Getting Started: Actix Solutions

Getting Started
Actix Solutions
March 2005
Getting Started: Actix Solutions

March 2005 Edition for Actix Solutions Version 4.3
Copyright Actix Limited 1996-2005.
All rights reserved. All trademarks are hereby acknowledged.
Actix and the Actix logo are the trademarks of Actix Limited. Similar restrictions to
use of our company and product names may apply elsewhere.
The content of this manual is provided for information only, is subject to change
without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Actix. Actix
assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that appear in
this documentation.
SentinelLM is a trademark of SafeNet, Inc.
Licenturion is a registered trademark of Licenturion GmbH. See
www.licenturion.com for details of Licenturion Product Activation.
MapInfo and MapInfo MapX are registered trademarks of MapInfo Corporation.
Actix also uses open-source components from MIT Software. See The MIT
License.txt for details.
This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation
(http://www.apache.org/).
Microsoft, Excel and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
Contents
About this guide......................................................................................................5
1 INTRODUCING ACTIX SOLUTIONS ..........................................7

About Actix Solutions..............................................................................................7
Installing your Actix Solution...................................................................................8
Activating your Actix solution..................................................................................9
Starting your Actix Solution ..................................................................................12
Choosing an Engineering Process .......................................................................13
2 CONFIGURING YOUR SOLUTION ...........................................14

Configuring network information...........................................................................14
Obtain site data in tabular format...................................................................14
Import cell site data for the first time ..............................................................15
Set a network information file.........................................................................20
Modifying event detection threshold values .........................................................21
Configuring data aggregation ...............................................................................22
Message filtering at load time ........................................................................22
Binning methods ............................................................................................22
Configuring map views .........................................................................................24
Set up map backgrounds and layers .............................................................24
Change the Label properties of a map layer..................................................26
Change the Display Properties of a map layer ..............................................28
Show Lines to Cells on a map .......................................................................29
Change the size of cell site sectors ...............................................................30
3 BASIC DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................31

The Analyzer Classic interface .............................................................................31
Managing data ......................................................................................................32
Load data files................................................................................................32
Find and use data in the Attribute Explorer ...................................................33
Delete data files .............................................................................................35
Selecting analysis options ....................................................................................36
Viewing summary data .........................................................................................37
Solution reports ..............................................................................................37
The Message Browser ...................................................................................39
The Protocol Stack Browser ..........................................................................40
CDMA StateTip ..............................................................................................41
CDMA Toolkit .................................................................................................42
Viewing attribute data ...........................................................................................43
View data in a Map.........................................................................................43
Replay the data ..............................................................................................45
View data in a Form .......................................................................................46
View data in a Chart.......................................................................................48
View data in a Table.......................................................................................50
View data in a Workbook ...............................................................................51
About synchronized data windows.................................................................51
Actix Solutions Getting Started
Contents 3
Loading large amounts of data .............................................................................52

About Network Images...................................................................................52
Create a new Network Image (.dat) file .........................................................53
Load data into a Network Image ....................................................................54
View data from a Network Image...................................................................55
Integrating reverse/forward link (uplink/downlink) data ........................................56
Creating and using queries...................................................................................57
Create a filter..................................................................................................57
Filter the data .................................................................................................59
Generating new reports ........................................................................................60
4 A AND ABIS DATA ANALYSIS ...............................................62

Choose A or Abis Scenarios.................................................................................63
The Statistics Explorer..........................................................................................64
Abis Call Analysis...........................................................................................65
Filter the Attribute Explorer from the Statistics Explorer ................................65
Superstream PCM Link/Drive Test data...............................................................66
GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports ..............................................................67
GSM A application packs...............................................................................67
A General Analysis...........................................................................................................67
A Subscriber Analysis ......................................................................................................68
A Handover Analysis ........................................................................................................68
GSM Abis application packs ..........................................................................69
Abis Quick Analysis..........................................................................................................69
Abis Balance and Sensitivity ............................................................................................70
Abis Network Design ........................................................................................................70
Abis Traffic Handovers and Failures ................................................................................71
5 GPRS DATA ANALYSIS ......................................................72

Choose Gb Scenarios ..........................................................................................73
The Protocol Stack Browser .................................................................................74
GPRS pre-configured reports ...............................................................................75
GPRS Gb application packs ..........................................................................75
GPRS Gb Signaling Analysis ...........................................................................................75
GPRS Gb Throughput Analysis........................................................................................76
Examine Gb Load Time Queries ..........................................................................77
Load Time Queries in each Scenario.............................................................78
Analyze GPRS Drive Test data ............................................................................80
Map DT files lacking GPS data ......................................................................80
6 CELL SITE PARAMETERS ....................................................81

CDMA cell site parameters...................................................................................81
GSM / GPRS / EDGE cell site parameters...........................................................82
iDEN cell site parameters .....................................................................................83
IS-136 cell site parameters...................................................................................84
UMTS cell site parameters ...................................................................................85
7 GETTING HELP .................................................................86

Use the online help...............................................................................................86
The context-sensitive attribute reference help...............................................87
Visit the Actix Support web site ............................................................................88
Contact Actix Support...........................................................................................88
8 INDEX .............................................................................89
4 Contents
About this guide

The format of this guide is to show you the solution platform's
basic features. Not every product function is describedjust the
core information, so you can be productive with your solution right
from the start. For detailed information on other areas of the
product, see the online help.
Note that when you see a word appear like this in the text, it
refers to a menu selection, button or hyperlink that you can select
in the applications user interface.
For example:
Tools, Preferences
would indicate the Preferences command available from the
Tools menu.
For a detailed understanding of your solution, you should attend a
full Actix training or workshop session. These can be tailored
exclusively to your individual or corporate requirements.
About this guide 5
6 About this guide
Introducing Actix Solutions
About Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions, a series of tools for post-processing cellular
network data, running under Microsoft Windows on a PC, are
designed to address applications such as:
Network performance optimization
Feature testing
Service validation
Problem diagnosis and analysis
Network bench-marking
Competitive analysis
The platform for Actix Solutions, Analyzer, can load network
performance data from many different sources:
Introducing Actix Solutions 7
These data sources could include field-test equipment and switch

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

This guide assumes you (or your administrator) have already
installed your solution and selected the appropriate license(s).
See the Actix Solutions Installation Guide for details.
You may also want to refer to the Release Notes accompanying
this version of your solution.
To install an Actix Solution
Before installing your Actix Solution, you should install:
- Microsoft Excel 97 or later to be able to use your solution's
workbook/spreadsheet functionality.
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later to be able to use your solution's
advanced map functionality. This can be installed during the Actix installation
and may require the computer to be restarted.
1
Insert the Actix CD in the CD drive of the computer.
Check that the PC to be used meets the current minimum

specification and has sufficient free disk space available
on the destination drive (refer to the release notes on the
Actix CD for this specification).
Select the Install option to start the installation program,

and carry out the on-screen instructions.
If after a few seconds the installation screen does not
open, start Windows Explorer and look in the root directory
of the CD for the file setup.exe. Double-click on
setup.exe to begin the installation.
8 Introducing Actix Solutions
Activating your Actix solution

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

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

have been emailed by Actix).
If you require a dongle, ensure it is plugged in to the PC.
Ensure that the PC has live access to the Internet.
From the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Actix,

Actix Software.
Ensure the top option is selected, and click Next.
Enter the Product ID supplied by your administrator.
The Product ID can be pasted into the four boxes by

copying the complete text (for example, from an email from
Actix or your administrator) and click the Paste button.
Click Next to proceed.

When activation is successful, the dialog below will be
displayed.
Pass the Machine ID number on to your administrator, as it

is a unique reference for each computer which can be
used to restore your activation information should it
become deleted or corrupted.
Starting your Actix Solution

You can start your Actix
Solution from your
Windows Start menu,
either directly from the
Actix Software icon:
or from the Actix, Actix Software menu option:
After a short pause you will see the Actix loading screen:
Choosing an Engineering Process

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

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

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

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

The Network Explorer display consists of two panels. The
left panel contains a tree view of the network element data.
The right panel shows details about relevant parameters
for the current selection.
On the toolbar, select Import, then Import From New

Template to open the Import dialog.
Select the appropriate export data file from your planning
tool and click Open to display the Custom Import Wizard.
Configuring your solution 15
The Import Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is

now displayed:
Give the Template a meaningful Template Name ('UMTS

example' in this example).
Check the appropriate Delimiter that separates the data

from the file into different columns.
For example, under Delimiters, check the Tab box. Under
General Settings, for Ignore header rows enter 1. For
Array (list) Separator enter ;. If your file has more than
one header or uses a different array list separator, set
these options accordingly.
If you choose the wrong delimiter, you will see the effect in
the Data Preview window at the bottom of the dialog.
In most cases, the default information under General

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

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

Sector_ID. Select the parameter name from your site
database that corresponds to the Sector_ID parameter.
You can enter a default value that takes effect if the actual value is unknown.
For example, all Beamwidths could be set to 65 degrees.
Repeat for each of the fields in the Cell node. A description

of each of these parameters and their use is given in the
appropriate technology table in the Cell site parameters
chapter .
10 Click Finish when all the columns have been assigned.

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

selecting View, Display New Map.
17 If cell icons do not appear on the map, right click on the

map and select Zoom, Go to Layer, <tech>_Site to
zoom the map to the appropriate location.
18 Set the cells to be labeled by an appropriate parameter for
the technology (for example, SC for UMTS).
Set a network information file

1
From the Tools menu, select Preferences to open the

Preferences dialog:
Click on File Location to select the text file containing

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

You will now see a message saying that the new file will
take effect with the next workspace created or loaded.
You may now want to close and restart your Actix Solution
for the change to take effect.
Modifying event detection threshold values

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

Message filtering at load time
By default, your Actix Solution filters out statistically unimportant
message information to shorten load times and increase the
number of files that can be loaded at the same time.
To load all messages in the data
1
Within your Actix Solution, from the Tools menu, select

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

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

binned together to produce
one plotted point.
To change the binning method
Within your Actix Solution, from the Tools menu, select

Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.
Under the heading Binning, select the appropriate Binning

Mode. A typical setting for viewing drive test data would be
to select Time binning, with Time (ms) set to 1000.
Click OK to accept the changes.
Configuring map views

Set up map backgrounds and layers
This section shows you how to load MapInfo tabular (.tab) data to
present data analyses on map backdrops.
1
Create a new map by selecting View, Display New Map.
Drag a data attribute from the Attribute Explorer into the

map window.
Click the Layers button to open the Layer Control dialog.

All layers in the map from top to bottom, with
the top layer currently selected
Create, delete
or export layers
Change the properties of

the currently selected layer
Change the order of the

currently selected layer
Making a checkmark in a layer's box controls:

if the layer is visible
if objects on it can be selected
if the layer can be annotated (to 'lock' the
Annotations layer from having any further
annotations added, click on the box again to clear it)
In the Layers box, click Add to open the Open Layer

dialog.
Select one or more MapInfo Map (.tab) files.
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
Layer Type
Y1
RtHwy010_Top
Y2
RtHwy010_Bot
X1
IntShld010
X2
IntShld1040
Pc
Cultural Points
Pn
Natural Points
Pm
Municipal Points
Railroads
Highways
Streets
Wr
Water (rivers)
Wb
Water (bodies of water)
Lm
Landmarks
Cb
City Boundary
Mc
Minor Civic Division
Cy
County
Click Open to show the .tab file in the layer list.
The top of the layer list represents the uppermost layer in

this map window.
Click Up and Down to move 'examplemap' to the bottom

and 'Annotations' to the top.
Click Close and return to the map view.

In a new Actix installation, the map location defaults to 0
longitude, 0 latitude, so you will need to arrange the map
view to display the new map.
Pan the map viewing area by right-clicking in the map

area, then choosing Zoom, Go to Layer and selecting the
new map layer.
10 Use the Zoom and Pan controls to arrange the map as

required. To zoom in to an area, click Zoom In, then click
and drag a rectangle around the area of interest.
Change the Label properties of a map layer
From the map window, click the Layers button to open the
Layer Control dialog.
Select a particular layer.
Click the Labels button to open the Label Properties

dialog:
To use
Do this
Data Field
Select the data field to be displayed as the label.
Formatted Field
Set the formatted field to use as the label

displayed, depending on the layer selected in the
Show
Check the box to show labels on the map (which

are otherwise hidden this is recommended to
improve map load times).
Allow overlapped
text
Check the box to allow labels to overlap.
Hide adjacent
duplicate text
Uncheck the box to allow the same text to appear

for adjacent data points.
Display within
range
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.
Min Zoom
Set the lowest zoom level at which labels will be

displayed.
Max Zoom
Set the highest zoom level at which labels will be

displayed.
Max # of labels
Set the maximum number of labels that can be

shown on the map.
Label Style
Set the font style for the label.
Position
Select the position of the label relative to the data

point.
Label X/Y offset

(points)
Set the offset of the label in the X or Y direction.

The offset is measured in points (as used for
fonts).
Label Style
Defines the appearance of the label text in terms

of color, font, size and other effects.
Change the Display Properties of a map layer

For some detailed layerslike the Street layersyou can control
at what degree of magnification they become visible. This helps to
minimize map clutter.
Select a particular layer.
Click Display to open the Display Properties dialog.
Check Display within Zoom range and enter '0' for Min
Zoom and '10' for Max Zoom.
Show Lines to Cells on a map
Select the appropriate cells layer.
Click Lines to open the Lines Configuration dialog.
Set the Lines draw mode to 'Selection'.
Set Color lines with to the following attribute:

Technology
Attribute
CDMA
PN_1stBestEcIo
GSM
ServBCCH
iDEN
Channel
IS_136
FACCH_CurChannel
UMTS
Uu_ActiveSet_SC
Check that the Disable box is empty, and click OK, then
Yes.
Click OK to close 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 Lines
Configuration dialog,
you would not need to
select a data point
all data points would
have a line to their
neighbor cells. This
can be useful in some
situations.
Change the size of cell site sectors

To display network information on a map window, you must have
your cellrefs network information selected (using Tools,
Preferences) before you can import it. You can use the Network
Explorer to view and edit the cellrefs file.
You may want to change the size of cell site sectors as displayed
on a map. This is especially useful if you are using multiple cell
layers.
From the map window, click on Cell Sites to open the

Sites/Cell Properties dialog.
Set the Series attribute to be <tech>_Cell, for example

CDMA_Cell, or WCDMA_Cell.
Set the Cell Size to an attribute shared by all related cell

sites, such as Layer_type (recommended if available from
your cellrefs file) or MCC, and click OK to display the new
layer in the Legend panel on the left.
Expand the new layer to show one item in the range,

called 'Unspecified'.
Right-click on this item and choose Selected range's

style to open the Style chooser dialog.
Set the new font size as required and click OK. The cell
site sectors will now change size to reflect your selection.
Basic data analysis
The Analyzer Classic interface

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

called the current workspace. You can save and reuse
workspaces as necessary.
You may find it useful to create one or more workspaces to act as templates for
future work sessions. Save these to your desktop, so you can double-click them
to start your solution with your preferred layouts.
Basic data analysis 31
Managing data
Analyzer has several possibly ways that you can load data. A
network data (cellref) file can be loaded directly or imported
through the Network Explorer function. Logfiles containing
collected data from network operations can be loaded directly,
either in a recognized format or imported in ASCII format, or
loaded in a batch through the Network Image mechanism.
Load data files

1
From the main toolbar, click the Open Logfile button to

display the Open dialog.
Select an appropriate file.

Files of Type defaults to 'All Formats' but you can select a
specific file type to look for. This also illustrates the many
file formats available for use with Actix A Solutions.
The Network Image feature (see Loading large amounts of data on page 52) is
more practical than using Open Logfile if you need to analyze many large
logfiles.
32 Basic data analysis
Find and use data in the Attribute Explorer

The Attribute Explorer window is a graphical display of all loaded
data or log files and the data structure contained within each file.
Loaded files are at the highest level, with devices and other data
streams displayed at lower levels.
The name of each type of element is shown below.
The exact
structures and
icons used
depend on the
data file
The logfile name
The data stream name
An attribute
Click on the symbols to open out and explore the data in your
logfile. See how your data relates to the structure shown above.
The only objects that you actually need to recognize are
filenames, data streams and data attributes.
In the example above, the file 'MyFile1' contains a data stream
called 'Qualcomm MDM 1900' (the number is the data stream
number within the file, starting from zero).
The 'CDMA' group contains the 'Pilot Sets' set, which contains the
'SearcherMaxEnergy' data attribute.
The logical tree-view layout of the Attribute Explorer allows you to
drill down and identify all logged data. Once you have located the
appropriate data attribute, you can open it in a data windowfor
example, a map, chart, table or spreadsheetto examine the data
in detail. You can examine data streams using the Message
Browser tool.
Searching for an attribute

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

attribute name.
Stream: Select which stream of data should be searched.

<All Streams> is set by default.
Settings:
o
Whole Word: Check this to search only for

attributes where the search text exactly matches
the whole attribute name. Otherwise, search for
attributes where the search text is contained within
the attribute name.
Case Sensitive: Check this to search only for

attributes where the case of the search string
exactly matches the case of the attribute.
Direction: When down is selected, only search for

attributes further down in the attribute tree from the
currently selected attribute. When up is selected, only
search for attributes further up in the attribute tree from the
currently selected attribute.
Find Next: Based on the current search criteria, find the

next matching attribute. This attribute is highlighted in the
All tab at the bottom of the Attribute Explorer.
Find All: Based on the current search criteria, find all

matching attributes in the tree-view. The matching
attributes are listed in the Search Results tab at the bottom
of the Attribute Explorer.
Done: The search for attribute panel is closed. Search

results remain visible in the Search Results tab.
Delete data files

To remove a data file from the Attribute Explorer
1
Right-click on the name of the logfile to display the Close

Logfile option.
Click Close Logfile.

The data file is now removed from the Attribute Explorer
display.
Selecting analysis options

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

similar way, by right-clicking on an
attribute or event and selecting from the
menu:
Queries have a different set of options:
Viewing summary data

The Attribute Explorer
provides several ways
in which you can
examine summary or
overview information
on your loaded data.
Once you have used
the summary data
views to identify
problem areas, you
can use the attribute
views to examine the
data in detail. For more
information, see the
section Viewing
attribute data on page
43.
Solution reports
Your Actix Solution provides a set of pre-configured reports, each
concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These
application packs distil advanced analysis techniques into simple,
comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by
staff of all levels of experience. Each Actix Solution has a different
set of application packs.
The application packs are listed under the Analysis menuwhich
ones actually appear depend on the type of data file loaded. Note
that if you do not have a loaded data file, the Analysis menu
option will be grayed-out.
To open an application pack
Ensure that you have a data file loaded and that a valid
CellRefs file has been set.
From the Analysis menu, select an application pack (in

this example, 'CDMA Distant Server Analysis').
Once you select an application pack, this window opens:
The top pane shows a tree-view of the network structure

against various statistics produced by the application pack.
3
Use the top pane as necessary to narrow down the data in

your selection.
All reports appropriate to your selection are displayed
under the Suggested tab. If you want to use another
report, look under the All tab to view all reports available
within the current application pack.
A description of the reports contained within each
application pack is also provided in this window.
Double-click on a report icon to open the report window.

This will report on all data selected in the upper tree-view
panel.
As required, use the buttons at the bottom of the window to

Save the report as a web-compatible HTML file set, Print
the report to your printer or open the report in Excel using
Show Excel Report.
To reset thresholds for a new analysis

A number of the application pack reports use Custom Attributes.
To change the thresholds for a new analysis, you need to re-run
these Custom Attributes directly from the Custom Attribute
Manager:
Distance_Input
EcIo_Threshold_Input
You can now re-run the application pack.
The Message Browser

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

listing call events) with a panel of Layer 3 messaging, allowing you
to pinpoint the root causes of problems.
The Protocol Stack Browser

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

and select Protocol Stack Browser.
Now select the required browser view.

Each view displays messaging and information appropriate
to that view. The example shown here is the CDMA
Signaling (Radio Interface) view.
CDMA StateTip
The CDMA StateTip utility provides a synchronized view of
Handset and PN Scanner data, allowing for a detailed evaluation
of neighbor list and pilot pollution problems.
By displaying the state of many different engineering parameters
at a given trouble spot, you can best judge how to make changes
to correct the problem.
The StateTip provides a simple but powerful window (shown on

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

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

display window.
View data in a Map
Use the pop-up menu to display the data attribute

('EcIo_1stBest' in this example) in a map window.
Click on the Pan button.
Click and drag the data around the map window.
Experiment with the Zoom buttons.
In the Attribute Explorer, open up the 'Event Data' set and

drag an event (in this example the 'WeakPilotWarning'
event) onto the map, which should then look similar to this:
Adding events (for example 'CallDropped') to the mapped

data can help you see where problems are occurring.
6
Drag another data attribute onto the map.

You can also change the size, symbol or color of the data,
apply offsets to an attribute or merge attributes for a
multidimensional display. See the online help for further
details.
The map legend defines histogram ranges for charts.
To hide a data series, in the legend pane, click in the

check box beside the series name.
To find out how to add background geographical and network information to

map windows, see the chapter Configuring your solution.
Replay the data

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

one message at a time. Note that several clicks may be required
before any change is visible on the Map, depending on the binning
settings.
Click on the Play buttons to move at a selectable multiple of realtime speed through the data. In this case, some messages may
be dropped as necessary to allow the data to be highlighted at the
set speed. The Select Options button allows you to override this
and force the Replay control to Play All Messages.
View data in a Form

While examining data on a map, you can also view data attributes
for the same data point by using Forms (also called StateForms).
1
From the View menu, select Forms and select an

appropriate StateForm (or, from the Attribute Explorer,
right-click on a stream name, select Display Form and
then the form name).
In a map window, click Select
and select a data point.
The Form window now displays a variety of attributes

based on the data point you selected. Here is an example:
You can synchronize all views in other open data windows

by clicking on the timeline in Navigator-type StateForms
like this.
Other StateForms provide information for the currently

selected point in the drive test:
If you have scanner data in your logfile, start another Form

window.
Right-click on the form and select Open File, then select a

form (.axw) file for a scanner.
Right-click on the form and select Stream Selector, then

the scanner stream.
See the online help for details on how to create your own forms.
View data in a Chart

1
From the Attribute Explorer window, use the pop-up menu

to display a data attribute (in this example, 'EcIo_1stBest')
in a chart window.
You can display more than one attribute on the same

chart.
2
Select a second attribute that would make a useful

comparison (in this example, the attribute 'ForwardFER')
and drag it onto the existing chart.
You can also zoom into selected areas of the chart by

defining a frame for the zoom.
On the chart, click the upper left corner of the zooming

rectangle, and drag down to the lower right extent of the
rectangle.
Release the mouse button to complete the zoom action:
Note that the zoom only operates in the X-axis, not in the
Y-axis.
5
Now return the chart its original state by dragging a box,

but this time up and to the right.
Use the right mouse button to pan and scroll around the
chart window.
Although you can scroll in the X-axis for all attributes on

the chart, you can only pan in the Y-axis for the last
attribute to be displayed on the chart.
View data in a Table

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

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

The data in each of these windows is synchronized, so that when
displaying the same data attribute in a map, chart or table, if you
select a data point in one window, all related map, chart or table
windows also highlight the data point.
Open a map and a chart window, and display an attribute in each.
1
From the map window, click on Select.

Note the other toolbar buttons for selecting data points.
Now click on a data point on the map.

You should see that the relevant parts of the map and the
chart look as shown below, with a line appearing at the
equivalent time on the chart:
Loading large amounts of data

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

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

Image to open the Create Network Image dialog:
Select Network Image template of the appropriate

technology and purpose and click OK.
From the Save As dialog, enter a File name and location

for the Network Image file and click Save.
The Network Image is saved in the specified location with
a .dat file extension, and is displayed in the Attribute
Explorer panel. You may want to share this Network Image
file with colleagues, so ensure that you save the file with a
sensible name in a suitable location.
At this stage, the Network Image does not contain any data, so
the next step is to load it up with data from existing streams in the
workspace or from new logfiles.
Load data into a Network Image

There are several ways to load data into an existing Network
Image. You can load data into a Network Image that already
contains data.
For the resulting Network Image to contain useful data, all data loaded into the
Network Image must use the same binning method and time offset. Data should
be binned at a low resolution (for example, location binning at 200 m
resolution), and avoid message binning as performance will drop significantly.
To load data into a Network Image
1
If the required Network Image is not already shown in the

Attribute Explorer, from the Network Image menu, select
Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate Network
Image .dat file and click Open to display the Network
Image in the Attribute Explorer.
From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the Network

Image and select the appropriate data loading option.
Select one or more
logfiles from a folder
Select stream from

Attribute Explorer
Select a folder and

load all logfiles in
that folder and all
subfolders
Select the required data loading option, and choose which

stream, folder or multiple logfiles to load.
When the data has been processed, you should see a
message window showing the results for each stream or
logfile.
Click OK to close the message window.
View data from a Network Image

Data in a Network Image is not as flexible as data in a normal
Analyzer stream for example, you cannot perform these actions
on the Network Image data:
Apply filters
Create/edit/run new queries
Run custom attributes
Create superstreams
You can use Maps, Charts, Tables and Workbooks to display

Network Image data attributes.
To view data from a Network Image
If the required Network Image is not already shown in the

Attribute Explorer, from the Network Image menu, select
Attach Network Image. Select the appropriate Network
Image .dat file and click Open to display the Network
Image in the Attribute Explorer.
From the Attribute Explorer, open up the structure

underneath your attached Network Image.
Now view the batched Network Image data attributes in the

same way as you would for standard data attributes, using
maps, charts and so on, by right-clicking on the attributes
and selecting options from the pop-up menu.
Integrating reverse/forward link (uplink/downlink) data

The reverse link data from the switch or a protocol analyzer can
be integrated with the drive-test data. This lets you see how
parameters such as EcIo behave at specific mobile locations.
In Actix Solutions, this technique of integrating data files is known
as 'superstreaming'.
1
Ensure that you have loaded the two files that you want to
synchronize into a superstream.
From the View menu, select Superstream to open the

Superstreaming dialog. This dialog shows all currently
available data streams.
Change the superstream name from the default to

something more meaningful.
Check the box of each data stream that you want to

combine to form a superstream. You can also use the All
or None buttons to change the box settings of every listed
data stream.
Click the Settings button. This expands the dialog to show

the Merge Method options.
To superstream data from the reverse link and the forward

link, click the Correlated Parameters option. This lets you
select attributes from each stream that correspond to one
another.
Highlight the uplink data stream.
From the attribute picker button on the right, select a

suitable attribute, for example 'Cell_PN_Primary'.
Highlight the downlink data stream.
10 From the attribute picker, select for example 'PN_Primary'.

11 Click OK.
The superstream is now generated and appears in the Attribute
Explorer. You can view data from the superstream in any of the
standard data display windows.
Creating and using queries

Actix Solutions provide a querying interface that lets you construct
simple or complex expressions. These expressions extract
meaningful performance data, based on user-defined thresholds
or the value of other expressions.
As an example, you can create a query that returns statistics for a
particular eventsuch as a dropped callfor a given window in
time around that event. This is useful when looking for data
trends.
Queries are created and edited from the Tools menu, Analysis
Manager option. You can create these query types:
Filter queries
Binned queries
Histogram queries
Statistical queries
Crosstab queries
Event queries
You can also:
Perform logical and arithmetic operators
Save queries to a default Workspace
Apply filters to queries
Create a filter
This example query is designed to filter for poor quality in the
data.
1
From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on a data stream

and select Filter, then Create a New Filter.
The Filter Wizard opens.
Enter 'Poor Quality' as the name of the filter.
Click on the right-arrow of the attribute picker and select ,

for example, CDMA > DownLink Measurements >
ForwardFER.
Set the filter operation to 'Greater than (>)'.
Set the threshold to '5'.
Click OK to close the Wizard.
Filter the data

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

Poor Mobile Receive Power
CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] < -95 dBm
High Mobile Transmit Power
UeTransmittedPower > 0 dBm
Low Mobile Transmit Power
UeTransmittedPower < -30 dBm
High Mobile Receive Power
CPICH_RSCP_in_ActiveSet[0] > -80 dBm
Poor Ec/No
CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] < -15 dB
High Ec/No
CPICH_EcNo_in_ActiveSet[0] > -8 dB
Generating new reports

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

There are three main ways you can use your Actix Solution for
PCM Link data analysis:
Using Actix Scenarios
Using user-defined analyses
Developing user-defined analyses
The first usage model is explained below. For information on
developing and using your own analyses for PCM Link data, see
the online help.
This is the standard method for PCM Link analysis, and follows
this general pattern:
62 A and Abis data analysis
Start your Actix Solution. Do not load a logfile yet.
Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios. For details,

see the section Choose A or Abis Scenarios on page 63.
Load the logfile to be examined. The default Load Mode is

'Minimal Load', which avoids loading unnecessary data
from the logfile and reduces the load time.
Select an application pack, narrow the data selection and

display the results in a report.
Use the tools available in your Actix Solution to identify

problem areas in the logfile. These tools are described in
the chapter Basic data analysis and the online help.
Choose A or Abis Scenarios

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

the Attach Load Time Queries dialog.
Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.
A and Abis data analysis 63
The Statistics Explorer

The Statistics Explorer is a powerful data-manipulation tool that
lets you rapidly pinpoint problems by displaying statistical data
from Crosstab and Event queries. For other features of the
Statistics Explorer, see the online help.
To use the Statistics Explorer
1

Select 'Abis Call Analysis'.
Open the Abis file.
From the View menu, select Statistics Explorer.
From the Queries pane on the left of the Statistics

Explorer, select Analyze Connection Errors or Analyze
Handover Failures. Note that queries beginning with
'Analyze' can be used for call analysis.
The processed data is now displayed in the Statistics
Explorer.
Abis Call Analysis

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

maps, charts, tables etc.
Filter the Attribute Explorer from the Statistics Explorer

Once you have displayed the data for an Abis file within the
Statistics Explorer, you can reduce the quantity of data displayed
in the Attribute Explorer.
1
In the Statistics Explorer, select a row of data.
Click Filter.
The Attribute Explorer now only shows data relating to the
row selected in the Statistics Explorer.
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

Select 'Abis Call Analysis'.
Open the PC Link file and the drive test file to be

superstreamed.
From the Tools menu, select Superstream PCMLink/DT

to open the PCM-Link/Drive Test Superstreaming dialog.
Select the appropriate Drive Test stream(s) and PCMLink stream(s).
Select the appropriate Search Method settings for

synchronizing the data streams.
Click OK to begin the superstreaming process.

When the process is complete, the superstream is
displayed in the Attribute Explorer, and the normal data
displays (maps, charts, tables, analysis reports) may be
used to examine the data.
GSM A and Abis pre-configured reports

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

An A interface log file carries data for an entire BSC, so is useful
for certain statistical analyses. Its scope is broader than Drive Test
or Abis data, containing more detail than can be found in the
OMC.
A General Analysis
By default, the General Analysis Application Pack is loaded when
you open an A interface logfile. Launched from the Analysis
menu, General Analysis contains a variety of statistical reports
that evaluate how the network is being used. Each report can be
run against the entire file, a single cell or a selection of cells.
Location Update
Count, percentage and breakdown of Location Update
messages, types and reject causes.
Clear Cause
Cause Code count and percentage for Clear Command
messages. Useful when trying to identify the cause of
dropped calls.
Services Requested
Count, percentage and breakdown.
Channel Assignment
Assignment message count and percentage, Assignment
Failure breakdown.
Channel Assignment by Cell
Assignment message count and percentage for each cell.
Connection Analysis
Count and percentage of SCCP Connection messages.
Breakdowns of SCCP Services Requested and CSSP
Connection Refused Causes.
Connection Analysis by Cell

Connection statistics for each cell.
A Subscriber Analysis
Subscriber Analysis takes advantage of useful information
encoded in the IMSI and EIMI code. This information is
automatically extracted and new attributes are created in the
Attribute Explorer tree when the file is opened with Full Load. For
example, from the IMEI handset details such as the TAC (Type
Approval Code) can be obtained. The IMSI contains the
subscribers MCC and NCC (Country and Network codes).
For maximum performance, log files can be opened in Minimum
Load with specific queries enabled to collect this information.
Before loading the log file, select Tools, Choose Scenario and
select Subscriber Analysis. This enables queries and reports in
the Subscriber Analysis application pack.
Handset Types
Breakdown of mobile handsets based on Type Approval
Code.
Channel Type
Speech and Data channel type counts and percentages.
Classmark
Classmark count, phase and graph.
Roaming by Country
Lists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers
from each country in a table and graph.
Roaming by Network
Lists the count and proportion of Roaming Subscribers
from each network in a table and graph.
A Handover Analysis
This application pack provides statistical analysis of both Intra and
Inter BSC handovers. It is useful for identifying handover problems
as well as analysis of LAC boundaries.
Handover Cause
HO Performed and HO Required-Attempt cause counts,
percentages and graph.
Handover Reject and Fail Cause
Counts, percentages and graph for HO Request Reject
and Failure.
BSS Handover Cause by Cell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Before reading this chapter, read the chapter on Analyzing GSM Data to gain
familiarity with the Analyzer interface and its tools.
There are three main ways you can use Gb Link data analysis:
Developing user-defined analyses (see the online help)
The first two ways are explained below:
This is the standard method for Gb Link analysis, and follows this
general pattern:
72 GPRS data analysis
Choose one or more pre-generated Scenarios. For details,

see the section Choose Gb Scenarios on page 73.

Select an application pack, narrow the data selection and

display the results in a report.
Use the tools in your Actix Solution to identify problem

areas in the logfile. These tools are described in the
chapter Basic data analysis and in the online help.

These are non-standard analysis methods produced by advanced
users for co-workers.
1
Import the appropriate Load Time Queries from the

Analysis Manager.

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

this dialog:
Select one or more appropriate Scenarios and click OK.

GPRS data analysis 73
The Protocol Stack Browser

The Protocol Stack Browser allows you to examine Gb messaging
by protocol.
To start the Protocol Stack Browser
1
From the Tools menu, select Preferences and ensure

that, under PCM Link, Load Mode is set to 'Full'.
From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the stream name

and select Display Protocol Stack Browser.
The Protocol Stack Browser window opens:
The upper panel shows a formatted breakdown of every

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

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

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

If you have selected one or more Scenarios, the related Load
Time Queries are displayed in the Attribute Explorer.
To display a Load Time Query in the Statistics Explorer
From the Attribute Explorer, right-click on the appropriate

Load Time Query to open the pop-up menu.
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 Signalling Analysis
This Scenario's Load Time Queries are those used in the
application pack of the same name.
Gb Throughput Analysis
The 'Traffic Type' Load Time Queries are those used in the Gb
Throughput Analysis application pack, but there are also eight
other Load Time Queries containing useful information that can be
displayed in the Statistics Explorer.
Gb TCP Session Analysis
Gb Handset Analysis
These last two Scenarios each contain one query. Display one of
these queries in the Statistics Explorer, highlight an interesting
row and click the Analyze button.
In the example below, Gb Handset Analysis has been displayed in
the Statistics Explorer. The user has identified a high number of
PDP Activation Failures for a particular mobile, and so clicks
Analyze.
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 below in the box are described in the
online help under GPRS Drive Test Analysis.
Map DT files lacking GPS data

Some GPRS Drive Test files do not contain GPS data. If you want
to display data on a map, you will need to:
1
Create your own GPS data file using your logging tool.
Use the Text Import Wizard (File, Import Text File) to

import the log file. The coordinate format defaults to
'WGS84' but you can select any suitable format.
Superstream the imported file with the GPRS Drive Test

file (as described in the section Superstream PCM
Link/Drive Test data in the chapter A and Abis data
analysis).
You can now plot the superstreamed data attributes on a
map.
Cell site parameters
CDMA cell site parameters

Parameter
Actix Workspace Name
Purpose
Site Name
CDMA_Site SiteName
Text description of the Site for display on map.
Site Number
CDMA_Site SiteID
Numeric identifier for the Site.
Latitude
CDMA_Site SiteLatitude
Locates Site icons on the map.
Longitude
CDMA_Site SiteLongitude
Locates Site icons on the map.
Sector Number
CDMA_Cell Sector ID Can

1,2,3 etc. or a combination
of site numbers
Sector-specific information useful for display on

maps.
Azimuth
CDMA_Cell Azimuth
Orients the sector icons on the map.
Beamwidth
CDMA_Cell Beamwidth
Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' on the map

to reflect the beamwidth of the antenna deployed at
the site.
Base Station
Power
CDMA_Cell EIRP
Base station power, used in CDMA Toolkit

calculations.
PN Offset
CDMA_Cell PN
Used in CDMA Toolkit calculations, lines to

neighbor cells and to color sectors/sites on maps to
reflect PN planning.
MCC
CDMA_Cell MCC
Mobile Country Code
SID
CDMA_Cell SID
System Identity
NID
CDMA_Cell NID
Network Identity
BID
CDMA_Cell BID
Broadcast Identity
Layer type
Layer_type
Text that specifies which cell layer (for example, by

technology, band, purpose or status) that the site
belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.
Cell site parameters 81
GSM / GPRS / EDGE cell site parameters

Parameter
Workspace Name
Purpose
Site Name
GSM_Site_SiteName
Site Number
GSM_Site ID
Numeric identifier for the Site. Used as the linking

column to associate the GSM_Site and GSM_Cell
rows.
Latitude
GSM_Site Latitude
Locates Site icons on map.
Longitude
GSM_Site Longitude
Sector Number
GSM_Cell Sector ID
Can be 1,2,3, etc, or a
combination of site
numbers
Sector-specific ID information useful for display on

maps.
Azimuth
GSM_Cell Azimuth
Beamwidth
GSM_Cell Beamwith
Governs the radius of the sector 'wedge' icon to

reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at the
sector.
Base Station
Power
GSM_Cell EIRP
Base station power
BCCH
GSM_Cell BCCH
Broadcast control channel.
MNC
GSM_Cell MNC
Mobile Network Code
MCC
GSM_Cell MCC
Mobile Colour Code
LAC
GSM_Cell LAC
Location Area Code
CI
GSM_Cell CI
Cell ID value
BSIC
GSM_Cell BSIC
Base Station Identity Code, comprising of a

concatenation of the NCC and BCC values.
Layer type
Layer_type

82 Cell site parameters
iDEN cell site parameters

Parameter
Workspace Name
Purpose
Site Name
IDEN_Site_SiteName
Site Number
IDEN_SiteID
Latitude
IDEN_SiteLatitude
Longitude
IDEN_SiteLongitude
Sector Number
IDEN_Cell Sector ID Can

use 1,2,3, etc, or a
combination of site
numbers

maps.
Azimuth
IDEN_Cell Azimuth
Beamwidth
IDEN_Cell Beamwidth
Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon to

site.
Base Station
Power
IDEN_Cell EIRP
Base station power
CCCH
IDEN_Cell CCCH
Common control channel. Can be used to color the

sector wedges.
Color Codes
IDEN_Cell Color_Codes
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.
DCCH
IDEN_Cell DCCH
Digital Control Channel
DVCC
IDEN_Cell DVCC
Digital Voice Color Code
TCH_List
IDEN_Cell TCH_List
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.
MCC
IDEN_Cell MCC
Mobile Country Code
CI
IDEN_Cell CI
Cell Identity
Layer type
Layer_type

IS-136 cell site parameters

Parameter
Workspace Name
Purpose
Site Name
IS-54/IS-136_Site_SiteName
Site Number
IS-54/IS-136_SiteID
Latitude
IS-54/IS-136_SiteLatitude
Longitude
IS-54/IS-136_SiteLongitude
Sector Number
IS-54/IS-136_Cell Sector ID
Can 1,2,3, etc, or a combination
of site numbers

maps.
Azimuth
IS-54/IS-136_Cell Azimuth
Beamwidth
IS-54/IS-136_Cell Beamwith
Governs the shape of the sector 'wedge' icon to

reflect the beamwidth of antenna deployed at
the site.
Base Station
Power
IS-54/IS-136_Cell EIRP
Base station power
ACCH
IS-54/IS-136_Cell ACCH
Analog control channel.
Color Codes
IS-54/IS-136_Cell Color_Codes
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.
DCC
IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCC
Digital Color Code used to determine lines to

serving cells for Analog servers in idle mode.
DCCH
IS-54/IS-136_Cell DCCH
Digital Control Channel
DVCC
IS-54/IS-136_Cell DVCC
Digital Voice Color Code
Traffic_Channels
IS-54/IS-136_Cell
Traffic_Channels
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.
MCC
IS-54/IS-136_Cell MCC
Mobile Country Code
SID
IS-54/IS-136_Cell SID
System Identity
Layer type
Layer_type
Text that specifies which cell layer (for example,

by technology, band, purpose or status) that the
site belongs to. Used for multiple cell layers.
84 Cell site parameters
UMTS cell site parameters

The parameters listed in bold in this table are required for cell
data to function interactively with logged data in the main
workspace. The remaining parameters are optional.
Parameter
Workspace Name
Purpose
Site Name
SiteName
Site Number
SiteID
Numeric identifier for the site.
Latitude
Latitude
Locates site icons on map.
Longitude
Longitude
Locates site icons on map.
Sector Number
Sector_ID

maps (can be alpha or numeric)
Azimuth
Azimuth
Beamwidth
Beamwidth
Governs the shape of the sector wedge icon to

site.
EIRP
EIRP
Equivalent Isotropic Radiated Power for

informational purposes only
SC
SC
Used for cell site identification and to calculate

lines to cells
MCC
MCC
Mobile Country Code for informational purposes

only
MNC
MNC
National Domain Code for informational purposes

only
LAC
LAC
Location Area Code for informational purposes only
CI
CI
Cell Identity for informational purposes only
Neighbor List
WCDMANeighborList
Used to define a pre-defined neighbor list for each

cell. Used during neighbor list recommendations
analysis.
Layer Type
LayerType
Configurable text field that specifies which cell layer

(for example, by technology, band or status) the site
Getting help
To get a complete overview of the product, you should refer to the
online help, which also contains systematic instructions for various
tasks and reference help for immediate assistance.
Use the online help

You can start the online help from the Help menu, by selecting the
Contents option.
The following features of the online help will assist you in finding
an answer to your problem.
The Contents tab displays the help topics in

an ordered, collapsible view.
Double-click on a desired topic to view it.
The Index tab lets you find any index entries

that match a word or part of the word you are
looking for. As you type, the list of matching
topics changes.
Select the desired topic and click Display to
view it.
86 Getting help
The Search tab lets you type in the word or

words to search for, and then click List
Topics. All matching topics are then listed.
Select the desired topic and click Display to
view it.
If you need to refer to a help topic often, you

may want to add it to your 'favorites' list.
Click on the Favorites tab, and click Add to
add the displayed topic to the list.
Select a topic from the list and click Display
to view it.
The context-sensitive attribute reference help

From the Help menu, select Show Context Help. As you select
an attribute in the Workspace Explorer, related extra information is
displayed in the help window.
As Actix is committed to provide rapid support for new file formats, this
reference help may not be up to date. If there are particular attributes you would
like to see in the help but are not currently documented, please email technical
support at: support@actix.com.
Getting help 87
Visit the Actix Support web site

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

1
First, read the Release Notes provided on the CD or on the

support web site to see if this is a known issue.
If the problem appears unreported, make a note of the

problem and the steps you took that led to the problem
occurring. Then, from the Help menu, select About Actix
Software, and note the release version.
Please have ready your version number, any screenshots

of error messages, and any small sample files (zipped if
they are very large) where the problem occurs.
Email Actix Support at support@actiix.com to log the

problem and ask for a known solution or workaround. We
welcome any suggestions for improvement concerning the
software or related documentation.
Actix is committed to providing excellent technical support for its

entire product range. To achieve this we have dedicated Technical
Support telephone numbers and a specific area on our worldwide
web site to enable 24-hour support.
UK Direct
+44 (0) 208 735 6303
09:00 17:00 GMT
US Direct
+1 877 722 2849
+1 877 72 ACTIX US toll free
+1 703 707 4779
09:00 17:00 Eastern Time (GMT -05:00)
Asia Pacific
+65 332 2313
09:00 17:00
(GMT +08:00)
Outside of hours: Please leave your contact details and a brief

description of the nature of the call.
88 Getting help
Index
distance binning, 23
A
A and Abis Scenarios, 63
Abis Call Analysis, 65
About Actix, 88
activating Actix Solutions, 9
Analysis Manager, 57
Annotations, 25
applications, 7
Attach Network Image, 54, 55
attribute help, 87
attributes, 33
right-clicking on, 43
searching for, 34
B
Batch Load Files, 54
Binned queries, 57
binning methods, 22
BSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 69
BSS Handover Matrix report, 69
C
Call Analysis, 65
CDMA StateTip, 41
CDMA Toolkit, 42
Cell Update Table report, 76
cellrefs, 14
Channel Assignment by Cell report, 67
Channel Assignment report, 67
Channel Configuration report, 71
Channel Type report, 68
Classmark report, 68
Clear Cause report, 67
Connection Analysis by Cell report, 68
Connection Analysis report, 67
Connection Failure report, 70, 71
Contents tab, online help, 86
context help, 87
coverage analysis, 42
Create a New Filter, 57
Create Network Image, 53
Crosstab queries, 57
E
engineering process, 13
Error Indication Cause report, 71
Excel templates, 60
F
Favorites tab, online help, 87
Favorites tab, Workspace Explorer, 31
filenames, 33
Filter queries, 57
filter the Workspace Explorer, 65
Find Attribute, 34
Flow Control Statistics report, 76
Flush Statistics report, 76
Forms feature, 46
G
Gb Load Time Queries, 77
Gb Scenarios, 73, 78
generating reports, 60
geographical data, 24
GSM A Application Packs, 67
GSM Abis Application Packs, 67
H
Handover Cause report, 68
Handover Fail Cause report, 71
Handover Messages by Cell report, 69
Handover Reject and Fail Cause report, 68
Handover Statistics report, 69, 71
Handovers by Target report, 71
Handset Performance report, 71
Handset Types report, 68
help, context, 87
Histogram queries, 57
I
Index tab, online help, 86
installing Actix Solutions, 8
integrating data files, 56
data attributes, 33
data streams, 33
Discarded LLC-PDU Statistics report, 76
Display Message Browser, 39
Display on Table, 50
Display on Workbook, 51
Layer 3 messaging, 39
Layer Control dialog, 24
Level and Interference report, 71
lines to cells, 29
Link Balance report
by DL Level, 70
Index 89
by Timeslot, 70
Distribution, 70
UL vs DL, 70
Load Time Queries, 77
location binning, 23
Location Update report, 67
M
MapInfo data types, 25
message binning, 23
Message Browser, 33, 39
message filtering, 22
Microsoft Excel reports, 60
MM Attach report, 75
MM Detach report, 75
MM Error Conditions report, 75
MM RA Update report, 75
Msg Breakdown report, 75
multi-carrier statistical analysis, 42
multidimensional display, 44
N
Neighbor List analysis, 42
Network Explorer, 14, 30
O
online help, using the, 86
Open Logfile, 32
Open Workbook, 60
S
Scenarios, 63, 73
Search tab, online help, 87
Search Window analysis, 42
searching for attributes, 34
Services Requested report, 67
setting the binning method, 23
SM Error Conditions report, 76
SM PDP Context Deactivation report, 76
SM PDP Context report, 76
SSS Handover Cause by Cell report, 69
SSS Handover Matrix report, 69
starting Actix Software, 12
StateTip, 41
Statistical queries, 57
Statistics Explorer, 64
viewing Gb Load Time Queries, 77
streams, 33
superstreaming, 23, 56
synchronized data, 51
System Sensitivity report, 70
T
tables, using, 50
TCP Traffic Type Analysis report, 76
Technical Support
telephone contact details, 88
time-based binning, 22
Timing Advance and Interference report, 69, 71
Toolkit, 42
Traffic Statistics report, 69, 71
panning chart windows, 50

panning map windows, 43
Poor Quality Contributors report, 71
Preferences dialog, 20, 22, 23
Product ID, 9
Protocol Stack Browser, 40
viewing data in charts, 48

viewing data in maps, 43
Quality Distribution report, 69, 70
R
Replay feature, 45
reports, 60
CDMA Toolkit, 42
reverse and forward link data integration, 56
right-clicking on attributes, 43
Roaming by Country report, 68
Roaming by Network report, 68
90 Index
UDP Traffic Type Analysis report, 76

UMTS cell site parameters, 85
UMTS filters, 59
W
WCDMA cell site parameters, 85
workbook reports, 60
workbooks, using, 51
workspace, 31
Z
zooming chart windows, 49
zooming map windows, 43

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Getting Started

Getting Started: Actix Solutions

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

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

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

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Loading large amounts of data .............................................................................52

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

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

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

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

Actix Solutions Getting Started

About this guide

Actix Solutions Getting Started

About this guide 5

6 About this guide

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Introducing Actix Solutions

About Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Introducing Actix Solutions 7

These data sources could include field-test equipment and switch

Installing your Actix Solution

Insert the Actix CD in the CD drive of the computer.

Check that the PC to be used meets the current minimum

Select the Install option to start the installation program,

8 Introducing Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Activating your Actix solution

Actix Solutions are supplied using Activated license enforcement,

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Obtain the Product ID from your administrator (which will

If you require a dongle, ensure it is plugged in to the PC.

Ensure that the PC has live access to the Internet.

Introducing Actix Solutions 9

From the Windows Start menu, select Programs, Actix,

Ensure the top option is selected, and click Next.

Enter the Product ID supplied by your administrator.

The Product ID can be pasted into the four boxes by

10 Introducing Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Click Next to proceed.

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Pass the Machine ID number on to your administrator, as it

Introducing Actix Solutions 11

Starting your Actix Solution

or from the Actix, Actix Software menu option:

12 Introducing Actix Solutions

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Choosing an Engineering Process

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Introducing Actix Solutions 13

Configuring your solution

Configuring network information

Obtain site data in tabular format

14 Configuring your solution

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Import cell site data for the first time

From the Cells menu, select Network Explorer.

On the toolbar, select Import, then Import From New

Actix Solutions Getting Started

Configuring your solution 15

The Import Settings page of the Custom Import Wizard is