Getting Started

Actix Solutions
March 2005

Getting Started: Actix Solutions March 2005 Edition for Actix Solutions Version 4.3 Copyright Actix Limited 1996-2005. All rights reserved. All trademarks are hereby acknowledged. Actix and the Actix logo are the trademarks of Actix Limited. Similar restrictions to use of our company and product names may apply elsewhere. The content of this manual is provided for information only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Actix. Actix assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that appear in this documentation. SentinelLM is a trademark of SafeNet, Inc. Licenturion is a registered trademark of Licenturion GmbH. See www.licenturion.com for details of Licenturion Product Activation. MapInfo and MapInfo MapX are registered trademarks of MapInfo Corporation. Actix also uses open-source components from MIT Software. See The MIT License.txt for details. This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/). Microsoft, Excel and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Contents
About this guide......................................................................................................5

1 INTRODUCING ACTIX SOLUTIONS ..........................................7

About Actix Solutions..............................................................................................7 Installing your Actix Solution...................................................................................8 Activating your Actix solution..................................................................................9 Starting your Actix Solution ..................................................................................12 Choosing an Engineering Process .......................................................................13

2 CONFIGURING YOUR SOLUTION ...........................................14

Configuring network information...........................................................................14 Obtain site data in tabular format...................................................................14 Import cell site data for the first time ..............................................................15 Set a network information file.........................................................................20 Modifying event detection threshold values .........................................................21 Configuring data aggregation ...............................................................................22 Message filtering at load time ........................................................................22 Binning methods ............................................................................................22 Configuring map views .........................................................................................24 Set up map backgrounds and layers .............................................................24 Change the Label properties of a map layer..................................................26 Change the Display Properties of a map layer ..............................................28 Show Lines to Cells on a map .......................................................................29 Change the size of cell site sectors ...............................................................30

3 BASIC DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................31

The Analyzer Classic interface .............................................................................31 Managing data ......................................................................................................32 Load data files................................................................................................32 Find and use data in the Attribute Explorer ...................................................33 Delete data files .............................................................................................35 Selecting analysis options ....................................................................................36 Viewing summary data .........................................................................................37 Solution reports ..............................................................................................37 The Message Browser ...................................................................................39 The Protocol Stack Browser ..........................................................................40 CDMA StateTip ..............................................................................................41 CDMA Toolkit .................................................................................................42 Viewing attribute data ...........................................................................................43 View data in a Map.........................................................................................43 Replay the data ..............................................................................................45 View data in a Form .......................................................................................46 View data in a Chart.......................................................................................48 View data in a Table.......................................................................................50 View data in a Workbook ...............................................................................51 About synchronized data windows.................................................................51

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Contents 3

Loading large amounts of data .............................................................................52 About Network Images...................................................................................52 Create a new Network Image (.dat) file .........................................................53 Load data into a Network Image ....................................................................54 View data from a Network Image...................................................................55 Integrating reverse/forward link (uplink/downlink) data ........................................56 Creating and using queries...................................................................................57 Create a filter..................................................................................................57 Filter the data .................................................................................................59 Generating new reports ........................................................................................60

4 A AND ABIS DATA ANALYSIS ...............................................62

Choose A or Abis Scenarios.................................................................................63 The Statistics Explorer..........................................................................................64 Abis Call Analysis...........................................................................................65 Filter the Attribute Explorer from the Statistics Explorer ................................65 Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data...............................................................66 GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports ..............................................................67 GSM A application packs...............................................................................67 A General Analysis...........................................................................................................67 A Subscriber Analysis ......................................................................................................68 A Handover Analysis ........................................................................................................68 GSM Abis application packs ..........................................................................69 Abis Quick Analysis..........................................................................................................69 Abis Balance and Sensitivity ............................................................................................70 Abis Network Design ........................................................................................................70 Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures ................................................................................71

5 GPRS DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................72

Choose Gb Scenarios ..........................................................................................73 The Protocol Stack Browser .................................................................................74 GPRS pre-configured reports ...............................................................................75 GPRS Gb application packs ..........................................................................75 GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis ...........................................................................................75 GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis........................................................................................76 Examine Gb Load Time Queries ..........................................................................77 Load Time Queries in each Scenario.............................................................78 Analyze GPRS Drive Test data ............................................................................80 Map DT files lacking GPS data ......................................................................80

6 CELL SITE PARAMETERS ....................................................81

CDMA cell site parameters...................................................................................81 GSM / GPRS / EDGE cell site parameters...........................................................82 iDEN cell site parameters .....................................................................................83 IS-136 cell site parameters...................................................................................84 UMTS cell site parameters ...................................................................................85

7 GETTING HELP .................................................................86

Use the online help...............................................................................................86 The context-sensitive attribute reference help...............................................87 Visit the Actix Support web site ............................................................................88 Contact Actix Support...........................................................................................88

8 INDEX .............................................................................89

4 Contents

Actix Solutions Getting Started

About this guide

The format of this guide is to show you the solution platform's basic features. Not every product function is describedjust the core information, so you can be productive with your solution right from the start. For detailed information on other areas of the product, see the online help. Note that when you see a word appear like this in the text, it refers to a menu selection, button or hyperlink that you can select in the applications user interface. For example: Tools, Preferences would indicate the Preferences command available from the Tools menu. For a detailed understanding of your solution, you should attend a full Actix training or workshop session. These can be tailored exclusively to your individual or corporate requirements.

Actix Solutions Getting Started

About this guide 5

6 About this guide

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Introducing Actix Solutions

About Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions, a series of tools for post-processing cellular network data, running under Microsoft Windows on a PC, are designed to address applications such as: Network performance optimization Feature testing Service validation Problem diagnosis and analysis Network bench-marking Competitive analysis The platform for Actix Solutions, Analyzer, can load network performance data from many different sources:

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Introducing Actix Solutions 7

These data sources could include field-test equipment and switch call traces, and could be from a one-off test, or part of a planned series of samples to build up an image of overall network performance. Once the data is loaded, a variety of analysis tools and displays provide a clear view of network performance for engineers, technicians or operations management staff.

Installing your Actix Solution

This guide assumes you (or your administrator) have already installed your solution and selected the appropriate license(s). See the Actix Solutions Installation Guide for details. You may also want to refer to the Release Notes accompanying this version of your solution. To install an Actix Solution Before installing your Actix Solution, you should install: - Microsoft Excel 97 or later to be able to use your solution's workbook/spreadsheet functionality. - Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later to be able to use your solution's advanced map functionality. This can be installed during the Actix installation and may require the computer to be restarted. 1 2 Insert the Actix CD in the CD drive of the computer. Check that the PC to be used meets the current minimum specification and has sufficient free disk space available on the destination drive (refer to the release notes on the Actix CD for this specification). Select the Install option to start the installation program, and carry out the on-screen instructions. If after a few seconds the installation screen does not open, start Windows Explorer and look in the root directory of the CD for the file setup.exe. Double-click on setup.exe to begin the installation.

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Activating your Actix solution

All Actix Solutions are licensed 'per-machine'. This means that every machine that runs an Actix solution has its own license (not normally transferable between machines). See your licensing agreement for further details.

Actix Solutions are supplied using Activated license enforcement, which uses a combination of these two elements: A Product ID, used to activate the software. A file ('Activation.xml'), provided as part of the activation process. This file contains the activation and licensing information. Do not edit the Activation.xml file if this file is altered in any way, you will need to re-activate your computer using your unique Machine ID or approach Actix for a replacement. Using the activation process for the software locks the license file to the unique combination of hardware in a particular PC to produce a unique Machine ID. Activation requires the user to make a one-off connection with the Actix Activation Server. If you are using another form of licensing, please contact Actix Support for further information. To activate an Actix Solution Actix will only supply Product IDs to known contacts within a customers organisation. Please contact your companys representative to obtain a Product ID as Actix Support will not give out Product IDs to end-users. 1 2 3 Obtain the Product ID from your administrator (which will have been emailed by Actix). If you require a dongle, ensure it is plugged in to the PC. Ensure that the PC has live access to the Internet.

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Introducing Actix Solutions 9

From the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Actix, Actix Software.

5 6

Ensure the top option is selected, and click Next. Enter the Product ID supplied by your administrator.

The Product ID can be pasted into the four boxes by copying the complete text (for example, from an email from Actix or your administrator) and click the Paste button.

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Click Next to proceed. When activation is successful, the dialog below will be displayed.

Pass the Machine ID number on to your administrator, as it is a unique reference for each computer which can be used to restore your activation information should it become deleted or corrupted.

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Introducing Actix Solutions 11

Starting your Actix Solution

You can start your Actix Solution from your Windows Start menu, either directly from the Actix Software icon:

or from the Actix, Actix Software menu option:

After a short pause you will see the Actix loading screen:

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Choosing an Engineering Process

After starting your Actix Solution, choose how you want to proceed by selecting an engineering process. If you only have one engineering process on your license, you will bypass this screen and go straight to the entry screen for that process. Most engineering processes guide you through a series of predefined analyses and reports that encapsulate sophisticated radio engineering decisionmaking knowledge; however, Analyzer Classic lets you use Analyzer in free analysis mode that is, you can use Analyzers comprehensive set of data-analysis tools to investigate any message or attribute of interest within your logged data. This guide is concerned with how to use these tools, on the principle that once you understand how these tools work, the use of the other engineering processes will appear very straightforward. Checking the box at the bottom of the screen also lets you bypass this screen and go straight to your selected engineering process. If in future you want to display this screen, from the File menu select Start New Engineering Process. Your selected engineering process will not work correctly until you have configured your solution. The next chapter deals with this topic.

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Introducing Actix Solutions 13

Configuring your solution

Configuring network information

The Network Explorer is a tool available from the Cells menu that allows you to import network elements from delimited text files, possibly exported from a planning tool. This data is then stored in a text file called cellrefs.txt. You can also use the Network Explorer to browse and edit loaded network information. This section describes how to import delimited data.

Obtain site data in tabular format

In order to import cell site data from your own network, you will need to obtain a delimited text file containing the data listed for the appropriate technology in the Cell site parameters chapter. The data may come from a network database or a planning tool configuration file. As long as the data is in a tabular format with one row for each sector, your Actix Solution will be able to import the data. If you manually create a cellrefs file, you must have this as the first line:
;#NetworkData datafile

If you import the file using the Network Explorer, this line is added automatically.

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Import cell site data for the first time

Once you have obtained your cell site database in tab-delimited format, you are ready to open the Network Explorer and import the site information. To import the data An example of initial network data in a text file is shown below, and could have been produced from a planning tool:

From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer. 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.

On the toolbar, select Import, then Import From New Template to open the Import dialog. Select the appropriate export data file from your planning tool and click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard.

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The Import Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is now displayed:

3 4

Give the Template a meaningful Template Name ('UMTS example' in this example). Check the appropriate Delimiter that separates the data from the file into different columns. For example, under Delimiters, check the Tab box. Under General Settings, for Ignore header rows enter 1. For Array (list) Separator enter ;. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator, set these options accordingly. If you choose the wrong delimiter, you will see the effect in the Data Preview window at the bottom of the dialog.

In most cases, the default information under General Settings and Coordinate Information will apply. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator (the character used to separate the array values under the 'Neighbors' column in the example for step 1), adjust these settings as necessary. Click Next. The Column Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is now displayed. This allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file.

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Note that each of the field names has an associated icon: Key fields You must select a field type for this field, but you cannot set a default value. These must be either bound to a particular type or have a default value set. Binding particular field types or setting default values is not strictly necessary for this field.

Required fields

Other fields

Open up the Site node. Click on the adjacent field under Column and select the parameter name from your site database that corresponds to the Site_Name parameter. Repeat for each of the fields in the Site node. Open the Cell node. Click in the Column field next to Sector_ID. Select the parameter name from your site database that corresponds to the Sector_ID parameter.

You can enter a default value that takes effect if the actual value is unknown. For example, all Beamwidths could be set to 65 degrees.

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Configuring your solution 17

Repeat for each of the fields in the Cell node. A description of each of these parameters and their use is given in the appropriate technology table in the Cell site parameters chapter .

10 Click Finish when all the columns have been assigned. The new cell information will be added at the bottom of the existing list in the Network Element editor. When the cellrefs file is updated, you should use the template you have created on the new file so that you do not have to repeat work you have already done, including the column-by-column parameter assignment. 11 Inspect the cell data in the Network Explorer by expanding the All_<tech>_Site_Elements folder in the left-hand pane of the Network Explorer. 12 Double-click on any site name in the right hand pane. The Name, ID, latitude and longitude of the site will appear, as well as a folder containing <tech> Cell Elements. Drill into the <tech> Cell Elements folder and examine the values corresponding to each sector. 13 To keep the formatted site information, click Save. 14 Close the Network Explorer window by clicking the 'X' at the upper right hand corner. 15 The window shown below is now displayed. Click Yes to overwrite the old settings ('No' would append this information to your existing network data):

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16 After closing the Network Explorer, view a new map by selecting View, Display New Map.

17 If cell icons do not appear on the map, right click on the map and select Zoom, Go to Layer, <tech>_Site to zoom the map to the appropriate location. 18 Set the cells to be labeled by an appropriate parameter for the technology (for example, SC for UMTS).

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Set a network information file

1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog:

Click on File Location to select the text file containing network element data. This file must be in the Actix 'cellrefs' format. The information from this cellrefs file takes effect from the next time a new workspace is created. Note that you can set up an automatic cellrefs import if your network data is liable to change frequently (see the online help for details).

Click OK to close the Preferences dialog. You will now see a message saying that the new file will take effect with the next workspace created or loaded. You may now want to close and restart your Actix Solution for the change to take effect.

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Modifying event detection threshold values

You can modify threshold values for event detection using the Tools menu Display Thresholds command. To modify the value, simply click on the associated number and type in the new value. In the example below, a threshold is available for too many servers. This threshold applies when four or more pilots are within a certain range of the best server. In other words, if the threshold is set to 3 dB, an event will appear on the map every time four or more pilots are within 3 dB of the best server (Uu_ActiveSet_EcNo_0).

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Configuring data aggregation

Message filtering at load time
By default, your Actix Solution filters out statistically unimportant message information to shorten load times and increase the number of files that can be loaded at the same time. To load all messages in the data 1 2 3 Within your Actix Solution, from the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. Under the heading Load Speed Default, select Load All. Click OK to accept the changes.

Binning methods
In order to provide a reasonably small number of data points from both a computing and an analysis perspective, Actix Solutions aggregate logged data into groups called bins. The aggregation method used to create one bin from many data points depends on the type of parameter. For example, measurement parameters, such as UTRA_CarrierRSSI and UetransmittedPower, are binned by averaging all component measurements into one data point. For network state parameters, such as Scrambling codes, a bin is given the most frequently occurring value (the mode) among the component measurements. Events, such as dropped calls and handovers, are binned by the number of events occurring within the component measurements. There are four methods for determining how to divide data into bins: message binning, time binning, distance binning, and location binning. Time-based binning combines data in the time domain using a user specified duration for the bin. The diagram above looks at a one-second bin. The speed of travel during logging will affect how many log files you see in a certain area.

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Distance binning combines data into bins corresponding to the distance traveled by the test mobile.

This mode is commonly used for drive-test analyses when viewing on a map to ensure plot points are evenly spaced. Message binning - If the number of messages to be averaged is set to 1, each message is placed into its own bin with the net result of no averaging of the data. Note that message binning should be usually only set to 1. Location binning is like overlaying a spatial grid on top of the data with a user-definable granularity. This can be used when examining several drive files crossing over the same geographic area. This method is often used for superstreams (see the online help for more information). Grid (not seen) Drive Routes

All points in this box will be binned together to produce one plotted point.

To change the binning method 1 2 Within your Actix Solution, from the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode. A typical setting for viewing drive test data would be to select Time binning, with Time (ms) set to 1000. Click OK to accept the changes.

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Configuring map views

Set up map backgrounds and layers
This section shows you how to load MapInfo tabular (.tab) data to present data analyses on map backdrops. 1 2 3 Create a new map by selecting View, Display New Map. Drag a data attribute from the Attribute Explorer into the map window. Click the Layers button to open the Layer Control dialog. All layers in the map from top to bottom, with the top layer currently selected

Create, delete or export layers

Change the properties of the currently selected layer

Change the order of the currently selected layer

Making a checkmark in a layer's box controls: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (to 'lock' the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added, click on the box again to clear it) 4 5 In the Layers box, click Add to open the Open Layer dialog. Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files.

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MapInfo layers are named according to the geographic location of the data (for example, the abbreviated US state name and/or county name), and by the type of data contained in the file. Here are some of the common abbreviations used for MapInfo data types:
Suffix Y1 Y2 X1 X2 Pc Pn Pm R H S Wr Wb Lm Cb Mc Cy Layer Type RtHwy010_Top RtHwy010_Bot IntShld010 IntShld1040 Cultural Points Natural Points Municipal Points Railroads Highways Streets Water (rivers) Water (bodies of water) Landmarks City Boundary Minor Civic Division County

Click Open to show the .tab file in the layer list.

The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window.

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Configuring your solution 25

7 8

Click Up and Down to move 'examplemap' to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top. Click Close and return to the map view. In a new Actix installation, the map location defaults to 0 longitude, 0 latitude, so you will need to arrange the map view to display the new map.

Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map area, then choosing Zoom, Go to Layer and selecting the new map layer.

10 Use the Zoom and Pan controls to arrange the map as required. To zoom in to an area, click Zoom In, then click and drag a rectangle around the area of interest.

Change the Label properties of a map layer

1 2 3 From the map window, click the Layers button to open the Layer Control dialog. Select a particular layer. Click the Labels button to open the Label Properties dialog:

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To use Data Field Formatted Field

Do this Select the data field to be displayed as the label. Set the formatted field to use as the label displayed, depending on the layer selected in the Layer Control dialog. Check the box to show labels on the map (which are otherwise hidden this is recommended to improve map load times). Check the box to allow labels to overlap. Uncheck the box to allow the same text to appear for adjacent data points. Check the box to display labels only within the maximum and minimum zoom levels. A zoom level is the width of the map area displayed, in the current map units. Set the lowest zoom level at which labels will be displayed. Set the highest zoom level at which labels will be displayed. Set the maximum number of labels that can be shown on the map. Set the font style for the label. Select the position of the label relative to the data point. Set the offset of the label in the X or Y direction. The offset is measured in points (as used for fonts). Defines the appearance of the label text in terms of color, font, size and other effects.

Show

Allow overlapped text Hide adjacent duplicate text Display within range

Min Zoom Max Zoom Max # of labels Label Style Position Label X/Y offset (points) Label Style

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Change the Display Properties of a map layer

For some detailed layerslike the Street layersyou can control at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter. 1 2 3 From the map window, click the Layers button to open the Layer Control dialog. Select a particular layer. Click Display to open the Display Properties dialog.

Check Display within Zoom range and enter '0' for Min Zoom and '10' for Max Zoom.

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Show Lines to Cells on a map

1 2 3 From the map window, click the Layers button to open the Layer Control dialog. Select the appropriate cells layer. Click Lines to open the Lines Configuration dialog.

4 5

Set the Lines draw mode to 'Selection'. Set Color lines with to the following attribute:
Technology CDMA GSM iDEN IS_136 UMTS Attribute PN_1stBestEcIo ServBCCH Channel FACCH_CurChannel Uu_ActiveSet_SC

6 7

Check that the Disable box is empty, and click OK, then Yes. Click OK to close the Layer Control dialog.

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Configuring your solution 29

Zoom In on data points near a cell site, and use Select to pick a data point.

A solid line is drawn to the serving cell site, with dotted lines drawn to neighboring cells. If 'All datapoints' was selected in the Lines Configuration dialog, you would not need to select a data point all data points would have a line to their neighbor cells. This can be useful in some situations.

Change the size of cell site sectors

To display network information on a map window, you must have your cellrefs network information selected (using Tools, Preferences) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file. You may want to change the size of cell site sectors as displayed on a map. This is especially useful if you are using multiple cell layers. 1 2 3 From the map window, click on Cell Sites to open the Sites/Cell Properties dialog. Set the Series attribute to be <tech>_Cell, for example CDMA_Cell, or WCDMA_Cell. Set the Cell Size to an attribute shared by all related cell sites, such as Layer_type (recommended if available from your cellrefs file) or MCC, and click OK to display the new layer in the Legend panel on the left. Expand the new layer to show one item in the range, called 'Unspecified'. Right-click on this item and choose Selected range's style to open the Style chooser dialog. Set the new font size as required and click OK. The cell site sectors will now change size to reflect your selection.

4 5 6

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Basic data analysis

The Analyzer Classic interface

Although there are many engineering processes that present a streamlined workflow approach, to understand the features provided by the product, it is worth starting by examining the Analyzer Classic interface. The lessons learned here will pay off when you use any other Actix engineering process. During a worksession, the application window may look something like this:

The arrangement of loaded help files and data display windows is called the current workspace. You can save and reuse workspaces as necessary. You may find it useful to create one or more workspaces to act as templates for future work sessions. Save these to your desktop, so you can double-click them to start your solution with your preferred layouts.

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Managing data
Analyzer has several possibly ways that you can load data. A network data (cellref) file can be loaded directly or imported through the Network Explorer function. Logfiles containing collected data from network operations can be loaded directly, either in a recognized format or imported in ASCII format, or loaded in a batch through the Network Image mechanism.

Load data files

1 2 From the main toolbar, click the Open Logfile button to display the Open dialog. Select an appropriate file. Files of Type defaults to 'All Formats' but you can select a specific file type to look for. This also illustrates the many file formats available for use with Actix A Solutions. The Network Image feature (see Loading large amounts of data on page 52) is more practical than using Open Logfile if you need to analyze many large logfiles.

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Find and use data in the Attribute Explorer

The Attribute Explorer window is a graphical display of all loaded data or log files and the data structure contained within each file. Loaded files are at the highest level, with devices and other data streams displayed at lower levels. The name of each type of element is shown below. The exact structures and icons used depend on the data file
The logfile name

The data stream name

An attribute

Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above. The only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streams and data attributes. In the example above, the file 'MyFile1' contains a data stream called 'Qualcomm MDM 1900' (the number is the data stream number within the file, starting from zero). The 'CDMA' group contains the 'Pilot Sets' set, which contains the 'SearcherMaxEnergy' data attribute. The logical tree-view layout of the Attribute Explorer allows you to drill down and identify all logged data. Once you have located the appropriate data attribute, you can open it in a data windowfor example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool.

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Searching for an attribute You may find it easier to locate attributes using the Find Attribute command, which lets you enter all or part of the attribute's name or help description in a new Attribute Search dialog. Select Tools, Find Attribute (or use the hotkey Ctrl + Shift + F) to add a search panel is added to the Attribute Explorer tree view pane.

Enter search criteria about the required attributes into this panel. Find What: Enter some text which is part of the required attribute name. Stream: Select which stream of data should be searched. <All Streams> is set by default. Settings: o Whole Word: Check this to search only for attributes where the search text exactly matches the whole attribute name. Otherwise, search for attributes where the search text is contained within the attribute name.

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Case Sensitive: Check this to search only for attributes where the case of the search string exactly matches the case of the attribute.

Direction: When down is selected, only search for attributes further down in the attribute tree from the currently selected attribute. When up is selected, only search for attributes further up in the attribute tree from the currently selected attribute. Find Next: Based on the current search criteria, find the next matching attribute. This attribute is highlighted in the All tab at the bottom of the Attribute Explorer. Find All: Based on the current search criteria, find all matching attributes in the tree-view. The matching attributes are listed in the Search Results tab at the bottom of the Attribute Explorer.

Done: The search for attribute panel is closed. Search results remain visible in the Search Results tab.

Delete data files

To remove a data file from the Attribute Explorer 1 2 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option. Click Close Logfile. The data file is now removed from the Attribute Explorer display.

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Selecting analysis options

From the Attribute Explorer panel, right-click on a stream or network image to produce a series of menu options, shown on the right. Most common features can be accessed in this way.

Most analysis methods are activated in a similar way, by right-clicking on an attribute or event and selecting from the menu:

Queries have a different set of options:

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Viewing summary data

The Attribute Explorer provides several ways in which you can examine summary or overview information on your loaded data. Once you have used the summary data views to identify problem areas, you can use the attribute views to examine the data in detail. For more information, see the section Viewing attribute data on page 43.

Solution reports
Your Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These application packs distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. Each Actix Solution has a different set of application packs. The application packs are listed under the Analysis menuwhich ones actually appear depend on the type of data file loaded. Note that if you do not have a loaded data file, the Analysis menu option will be grayed-out. To open an application pack 1 2 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set. From the Analysis menu, select an application pack (in this example, 'CDMA Distant Server Analysis').

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Once you select an application pack, this window opens:

The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure against various statistics produced by the application pack. 3 Use the top pane as necessary to narrow down the data in your selection. All reports appropriate to your selection are displayed under the Suggested tab. If you want to use another report, look under the All tab to view all reports available within the current application pack. A description of the reports contained within each application pack is also provided in this window. 4 Double-click on a report icon to open the report window. This will report on all data selected in the upper tree-view panel. As required, use the buttons at the bottom of the window to Save the report as a web-compatible HTML file set, Print the report to your printer or open the report in Excel using Show Excel Report.

To reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application pack reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for a new analysis, you need to re-run these Custom Attributes directly from the Custom Attribute Manager: Distance_Input EcIo_Threshold_Input You can now re-run the application pack. 38 Basic data analysis Actix Solutions Getting Started

The Message Browser

The Message Browser differs from the previous data windows in that it only appears as a pop-up menu option at the data stream level in the Attribute Explorer. From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Display Message Browser.

The Message Browser combines an event panel (sequentially listing call events) with a panel of Layer 3 messaging, allowing you to pinpoint the root causes of problems.

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The Protocol Stack Browser

The Protocol Stack Browser only appears as a pop-up menu option at the data stream level in the Attribute Explorer. 1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the data stream and select Protocol Stack Browser.

Now select the required browser view. Each view displays messaging and information appropriate to that view. The example shown here is the CDMA Signaling (Radio Interface) view.

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CDMA StateTip
The CDMA StateTip utility provides a synchronized view of Handset and PN Scanner data, allowing for a detailed evaluation of neighbor list and pilot pollution problems. By displaying the state of many different engineering parameters at a given trouble spot, you can best judge how to make changes to correct the problem.

The StateTip provides a simple but powerful window (shown on the right of the above example) that synchronizes with all other active windows.

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CDMA Toolkit
Once you are familiar with the basics of using your Actix Solution, you may like to use the CDMA Toolkit utility. CDMA Toolkit automates key CDMA optimization tasks, and appears within the Actix interface as a task bar on the right of the screen. The Toolkit uses a task-based layout to let you perform these analyses: Search Window analysis Neighbor List analysis Optimize coverage areas Analyze multi-carrier statistics Every analysis contains several web-based reports, each of which can be saved and printed out for management use.

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Viewing attribute data

From the Attribute Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menu of options:

Select one of the display methods to opens the appropriate data display window.

View data in a Map

1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ('EcIo_1stBest' in this example) in a map window.

2 3 4

Click on the Pan button. Click and drag the data around the map window. Experiment with the Zoom buttons.

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In the Attribute Explorer, open up the 'Event Data' set and drag an event (in this example the 'WeakPilotWarning' event) onto the map, which should then look similar to this:

Adding events (for example 'CallDropped') to the mapped data can help you see where problems are occurring. 6 Drag another data attribute onto the map. You can also change the size, symbol or color of the data, apply offsets to an attribute or merge attributes for a multidimensional display. See the online help for further details. The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts. 7 To hide a data series, in the legend pane, click in the check box beside the series name.

To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, see the chapter Configuring your solution.

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Replay the data

With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file from beginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control on the main toolbar:

Click on the Step buttons to move forwards and backwards by one message at a time. Note that several clicks may be required before any change is visible on the Map, depending on the binning settings.

Click on the Play buttons to move at a selectable multiple of realtime speed through the data. In this case, some messages may be dropped as necessary to allow the data to be highlighted at the set speed. The Select Options button allows you to override this and force the Replay control to Play All Messages.

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View data in a Form

While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using Forms (also called StateForms). 1 From the View menu, select Forms and select an appropriate StateForm (or, from the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a stream name, select Display Form and then the form name). In a map window, click Select and select a data point.

The Form window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected. Here is an example:

You can synchronize all views in other open data windows by clicking on the timeline in Navigator-type StateForms like this.

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Other StateForms provide information for the currently selected point in the drive test:

3 4 5

If you have scanner data in your logfile, start another Form window. Right-click on the form and select Open File, then select a form (.axw) file for a scanner. Right-click on the form and select Stream Selector, then the scanner stream.

See the online help for details on how to create your own forms.

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View data in a Chart

1 From the Attribute Explorer window, use the pop-up menu to display a data attribute (in this example, 'EcIo_1stBest') in a chart window.

You can display more than one attribute on the same chart. 2 Select a second attribute that would make a useful comparison (in this example, the attribute 'ForwardFER') and drag it onto the existing chart.

You can also zoom into selected areas of the chart by defining a frame for the zoom.

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On the chart, click the upper left corner of the zooming rectangle, and drag down to the lower right extent of the rectangle.

Release the mouse button to complete the zoom action:

Note that the zoom only operates in the X-axis, not in the Y-axis. 5 Now return the chart its original state by dragging a box, but this time up and to the right.

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Use the right mouse button to pan and scroll around the chart window.

Although you can scroll in the X-axis for all attributes on the chart, you can only pan in the Y-axis for the last attribute to be displayed on the chart.

View data in a Table

Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute. From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data attribute (in this example, 'DownLink Measurements > EcIo_1stBest') and select Display on Table. This opens the Table window:

Experiment with the other tabs in the window.

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View data in a Workbook

Workbooks let you examine the data for the selected data attribute within a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on an attribute and select Display on Workbook to open the spreadsheet. See also the section Generate new reports on page 60.

About synchronized data windows

The data in each of these windows is synchronized, so that when displaying the same data attribute in a map, chart or table, if you select a data point in one window, all related map, chart or table windows also highlight the data point. Open a map and a chart window, and display an attribute in each. 1 From the map window, click on Select. Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points. 2 Now click on a data point on the map. You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the chart look as shown below, with a line appearing at the equivalent time on the chart:

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Loading large amounts of data

About Network Images
You may need to load a large amount of data, because you have large logfiles, you have a large number of logfiles, or both. To use the Open Logfile command would be time-consuming, and you might be loading data that you would never actually use in any analysis. The solution in this case is to use the Network Image function. A Network Image is a repository into which you can load data from many files at the same time. However, only a small subset of the available data is loaded. This means less flexibility as you have fewer options with which to examine the data, so you must think about what you want to achieve before proceeding. Use a Network Image when there is a well-known, highlevel analysis process and large amounts of data. Do not use a Network Image when you need to drill into details or follow a very flexible or complex analysis process. You can also add data to the Network Image later, but for the data stored within the Network Image to be consistent, the same binning method and time-offset settings must be used. In your Actix Solution there are typically several Network Image templates provided for each mobile phone technology, and you can create and maintain as many individual Network Images as you need, for various analysis purposes. For more information on Network Images, including how to create new templates for Network Images, see the online help. Performance limitations: Binning - When there are a large number of bins, memory usage increases and load speed deteriorates. Use low-resolution location binning where possible.

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Logfiles - It is better to use a few large files than many small files. If you have problems with many small files you can load a batch in one worksession, restart your Actix Solution and load another batch. Scanner data - Network Images are not suitable for use with large arrays of data, and some scanner uses are not possible.

Create a new Network Image (.dat) file

Network Images are created by selecting an appropriate Network Image template file. One or more Network Image templates are provided for each technology available for your license. Advanced users can create new templates using the Network Image template Wizard (for details, see the online help). To create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:

2 3

Select Network Image template of the appropriate technology and purpose and click OK. From the Save As dialog, enter a File name and location for the Network Image file and click Save. The Network Image is saved in the specified location with a .dat file extension, and is displayed in the Attribute Explorer panel. You may want to share this Network Image file with colleagues, so ensure that you save the file with a sensible name in a suitable location.

At this stage, the Network Image does not contain any data, so the next step is to load it up with data from existing streams in the workspace or from new logfiles.

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Load data into a Network Image

There are several ways to load data into an existing Network Image. You can load data into a Network Image that already contains data. For the resulting Network Image to contain useful data, all data loaded into the Network Image must use the same binning method and time offset. Data should be binned at a low resolution (for example, location binning at 200 m resolution), and avoid message binning as performance will drop significantly. To load data into a Network Image 1 If the required Network Image is not already shown in the Attribute Explorer, from the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate Network Image .dat file and click Open to display the Network Image in the Attribute Explorer. From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the Network Image and select the appropriate data loading option. Select one or more logfiles from a folder Select a folder and load all logfiles in that folder and all subfolders

Select stream from Attribute Explorer

Select the required data loading option, and choose which stream, folder or multiple logfiles to load. When the data has been processed, you should see a message window showing the results for each stream or logfile.

Click OK to close the message window.

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View data from a Network Image

Data in a Network Image is not as flexible as data in a normal Analyzer stream for example, you cannot perform these actions on the Network Image data: Apply filters Create/edit/run new queries Run custom attributes Create superstreams

You can use Maps, Charts, Tables and Workbooks to display Network Image data attributes. To view data from a Network Image 1 If the required Network Image is not already shown in the Attribute Explorer, from the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate Network Image .dat file and click Open to display the Network Image in the Attribute Explorer. From the Attribute Explorer, open up the structure underneath your attached Network Image. Now view the batched Network Image data attributes in the same way as you would for standard data attributes, using maps, charts and so on, by right-clicking on the attributes and selecting options from the pop-up menu.

2 3

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Integrating reverse/forward link (uplink/downlink) data

The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol analyzer can be integrated with the drive-test data. This lets you see how parameters such as EcIo behave at specific mobile locations. In Actix Solutions, this technique of integrating data files is known as 'superstreaming'. 1 2 Ensure that you have loaded the two files that you want to synchronize into a superstream. From the View menu, select Superstream to open the Superstreaming dialog. This dialog shows all currently available data streams. Change the superstream name from the default to something more meaningful. Check the box of each data stream that you want to combine to form a superstream. You can also use the All or None buttons to change the box settings of every listed data stream. Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show the Merge Method options. To superstream data from the reverse link and the forward link, click the Correlated Parameters option. This lets you select attributes from each stream that correspond to one another. Highlight the uplink data stream. From the attribute picker button on the right, select a suitable attribute, for example 'Cell_PN_Primary'. Highlight the downlink data stream.

3 4

5 6

7 8 9

10 From the attribute picker, select for example 'PN_Primary'. 11 Click OK. The superstream is now generated and appears in the Attribute Explorer. You can view data from the superstream in any of the standard data display windows.

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Creating and using queries

Actix Solutions provide a querying interface that lets you construct simple or complex expressions. These expressions extract meaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds or the value of other expressions. As an example, you can create a query that returns statistics for a particular eventsuch as a dropped callfor a given window in time around that event. This is useful when looking for data trends. Queries are created and edited from the Tools menu, Analysis Manager option. You can create these query types: Filter queries Binned queries Histogram queries Statistical queries Crosstab queries Event queries You can also: Perform logical and arithmetic operators Save queries to a default Workspace Apply filters to queries

Create a filter
This example query is designed to filter for poor quality in the data. 1 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter.

The Filter Wizard opens.

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2 3

Enter 'Poor Quality' as the name of the filter. Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select , for example, CDMA > DownLink Measurements > ForwardFER.

4 5

Set the filter operation to 'Greater than (>)'. Set the threshold to '5'.

Click OK to close the Wizard.

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Filter the data

You can turn on and off filters from the Attribute Explorer, just by clicking on them from the drop-down menu. Several default filters are provided to allow you to select the data that is displayed in the Workspace.

Example UMTS filter definitions are shown below: Poor Mobile Receive Power High Mobile Transmit Power Low Mobile Transmit Power High Mobile Receive Power Poor Ec/No High Ec/No CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] < -95 dBm UeTransmittedPower > 0 dBm UeTransmittedPower < -30 dBm CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] > -80 dBm CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] < -15 dB CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] > -8 dB

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Generating new reports

You may want to create high-level management reports based on your collected data. You can print from map and chart windows, but the Workbook function (using Microsoft Excel) allows you to collate these views and perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated, polished report. This task assumes that there is an Excel template created from your Actix Solution that you can use to generate a report. If you do not have a report template, see the online help for details of how to create one. 1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Excel template.

2 3

Click Open. Select the data source that you want to view in the workbook report.

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Click OK to process and display the data in the workbook.

You can proceed to adapt the workbook, use other Excel tools on the data, and so on.

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A and Abis data analysis

There are three main ways you can use your Actix Solution for PCM Link data analysis: Using Actix Scenarios Using user-defined analyses Developing user-defined analyses The first usage model is explained below. For information on developing and using your own analyses for PCM Link data, see the online help. Using Actix Scenarios This is the standard method for PCM Link analysis, and follows this general pattern: 1 2 3 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet. Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios. For details, see the section Choose A or Abis Scenarios on page 63. Load the logfile to be examined. The default Load Mode is 'Minimal Load', which avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time. Select an application pack, narrow the data selection and display the results in a report. Use the tools available in your Actix Solution to identify problem areas in the logfile. These tools are described in the chapter Basic data analysis and the online help.

4 5

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Choose A or Abis Scenarios

Scenarios are collections of analyses that can be performed on any PCM Link data as it is loaded. You select the Scenarios you need, depending on the tasks you want to perform. However, the more Scenarios that are selected, the longer the data takes to load, so only the basic analysis sets are selected by default. Note that you must have at least one A or Abis (as appropriate) Scenario selected for A and Abis analysis features to work correctly. For more information on Scenarios, see the online help. To choose a Scenario 1 2 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.

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The Statistics Explorer

The Statistics Explorer is a powerful data-manipulation tool that lets you rapidly pinpoint problems by displaying statistical data from Crosstab and Event queries. For other features of the Statistics Explorer, see the online help. To use the Statistics Explorer 1 2 3 4 5 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. Select 'Abis Call Analysis'. Open the Abis file. From the View menu, select Statistics Explorer. From the Queries pane on the left of the Statistics Explorer, select Analyze Connection Errors or Analyze Handover Failures. Note that queries beginning with 'Analyze' can be used for call analysis. The processed data is now displayed in the Statistics Explorer.

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Abis Call Analysis

Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the Statistics Explorer, you can extract the individual calls for detailed optimization. You do this by creating a call analysis stream of selected data to view from the Attribute Explorer. 1 2 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data. Click Analyze. The stream of the selected data appears in the Attribute Explorer:

The data in this new stream can now be analyzed using maps, charts, tables etc.

Filter the Attribute Explorer from the Statistics Explorer

Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the Statistics Explorer, you can reduce the quantity of data displayed in the Attribute Explorer. 1 2 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data. Click Filter. The Attribute Explorer now only shows data relating to the row selected in the Statistics Explorer. 3 When you have finished examining the filtered data, click Filter again to switch off the filtering.

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Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data

PCM datafor example from A, Abis or Gb logfilescan be combined with drive test data collected at the same time. This means that the GPS coordinates in the drive test data can be matched to the uplink information, so the uplink information (or the difference between uplink and downlink information) can then be plotted on a map. To Superstream the data 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. Select 'Abis Call Analysis'. Open the PC Link file and the drive test file to be superstreamed. From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT to open the PCM-Link/Drive Test Superstreaming dialog. Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s) and PCMLink stream(s). Select the appropriate Search Method settings for synchronizing the data streams. Click OK to begin the superstreaming process. When the process is complete, the superstream is displayed in the Attribute Explorer, and the normal data displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be used to examine the data.

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GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports

See the section Solution reports on page 37 for information on how to use the pre-configured reports also known as application packs. A data file must be loaded and a valid CellRefs file must have been set. Note that, as not all Scenarios are checked by default, you must select a Scenario under Tools, Choose Scenario for the related application pack option to be displayed under the Analysis menu.

GSM A application packs

An A interface log file carries data for an entire BSC, so is useful for certain statistical analyses. Its scope is broader than Drive Test or Abis data, containing more detail than can be found in the OMC.

A General Analysis
By default, the General Analysis Application Pack is loaded when you open an A interface logfile. Launched from the Analysis menu, General Analysis contains a variety of statistical reports that evaluate how the network is being used. Each report can be run against the entire file, a single cell or a selection of cells. Location Update Count, percentage and breakdown of Location Update messages, types and reject causes. Clear Cause Cause Code count and percentage for Clear Command messages. Useful when trying to identify the cause of dropped calls. Services Requested Count, percentage and breakdown. Channel Assignment Assignment message count and percentage, Assignment Failure breakdown. Channel Assignment by Cell Assignment message count and percentage for each cell. Connection Analysis Count and percentage of SCCP Connection messages. Breakdowns of SCCP Services Requested and CSSP Connection Refused Causes.

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Connection Analysis by Cell Connection statistics for each cell.

A Subscriber Analysis
Subscriber Analysis takes advantage of useful information encoded in the IMSI and EIMI code. This information is automatically extracted and new attributes are created in the Attribute Explorer tree when the file is opened with Full Load. For example, from the IMEI handset details such as the TAC (Type Approval Code) can be obtained. The IMSI contains the subscribers MCC and NCC (Country and Network codes). For maximum performance, log files can be opened in Minimum Load with specific queries enabled to collect this information. Before loading the log file, select Tools, Choose Scenario and select Subscriber Analysis. This enables queries and reports in the Subscriber Analysis application pack. Handset Types Breakdown of mobile handsets based on Type Approval Code. Channel Type Speech and Data channel type counts and percentages. Classmark Classmark count, phase and graph. Roaming by Country Lists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers from each country in a table and graph. Roaming by Network Lists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers from each network in a table and graph.

A Handover Analysis
This application pack provides statistical analysis of both Intra and Inter BSC handovers. It is useful for identifying handover problems as well as analysis of LAC boundaries. Handover Cause HO Performed and HO Required-Attempt cause counts, percentages and graph. Handover Reject and Fail Cause Counts, percentages and graph for HO Request Reject and Failure.

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BSS Handover Cause by Cell Intra-BSC handover statistics for each cell. SSS Handover Cause by Cell Inter-BSC handover statistics for each cell. Handover Messages by Cell Inter-BSC outgoing and incoming statistics for each cell. Useful for finding cells with a high handover failure rate. BSS Handover Matrix Intra-BSC Handovers by Source and Target. This is useful for LAC boundary analysis. Initially the report shows handovers in tabular view. It is also possible to open the Excel report and examine a subset of source and target cells in pivot table view by clicking Show Excel Report. SSS Handover Matrix Inter-BSC Handovers by Source and Target.

GSM Abis application packs

The Abis Interface is a good place to collect high-resolution data as perceived by real customers. Compared to Drive Test, one advantage is that it captures uplink measurements as well as downlink. It is better for statistical analysis because it measures the network as experienced by real customers, rather than by a single drive test route. The main disadvantage is the absence of GPS location information.

Abis Quick Analysis

By default, the Quick Analysis application pack is enabled when you load an Abis log file. It contains a selection of the most commonly used reports from other application packs. Traffic Statistics Setup, TCH and SDCCH statistics by TRX. Quality Distribution Counts of uplink and downlink quality, and graphs of downlink quality vs downlink level and uplink quality vs uplink level. Timing Advance and Interference Interference vs timing advance followed by interference definition chart. Handover Statistics Statistics by TRX for incoming, outgoing and intra-cell handovers and directed retries.

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Connection Failure Statistics for TCH and SDCCH, and cause breakdown. Link Balance Distribution Graph showing corrected downlink level corrected uplink level.

Abis Balance and Sensitivity

A selection of reports for the analysis of Link and Path Balance. System Sensitivity Mean uplink and downlink quality and number of valid points for a range of levels. In a low interference situation this indicates sensitivity of BTS equipment. Link Balance Distribution Graph showing corrected downlink level corrected uplink level. Link Balance by Timeslot Graphs showing mean link balance by TRX and by timeslot. Link Balance UL vs DL A bubble chart with downlink balance on the x axis and uplink balance on the y axis. Ideally most measurements will form a 45 line. Link Balance by DL Level This report shows mean link balance vs. downlink level. This can help identify balance problems. The number of measurements is also given to indicate the validity of each sample.

Abis Network Design

This application pack is useful for network design validation and troubleshooting quality and interference problems. It contains a number of reports to help pinpoint the severity and location of poor quality measurements. Quality Distribution Basic histogram showing distribution of uplink and downlink quality measurements, as well as uplink and downlink bubble charts. These indicate the number of samples based on bubble size, with level on the x axis and quality on the y axis. Poor Quality Contributors Uplink and downlink bubble charts to help identify the location of quality problems. The bubble size indicates the

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number of measurements, with level on the x axis, timing advance on the y axis, and quality range indicated by the bubble colour. Level and Interference Interference vs downlink Rx level followed by interference definition chart. Interference calculation is based on a combination of level and quality measurements. Timing Advance and Interference Interference vs timing advance followed by interference definition chart. Interference calculation is based on a combination of level and quality measurements.

Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures

This Application Pack contains statistical information to analyze traffic volume and the cause of failures, as well as handovers and handover failures. Traffic Statistics Setup, TCH and SDCCH statistics by TRX. Channel Configuration Breakdown by cell and TRX. Handover Statistics Statistics by TRX for incoming, outgoing and intra-cell handovers and directed retries. Handover Fail Cause Count and breakdown of handover fail causes. Handovers by Target Stats and graph of handovers by BSIC-BCCH. Connection Failure Statistics for TCH and SDCCH, and cause breakdown. Error Indication Cause Cause breakdown for TCH and SDCCH. Handset Performance Breakdown of mobile handset performance statistics based on Type Approval Code.

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GPRS data analysis

Before reading this chapter, read the chapter on Analyzing GSM Data to gain familiarity with the Analyzer interface and its tools. There are three main ways you can use Gb Link data analysis: Using Actix Scenarios Using user-defined analyses Developing user-defined analyses (see the online help) The first two ways are explained below: Using Actix Scenarios This is the standard method for Gb Link analysis, and follows this general pattern: 1 2 3 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet. Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios. For details, see the section Choose Gb Scenarios on page 73. Load the logfile to be examined. The default Load Mode is 'Minimal Load', which avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time. Select an application pack, narrow the data selection and display the results in a report. Use the tools in your Actix Solution to identify problem areas in the logfile. These tools are described in the chapter Basic data analysis and in the online help.

4 5

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Using user-defined analyses These are non-standard analysis methods produced by advanced users for co-workers. 1 2 3 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet. Import the appropriate Load Time Queries from the Analysis Manager. Load the logfile to be examined. The default Load Mode is 'Minimal Load', which avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time. Use custom reports to analyze data.

Choose Gb Scenarios
Scenarios are collections of analyses that can be performed on any PCM Link data as it is loaded. You select the Scenarios you need, depending on the tasks you want to perform. However, the more Scenarios that are selected, the longer the data takes to load, so only the basic analysis sets are selected by default. Note that you must have at least one Gb Scenario selected for Gb analysis features to work correctly. For more information on Scenarios, see the online help. To choose a Scenario 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open this dialog:

2 Actix Solutions Getting Started

Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK. GPRS data analysis 73

The Protocol Stack Browser

The Protocol Stack Browser allows you to examine Gb messaging by protocol. To start the Protocol Stack Browser 1 2 From the Tools menu, select Preferences and ensure that, under PCM Link, Load Mode is set to 'Full'. From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the stream name and select Display Protocol Stack Browser.

The Protocol Stack Browser window opens:

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The upper panel shows a formatted breakdown of every message, while the bottom panel shows the full decode for the currently selected message. You can also use the Sync Msgs button to synchronize the display with chart windows and with the Message Browser window to provide a better understanding of the data. If you do not intend to continue using the Protocol Stack Browser, then from the Tools menu, select Preferences, and ensure that under PCM Link, Load Mode is set to 'Minimal'.

GPRS pre-configured reports

See the section Solution reports on page 37 for information on how to use application packs. A valid CellRefs file does not need to be set when analyzing Gb data files. Note that, as not all Scenarios are checked by default, you must select a Scenario under Tools, Choose Scenario for the related application pack option to be displayed under the Analysis menu.

GPRS Gb application packs

GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis
Msg Breakdown Can be used as a high-level overview of the messaging used at each protocol layer of the Gb interface. MM Attach Attach count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value, attach type and attach result. MM Detach MOD and MTD detach count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value and detach type. MM RA Update RAU count and percentage, breakdowns of cause value, update type and update result. MM Error Conditions Breaks down the GMM cause values reported in the GMM status messages.

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SM Error Conditions SM cause value breakdowns for uplink and downlink. SM PDP Context Count, percentage, and cause value breakdowns for MSinitiated and network-initiated activations. SM PDP Context Deactivation Count, percentage, and cause value breakdowns for MSinitiated and network-initiated deactivations. Flow Control Statistics BVC and MS Flow Control Statistics including bucket size and leak rates. Discarded LLC-PDU Statistics Shows average LLC frames discarded and Octets deleted. Cell Update Table Shows the GPRS cell update occurrences using the Cell Identity in the uplink messages of the BSSGP protocol layer. Flush Statistics Shows Flush Action and average number of Octets affected.

GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis

TCP Traffic Type Analysis Using the Source and Destination ports from the TCP header, the traffic type for the data packets can be analyzed. UDP Traffic Type Analysis As above but uses the Source and Destination ports from the UDP header.

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Examine Gb Load Time Queries

If you have selected one or more Scenarios, the related Load Time Queries are displayed in the Attribute Explorer.

To display a Load Time Query in the Statistics Explorer 1 2 From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the appropriate Load Time Query to open the pop-up menu. Select Display the Statistics Explorer.

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GPRS data analysis 77

The Statistics Explorer opens with the Load Time Query selected. All other queries are also displayed in the Queries panel, and may be selected as required.

Load Time Queries in each Scenario

Gb Signalling Analysis This Scenario's Load Time Queries are those used in the application pack of the same name. Gb Throughput Analysis The 'Traffic Type' Load Time Queries are those used in the Gb Throughput Analysis application pack, but there are also eight other Load Time Queries containing useful information that can be displayed in the Statistics Explorer. Gb TCP Session Analysis Gb Handset Analysis These last two Scenarios each contain one query. Display one of these queries in the Statistics Explorer, highlight an interesting row and click the Analyze button. In the example below, Gb Handset Analysis has been displayed in the Statistics Explorer. The user has identified a high number of PDP Activation Failures for a particular mobile, and so clicks Analyze.

78 GPRS data analysis

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This generates a new analysis stream for the mobile in question that can be examined in the Protocol Stack Browser (without needing to set the Load Mode to 'Full') and the Message Browser.

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GPRS data analysis 79

Analyze GPRS Drive Test data

You can analyze GPRS Drive Test data using charts, queries and so on just like any other drive test data. The data attributes shown below in the box are described in the online help under GPRS Drive Test Analysis.

Map DT files lacking GPS data

Some GPRS Drive Test files do not contain GPS data. If you want to display data on a map, you will need to: 1 2 Create your own GPS data file using your logging tool. Use the Text Import Wizard (File, Import Text File) to import the log file. The coordinate format defaults to 'WGS84' but you can select any suitable format. Superstream the imported file with the GPRS Drive Test file (as described in the section Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data in the chapter A and Abis data analysis). You can now plot the superstreamed data attributes on a map.

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6
Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude

Cell site parameters

CDMA cell site parameters

Actix Workspace Name CDMA_Site SiteName CDMA_Site SiteID CDMA_Site SiteLatitude CDMA_Site SiteLongitude CDMA_Cell Sector ID Can 1,2,3 etc. or a combination of site numbers CDMA_Cell Azimuth CDMA_Cell Beamwidth Purpose Text description of the Site for display on map. Numeric identifier for the Site. Locates Site icons on the map. Locates Site icons on the map. Sector-specific information useful for display on maps. Orients the sector icons on the map. Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' on the map to reflect the beamwidth of the antenna deployed at the site. Base station power, used in CDMA Toolkit calculations. Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations, lines to neighbor cells and to color sectors/sites on maps to reflect PN planning. Mobile Country Code System Identity Network Identity Broadcast Identity Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, by technology, band, purpose or status) that the site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.

Sector Number

Azimuth Beamwidth

Base Station Power PN Offset

CDMA_Cell EIRP CDMA_Cell PN

MCC SID NID BID Layer type

CDMA_Cell MCC CDMA_Cell SID CDMA_Cell NID CDMA_Cell BID Layer_type

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Cell site parameters 81

GSM / GPRS / EDGE cell site parameters

Parameter Site Name Site Number Workspace Name GSM_Site_SiteName GSM_Site ID Purpose Text description of the Site for display on map. Numeric identifier for the Site. Used as the linking column to associate the GSM_Site and GSM_Cell rows. Locates Site icons on map. Locates Site icons on map. Sector-specific ID information useful for display on maps.

Latitude Longitude Sector Number

GSM_Site Latitude GSM_Site Longitude GSM_Cell Sector ID Can be 1,2,3, etc, or a combination of site numbers GSM_Cell Azimuth GSM_Cell Beamwith

Azimuth Beamwidth

Orients the sector icons on the map. Governs the radius of the sector 'wedge' icon to reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the sector. Base station power Broadcast control channel. Mobile Network Code Mobile Colour Code Location Area Code Cell ID value Base Station Identity Code, comprising of a concatenation of the NCC and BCC values. Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, by technology, band, purpose or status) that the site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.

Base Station Power BCCH MNC MCC LAC CI BSIC Layer type

GSM_Cell EIRP GSM_Cell BCCH GSM_Cell MNC GSM_Cell MCC GSM_Cell LAC GSM_Cell CI GSM_Cell BSIC Layer_type

82 Cell site parameters

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iDEN cell site parameters

Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude Sector Number Workspace Name IDEN_Site_SiteName IDEN_SiteID IDEN_SiteLatitude IDEN_SiteLongitude IDEN_Cell Sector ID Can use 1,2,3, etc, or a combination of site numbers IDEN_Cell Azimuth IDEN_Cell Beamwidth Purpose Text description of the Site for display on map. Numeric identifier for the Site. Locates Site icons on map. Locates Site icons on map. Sector-specific information useful for display on maps.

Azimuth Beamwidth

Orients the sector icons on the map. Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon to reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site. Base station power Common control channel. Can be used to color the sector wedges. A list of color codes separated by semicolons. This list is designed to match the entries in the TCH_List field. Used for determining likely serving and neighbor cells. Digital Control Channel Digital Voice Color Code A list of traffic channels separated by semicolons. This list is designed to match the entries in the Color_Codes field. Used for determining likely serving and neighbor cells. Mobile Country Code Cell Identity Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, by technology, band, purpose or status) that the site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.

Base Station Power CCCH Color Codes

IDEN_Cell EIRP IDEN_Cell CCCH IDEN_Cell Color_Codes

DCCH DVCC TCH_List

IDEN_Cell DCCH IDEN_Cell DVCC IDEN_Cell TCH_List

MCC CI Layer type

IDEN_Cell MCC IDEN_Cell CI Layer_type

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Cell site parameters 83

IS-136 cell site parameters

Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude Sector Number Workspace Name IS-54/IS-136_Site_SiteName IS-54/IS-136_SiteID IS-54/IS-136_SiteLatitude IS-54/IS-136_SiteLongitude IS-54/IS-136_Cell Sector ID Can 1,2,3, etc, or a combination of site numbers IS-54/IS-136_Cell Azimuth IS-54/IS-136_Cell Beamwith Purpose Text description of the Site for display on map. Numeric identifier for the Site. Locates Site icons on map. Locates Site icons on map. Sector-specific information useful for display on maps. Orients the sector icons on the map. Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon to reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site. Base station power Analog control channel. A list of color codes (SAT and DVCCs) separated by semicolons. This list is designed to match the entries in the Traffic_Channels field. Used for determining likely serving and neighbor cells. Digital Color Code used to determine lines to serving cells for Analog servers in idle mode. Digital Control Channel Digital Voice Color Code A list of traffic channels separated by semicolons. This list is designed to match the entries in the Color_Codes field. Used for determining likely serving and neighbor cells. Mobile Country Code System Identity Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, by technology, band, purpose or status) that the site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.

Azimuth Beamwidth

Base Station Power ACCH Color Codes

IS-54/IS-136_Cell EIRP IS-54/IS-136_Cell ACCH IS-54/IS-136_Cell Color_Codes

DCC DCCH DVCC Traffic_Channels

IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCCH IS-54/IS-136_Cell DVCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell Traffic_Channels

MCC SID Layer type

IS-54/IS-136_Cell MCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell SID Layer_type

84 Cell site parameters

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UMTS cell site parameters

The parameters listed in bold in this table are required for cell data to function interactively with logged data in the main workspace. The remaining parameters are optional.
Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude Sector Number Azimuth Beamwidth Workspace Name SiteName SiteID Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth Purpose Text description of the Site for display on map. Numeric identifier for the site. Locates site icons on map. Locates site icons on map. Sector-specific information useful for display on maps (can be alpha or numeric) Orients the sector icons on the map. Governs the shape of the sector wedge icon to reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the site. Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power for informational purposes only Used for cell site identification and to calculate lines to cells Mobile Country Code for informational purposes only National Domain Code for informational purposes only Location Area Code for informational purposes only Cell Identity for informational purposes only Used to define a pre-defined neighbor list for each cell. Used during neighbor list recommendations analysis. Configurable text field that specifies which cell layer (for example, by technology, band or status) the site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.

EIRP SC MCC MNC LAC CI Neighbor List

EIRP SC MCC MNC LAC CI WCDMANeighborList

Layer Type

LayerType

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Cell site parameters 85

Getting help
To get a complete overview of the product, you should refer to the online help, which also contains systematic instructions for various tasks and reference help for immediate assistance.

Use the online help

You can start the online help from the Help menu, by selecting the Contents option.

The following features of the online help will assist you in finding an answer to your problem.

The Contents tab displays the help topics in an ordered, collapsible view. Double-click on a desired topic to view it.

The Index tab lets you find any index entries that match a word or part of the word you are looking for. As you type, the list of matching topics changes. Select the desired topic and click Display to view it.

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The Search tab lets you type in the word or words to search for, and then click List Topics. All matching topics are then listed. Select the desired topic and click Display to view it.

If you need to refer to a help topic often, you may want to add it to your 'favorites' list. Click on the Favorites tab, and click Add to add the displayed topic to the list. Select a topic from the list and click Display to view it.

The context-sensitive attribute reference help

From the Help menu, select Show Context Help. As you select an attribute in the Workspace Explorer, related extra information is displayed in the help window.

As Actix is committed to provide rapid support for new file formats, this reference help may not be up to date. If there are particular attributes you would like to see in the help but are not currently documented, please email technical support at: [email protected].

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Getting help 87

Visit the Actix Support web site

http:/www.actix.com/support/ The Support area allows you to: Register the products Report problems with any application Download the latest software releases, associated documentation and customization files Access Frequently Asked Questions Certain areas of this section are password protected and can only be accessed by authorized users with registered products.

Contact Actix Support

1 2 First, read the Release Notes provided on the CD or on the support web site to see if this is a known issue. If the problem appears unreported, make a note of the problem and the steps you took that led to the problem occurring. Then, from the Help menu, select About Actix Software, and note the release version. Please have ready your version number, any screenshots of error messages, and any small sample files (zipped if they are very large) where the problem occurs. Email Actix Support at [email protected] to log the problem and ask for a known solution or workaround. We welcome any suggestions for improvement concerning the software or related documentation.

Actix is committed to providing excellent technical support for its entire product range. To achieve this we have dedicated Technical Support telephone numbers and a specific area on our worldwide web site to enable 24-hour support. UK Direct +44 (0) 208 735 6303 09:00 17:00 GMT US Direct +1 877 722 2849 +1 877 72 ACTIX US toll free +1 703 648 0300 09:00 17:00 Eastern Time (GMT -05:00) Asia Pacific +65 332 2313 09:00 17:00 (GMT +08:00)

Outside of hours: Please leave your contact details and a brief description of the nature of the call.

88 Getting help

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8
A B

Index
distance binning, 23

A and Abis Scenarios, 63 Abis Call Analysis, 65 About Actix, 88 activating Actix Solutions, 9 Analysis Manager, 57 Annotations, 25 applications, 7 Attach Network Image, 54, 55 attribute help, 87 attributes, 33 right-clicking on, 43 searching for, 34

E
engineering process, 13 Error Indication Cause report, 71 Excel templates, 60

F
Favorites tab, online help, 87 Favorites tab, Workspace Explorer, 31 filenames, 33 Filter queries, 57 filter the Workspace Explorer, 65 Find Attribute, 34 Flow Control Statistics report, 76 Flush Statistics report, 76 Forms feature, 46

Batch Load Files, 54 Binned queries, 57 binning methods, 22 BSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 69 BSS Handover Matrix report, 69

G
Gb Load Time Queries, 77 Gb Scenarios, 73, 78 generating reports, 60 geographical data, 24 GSM A Application Packs, 67 GSM Abis Application Packs, 67

C
Call Analysis, 65 CDMA StateTip, 41 CDMA Toolkit, 42 Cell Update Table report, 76 cellrefs, 14 Channel Assignment by Cell report, 67 Channel Assignment report, 67 Channel Configuration report, 71 Channel Type report, 68 Classmark report, 68 Clear Cause report, 67 Connection Analysis by Cell report, 68 Connection Analysis report, 67 Connection Failure report, 70, 71 Contents tab, online help, 86 context help, 87 coverage analysis, 42 Create a New Filter, 57 Create Network Image, 53 Crosstab queries, 57

H
Handover Cause report, 68 Handover Fail Cause report, 71 Handover Messages by Cell report, 69 Handover Reject and Fail Cause report, 68 Handover Statistics report, 69, 71 Handovers by Target report, 71 Handset Performance report, 71 Handset Types report, 68 help, context, 87 Histogram queries, 57

I
Index tab, online help, 86 installing Actix Solutions, 8 integrating data files, 56

D
data attributes, 33 data streams, 33 Discarded LLC-PDU Statistics report, 76 Display Message Browser, 39 Display on Table, 50 Display on Workbook, 51

L
Layer 3 messaging, 39 Layer Control dialog, 24 Level and Interference report, 71 lines to cells, 29 Link Balance report by DL Level, 70

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Index 89

by Timeslot, 70 Distribution, 70 UL vs DL, 70 Load Time Queries, 77 location binning, 23 Location Update report, 67

S
Scenarios, 63, 73 Search tab, online help, 87 Search Window analysis, 42 searching for attributes, 34 Services Requested report, 67 setting the binning method, 23 SM Error Conditions report, 76 SM PDP Context Deactivation report, 76 SM PDP Context report, 76 SSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 69 SSS Handover Matrix report, 69 starting Actix Software, 12 StateTip, 41 Statistical queries, 57 Statistics Explorer, 64 viewing Gb Load Time Queries, 77 streams, 33 superstreaming, 23, 56 synchronized data, 51 System Sensitivity report, 70

M
MapInfo data types, 25 message binning, 23 Message Browser, 33, 39 message filtering, 22 Microsoft Excel reports, 60 MM Attach report, 75 MM Detach report, 75 MM Error Conditions report, 75 MM RA Update report, 75 Msg Breakdown report, 75 multi-carrier statistical analysis, 42 multidimensional display, 44

N
Neighbor List analysis, 42 Network Explorer, 14, 30

T
tables, using, 50 TCP Traffic Type Analysis report, 76 Technical Support telephone contact details, 88 time-based binning, 22 Timing Advance and Interference report, 69, 71 Toolkit, 42 Traffic Statistics report, 69, 71

O
online help, using the, 86 Open Logfile, 32 Open Workbook, 60

P
panning chart windows, 50 panning map windows, 43 Poor Quality Contributors report, 71 Preferences dialog, 20, 22, 23 Product ID, 9 Protocol Stack Browser, 40

U
UDP Traffic Type Analysis report, 76 UMTS cell site parameters, 85 UMTS filters, 59

V
viewing data in charts, 48 viewing data in maps, 43

Q
Quality Distribution report, 69, 70

R
Replay feature, 45 reports, 60 CDMA Toolkit, 42 reverse and forward link data integration, 56 right-clicking on attributes, 43 Roaming by Country report, 68 Roaming by Network report, 68

W
WCDMA cell site parameters, 85 workbook reports, 60 workbooks, using, 51 workspace, 31

Z
zooming chart windows, 49 zooming map windows, 43

90 Index

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