5 for more background on this process. This module also relies on the database settings that are made in the main EDX SignalPro program. Setting up terrain, land use (clutter), traffic, and demographic databases that are used by the NDM-WMX is done on the Databases menu from the Main Map menu. You can also use the extensive mapping and drawing capabilities in EDX SignalPro to create very detailed and informative base maps for your WiMAX system studies. Detailed base maps are an important tool for determining where cell sites may be located, judging where system capacity may be insufficient (or under-utilized), and gauging how your system needs to evolve to accommodate changing traffic patterns. Drawing maps of traffic (data rate or call density) is a fundamental part of what EDX SignalPros mapping capabilities can do (see Chapter 7 in the Reference Manual). Because the NDM-WMX offers specialized add-on capabilities, it is important to be fluent with the basic operation and functions of EDX SignalPro before attempting to use this module.

1.2. Installing the Network Design: WiMAX Systems Module

The capabilities of this module are automatically installed when you install EDX SignalPro (with the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems) as described in Chapter 1 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems of the Reference Manual. There is no separate installation to be done. The module code is built into the program and the hardware key you receive contains the proper authorization codes to activate the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems. To verify that the module is properly installed, select Help/About on the EDX SignalPro main menu. It will indicate whether or not the module is installed.

1.3. Starting a WiMAX System Design

The standard EDX SignalPro program stores information for a study in the project directory. This directory contains all the parameters and other information needed to completely reproduce a study map on your screen when you open a selected project. The project includes the specific parameters for each of your transmitter sites/sectors, or links, as well as information about the databases, propagation models, and base map features. Projects are explained in Chapter 3 of the Reference Manual. The material in this NDM-WMX manual is presented assuming you have already read the Users Guide and the Reference Manual that are included with your software. If you have not done so, please review these materials before moving on to the functions described in the following chapters.

1.4. Accessing the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems Functions

If you have started a new project, or opened an existing one, the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems functions will be available to you. To access Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems, select the Network Design/Analysis item on the main EDX SignalPro menu, then select WiMAX systems. A Sub-menu will appear showing the various elements provided by the module for this system type. There will also be an additional category of studies available when a new area study is added to a project.

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1.5. System Details / Service Area

This dialog allows the configuration of the WiMAX or WiBRO system profile and parameter appropriate for the system being designed, as well as the assignment of a channel plan template file, service area boundary file, and measure sector interference file (if this feature is being used in lieu of calculated interference).

When a particular system profile is chosen from the drop-down list, the FFT size, channel bandwidth, and TDD or FDD selection will be chosen automatically unless you choose a Custom profile in which case you will need to specify these values. You may then also specify the frame duration, cyclic prefix, uplink/downlink ratio, and the percentage of each frame allocated to a specific permutation type (eg, PUSC, FUSC). These parameters are used in addition to the details from the adaptive modulation dialog to find the results for the various traffic or data rate studies when theyre run. 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems

The handoff section allows you to specify whether the system will determine handoff based on a specific power ratio between the servers in question at the remote or on the absolute received power level of the current server. Once the correct option has been chosen, you can enter the values that will be used for the handoff study. There is also an option to model power control in WiMAX studies. Some WiMAX standards provide for reduced transmit power to be used for sessions with good link quality. Checking this box will add power control algorithms to the WiMAX uplink Stochastics study. The channel plan template file must be specified in this dialog in order to assign channels to any sector specified as a WiMAX system type. This file describes the arrangement of channels within the system including center frequency, bandwidth, and so on. The WiMAX systems module makes use of the EDX version 3 channel plan template file, the description for which may be found in the Reference Manual for Network Design Module: Multipoint Systems of this manual, section 3.2.1. When selecting a channel plan template for a WiMAX project, there is an option to modify the color that is displayed for each channel in the .cpt file. After a .cpt file has been chosen by the user, selecting Assign Colors to Channel Groups will open this dialog box:

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems Reference Manual There is an option in the map layers dialog for Transmitter/Base/Hub sites that displays a user-specified color for the channel that is assigned to that sector. The service area boundary file may be in either the .BNA or .MIF format and should be a simple polygon describing the geographic area in which the system is being designed. This polygon file may be easily created with the Draw polygon menu tool.

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1.6. Preamble Code Planning

In a WiMAX network, each sector is assigned a preamble code that is used for cell site recognition at the remote unit. It is important to assign codes that do not interfere with each other at the remote, which depends on the code assigned to each sector, the relative signal strength of the sectors, and the time delay between them. The preamble code planning dialog allows preamble codes to be assigned automatically based on these criteria. Codes in the Excluded PN codes list will not be assigned, allowing them to be left out of the system design or reserved for later allocation. To run this feature youll need to have the WiMAX sectors set up with channel and segment index assigned to them. Once this is done, specify a desired C/(I+N) ratio and click the Assign PN codes to all unlocked sectors button. The Assignment order random seed value can be changed to vary the order in which codes are assigned.

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Once the preamble code planning feature has run successfully, the channels dialog of each sector should show PN code and Cell ID code. A text list of the assigned PN codes and Cell IDs can then be found in the projects cache folder. Use Network Design/Analysis > WiMAX systems > System Reports to view a list of sectors to which a code could not be assigned due to excessive interference from other sectors.

1.7. Neighbor Lists

Neighbors in a cell system are other cell base stations or sectors that have signals of sufficient strength in the service area of another cell base station or sector where they are candidates for call handoff. Normally neighbor lists are part of the information that is stored at the cell site and may be downloaded to the mobile unit to facilitate handoff from the currently serving base station to another base station. The neighbor list calculation in the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems module is intended as a simple means of determining which sectors are neighbors, and thereby, handoff candidates. In the dialog box you can set the maximum number of neighbors you want listed, and whether to include the 2nd and 3rd best servers in the list. You can also select the transmitter group and the mobile/remote unit ID for which you want the neighbor list study done.

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When these parameters are set the way you want them, click on the Calculate neighbor lists for all sectors button and the calculation process will begin. Fundamentally, the program assesses the service area of each sector, and for the analysis grid points within this service area, determines which other transmitter sectors can be considered to be the neighbor cell base stations or sectors to which handoffs are likely. In the dialog box set the minimum percent area of the primary server that needs to be covered by another server in order for the other server to be considered a neighbor. You can optionally include the 2nd and 3rd best servers in the list and not include co-channel neighbors (same channel or frequency). Select the transmitter group for which you want the neighbor list study done. There is also a selection as to how to select and rank sectors for determination of them as a server or neighbor. Power Received ranks them based on power at the Remote unit whereas C/(I+N) Best Channel looks for the best possible C/(I+N) of a server using one of its assigned channel plan channels (this option is intended for systems other than WCDMA/UMTS). The signal thresholds at which a server can be considered a neighbor is set by the Remote/Mobile Unit Required Server Threshold or Required Service C/(I+N). The unit used by this study is always Remote/Mobile unit "Mobile1". When the analysis is complete, the neighbor list is applied to the information for each cell base station or sector. It can be viewed by selecting the Neighbor List button on the Transmitter Details dialog box as described in Chapter 9 of the Reference Manual. There is also an option in this dialog box to copy the predicted neighbor list directly into each WiMAX sector in the selected group. 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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There are more complicated ways to calculate predicted neighbor lists, however the simple method used here is largely as effective as other methods and provides for a very rapid calculation time.

1.8. Frequency Planning

With the traffic load calculated for each cell base station or sector, it is now possible to assign the appropriate number of channels to each sector to handle this traffic. If you have a small system, or a simple system layout, assigning channels can be done manually as described in Section 3.2 of the Reference Manual, Network Design Module: Mobile and Nomadic Systems section of the manual, using the guidelines provided there. If your system is large or complicated, the automatic frequency planning capabilities of the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems can be used. This process is described in the following sections.

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1.8.1. Frequency Planning Parameters

Several parameters are required to do a successful frequency plan. These are explained below:

1.8.1.1. C/I Ratio Objective

This parameter is only used for frequency planning options 2 and 3 below. In doing a frequency plan, the first step is to determine which sectors are geographically close enough (in radio propagation terms) to potentially cause interference to one another. The threshold of determining what constitutes interference for this purpose is set here. 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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1.8.1.2. Percent Interference Acceptance

When a frequency plan is done, it cannot perfectly assign the channels so that all the interference conflicts are resolved and all the traffic is accommodated. This parameter tells the program that the maximum percentage of a sectors service area (i.e. the area where it is the strongest signal) which can be lost to interference is this percentage value. A typical value here is 5 or 10 %.

1.8.1.3. Use Measured Interference matrix file

Frequency assignments are normally done using interference that is calculated using the propagation model for each interfering sector. However if you have switch or drive test data that can define the interference for each sector, this can used by choosing this option. The name and location of this file is entered in the Define System/Service Area window and selecting the Other System Parameters. The measured interference data entered into this file must follow the format described below:
siteid_serv(1), num_intrf(1) siteid_intrf(1), signal_level_ratio(1), std_dev(1) siteid_intrf(2), signal_level_ratio(1), std_dev(1) siteid_intrf(3), signal_level_ratio(1), std_dev(1) . . siteid_intrf(num_intrf),signal_level_ratio(num_intrf),std_de v(num_intrf) . . siteid_serv(num_serv), num_intrf(num_serv)

where:
siteid_serv the site ID of the serving sector enclosed in single quotes (ex, AAAA0001) num_intrf the number of interfering sectors listed for this serving sector siteid_intrf the site ID of an interfering sector enclosed in single quotes signal_level_ratio the mean measured signal level ratio in dB between the interfering sector and the serving sector std_dev the standard deviation in dB of the signal level ratios assuming a normal distribution num_serv the number of serving sectors with information in this file

1.8.1.4. Traffic Source

When using Internal automatic frequency planning, as described below, the traffic source that determines system loading can be specified. For WiMAX the data traffic options are used. Either predicted or measured traffic can be selected. These traffic figures are drawn from the appropriate entry found in each transmitter sectors Channel Grid dialog box. The traffic value used for planning can be scaled up or down by entering a number other than 100% in the Percent of total traffic for planning box. 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.
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1.8.1.5. Deny Co/Adj channels at site

These two options allow you to restrict the assignment of adjacent channels and/or co-channels to sectors at the same base site. Typically co-channels are never assigned to different sectors at a site unless the channel re-use is one.

1.8.1.6. Minimum Channel Separation at Site

In some systems, even adjacent channels do not provide sufficient isolation between sectors. This value allows you to set the minimum channel spacing between channels assigned to sectors at the same base site. Zero is the default.

1.8.1.7. Assign Fixed Number of Channels

Normally the number of channels per sector is determined by the estimated traffic load at the sector. If this information is not available this option allows you assign a fixed number of channels at each sector.

1.8.2. Automatic Frequency Planning (AFP)

There are three methods of WiMAX automatic frequency planning (AFP) available in the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems. These three methods are discussed below.

1.8.2.1. Internal
When you select Internal, you will invoke EDXs method for AFP. This method provides for interference conflict resolution as well as balancing channels assigned to sectors to match traffic demand. When using Internal (or External), the first step the program performs is to calculate a sector compatibility matrix. This is done only inside the service area as defined by the service area boundary file entry on the Define System and Service Area dialog box. Inside this boundary, the program will calculate and define the service areas for each sector as those locations where that sector provides the strongest signal. Only those sectors whose signal exceeds the Required Service Threshold found in the user-selected Remote/Mobile Unit will be considered. Next it will look at the signal levels inside each sectors service area and determine those which are strong enough that the C/(I+N) ratio objective is violated (see Section 3.3.2.1). It will track all those areas where this ratio is violated for each sector and the sectors that cause the interference. It will then calculate the degree of interference each other sector causes by calculating the percent of interference locations as a function of the total service area for the victim sector. Finally, based on the service area of each sector, it will determine the traffic load from the areas served by that sector (see the options in Section 3.3) and, using the GoS, calculate the number of voice channels needed at that sector using the Erlang B formula or in the case of packet-switched traffic the number of channels based on data/channel. The results of this processing are written to an ASCII data file called cellcmpx.dat. This is the basic data that the AFP optimization will use to do its work. The format of the cellcmpx.dat file is as follows:

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EDX cell sector AFP compatibility matrix num_sectors cinr accept_intrf minutes_per_call blocking_prob siteid_serv serv_area calls traffic num_chan_req num_chan_assigned ky_lock nchan(1) nchan(2) nchan(3) . . . . . . . nchan(num_chan_assigned) siteid_intrf(1) prcnt_intrf(1) siteid_intrf(2) prcnt_intrf(2) siteid_intrf(3) prcnt_intrf(3) . . . siteid_intrf(num_sectors-1) prcnt_intrf(num_sectors-1)

where:
EDX . . . - header line to identify the file num_sectors the number of sector with information in this file cinr the objective C/(I+N) ratio accept_intrf the percent of interference which can be accepted in a sector service area minutes_per_call the average call duration in minutes Blocking_prob the percent blocking probability Siteid_serv the ID of the serving sector Serv_area the total area for this serving site square kilometers calls - the number of calls per hour for this sector traffic the required traffic load for this sector num_chan_req the number of channels accommodate the traffic given the GOS. num_chan_assigned the assigned to this sector. number of required to

channels

currently

ky_lock this equals 1 if the channel lock checkbox is checked on the channel plan screen for this sector. These means the current assignments for this sector are to remain unchanged. nchan(1), nchan(2) . . . the channel numbers currently assigned to this sector. If the channel assignments on this sector are locked, then the AFP algorithm must preserve this channel assignment list and protect it from interference during the AFP process. siteid_intrf the ID of the interfering sector prcnt_intrf the percent of the total serving sector service area that is interfered with by this interfering sector. This number is a relative indication of degree of conflict between the serving sector and this interfering sector.

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The above information is listed once in the cellcmpx.dat file for each sector in the system. With the information in this file, and the cell channel plan template showing the number of available channels, the EDX AFP algorithm is ready to do its work. Basically, it attempts to devise channel assignments for each sector so that the traffic demand is met while at the same time making channel assignments so that no same or adjacent channels are used between sectors that have conflicts. The basic technique it uses is called simulated annealing (SA), which is a combinatorial optimization process. With simulating annealing (SA), there are several parameters that are used to control the process. Typical values are:
number of cooling levels = 300 cooling level step multiplier = 0.85 number of iterations at each cooling level = 900 co-channel cost weighting coefficient = 1.00 adjacent channel cost weighting coefficient = 0.01 interference cost weighting coefficient = 1.00 demand cost weighting coefficient = 1.00

You can adjust these parameters if desired for your particular optimization. Before doing so, however, it would be worthwhile to review references [3] and [4] to understand the significance of the parameters. Depending on the number of sectors, and the parameter settings, this process could take from several minutes to several hours to complete. When completed, the program will return with a message asking you to accept or reject the channel plan that has been produced by the AFP process. The channel assignment results will be contained in an ASCII data file called chanplan.tmp. If accepted, the chanplan.tmp file is read by EDX software and those channel assignments loaded into the channel plan dialog box data positions for each sector. From that point forward you are ready to begin coverage and interference studies with your new optimized channel assignment plan.

1.8.2.2. External
External basically gives you access to an external dynamic link library (DLL) which

contains your own compiled and linked code for doing the AFP. Before calling this routine, the Network Design Module: WiMAX Systems performs all the calculations to create the cellcmpx.dat file as described above. It then passes this file name and the other relevant file names to the external AFP routine. When this routine is completed, the channel assignment results are written to an ASCII file called chanplan.tmp from which the channel assignments are imported back into EDX SignalPro. The details of how the parameters are passed to the external routine, and the required format for the resulting channel assignment file, are found in the comment statements in the sample ext_afp.for code included on the distribution CD. Appendix J also has for more information on using this and other external calculation DLLs with EDX SignalPro. 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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1.9. Traffic Planning for WiMAX systems

WiMAX is based on an all-IP network, which uses packet-switched traffic definitions. Most internet traffic, such as web browsing, FTP and e-mail (which is defined as BE or Best Effort for WiMAX) allow the packets that cant be sent due to capacity limitations to not be permanently blocked but delayed until network capacity is available. Packet traffic that is associated with VoIP calls, video conferencing or IPTV (Internet Television) is defined as UGS or Unsolicited Grant Service for WiMAX. These packets, if they cant be sent within a very narrow timeframe, are dropped, since their time-sensitive nature makes late UGS packets useless. To specify traffic loading for the WiMAX sectors, select Network Design/Analysis > Packet Switched Traffic Loading > WiMAX/BWA. This will display a dialog box where you can set both the traffic definitions (types of packet traffic, and their associated average data rates and activity percentages) as well as how the subscriber devices are distributed in the WiMAX system. Selecting the Packet Switched Traffic Loading menu for WiMAX brings up this dialog box:

1.9.1. Traffic Data Source

There are four traffic data sources, or distributions, which can be selected: Uniform Traffic Distribution. A uniform distribution is where the probability of traffic originating from a given place inside the cell system service boundary is 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.
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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems Reference Manual assumed to be equal. In other words, the subscriber devices are spread evenly throughout the defined service area. Traffic based on Land Use (Clutter) Database. If you select this traffic data source, the distribution of traffic will be weighted according to the land use or morphology category. Typical there will be more calls or data originating from urban areas than agricultural areas, for example. To use this option you must have specified a land use (clutter) database as described in Chapter 10 of the Reference Manual. Traffic based on demographic database. If you select this option, the traffic will be weighted according to the population in a given region of your cell system service area. To use this option you must have specified a demographic database as described in Chapter 10 of the Reference Manual. Traffic from traffic database. If you select this option, the traffic will be weighted according to actual traffic density valued in a traffic database in a given region of your cell system service area. The type of traffic to be calculated in the system is defined by the type of data stored in this database. If it is voice traffic the data will be expressed in milliErlangs. If it is packet data then the traffic will be in Kbps. To use this option you must have specified a traffic database as described in Chapter 10 of the Reference Manual.

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1.9.2. Packet Switched Traffic Definitions and Densities

The Packet switched traffic definitions are specified in the dialog box as shown below:

This table allows the user to define up to five different types of service types along with their service flow (typically UGS or BE, but rtPS, ntPS and ErtPS are also available choices), average downlink and uplink data rates and activity percentages (only applicable for rtPS, ntPS or BE). If the Service Name is left blank, then the information associated with that column of data will not be used in traffic studies. The defined (named) service types in the Packet Switched Traffic Definitions dialog box are automatically copied over to the Packet Switched Traffic Densities dialog box, which is shown below: 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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This dialog box allows the user to specify the subscriber traffic distribution for each service type, based on the Percent of total traffic to be carried by this group setting in the main Packet Switched Traffic Loading dialog box. The main Traffic Loading dialog box is where the user can have the total packet switched traffic load calculated for each WiMAX sector in the user-specified Transmitter Group.

1.10. WiMAX Studies

As mentioned earlier, there are a number of area studies found in the area studies WiMAX/Wireless Broadband study group. The ones specific to WiMAX are detailed below: WiMAX OFDMA Modulation Regions-DL This study displays the achievable modulations with which a user in a specific location can be reached on the downlink. The estimated modulations are computed based on the propagation model selected in the program and the C/I equipment thresholds that are set in the RF Systems > Adaptive Modulation dialog. Selecting this area study also creates a usage report as explained in the next section. WiMAX OFDMA Modulation Regions-UL This area study predicts the modulation of the connections from a given user in the service area on the uplink. The modulations are color coded and displayed as a coverage map. The user has the option of choosing sector-specific WiMAX stochastics uplink predicted interference levels in the dialog box accessed in Studies > Noise and Uplink 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.
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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems Reference Manual Interference. The predicted uplink interference levels are then stored for each WiMAX sector and can be used in this study when the user selects interference only or noise plus interference in the study setup dialog box. WiMAX Maximum Uplink C/(I+N) The uplink C/(N+I) at each sector is plotted geographically based on the remotes location within the cell. This plot evaluated by EDX SignalPro corresponds to the combined effect of the worst case uplink C/(I+N) from all co-channel sources. There are two potential sources of interference on the uplink in a WiMAX system; the subscribers in co-channel sectors and the interferences from unsynchronized base stations (from a second transmitter group). Both, one, or none of these sources of interference can be included in the worst C/(I+N) uplink study. These sources of interference can be considered in the analysis by checking their corresponding box after pressing modify study button (see below). The text report that is produced by this study includes valuable information of the worst interferers in the neighboring cells that are worth consideration. WiMAX Average Uplink C/(I+N) study The user has the option of choosing sector-specific WiMAX stochastics uplink predicted interference levels in the dialog box accessed in Studies > Noise and Uplink Interference. The predicted uplink interference levels are then stored for each WiMAX sector and can be used in this study when the user selects interference only or noise plus interference in the study setup dialog box. This study calculates the C/(I+N) for each point based on the predicted uplink interference levels at each WiMAX base station sector in the study group. WiMAX Interference for Focus Sector This displays a map of the areas in neighboring co-channel sectors that produce uplink interferences greater than 3dB below noise floor. Subscriber stations in these areas produce the largest interferences on the uplink. The interference levels are displayed geographically so that a system planner can choose to mitigate their effects by using antenna down tilting, channel planning, or other methods. Strongest (most likely) Server using best channel. This study map displays the colors and symbols that correspond of the sector that has the highest C/(I+N) in each grid square. 2nd Strongest Server at Remote: The second strongest server is automatically determined when the program finds the strongest servers as described in Section F.1.10. in Appendix F. Consequently, when the user elects to display this study type, the calculations are the same and the map simply displays the colors and symbols that correspond to the 2nd strongest server sector rather than the strongest server, which is displayed in the strongest (most likely) server basic study. For either study type, as you move the pointer around the map, the ID and signal strength from both the first and second strongest servers will be continuously displayed. C/(I+N) at Remote for Best Channel. This study map displays the colors and symbols that are associated with the C/(I+N) that correspond to the sector that has the highest C/(I+N) in each grid square. Adaptive modulation downlink data rate. This study determines the modulation and coding as well as the user specified data rate for each grid square based on the 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems predicted C/(I+N) and the data in the downlink WiMAX Adaptive Modulation table that is accessed through the WiMAX System Details dialog box at Network
Design/Analysis > WiMAX Systems > System details/Service area.

Adaptive modulation uplink data rate. This study determines the modulation and coding as well as the user specified data rate for each grid square based on the predicted C/(I+N) and the data in the uplink WiMAX Adaptive Modulation table that is accessed through the WiMAX System Details dialog box at Network Design/Analysis > WiMAX Systems > System details/Service area. The user has the option of choosing sector-specific WiMAX stochastics uplink predicted interference levels in the dialog box accessed in Studies > Noise and Uplink Interference. The predicted uplink interference levels are then stored for each WiMAX sector and can be used in this study when the user selects interference only or noise plus interference in the study setup dialog box. WiMAX Uplink Interference Stochastics. This study attempts to quantify uplink interference prediction using statistical (probabilistic) methods. Based on the userspecified subscriber traffic definitions and densities, the stochastic study analyzes the probability that any given subscriber device will interfere with other co-channel WiMAX base stations based upon their propagation characteristics and the duration of the subscriber devices transmissions. Since the probability that one of subscriber data uplink transmission to its serving cell will be interfered by a co-channel user served by another sector is simply the frame fraction of the subscribers transmission the fraction of the total WiMAX frame in the subscribers transmission. The WiMAX uplink interference stochastics study determines sum of these frame fraction probabilities for each WiMAX sector based on its specified subscriber traffic. This study produces a plot showing the percentage of the sectors frame that should be clear of interference in each grid square. This study also shows the uplink desired (coverage) and undesired (interference) statistics, along with a plot by right mouse clicking over the site of interest and choosing from the pull-down menu the sector of interest at that site and in the submenu for that sector, the Receiver Power Profile. This is shown below.

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This will show a plot like this shown below:

This plot not only shows the distribution of the undesired (interfering) signals as red points with their IX (interference) mean and IX standard deviations calculated and also shown but the distribution of the desired uplink signals at the WiMAX base station and their associated mean and standard deviation as blue points. The places in the curve where the points overlap is the percentage of the frame fractions that are unusable in a sector. The user has the option to store this per-sector predicted uplink interference level in the Studies > Noise and Uplink Interference menu, which has options to store 1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved. Revised: 2012/08/01

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems either the 50% or 90% predicted uplink interference level from the uplink Stochastics study.

1.11. WiMAX Study System Reports

This option will display a list of available system reports that may be generated when running certain specialized studies. To open a report, select it from the list and click View Report. This will open the text file in the default text editor, typically Windows Notepad. These report files are stored in the \REPORTS sub-folder of the Project folder. WiMAX Uplink C/(I+N) creates the WiMAX_Uplink_Interference_Details.txt report file. This file contains the strongest interferences from neighboring co-channel sectors as long as they are stronger than 3dB below the noise floor. These cochannel interferences can be from either unsynchronized base stations or remotes.

The channel usage reports created by the WiMAX OFDMA Modulation RegionsDL and WiMAX OFDMA Modulation Regions-UL area studies have a similar format. These two studies create the text files WiMAX_Downlink_Usage.txt and WiMAX_Uplink_Usage.txt respectively. EDX SignalPro computes the number of slots available for assignment from the OFDMA parameters on the uplink and downlink assuming the PUSC sub-channelization scheme. The base station can allocate these slots on the UL and DL to the different users in the cell. The number of slots used by each user is a function of its demand and with which modulation order it communicates with the base station. EDX SignalPro estimates the number of slots used per sector by taking into account the location and densities of users in the service area. The distribution of users can be set under the Packet Switched traffic loading menu.

1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.

Revised: 2012/08/01

EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems Reference Manual

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The usage or loading results of WiMAX are reported in a text file every time an UL or DL WiMAX OFDMA Modulation Regions area study is run. The results are listed on a sector-by-sector basis so that the demand in each sector can be monitored individually.

1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.

Revised: 2012/08/01

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EDX Wireless NDM: WiMAX Systems

1996-2012, EDX Wireless - All rights reserved.

Revised: 2012/08/01