Actix A Solutions User Guide

'A' Solutions User Guide
Copyright
Actix 'A' Solutions User Guide August 2003 edition Copyright 2003 Actix Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are hereby acknowledged. MapInfo and MapInfo MapX are registered trademarks of MapInfo Corporation. Microsoft, Excel and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................................17
USING THE ONLINE HELP ..............................................................................................................17 CONVENTIONS USED WITHIN THE TEXT ..........................................................................................17
Analyzing data with Actix Solutions ......................................................................18

USING ACTIX SOLUTIONS .............................................................................................................18 MANAGING DATA .........................................................................................................................18 VISUALIZING DATA .......................................................................................................................20 ANALYZING DATA.........................................................................................................................20 OPTIMIZING NETWORKS ...............................................................................................................21 Application Layers..............................................................................................................21 CDMA Toolkit.....................................................................................................................21 FREE (AD HOC) DATA ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................21 Free analysis of CDMA data ..............................................................................................21 The interface for A Solutions .......................................................................................22 Configure CDMA network information .........................................................................22
Import CDMA network information ....................................................................................22 Set a CDMA network information file.................................................................................24
Load CDMA data files..................................................................................................25 Find and use CDMA data in the Workspace Explorer..................................................25
CDMA Event Detection .....................................................................................................27
Delete CDMA data files ...............................................................................................31 View CDMA summary data..........................................................................................31 View CDMA data .........................................................................................................33
CDMA Event Technical Reference.......................................................................................... 28
Table view .........................................................................................................................31 The Message Browser ......................................................................................................32 View CDMA data in the Map window ................................................................................34 Replay the CDMA data......................................................................................................35 View CDMA data in StateForms........................................................................................35 Print the CDMA data .........................................................................................................37 View CDMA data in the Chart window...............................................................................38 View synchronized CDMA data.........................................................................................41
Generate CDMA reports..............................................................................................42 Configure Maps ...........................................................................................................44

Map backgrounds and layers ............................................................................................44 Show lines to cells on a map.............................................................................................47
MapInfo layers ......................................................................................................................... 46
Network Imaging..........................................................................................................48
Create a Network Image ...................................................................................................49 Batch-load CDMA data files ..............................................................................................50
Actix A Solutions User Guide
Contents 3
CDMA pre-configured reports......................................................................................52

CDMA Drive Test application layers..................................................................................53
CDMA Summary Reports ........................................................................................................ 53 CDMA Cluster Optimization..................................................................................................... 54 CDMA Distant Server Analysis................................................................................................ 54 CDMA Event Inspection .......................................................................................................... 54
CDMA StateTip............................................................................................................54 CDMA Toolkit ..............................................................................................................55 Integrate reverse and forward link data .......................................................................56 Aggregate CDMA data ................................................................................................57 Use Queries.................................................................................................................58
Create a filter.....................................................................................................................59
Free analysis of GSM data.................................................................................................61 The interface for A Solutions .......................................................................................61 Configure GSM network information............................................................................62
Import GSM network information.......................................................................................62 Set a GSM network information file...................................................................................64
Load GSM data files ....................................................................................................64 Find and use GSM data in the Workspace Explorer....................................................65 Delete GSM data files..................................................................................................66 View GSM summary data............................................................................................67
Table view .........................................................................................................................67 The Message Browser ......................................................................................................67 Viewing GSM data in the Map window ..............................................................................69 Replay the GSM data ........................................................................................................70 View GSM data in StateForms ..........................................................................................71 Print the GSM data............................................................................................................72 View GSM data in the Chart window .................................................................................73 View synchronized GSM data ...........................................................................................75
View GSM data............................................................................................................68
Generate GSM reports ................................................................................................76 Configure Maps ...........................................................................................................77

Map backgrounds and layers ............................................................................................77 Show lines to cells on a map.............................................................................................79
Network Imaging..........................................................................................................81
Create a Network Image ...................................................................................................81 Batch-load GSM data files.................................................................................................82
GSM Application Layers ..............................................................................................84
GSM DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis ................................................................86 GSM DT Handover Settings & Power Control Analysis ....................................................86
Integrate uplink and downlink data ..............................................................................87 Aggregate GSM data...................................................................................................88 Use Queries.................................................................................................................88
Create a filter.....................................................................................................................89
A and Abis analysis............................................................................................................90 Using Actix PCM Link Scenarios .................................................................................91 Using user-defined analyses .......................................................................................92 Developing user-defined analyses...............................................................................92 Choose A or Abis Scenarios........................................................................................92
4 Contents Actix A Solutions User Guide
The Statistics Explorer.................................................................................................93
Abis Call Analysis..............................................................................................................94 Filter the Workspace Explorer ...........................................................................................95
Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data ......................................................................95 GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports......................................................................96
GSM A application layers ..................................................................................................96
A General Analysis .................................................................................................................. 96 A Handover Analysis ............................................................................................................... 96 A Subscriber Analysis.............................................................................................................. 97 Abis Quick Analysis ................................................................................................................. 97 Abis Balance and Sensitivity ................................................................................................... 98 Abis Network Design ............................................................................................................... 98 Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures ....................................................................................... 98
GSM Abis application layers .............................................................................................97
Free analysis of GPRS data...............................................................................................99 Choose Gb Scenarios ...............................................................................................100 Examine Gb Load Time Queries ...............................................................................101 Load Time Queries in each Scenario ........................................................................102 Analyze GPRS Drive Test data .................................................................................104 Map DT files lacking GPS data..................................................................................105 Gb pre-configured reports..........................................................................................105
GPRS Gb application layers............................................................................................105
GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis ................................................................................................ 105 GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis............................................................................................. 106
Free analysis of IS-136 data ............................................................................................107 The interface for A Solutions .....................................................................................107 Configure IS-136 network information .......................................................................108
Import IS-136 network information ..................................................................................108 Set an IS-136 network information file.............................................................................110
Load IS-136 data files................................................................................................110 Find and use IS-136 data in the Workspace Explorer................................................110 Delete IS-136 data files .............................................................................................112 View IS-136 summary data........................................................................................113
Table view .......................................................................................................................113 The Message Browser ....................................................................................................114
View IS-136 data .......................................................................................................115
View IS-136 data in the Map window ..............................................................................115 Replay the IS-136 data....................................................................................................117 View IS-136 data in StateForms......................................................................................117 Print the IS-136 data .......................................................................................................118 View IS-136 data in the Chart window.............................................................................119 View synchronized IS-136 data.......................................................................................121
Generate IS-136 reports............................................................................................122 Configure Maps .........................................................................................................123
Map backgrounds and layers ..........................................................................................123 Display IS-136 network information.................................................................................125 Show lines to cells on a map...........................................................................................126 Create a Network Image .................................................................................................127
Network Imaging........................................................................................................127
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Batch-load data files........................................................................................................128
TDMA pre-configured reports ....................................................................................130

Use an application layer ..................................................................................................130 TDMA application layers .................................................................................................133
TDMA Summary Reports ...................................................................................................... 133
Integrate uplink and downlink data ............................................................................133 Aggregate IS-136 data ..............................................................................................134 Use Queries...............................................................................................................135 Free analysis of iDEN data ..............................................................................................137 The interface for A Solutions .....................................................................................137 Configure iDEN network information .........................................................................138
Create a filter...................................................................................................................136
Import iDEN network information.....................................................................................138 Set an iDEN network information file...............................................................................140
Load iDEN data files..................................................................................................140 Find and use iDEN data in the Workspace Explorer..................................................140 Delete iDEN data files ...............................................................................................142 Table view .................................................................................................................142 The Message Browser...............................................................................................143 View iDEN data .........................................................................................................144 View iDEN data in the Map window...........................................................................144 Replay the iDEN data ................................................................................................146 View iDEN data in StateForms ..................................................................................146 Print the iDEN data....................................................................................................147 View iDEN data in the Chart window .........................................................................148 View synchronized iDEN data ...................................................................................150 Generate iDEN reports ..............................................................................................151 Map backgrounds and layers.....................................................................................152 Display iDEN network information .............................................................................154 Network Imaging........................................................................................................155 iDEN pre-configured reports ......................................................................................158
Create a Network Image .................................................................................................155 Batch-load iDEN data files ..............................................................................................156 iDEN Drive Test application layers..................................................................................160
iDEN Summary Reports ........................................................................................................ 160 iDEN Event Inspection........................................................................................................... 160
Aggregate iDEN data.................................................................................................161 Use Queries...............................................................................................................161 Create a filter.............................................................................................................162 Key fields...................................................................................................................164 Required fields...........................................................................................................164 Other fields ................................................................................................................164
Workspaces............................................................................................................165
ABOUT WORKSPACES ................................................................................................................165 ABOUT THE WORKSPACE EXPLORER ..........................................................................................166
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ABOUT BINNING DATA ................................................................................................................169 USE WORKSPACES ....................................................................................................................170 OPEN A DATA FILE .....................................................................................................................171 IMPORT A TEXT FILE ...................................................................................................................171 RUN AN ANALYSIS ON THE DATA ..................................................................................................173 SHOW A MENU OF ATTRIBUTE OPTIONS ........................................................................................173 VIEW AN ATTRIBUTE IN A DATA WINDOW .......................................................................................174 USE THE REPLAY CONTROL .......................................................................................................174 VIEW A DATA STREAM IN THE MESSAGE BROWSER .......................................................................174 VIEW THE RESULTS OF A QUERY .................................................................................................175 EXPORT DATA TO A FILE .............................................................................................................176 MERGE DATA STREAMS ..............................................................................................................177 Superstream PCM Link and Drive Test data....................................................................178 USE LOAD TIME QUERIES ..........................................................................................................178 WORKSPACE TOOLBAR REFERENCE ............................................................................................179 PREFERENCES DIALOG ..............................................................................................................179
Viewing data ...........................................................................................................185

WORKBOOKS/REPORTS .............................................................................................................185 About workbooks..............................................................................................................185 Display data attributes in a workbook...............................................................................186 View Series data in a workbook.................................................................................186 View Histogram data in a workbook ..........................................................................187 View Statistic data in a workbook ..............................................................................187 Save a workbook/report ...................................................................................................188 Open an existing workbook/report....................................................................................188 CHARTS ...................................................................................................................................189 About charts.....................................................................................................................189 Display data in a chart window.........................................................................................190 View data synchronized with the chart .............................................................................191 Zoom the chart view.........................................................................................................191 Pan the chart view............................................................................................................192 View a different chart type................................................................................................192 Print the chart...................................................................................................................192 Edit the chart....................................................................................................................193 Export the chart to other applications...............................................................................194 Chart toolbar reference..............................................................................................195
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MAPS .......................................................................................................................................196 About maps......................................................................................................................196 Display attribute data on a map........................................................................................198 View data synchronized with the map ..............................................................................199 Move around the map ......................................................................................................199 Zoom in and out ...............................................................................................................200 Select map objects...........................................................................................................200 Measure distances on the map ........................................................................................201 Add annotations to the map .............................................................................................202 Remove annotations from the map ..................................................................................202 Show and hide map data .................................................................................................203 Alter the map legend range..............................................................................................203 Change the number of ranges in the legend ....................................................................203 Customize each range in the legend................................................................................204 Change the attribute style setting.....................................................................................205 Change the attribute font..................................................................................................206 Combine data attributes on the map ................................................................................206 Control map layers...........................................................................................................206 Add a map file ..................................................................................................................207 Add a raster map file ........................................................................................................207 Control attribute labels .....................................................................................................208 Edit a layer's display properties........................................................................................208 Offset the data on the map...............................................................................................208 Choose the map projection ..............................................................................................209 Change the map units ......................................................................................................209 Display the map scale ......................................................................................................209 Display the cursor latitude and longitude .........................................................................210 Display cell sites on the map............................................................................................210 Display lines to cells.........................................................................................................211 Print a map.......................................................................................................................213 Copy a map to the Clipboard ...........................................................................................214 Export a map as a bitmap ................................................................................................215 Export the legend as a bitmap .........................................................................................215 Export layers as TAB files ................................................................................................216 Troubleshooting maps......................................................................................................216 How do I display a map background?........................................................................216 How do I display network graphics on the map? .......................................................216 How do I load a bitmap into a map? ..........................................................................216 How do I display cell sites on the map?.....................................................................217 How do I display lines to cells?..................................................................................217 How do I display cell coverage for all cells on the map?............................................217 How do I display more information about my cells on the map?................................217
How can I display the LAC distribution of my cell sites?............................................218 How can I view multi-layer or multi-technology cells?................................................218 How can I view sector azimuths? ..............................................................................218 How can I correct the displayed lines to cells? ..........................................................219 Map dialog reference .......................................................................................................220 Page Setup dialog .....................................................................................................220 Print Setup dialog ......................................................................................................222 Print Map dialog.........................................................................................................223 Properties dialog........................................................................................................224 Label Properties dialog..............................................................................................226 Display Properties dialog...........................................................................................227 Raster Image Registration dialog ..............................................................................228 Map toolbar reference ......................................................................................................229 Annotations toolbar reference....................................................................................230 Area Select toolbar reference ....................................................................................230 Map Layout Designer toolbar reference.....................................................................231 SITEDATA VIEWER ....................................................................................................................231 Filtering data ....................................................................................................................233 TABLES ....................................................................................................................................234 About Tables....................................................................................................................234 Display data attributes in a Table.....................................................................................234 View Series data in a Table .............................................................................................234 View Histogram data in a Table .......................................................................................235 View Statistics data in a Table .........................................................................................235 MESSAGE BROWSER .................................................................................................................236 About the Message Browser ............................................................................................236 Display data in the Message Browser ..............................................................................236 Synchronize with the Workspace .....................................................................................237 Find text in the Message Browser ....................................................................................238 Set and remove bookmarks .............................................................................................238 Move between bookmarks ...............................................................................................238 Remove all bookmarks.....................................................................................................239 Filter messages in the Message Browser ..................................................................239 Format messages in the Message Browser .....................................................................240 Export messages to the clipboard .............................................................................240 Message Browser toolbar reference ................................................................................241 PROTOCOL STACK BROWSER.....................................................................................................242 Using the Protocol Stack Browser....................................................................................242 Searching in the Protocol Stack Browser .........................................................................243 STATISTICS EXPLORER ..............................................................................................................245 About the Statistics Explorer ............................................................................................245
Contents 9
Open the Statistics Explorer.............................................................................................246 Check for existing queries................................................................................................247 Manipulate data in the Statistics Explorer ........................................................................247 Filter the Workspace data ................................................................................................248 Generate a substream .....................................................................................................248 Statistics Explorer toolbar reference ................................................................................248 STATEFORMS ...........................................................................................................................249 Use StateForms ...............................................................................................................249 CDMA STATETIP ......................................................................................................................251 About CDMA StateTip......................................................................................................251 Start CDMA StateTip........................................................................................................252 Change the view ..............................................................................................................252 Change the handset source .............................................................................................253 Change the scanner source .............................................................................................253 CDMA TOOLKIT........................................................................................................................254 About CDMA Toolkit.........................................................................................................254 Optimize Search Windows ...............................................................................................255 About Optimize Search Windows Analysis ................................................................255 How the Search Window Analysis works...................................................................256 Configure Settings (Search Windows)..................................................................258 Optimize Neighbor Lists ...................................................................................................258 About Optimize Neighbor Lists Analysis ....................................................................258 Configure Settings (Neighbor Lists)......................................................................260 Evaluate Coverage...........................................................................................................261 About Evaluate Coverage Analysis ...........................................................................261 Using Evaluate Coverage..........................................................................................263 Configure Settings (Coverage).............................................................................264 Optimize Multiple Carriers................................................................................................265 Configure Settings (Multiple Carriers) ..................................................................265 GSM MISSING NEIGHBOR ANALYSIS ..........................................................................................266 Running the analysis........................................................................................................267
Querying data.........................................................................................................269
ABOUT THE ANALYSIS MANAGER ................................................................................................269 About query types ............................................................................................................271 ABOUT LOAD TIME, FULL LOAD AND MINIMAL LOAD .....................................................................273 CREATE A CROSSTAB QUERY ....................................................................................................274 Tips for writing Crosstab Queries .....................................................................................275 Crosstab Query example .................................................................................................277 CREATE A BINNED QUERY .........................................................................................................279
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Binned Query example.....................................................................................................280 CREATE A FILTER QUERY ..........................................................................................................282 Filter Query example........................................................................................................283 CREATE A HISTOGRAM QUERY ...................................................................................................285 Histogram Query example ...............................................................................................286 CREATE A STATISTIC QUERY ......................................................................................................288 Statistic Query example ...................................................................................................290 CREATE AN EVENT QUERY.........................................................................................................292 Event Query example.......................................................................................................293 BUILD AND EDIT EXPRESSIONS....................................................................................................297 EDIT AN EXISTING QUERY ...........................................................................................................298 DELETE AN EXISTING QUERY ......................................................................................................299 IMPORT A QUERY .......................................................................................................................300 EXPORT A QUERY ......................................................................................................................301 SET AS LOAD TIME QUERY .........................................................................................................301 SET THE LOAD MODE ................................................................................................................302 SELECT ONE OR MORE LOAD TIME QUERIES ................................................................................302 SELECT A SCENARIO .................................................................................................................303 CHANGE THE NAME OF A QUERY .................................................................................................303 TROUBLESHOOTING QUERIES ....................................................................................................303 How do I display only newly activated sites? ...................................................................303 ANALYSIS MANAGER REFERENCE ...............................................................................................304 Analysis Manager dialog ..................................................................................................304 New Analysis tab .......................................................................................................304 Existing Analysis tab..................................................................................................304 Crosstab Query Wizard....................................................................................................304 Binned Query Wizard .......................................................................................................304 Filter Wizard.....................................................................................................................305 Histogram Wizard.............................................................................................................306 Statistic Wizard ................................................................................................................307 Query Window Definition..................................................................................................307 Filter dialog ......................................................................................................................308 Event Query Wizard .........................................................................................................308
Archiving data using Network Images.................................................................309

ABOUT NETWORK IMAGING ........................................................................................................309 CREATE A NEW NETWORK IMAGE FILE..........................................................................................310
Actix A Solutions User Guide Contents 11
ATTACH AN EXISTING NETWORK IMAGE FILE .................................................................................311 BATCH LOAD DATA FILES ............................................................................................................311 LOAD STREAMS FROM THE WORKSPACE EXPLORER TO A NETWORK IMAGE ....................................312
Network Explorer ...................................................................................................313

ABOUT NETWORK EXPLORER .....................................................................................................313 Use the Network Explorer ................................................................................................314 Import network elements from a file .................................................................................315 NOTES FOR GSM USERS ...........................................................................................................318 Create a new element ......................................................................................................318 Leave the Network Explorer.............................................................................................319 NETWORK EXPLORER REFERENCE..............................................................................................319 Network Explorer toolbar reference..................................................................................319 Custom Import Wizard .....................................................................................................320 Template Import Settings dialog ................................................................................320 Template Column Settings dialog..............................................................................321 New Element Values dialog .............................................................................................322 DEFAULT IMPORT TEMPLATES ....................................................................................................322 CDMA template................................................................................................................324 GSM template ..................................................................................................................325 IDEN template..................................................................................................................326 IS-54 / IS-136 template ....................................................................................................327 WCDMA template ............................................................................................................328
Custom Attributes..................................................................................................329
ABOUT CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES ......................................................................................................329 INSTALL CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES ....................................................................................................329 USE CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES ..........................................................................................................329 CREATE CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES ....................................................................................................330 The Custom Attribute tag .................................................................................................330 The CDATA tag................................................................................................................332 Example Custom Attributes..............................................................................................333 Four_sec_bad_qual.caf .............................................................................................333 Aglnt_CW_RSSI.caf ..................................................................................................334 iDEN_Handover.caf...................................................................................................335
Appendix A File formats supported ..................................................................336 Appendix B Creating StateForms......................................................................339

Create a new StateForm ..................................................................................................339
Using the Sheet Manager ................................................................................................341 Creating Time Charts .......................................................................................................342 Creating Scan Charts.......................................................................................................355 Actix expression syntax & examples ................................................................................359
Appendix C Expression Builder function reference........................................361

FUNCTIONS ..............................................................................................................................361 abs ...................................................................................................................................361 abstime ............................................................................................................................361 add...................................................................................................................................361 and...................................................................................................................................361 array_count ......................................................................................................................361 array_find_index...............................................................................................................362 array_max ........................................................................................................................362 array_max_index..............................................................................................................362 array_mean......................................................................................................................362 array_min .........................................................................................................................362 array_min_index...............................................................................................................362 array_nth_max .................................................................................................................362 array_nth_min ..................................................................................................................362 array_stdev ......................................................................................................................362 bin ....................................................................................................................................363 bin_index..........................................................................................................................363 default ..............................................................................................................................363 delta .................................................................................................................................363 divide................................................................................................................................364 equals ..............................................................................................................................364 eval ..................................................................................................................................364 event_before ....................................................................................................................364 event_message................................................................................................................364 event_time .......................................................................................................................364 geoinvprojectlat................................................................................................................364 geoinvprojectlon...............................................................................................................365 geoprojectx ......................................................................................................................365 geoprojecty ......................................................................................................................365 get....................................................................................................................................365 greater_than.....................................................................................................................365 greater_than_or_equal.....................................................................................................365 if .......................................................................................................................................365 is_not_equal.....................................................................................................................365 less_than..........................................................................................................................366
Actix A Solutions User Guide Contents 13
less_than_or_equal..........................................................................................................366 log ....................................................................................................................................366 log10 ................................................................................................................................366 message ..........................................................................................................................366 mod..................................................................................................................................366 mround.............................................................................................................................366 not....................................................................................................................................367 NULL................................................................................................................................367 or......................................................................................................................................367 power ...............................................................................................................................367 prev_message_where......................................................................................................367 prev_state ........................................................................................................................367 prev_time_where..............................................................................................................368 product .............................................................................................................................368 round................................................................................................................................368 rounddown .......................................................................................................................368 roundup............................................................................................................................369 row ...................................................................................................................................369 set ....................................................................................................................................369 state .................................................................................................................................369 subarray_nth_max ...........................................................................................................369 subarray_nth_max_index.................................................................................................370 subarray_nth_min ............................................................................................................370 subarray_nth_min_index..................................................................................................370 sum ..................................................................................................................................370 STATISTIC DIALOG .....................................................................................................................371 BINNING SETTINGS ....................................................................................................................372 THE DATE TYPE ......................................................................................................................373
Appendix D FSD reference for custom attributes............................................374

OVERVIEW OF FSD AUTOMATION MODEL.....................................................................................374 FSD OBJECT ............................................................................................................................375 IAxdFSD_DataStream......................................................................................................375 IAxdFSD_Message ..........................................................................................................377 IAxdFSD_AttributeValueList.............................................................................................378 IAxdFSD_AttributeValue ..................................................................................................378 IAxdFSD_Attribute ...........................................................................................................379 ENUMERATIONS ........................................................................................................................380 Stream Types...................................................................................................................380
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Message Text Formatting Flags.......................................................................................380 Statistic Types..................................................................................................................380 SuperStream Methods .....................................................................................................381
Index........................................................................................................................382
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16 Contents
Preface
Using the online help
Showing the contents panel From the Help window, click the Show button to open the left hand contents panel. To close the contents panel, click Hide . If you are not sure where your current page and the is in the help file structure, click Locate appropriate topic title is highlighted in the left hand panel. Favorite help pages From the Help window, click the Favorites tab to show a list of stored help pages. This is empty at first, but if you click Add, the current help page is added to the list. Back to the start To return here, click Home viewed, click Back .
. To return to the last page
Print Click Print to print the selected page or all pages in the selected heading.
Conventions used within the text

Words in bold mean that you can select the itemfor example, click Cancel means click the Cancel button. Words in italics mean that the item in italics is a unique part of the interfacefor example, the Map window. Menu | Command for example, File | Open is short for from the File menu, select Open'. Ctrl+A means that you hold two keys down at the same timeCtrl and A in this example. Alt,V means that you press and release one key (Alt), then press another key (V).
Analyzing data with Actix Solutions

Using Actix Solutions
Actix 'A' Solutions post-process cellular network data, and can load network performance data from many different sources, including field-test equipment and switch call traces. The data could be 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. The 'A' Solutions address a wide range of applications, including: Network performance optimization Feature testing Service validation Problem diagnosis and analysis Network bench-marking Competitive analysis
Various reports are provided within each Solution for these applications; however, your A Solution can also be used in free or ad hoc analysis mode, where you can use the various tools within the Solution to investigate any message or attribute of interest within your logged data.
Managing data
Network configuration data You can easily import cell site data and key configuration parameters from planning tools using the Network Explorer, which provides a link to all network data.
18 Analyzing data with Actix Solutions
Import data You can load log files from all supported data collection formats (see Appendix A File formats supported on page 336). However, if your data collection device is not supported, you can import the data as an ASCII text file using the text file import wizard. Note that, in general, loading small files results in increased performance, and loading large files results in decreased performance. Minimal Load for PCM Link files PCM Link data files can be sizeable, so A Solutions allow such files to be loaded with a relevant subset of data. The A Solution must be switched into Minimal Load mode for this to work. Batch processing and data storage The Network Image data import facility allows you process multiple data files at the same time. The results of single or multiple analysis sessions can be saved for network trend analysis.
Analyzing data with Actix Solutions 19
Visualizing data
Problem 1 Manage the data
Open data files Import text files Batch-load data Filters Workspace Explorer Favorites
Filter the data
View the data
Maps, Charts, Tables, Workbooks Replay, Synchronized data views StateForms, Statistics Explorer Message Browser Print workbooks, maps, charts Save workspace Export as text file
Record results
Solution
Analyzing data
Problem 1 Manage the data
Open data files Import text files Merge data files Batch-load data Analysis reports CDMA StateTip CDMA Toolkit Histograms, Tables Filters, Queries Workbooks, Message Browser Synchronized data views Statistics Explorer Print workbooks, maps, charts Save workspace Export as text file
Find problem areas using top-level pre-defined reports Isolate problem areas using ad hoc methods to drill down into the data Record results
Solution
Optimizing networks
APPLICATION LAYERS Each solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These application layers distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. CDMA TOOLKIT The CDMA Toolkit utility provides a task bar designed to automate key CDMA optimization tasks. A familiar taskbased layout allows you to quickly perform these tasks: Search Window analysis Neighbor List analysis Optimize coverage areas Analyze multi-carrier statistics
The Toolkit outputs a series of web-based reports, which can be saved and printed for managerial use.
Free (ad hoc) data analysis

The sections below describe using A Solutions for free (ad hoc) analysis with different telecoms technologies. Each section introduces tasks and concepts in a logical order that is not necessarily the same as that described under the diagram on the previous page. The major technologies are described hereother technologies use similar techniques but different data attributes. To reduce the amount of screen area taken up by this help window, you may want to click Hide at the top left of this window. FREE ANALYSIS OF CDMA DATA This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze CDMA log files. These tasks have been chosen to demonstrate most of the basic features. Practicing these will allow you to be productive as soon as possible. For an in-depth understanding of Actix A Solutions, you should attend a full training / workshop session, as these
can be tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for the company as a whole. The interface for A Solutions After the startup is complete, the application window looks 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 up with your preferred layouts. Configure CDMA network information Import CDMA network information As well as geographical data, it is also useful to display your network information on a map window. You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called cellrefs, although it can be given any
name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, view and edit the cellrefs file. If you manually create a cellrefs file, you must have this as the first line: ;#NetworkData - datafile If you import the file using Network Explorer, this line is added automatically. To maximize the benefit for CDMA network analysis, the following parameters should be included in data imported into the tool.
Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude Sector Number 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 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, used in CDMA Toolkit calculations. Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations, lines to neighbor cells and to color sector/site icons on maps to reflect PN planning. Mobile Country Code System Identity Network Identity Broadcast Identity
Azimuth Beamwidth
Base Station Power PN Offset
CDMA_Cell EIRP CDMA_Cell PN
MCC SID NID BID
CDMA_Cell MCC CDMA_Cell SID CDMA_Cell NID CDMA_Cell BID
To import the network information 1 From the Tools menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window. 2 From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template to open the Import dialog. 3 Select the appropriate network data file. 4 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard. 5 Give the Template a meaningful Description. 6 Under Delimiters, check Tab. 7 Under General Settings, enter 1 for Ignore header rows and ; for Array (list) Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator, set these options accordingly. 8 Click on the Column Settings tab.
Actix A Solutions User Guide Analyzing data with Actix Solutions 23
The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. Note that each of the field names has an associated icon: Key fields (see page 164) Required fields (see page 164) Other fields (see page 164) 9 Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field. 10 Select a column binding from the drop-down list. The Wizard then displays the selected parameter against the appropriate column. 11 Select the appropriate column bindings for CDMA Site and Site Name. Repeat this for the SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude. 12 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under CDMA Cell. Use the Cell ID column for the CDMA Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, PN, MCC, SID, NID, and BID. These parameters are described in the table at the top of this section. 13 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 Explorer. When the cellrefs file is updated, you should use the template you have created on the new file, so you do not have to repeat work you have already done, including the columnby-column parameter assignment. Set a CDMA network information file 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.
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Click on File Location to select the cellrefs file. Click OK to close the Preferences dialog. You will now see this message:
Load CDMA data files 1 From the toolbar, click the Open Logfile button:
This displays the Open dialog. 2 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. Find and use CDMA data in the Workspace Explorer The Workspace 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.
Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, 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:
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However, the only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streams and data attributes. The logical tree-view layout of the Workspace 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 window for example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool. You may also want additional information about a particular data attribute. See here for more information on CDMA event detection (see page 27). Select 'ActiveDelay_Max1'. From the Help menu, select Attribute Help to open the attribute help window.
Click the button to dock the attribute help window and drag it to a useful position.
Select a new attribute. Note that the help now provides information on that attribute.
CDMA Event Detection The CDMA event detection engine identifies key network events in CDMA IS-95, IS95-B and IS.2000 networks by monitoring the air interface messaging. Using this messaging, the engine tracks the handsets state as it moves between Idle, Origination, and Dedicated states. Idle State This is the state that the phone is in, before a call is originated or received. After a call is terminated through normal or abnormal means, it returns to the Idle State. Origination State This is the state that the phone is in after an Origination or Page Response is sent on the access channel, but before the forward and reverse traffic channels are active.
Dedicated State (Conversation) This is the state that the phone is in, after transmission has started on both the forward and reverse traffic channels. The start state is the default state for all phones until an air interface message is received. Based on this message, the phone is immediately transitioned to the appropriate state. This is to account for log files where the phone is already in origination or conversation. CDMA Event Technical Reference Call Completed This attribute indicates successful outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence of messages: Origination or Enhanced Origination message Followed by a Service Connect or a Service Connect Completion message
Call Dropped This attribute indicates abnormal call terminations triggered by the following sequence of events: Outgoing Call Setup OK or Incoming Call Setup OK (defined below) Not followed by a Forward Release Order Followed by a return to the Sync Channel
Call Setup Time Call Setup time provides the difference in time between the Service Connect Completion message and the associated Origination, Enhanced Origination, or Page Response message. CDMA Call Id Call ID provides an integer identifier for each call in a log file. CDMA Call Type CDMA Call Type provides a description for each call in a log file: 0 1 2 3 4 Outgoing Call Successfully Terminated Incoming Call Successfully Terminated Outgoing Call Failed Initiation Incoming Call Failed Initiation Outgoing Call Dropped
Incoming Call Dropped
CDMA to AMPS Handoff Fail This attribute indicates failed handoff attempts for mobiles handing off from a CDMA system to an AMPS system. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages: Analog Handoff Direction message Not followed by an Extended Handoff Completion message Followed by another Analog Handoff Direction message
CDMA to AMPS Handoff OK This attribute indicates successful handoff attempts for mobiles handing off from a CDMA system to an AMPS system. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages: Analog Handoff Direction message Followed by an Extended Handoff Completion
Handoff Interval Handoff Interval provides the difference in time between the sequential Handoff events. Handoff OK This attribute indicates handoff events for mobiles handing off within the same carrier of a CDMA system. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages: Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Direction messages Followed by a Handoff Completion or Extended Handoff Completion messages
Handoff Time Handoff Time provides the difference in time between the Handoff Completion, or Extended Handoff Completion messages and the associated Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Direction messages.
Hard Handoff OK This attribute indicates successful hard handoff attempts for mobiles handing off between carriers or CDMA systems. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages: Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Direction messages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True Followed by a Handoff Completion or Extended Handoff Completion message in response to the previously identified Direction message
Hard Handoff Retry This attribute indicates a retransmission of a hard handoff command for mobiles handing off between carriers or CDMA systems. This attribute is triggered by the following sequence of messages: Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Direction messages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True Followed by another Extended Handoff Direction, Universal Handoff Direction, or General Handoff Direction messages with a Hard_Included Flag set to True without receiving a Handoff Completion or Extended Handoff Completion message
Incoming Call Fail This attribute indicates failed incoming call attempts triggered by the following sequence of messages: Page Response message Not followed by a Service Connect Completion Followed by another Page Response message or a transition back to Idle mode
Incoming Call OK This attribute indicates successful incoming call initiations triggered by the following sequence of messages: Page Response message Followed by a either a Service Connect or Service Connect Completion message
Outgoing Call Fail This attribute indicates failed outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence of messages: Origination or Enhanced Origination message Not followed by a Service Connect Completion message Followed by an Origination message or a transition back to idle mode
Outgoing Call OK This attribute indicates successful outgoing call initiations triggered by the following sequence of messages: Origination or Enhanced Origination message Followed by a Service Connect or a Service Connect Completion message
When determining hand-off events, the HDM_SEQ and LAST_HDM_SEQ counters are used to ensure that the correct events are identified. Delete CDMA data files To remove a data file from the Workspace Explorer 1 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option. 2 Click Close Logfile. The data file is now removed from the Workspace Explorer display. View CDMA summary data Table view Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data attribute DownLink Measurements > EcIo_1stBest and select Display on Table.
This opens the Table window:
Experiment with the other tabs in the window.
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 Workspace Explorer. From the Workspace 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.
View CDMA data From the Workspace Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menu of options. Right-click on a data attribute. A pop-up menu opens, similar to this:
Selecting one of the display methods opens the appropriate data window.
View CDMA data in the Map window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute EcIo_1stBest in a map window.
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Click on the Pan button. Click and drag the data around the map window. Experiment with the Zoom buttons. In the Workspace Explorer, open up the Event Data set and drag the CallDropped event onto the map, which should look similar to this:
Adding various events 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 Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute data on the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data. To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, see the section Configure Maps on page 44). Replay the CDMA 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 feature. To open the Replay control, from the main menu, select Tools, then Display Replay.
View CDMA data in StateForms While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using the StateForms tool. 1 From the Tools menu, select Display StateForms. 2 If a blank or inappropriate form appears, right-click on the form and select Open File, then select the appropriate form (.axw) file. 3 In the map window, click Select and select a data point. The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected.
If you have scanner data in your logfile, start another StateForm window. 5 Right-click on the form and select Open File, then select a form (.axw) file for a scanner. 6 Right-click on the form and select Stream Selector, then the scanner stream. Below is an example scanner form. Note that selecting Stream Selector again closes the stream selector field.
Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for CDMA and other technologies.
Print the CDMA data 1 From the map window, click Print to open the Map Layout Designer, which starts with the Page Setup dialog open. 2 Set the paper size, orientation and margins, and specify the header and footer for the page. Click OK to continue. You can now see the Map Layout Designer window.
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Click on the map, legend, headers or footers to edit, move or resize them as necessary. To check on what the map will look like when printed, click Print Preview. When satisfied with the layout, click Print to open the standard Windows Print dialog.
View CDMA data in the Chart window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute EcIo_1stBest in a chart window.
You can display more than one attribute on the same chart. Select and drag the data attribute ForwardFER from the Workspace Explorer window onto the existing chart.
You can also zoom into selected areas of the chart by defining a frame for the zoom. 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:
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Note that the zoom only operates in the X-axis, not in the Y-axis. Now return the chart its original state by dragging a box, but this time up and to the right. Use the right mouse button to drag the axes around the chart window.
Although you can drag the Y-axis for all attributes on the chart, you can only change the X-axis for the last attribute to be displayed on the chart. Also, you will see that a pop-up menu appears when you release the right mouse button. You would usually activate this menu by a single right-click. Select Chart Properties to display this dialog:
Experiment with changing various display parameters and observe the effect on the chart.
View synchronized CDMA data 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. You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the EcIo_1stBest data attribute. 1 From the map window, click on Select.
Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points. 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 EcIo_1stBest point on the chart:
Generate CDMA 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. 1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Excel template.
2 Click Open. 3 Select the data source that you want to view in the workbook report.
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.
Configure Maps Map backgrounds and layers In the earlier example that looked at displaying data in a map window, there was no background map image to put the data into context. This section shows you how to add a background and arrange the layers within a map window. 1 2 Display a data attribute in a map window. Click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.
Making a checkmark in a layers box controls: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (clearing this box locks the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added) In the Layers box, click Add. Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files (see MapInfo layers (see page 46)). Click Open to display the selected file(s) in the Layer Control dialog.
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The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window. Click Up and Down to move 'example' to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top. Click Close to return to the map view. In a new 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. 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. For some detailed layerslike the Street layers you can control at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter. Right-click on the map window and select Map Layers to display the Layer Control dialog. Select the S1 (street names) 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.
14 Now do the same for the street numbers layer, but set the visible range to 0-3. MapInfo layers 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
Other MapInfo layers: Voting District, Native American Lands, Sub-MCD, State level tables (school districts and elevation contours). For example, the MapInfo layer named GAFULTS.TAB contains street-level data for Fulton County, Georgia.
Show lines to cells on a map 1 From the map window, click on Layers to open the Layer Control dialog, which should look similar to this:
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Select the Lines to neighbor cells layer. Click Lines to open the Line layer properties dialog.
As shown above, set the Lines draw mode to Selection and Color lines with to PN_1stBestEcIo, and click OK. 5 Click Close to finish using the Layer Control dialog.
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 Line layer properties dialog, you would not need to select a data pointall data points would have a line to their neighbor cells. This can be useful in some situations. Network Imaging Files containing network data can be huge. Most of this data will also go unexamined, and will simply create delays in analyzing network behavior. The Network Imaging feature lets you batch-process a number of files into a predefined data set that can be archived and collated to see how key network parameters have changed over time.
Create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:
Select the CDMA Network Image template and click OK. The Select Network Image to Create dialog now opens: Enter a File name and location for the network image file and click Save. The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
You are now ready to batch-load a set of related data files.
Batch-load CDMA data files 1 From the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image to open the Select Network Image File dialog.
Select the appropriate file and click Open. The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
Right-click on the Network Image file and select the Batch Load Files option.
This opens the Select Files to Load dialog.
Select one or more data files and click Open. When the file processing is complete, a message similar to this is shown:
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Click OK to close the message. Open up the structure underneath the 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. CDMA pre-configured reports With each solution are a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. The application layers are listed under the Analysis menu which 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. A description of the reports contained within each application layer is provided after the next section. To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set. 2 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer (in this example, 'CDMA Distant Server Analysis'). Once you select an application layer, this window opens:
The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure against various statistics produced by the application layer.
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 layer. 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. 5 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.
Reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer 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 layer. CDMA Drive Test application layers CDMA Summary Reports These reports are for cdmaOne technology. Call Statistics Summary A summary of major call events and cdmaOne performance statistics. FER and EcIo Forward FER and Combined_EcIo statistics. Handoff State A breakdown of cdmaOne Handoff State. Mtx and Mrx Mobile Transmit and Mobile Receive Power performance statistics. Handset Distant Server Analysis Prompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculate the number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key
performance metrics by CDMA carrier frequency, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance. CDMA Cluster Optimization Summary Report Designed for Forward and Reverse Link data for cdmaOne systems. Cluster Optimization Measurement Charts Forward and Reverse FER PDF & CDFs, EcIo_Combined statistics. CDMA Distant Server Analysis CDMA Scanners Distant Server Delays Prompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculate the number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key delay metrics obtained from a PN scanner, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance. CDMA Scanners Distant Server EcIo Prompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell and an EcIo value to calculate the number of pilots exceeding the threshold. The report returns key EcIo metrics obtained from a PN scanner, for cases exceeding the maximum serving cell distance. CDMA Event Inspection Call Dropped Window Stats For every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before the drop. Setup Failure Window Stats For every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before the drop. 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 window in the above example) that is fully configurable and synchronizes with all other active windows. CDMA Toolkit Once you are familiar with the basic techniques of ad-hoc data analysis, you may like to use the CDMA Toolkit utility. CDMA Toolkit automates key CDMA optimization tasks, and appears within the interface as a task bar to the right of the Workspace Explorer. 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.
Integrate reverse and forward link 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.
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Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show the Merge Method options. 6 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. 7 Highlight the uplink data stream. 8 From the attribute picker button on the right, select Cell_PN_Primary. 9 Highlight the downlink data stream. 10 From the attribute picker, select PN_Primary. 11 Click OK. The superstream is now generated and appears in the Workspace Explorer. You can view data from the superstream in any of the standard data display windows. Aggregate CDMA data Actix' adaptable data structure lets you select different aggregation modes for the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These aggregation modes are supported: Location/grid Time Message Distance
To change the aggregation modealso known as the binning mode: 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.
3 Use Queries
Click Apply.
The querying interface assists you in constructing 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 Perform logical and arithmetic operators Save queries to a default Workspace Apply filters to queries
You can also:
Create a filter This example query is designed to filter poor quality in CDMA data. 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter.
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The Filter Wizard opens. Enter Poor Quality as the name of the filter. Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select CDMA > DownLink Measurements > ForwardFER.
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Set the filter operation to Greater than (>). Set the threshold to 5.
Click OK to close the Wizard. If you already have a filter applied to the stream, you will see this dialog:
Click Yes. Any other data display windows update to show the areas with poor quality. You can turn off this and any other filters from the Workspace Explorer, just by clicking on them.
FREE ANALYSIS OF GSM DATA This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze GSM log files. These tasks have been chosen to demonstrate most of the basic ad-hoc analysis features. Practicing these will allow you to be productive with your Actix Solution as soon as possible. For an in-depth understanding, you should attend a full training / workshop session, as these can be tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for the company as a whole. The interface for A Solutions After the startup is complete, the application window looks 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.
Configure GSM network information Import GSM network information As well as geographical data, it is also useful to display your network information on a map window. You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called 'cellrefs', although it can be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, view and edit the cellrefs file. To maximize the benefit brought to GSM network analysis, the following parameters should be included in data imported into the tool.
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. 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 Color Code Location Area Code Cell ID value Base Station Identity Code, comprising of a concatenation of the NCC and BCC values.
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 Beamwidth
Azimuth Beamwidth
Base Station Power BCCH MNC MCC LAC CI BSIC
GSM_Cell EIRP GSM_Cell BCCH GSM_Cell MNC GSM_Cell MCC GSM_Cell LAC GSM_Cell CI GSM_Cell BSIC
To import GSM network information 1 From the Tools menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window. 2 From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template to open the Import dialog. 3 Select the appropriate network data file. 4 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard. 5 Give the Template a meaningful Description. 6 Under Delimiters, check Tab.
Under General Settings, enter '1' for Ignore header rows and ';' for Array (list) Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator, set these options accordingly. 8 Click on the Column Settings tab. The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. Note that each of the field names has an associated icon: Key fields (see page 164) Required fields (see page 164) Other fields (see page 164) 9 Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field. 10 Select a column binding from the drop down list. The Wizard then displays the selected parameter against the appropriate column. 11 Select the appropriate column binding for Site Name from inside the GSM Site group. Repeat this for the SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude. 12 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under GSM Cell group. Use the Cell ID column for the GSM Sector ID, and repeat for the Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, BCCH, MNC, MCC, LAC, CI, and BSIC columns. A description of each of these parameters and their use appears in the table at the top of this section. 13 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 Explorer. 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.
Set a GSM network information file 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog:
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You may now want to close and restart for the change to take effect. Load GSM data files 1 From the toolbar, click the Open Logfile button:
This displays the Open dialog. 2 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.
Find and use GSM data in the Workspace Explorer The Workspace 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.
Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file edgec1 contains a data stream called Tems (the number is the data stream number within the file, starting from zero). The GSM group contains the UpLink Measurements set, which contains the ULDTXUsed data attribute:
However, the only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streams and data attributes. The logical tree-view layout of the Workspace 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 window for example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool. You may also want additional information about a particular data attribute. Select 'ServRxLevFull'.
From the Help menu, select Attribute Help to open the attribute help window.
5 Delete GSM data files
To remove a data file from the Workspace Explorer 1 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option. 2 Click Close Logfile. The data file is now removed from the Workspace Explorer display.
View GSM summary data Table view Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data attribute DownLink Measurements > ServRxLevIdle and select Display on Table.
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 Workspace Explorer. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data stream and select Display Message Browser.
View GSM data From the Workspace Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menu of options. Right-click on a data attribute. A pop-up menu opens, similar to this:
Selecting one of the display methods opens the appropriate data window.
Viewing GSM data in the Map window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ServRxLevFull in a map window.
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Click on the Pan button. Click and drag the data around the map window. Experiment with the Zoom buttons. In the Workspace Explorer, open up the Event Data set and drag the EventCallCompleted event onto the map, which should look similar to this:
Adding various events to the mapped data can help you see where problems are occurring.
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 details. The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts. 7 Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute data on the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data. To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, see the section Configure Maps on page 77. Replay the GSM 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 feature. To open the Replay control, from the main menu, select Tools, then Display Replay.
View GSM data in StateForms While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using the StateForms tool. 1 2 From the Tools menu, select Display StateForms. In the map window, click Select and select a data point. The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected, which should look similar to this:
This is the default GSM StateForm. Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for GSM and other technologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm.
Print the GSM data 1 From the map window, click Print to open the Map Layout Designer, which starts with the Page Setup dialog open. 2 Set the paper size, orientation and margins, and specify the header and footer for the page. Click OK to continue. You can now see the Map Layout Designer window.
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View GSM data in the Chart window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute ServRxLevFull in a chart window.
You can display more than one attribute on the same chart. Select and drag the data attribute ServRxQualFull from the Workspace Explorer window onto the existing chart.
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Although you can drag the Y-axis for all attributes on the chart, you can only change the X-axis for the last attribute to be displayed on the chart.
Also, you will see that a pop-up menu appears when you release the right mouse button. You would usually activate this menu by a single right-click. Select Chart Properties to display this dialog:
View synchronized GSM data 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. You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the ServRxLevFull data attribute. 1 From the map window, click on Select.
Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points. 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 ServRxLevFull point on the chart:
Generate GSM 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 allows you to collate these views and perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated, polished report. 1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Microsoft Excel template. 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. Configure Maps Map backgrounds and layers In the earlier example that looked at displaying data in a map window, there was no background map image to put the data into context. This section shows you how to add a background and arrange the layers within a map window. 1 2 Display a data attribute in a map window. From the map window, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.
Making a checkmark in a layers box controls: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (clearing this box locks the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added) In the Layers box, click Add.
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Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) file (see MapInfo layers (see page 46)). Click Open to display the new map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.
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The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window. Click Up and Down to move 'example' to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top. Click Close to return to the map view. In a new installation, the map location defaults to 0 longitude, 0 latitude, so you will need to arrange the map view to display the new map.
10 11 12 13
Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map area, then choosing Zoom, Go to Layer and selecting the new map layer. 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. For some detailed layers, you can control at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter. Right-click on the map window and select Map Layers to display the Layer Control dialog. Select a detailed layerfor example, street names. 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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As shown above, set the Lines draw mode to Selection and Color lines with to ServBCCH, and click OK. 5 Click Close to finish using the Layer Control dialog. 6 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.
Network Imaging Files containing network data can be huge. Most of this data will also go unexamined, and will simply create delays in analyzing network behavior. The Network Imaging feature lets you batch-process a number of files into a predefined data set that can be archived and collated, to see how key network parameters have changed over time. Create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:
Select the GSM Network Image template and click OK. The Select Network Image to Create dialog now opens. Enter a File name and location for the network image file and click Save. The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
You are now ready to batch-load a set of related data files.
Batch-load GSM data files 1 From the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image to open the Select Network Image File dialog.
Select one or more data files and click Open. When the file processing is complete, a message is displayed similar to this:
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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.
GSM Application Layers Each Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. The application layers are listed under the Analysis menu which 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. The following application layers are available: GSM DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis (see page 86) GSM DT Handover Settings & Power Control Analysis (see page 86) To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid CellRefs file has been set. 2 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer (in this example, 'DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis'). Once you select an application layer, this window opens:
The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure against various statistics produced by the application layer. 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 layer. 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.
GSM DT Design Validation and Quick Analysis This analysis contains the following reports: Call Details Counts of CC, RR & MM messages, with a summary showing call and handover success rates. Design Validation Breakdown of good/bad design, and a chart of poor design by class of poor design. Measurement Charts Graphs showing distribution of RxLevSub, RxQualSub and TA. Neighbor Level - Single Band Shows percentage of samples where at least one neighbor is stronger than the serving cell, and neighbors within 5 dBm from the server for PDF and CDF, in table and graph form. Neighbor Level - Double Band Shows percentage band usage, intra/inter band handover and neighbors within 5dB from the server for PDF and CDF, in table and graph form. GSM DT Handover Settings & Power Control Analysis This analysis contains the following reports: Handover Quality Graph of quality measurements for the whole file, and for the five seconds before and the five seconds after each handover. Handover Level Graph of change in downlink received level due to handover, measured in the five-second windows before and after each handover. Handover Interval Graph shows the time interval between handovers. Handover Classification Shows percentage breakdown between good/poor design, and poor design by class.
86 Analyzing data with Actix Solutions Actix A Solutions User Guide
Power Distribution Histogram of power in dBm by number of occurrences, also showing the mean dBm. Power Step Distribution Histogram of power step changes in dB. Power Step Interval Histogram of the time interval (in seconds) between power step changes. Integrate uplink and downlink data The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol can be integrated with the drive-test data. This lets you see how parameters such as ULRxQual behave at specific mobile locations. In Actix Solutions, this technique of integrating data files is known as superstreaming. Ensure that you have loaded the two files that you want to synchronize into a superstream. 2 From the View menu, select Superstream to open the Superstreaming dialog. This dialog shows all currently available data streams. 3 Change the superstream name from the default to something more meaningful. 4 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. 5 Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show the Merge Method options. 6 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. 7 Highlight the uplink data stream. 8 From the attribute picker button on the right, select ServRxLevFull. 9 Highlight the downlink data stream. 10 From the attribute picker, select ServRxLevFull. 11 Click OK. The superstream is now generated and appears in the Workspace Explorer. You can view data from the superstream in any of the standard data display windows. 1
Aggregate GSM data Actix A Solutions have an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modes for the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These aggregation modes are supported: Location/grid Time Message Distance
To change the aggregation modealso known as the binning mode: 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.
3 Use Queries
Click Apply.
The querying interface 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 Perform logical and arithmetic operators Save queries to a default Workspace Apply filters to queries
You can also:
Create a filter This query is designed to filter poor quality in GSM data. 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter.
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The Filter Wizard opens. Enter Poor Quality as the name of the filter. Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select GSM > DownLink Measurements > ServRxQual. Set the filter operation to Greater than or equal to (>=). Set the threshold to 4.
A AND ABIS ANALYSIS You can perform PCM Link data analysis: Using Actix Scenarios (see page 91) Using user-defined analyses (see page 92) To develop user-defined analyses (see page 92)
Using Actix PCM Link Scenarios This is the standard method for PCM Link analysis, and follows this general pattern: 1 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet. 2 Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios. 3 Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Minimal Load'. This avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time. 4 Load the logfile to be examined. 5 Select an application layer. 6 Narrow the data selection. 7 Display the results in a report. 8 Use ad-hoc tools to identify problem areas in the logfile. These tools, such as maps, charts, tables, the Message Browser (and so on) are described in GSM analysis (see page 61).
See also Choose A or Abis Scenarios on page 92 Choose Gb Scenarios on page 100 Using user-defined analyses These are non-standard analysis methods produced by advanced users for co-workers. 1 Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet. 2 Set or import the appropriate Load Time Queries from the Analysis Manager. 3 Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Minimal Load'. This avoids loading unnecessary data from the logfile and reduces the load time. 4 Load the logfile to be examined. 5 Use custom reports to analyze data. Developing user-defined analyses This is for advanced users who want to expand on the reports and queries provided as standard with , using their own expert knowledge of the technology and their network. 1 2 Start your Actix Solution. Select Tools | Preferences, and set Load Mode to 'Full Load'. 3 Load a small example logfile. 4 Write Load Time Queries and Reports as required. Crosstab and Event queries can be used with PCM Link data to create suitable call analyses (that is, queries that can be used with the Statistics Explorer). 5 Set Load Mode back to 'Minimal Load' before attempting to examine any new logfiles. 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.
To choose a Scenario 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.
Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.
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. To use the Statistics Explorer 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. 2 Select 'Abis Call Analysis'. 3 Open the Abis file. 4 From the View menu, select Statistics Explorer. 5 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.
Abis Call Analysis Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the Statistics Explorer, you can create a call analysis stream of selected data to view from the Workspace Explorer. 1 2 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data. Click Analyze. The stream of the selected data appears in the Workspace Explorer:
The data in this new stream can now be analyzed using maps, charts, tables etc.
Filter the Workspace 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 Workspace Explorer. 1 2 In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data. Click Filter. The Workspace Explorer now only shows data relating to the row selected in the Statistics Explorer. When you have finished examining the filtered data, click Filter again to switch off the filtering.
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 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. 2 Select 'Abis Call Analysis'. 3 Open the PC Link file and the drive test file to be superstreamed. 4 From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT to open the PCM-Link/Drive Test Superstreaming dialog. 5 Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s) and PCM-Link stream(s). 6 Select the appropriate Search Method settings for synchronizing the data streams. 7 Click OK to begin the superstreaming process. When the process is complete, the superstream is displayed in the Workspace Explorer, and the normal data displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be used to examine the data.
GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports See the section GSM Application Layers on page 84 for information on how to use application layers. A data file must be loaded and a valid CellRefs file must have been set. You must also select a Scenario for the related application layer option to be displayed under Tools | Analysis, as not all A and Abis Scenarios are checked by default. GSM A application layers A General Analysis 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. 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. Connection Analysis by Cell Connection statistics for each cell. A Handover Analysis 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. 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. BSS Handover Matrix Intra-BSC Handovers by Source and Target. SSS Handover Matrix Inter-BSC Handovers by Source and Target. A Subscriber Analysis 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. GSM Abis application layers Abis Quick Analysis 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. 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 System Sensitivity Mean uplink and downlink quality and number of valid points for a range of levels. 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 Corrected uplink level plotted against corrected downlink level. Link Balance by DL Level Mean link balance and number of data points plotted against downlink level. Abis Network Design Quality Distribution Counts of uplink and downlink quality, and graphs of downlink quality vs. downlink level and uplink quality vs. uplink level. Poor Quality Contributors Poor qualities for uplink and downlink plotted against corresponding level. Level and Interference Interference vs. downlink Rx level followed by interference definition chart. Timing Advance and Interference Interference vs. timing advance followed by interference definition chart. Abis Traffic Handovers and 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. FREE ANALYSIS OF GPRS DATA You can perform Gb Link data analysis: Using Actix Scenarios (see page 91) Using user-defined analyses (see page 92) To develop user-defined analyses (see page 92)
For more information on GPRS analysis, see GPRS analysis engineering notes. 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 Load Time Queries in each Scenario (see page 102). To choose a Scenario 1 From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open this dialog:
Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.
Examine Gb Load Time Queries If you have selected one or more Scenarios, the related Load Time Queries are displayed in the Workspace Explorer.
To display a Load Time Query in the Statistics Explorer 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the appropriate Load Time Query to open the pop-up menu. 2 Select Display the Statistics Explorer.
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 Signaling Analysis (see page 105) This Scenario's Load Time Queries are those used in the application layer of the same name. Gb Throughput Analysis (see page 106) The 'Traffic Type' Load Time Queries are those used in the Gb Throughput Analysis application layer, but there are also eight other Load Time Queries containing useful information that can be displayed in the Statistics Explorer. These Scenarios each contain one query: Gb TCP Session Analysis Gb TLLI Analysis Gb Throughput Analysis MS TLLI Analysis 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.
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.
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 in the box are described under: Calculating Block Error (BLER) and Block Success Rates
Timing Bit Sums
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 3 Create your own GPS data file using your logging tool. Use the Text Import Wizard (File | Import Text File) to import the log file Superstream the imported file with the GPRS Drive Test file (as described in the section Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data in the chapter Analyzing A and Abis data). You can now plot the superstreamed data attributes on a map.
Gb pre-configured reports See the section GSM Application Layers on page 84 for information on how to use application layers. A data file must be loaded and a valid CellRefs file must have been set. You must also select a Scenario for the related application layer option to be displayed under Tools | Analysis, as not all Scenarios are checked by default. GPRS Gb application layers Note that the following Scenarios do not correspond to an application layer, although each contain one Load Time Query: Gb TCP Session Analysis Gb TLLI Analysis Gb Throughput Analysis MS TLLI Analysis Each Load Time Query can be examined using the Statistics Explorer. For more information see Load Time Queries in each Scenario on page 102. 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. 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.
FREE ANALYSIS OF IS-136 DATA This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze IS-136 log files. These tasks have been chosen to demonstrate most of the basic analysis features. Practicing these will allow you to be productive as soon as possible. For an in-depth understanding, you should attend a full training / workshop session, as these can be tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for the company as a whole. The interface for A Solutions After the startup is complete, the application window looks 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.
Configure IS-136 network information Import IS-136 network information As well as geographical data, it is also useful to display your network information on a map window. You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called 'cellrefs', although it can be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, view and edit the cellrefs file. To maximize the benefit that can be brought to IS-136 network analysis, the following parameters should be included in data imported into the tool.
Parameter Site Name Site Number Latitude Longitude Sector Number 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 Beamwidth IS-54/IS-136_Cell EIRP IS-54/IS-136_Cell ACCH IS-54/IS-136_Cell Color_Codes 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
Azimuth Beamwidth
Base Station Power ACCH 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
IS-54/IS-136_Cell MCC IS-54/IS-136_Cell SID
To import IS-136 network information 1 From the Tools menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window. For more information, see Network Explorer. 2 From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template to open the Import dialog.
3 Select the appropriate network data file. 4 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard. 5 Give the Template a meaningful Description. 6 Under Delimiters, check Tab. 7 Under General Settings, enter '1' for Ignore header rows and ';' for Array (list) Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator, set these options accordingly. 8 Click on the Column Settings tab. The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. Note that each of the field names has an associated icon: Key fields (see Key fields on page 164) Required fields (see Required fields on page 164) Other fields (see Other fields on page 164) 9 Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field. 10 Select a column binding from the drop-down list. The Wizard then displays the selected parameter against the appropriate column. 11 Set the appropriate column bindings for IS-54/IS136_Site and SiteName. Repeat this for the SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude. 12 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under IS-54/IS-136 Cell. Use the Cell ID column for the IS-54/IS-136_Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, ACCH, DCC, Color_Codes, Traffic_Channels, DVCC, DCCH. A description of each of these parameters and their use appears in the table at the top of this section. 13 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 Explorer. 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.
Set an IS-136 network information file 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog:
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You may now want to close and restart for the change to take effect. Load IS-136 data files 1 From the toolbar, click the Open Logfile button:
This displays the Open dialog. 2 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. Find and use IS-136 data in the Workspace Explorer The Workspace 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.
Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file 0408_001 contains a data stream called Tems IS136 1900 (0) (the number is the data stream number within the file, starting from zero). The IS-136 group contains the Dedicated Radio Link set, which contains the FACCH_CurChannel data attribute:
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However, the only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streams and data attributes. The logical tree-view layout of the Workspace 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 window for example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool. You may also want additional information about a particular data attribute. Select 'DVCC'. From the Help menu, select Attribute Help.
5 Delete IS-136 data files
To remove a data file from the Workspace Explorer 1 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option. 2 Click Close Logfile. The data file is now removed from the Workspace Explorer display.
View IS-136 summary data Table view Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data attribute DownLink Measurements > FACCH_CurBER_Level and select Display on Table.
View IS-136 data From the Workspace Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menu of options. Right-click on a data attribute. A pop-up menu opens, similar to this:
Selecting one of the display methods opens the appropriate data window. View IS-136 data in the Map window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute FACCH_CurRSSI in a map window.
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Click on the Pan button. Click and drag the data around the map window. Experiment with the Zoom buttons.
In the Workspace Explorer, open up the Event Data set and drag the Call_Dropped event onto the map, which should look similar to this:
(Here there is only one dropped call, as the drivetest is completed.) Adding various events 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 details. The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts. 7 Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute data on the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data. To find out how to add background geographical and network information to map windows, see the section Configure Maps (see Configure Maps on page 123).
Replay the IS-136 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 feature. To open the Replay control, from the main menu, select Tools, then Display Replay.
View IS-136 data in StateForms While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using the StateForms tool. 1 From the Tools menu, select Display StateForms. 2 In the map window, click Select and select a data point. The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected.
Note that in this example, an appropriate cellrefs file has not been set, so no Cell or Sector ID information is displayed.
Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for IS-136 and other technologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm. Print the IS-136 data 1 From the map window, click Print to open the Map Layout Designer, which starts with the Page Setup dialog open. 2 Set the paper size, orientation and margins, and specify the header and footer for the page. Click OK to continue. You can now see the Map Layout Designer window.
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View IS-136 data in the Chart window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute FACCH_CurRSSI in a chart window.
You can display more than one attribute on the same chart. Select and drag the data attribute DedicatedCell_BER from the Workspace Explorer window onto the existing chart.
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View synchronized IS-136 data 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. You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the FACCH_CurRSSI data attribute. 1 From the map window, click on Select.
Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points. 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 FACCH_CurRSSI point on the chart:
Generate IS-136 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 allows you to collate these views and perform other data analysis functions to produce an integrated, polished report. 1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Excel template. 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.
Configure Maps Map backgrounds and layers In the earlier example that looked at displaying data in a map window, there was no background map image to put the data into context. This section shows you how to add a background and arrange the layers within a map window. 1 2 Display a data attribute in a map window. From the map window, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.
Making a checkmark in a layers box controls: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (clearing this box locks the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added) In the Layers box, click Add to display the Open Layer dialog.
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Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files. For details, see MapInfo layers (see page 46). Click Open to display the map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.
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The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window. Click Up and Down to move the new 'examplemap' layer to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top. Click Close to return to the map view. In a new installation, the map location defaults to 0 longitude, 0 latitude, so you will need to arrange the map view to display the new map.
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Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map area, then choosing Zoom, Go to Layer and selecting the new map layer. 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. For some detailed layers, you can control at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter. Right-click on the map window and select Map Layers to display the Layer Control dialog. Select a detailed layerfor example, S1 (street names). Click Display to open the Display Properties dialog. Check Display within Zoom range and enter '0' for Min Zoom and '10' for Max Zoom. Now do the same for the street numbers map layer, entering a zoom range of 0-3.
Display IS-136 network information To display your network information on a map window, you must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called cellrefs, although it can be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file. You should see graphics for each cell site appear on the map, but they may be too big or two small. Here is a zoomed-in map view, with a sample cell site in the lower left and data points in a line on the right:
To alter the size of the cell symbols 1 From the map legend pane, right-click on IS-54_IS136_Cell-DVCC and select Multi-d dataset Style.
Select a new Size for the symbol font and click OK.
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As shown above, set the Lines draw mode to Selection and Color lines with to DedicatedCell_BER, and click OK.
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Click Close to finish using the Layer Control dialog. 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.
Network Imaging Files containing network data can be huge. Most of this data will also go unexamined, and will simply create delays in analyzing network behavior. The Network Imaging feature lets you batch-process a number of files into a pre-defined data set that can be archived and collated to see how key network parameters have changed over time. Create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:
Select a template and click OK.
The Select Network Image to Create dialog now opens:
Enter a File name and location for the network image file and click Save. The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
You are now ready to batch-load a set of related data files. Batch-load data files 1 From the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image to open the Select Network Image File dialog.
Select the appropriate file and click Open.
The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
Select one or more data files and click Open. When the file processing is complete, a message similar to this is displayed:
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TDMA pre-configured reports Each Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. The application layers are listed under the Analysis menu which 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. You must also have set a valid CellRefs file. Use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded and a cellrefs file selected. 2 From the Analysis menu, select Summary Reports. Once you select an application layer, the application layer window opens. The top pane shows a treeview of the network structure against various statistics produced by the application layer.
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 layer.
Double-click on a report icon to open the report:
Reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for a new analysis, you need to re-run this Custom Attribute directly from the Custom Attribute Manager: Distance_Input You can now re-run the application layer.
TDMA application layers TDMA Summary Reports These reports will only run reliably on Tems IS-136 data. This is due to current limitations on our event detection for IS-136. The most robust format supported for IS-136 to date is Tems. It is also primarily designed for all digital files. TDMA Call Statistics Summary call statistics for TDMA log file(s). BER and RSSI Stats PDF and CDF of BER and RSSI. Handoff Quality Breakdown For a five-second window around each handoff, the report determines if the handoff was to a better or worse RSSI and a better or worse BER. Handoff Quality Stats For a five-second window around the handoff event, this reports PDF and CDF of the RSSI and BER before and after the event. From this report, you can see if the majority of handoffs occurred to a better or worse quality condition. Dropped Call Stats For every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a five-second window before the drop. Tems- C to A Stats Available only for Tems IS-136 data, the report returns relevant stats for potential serving cells undergoing adjacent channel interference. The lower and upper adjacent C/A measurement is less then 9 dB. Integrate uplink and downlink data The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol can be integrated with the drive-test data. This lets you see how parameters such as DedicatedCell_SignalStrength 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. 4 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. 5 Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show the Merge Method options. 6 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. 7 Highlight the uplink data stream. 8 From the attribute picker button on the right, select DedicatedCell_SignalStrength. 9 Highlight the downlink data stream. 10 From the attribute picker, select DedicatedCell_SignalStrength. 11 Click OK. The superstream is now generated and appears in the Workspace Explorer. You can view data from the superstream in any of the standard data display windows. Aggregate IS-136 data Actix Solutions have an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modes for the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. These modes are supported: 1 Location/grid Time Message Distance
To change the aggregation (binning) mode: From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 Under Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.
3 Use Queries
Click Apply.
The querying interface 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 Perform logical and arithmetic operators Save queries to a default Workspace Apply filters to queries
You can also:
Create a filter This query is designed to filter poor quality in IS-136 data. 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter.
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The Filter Wizard opens. Enter Poor Quality as the name of the filter. Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select IS-136 > DownLink Measurements > ForBER. Set the filter operation to Greater than (>). Set the threshold to 5.
FREE ANALYSIS OF IDEN DATA This section describes tasks that you might take to analyze IS-136 log files. These tasks have been chosen to demonstrate most of the basic analysis features. Practicing these will allow you to be productive with as soon as possible. For an in-depth understanding, you should attend a full training / workshop session, as these can be tailored exclusively to your needs as individual staff members and for the company as a whole. The interface for A Solutions After the startup is complete, the application window looks 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. Configure iDEN network information Import iDEN network information As well as geographical data, it is also useful to display your network information on a map window. You must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called 'cellrefs', although it can be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to import, view and edit the cellrefs file. To maximize the benefit that can be brought to iDEN network analysis, the following parameters should be included in data imported into the tool.
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. 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
Azimuth Beamwidth
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
IDEN_Cell MCC IDEN_Cell CI
To import iDEN network information 1 From the Tools menu, select Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window.
From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template to open the Import dialog. 3 Select the appropriate network data file. 4 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard. 5 Give the Template a meaningful Description. 6 Under Delimiters, check Tab. 7 Under General Settings, enter '1' for Ignore header rows and ';' for Array (list) Separator. If your file has more than one header or uses a different array list separator, set these options accordingly. 8 Click on the Column Settings tab. Here, you can associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. Each field name has an associated icon: Key fields (see page 164) Required fields (see page 164) Other fields (see page 164) 9 Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field. 10 Select a column binding from the drop-down list. The Wizard then displays the selected parameter against the appropriate column. 11 Set the default value for that field as appropriate. 12 Select the appropriate column bindings for IDEN Site and Site Name. Repeat this for the SiteID, Latitude, and Longitude. 13 For the remaining columns, look for the attribute headers under IDEN Cell. Use the Cell ID column for the IDEN Cell Sector ID, Azimuth, Beamwidth, EIRP, CCCH, Color_Codes, TCH_List. A description of each of these parameters and their use appears in the table at the top of this section. 14 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 Explorer. 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.
Set an iDEN network information file 1 From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog:
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You may now want to close and restart for the change to take effect. Load iDEN data files 1 From the toolbar, click the Open Logfile button:
This displays the Open dialog. 2 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. Find and use iDEN data in the Workspace Explorer The Workspace 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.
Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above. In the example below, the file 'atlantW' contains a data stream called 'Nextel iDEN Handset (0)' (the number is the data stream number within the file, starting from zero). The 'iDEN' group contains the 'DownLink Measurements' set, which contains the 'ServRSSI' data attribute:
However, the only objects that you actually need to recognize are filenames, data streams and data attributes. The logical tree-view layout of the Workspace 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 window for example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message Browser tool. You may also want additional information about a particular data attribute. From the Help menu, select Show Context Help.
Click the button to dock the attribute help window and drag it to a useful position, as shown here:
4 Delete iDEN data files
To remove a data file from the Workspace Explorer 1 Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close Logfile option. 2 Click Close Logfile. The data file is now removed from the Workspace Explorer display. Table view Tables let you examine the numeric series, histogram and statistical data for the selected attribute.
From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data attribute 'DownLink Measurements > ServRSSI' and select Display on Table.
View iDEN data From the Workspace Explorer, you can right-click any data attribute to display a suitable pop-up menu of options. Right-click on a data attribute. A pop-up menu opens, similar to this:
Selecting one of the display methods opens the appropriate data window. View iDEN data in the Map window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute 'ServRSSI' in a map window.
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Click on the Pan button. Click and drag the data around the map window. Experiment with the Zoom buttons. In the Workspace Explorer, open up the 'Event Data' set and drag the 'HandOver_Complete' event onto the map, which should look similar to this:
Adding various events to the mapped data can help you see where problems are occurring. 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 details.
The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts. Click on one of the check boxes in the Map Legend pane to hide the related attribute data on the map. Click on it again to redisplay the data.
Replay the iDEN 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 feature. To open the Replay control, from the main menu, select Tools, then Display Replay.
View iDEN data in StateForms While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using the StateForms tool. 1 From the Tools menu, select Display StateForms. 2 In the map window, click Select and select a data point. The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected.
Note that in this example, an appropriate cellrefs file has not been set, so no Cell or Sector ID information is displayed. Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for iDEN and other technologies. For details, see Create a new StateForm. Print the iDEN data 1 From the map window, click Print to open the Map Layout Designer, which starts with the Page Setup dialog open. 2 Set the paper size, orientation and margins, and specify the header and footer for the page. Click OK to continue. You can now see the Map Layout Designer window.
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Click on the map, legend, headers or footers to edit, move or resize them as necessary. To check on what the map will look like when printed, click Print Preview.
When satisfied with the layout, click Print to open the standard Windows Print dialog.
View iDEN data in the Chart window 1 Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute 'ServRSSI' in a chart window.
You can display more than one attribute on the same chart. Select and drag the data attribute 'ServSQE' from the Workspace Explorer window onto the existing chart.
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View synchronized iDEN data 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. You should have a map and a chart window open, both displaying the 'ServRSSI' data attribute. 1 From the map window, click on Select.
Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points. 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 'ServRSSI' point on the chart:
Generate iDEN 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 you have created an Excel template that you can use to generate a report. If you do not have a report template, see Reports for details of how to create one. 1 From the Workbook menu, select Open Workbook and select an appropriate Excel template. 2 Click Open. 3 Select the data source that you want to view in the workbook report.
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.
Map backgrounds and layers In the earlier example that looked at displaying data in a map window, there was no background map image to put the data into context. This section shows you how to add a background and arrange the layers within a map window. 1 2 Display a data attribute in a map window. From the map window, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog.
Making a checkmark in a layers box controls: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (clearing this box locks the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added) In the Layers box, click Add.
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Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files. For more information see MapInfo layers (see page 46). Click Open to display the new map layer(s) in the Layer Control dialog.
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The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in this map window. Click Up and Down to move the new 'examplemap' layer to the bottom and 'Annotations' to the top. Click Close to return to the map view. In a new installation, the map location defaults to 0 longitude, 0 latitude, so you will need to arrange the map view to display the new map.
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Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map area, then choosing Zoom, Go to Layer and selecting the new map layer. 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. For some detailed layers, you can control at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to minimize map clutter. Right-click on the map window and select Map Layers to display the Layer Control dialog. Select a detailed layerfor example, S1 (street names). Click Display to open the Display Properties dialog. Check Display within Zoom range and enter '0' for Min Zoom and '10' for Max Zoom. Now do the same for street numbers, entering a zoom range of 0-3.
Display iDEN network information To display your network information on a map window, you must have your network information defined in a text file (usually called cellrefs, although it can be given any name) before you can import it. You can use the Network Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file. You should see graphics for each cell site appear on the map, but they may be too big or two small. Here is a zoomed-in map view, with a sample cell site in the lower left and data points in a line on the right:
To alter the size of the cell symbols 1 From the map legend pane, right-click on IS-54_IS136_Cell-DVCC and select Multi-d dataset Style.
Select a new Size for the symbol font and click OK.
Network Imaging Files containing network data can be huge. Most of this data will also go unexamined, and will simply create delays in analyzing network behavior. The Network Imaging feature lets you batch-process a number of files into a pre-defined data set that can be archived and collated to see how key network parameters have changed over time. Create a Network Image 1 From the Network Image menu, select Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:
Select a template and click OK.
Enter a File name and location for the network image file and click Save.
The network image now appears in the Workspace Explorer.
You are now ready to batch-load a set of related data files. Batch-load iDEN data files 1 From the Network Image menu, select Attach Network Image to open the Select Network Image File dialog.
Select one or more data files and click Open. processes the files and, when complete, displays a message similar to this:
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iDEN pre-configured reports provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These 'application layers' distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. The application layers are listed under the Analysis menu which 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. You must also have set a valid CellRefs file. A description of the reports contained within each application layer is provided after the next section. To use an application layer 1 Ensure that you have a data file loaded. 2 From the Analysis menu, select an application layer. Once you select an application layer, the application layer window opens.
The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure against various statistics produced by the application layer.
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 layer. 4 Double-click on a report icon to open the report.
To reset thresholds for a new analysis A number of the application layer reports use Custom Attributes. To change the thresholds for a new analysis, you need to re-run this Custom Attribute from the Custom Attribute Manager: Distance_Input You can now re-run the application layer.
iDEN Drive Test application layers iDEN Summary Reports iDEN Call Statistics Summary of major call events and performance statistics. iDEN SQE and RSSI Breakdown RSSI and SQE PDFs and CDFs. Handoff Quality Breakdown For a five-second window around each handoff, determines if the handoff was to a better or worse RSSI and a better or worse SQE. Handoff Quality Stats For a five-second window around the handoff event, gives PDF and CDF of the RSSI and SQE before and after the event. Shows if the majority of handoffs occurred to a better or worse quality condition. iDEN Distant Servers- HS Prompts you for a maximum distance in miles from the serving cell. Returns key performance metrics by Serving Site, for cases where the maximum serving cell distance is exceeded. iDEN Event Inspection Dropped Call Statistics For every dropped call, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before the drop. Handover Failure Statistics For every handover failure, this reports key performance metrics for a 5-second window before the event. Measurement Inquiry Statistics For every measurement inquiry, this reports key performance metrics for an 8-second window before and after each event. Measurement Reports Exceeded at Handoff Returns key performance parameters for instances where the number of measurement reports, 8 seconds before handoff, exceeds a user-defined threshold.
Aggregate iDEN data has an adaptable data structure, so you can select different aggregation modes for the data, depending upon how you want to view the data. supports these modes: 1 Location/grid Time Message Distance
To change the aggregation ('binning') mode: From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 Under Binning, select the appropriate Binning Mode.
3 Use Queries
Click Apply.
provides 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: Create a filter This query is designed to filter poor quality in iDEN data. 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter. Filter queries Binned queries Histogram queries Statistical queries Crosstab queries Event queries Perform logical and arithmetic operators Save queries to a default Workspace Apply filters to queries
You can also:
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The Filter Wizard opens. Enter 'Poor Quality' as the name of the filter. Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select 'iDEN > DownLink Measurements > ServSQE'. Set the filter operation to 'Less than ( < )'. Set the threshold to '-20'.
Key fields You must select a field type for this field, but you cannot set a default value. Required fields These must be either bound to a particular type or have a default value set. Other fields Binding particular field types or setting default values is not strictly necessary for this field.
Workspaces
About workspaces
The workspace constitutes all data display windows within the Actix application window, together with the Workspace Explorer (see page 166).
When you start your Actix Solution, you start with an empty workspace, but you can load a previously saved workspace. A workspace contains the layout of all windows plus all loaded data files and all defined items such as reports and queries.
Workspaces 165
About the Workspace Explorer

The Workspace Explorer windowon the left of the application windowgraphically displays all loaded data files and the data contained within each file. The example on the right also shows the Attribute Help window docked underneath. This provides help on attributes as they are selected in the Workspace Explorer. The logical groupings in the tree-view layout let you drill down to all logged data held under the Loaded Data Files section. Loaded files are at the highest level, with data streams produced for each logging device, and data groups, sets and attributes displayed at lower levels:
You can view stream messages in the Message Browser window by right-clicking on them and selecting Display Message Browser from the pop-up menu. You can open option menus for most objects in the Workspace Explorer. Click on the plus and minus signs in front of an object to open and close that part of the tree. Opening a branch displays any objects at a lower level in the structure.
166 Workspaces
Although the Workspace Explorer looks similar to the Microsoft Windows Explorer, the structure shown under a log file is a logical display of datathere is no corresponding set of files or folders on your hard drive. Once you have found the appropriate data attribute, you can use the mouse to drag and drop the attribute from the Workspace Explorer onto a data display window. This window can be a map, chart, spreadsheet or table, and can also be opened by right-clicking on an attribute and selecting an option (see Show a menu of attribute options on page 173).
Workspaces 167
When examining the data from a drive test, you may want to step through each data point in sequence. The Replay Control (see Use the Replay Control on page 174) allows you to do this. Maps, charts, tables and the Message Browser are synchronized, so that if you click on a data point, message or row of data, the equivalent point is displayed in each open window. You can also produce artificial data streams by merging data files together. This process is called superstreaming. In the example below, a drive test and a call trace file have been superstreamed so that uplink data can be displayed on a map.
You can also superstream PCM Link data (for example, an Abis file) with drive test data. At the bottom of the Workspace Explorer window are two tabs, All and Favorites.
168 Workspaces Actix A Solutions User Guide
The All tab shows all items displayed in the Workspace Explorer. The Favorites tab shows only certain user-defined attributes, selected by right-clicking on an attribute and selecting Add To Favorites. You may find this useful if you only regularly use a few particular attributes. You can also right-click on the attribute to open a pop-up command list. From this list you can select various display options for the attribute. See also View an attribute in a data window (see page 21) View a data stream in the Message Browser (see page 174)
About binning data

Binning is a method of grouping and averaging the data loaded from a log file. Initially the data to be binned is partitioned according to a user-defined criterion. This binning criterion can be specified in terms of: Time geographic Location Distance traveled Message number
For example, with Time binning based on one-second intervals, data values are sorted according to the time at which they were logged. All values are sorted into onesecond bins. An averaging operation is then performed on the data collected in each bin, to produce a single value. This operation may be a simple Mean or one of a number of other operations such as Mode or Minimum value. The appropriate operation for each data attribute is automatically used. The net result of this process is a data set comprising values averaged from the original set of data values and it is this data set that is viewed on graphs, charts and reports
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One example of an application of binning is the export of CW scanning data into a propagation prediction tool. This is often done as part of a validation process by RF Planning departments. Since planning tools handle data in geographic bins, it can be useful to convert the CW data into bins of the correct size before exporting. The Location binning mode is ideal for this task. To set the default binning settings for the workspace, from the Tools menu, select Preferences. This opens the Preferences dialog.
Use workspaces
To Create a new workspace Open an existing workspace Save a workspace Do this Select File | New Workspace Select File | Open Workspace Select File | Save Workspace As Select File | Save Workspace All loaded data files and positions of all data display windowssuch as maps and chartsand their contents. Add an attribute to the Favorites tab Right-click on an attribute and select Add To Favorites. Selected attributes appear in the Favorites tab:
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Open a data file

From the File menu, select Open Logfile . The name of the data file now appears in the Workspace Explorer window under Loaded Data Files. You can now click on and open out the files data structure.
Import a text file

From the File menu, select Import Text File to open the Text File Import Wizard. For each step of the Wizard, enter the appropriate information and click Next to proceed. 1 Select the name of the text file to import. If an Import Configuration was saved from a previous text import, you have the option to use it for this import. 2 Select the delimiters to separate the data fields. The Data Preview pane shows the raw data, with lines indicating how the data will be separated. If appropriate, select First line contains attribute names to automatically name each data column. Appropriate formatting and binning options will be selected where possible.
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If you did not select the 'First line' option, click on each data field and enter an Attribute name or select on from the attribute picker (shown below).
You can also change the default formatting and binning options. Bin operation Count Mean Linear Mean GSM RxQual Max Most Most Hold Does this for each bin Returns the number of values. Returns the average value. Converts log values to linear values, averages the result, then converts this average linear value back to a log value. As Linear Mean, but used for RxQual values ranging from 0-7. Returns the highest value. Returns the most frequent value. As Most but retains the last value. Used for attributes where values are reported infrequently. 4 If desired, save the Import Configuration defined in this Wizard, and click Finish to complete the import. The text file is displayed in the Workspace Explorer just like any other data file.
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Run an analysis on the data

Once you have loaded a logfile, you can select an analysis type, which allows you to run one or more pre-configured analysis reports. From the Analysis menu, select an appropriate analysis. The Application Pack dialog opens to show network information with related information derived from the logfile data. Potential problem areas are highlighted in red. 2 Select one or more 'problem' network elements from this view. This narrows down the data to be included in a report (useful for A/Abis files or any large files). Underneath the top section of the dialog is a tabbed section containing icons for each report within the analysis. The Suggested tab shows all reports appropriate to the currently selected network elements. The All tab shows all available reports for the analysis, regardless of suitability for the selected data. 3 Double-click a report icon to open a report window on the selected data. 4 From here you can Save the report as a web (*htm) page, Print the report or open it in Excel by clicking Show Excel Report. 1
Show a menu of attribute options

From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on an attribute to show a pop-up menu. This menu lists all the options that you can perform involving this attribute.
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View an attribute in a data window

1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the attribute to open a pop-up menu.
Select one of the Display options. The attribute now appears in a new data window of the selected type. If a chart window is already open, you can also drag an attribute from the Workspace Explorer and drop it onto an existing data window.
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Use the Replay Control

1 2 3 From the Workspace Explorer, select the stream name. From the Tools menu, select Display Replay to open the Replay Control dialog. Click on the buttons to move forwards and backwards by one data point at a time, or at a selectable speed through the data. A bar at the bottom of the dialog shows the current position within the file.
View a data stream in the Message Browser

1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the data stream to display a pop-up menu.
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Select Display Message Browser. The data stream now appears in the Message Browser window.
View the results of a query

1 From the Workspace Explorer windows Queries heading, select the appropriate query.
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Right-click on the query to display the pop-up option menu.
Select the desired choice from the menu.
Export data to a file

You may want to export data to a file. 1 2 From the File menu, select Export as Text to open the Export Wizard. For each step of the Wizard, enter the appropriate information and click Next to proceed. Wizard Step 1select the data stream that you want to export data from. Wizard Step 2select one or more data attributes that are to be exported. Wizard Step 3specify the export format using the options provided: Data Process Method choose whether or not to use the current binning settings on the data before it is exported. Delimiter Type select how you want each data item to be separated. Hold last valid value check to cause the last valid data value that was exported to be re-exported when an invalid value is encountered. Export time as absolute time check to force time attribute data to be exported in absolute time in the format hh:mm:ss dd-mm-yyyy. By default, when exporting the time attribute the time data is exported in relative time. Write column heading as first line check to generate a header containing the names of all the attributes. Output unit type check to include the unit type in the header.
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Export to File enter the location and the name of the output file. Click Finish to write the text file using the specified format.
Merge data streams

1 From the Tools menu, select Create Superstream to open the Superstreaming dialog. This dialog shows all currently available data streams. Check each data stream that you want to combine as a superstream. Click Settings to expand the dialog. Select the Merge Method settings: Use timestamps this uses timestamp data within each stream to synchronize the data. Correlated Parameters use specified data attributes to correlate the data streams. To achieve a strong correlation, choose attributes that represent the same measurement on the uplink and downlink, as shown in this example of superstreaming GSM drive test and call-trace data streams:
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Time Offsets select this to apply a shift to the time value for one of the streams. This is a good option for superstreaming mobile and land-based log files collected using speech quality equipment. Click OK to start the superstreaming.
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SUPERSTREAM PCM LINK AND DRIVE TEST DATA PCM Link data, for example from A, Abis or Gb logfiles can be combined with drive test data collected simultaneously. This allows the GPS coordinates from the drive test to 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. From the Tools menu, select Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. 2 Select an appropriate Load Time Query (e.g. Abis Call Analysis). 3 Now Open the PCM Link file and the drive test file to be superstreamed. 4 From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT to open the PCM-Link/Drive Test Superstreaming dialog. 5 Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s). 6 Select the appropriate PCM-Link stream(s). 7 Select the appropriate Search Method settings for synchronizing the data streams. 8 Click OK to begin the Superstreaming process. When the process is complete, the superstream is displayed in the Workspace Explorer, and the normal data displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be used to examine the data. 1
Use Load Time Queries

When using 'PCM link' data fromfor exampleA/Abis or Gb logfiles, you may find that the most of the data in these files is not relevant to your requirements. Load Time queries allow you to only load the data that you need for your analyses. To select one or more Load Time queries Ensure that under Tools | Preferences, Load Mode is set to 'Minimal'. Either: Import the Load Time queries Set existing queries to be Load Time queries
Once you have selected one or more Load Time queries, all subsequently loaded data files will be processed by the
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queries, and you can analyze the data just like normal data attributes.
Workspace toolbar reference

This control New Workspace Open Workspace Save Workspace Open Logfile Does this Discards the current workspace for an empty workspace. Discards the current workspace for a specified workspace. Saves the current workspace as an .xml file. Loads a specified logfile.
Preferences dialog
Setting CellRefs File Location Notes Specifies 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.
Automatic Import Enable Automatic Import
Check this box to override the cellrefs file specified above, and instead automatically import a new file using an import template (both specified below). This is useful in situations where the network element data is liable to be updated frequently. Note that each Automatic Import will overwrite your existing cellrefs.txt file. Specifies the text file containing network element data, which is imported automatically in future when the system determines that the file has been updated. The information from this file takes effect from the next time a new workspace is created. Specifies the template to be used for the automatic network element data import. A set of default templates are provided for the main network technologies.
Automatic Import Input File
Automatic Import Template
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WCDMA Neighbor List Reporting Range Cells from the active and monitored sets must fall within this value of the best pilot to be included in the neighbor list (the default is 5dB). Maximum Size The maximum number of neighbor cells allowed in the list at any one time (the default is 15).
General Settings Auto Synch to Stream GPS Interpolation This takes effect from the next time a file is loaded. Drive-test data is often affected by inaccuracies in GPS navigation devices. These inaccuracies can be caused in various waysoften through the selective availability artificially introduced into the system for civilian signals, but also by atmospheric conditions and operation in urban areas where the line-of-sight to GPS satellites changes very quickly. The end results are jumps or gaps in the positioning of the data. If the distance over time between consecutive points exceeds a threshold (Distance Units) and GPS Interpolation is checked, the actual position of the data is automatically estimated. Distance Units Use Small Toolbars This takes effect immediately. This defines the distance threshold used for GPS Interpolation.
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Time Offsets
This takes effect from the next time a file is loaded. Switch or Mobile time offsets are used to shift the start time of call trace files taken in various parts of the world so that they can be viewed in other time zones properly. These settings take effect immediately, and affect files that are currently loaded. TimeThis mode combines data in the time domain. Data points are generated in increments of time, with the duration of each increment determined by the setting Time (ms). LocationThis mode groups data into bins in a spatial grid. The Location settings are used to define the grid. DistanceThe Distance bin mode combines data in bins corresponding to distance neighbor by the test mobile. The Distance setting defines this bin size. MessageThis mode combines data with respect to the timing of received messages. When this mode is selected, data is combined within bins, defined by the time stamps of sequential messages logged by the test mobile.
Binning Binning Mode
Time (ms) Distance (m) Message
If using the Time Binning Mode, this specified the duration in milliseconds of each bin size. If using the Distance Binning Mode, this specifies the bin size in units of meters from the first point in the data file. If using the Message Binning Mode, this specifies the number of messages over which the data will be averaged. These settings are used for the Location Binning Mode. The units of the X Size and Y Size will depend on the Projection method selected here. These define the X and Y widths of each cell in the grid for the Location Binning Mode. Map projection systems such as WGS84 will require that the grid size must be entered in units of seconds (of latitude and longitude). With local-grid co-ordinate systems such as UK NGR, all values are entered in units of meters X being the Easting value and Y the Northing.
Location Projection X Size / Y Size
Decode Settings Minimum Valid Signal Level (dBm)
These values take effect from the next time a file is loaded. Defines the minimum threshold for which an RSSI is valid. On loading a log file, signals are filtered out below this user-defined range.
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Ec/Io Threshold for Delay (dB) Scan Resolution (chips) Number of multipaths Scanner Scan Resolution Pilot Increment
Used to calculate the threshold at which multipath components are counted in the delay histograms for the Active, Candidate, Neighbor, and Remaining sets from the searcher finger data. Defines how often measurements are reported, measured in chips. Defines the number of multipaths that will be extracted and displayed in the Workspace Explorer. Defines how often scanner measurements are reported, measured in chips. Used to calculate the PN Offset (units of 64 chips) associated with the PN Phase (units of chips) data reported in the CDMA airinterface messaging. PN Offset is calculated by dividing the PILOT_PN_PHASE by 64 and then rounding to the closest integer multiple of the PN increment entered. This feature forces all PN Offsets calculated to be part of a valid PN reuse plan. Defines the maximum number of entries in the neighbor lists. When neighbor list entries in the air interface messaging exceed this threshold, an event (TooManyNeighbors) is displayed in the Workspace Explorer and a warning message is indicated in the *.warning output file. Defines when the best server pilot has dropped beneath a tolerable threshold and is considered weak. This displays an event (WeakPilotAlert) in the Workspace Explorer and in the warning file. Check the box to display the Cell Identity (CI) in hexadecimal (rather than decimal) in the Message Browser. Defines the size of a burst for Burst Error Rate calculations (time series parameter: For_FBER). The dB threshold for reporting QUALCOMM Searcher data is set to 15dB. This control is no longer used. Determines whether a multipath component may be evaluated and displayed in the Workspace Explorer. The Explorer will only display the top n multipaths, where n is the Number of multipaths.
Too Many Neighbors Threshold
Weak Ec/Io Pilot Threshold Display Cell Identity as Hex No of Frame Errors in a Burst Searcher Threshold Ec/Io Threshold (dB) Use 20ms resolution for CDMA
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PCM Link Load Mode
This is used for PCM Link data such as A, Abis and Gb files. Select between: Minimal (default) Only loads data produced by the currently attached Load Time Queries. Full Loads the entire file.
PCU Abis Vendor A-interface file standard Agilent MDB Show Agilent data selection dialog
For example, Alcatel. ITU (Europe) / ANSI (USA). This setting takes effect from the next time a file is loaded. These settings take effect from the next time a file is loaded. Select No to load all data from an Agilent file. Select Yes to display the dialog when opening an Agilent file. The dialog allows selection of specific data sets rather than loading the entire file. The following controls can also be selected from the Agilent dialog: Remove intermediate files after load / Keep intermediate files in log-file folder / Keep intermediate files in selected folder Select the file location. No / Yes These settings take effect from the next time a file is loaded.
Intermediate file handling Intermediate file folder Use intermediate files if available Agilent SD5 Show Agilentspecific attributes EcIo Nth Best Sorting WCDMA Reporting Range Event1A/1B/1C (dB) Hysteresis Event1A/1B/1C (dB)
Sort by EcIo Aggregate/EcIo Max This sets the values for the WCDMA Soft Handover algorithm, as indicated in the 3GPP specifications. Add/Remove/Replace cell
Add/Remove/Replace cell
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Time to Trigger Event1A/1B/1C (ms) Max. Active Set Size (up to 8)
Add/Remove/Replace cell
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Workbooks/reports
ABOUT WORKBOOKS The Workbook window allows you to manipulate data within a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet environment, display the data in charts and produce management reports. Microsoft Excel must be installed for this functionality to work. If you want to quickly browse numerical data, you may find the Table functionality easier to use. A typical workbook containing attribute data will look similar to this:
To find out about how to manipulate data, see the MS Excel online help, which you can view by clicking on the help button on the toolbar. You can also display queries in a workbook in the same way as you would for an attribute. Once you have the appropriate data displayed in the workbook, you may want to add formatting, headings and so on to create a presentable report. You can then save this workbook as a workbook file or as a template file. A template may be better if you intend to reuse the same report many times in the future, using different data.
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When you open the file later, the data will be regenerated using the currently loaded data. See a CDMA example of reporting. DISPLAY DATA ATTRIBUTES IN A WORKBOOK From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data attribute and select Display on Workbook. A workbook opens, displaying the appropriate data. If you already have a workbook open, you can also select the option Display on Workbook (active) to display the data on the existing MS Excel workbook.
As Microsoft Excel is a separate application, clicking on either Excel or the Actix Solution window will hide the other application. However, you can drag an attribute onto an existing workbook by dragging it onto the Excel button on the taskbar at the bottom of the Windows screen. View Series data in a workbook The bottom of the Microsoft Excel workbook shows several tabs. Check that the Series Formatted Data tab is selected. This displays in numeric form the same data that would be displayed in a Series Chart. Other related information may also be displayedfor example, time and coordinate data.
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View Histogram data in a workbook The bottom of the Microsoft Excel workbook shows several tabs. Check that the Histogram Formatted Data tab is selected. This displays in numeric form the same data that would be displayed in a Histogram Chart.
View Statistic data in a workbook The bottom of the Microsoft Excel workbook shows several tabs. Check that the Statistic Formatted Data tab is selected. This displays various statistical values related to the selected data attribute.
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SAVE A WORKBOOK/REPORT From the Microsoft Excel menu bar, select File | Save As to open the Save As dialog. 2 Enter the Name of the workbook file. 3 Select the Type to be .xls (for a workbook) or .xlt (for a template). 4 Select the appropriate folder in which to save the file. 5 Click OK. When you place a query in a workbook and save the workbook, the query definition is stored in the workbook. OPEN AN EXISTING WORKBOOK/REPORT 1 From the main menu bar, select Workbook | Open Workbook / Report to open the Open Workbook File dialog. 2 Select the appropriate workbook file and click OK. If you are trying to open a workbook that is already open, you will be warned that if you continue the existing workbook will be closed. The Stream Selection dialog opens, showing all data streams in the current workspace. 3 For the named data stream used in the workbook, select an equivalent source in the current workspace and click OK. 1
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Repeat step 3 for each additional data stream in the workbook. Microsoft Excel opens to display the workbook, with all data now regenerated based on the current data in the stream(s).
Note that if you make any changes to the datafor example if you filter the data in the workspacethe workbook does not automatically update. If the workbook contains a query that is not in the current workspace, the results of the query will be regenerated within the workbook and the query will be added to the workspace, appearing in the Workspace Explorer. If the workspace contains a new version of a query in the workbook, the results of the query will be regenerated and the existing query updated to the new version in the workbook.
Charts
ABOUT CHARTS Charts provide a graphical display of statistical data, which allow you to interpret the behavior over time of performance statistics.
The chart displays the data according to the current charting mode. Buttons on the chart window toolbar set the charting mode.
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By default, synchronization between data windows is enabled, so if you click on a data point on a chart, you can see the same data point highlighted in any other open data display window. DISPLAY DATA IN A CHART WINDOW From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data attribute and select Display on chart. A chart window opens, displaying the appropriate data:
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If you already have a chart window open, you can also drag a data attribute onto the existing chart. This example shows two attributes displayed on one chart:
VIEW DATA SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE CHART From the Chart window toolbar, click on a position on a chart.
If you have an open Map window displaying the same data attribute, the same data point is highlighted. If you have an open Message Browser window, the appropriate message containing the same data point is highlighted. ZOOM THE CHART VIEW To zoom the chart view With the mouse, drag a box around the area of the chart that you want to zoom in on. Start at the top left of the box and drag down to the bottom right corner of this rectangular area. The chart view now zooms in to this area. The zoom only operates in the X-axis. The Y-axis is unaffected by the zoom. To restore the chart view Drag a boxthe position does not matter starting from the bottom to the top. The chart is now restored to its previous extents.
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PAN THE CHART VIEW Drag by moving the mouse while holding down the right mouse button. The unit information on each axis moves along with the data values.
If there is more than one attribute on the chart, only the last attribute displayed can be panned in both X- and Y-axes. All attributes can be panned in the X-axis. VIEW A DIFFERENT CHART TYPE From the toolbar at the top of the chart window, select a button to display the data in that type of chart display.
Note that some data is not suited to be displayed in particular chart types. PRINT THE CHART 1 From the Chart window, click Print TeeChart Print Preview dialog. to show the
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2 3 EDIT THE CHART 1
Use the controls on this dialog to set how the printed page is to appear. Click Print.
Click Properties to open the Editing dialog (also called the Chart Editor). Many controls for editing the appearance and layout of the chart are provided, spread over several tabs of the dialog.
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You can also right-click anywhere on the chart to open a pop-up menu, and select Chart Properties to open the Editing dialog. 2 Experiment with the controls to achieve a preferred appearance for the chart. Chart tab From the 3D tab, select 3 Dimensions to produce a three-dimensional chart From the Panel tab, use the Gradient and Back Image controls to produce an attractive background
Series tab Use the Format tab to control the data series line For a full explanation of the function of each of these controls, click Help to display the TeeChart user guide. EXPORT THE CHART TO OTHER APPLICATIONS 1 From the chart window, right-click to open a popup menu:
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Select Image Export to open this dialog:
3 4 5
Select the appropriate format and select Save To File to open the Save As dialog. Enter a path and file name and click OK. Click Close to dismiss the Export dialog.
This control Properties Series Histogram Copy Print
Chart toolbar reference Does this Opens the Editing (see Show a menu of attribute options on page 173) dialog and lets you control the display of the chart. Displays chart data as a series (see View a different chart type on page 192). Displays chart data as a histogram (see View a different chart type on page 192). Copies the chart to the Windows Clipboard. You can then paste it into an appropriate application such as Word. This displays the TeeChart Print Preview dialog (see Print the chart on page 192). Use the controls on this dialog to set how the printed page is to appear, then click Print.
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Maps
ABOUT MAPS Within the Map window, the main panel displays the map and any attribute data plotted on the map. Toolbars along the top of the window provide commonly used functions.
Hovering the cursor over a data point displays information on that point. The left-hand panel displays the legends for any data series on the map. Click on the plus sign by the data series title to expand the legend. The number in brackets is the number of data points lying within that particular range.
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You can access map controls by right-clicking on the main map panel.
You can also access legend controls by rightclicking on the legend panel.
When you select a data point on the map, ray lines can link the point to the appropriate sector for serving and neighbor sites. Associated configurable messages display signal strength information. By default, synchronization between data windows is enabled, so if you click on a data point on the map, you can see the same data point highlighted in any other open data display window. Each map window can be made up of several layers. There is one layer for each attribute displayed on the map window, one layer for each set of imported background map objects, plus one layer on which you can create annotations. If you have a map containing several data attributes, you can combine the attributes to see the situation on the map more clearly. Each attribute is displayed with a different color, shape or size.
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The example here shows two attributes combined, one using color and the other using shape:
In the middle of the example, the value of the second attribute changes, so the shape changes from a triangle to a square. DISPLAY ATTRIBUTE DATA ON A MAP 1 From the Map's tool bar, click Edit Series display this dialog: to
Select any required attributes from the left panel and click Add to move them to the list of currently displayed attributes on the right. When satisfied with the list of displayed attributes, click OK.
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Alternatively: From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data attribute. From the pop-up menu that opens, select Display on Map. A map window opens, displaying the appropriate data. You can also drag an attribute from the Workspace Explorer onto an existing map.
VIEW DATA SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE MAP 1 2 From the Map window toolbar, click Select . Click on a data point to highlight it. If you have an open Chart window displaying the same data attribute, a line is displayed on the chart to show the position of the same data point. If you have an open Message Browser window, the appropriate message containing the same data point is highlighted.
MOVE AROUND THE MAP 1 2 From the Map window toolbar, click Pan to change the cursor to a hand shape. Drag the cursor in the viewing pane to move the map around.
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ZOOM IN AND OUT 1 2 Right-click on the map to open a pop-up menu. Select Zoom to display the options shown below (or use the equivalent toolbar buttons): Does this
Zoom menu command View Entire Map Zoom In
Previous View Returns the map to the last zoom setting. Zooms out fully. Zooms in by a factor of two. With the toolbar button selected, you can define a rectangular area to zoom into by dragging the mouse to create a box. Zooms out by a factor of two. Opens a dialog that lets you specify the width in scale units and the coordinates of the center of the zoomed window. Zooms so the selected objects just fill the available map window space. Zooms so the selected layer just fills the available map window space.
Zoom Out Zoom at Scale
Zoom Selection Go to Layer
Zoom1-Zoom4 Zooms using the selected zoom setting. These are the last four zoom settings that you specified for the current map window.
SELECT MAP OBJECTS 1 2 Right-click on the map to open a pop-up menu. Select Tool to display the options shown below (or use the equivalent toolbar buttons): Lets you Click an individual object on the map to select it. De-select all currently selected objects.
Tool menu command Select Clear
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Tool menu command Select Box
Lets you Click on the map and drag out to form the opposite corner of a rectangular selection area. Click on the map and drag out to form a circular selection area. Click several places on the map to form a many-sided selection area. Double-click the last corner to complete the shape.
Radius Select Polygon Select
MEASURE DISTANCES ON THE MAP 1 2 Right-click over the main map pane to open the pop-up menu. Select Tools, then Distance to alter the cursor mode.
Click and drag from one point to another. The distance in current map units appears below the cursor:
Cancel the measuring mode by selecting another cursor modefor example, by clicking on Select .
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ADD ANNOTATIONS TO THE MAP All symbols are drawn on the annotations layer of the map. Annotation Does this tool Symbol Text Changes the cursor to the Symbol tool. Click anywhere on the map to place a symbol. Changes the cursor to the Text tool. Click anywhere on the map to place a text cursor and type in an annotation. Click on any annotated text on the map to be able to edit the text. Changes the cursor to the Line tool. Click and drag on the map to create a line annotation. Changes the cursor to the Polyline tool. Click on the map to create a point on the polyline. A double-click signifies the last point in the polyline. Changes the cursor to the Polygon tool. Click on the map to create a point on the polygon. A double-click signifies the last point on the polygon, which is automatically connected to the first point by a line.
Edit Text Line
Polyline
Polygon
REMOVE ANNOTATIONS FROM THE MAP 1 2 3 From the map toolbar, click Select or another selection tool. Click on the appropriate annotation(s). Press the Del key.
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SHOW AND HIDE MAP DATA
Click the box to check or empty it.
The data series is displayed in the tree-view panel on the right of the map window. If the check box beside the data series name is checked, the data appears in the map window. If the check box is empty, the data is not displayed. ALTER THE MAP LEGEND RANGE The data series is displayed in the tree-view (Legend) panel on the right of the map window. 1 Click the plus sign to expand the data series range information.
2 3
From the left-hand Legend panel, right-click on the data series name to open a pop-up menu. From the menu, select Modify ranges to open the Range Modification dialog. The center panel shows the existing range legend for the currently selected series. Make changes to the values in the dialog as described below.
CHANGE THE NUMBER OF RANGES IN THE LEGEND 1 2 3 From the left-hand Legend panel, right-click on the data series name to open a pop-up menu. From the menu, select Modify ranges to open the Range Modification dialog. Set the Method to: Uniform if each step or range is to cover an equal range of values.
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4 5
Equal Count if an equal number of data points is to be used for each step. Enter the # of Ranges. This is the number of divisions in the legend. Click Recalc. The number of ranges is now modified.
CUSTOMIZE EACH RANGE IN THE LEGEND From the left-hand Legend panel, right-click on the data series name to open a pop-up menu. 2 From the menu, select Modify ranges to open the Modify Ranges dialog. 3 Set the Method to Custom. 4 Select a range row from the list. The minimum and maximum range values appear in the boxes below the list. 5 Alter the Custom Ranges Minimum and Maximum values as required. You can select 'Below and Above when setting the extremes of the range. For example: 1
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6 7
Click Add, Remove or Update as required. Click OK to exit the dialog.
CHANGE THE ATTRIBUTE STYLE SETTING From the Legend panel, right-click on the attribute name to open the pop-up menu. 2 Select Style Setting, then Symbol, Size or Color. Note that the current setting has a check mark against it. The attributes range is now indicated through this setting. Here are examples of different style settings (color is the default setting): Color 1
Symbol
Size
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CHANGE THE ATTRIBUTE FONT 1 From the Legend panel, right-click on the attribute name to open the pop-up menu. 2 Select Attribute style to open the Font dialog. 3 Change the settings as required and click OK. Which settings you change depends on which style setting you are using for this attribute. If the Style Setting is Color, you may want to change the font Size or the Symbol used. If the Style Setting is Symbol, you may want to change the font Size or Color. If the Style Setting is Size, you may want to change the Color or the Symbol used. COMBINE DATA ATTRIBUTES ON THE MAP Before combining attributes, you should already have all attributes to be combined visible in the Legend panel. 1 Within the Legend panel, drag one attribute onto another. 2 Repeat with any other attributes you want to combine. The attributes are now grouped together. CONTROL MAP LAYERS From the Map window toolbar, click Layers Layer Control dialog: to open the
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You can also open this dialog from the pop-up menu option Map Layers. Layers are shown on top of each other on the map, so a higher layer may hide details on a lower layer. The central pane shows all layers in the current map window, with the top layer in the list being uppermost on the map. You can change the order of a particular layer by selecting it in the list and then clicking the Up and Down buttons. You can select more that one layer by using these familiar Windows methods: - hold down the Shift key and click the first and last in a consecutive series of layers, or, - hold down the Ctrl key and click layers as required. A checkmark in each layers box determines: if the layer is visible if objects on it can be selected if the layer can be annotated (clearing this box locks the Annotations layer from having any further annotations added) ADD A MAP FILE From the Map window toolbar, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog. 2 Click Add to open the Open Layer dialog. 3 Select or type in the name of the file. This can be a MapInfo Workspace (*.wor), Map (*.tab) or Geoset (*.gst), or a tiled raster (*.atr) file. 4 Click OK to close the dialog and display the new map in the Layer Control list pane. You may need to alter the position of the new layer to aid visibility. Everything inside a MapInfo Workspace will be inserted below any visible data and cellref layers, and above any other layers. 5 Select the layer. 6 Click Down until the map layer is below an existing attribute and annotation layers. ADD A RASTER MAP FILE 1 2 From the map pane, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select New Raster to open the Raster Image Registration dialog (see page 228). 1
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3 4 5 6 7
8 9
Browse for or specify the name of the BMP Source File. Specify the Projection type. Select the Units. Enter the Coordinates of the four corners of the map image. Click OK to close the dialog and display the new map. You may now want to reposition the map layer: Click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog. Select the layer and click Down until the map layer is below the other layers, at the bottom of the list of layers.
CONTROL ATTRIBUTE LABELS 1 2 From the Layer Control dialog, click Labels to open the Label Properties dialog. Set the controls as appropriate. For details, see the Label Properties dialog (see page 226). Click OK to close the dialog and return to the Layer Control dialog.
EDIT A LAYER'S DISPLAY PROPERTIES 1 2 From the Layer Control dialog, click Display to open the Display Properties dialog. Set the controls as appropriate. For details, see the Display Properties dialog (see page 227). Click OK to close the dialog and return to the Layer Control dialog.
3 OFFSET THE DATA ON THE MAP 1 2 3 4
From the Layer Control dialog, select the appropriate attribute to offset. Click Offset to open the Offset dialog. Click Offset Tool. The Offset dialog closes and the cursor changes to a cross. Click on the map twice to define a vector by which to offset the data. After a brief pause, the data is redrawn in the offset position.
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Alternatively, from the Offset dialog, enter the X and Y distances (in map units) by which to reposition the selected attribute data, and click OK. This method is useful if you want to reset the offset to zero (enter 0 for each offset distance), or if you select more than one attribute in the Layer Control dialog - each subsequent layer is automatically offset by the same amount. CHOOSE THE MAP PROJECTION 1 2 From the map pane, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select Projection to open the Choose Projection dialog:
3 CHANGE THE MAP UNITS 1 2 DISPLAY THE MAP SCALE 1 2
Select the appropriate projection and click OK to close the dialog.
From the map pane, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select Map Units, then Distance or Area, then the appropriate units.
From the map pane, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select Show Scale.
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DISPLAY THE CURSOR LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE 1 2 From the map pane, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select Show Lat/Lon.
DISPLAY CELL SITES ON THE MAP You will have to start a new workspace during this procedure. If you have selected a cellrefs file, you should already be able to see network information on a map. However, you may wish to change the display configuration. 1 Select Tools | Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 Under CellRefs, click on File Location and ensure that you have specified a cellrefs.txt file (you may have edited and saved a network information file under a different name from the Network Editor). 3 After the network information is loaded, you will be prompted to restart. 4 Load your data file(s) and display an attribute on a map.
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5 6
From the map window toolbar, click Cell Sites to open the Sites/Cell Properties dialog. Configure the settings as appropriate for the cell definition. For example GSM_Cell, Color=BCCH, Size=none. Click OK to accept the settings. The list of layers in the Layer Control dialog should look similar to this:
Ensure that the layer has a check in the 'visible' column. You can use the Network Data Settings tab to display all other network information on the map. DISPLAY LINES TO CELLS This setting draws a line from the selected data point to its neighbor or serving cell site sectors. The example below shows lines to both neighbor and serving cell site sectors:
You must already have specified a cellrefs file (see Display cell sites on the map on page 210). 1 From the map window, click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog. 2 The list of layers in the Layer Control dialog should look similar to this:
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Select the Lines to neighbor cells layer or the Lines to serving cells layer. Click Lines to open the Line layer properties dialog.
Make the appropriate selections: Selection Only data points chosen with the Select (see Select map objects on page 200) tools will show lines to neighbor or serving cells. All datapoints Every data point will show a line to its neighbor or serving cells. Technology Ensure that the technology of your network is selected. Label lines with In some cases you may want the lines to be labeled with an attribute, but use carefully as this can increase map clutter. Color lines with This uses the selected attributes colors corresponding to its data range, as shown in the Legend panel. Some useful attributes to use are: CDMA PN_1stBestEcIo GSM ServBCCH IS-136 FACCH_CurChannel
6 Click OK to close the dialogs. If you cannot see any lines to cells when you select a data point, check that the Lines to neighbor cells or the Lines to serving cells layers are above any potentially obscuring map layers.
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PRINT A MAP To print a map 1 From the map windows toolbars, click Print open the Print Setup dialog. 2 Ensure that the settings are appropriate. 3 Click OK to send the map to the printer. To examine the layout of the map before printing 1 From the map windows toolbars, click Layout open the Map Layout Designer window. to
to
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To Alter the label text Change the label font and size Change the paper size, headers and footers, paper orientation and margins Move the label, map legend or the map itself Resize the label and map legend boxes, or change the legend font size Check the appearance of the page before printing 2 3
Do this Double-click on the label and type in the new text, then click outside the label box. Click on Properties settings. and change the
Click on Page Settings (see Page Setup dialog on page 220) and change the settings. Click on the object and drag it to the new position. Click on a corner box and drag it out. The map legend text will resize to fit the text box. Click Print Preview .
Configure the layout as desired. Click Print to open the standard Windows Print dialog. On the output page, cell site sectors may appear as the letter 'b'. To fix this problem, from the Page Setup dialog, click 'Printer', then from the next dialog click 'Properties'. In the Fonts section, switch the option from 'Use font substitution' to 'Always send fonts to printer' (or similar settings, depending on your version of Windows and your printer type). COPY A MAP TO THE CLIPBOARD 1 From the main map window, right-click to display the pop-up menu:
2 3
Select Copy to Clipboard. You can now paste the map into any other active Windows application.
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EXPORT A MAP AS A BITMAP 1 2 From the main map window, right-click to open the pop-up menu. Select Export Map, then the bitmap format in which to export the map:
From the Export Map as Image dialog, specify the File name and path and click OK.
See also Export the legend as a bitmap (see Preferences dialog on page 179) Export layers as TAB files (see Export layers as TAB files on page 216) EXPORT THE LEGEND AS A BITMAP 1 From the legend pane, right-click on an object to open the pop-up menu. 2 Select Export to File, then Bitmap or Windows Metafile to open the Export Legend as Image dialog. 3 Enter the File name and location and click OK.
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EXPORT LAYERS AS TAB FILES 1 From the Layer Control dialog, click Export to open the Export to TAB dialog:
2 Select the layer(s) to export. 3 Select the Destination folder. 4 Click OK. The appropriate TAB, MAP, ID and DAT files are created in the specified folder. TROUBLESHOOTING MAPS How do I display a map background? Click Layers to open the Layer Control dialog. Ensure that the map layers visibility box contains a check mark:
If there is no map layer, Add a map file as a new layer. How do I display network graphics on the map? Click Cell Sites . From the Network Data Settings tab, select appropriate settings for cells and other network objects. (You must already have specified a cellrefs file see Display cell sites on the map on page 210.) How do I load a bitmap into a map? Click Layers and Add the bitmap as a new layer.
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How do I display cell sites on the map? See Display cell sites on the map (see page 210). How do I display lines to cells? See Display lines to cells on page 211. If you still can't see lines to cells, make sure the appropriate lines to cells layer is visible and above other map layers that may obscure it. How do I display cell coverage for all cells on the map? You can see clearly on the map if there are any areas throughout your drive test route where the serving cell hands over to an undesired sector, by enabling all of the lines to cells throughout the whole of the map trace. Simply open the Map Layers dialog and select the layer Lines to serving cells. 2 Click on the Lines button and select All datapoints along with your appropriate technology. 3 Leave the Labels setting blank, but set the color to be the ServBCCH (or appropriate) value and click OK. 4 Close the Layers dialog. You can see on the map which cell was serving each point along the route. The color corresponds to the measured BCCH, and with the sector coloring set to BCCH, it becomes clear which sector on the site is the server. See also Display lines to cells on page 211. How do I display more information about my cells on the map? Once your cellsite database (cellrefs file) has been imported into your Actix Solution, you can display more information about your cells on the map by enabling the 'lines to cells' layers. 1 From the Map Layers dialog, click the Lines button. 2 Choose your current technology. 3 You can now choose to label or color the lines with one of the suggested attributes, or by selecting the attribute picker (right-pointing arrow button), selecting Independent > Site Data Node and selecting another attribute. For example, you can display the distance or the SectorID of any cells you 1
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are currently served by, have as a neighbor or are in a handoff state between. See also Display lines to cells on page 211. How can I display the LAC distribution of my cell sites? It is possible to see the LAC distribution for your network by changing the coloring for each sector on the map. 1 When you have imported your cellsite database (cellrefs file), the default settings for the Sector layer is Beamwidth = Symbol, and BCCH = Color. With the map open, click on the Cellsite button. It will display all column names insider your imported cell database. Expand BCCH and set the Style to None. Now expand LAC and set the Style to Color. Click OK. Your sectors will now be colored according to the Location Area they are in.
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How can I view multi-layer or multi-technology cells? 1 For the upper layer, set a false, narrower beamwidth value so that the sectors do not obscure sectors on the lower layer. 2 Set the cell size to be determined by another cellrefs field, for example EIRP. 3 Ensure that the upper layer follows the lower layer in the cellrefs file.
How can I view sector azimuths? Set very narrow beamwidth values (5 degrees or less) to see lines in the direction of sector azimuths.
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How can I correct the displayed lines to cells? In the map, there are often multiple data points at the same pixel location. Sometimes this is because the latitude and longitude values are identical. Sometimes it is because the difference in latitude and longitude is so small that the points are in the same screen pixel. In both these cases, only the first data point corresponding to each pixel is displayed, with subsequent data points being ignored. This has some impact on data synchronization. As you select different rows in the table, multiple rows may synchronize to the same point in the map. On the other hand, if you select that point on the map, the table always synchronizes to the first associated row.
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Since lines to cells are based on the bin corresponding to the drawn point rather than the original bin, you will find that the lines displayed are sensitive to the zoom level and the attributes being displayed. This has some potentially confusing symptoms. Open two maps at different zoom levels. Then select a point in one map, causing the other map to synchronize. You may find that lines to cells are different. This is because the lines are based at different bins, although they are at the same pixel. To ensure matching lines to cells, zoom in and use location binning so that there is never more than one bin per pixel. MAP DIALOG REFERENCE Page Setup dialog This dialog opens when you click Page Settings from the Map Layout Designer window:
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Headers and Footers Provides a space for you to type header text that will appear at the top of the page, or footer text that will appear at the bottom of the page. To print specific information as part of the header or footer, include the following characters as part of the text. Type this &w &u &d &D &t &T &p &P && &b &b&b To print this Window title Page address (URL) Date in short format (as specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel) Date in long format (as specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel) Time in the format specified by Regional Settings in Control Panel Time in 24-hour format Current page number Total number of pages A single ampersand (&) The text immediately following these characters as centered The text after the first &b as centered, the text after the second &b as right-justified
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Print Setup dialog This dialog opens when you click Print from a map window:
Options opens the Print Map dialog.
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Print Map dialog This dialog opens when you click Options from the Print Setup dialog:
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Properties dialog This dialog opens when you click Properties from the Map Layout Designer window:
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Label Properties dialog This dialog opens when you click Labels from the Layer Control dialog:
To use Data Field Formatted Field Show Allow overlapped text Hide adjacent duplicate text Display within range
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). 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.
Min Zoom
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To use Max Zoom Max # of labels Label Style Position Label X/Y offset (points) Label Style
Do this 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.
Display Properties dialog This dialog opens when you click Display from the Layer Control dialog:
This dialog controls the display of layers. To use Override Style Do this Check the box to override the default map style with the settings accessed through Layer Style.
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To use Layer Style
Do this Set the style for the selected layer. The controls in this dialog will depend on the type of layer selected in the Layer Control dialog. Check the box to display layers 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 layers will be displayed. Set the highest zoom level at which layers will be displayed.
Display within range
Min Zoom Max Zoom
Raster Image Registration dialog This dialog opens when you select the New Raster option from the map window's right-click popup menu:
To use BMP Source File Coordinates
Do this Type in or Browse for the name and location of the *.bmp file to use as the map image. Each coordinate defines the position of one corner of the map image. Make sure these coordinates are sensible, given the Projection type and the Units selected. Click to select from a drop down list of unit types appropriate to the selected Projection type.
Units
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To use Projection
Do this Click to select from a drop-down list of projection types. These define how to convert global positional data to a flat projection of that position.
MAP TOOLBAR REFERENCE This control Select Does this Lets you select individual data points on the map. You can also hold down the Ctrl key to select more than one data point, or use the Area Select (see Area Select toolbar reference on page 230) tools. Zooms in by a factor of two. Zooms out by a factor of two. Changes the cursor to the Pan tool, which lets you drag the map as required. Opens the Layer Control dialog. Toggles the Legend panel on or off. Toggles the Area Select (see Area Select toolbar reference on page 230) toolbar on or off. Toggles the Annotations (see Annotations toolbar reference on page 230) toolbar on or off. Opens the Map Layout Designer window for configuring the printed output. Sends the current map to the printer. Opens the Sites/Cell Properties dialog. Opens the Edit Series dialog, so you can easily add or remove data series to the map display.
Zoom In Zoom Out Pan Layers Legend Area Select
Annotations Layout Print Cell Sites Edit Series
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Annotations toolbar reference This control Symbol Does this Changes the cursor to the Symbol tool. Click anywhere on the map to place a symbol. Changes the cursor to the Text tool. Click anywhere on the map to place a text cursor and type in an annotation. Click on any annotated text on the map to be able to edit the text. Changes the cursor to the Line tool. Click and drag on the map to create a line annotation. Changes the cursor to the Polyline tool. Click on the map to create a point on the polyline. A double-click signifies the last point in the polyline. Changes the cursor to the Polygon tool. Click on the map to create a point on the polygon. A double-click signifies the last point on the polygon, which is automatically connected to the first point by a line. Wipes the annotation layer clear of all annotations.
Text
Edit Text Line
Polyline
Polygon
Clear
Area Select toolbar reference This control Does this Select Box Changes the cursor to the Select Box tool. Drag the cursor to create a rectangular selection area, with one corner defined by the start of the drag, and the opposite corner defined by the end of the drag. All points inside the area are selected. Radius Select Changes the cursor to the Radius Select tool. Drag the cursor to create a circular selection area, centered at the start of the drag and with a radius defined by the distance of the cursor from the start of the drag. All points inside the area are selected.
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This control Polygon Select
Does this Changes the cursor to the Polygon Select tool. Each click draws a new line segment of the selection area. A double click near an existing line segment closes the selection area. All points inside the area are selected.
Map Layout Designer toolbar reference This control Print Print Preview Page Settings Zoom Properties Undo Redo Does this Opens the Print Setup dialog. Opens the Print Preview window. Opens the Page Setup dialog (see page 220). Changes the current zoom setting for the map layout. Opens the Properties dialog (see page 224). Cancels the effect of the last action. Repeats the effect of a previously undone action.
SiteData Viewer
The SiteData Viewer lets you view information on a site/cell selected from the Map. To activate the SiteData Viewer, from the View menu, select SiteData Viewer. Initially, a blank grid appears, but once you select a cell on the map, the grid is populated with information about the selected cell. When the cell layer is the uppermost layer in the map, clicking on any of the cells will display the details of the cell, its parent and its siblings in the SiteData Viewer. The following screen shot demonstrates the act of clicking on a cell and having the SiteData Viewer show details of the selected cell.
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The SiteData Viewer displays all information from the cellrefs file for the selected cell/site, including data on any additional user-defined columns.
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FILTERING DATA If you right-click anywhere in the SiteData Viewer window, a pop up menu appears. Select the Information Filter menu item to open this dialog box:
From this dialog you can select which data items can be viewed.
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Tables
ABOUT TABLES Tables provide a quick and simple view of numeric data for a selected attribute.
If you want to manipulate, chart or print out the data, use the Workbook feature instead. DISPLAY DATA ATTRIBUTES IN A TABLE From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on a data attribute and select Display on Table.
A table opens, displaying the appropriate data. VIEW SERIES DATA IN A TABLE The bottom of the Table window shows several tabs. Check that the Series tab is selected. This provides a quick view of the series data for the selected attribute.
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VIEW HISTOGRAM DATA IN A TABLE The bottom of the Table window shows several tabs. Check that the Histogram tab is selected. This provides a quick view of the histogram data for the selected attribute.
VIEW STATISTICS DATA IN A TABLE The bottom of the Table window shows several tabs. Check that the Statistics tab is selected. This provides a quick view of the statistics for the selected attributes data.
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Message Browser
ABOUT THE MESSAGE BROWSER The Message Browser displays the Layer 3 and Abis messaging in a log file:
DISPLAY DATA IN THE MESSAGE BROWSER 1 From the Workspace Explorer window, right-click on the stream name (one level below the logfile) to display the pop-up menu.
Select Display Message Browser to open the Message Browser window.
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SYNCHRONIZE WITH THE WORKSPACE You can independently synchronize the Event and Message panels to the workspace, so that the same data is highlighted in any open data window. To synchronize the Event panel to the workspace From the Message Browser toolbar, click Sync Events. The button should now appear like this: If you now select an event, map or chart point, the related data is highlighted in each open data window. To synchronize the Message panel to the workspace From the Message Browser toolbar, click Sync Msgs. The button should now appear like this: If you now select a message, map or chart point, the related data is highlighted in each open data window.
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FIND TEXT IN THE MESSAGE BROWSER 1 From the Message Browser toolbar, type in the text you want to find in the log file, or select from the drop-down list of previous text searches. Click Find Next . The Messages panel moves to the next message down in the log file that contains the search text. To cancel a text search, click Stop Find . To search from the current position in the log file back towards the start of the file, click Find Prev . SET AND REMOVE BOOKMARKS 3 From the Message panel of the Message Browser, click on the message you want to bookmark. The message now appears highlighted with a red marker:
Click Toggle . The message marker now changes color to indicate that the message has been bookmarked:
Repeat these steps on a bookmarked message to remove the bookmark. You can also use Ctrl+F2 to toggle a bookmark on and off. MOVE BETWEEN BOOKMARKS To move to the next bookmark From the Message Browser toolbar, click Next . In the Message panel, the position changes to that of the next bookmarked message in the log file. You can also use F2 to move to the next bookmark.
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To move to the previous bookmark From the Message Browser toolbar, click Previous . In the Message panel, the position changes to that of the next bookmarked message in the log file. You can also use Shift+F2 to move to the previous bookmark. REMOVE ALL BOOKMARKS From the Message Browser toolbar, click Clear .
All bookmarks in the log file are now removed. You can also use Ctrl+Shift+F2 to move to the next bookmark. Filter messages in the Message Browser 1 From the Message Browser toolbar, click Properties . The Properties dialog opens. 2 If it is not already selected, click on the Message Filtering tab:
The tab shows a selection box for each type of message used in the log file. By default, these are all checked and so are displayed in the Message panel.
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To stop a specific message type from being shown in the Message panel, click to clear the related box. To show a previously hidden message type, click to put a check mark in the related box.
Click OK to accept the settings.
FORMAT MESSAGES IN THE MESSAGE BROWSER 1 From the Message Browser toolbar, click Properties . The Properties dialog opens. If it is not already selected, click on the Message Format tab:
The Message Format tab displays controls appropriate to the log file type. 3 4 Set the controls as required. Click OK to accept the settings.
Export messages to the clipboard 1 From the Message panel of the Message Browser, select the appropriate message. To select a sequence of messages, click on the first message, scroll down and click on the last message in the selection while holding down the Shift key.
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2 3
To select more than one message, hold down the Ctrl key and click on individual messages.
Right-click on the selection to display a pop-up menu. Select Copy. The message is now in the Windows Clipboard and can be copied into any Windows application.
MESSAGE BROWSER TOOLBAR REFERENCE This control Sync Events Does this Highlights the related data in each open data window, if you select an event, map or chart point. Highlights the related data in each open data window, if you select a message, map or chart point. Searches the log file for matches to the text in this box. You can type in the text, or select from the drop-down list of previous text searches. Find Next Finds the next matching text string in the message information (searching towards the end of the logfile). Finds the previous matching text string in the message information (searching back towards the beginning of the logfile). Halts the text search process. Opens the Message Browser Properties dialog. Toggles bookmarks on and off. Moves to the position of the next bookmark in the logfile. Moves to the position of the previous bookmark in the logfile. Clears all bookmarks in the logfile.
Sync Msgs
Find Prev Stop Find Properties Toggle Next Prev Clear
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Protocol Stack Browser

USING THE PROTOCOL STACK BROWSER The Protocol Stack Browser allows you to examine messaging by protocol. From the Tools menu, select Preferences and ensure that, under PCM Link, Load Mode is set to 'Full'. 1 From the View menu, select Protocol Stack and then select the appropriate message type. 2 Alternatively, from the Workspace Explorer, rightclick on the stream name and select Display Protocol Stack Browser.
The Protocol Stack Browser window opens:
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The stream selector at the top of the window allows you to switch between different loaded streams. 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'. SEARCHING IN THE PROTOCOL STACK BROWSER The Protocol Stack Browser includes a text search feature that locates messages containing the text string you type in. Click Find Next to find the next message down in the file from your current location, and Find Prev to go back up the file to find the previous matching message.
The search facility lets you use wildcard characters, character lists, or character ranges, in any combination, to match strings: Characters Matches in string in pattern ? * # [charlist] Any single character. Zero or more characters. Any single digit (09). Any single character in charlist. A group of one or more characters (charlist) enclosed in brackets ([ ]) can be used to match any single character in string and can include almost any character code, including digits. Note To match the special characters left bracket ([), question mark (?), number sign (#), and asterisk (*), enclose them in brackets. The right bracket (]) cannot be used within a group to match itself, but it can be used outside a group as an individual character. By using a hyphen () to separate the upper and lower bounds of the range, charlist can specify a range of characters. For example, [A-Z] results in a match if the corresponding character position in string contains any
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uppercase letters in the range AZ. Multiple ranges are included within the brackets without delimiters. A hyphen () can appear either at the beginning (after an exclamation point if one is used) or at the end of charlist to match itself. In any other location, the hyphen is used to identify a range of characters. When a range of characters is specified, they must appear in ascending sort order (from lowest to highest). For example, [A-Z] is a valid pattern, but [Z-A] is not. The character sequence [] is considered a zero-length string (""). [!charlist] Any single character not in charlist. An exclamation point (!) at the beginning of charlist means that a match is made if any character except the characters in charlist is found in string. When used outside brackets, the exclamation point matches itself. In some languages, there are special characters in the alphabet that represent two separate characters. For example, several languages use the character "" to represent the characters "a" and "e" when they appear together. The search feature recognizes that the single special character and the two individual characters are equivalent. When a language that uses a special character is specified in the system locale settings, an occurrence of the single special character in either pattern or string matches the equivalent 2-character sequence in the other string. Similarly, a single special character in a pattern enclosed in brackets (by itself, in a list, or in a range) matches the equivalent 2-character sequence in string.
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Statistics Explorer
ABOUT THE STATISTICS EXPLORER The Statistics Explorer is a powerful data-manipulation tool that lets you rapidly pinpoint problems by displaying statistical data by network element. The Statistics Explorers configurable display enables multiple drill-down approaches to the problem.
The Group Box allows you to rearrange the organization of the data. For example, here are two different configurations of the same data: Configuration A
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Configuration B
You can combine this summary data with other data held as a Network Image to build up a picture over a series of drive tests. OPEN THE STATISTICS EXPLORER From the View menu, select Statistics Explorer to open an empty Explorer window.
Alternatively, from the Workspace Explorer, rightclick on a Crosstab or Event query.
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CHECK FOR EXISTING QUERIES The Statistics Explorer allows you to manipulate the data resulting from a Crosstab query or an Event query. So, you must already have a query (analysis) to work with before you can use the Statistics Explorer. All existing Crosstab and Event queries are shown in the Queries pane:
MANIPULATE DATA IN THE STATISTICS EXPLORER To Select a query Do this Click on a query in the Queries pane. The Statistics Explorer now displays data related to the selected query. From the Group Box pane, drag a data box around to create a new data configuration:
Swap data order
Sort by column
Click on the column heading to sort the data by the column, highest appearing at the top. Click again to reverse the order.
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FILTER THE WORKSPACE DATA Once you have arranged the data to identify a problem area, select one or more rows and click Filter . This creates a filter based on the row(s) currently selected in Statistics Explorer, which is applied to the Workspace Explorer and all data windows (Maps, Tables, Charts and so on). You can select a sequence of rows by clicking the first row, then holding down the Shift key and clicking on the last row. To select multiple non-sequential rows, hold down the Ctrl key and click once on each appropriate row. GENERATE A SUBSTREAM Once you have arranged the data to identify a problem area, select one or more rows and click Analyze . This generates a new data stream that appears in the Workspace Explorer. You can select this stream and view it and any attributes contained within it in maps, charts and the Message Browser. As this stream contains a subset of data in the original stream, this is called a substream. You can select a sequence of rows by clicking the first row, then holding down the Shift key and clicking on the last row. To select multiple non-sequential rows, hold down the Ctrl key and click once on each appropriate row. STATISTICS EXPLORER TOOLBAR REFERENCE This control Queries Does this Displays the Queries pane on the left of the Statistics Explorer.
Group Box
Displays the Group Box:
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This control Filter Analyze
Does this Filters the Workspace based on the row selected in the Statistics Explorer. Generates an analysis attribute in the Workspace Explorer that you can view using maps, charts and the Message Browser. Displays the Statistics Explorer help. Searches through and highlights data that matching the string entered in the box.
Help Find Next
DataSource Selects the data source to be explored.
StateForms
USE STATEFORMS While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes for the same data point by using a StateForm. 1 From the View menu, select Forms and then the technology followed by the appropriate form:
Alternatively, from the Tools menu, select Display StateForms. In the map window, click Select and select a data point.
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The StateForms window now displays a variety of attributes based on the data point you selected. The default GSM form looks similar to this:
Advanced users can use the Design Mode of this feature to create new forms for other technologies. If you have more than one stream that you want to view using the StateForm, right-click on the StateForm window and select Stream Selector. This displays a drop-down menu at the top of the window from which you can select another data stream.
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CDMA StateTip
ABOUT CDMA STATETIP CDMA StateTip provides you with a synchronized view on CDMA measured data, integrating Handset and PN Scanner data into a single view. Once you have displayed data on a map, and selected appropriate handset and scanner data sources for the StateTip, you can use the Select tool to click on a data point on the maprelated information is displayed within the StateTip window. Various observations about the data will also be displayed if the data meet particular criteria. In the example shown here, the location of the selected data point is showing signs of pilot pollution.
Displaying event data on the map is a particularly useful way of finding interesting locations to examine with CDMA StateTip. CDMA StateTip can be used to: Display CDMA Handset data Pilot sets information (Active, Neighbor and Remaining) Ec/Io for each PN
Frame Error Rate Mobile Transmit Power Mobile Receive Power Carrier phone is on Too Many Neighbors warning Weak Server warning
Display CDMA PN Scanner data PNs of pilots with the N largest Ec/Io values in a bin Ec/Io of PNs Delay of First Multipath Delay Spread Carrier that the scanner is currently measuring
Identify common RF problems automatically Dropped Calls Failed Initiations Pilot Pollution Poor Pilot Coverage Neighbor List Omissions (including the omitted pilot) Remaining PNs a list of all PNs seen by the scanner which are not in the phones active, candidate or neighbor set
START CDMA STATETIP From the Tools menu, select CDMA StateTip. When you first start StateTip, no data streams have been selected for the handset source or the scanner source. CHANGE THE VIEW You can change the way PN Scanner data and handset data is displayed by selecting another template.
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To change to another template 1 From the top of the StateTip dialog, click Select Another View to display a menu. 2 Click on one of these views: TOP N Pilots View - Provides a summary of the sectors that were measured from best to worst Pilot Sets View - Sorts the results of measurements into the appropriate Pilot set TOP N Pilots Chart - Provides a chart for graphical analysis of pilot data CHANGE THE HANDSET SOURCE You can change the source that is used to get handset measurements. This is useful when multiple handsets are available (during tests of multiple frequencies, and so on). To change the handset source 1 From the top of the StateTip dialog, click Select Handset Device to display a list of available data streams. You can get a more detailed description of a stream by holding the cursor over it. 2 Click on a data stream to act as the handset source. CHANGE THE SCANNER SOURCE You can change the source that is used to get scanner measurements. This is useful when multiple scanners are available (during tests of multiple frequencies, etc.). To change the scanner source 1 From the top of the StateTip dialog, click Select Scanner Device to display a list of available data streams. You can get a more detailed description of a stream by holding the cursor over it. 2 Click on a data stream to act as the scanner source.
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CDMA Toolkit
ABOUT CDMA TOOLKIT CDMA Toolkit is a taskbar that provides a series of analyses based on best-practice network optimization techniques. Each solution uses PN scanner data to optimize your network settings, and can be configured to meet the needs of your network and your organization. Click here About the analysis set This set uses delay information to suggest the active and neighbor set search window sizes. An audit report shows how the suggestions differ from the current configuration. This set uses Ec/Io information to generate neighbor lists for multiple sectors. This can save significant optimization time as you add new sites, and as the propagation environment changes due to increased traffic. An audit report is also provided. This set generates statistics from Ec/Io information that indicate the sectors causing and receiving interference, or that have coverage problems. This solution helps to determine optimal EIRP or forward path attenuation settings, so you can minimize pollution and coverage problems. It can also provide insights into the effects of modifications, without having to affect your working network. This set assists you in engineering your network's growth.
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OPTIMIZE SEARCH WINDOWS From the CDMA Toolkit task bar, click on this heading: You can now select one of these reports: Summary Report Audit Report Details Report When you click on the icon for a report, the Configure Settings dialog opens on the Data tab to display all available data streams. Select a data stream appropriate to the report type and click OK to view the report. About Optimize Search Windows Analysis About the Optimize Search Window analysis You can minimize the number of incidents of dropped calls, failed initiations, and poor voice quality by setting the search windows to their optimal size. The search window analysis shows the minimum SRCH_WIN_A (active set search window size) and SRCH_WIN_N (neighbor set search window size) required by each sector, based on pilot delay data collected in PN Scanner drive-test logfiles. Many of the individual steps performed by the Search Window Analysis can be performed manually. However, when analyzing data for multiple sectors for comprehensive drive tests, the Search Window Analysis can perform the analysis hundreds of times faster, making tasks that were previously very difficult to perform manually, fast and easy. It is important to note that the results of this analysis are only as good as the input data. To achieve an accurate picture of delays for a given sector from a drive-test log file, the drive test should thoroughly overlap the coverage area of the sector. Search Window Analysis is capable of analyzing data collected over several weeks or longer. Simply select multiple streams in the device selection pop-up screen. In many cases, search window sizes are initially set using default values. As a result, the actual search window sizes may significantly exceed the minimum required levels. The downside of having larger than required search windows is
that the searcher finger in the mobile unit scans through the active, candidate, and neighbor sets slower as the size of the search window is increased. The searcher finger is responsible for measuring Ec/Io, which is then reported to the base station for use in determining which PNs the mobile will demodulate. The faster the search window can search through the pilot sets, the faster it will be able to measure and report changes in pilot Ec/Io levels, which can then be used by the base station to appropriately add and drop pilots from the various sets. In environments with rapidly rising pilot signals, if the mobile does not measure and add a pilot to the active set before it becomes too powerful, the call can drop. The faster the searcher finger scans, the better the chance that this type of problem can be avoided. Conversely, search window sizes may be set too small. In this case, pilots may not be seen by the mobile because the search window is too small. When a pilot that cannot be demodulated by the mobile becomes strong, it can cause voice quality to degrade and the call to drop. Therefore, it is important to ensure the search window sizes are not too small. How the Search Window Analysis works The Search Window Analysis performs the following steps for each measurement bin along the drive test: The analysis calculates the Ec/Io from all sectors serving that bin. If the sectors Ec/Io is above a user-defined threshold, the sector is considered for further analysis. The maximum multipath Delay Spread of the remaining serving sectors is calculated (see Figure 1). This value is multiplied by 2 to allow for the double-sided nature of the search window, and is then assigned to ALL remaining serving sectors for use in determining the optimal Active Set Search Window Size. The minimum Delay to First Multipath is calculated for all remaining serving sectors (see Figure 1). The maximum of the sums of the Delay to First Multipath and Delay Spread is calculated for all thresholded serving sectors. Lastly, the minimum Delay to First Multipath is subtracted from the Maximum of the sums of
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the Delay to First Multipath and Delay Spread. This number is multiplied by 2 to allow for the fact that the search window is double-sided as follows: 2*Max{(Delay to First Multipath+Delay Spread) for all PNs}-Min{Delay to First Multipath for all } Essentially, this calculation simulates the mobile deriving its timing reference from the earliest arriving multipath and determines the maximum Neighbor Set search window size required by the pilots measured in the bin. This value is stored for all thresholded pilots serving the bin. After all bins have been analyzed, the delay measurements are aggregated by sector. For each sector, the recommended minimum search-window sizes are determined by calculating the maximum of the delays measured in step 2 and 3. Network element data requirements You must have a cellrefs data file configured with cell site information for this analysis to work properly. In order to audit measured data versus actual settings, actual search window settings must be entered into the cellrefs data file. A sample .ini file has been provided which contains the SRCH_WIN_A an SRCH_WIN_N fields. To make use of actual search window settings, first add SRCH_WIN_A and SRCH_WIN_N to your cellrefs .ini file per the sample. The addition of the actual data to your cellrefs file can be completed through a number of methods. A spreadsheet tool such as Microsoft Excel can be used to manually populate the SRCH_WIN_A and SRCH_WIN_N columns. The Network Element Editor allows you to manually update individual fields of a cell. If your organization has an automated cellrefs file generator, it can be enhanced to add SRCH_WIN_A and SRCH_WIN_N values.
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Configure Settings (Search Windows)
OPTIMIZE NEIGHBOR LISTS From the CDMA Toolkit task bar, click on this heading: You can now select from these reports: Summary Report Audit Report Details Report When you click on the icon for a report, the Configure Settings dialog opens on the Data tab to display all available data streams. Select a data stream appropriate to the report type and click OK to view the report. About Optimize Neighbor Lists Analysis Neighbor List analyses lets you quickly and easily generate Neighbor Lists for multiple sectors using measured Ec/Io data from PN Scanner drive test files. Neighbor List analysis can compare measurement results with actual Neighbor Lists and recommend optimal modifications to neighbor lists. As new sites are added to mature systems, or as the propagation environment changes due to increased traffic loading, the Neighbor List Analysis can save significant time in the generation of new optimal Neighbor Lists.
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Why use Neighbor List analysis? Over time, as new sites are added to a network and as loading levels in the network grow, neighbor lists for existing and new cell sites may require modification to reflect accurately the RF environment. If the neighbor list for a given sector fails to include another sector with a strong Ec/Io, the mobile might not be able to demodulate the omitted sector. This inability to demodulate a strong server can result in high levels of interference, which are likely to lead to dropped calls and poor voice quality. Neighbor lists that include too many unnecessary pilots may also cause problems. The downside of including unnecessary pilots is that the searcher finger of the mobile is forced to scan through these pilots, which reduces the ability of the searcher finger to measure pilots that will be used in handoff. The Neighbor List analysis lets you generate prioritized neighbor lists quickly for multiple cell sites, using measured Ec/Io data from PN Scanner drive test files. The analysis ensures that all pilots of appropriate strength will be included, and that the neighbor list will be limited to those pilots likely to engage in handoff. Because the Neighbor List analysis can compare measured neighbor lists with actual neighbor lists, it can provide recommendations for adding and deleting pilots from neighbor lists. As new sites are added to mature systems, the Neighbor List Analysis lets you quickly recalculate new neighbor lists for all affected sectors. How does it work? The Neighbor List analysis performs the following steps for each measurement bin along the drive test route: The analysis calculates the Ec/Io from all sectors serving that bin. If the sectors Ec/Io is above a user-defined threshold, the sector is considered as a potential neighbor. A matrix with rows and columns consisting of all sites is used to record each time a given site is seen as the neighbor of another site (see Figure 1).
After all bins have been analyzed, prioritized neighbor lists are generated from the site matrix (see Figure 1). By virtue of the analysis, neighbor lists are automatically symmetric.
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Network element data requirements You must have a cellrefs data file configured with cell site information for this analysis to work properly. In order to audit measured data versus actual settings, actual neighbor list settings must be entered into the cellrefs data file. A sample .ini file has been provided which contains the CDMANeighborList field. To make use of actual neighbor list settings, first add CDMANeighborList to your cellrefs .ini file per the sample. The addition of the actual data to your cellrefs file can be completed through a number of methods. A spreadsheet tool such as Microsoft Excel can be used to manually populate the CDMANeighborList column. The Network Explorer allows you to manually update individual fields of a cell. If your organization has an automated cellrefs file generator, it can be enhanced to add CDMANeighborList values. If you enter the values through a spreadsheet tool or an automated generator, the neighbor list PN values should be comma-separated and enclosed in bracketsfor example {6,20,251,.}. Configure Settings (Neighbor Lists)
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EVALUATE COVERAGE From the CDMA Toolkit task bar, click on this heading: You can now select from these options: Summary Report Evaluate Scenario When you click on this icon, the Configure Settings dialog opens on the Data tab to display all available data streams. Select a data stream appropriate to the report type and click OK to view the Summary Report or the Evaluate Scenario dialog. Evaluate Scenario allows you to modify the conditions associated with the selected data stream and display the results in the Workspace Explorer. About Evaluate Coverage Analysis The Evaluate Coverage analysis lets you quickly find the optimal settings for EIRP or forward path attenuation in CDMA networks. EIRP or forward path attenuation can be modified to mitigate pilot pollution and coverage problems that commonly occur in CDMA systems. Forward path attenuation is attenuation applied only to channels on the forward link of the CDMA system. Forward path attenuation can be modified through a variety of mechanisms specific to each infrastructure vendor. Other techniques for mitigating pilot pollution and coverage problems include the addition of new sectors, and modifications to antenna type, azimuth, and downtilt. Currently, the Evaluate Coverage analysis can only model forward path attenuation modifications. The analysis is based only on measured pilot data, and ignores power received from other CDMA channels. Thus, the analysis mimics the unloaded pilot measurements that are typically performed as the first stage of cluster optimization. This technique is necessary because in order to consider the impact of loading, traffic channel power must be modeled. Traffic channel power is a dynamic value based on the number of users in the system and their propagation path to each base station. The analysis uses PN Scanner drive test data that provides Pilot channel received signals levels for each PN offset. However, the PN Scanner cannot measure the traffic channel power received from each sector independently. Therefore, it is not possible to know how a forward link attenuation change at a given site
will affect the received traffic channel power measured by the scanner. Why use this analysis? Typically, one must analyze drive test data to detect coverage and interference problems, and then determine a hypothetical change to be made to EIRP or forward path attenuation to mitigate the problem. Once the changes have been made, new drive tests are performed to determine if the hypothesized changes have had the desired effect. If the effect of the change is undesirable, additional changes and tests are performed. The Evaluate Coverage analysis drastically improves the traditional process by modeling the hypothesized changes using measured Ec/Io data from PN Scanner drive test files. This allows the engineer to quickly evaluate several hypothesized changes to the forward link power levels and to determine the configuration that is most likely to mitigate the problems. The Evaluate Coverage analysis can offer significant time and accuracy improvements over traditional methods. The Evaluate Coverage analysis is especially useful as new cells are added to mature systems, and the RF configuration of both the new and existing cells must be evaluated. How does it work? The Evaluate Coverage analysis performs these steps for each measurement bin along the drive test route: 1 2 The analysis calculates the Ec/Io above a userdefined threshold from all sectors serving that bin. Interference from only pilot signals, Ipilot, is calculated for the bin by summing Ec from all serving pilots. Unmodified, unloaded Ec/Io is calculated by dividing Ec by Ipilot for each sector. Ec,mod for each sector is determined by applying the attenuation modifications entered by the user to the Ec measured for each sector. Modified interference from only pilots signals, Ipilot,mod, is calculated for the bin by summing Ec,mod from all serving pilots. Modified, unloaded Ec/Io is calculated by dividing Ec,mod by Ipilot,mod for each sector.
3 4
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Using Evaluate Coverage 1 Click on Summary Report. The Summary Coverage Report provides coverage and interference information for each sector. 2 3 Indicate modifications to Forward Link Attenuation on a sector-by-sector basis as desired. Based on the information presented in the Summary Coverage Report, consider these actions: Comment Take care not to degrade coverage for the interfering sector Take care not to cause excess interference from affected sectors Take care not to cause excess interference from the affected sector Take care not to degrade coverage for the interfering sectors Take care not to cause excess interference from affected sector
Problem Sector Causes Interference
Action Consider increasing Forward Link Attenuation for the interfering sector (reduces EIRP) AND/OR Consider reducing Forward Link Attenuation for the affected sectors (increases EIRP),
Sector Receives Interference
Consider reducing Forward Link Attenuation for the affected sector (increases EIRP) AND/OR Consider increasing Forward Link Attenuation for the interfering sector (decreases EIRP)
Sector Has Poor Coverage
Consider reducing Forward Link Attenuation (increases EIRP)
NOTE: Check that all proposed Forward Link Attenuation modifications are within equipment limits. Detailed ad-hoc analysis of the unmodified and modified unloaded Ec/Io calculations can be performed to gain further insight into the effects of attenuation. 4 Click on the Analyzer button to add these datasets to the workspace. The unmodified data is loaded into the workspace under the File name Base and Stream name Prediction. The modified data is loaded into the workspace under the File name Scenario and Stream name Prediction.
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Click on the Report button to generate the Delta Coverage Report. This report indicates whether the modifications generated in Step 2 have helped to reduce the problems identified in Step 1. For each sector, the coverage and interference statistics are summarized for the unloaded pilot data before and after the Forward Link Attenuation modifications.
Configure Settings (Coverage)
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OPTIMIZE MULTIPLE CARRIERS From the CDMA Toolkit task bar, click on this heading: You can now select from these reports: Mobile Rx Power Delta Report Mobile Tx Power Delta Report Mobile Forward FER Delta Report Mobile Tx Gain Adjust Delta Report Ec/Io Delta Statistics Report Ec Delta Statistics Report When you click on the icon for a report, the Configure Settings dialog opens on the Data tab to display all available data streams. Select a data stream appropriate to the report type and click OK to view the report. Configure Settings (Multiple Carriers)
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GSM Missing Neighbor Analysis

The neighbor list as reported by a handset is based on the list of neighbor candidates broadcast by the base station in System Information Messages (Type2 and Type3) the BA list. The handset searches for the cells in the BA list, finds the 6 strongest signals, decodes their BSIC values, and reports them back to the base station. The aim of the Missing Neighbor Analysis is to report strong cells not seen by a handset as a neighbor cell. There are two types of missing neighbors: Virtual Missing Neighbors the cell was seen and measured by the handset, but the BSIC was not decoded. Actual Missing Neighbors the cell was not seen at all by the handset. This analysis is only concerned with actual missing neighbors. These cells may have been missed for a variety of reasons for example, the cell was not in the BA list, or a large BA list caused sampling problems in the handset, and so on. Using a scanner (or two scanners for a dual band handset) independently of the handset to determine the strongest cells will enable the missing neighbors to be found. Any cells seen by the scanner but not seen by the handset can be considered as a missing neighbor. The following image shows the options available before running the analysis:
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Duration for Detection the minimum time, in seconds, for which a cell must be seen by the scanner before being reported as a missing neighbor. Threshold for Detection the minimum signal strength that the scanner will consider. Display n Missing Neighbors the maximum number of missing neighbors to be reported for each serving cell in the final report. Decode BSIC in scanner if checked, only cells with BSICs that could be decoded by the scanner will be included in the analysis. Decode Multiband Reporting Parameter controls how the list of cells is combined from multiple scanners when using a dual-band handset. If checked, the MBRP is used to combine the cells in the same way that the handset would process them; otherwise the top 7 strongest cells are picked, irrespective of the GSM band that they come from. RUNNING THE ANALYSIS When a file is loaded, the Actix Solution automatically determines the GSM bands used by each handset. To do this the handset must have previously reported this information to the network that is, it must have gone into dedicated mode. If the appropriate scanners are included in the file, an extra entry will be added in the Workspace Explorer tree, beneath the handset node the GSM Missing Neighbor Analysis. Right-clicking on this, and selecting Display on Workbook, outputs the results onto an Excel spreadsheet.
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The following information is displayed by the analysis: Latitude of Serving Cell Longitude of Serving Cell Serving Cell BCCH Serving Cell BSIC Serving Cell ID Serving Cell Name Serving Cell RxLevFull Serving Cell RxLevSub Multiband Reporting Parameter (depending on preferences)
For each serving cell, the following information is displayed for the missing neighbors: Missing Neighbor ARFCN Missing Neighbor BSIC Missing Neighbor Cell ID Missing Neighbor Cell Name Missing Neighbor Occurrence Missing Neighbor RxLev
These highlighted fields require the cell to be contained in the currently loaded cell sites database in the Actix Solution. Note also that the signal level fields are average values.
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Querying data
About the Analysis Manager
Queries are a means of searching and filtering data, based on user-defined events and thresholds. Once a query has been created, it appears in the Workspace Explorer window as a new data attribute under the Queries data group. To generate and edit queries, use the Analysis Manager. Starting the Analysis Manager From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager. The Analysis Manager window's New Analysis tab displays these icons: Icon What each analysis type does Crosstab Query Generates statistics across one or more dimensions. Binned Query Attributes and functions are used to create a new attribute that shows changes over time, when displayed on a map, chart or table. Filter Query Removes data from the output, based on an expression involving attributes and functions. Histogram Query Summary breakdown of an expression into histogram data with user-defined bars. Statistic Query Summary statistics (for example mean, max, min) for an expression over the logfile. Event Query Statistics triggered by a specific type of event in the logfile.
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Using an existing analysis Each open data stream in the Workspace Explorer will have its own Queries data group (once Queries have been created or imported).
You can then display the query data attribute on maps, charts or tables as appropriate, by right-clicking on the query as you would for any other data attribute. If you rename a query, data previously generated by the original query name is not saved in the Workspace. Saving the active workspace also saves all queries in the Query Manager, along with all defined filters. You may also Import queries from workspace files on disk into the active workspace. This makes it easy to share useful queries with other users.
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ABOUT QUERY TYPES About Crosstab Queries The Crosstab query is used to generate statistics across one or more dimensions. It is useful for producing high-level overviews, especially where large data sets are used (for example, in Abis files). The query allows you to identify problem areas and to draw conclusions from the statistics. When you display the results of the query in a workbook or in the Statistics Explorer, you should see something like this:
Total Dim 1 Dim 2 Dim 2 Dim 2 Dim 1 Dim 2 Dim 2 Dim 2 Stat 1 Stat 2 Stat 3 Stat 4 Stat 5
'Dimensions' are criteria by which statistics are reported
'Statistics' are report-specific measurements extracted from the database and calculated over time and dimension(s)
From the Statistics Explorer you can then manipulate the data to view it using a different dimension (or by using a pivot table in a workbook). About Binned Queries The Binned query allows you to generate a new expression (as a parameter) based on existing parameters. This is useful for adding non-standard queries, for example for pilot pollution or path-loss, where each vendor will have their own definition for the query. Binned Queries are similar to Custom Attributes, except that Binned Queries use a single line expression and Custom Attributes are multi-line.
Actix A Solutions User Guide Querying data 271
About Filter Queries A Filter query removes data from the output, based on an expression involving attributes and functions. For example, you could create a filter query called Poor Coverage, where the query only passes data from the expression Coverage with a value less than 95 dBm. Once you have created several queries, you can access them through a right-click on a data attribute in the Workspace Explorer: Within the Workspace Explorers tree view, the filter is applied at the stream level.
About Histogram Queries The Histogram query processes data for a single dimension into a bar chart, which is good for producing a high-level view of the data. This data is available for any time-series data displayed in a workbook. It can also be displayed using the Histogram button in a chart. About Statistic Queries The Statistic query allows you to generate data based on the statistics available for a single dimension. It is useful for generating a high-level view for system metrics purposes. This data is available for any time-series data displayed in a workbook. About Event Queries An Event query is like a Crosstab query, except that multi-dimensional statistics are only collected within a user-defined 'window' around a specific type of event or trigger. A window exists for a limited number of messages or amount of time before and/or after the event is triggered.
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In a given log file there will be a window for each occurrence of the specified trigger event. Where windows overlap, the overlapping messages are evaluated only once each in the multi-dimensional query.
About Load Time, Full Load and Minimal Load

A Load Time query is any normal query that has been specified to be a Load Time query. All Load Time queries existing in a worksession will run whenever a data file is next loaded. Load Mode controls the type and detail of data loaded when you load a data file. The two possible modes are Full and Minimal. In Full Load, all data attributes are loaded from the specified data file. This can take a considerable time and should only be used when creating or editing Load Time queries. In Minimal Load, only user-selected Scenarios or Load Time queries are loaded.
Scenarios are collections of Load Time queries that can be applied to PCM Link data, as it is loaded. You select the
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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 only Actix can create and edit Scenarios.
Create a Crosstab Query

1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. From the panel, select Crosstab Query and click New to display the Crosstab Query Wizard dialog:
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Follow the instructions on the dialog to form the query. When selecting an expression, click the right arrow button to display a drop-down list of available attributes/parameters. You can also create a New expression or Edit the listed expression, which in each case opens the Expression Builder dialog.
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The New Statistic and Edit Statistic buttons open the Statistic (see Statistic dialog on page 371) dialog. You can use the Filter (see Filter Wizard on page 305) button to refine the query. TIPS FOR WRITING CROSSTAB QUERIES Improving query efficiency A Crosstab Query is evaluated by processing each message in turn, in the following sequence: The query filter is evaluated (button in bottom left hand corner of the Crosstab Query wizard). 2 Dimensions are evaluated in order from top to bottom of the dimension list. 3 Statistics are evaluated in order from top to bottom of the statistics list. For each statistic, first the statistics filter is evaluated, then the statistics expression. As each stage described above is evaluated successfully, the query passes to the next stage until the message has satisfied every stage. The query then moves on to the next message. If a filter or dimension is not satisfied for a given message, the message is discarded and the query moves on to the next message. To increase the efficiency of the query, eliminate unwanted messages by the query filter or a dimension (that is, at the highest level in this sequence). Improving efficiency (2) If a query has many dimensions, performance may be improved by reducing the resolution of data, for example, a query with RxLev and RxQual as dimensions would run more rapidly by rounding the dimension expressions using the mround function.
mround(RxLev,5)
This rounds RxLev to the nearest multiple of five, reducing the combinations of RxLev and RxQual stored in the query. Count statistics A typical Crosstab Query might be to count the number of times a certain message occurs, with another attribute as a
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dimension (for example, a count of Handover Fail messages for every Serving Cell ID). The statistic should be defined like this:
The expression being counted is '1'. This is only being evaluated when the filter is being passed - that is, when A_Message_Type = 22 (handover failure).
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The format in the filter expression should be set to 'count', as shown here:
CROSSTAB QUERY EXAMPLE 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. From the panel, double-click Crosstab Query to display the Crosstab Query Wizard dialog. For the name of the query, type in CDMA Server Statistics. Click New Expression to open the Expression Builder dialog.
2 3 4
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5 6 7 8
For the Description, type in Serving Site. In the expression pane, type in:
state(ServingCellID)
Click OK. Create these new expressions: Name Serving Sector CallType = 2 CallType = 1 CallType = 0 ServingCellIDState ServingSectorIDState Expression
state(ServingSectorID) CDMA_CallType==2 CDMA_CallType==1 CDMA_CallType==0 state(ServingCellID) state(ServingSectorID)
ServFreqChannelState state(ServFreqChannel)
9 Click on the Expressions tab. 10 Select Serving Site and click Select Column. Do the same for Serving Sector.
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11 Click New Statistic to create these statistics, selecting the expressions already created or by selecting the appropriate CDMA data attributes: Name Percent Dropped Percent Failed Percent Good Average FER Average Ec/Io Average Receive Power Count of Dropped Calls Count of Failed Calls Count of Good Calls Expression/Parameter CallType = 2 CallType = 1 CallType = 0 DownLink Measurements > ForwardFER DownLink Measurements > EcIo_1stBest DownLink Measurements > MobileReceivePower Event Data > CallDropped Event Data > OutgoingCallFail Event Data > CallCompleted Method Percent True Percent True Percent True Mean Mean Mean Count Count Count
12 In the last pane, check all the statistics boxes. 13 Click OK.
Create a Binned Query

From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, select Binned Query and click New to display the Expression Builder dialog. 3 Enter the details of the expression to be evaluated in every bin (data grouping). 4 To set the Binning Settings for the query, click Binning to open the Binning Settings dialog. 5 Select the binning method for this query. The 'Default' binning method is that defined using (from the main menu) Tools | Preferences. The parameters displayed in the dialog change to match the binning method. In this example, the 'Distance' binning method has been selected, which has expanded the dialog. 1
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Define the binning settings and click OK to return to the Binned Query Wizard dialog. 7 Click OK to complete the query definition.
BINNED QUERY EXAMPLE This query is designed to help identify interference in CDMA data. 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, double-click Binned Query to open the Expression Builder and create a new expression. 3 Under Description, type in the name of the expression to be Number of Pilots above 14. 4 In the expression pane, type in:
array_count(EcIo_for_Nth_Best_Pilot[], >,-14
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In the top right corner, set the Format to CDMA PN Count. In this example, we are using the 'Default' binning setting, set using Tools | Preferences. 6 Click Binning to check that the query is using the 'Default' setting. 7 Click OK to close the Wizard, then click OK to close the Analysis Manager. 8 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click the query and select Display on Chart to view the results of the query. 9 Display the Event Dropped Calls on the Chart to view dropped calls from the handset. 10 Display the Event OutgoingCallFail on the Chart to view failed calls from the handset. Notice the correlation between call problems and the number of serving Pilots.
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Create a Filter Query

From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, select Filter and click New to open the Filter Wizard dialog: You can also right-click on a stream in the Workspace Explorer and select Filter, Create a new filter to open the Filter Wizard dialog. 1
5 6 7
Type in a name for the filter. Choose a name that you and other users will understand laterfor example Poor Coverage. Ideally the filter name should incorporate the name of the expression (in this case Coverage) and a qualifier such as Good, Poor, Bad and so on. Select an expression for the filter. When selecting an expression, click the right arrow button to display a drop-down list of available attributes/parameters. You can also create a New expression or Edit the listed expression, which in each case opens the Expression Builder dialog. Select an operator for the filter. Type in or select a related threshold value. Click OK to complete the query definition.
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FILTER QUERY EXAMPLE This query is designed to filter poor quality in CDMA data. 1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the attribute Downlink Measurements>EcIo_1stBest, and select Display on Map. 2 Right-click on the attribute Downlink Measurements>MobileReceivePower, and select Display on Chart. 3 Right-click on the handset data stream and select Filter, then Create a New Filter to open the Filter Wizard. 4 Enter Poor Quality as the name of the filter. 5 Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select CDMA > DownLink Measurements > ForwardFER.
6 7
Set the filter operation to Greater than (>). Set the threshold to 5.
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Click OK to close the Wizard. Notice that the other dialogs update to show the areas with poor quality.
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Create a Histogram Query

From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, select Histogram. 3 Click New to open the Histogram Wizard. If you select one of the last two histogram types, the dialog expands to provide more options: 1
When selecting an expression, click the right arrow button to display a drop-down list of available attributes (the attribute picker). You can also create a New expression or Edit the listed expression, which in each case opens the Expression Builder dialog. To create a more complex query, click Filter to display the Filter (see Filter Wizard on page 305) dialog.
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HISTOGRAM QUERY EXAMPLE This query creates a histogram for the CDMA attribute HandoffState. 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to display the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, double-click Histogram to open the Histogram Wizard. 3 Type in the name of the query to be Handoff State. 4 For the expression, click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select CDMA > Dedicated Radio Link > HandoffState.
5 6
Select the radio button I want to specify ranges for my histogram. Enter the following information: In the Minimum Value box, type -0.5. In the Maximum Value box, type 10.5. In the No. of Columns box, type 11. Click Generate.
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The column definitions appear in the box:
8 9
Click OK to close the Wizard and OK to close the Analysis Manager. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on Queries > Histograms > Handoff State and select Display on Chart.
The histogram is now displayed:
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Create a Statistic Query

1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to open the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. From the panel, select Statistic and click New to open the Statistic Wizard. Type in a descriptive name for the query. Select or type in the name of an expression. You can click the right arrow button to display a drop-down list of available attributes/parameters.
2 3 4
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You can also create a New expression or Edit the listed expression, which in each case opens the Expression Builder dialog. Here is a simple example:
If you select an option to exclude data, the dialog expands to allow you to define the top and bottom percentages or values to exclude.
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6 STATISTIC QUERY EXAMPLE 1
Click OK to complete the query definition.
From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to open the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, double-click Statistic to open the Statistic Wizard. 3 Type in the name CDMA FER for the query. 4 For the expression, click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select CDMA > DownLink Measurements > ForwardFER.
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6 7 8
From the radio buttons, select Yes, I want to exclude a total number of values from the calculation. In both exclusion boxes, type 2. Click OK to close the Wizard, and click OK to close the Analysis Manager. From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on Queries > Statistics > CDMA FER and select Display on Table.
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The statistics are now displayed in a table:
Create an Event Query

1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to open the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. From the panel, double-click Event Query to open the Event Query Wizard.
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Under Trigger Selection, at the right of the trigger input box, click the arrow button to display a dropdown list of available attributes/parameters, and select a trigger expression. You can also create a new expression or edit the listed expression by pressing Edit. This opens the Expression Builder dialog. 4 Click the appropriate radio button to define the window type as based on time or number of measurement reports. 5 In the text boxes, enter the size of the window before and after each trigger event. Window size is defined in terms of milliseconds or a number of measurement reports. You may wish to discriminate between data from different sources when evaluating an Event query. For example, in an Abis file containing interleaved messages from many simultaneous calls, you may want each window only to consider messages from the same call as the trigger event. In this case, set Discriminator to Abis_Call_Id. When there is only one source (for example, with drive test files), leave the discriminator blank. 6 Click Next to proceed. The next dialog in the wizard allows you to define the query that will be evaluated in each window. This dialog is effectively the same as that used when you create a Crosstab Query. EVENT QUERY EXAMPLE 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager to open the New Analysis tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 From the panel, double-click Event Query to open the Event Query Wizard. 3 Click on Edit to open the Expression Builder dialog.
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Enter the expression as follows:
Click OK to close the dialog.
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Complete the Event Query Wizard as follows:
7 8 9
Click Next to open the second page of the wizard. Enter a name for the query. Click New Statistic to open the Statistic dialog.
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10 Complete the dialog as follows:
11 Click OK to close the dialog and OK again to complete the query. 12 Display and examine the query in the Statistics Explorer.
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Build and edit expressions

You can use the Expression Builder to construct and maintain expressions for use within queries. Type in a Description1 for the expression, and then either type the expression into the upper expression pane directly2, or click on the various buttons, parameters and commands in the lower part of the dialog to build up the expression.
Click the symbol buttons3 to add the appropriate symbol to the expression in the window. Double-click an attribute from the Parameters tab4 to add it to the expression. The Expressions tab5 lists all existing expressions in the current workspace. You can nest these expressions to create a powerful new expression. Double-click an expression to display it in the expression window. Then double-click on a parameter or expression to make this the value acted upon by the expression. The <Values> pane6 allows you to set the value for the parameter. Click a command7 to add it to the expression. A pop-up message explains how you can use the selected command.
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The Format selector8 indicates how the expression will be treated, in terms of units, histogram bar definition, colors on a map, and so on. The attribute picker9 allows you to select any permissible attribute.
Edit an existing query

1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager, then the Existing Analyses tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. From the list panel, select the required query and click Edit.
Alternatively, from the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the query and select Edit Analysis Definition.
The appropriate query wizard dialog then opens.
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Delete an existing query

1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager, then the Existing Analyses tab of the Analysis Manager dialog. Select the required query from the list panel and click Delete to remove the query.
The selected query no longer appears in the Existing Analyses tab of the Analysis Manager dialog or under the Queries heading in the Workspace Explorer.
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Import a query
This procedure allows you to import both normal and Load Time queries. 1 Select Tools | Analysis Manager to open the Analysis Manager dialog.
2 Click Import to open the Import Queries dialog. 3 Select the Actix Query File (*.xml) and click OK. The selected query now appears in the Existing Analyses tab of the Analysis Manager dialog and under the Queries heading in the Workspace Explorer. You will lose all queries you generate in the current worksession, unless you either save the workspace or export each query.
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Export a query
Select Tools | Analysis Manager to open the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 Go to the Existing Analyses tab and select the appropriate query. 1
3 Click Export to open the Export Queries dialog. 4 Select the appropriate folder and type in the name of the Actix Query File (including the *.xml extension) and click OK. The selected query now appears in the Existing Analyses tab, and in the Workspace Explorer, under the Queries heading. You will lose all queries you generate in the current worksession, unless you either save the workspace or export each query. If 'Execute at Load Time' is set to yes, this query is exported to the location specified in Tools | Preferences, File Locations, Load Time Queries. See Set as Load Time query.
Set as Load Time query

The Load Mode should be set to 'Full' before you create or edit a Load Time query. The Load Mode setting is under Tools | Preferences, in the General Settings, PCM Link section. 1 Select Tools | Analysis Manager to open the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 Go to the Existing Analyses tab and select the appropriate query.
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Click Load Time to open the Execute at Load Time column:
4 Select Yes. This query is exported to the location specified in Tools | Preferences, File Locations, Load Time Queries. Load Time Queries are only applied to logfiles loaded after the query was imported or edited.
Set the Load Mode

To set the Load Mode 1 Select Tools | Preferences to open the Preferences dialog. 2 In the General Settings, PCM Link section, set the Load Mode to 'Full' or 'Minimal' (the default).
Select one or more Load Time queries

To select one or more Load Time queries Either: For each appropriate query, set to Execute at Load Time. Import Load Time queries as described under Import a query.
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Select a Scenario
To select a Scenario 1 Select Tools | Choose Scenario to open the Attach Load Time Queries dialog. 2 Click to put a check mark against each Scenario that is to be applied to each logfile opened in the current worksession. Remember, the more Scenarios that are selected, the longer the data takes to load. Once you have set the Load Mode correctly, and have selected your Load Time queries or Scenario, you are ready to open a new data file.
Change the name of a query

Select Tools | Analysis Manager to open the Analysis Manager dialog. 2 Go to the Existing Analyses tab and select the appropriate query. 3 Export the query under a new name. 4 Import the query. 1
Troubleshooting Queries
HOW DO I DISPLAY ONLY NEWLY ACTIVATED SITES? There are several ways to achieve this. One is to create a Filter query, and the other is to create a Crosstab query and filter the results through the Statistics Explorer. To create a filter for one cell site 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager, and create a new Filter. 2 Select Site Data Node > ServingCellID as the attribute to filter, and enter the name as it appears in the Workspace Explorer. 3 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click your stream name and choose the Filters option. Select the filter you have just created to enable it. All data you display will now be filtered for just that site.
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To create a crosstab query for the cell site 1 From the Tools menu, select Analysis Manager, and create a new Crosstab query. 2 Enter ServingCellID as the dimension, and leave the statistics blank. 3 Display your results on the Statistics Explorer. 4 Select the row for the site you want to filter, and click on the Filter button. All other data views will now be filtered while the Filter button is enabled.
Analysis Manager reference

ANALYSIS MANAGER DIALOG New Analysis tab To define a new query From the New Analysis tab, click on the appropriate query icon. Existing Analysis tab From the Existing Analyses tab, select one of the existing queries from the panel. The queries are grouped by typefor example, Crosstab, Binned, Filter and so on.
You can also add existing queries from another folder on your PC or network by clicking Import and selecting the appropriate query file. You can also Export the query data as a file for other users. CROSSTAB QUERY WIZARD The New Expression and Edit Expression buttons open the Expression Builder dialog. The New Statistic and Edit Statistic buttons open the Statistic dialog. BINNED QUERY WIZARD The Binning button in the Expression Builder dialog displays the Binning Settings dialog. This allows you to override (for this query) the global default binning settings defined under Tools | Preferences.
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FILTER WIZARD The Filter Wizard lets you create a filter query. Filters allow you to specify data that will be removed from a selection.
When you type in a name for the filter, choose a name that you and other users will understand later, for example Poor Coverage. Ideally the filter name should incorporate the name of the expression (in this case Coverage) and a qualifier such as Good, Poor, Bad and so on. There are several ways you can select an expression for the filter: Choose the expression from a drop-down menu Click the right-arrow to select from the attribute picker Click New to create a new expression in the Expression Builder Click Edit to alter a selected expression in the Expression Builder.
You then select an operator for the filter, and type in or select a related threshold value.
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HISTOGRAM WIZARD When selecting an expression, click the right arrow button to display a drop-down list of available attributes/parameters. You can also create a New expression or Edit the listed expression, which in each case opens the Expression Builder dialog. The Filter button at the bottom left also allows you to define a filter expression.
When specifying discrete values, you can use either or both of the Minimum and Maximum boxes. Enter the value and click Add to display the text Equal to <value>. You can specify the range for each column: Individually, by entering the Minimum and Maximum values for a column and clicking Add. Automatically, by specifying the Minimum and Maximum Values for the entire range, together with the Number of Columns. Then click Generate.
In each case, entering a Minimum Value will generate the text Greater than <value>, and entering a Maximum Value will generate the text less than <value>. Check the related Inclusive box to set the text to Greater than or equal to or less than or equal to.
306 Querying data Actix A Solutions User Guide
You can change a column definition by double-clicking on it in the window. The appropriate values and settings will be displayed in the Minimum and Maximum Value and related boxes. Make any necessary changes and click Update. The text in the column definition window changes to reflect the new settings. STATISTIC WIZARD This dialog allows you to create a statistical query based on a particular statistical technique applied to a selected data attribute. You can also apply a filter to the attributes data before using the statistical technique.
The New and Edit buttons open the Expression Builder dialog. QUERY WINDOW DEFINITION This dialog lets you define a query window. This is a query for calculating statistics before, during or after a selected event. Select an event from the drop-down list, or click New or Edit to open the Filter Wizard dialog to create a new filter. You can then define the window in terms of the number or milliseconds before or after the selected event, or, if based on measurement reports, the number of reports before or after the event.
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FILTER DIALOG This dialog lets you select which filters to apply to the data. The filter window displays all available filters for selection. Click on a filter to check or uncheck its selection box. Click New or Edit to open the Filter Wizard (see page 305) and create a new filter or edit an existing filter. There are two radio buttons below the filter window. Select OR where you want to exclude data that matches any of the selected filter criteria, or select AND where you want to exclude data that matches each one of the selected filter criteria. EVENT QUERY WIZARD The first dialog in this wizard allows you to define the triggering event and the period before and the period after the event to include. The second dialog is similar to the Crosstab Query.
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Archiving data using Network Images

About Network Imaging
You may want to process a large number of log files, but are only interested in specific data parameters. In Actix Solutions, you can group this information together under a unique collection of data, called a network image. A network image is a single data file (.dat file) that contains the results of a series of queries run on a set of logfiles. More logfiles can be queried and added to the network image, increasing the size of the data file. You cannot include an A or Abis file in a network image. Each Actix Solution contains default network image templates that each contain a set of data parameters. You can then create several images from each definition, for example for consecutive months. Data from these network images can then be collated to see how key network parameters have changed over time. Once you have created a network image file from a template and attached it to the workspace, you can use it to define which data attributes are to be involved in a batch load. Batch-loading allows you to import a small number of important data parameters without needing to load all of each file.
When all the files have been processed, you can examine the batched data attributes in the same way as you would for standard data attributes, using maps, charts and so on.
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Create a new network image file

1 2 Select Network Image | Create Network Image to open the Create Network Image dialog. Select a network image template and click OK to open the Save As dialog.
Enter a File name and location for the network image file and click Save.
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Attach an existing network image file

1 Select Network Image | Attach Network Image to display the Select Network Image File dialog.
Select a network image file from the list and click Open. The Workspace Explorer updates to show the selected network image as active under the Network Image heading.
Batch load data files

1 From the Workspace Explorer, right-click on the network image file to be used to define those data attributes involved in the batch load. From the pop-up menu, select the Batch Load Files option.
This opens the Select Files to Load dialog. 3 Select one or more data files and click Open. When the file processing is complete, a message box reports on the status of the batch load.
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The batched data attributes now appear in the Workspace Explorer, ready for analysis.
Load streams from the Workspace Explorer to a Network Image

You can copy loaded data from the Workspace Tree-view into a Network Image. This can be useful if you want to look at the data before adding it to the Image. It also allows you to do some processing firstfor example, superstreaming drive test and call trace data. In this way, you can create a Network Image of uplink data that can be displayed on the Map. To copy a stream into a Network Image 1 Load a logfile as normal. 2 Process the data as required (for example, create a Superstream). 3 Create a Network Image. 4 Right click on your Network Image and select Load Stream. 5 Pick a stream from all loaded streams (including Superstreams).
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Network Explorer
About Network Explorer
The Network Explorer allows you to browse and edit loaded network information. This data is stored in a text file known as the CellRefs file (which can have any name). To set which text file your Actix Solution uses as its CellRefs network information file, select Tools | Preferences and specify the CellRefs File Location. Select Tools | Network Explorer to open the Network Explorer window:
You can also import network element information from delimited text files, using the Import button.
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USE THE NETWORK EXPLORER From the right-hand parameter panel, you can control how the parameters of the network elements are displayed, and edit individual parameters. To Sort the elements Do this Click on a parameter column heading.
Edit an Click on the parameter and type in the new value. Once you have finished element editing the values for an element, click Update to enter the new values into parameter the network element database. Find a matching value Enter the value into the box below the toolbar and click Find Next. This search facility lets you use wildcard characters, character lists, or character ranges, in any combination, to match strings: Characters Matches in string in pattern ? * # [charlist] Any single character. Zero or more characters. Any single digit (09). Any single character in charlist. A group of one or more characters (charlist) enclosed in brackets ([ ]) can be used to match any single character in string and can include almost any character code, including digits. To match the special characters left bracket ([), question mark (?), number sign (#), and asterisk (*), enclose them in brackets. The right bracket (]) cannot be used within a group to match itself, but it can be used outside a group as an individual character. A hyphen () can be used to separate the upper and lower bounds of a range of characters. For example, [A-Z] results in a match if the corresponding character position in string contains any uppercase letters in the range AZ. Multiple ranges are included within the brackets without delimiters. A hyphen () can appear either at the beginning (after an exclamation point if one is used) or at the end of charlist to match itself. In any other location, the hyphen is used to identify a range of characters. When a range of characters is specified, they must appear in ascending sort order (from lowest to highest). For example, [AZ] is a valid pattern, but [Z-A] is not. The character sequence [] is considered a zero-length string ("").
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To
Do this [!charlist]
Any single character not in charlist. An exclamation point (!) at the beginning of charlist means that a match is made if any character except the characters in charlist is found in string. When used outside brackets, the exclamation point matches itself.
In some languages, there are special characters in the alphabet that represent two separate characters. For example, several languages use the character "" to represent the characters "a" and "e" when they appear together. The search feature recognizes that the single special character and the two individual characters are equivalent. When a language that uses a special character is specified in the system locale settings, an occurrence of the single special character in either pattern or string matches the equivalent 2-character sequence in the other string. Similarly, a single special character in a pattern enclosed in brackets (by itself, in a list, or in a range) matches the equivalent 2-character sequence in string. IMPORT NETWORK ELEMENTS FROM A FILE To import all network element data This will overwrite your existing cellrefs.txt file, so you may want to create a backup of that file and keep it in a safe location before following these steps. 1 From the toolbar, click Import and select Import From New Template. You can also right-click to display the pop-up menu, select Import and then Import From New Template. 2 Select the appropriate network data file. 3 Click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard.
Note the Data Preview section, which is common to both tabs of the dialog. The name of the selected text file appears at the top of the section. The pane below the file name shows how the contents of the selected text file appear, based on the current import selections. Type in a meaningful Description for the template. Set the Column Delimiter, Number of rows to be ignored and Array (list) Separator according to the format used in your network information file. Avoid using the same character as a column delimiter, array separator or decimal separator. 6 Set the other parameters as appropriate. 7 Click on the Column Settings tab. The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. 4 5
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. Required fields these must be bound to a particular type or must have a default value set. Other fields binding particular field types or setting default values is not strictly necessary for this field. Under the Columns heading, click on a setting for a particular field. 9 Select a column description from the drop-down list. The Wizard then displays the selected parameter against the appropriate column. 10 Set the default value for that field as appropriate. 11 Continue for all appropriate columns. 8
12 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 Explorer. If any errors occurred during the import, a message box will let you know. All errors that occurred during the import are written to the file 'error.log' in the \actix\analyzer\bin\cellrefs folder. If the cellplan file is updated, you can use the template you have created on the new file. Because you can reuse the template, you do not have to repeat work you have already done, including the column-by-column parameter assignment. See the Preferences dialog for more information.
Notes for GSM users

The cellrefs file can hold data describing three levels of the GSM infrastructure hierarchy: Cellsite BSC MSC
At its minimal level, the GSM cellrefs file should hold rows starting with the keyword GSM_Site (describing the ID and location of the site) and GSM_Cell (describing all cell-specific data such as Azimuth, Beamwidth, BCCH, CI, BSIC etc). The Site ID column is the link between these two definitions. If the (optional) final column of the GSM_Cell row (BSCID) is used, there must be a corresponding row (keyword GSM_BSC) describing the BSC ID, MSC ID and BSC name. This also means that there must be a corresponding row (keyword GSM_MSC) describing the MSC ID and name. So if the BSCID column is used in the GSM_Cell row, all other data in the hierarchy must exist in the cellrefs file, or the cell sector will not be displayed on the map. The benefit of including the BSC and MSC row definitions is that these values can be used in the map legend, allowing cells to be color-coded according to their BSC. CREATE A NEW ELEMENT To add a new cell or site element 1 Click New from the toolbar. 2 Select the new element type.
You can also right-click to display the pop-up menu, select New and then the element type. 3 LEAVE THE NETWORK EXPLORER When you have finished viewing or editing the network element data, click the Exit button in the top right corner of the window. If you have made any changes to the data, you are prompted like this: You have made changes to <pathname>\cellrefs.txt. Do you want to save them now? Click Yes to save the changes and No to ignore the changes. Click next to each field and enter the appropriate value.
Network Explorer reference

NETWORK EXPLORER TOOLBAR REFERENCE This control Back Forward Up Update Refresh Stop Import New Delete View All Find This Searches the element data for a match to the text entered in the box. Does this Returns to the Network Explorer display as it was before the last control selection. Shows the next display state of the Network Explorer. This only works if you previously selected Back. Moves up on level in the network hierarchy in the Detailed View panel. Applies any changes made to the currently selected CellRefs file. Updates the Network Explorer interface. Stops the Network Explorer interface from updating. Imports network elements from an existing text file. Creates a new network element. Removes the currently selected element.
CUSTOM IMPORT WIZARD Template Import Settings dialog
Description Delimiters
Enter a line of text to describe the imported data. Select the character used in the text file to separate columns of data. Choose from Tab, Semicolon, Comma, Space, or define an alternative (Other) delimiter. Check this box if the first one or more rows in the text file contain column header information rather than data. Enter the number of header rows to exclude when importing the data. Enter the character used to separate values in an array. May not clash with the column delimiter or the decimal separator. Select the character used as the decimal point. May not clash with the column delimiter or the array separator. Select the latitude/longitude format from a list of available formats. Select the coordinate system from a list of available coordinate system definitions. The Data Preview section is common to both tabs of the dialog. The name of the selected text file appears at the top
First row contains headers Number of rows to be ignored Array (List) Separator Decimal Separator Latitude/Longitude Format Coordinate System
of the section. The pane below the file name shows how the contents of the selected text file appear, based on the current import selections. Template Column Settings dialog
The Column Settings tab allows you to associate a network parameter with a column of data in the text file. Click on the second Column next to the appropriate field and bind the field to a selected column type. You can also enter a default value for non-Key fields. Key fields these must be bound to a specific data field. Required fields these can either be bound to a specific field, or have a default value set, or both. If bound to a column type, the default value is set when there is a gap in the network data. If set to 'Ignore', the default value is used for every instance of that data. Other fields these can be bound to a specific field and have a default value set as required. The Data Preview section is common to both tabs of the dialog. The name of the selected text file appears at the top of the section. The pane below the file name shows how the contents of the selected text file appear, based on the current import selections.
NEW ELEMENT VALUES DIALOG This dialog opens when you click the New button from the Network Explorer toolbar. Two columns show the fields available for the new element and the values for each field. To enter a value for a field, click on the space opposite the name for the field, and then select or enter a value.
Default Import Templates

You can select the following templates from the Automatic Import Template field of the Preferences dialog (opened by the main Tool menu, Preferences command): Any template name ending in 'comma' is the equivalent of the template without the comma, but will use commas as the decimal delimiters.
An example input file would look similar to this (depending on the technology being used):
Site Name 02AER1 02AER2 02AER3 02AGM0 02ALI1 02ALI2 Site ID 02AER 02AER 02AER 02AGM 02ALI 02ALI Lat xx.xxxxx xx.xxxxx xx.xxxxx yy.yyyyyyyy zz.zzzzzzzz zz.zzzzzzzz Long a.aaaaaaaaa a.aaaaaaaaa a.aaaaaaaaa b.bbbbbbbbb c.ccccccccc c.ccccccccc Sector ID 02AER1 02AER2 02AER3 02AGM0 02ALI1 02ALI2 70 190 AZIMUT 40 160 280 Antenna 3db Hor 65 65 65 360 65 65 EIRP 0 Not in use 0 Not in use 0 Not in use 0 Not in use 0 Not in use 0 Not in use
BCCH 69 72 66 62 80 69
MCC 206 206 206 206 206 206
MNC 1 1 1 1 1 1
LAC 102 102 102 402 402 402
CI 12611 12612 12192 12339 12774 12775
BSIC
Once the data has been processed and saved as a cellrefs.txt file, the format now looks like this:
; #NetworkData datafile GSM_Site GSM_Site GSM_Site GSM_Site GSM_Cell GSM_Cell GSM_Cell GSM_Cell GSM_Cell 91ZEL0 91ZOC3 91ZOT0 91ZUL3 02AER 02AER 02AER 02AGM 02ALI 91ZEL 91ZOC 91ZOT 91ZUL 02AER1 02AER2 02AER3 02AGM0 02ALI1 j.jjjjjjjjjjjjj k.kkkkkkkkkkkkk l.lllllllllllll m.mmmmmmmmmmmmm 40 160 280 0 70 r.rrrrrrrrr s.sssssssss t.ttttttttt u.uuuuuuuuu 65 65 65 360 65 69 72 66 62 80 206 206 206 206 206 1 1 1 1 1 102 102 102 402 402 12611 12612 12192 12339 12774
CDMA TEMPLATE Delimiter: Header Lines: ArraySeparator: Coordinate Format: Coordinate System: Column 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 TAB 1 ; (-)DDD.dddddd World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS) Data Field Site_Name SiteID/ECP ID Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth EIRP PN MCC SID NID BID Format Group string string Degrees Degrees string Degrees Beamwidth Angle integer CDMA PN GSM MCC integer integer integer 0 to 511 0 to 999 -360 to 360 0 to 360 -360 to 360 -360 to 360 Range
GSM TEMPLATE Delimiter: Header Lines: ArraySeparator: Coordinate Format: Coordinate System: Column 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 TAB 1 ; (-)DDD.dddddd World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS) Data Field Site Name SiteID Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth EIRP BCCH MCC MNC LAC CI BSIC Format Group string string Degrees Degrees string Degrees Beamwidth Angle integer GSM ARFCN GSM MCC GSM MNC GSM LAC GSM CI GSM BSIC 0 to 885 0 to 999 0 to 99 0 to 65535 0 to 65535 0 to 77 -360 to 360 0 to 360 -360 to 360 -360 to 360 Range
IDEN TEMPLATE Delimiter: Header Lines: ArraySeparator: Coordinate Format: Coordinate System: Column 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 TAB 1 ; (-)DDD.dddddd World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS) Data Field Site Name SiteID City_Code Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth CCCH Color_Codes MCC NDC LAC CI TCH_List DLAI Face_Display Azimuth_Display Phase_Display Format Group string string integer Degrees Degrees string Degrees Beamwidth Angle GSM ARFCN array:integer GSM MCC integer GSM LAC GSM CI array:integer integer integer Degrees integer -360 to 360 0 to 65535 0 to 65535 0 to 999 -360 to 360 0 to 360 0 to 885 -360 to 360 -360 to 360 Range
IS-54 / IS-136 TEMPLATE Delimiter: Header Lines: ArraySeparator: Coordinate Format: Coordinate System: Column 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 TAB 1 ; (-)DDD.dddddd World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS) Data Field Site Name SiteID Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth EIRP DCCH MCC SID Band Network_Type DVCC ACCH DCC Traffic_Channels Color_Codes Face_Display Azimuth_Display Phase_Display Format Group string string Degrees Degrees string Degrees Beamwidth Angle integer IS136 channel GSM MCC integer string string IS136 DVCC IS136 channel integer array:integer array:integer integer Degrees integer -360 to 360 1 to 255 0 to 2000 0 to 2000 0 to 999 -360 to 360 0 to 360 -360 to 360 -360 to 360 Range
WCDMA TEMPLATE Delimiter: Header Lines: ArraySeparator: Coordinate Format: Coordinate System: Column 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 TAB 1 ; (-)DDD.dddddd World Geodetic System 1984 (GPS) Data Field Site_Name SiteID Latitude Longitude Sector_ID Azimuth Beamwidth EIRP SC MCC MNC LAC CI BSIC Format Group string string Degrees Degrees string Degrees Beamwidth Angle integer WCDMA SC GSM MCC GSM MNC GSM LAC GSM CI GSM BSIC 0 to 511 0 to 999 0 to 99 0 to 65535 0 to 65535 0 to 77 -360 to 360 0 to 360 -360 to 360 -360 to 360 Range
Custom Attributes
About custom attributes
A custom attribute is an attribute defined by a script file. The script file needs to be 'run' like an executable program to process the data and to be displayed in the Workspace Explorer, under the heading 'Common'. Once a custom attribute has been added in the Workspace Explorer, you can display this attribute in, for example, Maps, Charts and Tables, in the normal manner.
Install custom attributes

Any custom attribute definition files (*.caf files) placed in its Custom Attributes directory are automatically recognized. The default location for this directory is:
C:\Program Files\Actix\Analyzer\Bin\Custom Attributes\
Use custom attributes

1 Select Tools | Custom Attribute Manager. The Custom Attribute Manager dialog opens, showing all available custom attribute scripts from all installed custom attribute definition files. From the dialog, select the appropriate custom attribute script. Click Run. You will be notified when the custom attribute script has completed. Click Close to continue. The custom attribute is now added under the heading 'Common' in the Workspace Explorer. You can display this attribute in, for example, Maps, Charts and Tables in the normal manner.
2 3
Custom Attributes 329
Create custom attributes

A custom attribute is defined in a text file and given a .caf extension. You can use any text editor to create a custom attribute like the example shown here:
The custom attribute definition should adhere to the file format defined below. There are two main sections, defined within the CustomAttribute and CDATA tags:
<CustomAttribute ... > <![CDATA[ script defining the custom attribute analysis ]]>
THE CUSTOM ATTRIBUTE TAG Each custom attribute consists of a root node called CustomAttribute. This element contains a number of attributes, some mandatory and others optional (in italics). The CustomAttribute tag format looks like this:
<CustomAttribute Name="name" Icon="icon ref" BinOp="binop number" >
For example:
<CustomAttribute Name="MyEcIo_1stBest" Icon="1950" BinOp="0" >
330 Custom Attributes
The attributes are described below: Attribute Name Mandatory Description Yes Name of the custom attribute being defined. Numeric value that denotes the icon ID to be used when representing the custom attribute in a user interface. The icon must be held in the AtxRes.dll. Name of language used to define the custom attribute. Binning operation used for the custom attribute. Acceptable Values Name must begin with a letter. Should not contain illegal characters or spaces. Any icon id that can be found in AtxRes.dll. 1950 is commonly used. This represents the time series icon. See the Reference section at the end of this document.
Icon
Yes
Language
No
VBScript, Jscript. Default: VBScript 0 = Returns the average value. 1 = Returns the most frequent value. 2 = Converts log values to linear values, averages the result, then converts this average linear value back to a log value. 3 = Returns the highest value. 4 = Returns the number of values. 6 = As 1 but retains the last value. Used for attributes where values are reported infrequently. 7 = As 2, but used for RxQual values ranging from 0-7. Assign the custom attribute* a value of 4 to make it an event, as well as associating it with an event format group.
BinOp
Yes
Attribute
Mandatory Description Name of format group to be associated with the custom attribute.
Acceptable Values The name of any valid existing format group, as given in any xml file in the bin\FormatGroups folder, for example "Percentage" in the file fgStandard.xml. Assigning an unrecognized format group will simply cause the custom attribute to use the 'void' format group. Default: Void Format group Boolean, Short, Long, Double, String, Byte. Default: Double. 1/T/Y means custom attribute is an array type. Default: custom attribute is a nonarray type.
FormatGroup No
DataType
No
Data type of the custom attribute Flag indicating whether the custom attribute generates an array attribute.
IsArrayType
No
*Assigning any invalid value to any of the optional attributes will cause them to use their defaults.
THE CDATA TAG The custom attribute element contains a single child node of type CData_Section. This node type is where the actual custom attribute script is stored.
<![CDATA[ script defining the custom attribute analysis ]]>
Currently the custom attribute script can only be written in VBScript and JScript. The custom attribute subsystem in V4 requires that all custom attributes define a subroutine called Main that acts as the entry point into the script (the custom attribute subsystem is expecting to make a call to this function). The Main entry point takes two arguments. The first is an IDispatch pointer to the stream on which the custom attribute is to be executed. This allows you to both set and get information from the underlying data store. The second
argument is a string variable that contains the name of the custom attribute itself. The entry point for a custom attribute is defined as follows: Sub Main(dataStream, attrName) Function Main(dataStream, attrName) [VBScript] [JScript]
Given that both scripting languages are loosely typed, we are not required to declare the data types of each of the variables.
EXAMPLE CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES Four_sec_bad_qual.caf

<CustomAttribute Name="Four_sec_bad_qual" Icon="1950" BinOp="2"> <![CDATA[Sub Main(stream, newAttrib) ' shows multiple coverage areas ProgressBar.InitProgressBar "Running Custom Attribute:# 4 sec of RxQual>=5", 0, 100 Count=stream.Count-1 i = 0 ' Start message counting Consecutive=0 for each msg in stream servRxLev = msg("ServRxLevFull").Value servRxQual = msg("ServRxQualFull").Value if Not IsNUll(servRxLev) then ' if valid value if servRxQual>=5 then Consecutive=Consecutive+1 Else Consecutive=0 end if ' === 8 consecutive measurement report = 8 x 0.48 sec ~ 4 sec === ' ======= Reset ConsecutiveCount to 0 when RxQual>5 ======= if Consecutive=8 then if Not IsNull(servRxLev) then msg(newAttrib).Value = 1 Consecutive=0 end if end if ' === Show 1 if there is 4 secs qual >=5, message is equivalent to 0.48sec ==== end if ProgressBar.SetProgressBar (i/Count)*100 i = i + 1 Next ProgressBar.TerminateProgressBar End Sub]]> </CustomAttribute>
Aglnt_CW_RSSI.caf This custom attribute extracts RSSI from Agilent CW scanner files and uses an input box to prompt for the desired frequency.
<CustomAttribute Name="Aglnt_CW_RSSI" Icon="1950" BinOp="0" ><![CDATA[ Sub Main(stream, newAttrib) FreqInput= InputBox("Enter Frequency in MHz", "Frequency Window") FreqInput = replace(FreqInput,",","") FreqInput = replace(FreqInput, ".","") Count= stream.Count-1 for i=0 to Count if stream(i).Item("Msg_Class_Code").Value= 182 then Dim MessageText Set Message = stream(i) MessageText = Message.MessageText(4) FreqPos = 1 Found = False while (instr(FreqPos,MessageText,"frequency:") > 0) and (not Found) FreqPos = instr(FreqPos,MessageText,"frequency:")+10 epos= Instr(FreqPos,MessageText,"e") freqstr= Mid(MessageText,FreqPos, epos-(FreqPos)) freqstr=replace(freqstr,",","") freqstr=replace(freqstr,".","") if instr(1,freqstr,FreqInput) then Found = True AmpPos= instr(FreqPos,MessageText,"Amplitude:") if AmpPos > 0 then RSSIPos= Instr(FreqPos,MessageText,"Amplitude:") decimalpos= Instr(RSSIPos,MessageText,".") spacepos= Instr(RSSIPos,MessageText,"(")-1 if decimalpos < spacepos then RSSIstr= Mid(MessageText,RSSIPos+10, decimalpos-(RSSIPos+10)) Else RSSIstr= Mid(MessageText,RSSIPos+10, spacepos-(RSSIPos+10)) end if RSSI=cInt(RSSIstr) Message.Item("Aglnt_CW_RSSI").Value = RSSI end if end if wend end if
next End sub ]]> </CustomAttribute>
iDEN_Handover.caf This custom attribute is very simple, and just flags a handover event in iDEN.
<CustomAttribute Name="iDEN_Handover" Icon="1950" BinOp="0" > <![CDATA[ Sub Main(stream, newAttrib) for i=0 to stream.Count-1 Dim MessageText Set Message = stream(i) MessageText = Message.MessageText(2) if instr(1,MessageText, "Handover Success") > 0 then Message.Item("IDEN_Handover").Value = 1 end if next End sub ]]> </CustomAttribute>
Appendix A File formats supported

This chart was updated on 19 May 2003. Check the Actix website or your Actix representative for more up-to-date information.
336 Appendix A File formats supported
Appendix A File formats supported 337
338 Appendix A File formats supported
Appendix B Creating StateForms

CREATE A NEW STATEFORM 1 2 3 From the Tools menu, select Display StateForms to open a StateForm window. Right-click on the StateForm window to display the StateForm menu. From the menu, select Design Mode to switch on StateForm editing. The StateForm window will look similar to this:
Appendix B Creating StateForms 339
Along the top of the window are buttons for Deleting, Cutting, Copying and Pasting objects, and Toggling Design Mode: Next to these are buttons for Selecting objects, and for creating text Labels, Attribute Value, Array Attribute Value, Time Chart (see Creating Time Charts on page 342) and Scan Chart (see Creating Scan Charts on page 355) objects plus a Group Box for visually dividing up the StateForm: The last set of buttons allows you to create a New Sheet or File, Open and Save Files, and open the Sheet Manager (see page 341) for controlling all the sheets you create: The Design Mode area that represents the final StateForm is indicated by a background of dots. On the right of the window, display characteristics are shown for a selected object (in this example, an Attribute Bar in the upper right of the StateForm has been selected). To create a new form 1 Right-click on the StateForm window again to display the StateForm menu. 2 Select New File to create a new form. You can also Open an existing file or Save the current file. To create a new object on the form 1 Click (on either) Text, Attribute Value, Array Attribute Value, Time Chart or Scan Chart. 2 In the Design Mode area, click and drag to create a new object. This object will now appear highlighted, with its characteristics shown in the panel on the right. 3 Click in the empty field under 'Attribute' and type in a data attribute name or select one from the attribute picker. 4 Change any other characteristics for the object as required.
340 Appendix B Creating StateForms
To create a new sheet for the file A form can have more than one sheet, to correspond to different modes of analysis. 1 Right-click on the StateForm window and select New Sheet. 2 Design this sheet in the normal way. 3 Save the form. To select a different sheet from a form 1 Right-click on the StateForm window and select Sheet Selector. This displays a drop-down list of all available sheets in the current form. 2 Select the required sheet. USING THE SHEET MANAGER When in a StateForm with the Sheet Selector and related buttons visible, you can open the Sheet Manager dialog by clicking the last button on the right: The Sheet Manager dialog is shown below:
A StateForm can have one or more sheets, which can be opened using the Sheet Selector control. The Sheet Manager allows you to copy and move sheets to and from new and existing StateForms. The Manager shows two panes, the one on the left for the current StateForm and the other pane as a working area which can be saved in its own right as a new StateForm. The buttons in the middle copy a selected sheet from its current pane to the other side.
Actix A Solutions User Guide Appendix B Creating StateForms 341
Delete Removes a selected sheet from its pane. Rename Allows you to rename the selected sheet. Open Displays the sheets of a selected StateForm file in the right pane. The name of the StateForm is displayed above the pane. Save Saves the StateForm in the right pane. Save As Saves the sheets in the right pane as a new StateForm file. The name of the StateForm is displayed above the pane. New File Deletes all existing sheets from the right pane, ready to create a new StateForm. Cancel Closes the window. Any changes to the left pane are ignored. Done Closes the window. Any changes to the left pane are now part of the current StateForm. CREATING TIME CHARTS When in the StateForm Design Mode window, you can click on the Time Chart button to create a time chart object. Then draw the chart where you want it, and set the size by dragging or by using the property panel shown below.
Next, double-click Chart on the property panel or click the [] button to open the Time Chart Properties dialog:
The chart properties allow every configurable aspect of the chart to be set (this information is persisted in the XML StateForms file along with all other StateForms information). The key aspects of the configuration are: Chart Layout Percent pre/post sync point This is the percentage of the chart time line that will remain visible when a sync occurs. For instance, if a chart shows the left-most visible point at time 10:00:00 and the rightmost visible point at 10:10:00 and Percent pre/post sync point is set to 10%, then a sync at time 10:00:30 will cause the chart to be re-drawn, probably with the new sync-point in the middle of the chart. Although if this point is close to the start or end of the time range for the steam, the syncpoint will be repositioned to avoid displaying a lot of blank space.
Time range (ms) (0 = all) This value sets the time range for the displayed X-axis in milliseconds. For instance, if this value is set to 600000 (10 minutes), then a 10-minute window of data will be displayed in the chart. Setting this value to small numbers can result in many points on the chart corresponding to the same message number (when messages occur less frequently than the time interval between consecutive points on the chart). A special case is when this value is set to 0. Here the chart view shows the entire range of time in the stream. For instance, if a stream covers a 32.5 minute range and the 'Time range (ms) (0 = all)' value is set to 0, and then the entire 32.5 minute range of the stream is shown within the chart view. Pixels increment This value sets how many horizontal pixels on the computer display are actually used for the chart display. The reason for controlling this is to avoid over-writing chart data with other data and also to make the chart display faster by avoiding duplicating information. In general, point series will be drawn with a thickness of 2 or more pixels (points of 1 pixel width are quite difficult to see), hence, it makes sense not to draw a point at every pixel if each point is more than one pixel wide. For example: say the Pixels increment is set to 2 and there are 600 pixels horizontally across the chart series display area. Only every other pixel will be equated to a data point in the stream (300 pixels used to represent data points). If the time-range for the chart is set to 600000 (10 minutes) then each used pixel corresponds to a time-range of 2000ms (2 seconds). Background General The general background of the chart is the area on which the series and the legends are drawn. When no new data The 'no new data' situation occurs when a time point on the X axis is at the same message number in the stream as the previous point. This setting allows the background color to be changed in these circumstances so that the user can see
that data is being repeated. This can happen for a number of reasons: The 'Time range (ms)' value is set to a small number (for a given a number of chart pixels) such that there is often a situation where there are no new messages within the short time period between X axis points. For example, if at a certain point in a file messages occur every 500ms or so, the 'Time range (ms)' is set to 10000 (10 seconds) and the number of used pixels is 200, then each X pixel corresponds to around 50ms and, hence, 10 X pixels represent 1 message. A pause or other kind of inactivity has occurred in the logging equipment and there are no new values for a period of time.
Before/after data This controls the color and cross-hatching of the background when the chart displays X points at a time before (or after) the earliest (or latest) valid data point time in the stream. X Axis This is the color of the background where the X Axis is drawn (if present) that is, below the main series. Y Axis + Legend The color of the background of the Y axis and legend area (if present) to the right of the main series. Fonts This controls the fonts used to display the legend text, event text and X axis. The font name, height and (in some cases) text color is controlled from these settings. X-Axis and X Slider Axis area height (0 = no X axis) This controls the height (in pixels) of the area used to display the X axis (set this value to 0 if no X axis is required). The X axis is generally used to display the time at the left and right edges of the series traces.
Slider height (0 = no slider) The slider allows the series display to be panned left and right using a scroll-bar. This setting controls the height of the slider bar as well as the height of the X scale picker which is a drop-down list of available time-ranges for the X axis. Selecting 0 for the slider height removes the slider and X scale pickers. Marker Expr This is an expression in the standard Actix expression syntax (see page 359) which is used to define the values displayed at the minimum (left) and maximum (right) points of the X Axis. Generally, this will be a time related value such as the formatted value of the time at this point. Note that the expression Time will return the relative time from the start of the stream (in ms). The actual time can be found by adding this to the absolute time at the start of the stream. Series This is a list of the series displayed in the chart. Click the Add button to add a new series. Select a series by clicking it. Use the Edit button to edit a series. Press Delete to delete the series. Add and Edit result in the Series Properties dialog (see page 348) being displayed.
Line Settings This area controls the Width, Color and Style for various lines drawn in the chart: Sync-line This is the vertical line indicating the current sync-point. Axis-line This is the line used to form the (optional) Y Axis.
Grid-line The lines drawn (optionally) to show various Y Axis levels as a horizontal grid across the chart. Legend + Axis These settings control the layout of the Y Axis and Legend area. Left margin The space between the right of the series display area and the legend/y-axis display area (in pixels). Axis width The width reserved for drawing a (vertical) Y axis (in pixels). Legend width The width (in pixels) of the area reserved for drawing the legend text (note that each series can modify this value often this is needed when horizontal legend text is mixed with vertical as these obviously have different widths). Global Expressions These expressions can be used in Tool-tips (see the Tooltip details under the Series Properties). To Add/Delete/Edit, use the buttons to the side. These expressions use the standard Actix expression syntax which is described in Actix expression syntax & examples (see page 359).
Clicking on the Edit button opens the Global Expression dialog:
Editing Series Properties Clicking on the Edit button within a StateForm's Time Chart Properties dialog opens the Series Properties dialog:
Series Type Various series types are available, described below. This setting controls the availability of some of the other dialog options. Point a single point for each data value. Line a line drawn between the previous (valid) data value and the current data value. Gaps appear when the previous point is invalid. If the previous point is invalid and the next point is also invalid, a single point is drawn. Bar a vertical bar from the base of the series Y axis up to the data value. Data values equal to the minimum value on the Y axis appear as a single point.
Rail this is like a Bar but the height is fixed (not dependent on value). It is useful for displaying state changes, and so on. Event includes an icon, vertical line through event, event text and event number (counting from the first event of this type in the stream) which can all (optionally) be displayed. Data-Tip Expression This controls the text displayed when the user moves the mouse over a data value in the series (including event icons, and so on). The expression can include Global Expressions by putting %% around the Global Expression name. For example, if a Global Expression is called LevAndQual then it can be included in a Data-Tip by putting %%LevAndQual%% in the expression. The effect of this is exactly as though the text of the specified Global Expression had been copied into this expression in place of the %%globexprname%%. Value Expression Expression The Value Expression is used (if not blank) to define the value of each point in the series. For instance, to display the most recent value of the attribute ServRxLevFull minus the most recent value of the attribute ServRxLevSub, use the expression: state(ServRxLevFull) state(ServRxLevSub) Format Group Format groups are used to control formatting of values, specify value ranges, and so on. If a Value Expression is used (the Value Expression box is not blank), then the selection in this drop-down list sets the Format Group used to format values of the Value Expression, and so on. Format Mode When a value is formatted using a Format Group, various settings (for example, the presence of units text on the end of the formatted value) can be controlled using this dropdown list.
Attribute Attribute If a Value Expression is not used, the setting made using this Actix attribute picker controls the data attribute to be displayed on the chart series. Array Idx This is the Array Index, which is used for array attributes. Hold Attribute Value This is used to fix the attribute value that is, the most recent previous value of the attribute is used (if valid). This is equivalent to using the state() function in an expression. Data Point and Line Settings Validity Expression The Validity Expression can be used to remove values from the display of a series. This can be used to stop invalid data being displayed. If no Validity Expression is specified, all points that have valid values are displayed. An example of where this is beneficial is for a measurement value such as ServRxLevFull when the measurement has no meaning (such as when the phone is in Idle Mode). To do this, set the 'Validity Expression' to 'state(HandsetMode) < 2'. In some cases, the value will have been invalidated when Idle Mode was entered, so the use of a Validity Expression would be unnecessary. Data Point Width, Color and Style These settings control the thickness, color and style (solid, dash, dot, and so on) of the line used to draw data points. For Point styles, only the color and thickness settings are used. In all cases, the color setting is overridden if the 'Color Range Expression' is used (see Color Range Expression). Event Line Width, Color and Style These settings control the thickness, color and style (solid, dash, dot, and so on) of the vertical line drawn (optionally) through each event in an Event series.
Event Line This check-box controls whether an Event Line (vertical line drawn through each event) is displayed. Across Whole Chart This check-box controls whether the Event Line (see above) is drawn across the entire chart (or just across the Event series). Event Icon and Text Event icon name This setting controls the icon displayed for an event. This can be any icon resource in a DLL file. The syntax for specifying the DLL file and icon identifier is as follows: DLLFileName, iconID If the DLLFileName is blank the standard Actix DLL AtxRes.dll is assumed (this contains most of the icons used in Actix A Solutions. If a path to the DLL is not specified as part of the name, the DLL is assumed to be in the same directory as the main application executable. Some example icon identifiers are listed in the Example Icon Identifiers section. Event Icon Y Offset This is the offset (in pixels) to draw the icon above the base of the Y axis for this series. Event Text This is the event text to display with icon. Extra Text Y Offset This is an offset which can be applied to the Event Text to move it relative to the Y axis for this series. Number This displays the Event number (of the specified event) in the stream. For instance, the first Handover OK in a stream will have number 1, the second 2, and so on. Color Ranges Color using expr This expression (if not blank) is used as the basis of the coloring for each data point. This is only used if the 'Color range expr' is also specified. In this case, the color of each data point is defined by evaluating the 'Color using expr'
and then applying the coloring defined by the 'Color range expr' (see below). Color range expr This is a color range expression as used in other parts of the StateForms. If it is blank, the color for each data point is derived from the fixed color specified in the Data Point and Line Settings box (see above). The syntax takes the form: H1, V1, H2, V2; ... Where: H1 is the high end of the first (lowest value) range (inclusive - this value is included in the range) V1 is the value of the expression if the attribute value is in the first range (equal to or less than H1) H2 is the high end of the second (next lowest values) range V2 is the value of the expression if the attribute value is in the second range ... and so on. Hx can be * which means a very high value (the rest of the number space about the last range) Vx can be: RGB(r,g,b) where r is a Red component value, g is Green, b is Blue (range 0..255 for each) Example (value of Color Legend property): -90, RGB(255,0,0), -80, RGB(0,255,0), -70, RGB(0,0,255), *, RGB(0,0,0) This displays: red for values <= -90 green for values > -90 and <= -80 blue for values > -80 and <= -70 black for values > -70 Min / Max Values If the 'Use specified Min and Max' check box is checked then the Min and Max values for the series (used to define the Y scaling and in the Axis and Min/Max value display) will be those defined in the Min and Max edit boxes. If not checked the values for Min and Max are defined by the
Format Group (unless no format group is available in which case the Min and Max box values are indeed used). Series Positioning Y Height This defines the height (in pixels or percent see below) of the Y axis used for this series. Y Height is Percent Checking this box controls whether the Y Height value is a percentage of the overall chart series display area, or (if not checked) is in pixels. The use of a percentage allows you to define scaleable chart displays. For instance, a chart can be defined in which one band shows a line chart and one shows a bar chart. These can be defined to have percentage based heights (and offsets) and hence to scale up or down based on the overall chart height. Y Offset This defines the position (in pixels or percent) of the base (bottom) of the Y axis for this series within the overall chart series display area. Y Offset is Percent This controls whether the Y Offset value is in pixels (if not checked) or is a percentage (if checked) of the overall chart series display area. Y Height is Max If checked this box overrides the other Y Height settings and sets the Y Height to the whole of the chart series display area above the Y Offset. So, for instance, if this is checked and the Y Offset is 0 then this series occupies the entire chart series display area. Legend and Y Axis Show Legend This check box controls whether you want to show the legend text for this series. Check the box to allocate an amount of space defined by the 'Legend width' property (in the main Chart Properties) + the 'Extra legend width' (see below) in the Y Axis display area for the legend for this series. This ensures that legends and Y axes are not drawn on top of each-other (unless you want them to be which can be achieved by setting the Extra legend width to negative numbers, and so on!).
Horizontal Legend Check this box to show the legend text for this series horizontally rather than vertically. Generally, you need to use the 'Extra legend width' with this setting to get a wide enough space for the legend text to be displayed. Show Min/Max Check this box to show Min and Max values next to the Y Axis. Show Y Axis Check this box to display the Y Axis. Legend Text This is the text used for the legend. If blank, the Value Expression (if not blank) or Attribute Name (if Value Expression is blank) is used. Legend Text Color Color of the legend text. Grid Lines This determines if grid lines are displayed horizontally across the chart area. Extra legend width Sets the number of pixels of extra space allocated to the legend this is mainly useful for horizontal legends (see explanation above).
CREATING SCAN CHARTS About Scan Charts Scan Charts show bar charts of data held in Array Attributes. This can be used to produce displays like a spectrum analyzer of scanner data or a chart of Nth best neighbors.
To create a Scan Chart 1 When in the StateForm Design Mode window, you can click on the Scan Chart button to create a scan chart object. 2 Then draw the chart where you want it, and set the size by dragging or by using the property panel shown below.
Next, double-click Chart on the property panel or click the [] button to open the Bar Chart Properties dialog:
The chart properties allow every configurable aspect of the chart to be set (this information is persisted in the XML StateForms file along with all other StateForms information). Background General The background color of the chartspace. X axis The background color of the area below the X axis. Y axis The background color of the area to the right of the Y axis.
Attributes X Num Bars This is the number of bars in the chart but it can be overridden by the 'Number of Bars to Display' field in the Layout and Legend Section. X Values This is an array of the values to be used on the X axis. So in the GSM Neighbor example shown above the X value is NborBCCH. Y Values This is an array of the Y value broken down by the X value. In the GSM Neighbor example above the attribute NborRxLev_by_arfcn is used as the Arfcn is equivalent in this instance with the BCCH giving the RxLev of the Neighbor cells broken down by BCCH. Scan Msgs This must be set to an attribute that is present in all messages that the chart should look at. It is a bit like a mandatory exclusive filter. So for Neighbor RxLev measurements the NborBCCH might be a sensible attribute to set. Array Index for Scan Msgs Font Name + Height (pixels) + Color Bar Label This is the font/color of the text expression that is put at the top of each bar. Legend This is the font/color of the text expression that forms the Y-axis Legend. X Axis This is the font/color of the text expression that is placed at the bottom of each bar. X Axis and Bar Labeling Axis Area Height This is the size of the space below the X axis.
Axis Label This is the text expression that is displayed down the Y axis. Bar Label This is the text expression shown at the top of each bar. Axis label Horizontal When enabled, the X axis labels are displayed horizontally rather than vertically. Bar Label Horizontal When enabled, the bar labels are displayed horizontally rather than vertically. Line Settings Bar Border Line Border of the Bar settings. Axis Line Line settings of the Axis lines Grid Line Line settings of the Grid lines Bar Color Default Color using Expression This can be used to give an attribute expression, generating a value on which a coloring rule can be used. Expr format group This defines the format group of that expression - allowing the use of 'format by color group'. Color Ranges This can be used to define a color range expression that defines the colors for different values. Layout and Legend Number of Bars to Display This sets an absolute number of bars to appear. This overrides the 'X Num Bars' setting.
Chart Left The amount of space in pixels to the left of the chart. Chart Right The amount of space in pixels to the right of the chart. Y Axis Left The amount of space in pixels to the right of the Y axis. Bar Space % The amount of space in percentage of bar width between bars. Y axis Width The width of the Y axis. Legend Width The width of the Legend in the Y axis Legend Text The Text expression that is displayed on the Y axis. Legend On Enable/Disable the Legend Legend Horiz When enabled, the Legend is displayed horizontally rather than vertically. Show Min/Max When enabled, the maximum and minimum values are shown on the Y axis. Data Tip Expression This is a text expression that will appear as a tool tip when the mouse hovers over a bar. ACTIX EXPRESSION SYNTAX & EXAMPLES Actix expressions are used in many places for generating both numerical values and text outputs. Examples are as follows: Numerical value outputs state(ServRxLevFull) default(state(ServRxLevFull), -110)
Text outputs ServRxLevFull + state(ServRxLevFull) + \r\n - note the \r\n creates a carriage return in a Tool-tip, etc. Note: to get an expression to format as a text string you need to include at least one text string and the string doesnt count.
Appendix C Expression Builder function reference

Functions
ABS
abs(expr)
Returns the absolute positive value of expr

ABSTIME
abstime(round_to)
abstime() returns the absolute time of the current message as a floating point number in the 1900 date system used by Excel and Win32 automation. round_to is an optional argument that rounds the result to a given number of seconds. This argument allows the returned value to be rounded to the nearest absolute time boundary, for example, abstime(60) rounds to the nearest minute, abstime(3600) rounds to the nearest hour, and abstime (86400) rounds to the nearest day.
ADD
add(expr1,expr2) expr1+expr2
Returns the sum of expr1 and expr2

AND
and(expr1,expr2) (expr1)&&(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 and expr2 are not zero, otherwise returns 0

ARRAY_COUNT
array_count(attribute[],operation,expr)
Returns the number of values in the attribute array for which the condition is true Example:
array_count(NborRxLev[],>,-70)
Appendix C Expression Builder function reference 361
ARRAY_FIND_INDEX
array_find_index(attribute[],operation,expr )
Returns the lowest index in the array for which the condition is true Example:
array_find_index(NborRxLev[],>,-70)
ARRAY_MAX
array_max(attribute[])
Returns the highest value in the attribute array

ARRAY_MAX_INDEX
array_max(attribute[])
Returns the index that contains the highest value in the attribute array
ARRAY_MEAN
array_mean(attribute[])
Returns the mean value in the array

ARRAY_MIN
array_min(attribute[])
Returns the lowest value in the attribute array

ARRAY_MIN_INDEX
array_min(attribute[])
Returns the index that contains the lowest value in the attribute array
ARRAY_NTH_MAX
array_nth_max(attribute[],n)
Returns the nth ranked value in the attribute array, starting from the highest
ARRAY_NTH_MIN
array_nth_min(attribute[],n)
Returns the nth ranked value in the attribute array, starting from the lowest
ARRAY_STDEV
array_stdev(attribute[])
Returns the standard deviation of all values in the attribute array

362 Appendix C Expression Builder function reference Actix A Solutions User Guide
BIN
bin(datum,bin_size,value)
Used internally Returns the center value of the bin containing the specified value. The bin is defined by datum and size. For example,
bin(3,5,x)
would return center values shown below: Bin# Start -1 0 1 2

BIN_INDEX
End 3 8 13 18
Center 0.5 5.5 10.5 15.5
-2 3 8 13
bin_index(datum,bin_size,value)
Used internally As for bin (), except that the index of the bin is returned instead of the center value.
DEFAULT
default(expr1,expr2)
expr1 is the expression to evaluate expr2 is the default expression (typically a constant such as -999) when expr1 is invalid Returns the value of expr1 if valid, otherwise the value of expr2 This can be used to specify a default value when an attribute has no value. For example, the expression:
default(state(ServCI,-999))
will return the value -999 at messages where state(ServCI) has no valid value (at the beginning of a file and after a valid handover)
DELTA
delta(expr1,expr2)
Not available for Binned queries Returns the result of expr1state(expr2) - see state (see state on page 369) for details
DIVIDE
divide(expr1,expr2)
Returns expr1 divided by expr2

EQUALS
equals(expr1,expr2) (expr1)==(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 equals expr2, otherwise returns 0 String literals should be enclosed in quotes (not mandatory unless the literal begins with numeric character or contains spaces), for example:
ServingCellID=="CellABC"
EVAL
eval(expr1,expr2,exprn)
Used internally Returns: the value of expr1 this is used to enable multiple expressions to be evaluated, and evals can be nested to any level. The arguments are evaluated in the order left to right.
EVENT_BEFORE
event_before()
Not available for Binned queriesonly meaningful when used with windowed queries Returns 1 if the current message is before the window event, or else it returns 0
EVENT_MESSAGE
event_message()
Not available for Binned queriesonly meaningful when used with windowed queries Returns the message number of the current window event
EVENT_TIME
event_time()
Not available for Binned queriesonly meaningful when used with windowed queries Returns the time of the current window event
GEOINVPROJECTLAT
geoinvprojectlat(east,north)
Used internally Returns the latitude of the inverse projected value of east(x),north(y) using the contexts current geodetic projection
364 Appendix C Expression Builder function reference
GEOINVPROJECTLON
geoinvprojectlon(east,north)
Used internally Returns the longitude of the inverse projected value of east(x),north(y) using the contexts current geodetic projection
GEOPROJECTX
geoprojectx(lat,long)
Used internally Returns the easting (x coordinate) of the projected value of lat,long using the contexts current geodetic projection
GEOPROJECTY
geoprojecty(lat,long)
Used internally Returns the northing (y coordinate) of the projected value of lat,long using the contexts current geodetic projection
GET
get(attribute[],array_index,message)
Used internally Returns the value at the array_index position of the attribute array for the specified message number
GREATER_THAN
greater_than(expr1,expr2) (expr1)>(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 is greater than expr2, otherwise returns 0

GREATER_THAN_OR_EQUAL
greater_than_or_equal(expr1,expr2) (expr1)>=(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 is greater than or equal to expr2, otherwise returns 0

IF
if(expr1,expr2,expr3)
Returns expr2 if expr1 <> zero, and expr3 if expr1 = zero

IS_NOT_EQUAL
is_not_equal(expr1,expr2) (expr1)!=(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 is not equal to expr2, otherwise returns 0 String literals should be enclosed in quotes (not mandatory unless the literal begins with numeric character or contains spaces), for example:
ServingCellID!="CellABC"
LESS_THAN
less_than(expr1,expr2) (expr1)<(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 is less than expr2, otherwise returns 0

LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL
less_than_or_equal(expr1,expr2) (expr1)<=(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 is less than or equal to expr2, otherwise returns 0

LOG
log(expr)
Returns the natural log (base e) of expr

LOG10
log10(expr)
Returns the log (base 10) of expr

MESSAGE
message()
Used internally Returns the absolute current message number

MOD
mod(number,divisor)
Returns the remainder after number is divided by divisor, with the result having the same sign as divisor
MROUND
mround(expr,multiple)
Rounds the specified number to the nearest whole multiple. For example, if multiple = 3, number would be rounded to whichever was the nearest out of 3, 6, 9, 12, and so on.
Other examples: expr multiple returns: 5 27 555

NOT
3 5 10
5 25 560
not(expr) !(expr)
Returns 1 if expr is 0, otherwise returns 0 NULL It is possible to use the expression NULL within queries. This allows you to create queries that are empty, depending on certain conditions. For example, you could create a binned query with the following expression:
If ( attributeA > threshold , attributeB , NULL )
This example is equivalent to: "If AttributeA is greater than the threshold, show attributeB, otherwise there is no output."
OR
or(expr1,expr2) (expr1)||(expr2)
Returns 1 if expr1 or expr2 are not zero, otherwise returns 0

POWER
power(expr1,expr2)
Returns expr1 to the power expr2

PREV_MESSAGE_WHERE
prev_message_where(expr)
Returns the number of the last preceding message number, where the value of expr is non-zero.
PREV_STATE
prev_state(expr)
Not available for Binned queries Returns the value of expr where the value of the attribute is the previous valid value. This is equivalent to the value of state(expr) at the preceding message.
PREV_TIME_WHERE
prev_time_where(expr)
Not available for Binned queries Returns the relative time of the last preceding message number where the value of expr is non-zero.
PRODUCT
product(expr1,expr2)
Returns expr1 multiplied by expr2

ROUND
round(expr,num_digits)
Rounds to the nearest number, to a specified number of decimal places. If num_digits is negative, then expr is rounded to the left of the decimal point by that many places. For example: expr 555.5 num_digits returns: 555.6 560 556 -1 555.555 1 555.555 0
ROUNDDOWN
rounddown(expr,num_digits)
Rounds down to the next lowest number, to a specified number of decimal places. If num_digits is negative, then number is rounded down to the left of the decimal point by that many places. For example: expr 555.51 555.5 num_digits returns: 1 -1 555.5 550 555
555.555 0
ROUNDUP
roundup(expr,num_digits)
Rounds up to the next highest number, to a specified number of decimal places. If num_digits is negative, then exbr is rounded up to the left of the decimal point by that many places. For example: expr 555.51 555.5 num_digits returns: 1 -1 555.6 560 556
555.555 0
ROW
row()
Used internally Returns the absolute current message number

SET
set(attribute[],array_index,value,message) set(attribute[],array_index,value)
Used internally Sets a value at the array_index position of the attribute array (for the specified message number)
STATE
state(expr)
Not available for Binned queries or for queries using any PCM Link information (for example, A, Abis, Gb) If valid, this returns the value of an expression (where the value of attributes equals that at the current message), otherwise it returns the last valid value
SUBARRAY_NTH_MAX
subarray_nth_max(attribute[],n,range)
Returns the nth maximum value from an array. Example:

subarray_nth_max(NborRxLev[],3,"-80 - -70")
Returns the 3rd maximum value from the NborRxLev array for values between -80 and -70.
SUBARRAY_NTH_MAX_INDEX
subarray_nth_max_index(attribute[],n,range)
Returns the index of the nth maximum value from an array. Example: Returns the index of the 3rd maximum value from the NborRxLev array for values between -80 and -70.
SUBARRAY_NTH_MIN
subarray_nth_max_index(NborRxLev[],3,"-80 -70")
subarray_nth_min(attribute[],n,range)
Returns the nth minimum value from an array. Example:

subarray_nth_min(NborRxLev[],3,"-80 - -70")
Returns the 3rd minimum value from the NborRxLev array for values between -80 and -70.
SUBARRAY_NTH_MIN_INDEX
subarray_nth_min_index(attribute[],n,range)
Returns the index of the nth minimum value from an array. Example: Returns the index of the 3rd minimum value from the NborRxLev array for values between -80 and -70.
SUM
sum(expr1,expr2) (expr1)+(expr2)
subarray_nth_min_index(NborRxLev[],3,"-80 -70")
Returns expr1 plus expr2 String literals should be enclosed in quotes (not mandatory unless the literal begins with numeric character or contains spaces), for example:
ServingCellID+"CellABC"
Statistic dialog
This dialog allows you to create a statistic based on a new or existing expression, and a statistical analysis of that expression for example, the mean, median, maximum value and so on. The statistic is evaluated as follows: Aggregation method (for example, mean) of a Statistic expression, where the Filter expression is TRUE.
Click New and Edit to open the Expression Builder dialog. To refine the aggregation method, click Filter (see Filter Wizard on page 305), which opens the Filter Wizard. The first example has no filter and calculates the mean of every UL RxLev measurement.
The example shown below has a filter to ensure only Handover Fail messages are evaluated, and performs a simple statistic expression (incrementing the count by 1 at each Handover Fail message):
Binning Settings
This dialog defines how the data is to be averaged. If you leave this dialog blank, the data will be averaged using the default binning settings (which are set through Tools | Preferences).
The DATE Type

The DATE type is implemented using an 8-byte floatingpoint number. Days are represented by whole number increments starting with 30 December 1899, midnight as time zero. Hour values are expressed as the absolute value of the fractional part of the number. The following table illustrates this: Date and time 30 December 1899, midnight 1 January 1900, midnight 4 January 1900, midnight 4 January 1900, 6 A.M. 4 January 1900, noon 4 January 1900, 9 P.M. Representation 0.00 2.00 5.00 5.25 5.50 5.875
So, the DATE date type, and also the COleDateTime class, represent dates and times as a classic number line. However, there are discontinuities for dates before 30 December 1899. See the following table for an illustration: Date and time 30 December 1899, midnight 29 December 1899, midnight 18 December 1899, midnight 18 December 1899, 6 A.M. 18 December 1899, noon 18 December 1899, 6 P.M. 19 December 1899, midnight Representation 0.00 -1.00 -12.00 -12.25 -12.50 -12.75 -11.00
Appendix D FSD reference for custom attributes

Overview of FSD automation model
A custom attribute can be written in either VBScript or Jscript, so the author of the script has full access to the functionality that these languages provide. Consult MSDN for a guide to the language features provided by these scripting languages. Actix Solutions expose a number of objects that can be scripted against. The FSD is composed of a number of objects each containing a number of methods. The interesting aspect of this model is the ability to read attributes values from given messages and set new values into the back end store. The FSD exposes the following conceptual model: a datafile / logfile consists of one or more data streams. A data stream in turn consists of one or more messages. Each message object can be queried for any given attribute that may have been set at that message point. For example, to access the attribute value for ServRxLevFull at message point 34, given a reference to a datastream object (see entry point definition), write the following code:
dataValue = dataStream. Item(33).Item(ServRxLevFull).Value
Here is a dataStream object (represented by the IAxdFSD_DataStream interface). Calling its Item() method will allow access to a given message object (IAxdFSD_Message). Once the message object is at the desired message index, the message can be queried for the values of any attributes that may have been set at that given message point. Both the data stream and message object allow navigation to their respective parent objects. Calling the Parent() object on a message object will return back a reference to the data stream which the message belongs to. Likewise, requesting the parent object of a data stream will cause a reference to the FSD object to be returned, as it is the FSD object that contains one or more data streams.
374 Appendix D FSD reference for custom attributes Actix A Solutions User Guide
FSD Object
The QDCFSD consists of a number of objects that a code writer scripts against. For a code writer composing custom attributes, the following objects1 are of particular interest: IAXDFSD_DATASTREAM This object represents a single stream from a logfile. A stream is composed of a collection of messages. All messages in Visual Basic can be iterated using the following language construct:
Sub Main(dataStream, attribName) ' Display EcIO value For PN 18 at each message For Each msg in dataStream ecIOValue = Msg("EcIo_For_Pn").Value(18) If ( Not IsNull(ecIOValue) ) then MsgBox CStr(ecIOValue) End if Msg(attribName).Value = 87 Next End Sub
This displays a message box that shows the value of EcIO at each message point. It also sets the value 87 into the attribute whose name is held in the attribName variable. In most cases, you can use the stream to gain access to one or more attributes held at a given message point, then use the stream to set a value for an attribute at a given message point. The data stream object also exposes methods for creating a sub-stream, retrieving the stream type, getting/setting stream description and so on. Function Item(ByVal Index As Variant) As IAxdFSD_Message Access the message given its message number Property Get Count() As Long Number of messages Property Get Parent() As Object Gets the parent file Property Get Name() As String The stream name Property Get MessageFormats() As IXMLDOMElement Gets the format for the messages in this stream
Objects and interfaces are used here interchangeable as an object can only expose a simply automation interface (IDispatch).
1
Appendix D FSD reference for custom attributes 375
Property Get EventFormats() As IXMLDOMElement Gets the display format for all events in this stream Property Get AttributeValues(ByVal Attribute As Variant) As IAxdFSD_AttributeValueList Gets a collection of all the valid values of an attribute Property Get MessageNumberFromTime(ByVal Time As Date) As Long Get the message number from the absolute time Property Get FilterExpression() As String The expression setting the filter for this stream Property Let FilterExpression(RHS As String) The expression setting the filter for this stream Property Get PhysicalStream() As IAxdFSD_DataStream The underlying raw physical stream Property Get Description() As String property Description Property Let Description(RHS As String) property Description Function CreateLogicalStream(ByVal Expression As String) As IAxdFSD_DataStream method CreateLogicalStream Property Get _Id() As Long property _Id Property Get Attributes() As IAxdFSD_AttributeSchema property Attributes Property Get TechnologyFlags() As EnumStreamTypes property TechnologyFlags Property Get LongName() As String property LongName Sub DumpAttributes(ByVal Directory As String) method DumpAttributes
376 Appendix D FSD reference for custom attributes
Property Get Filters() As IAxcContainer property Filters Property Let Filters(RHS As IAxcContainer) property Filters IAXDFSD_MESSAGE A stream consists of one or more of these message objects. Each message object represents a decoded message at a given point in time. A message object can be queried for the values of various attributes that may have been set at that message point. Sample Code:
Sub Main(dataStream, newAttrib) Set msg = dataStream.Item(56) Get 57th message AttributeCount = msg.Count For I = 0 to AttributeCount-1 l = Msg(i).Value Next End Sub
The code shown above simply obtains the message object that represents message number 57 (note that we use a zero based index - that is, 0 represents the first message). Then obtain a count of the number of attributes that have been set on the stream. The message object is then queried for the value of each attribute that has been decoded. It should be noted that only a few attributes would have been decoded for a particular message. Function Item(ByVal AttributeName As Variant) As IAxdFSD_AttributeValue Access the attribute given its name Property Get Count() As Long Number of attributes decoded Property Get Parent() As Object Get the parent AxdFSD_DataStream Property Get MessageText(ByVal Flags As Long) As String Gets the decoded message text Function EvaluateExpression(ByVal Expression As String) As Variant Evaluate a query expression at this message point
Property Get MessageNumber() As Long property MessageNumber Property Get Time() As Date property Time IAXDFSD_ATTRIBUTEVALUELIST Collection of values for a given attribute. Sample Code:
Sub Main(dataStream, newAttrib) Set ValueList = DataStream.AttributeValues(Latitude) End Sub
Function Item(ByVal Index As Variant) As IAxdFSD_AttributeValue Get the attribute value Property Get Count() As Long Number of attribute values Property Get ParentStream() As IAxdFSD_DataStream The parent stream for this attribute Property Get Definition() As IAxdFSD_Attribute The attribute definition Function GetDataset(ByVal Command As String, Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As IAxcDataset method GetDataset Property Get TagString(Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As String property TagString IAXDFSD_ATTRIBUTEVALUE Each attribute value is represented by one of these objects. Using this object, one can read or write to a given attribute. Property Get Value(Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As Variant Gets the value of this attribute Property Let Value(ByVal Index As Variant, RHS As Variant) Gets the value of this attribute
Property Get Count() As Long Number of array points Property Get Parent() As IAxdFSD_Message Get the parent message Property Get FormattedValue(Optional ByVal Flags As Variant, Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As String Gets the value of this attribute, formatted as a string Property Get Name() As String The name of the attribute Property Get LastValidValue(Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As Variant Gets the value of this attribute when it was last set Property Get LastValidFormattedValue(Optional ByVal Flags As Variant, Optional ByVal Index As Variant) As String Gets the value of this attribute when it was last set, formatted as a string IAXDFSD_ATTRIBUTE Property Get Name() As String property Name Property Let Name(RHS As String) property Name Property Get FormatGroup() As String property FormatGroup Property Let FormatGroup(RHS As String) property FormatGroup Property Get GroupString() As String property GroupString Property Let GroupString(RHS As String) property GroupString Property Get _IconId() As ULong property _IconId Property Get IsArray() As Boolean Check whether attribute is an array type
Enumerations
STREAM TYPES
Public Enum EnumStreamTypes STREAM_TYPE_GSM_HANDSET=1 STREAM_TYPE_GSM_CALLTRACE=2 STREAM_TYPE_GSM_PCMLINK=4 STREAM_TYPE_CDMA_HANDSET=8 STREAM_TYPE_CDMA_CALLTRACE=16 STREAM_TYPE_CDMA_PCMLINK=32 STREAM_TYPE_IS136_HANDSET=64 STREAM_TYPE_IS136_CALLTRACE=128 STREAM_TYPE_IS136_PCMLINK=256 STREAM_TYPE_ANALOG_HANDSET=512 STREAM_TYPE_ANALOG_CALLTRACE=1024 STREAM_TYPE_CW=2048 STREAM_TYPE_PN_SCANNER=4096 STREAM_TYPE_SPECIAL_DEVICE=8192 STREAM_TYPE_AMALGAM=16384 STREAM_TYPE_IDEN=32768 STREAM_TYPE_TETRA=65536 STREAM_TYPE_COMMON=268435456 STREAM_TYPE_NONE=0 STREAM_TYPE_ALL=-1 End Enum
MESSAGE TEXT FORMATTING FLAGS

Public Enum MessageTextFlags MessageElementNone=0 MessageElementRaw=1 MessageElementShort=2 MessageElementLong=4 MessageElementTime=8 MessageElementFrameCount=16 MessageElementMessageNumber=32 MessageElementInfoElementHeading=64 MessageElementAbsoluteTime=128 MessageElementDate=256 MessageElementSecsTime=512 MessageElementCelllookup=1024 End Enum
STATISTIC TYPES
Public Enum StatisticTypes AtxIPM_StatisticType_Last=1 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Next=2 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Mean=3 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Maximum=4 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Minimum=5 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Count=6 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Mode=7 AtxIPM_StatisticType_RxQual=8 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Mean_Linear=9 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Maximum_Absolute=10 AtxIPM_StatisticType_Percent_True=11 End Enum
SUPERSTREAM METHODS
Public Enum SuperStreamMethod SuperStreamTypeUseDefault=0 SuperStreamTypeNoMerge=1 SuperStreamTypeEventFingerprinting=2 SuperStreamTypeCorrelatedParameters=3 SuperStreamTypeTimeOffets=4 End Enum
Index
A
A General Analysis app pack, 96 A Handover Analysis app pack, 96 A or Abis Scenarios, 92 A Subscriber Analysis app pack, 97 A/Abis settings, 179 Abis Balance and Sensitivity app pack, 98 Abis Call Analysis, 94 Abis Network Design app pack, 98 Abis Quick Analysis app pack, 97 Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures app pack, 98 abs, 361 abstime, 361 ad hoc analysis, 21 add, 361 Add To Favorites, 166 Agilent settings, 179 A-interface file standard setting, 179 Analysis, 173 Analysis Manger, 269 Analysis reports, 173
printing reports, 173 running reports, 173 saving as a web page, 173
array_min_index, 362 array_nth_max, 362 array_nth_min, 362 array_stdev, 362 ATR file, 207 Attribute, 166 attribute picker, 171 Automatic Import of network element data, 179 azimuths, 218
B
Batch Load Files, 311 bin, 363 bin_index, 363 Binned Queries
about, 271 creating, 279 example, 280
and, 361 Annotations, 202, 229, 230 Annotations map toolbar, 230 Application Pack, 173
running an Application Pack analysis, 173
binning, 169 binning and lines to cells, 219 binning data, 169 Binning location, 179 binning options, 171 Binning settings, 179 BinOp number, 330 BLER, 104 Bookmarks
moving between, 238 setting and removing, 238, 239
application packs, 84, 86 Area Select, 229 Area Select map toolbar, 230 Array Attributes, 355 array_count, 361 array_find_index, 362 array_max, 362 array_max_index, 362 array_mean, 362 array_min, 362
browsing network information, 313 BSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 96 building expressions, 297
C
Call Analysis, 94 CDATA tag, 330 CDMA Event Detection, 27 CDMA Event Technical Reference, 28 CDMA StateTip, 251
about, 251 display CDMA Handset data, 251 display CDMA PN Scanner data, 251
382 Index
CDMA Toolkit, 254

about, 254
Cell Identity, 179 cell site sector printing problem, 213 Cell Sites, 229 Cell Update Table report, 105 cellrefs, 207 CellRefs, 22, 24, 179 CellRefs - setting the file location, 179 Channel Assignment by Cell report, 96 Channel Assignment report, 96 Channel Configuration report, 98 Channel Type report, 97 Chart Properties, 193 Charts, 189
about, 189 displaying data in, 190 editing, 193 exporting, 194 panning, 192 printing, 192 types, 192 zooming, 191
Discarded LLC PDU Statistics report, 105 Display Cell Identity as Hex, 179 display in data window, 174 Display Message Browser, 236 Display on chart, 190 Display on Map, 198 Display on Table, 234 Display on Workbook, 186 displaying a map background, 216 displaying cell coverage for all cells on the map, 217 displaying lines to cells, 211, 217 displaying more information about cells on the map, 210, 217 displaying network graphics on the map, 210, 216 displaying only newly activated sites, 303 displaying the LAC distribution of cell sites, 218 divide, 364
Classmark report, 97 Clear, 230 Clear Cause report, 96 Connection Analysis by Cell report, 96 Connection Analysis report, 96 Connection Failure report, 97, 98 correlated parameters, 177 count statistics, 275 Create Network Image, 310 Crosstab Queries
about, 271 creating, 274 example, 277 tips, 275
E
EcIo Threshold, 179 EcIo Threshold for Delay, 179 Edit Series, 198, 229 Edit Text, 230 editing charts, 193 editing expressions, 297 editing network information, 313 equals, 364 Error Indication Cause report, 98 eval, 364 Evaluate Coverage, 261 Event Detection - CDMA, 27 event_before, 364 event_message, 364 event_time, 364 example of a Binned Query, 280 example of a Crosstab Query, 277 example of a Filter Query, 283 example of a Histogram Query, 286 example of a Statistic Query, 290 Execute at Load Time, 301 Export as Text, 176
cursor latitude and longitude, 210 custom attribute definition files, 329 Custom Attribute Manager, 329 Custom Ranges, 204 CustomAttribute tag, 330
D
DATE type, 373 Decode settings, 179 default, 363 delta, 363
Index 383
export layers as TAB files, 216 Export Map, 215 export MapInfo files, 216 Export to File, 215 exporting queries, 301 Expression Builder, 297 expression syntax, 359
group, 166 GSM A application packs, 96 GSM Application Packs, 84 GSM Missing Neighbour Analysis, 266 GST file, 207
H
Handover Cause report, 96 Handover Fail Cause report, 98 Handover Messages by Cell, 96 Handover Reject and Fail Causes report, 96 Handover Settings Analysis Pack, 86
BSS Handover Matrix report, 96
F
file formats supported, 336 filter the Workspace Explorer, 95 filtering data for the SiteData Viewer, 233 filters
CDMA example, 59 GSM example, 89 iDEN example, 162 IS-136 example, 136
Filters
about, 272 creating, 282 Wizard, 305
find text in the Message Browser, 238 Flow Control Statistics report, 105 Flush Statistics report, 105 formats supported, 336 Forms, 249, 341, 342 free analysis, 21 Full Load, 273
Handover Statistics report, 97, 98 Handovers by Target report, 98 Handset Performance report, 98 handset source - changing for CDMA StateTip, 253 Handset Types report, 97 Headers and Footers, 220 Histogram analyses
histogram chart, 192
I
icon reference number, 330 if, 365 Image Export, 194 Import Text File, 171 importing queries, 300 improving crosstab query efficiency, 275 Intermediate file settings - Agilent, 179 is_not_equal, 365
G
Gb Scenarios, 100 General settings, 179 generating reports, 42, 76, 122, 151, 185 geoinvprojectlat, 364 geoinvprojectlon, 365 geoprojectx, 365 geoprojecty, 365 Geosets, 207 get, 365 GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis application pack, 105 GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis application pack, 106 GPS Interpolation, 179 greater_than, 365 greater_than_or_equal, 365
L
Label Properties dialog, 226 LAC distribution - displaying, 218 Layers, 206, 229 Layout, 229 Legend, 229 Legend - exporting as a bitmap, 215 less_than, 366 less_than_or_equal, 366 Level and Interference report, 98
384 Index
Line, 230 Lines to cells, 211, 217 Link Balance by DL Level report, 98 Link Balance by Timeslot report, 98 Link Balance Distribution report, 97, 98 Link Balance UL vs DL report, 98 Load data file, 171 Load Mode - setting, 302 Load Time, 273 Load Time queries, 301 Load Time queries - selecting, 302 Loaded Data Files, 171 loading bitmaps into a map, 216 Loading streams into a network image, 312 Location Update report, 96 log, 366 log10, 366
offsetting multiple layers automatically, 208 Page Setup dialog, 220 printing, 213 Projection, 209 Properties dialog, 224 removing annotations from, 202 selecting objects, 200 showing data, 203 toolbar reference, 229 Units, 209 zoom in and out, 200
M
map scale, 209 Map toolbar, 229 MapInfo files - exporting, 216 MapInfo Geoset, 207 MapInfo Map, 207 MapInfo Workspace, 207 Maps, 196
adding annotations to, 202 adding background map files, 207 Annotations toolbar reference, 230 Area Select toolbar reference, 230 automatic offset, 208 cell sites - displaying, 210 changing the attribute font, 206 changing the attribute style, 205 combining data attributes, 206 controlling layers, 206 exporting maps, 215 Headers and Footers - setting, 220 hiding data, 203 Layer Control, 206 legend - altering the, 203 Line layer properties dialog, 211 Map Layers, 206 measuring distances on, 201 multidimensional data, 206 New Raster, 207 offsetting data, 208
measure distances on a map, 201 merging data streams, 177 message, 366 Message Filtering, 239 Message Format, 240 Microsoft Excel, 185 Microsoft Excel reports, 42, 76, 122, 151, 185 Minimal Load, 18, 273 Minimum Valid Signal Level, 179 MM Attach report, 105 MM Detach report, 105 MM Error Conditions report, 105 MM RA Update report, 105 mod, 366 modify ranges, 203 mround, 366 MS Power Control Analysis Pack, 86 Msg Breakdown report, 105 multi-layer cells, 218 multi-technology cells, 218
N
Network Explorer, 313
about, 313 creating new cell sites, 318 importing network element data, 315 using, 314
Network Images, 309

about, 309 attaching, 311 batch loading data, 311 creating, 310 templates, 310
not, 367 NULL, 367
Index 385
Number of Frame Errors in a Burst, 179 Number of Multipaths, 179
O
Open data file, 171 Open Logfile, 171 Optimize Multiple Carriers, 265 Optimize Neighbor Lists, 258 Optimize Search Windows, 255 or, 367
changing name of, 303 deleting, 299 editing, 298 exporting, 301 importing, 300
query windows, 307
R
Radius Select, 200, 230 Raster Image Registration dialog, 228 ray lines, 196, 211 remove bookmarks, 238 Replay, 174 reports, 42, 76, 122, 151, 185 Roaming by Country report, 97 Roaming by Network report, 97 round, 368 rounddown, 368 roundup, 369 row, 369 running the GSM Mising Neighbour Analysis, 267
P
Pan (maps), 229 pan around a map, 199 panning charts, 192 PCM Link data, 273 PCM Link files, 18 performance limitations, 18 Pilot Increment, 179 Polygon, 202, 230 Polygon Select, 200, 230 Polyline, 202, 230 Poor Quality Contributors report, 98 pop-up menu - displaying, 173 power, 367 Preferences dialog, 179 prev_message_where, 367 prev_state, 367 prev_time_where, 368 Print, 229 Print Map dialog, 223 Print Setup dialog, 222 printing a border round a map, 223 Printing analysis reports, 173 printing charts, 192 printing problems, 213
cell site sectors, 213
S
Saving analysis reports as web pages, 173 Scan Charts, 355 Scan Resolution, 179 Scanner Scan Resolution, 179 scanner source - changing for CDMA StateTip, 253 Scenarios, 92, 100 Scenarios - selecting, 303 Searcher Threshold, 179 Select, 229 Select Box, 200, 230 selecting data on a map, 199 series chart, 192 series properties - editing, 348 Services Requested report, 96 set, 166, 369 set bookmarks, 238 Sheet Manager, 165 SiteData Viewer, 231 SM Error Conditions report, 105 SM PDP Context Deactivation report, 105
product, 368 Projection - map, 209 Properties - map, 210 Protocol Stack Browser, 242
searching with, 243 starting, 242
Q
Quality Distribution report, 97, 98 queries
386 Index
SM PDP Context report, 105 SSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 96 SSS Handover Matrix report, 96 state, 369 StateForms, 35
CDMA phone, 35 CDMA scanner, 35 GSM, 71 iDEN, 146 IS-136, 117
StateForms (creating), 165, 339, 342, 348, 355 StateForms (using), 249 StateForms feature, 249 Statistic analyses
TCP Traffic Type Analysis report, 106 template - changing for CDMA StateTip, 252 Text, 230 Tiled Rasters, 207 Time Charts, 342 Time Offsets, 177, 179 Time Offsets - setting, 179 Timestamps, 177 Timing Advance and Interference report, 97, 98 Too Many Neighbors Threshold, 179 Traffic Statistics report, 97, 98
U
UDP Traffic Type Analysis, 106 user profile, 18 users, 18
Statistics Explorer, 93
about the, 245 selecting queries/analyses, 247 sorting by column, 247 swapping the data order, 247
V
view - changing for CDMA StateTip, 252
stream, 166 Style Setting, 205 subarray_nth_max, 369 subarray_nth_max_index, 370 subarray_nth_min, 370 subarray_nth_min_index, 370 substreams, 248 sum, 370 summary data - generating, 248 superstreaming PCM Link/Drive Test data, 95 superstreams, 177 supported file formats, 336 Symbol, 230 synchronize events and messages, 237 System Sensitivity report, 98
W
Weak EcIo Pilot Threshold, 179 WOR file, 207 workbook reports, 42, 76, 122, 151 Workbooks, 185
about, 185 generating reports, 185 opening existing, 188 saving, 188 saving queries in, 188 view histogram data, 187 view series data, 186 view statistic data, 187
Workspaces, 165
creating new, 170 opening existing, 170 saving, 170
T
TAB file, 207 TAB files, 216 Tables
view histogram data, 235 view series data, 234 view statistics data, 235
Z
Zoom In (maps), 229 Zoom Out (maps), 229 zooming charts, 191 zooming in maps, 200
Index 387
388 Index

Actix A Solutions User Guide

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'A' Solutions User Guide

Analyzing data with Actix Solutions ......................................................................18

CDMA Event Technical Reference.......................................................................................... 28

Generate CDMA reports..............................................................................................42 Configure Maps ...........................................................................................................44

Create a Network Image ...................................................................................................49 Batch-load CDMA data files ..............................................................................................50