BSC6910 Access Faults

BSC6910 GSM Product Documentation
Product Version: V100R015C00

Library Version: 07
Date: 03/28/2014
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Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2014. All rights reserved.
Access Faults
Contents
1 Access Faults
1.1 Access Principles
1.2 Locating Access Faults
1.2.1 Procedure for Locating Access Faults
1.2.2 Common Causes for Access Faults
1.3 Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor Um Interface Quality
1.4 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Caused by SDCCH Congestion
1.5 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults
1.6 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Due to Location Updates of Problem MSs
1.7 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to TCH Congestion
1.8 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults
1.9 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Inappropriate BSC Configuration
1 Access Faults
This chapter describes how to locate and troubleshoot access faults.
 Access Principles
Access performance reflects how much difficulty MSs have in accessing the network. Poor
access performance may degrade subscriber satisfaction.
 Locating Access Faults

This section describes how to locate access faults.
 Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor Um Interface Quality

This section describes how to troubleshoot access faults due to poor Um interface quality.
 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Caused by SDCCH Congestion

This section describes how to troubleshoot low immediate assignment success rates caused by
standalone dedicated control channel (SDCCH) congestion.
 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults
This section describes how to troubleshoot low immediate assignment success rates due to
hardware or transmission faults.
 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Due to Location Updates of Problem MSs
location updates of problem MSs.
 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to TCH Congestion

This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to traffic channel
(TCH) congestion.
 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults

This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to hardware or
transmission faults.
 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Inappropriate BSC Configuration

This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to inappropriate
BSC configuration.
Parent topic: GBSS Troubleshooting Guide (BSC6910-Based)

1.1 Access Principles
Access performance reflects how much difficulty MSs have in accessing the network. Poor
access performance may degrade subscriber satisfaction.
Access Faults
 In GSM networks, access faults occur during immediate assignment and assignment. Access
performance is a key counter in reflecting customer experience in the GSM network. If the
access performance is poor, MSs have difficulty in accessing the network, which could
negatively affect subscriber satisfaction. The network access performance improves with the
immediate assignment success rate or assignment success rate.
 specifies the percentage of MSs successfully
RA303G:Success Rate of Immediate Assignments
accessing signaling channels. Immediate assignment starts when an MS sends a channel
request message and ends when the MS successfully sets up a channel.
 specifies the percentage of MSs successfully initiating calls on
RCA313:Assignment Success Rate
assigned TCHs. Assignment starts when the time a BSC receives an assignment request
message and ends when the BSC receives an assignment completion message.
Access Procedure and Measurement Points

Figure 1 shows the access procedure and measurement points.
Figure 1 Access procedure and measurement points
Table 1 Measurement point
Measurement Point Description
A1 K3100:Immediate Assignment Requests
A2 K3101:Immediate Assignment Commands
A3 CA303J:Call Setup Indications (Circuit Service)
A4 CA310:Assignment Requests
A5 CA313:Successful Assignments
Parent topic: Access Faults
1.2 Locating Access Faults

This section describes how to locate access faults.
 Procedure for Locating Access Faults

Before locating access faults, determine whether they occur during immediate assignment or
assignment.
 Common Causes for Access Faults

This section describes common causes for low immediate assignment success rates and low
assignment success rates.
1.2.1 Procedure for Locating Access Faults

Before locating access faults, determine whether they occur during immediate assignment or
assignment.
Possible Causes
 The following are the methods for analyzing possible causes of low immediate assignment
rates.
 Determine the possible causes of low immediate assignment rates based on the signaling
procedure, as described in Table 1.
Table 1 Possible causes of low immediate assignment rates
Phase Symptom Possible Cause
SDCCH assignment After receiving random access SDCCH congestion and

requests from MSs, the BSC equipment faults
sends an immediate assignment
rejection message because no
standalone dedicated control
channel (SDCCH) is available.
Channel activation The BSC sends the Channel Act Equipment faults
message to the BTS, and the BTS
responds with the Channel Act
Nack message.
The BSC sends the Channel Act Equipment and transmission

message to the BTS, but the BTS faults
does not respond.
Table 1 Possible causes of low immediate assignment rates
Phase Symptom Possible Cause
Immediate assignment delivery After channels are activated Um interface faults and MS faults
successfully, the BSC sends
immediate assignment messages,
but the MSs do not access the
assigned channels. As a result,
the BSC does not receive any
EST IND messages.
 Use a defined formula to calculate immediate assignment success rates, and determine the
possible causes of low immediate assignment success rates according to the calculation
results. Table 2 lists the mapping relationship between user-defined formulas and possible
causes.
Table 2 User-defined formulas for calculating immediate assignment success rates
Formula Possible Cause
Um Interface Channel SDCCH MS Fault

Fault Activation Congestion
Failure
(Equipment and
Transmission
Faults)
Immediate assignment √ √ √ √
success rate =
[CA303J:Call Setup
Indications (Circuit
Service)/K3100:Immediate
Assignment Requests] x
100%
Immediate assignment - √ √ -
success rate =
{CA303J:Call Setup
Service)/[K3100:Immediate
Assignment Requests -
(K3101:Immediate
Assignment Commands -
CA303J:Call Setup
Service))]} x 100%
Table 2 User-defined formulas for calculating immediate assignment success rates
Formula Possible Cause
Um Interface Channel SDCCH MS Fault

Fault Activation Congestion
Failure
(Equipment and
Transmission
Faults)
Immediate assignment √ - - √
success rate =
[CA303J:Call Setup
Service)/K3101:Immediate
Assignment Commands] x
100%
 Possible causes of low assignment success rates

Table 3 lists the possible causes of low assignment success rates.
Table 3 Possible causes of low assignment success rates
Counter Possible Cause
CA312:Failed Assignments (Channel Unavailable) TCH congestion
A3169A:Failed Assignments (Um Cause) Um interface faults

A3129B:Failed Assignments (First Assignment, Hardware faults, transmission faults, and incorrect
Terrestrial Resource Request Failed) BSC configuration
A3129E:Failed Assignments (CIC Unavailable) BSC faults and MSC faults
A3129F:Failed Assignments (CIC Allocated) BSC faults and MSC faults

A3129H:Failed Assignments (Clear Commands Sent By Normal release and misoperations of peer end users
MSC)
Location Procedure
Check whether immediate assignment success rates or assignment success rates are low
according to counters related to assignment and immediate assignment.
 If immediate assignment success rates are low, locate the problem by referring to Figure 1.
 If assignment success rates are low, locate the problem by referring to Figure 2.
Figure 1 Procedure for locating low immediate assignment success rates
Figure 2 Procedure for locating low assignment success rates
NOTE:
Collect the fault location information by referring to Table 4 before contacting Huawei for technical support.
Table 4 Access fault location information
No. Item Description Remarks
1 Symptom Provide the start time and end time of the problem, specific None
symptom, and impact range (whether the problem occurs in a
cell, a BTS, a BSC, or all BSCs under an MSC).
2 Operations Provide the operations before and after the problem occurs, None
before and such as board replacement, software upgrade, clock source
after the change, dynamic data configuration, BTS reset, BSC reset,
problem MSC swapping, and MSC data modification.
occurs
3 Faulty NE Obtain the BSC and BTS software versions that are used when For details about
version the problem occurs. how to obtain
the BSC and
BTS software
versions that are
used when the
problem occurs,
see Appendix:
How to Collect
Fault Information.
4 Configuration Obtain the configuration data script used when the problem For details about
data script occurs. how to obtain
the configuration
data script, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
5 Historical Obtain the historical alarms generated within three days before For details about
alarms and after the problem occurs. how to obtain
the historical
alarms, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
6 Original Obtain the original traffic statistics measured within two days For details about
traffic before and after the problem occurs. how to obtain
statistics the original
traffic statistics,
see Appendix:
How to Collect
Fault Information.
7 GCHR and Obtain the GCHR and GCSR logs generated within two hours For details about
GCSR logs before and after the problem occurs, including the logs how to obtain
generated for all subracks. the GCHR and
GCSR logs, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
8 Common Obtain the common debugging logs generated within two days For details about
debugging before and after the problem occurs. how to obtain
logs the common
debugging logs,
see Appendix:
How to Collect
Fault Information.
9 Operation Obtain the operation logs generated within 10 days before and For details about
logs after the problem occurs. how to obtain
the operation
logs, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
10 Faulty Obtain the signaling on the Abis and A interfaces and single- For details about
signaling user signaling of one or two faulty cells when the problem how to obtain
occurs. the faulty
signaling, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
11 BTS logs Obtain all logs generated for one or two faulty BTSs. For details about
how to obtain
BTS logs, see
Appendix: How to
Collect Fault
Information.
Parent topic: Locating Access Faults
1.2.2 Common Causes for Access Faults

This section describes common causes for low immediate assignment success rates and low
Common Causes for Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates

Figure 1 shows common causes for low immediate assignment success rates.
Figure 1 Common causes for low immediate assignment success rates
 Um interface faults
 The BTS may mistakenly process interference on the Um interface as pseudo-random
access signals. This may lead to immediate assignment failures and standalone dedicated
control channel (SDCCH) congestion.
 In a cell configured with multiple TRXs, the combination loss of broadcast control channel
(BCCH) TRXs is different from that of non-BCCH TRXs. Therefore, their coverage areas
are also different. If an SDCCH is configured on a non-BCCH TRX, a call far away from
the serving cell may fail to access the SDCCH when the call is assigned to the non-BCCH
TRX. This leads to a call drop on the SDCCH.
 For details about how to troubleshoot this problem, see Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to
Poor Um Interface Quality.
 SDCCH congestion
 A sharp increase in the traffic volume or incorrect data configuration may lead to SDCCH
congestion, decreasing immediate assignment success rates.
 For details about how to troubleshoot this problem, see Troubleshooting Low Immediate
Assignment Success Rates Caused by SDCCH Congestion.
 TRX and transmission faults

 Hardware faults can generally lead to the return of CHAN ACTIV NACK messages. In a
cell configured with multiple TRXs, SDCCH congestion occurs if a faulty TRX is out of
service.
 Transmission faults generally lead to channel activation timeout or SDCCH congestion.
 For details about how to troubleshoot this problem, see Troubleshooting Low Immediate
Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults.
 MS faults
 Immediate assignment success rates are low in some cells because certain problem MSs
perform location updates or initiate calls in these cells. After sending channel requests for
location updates, the problem MSs fail to set up links on SDCCHs, leading to low
immediate assignment success rates on SDCCHs.
 Low immediate assignment success rates because of location updates of problem MSs are
caused by MS faults and cannot be resolved on the BSS side. No layer 3 information is
available due to location update failures and therefore the faulty MS cannot be determined.
 For details about how to locate this problem, see Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment
Success Rates Due to Location Updates of Problem MSs.
Common Causes of Low Assignment Success Rates

Figure 2 shows common causes for low assignment success rates.
Figure 2 Common causes of low assignment success rates
 Um interface faults
 If there is inter-network interference and repeater interference or severe intra-network
interference occurs because of insufficient frequencies and tight frequency reuse, MSs may
fail to parse information about the assigned traffic channel (TCH) properly. As a result,
they fail to occupy the TCH, leading to low assignment success rates.
 If the signal level is low due to poor coverage, MSs may fail to parse the assigned TCH
properly. As a result, they fail to occupy the TCH, leading to low assignment success rates.
 For details about how to troubleshoot this problem, see Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to
Poor Um Interface Quality.
 TCH congestion
 When TCHs are congested and become unavailable, new access requests are rejected,
leading to low assignment success rates.
 For details about how to troubleshoot this problem, see Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success
Rates Due to TCH Congestion.
 TRX and transmission faults

 When a TRX or a combiner is faulty, some TCHs become unavailable, leading to low
 Poor link transmission quality over the Abis interface and unstable transmission links may
also lead to TCH assignment failures.
Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults.
 Incorrect BSC configuration

 If the BSC is configured incorrectly and the traffic volume is large, certain resources may
be unavailable during assignment, leading to assignment failures.
Rates Due to Inappropriate BSC Configuration.
 Inconsistent circuit identification code (CIC) status over the A interface

If the circuit management mechanism on the A interface between the MSC and the BSC is
faulty, TCH assignment may be initiated when CICs on the A interface are not idle, leading to
assignment failures. This problem is quite complicated. Therefore, MSC engineers and BSC
engineers need to team up to troubleshoot such problems.
 MSC faults
If the MSC delivers the Clear CMD message during assignment, the assignment fails. To
troubleshoot this problem, contact MSC engineers.
Parent topic: Locating Access Faults
1.3 Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor

Um Interface Quality
This section describes how to troubleshoot access faults due to poor Um interface quality.
Symptom
 The result of signaling tracing over the Abis interface shows that MSs cannot access channels
after the BSC delivers the immediate assignment command during immediate assignment. As
a result, the BSC does not receive link establishment indications from BTSs and releases local
channels. In addition, the immediate assignment success rate calculated with the following
formula decreases: Immediate assignment success rate = (CA303J:Call Setup Indications (Circuit
Service)/K3101:Immediate Assignment Commands) x 100%.
 The result of signaling tracing over the Abis interface shows that the timer specified for
assignment completion responses expires or MSs fail to access new channels after the BSC
delivers the assignment command during assignment. As a result, MSs return to their original
channels and send assignment failure messages. In addition, the value of A3169A:Failed
Assignments (Um Cause) increases noticeably.
Background Information
 The access faults over the Um interface can be located from the aspects of interference, uplink
and downlink signal level balance, coverage, antenna system, and BTS hardware. For details
about how to locate interference problems, see Interference Problems.
 The following is the method for troubleshooting interference problems.
1. Check Receive Quality Measurement Distribution per TRX(MR.RecvQualOrig.TRX) . If the receive
quality is poor, for example, if the percentage of uplink receive quality in receive quality
bands 5, 6, and 7 exceeds 20%, there is a high probability that access faults occur.
2. Analyze Interference Band Measurement per TRX(MR.Iterf.TRX). If the percentage of interference
levels in the high interference bands is great, for example, the percentage of interference
levels in interference bands 4 or 5 exceeds 10%, access faults are caused by uplink
interference.
3. Analyze the signaling collected by the TEMS during drive tests (DT) to determine
whether the downlink C/I is normal when MSs access channels. If the signal level is
proper but the C/I is poor, access faults are caused by interference.
Location Procedure
Figure 1 shows the procedure for locating access faults due to poor Um interface quality.
Figure 1 Procedure for locating access faults due to poor Um interface quality
Troubleshooting Procedure
1. Check for interference. For details, see Background Information.
 If access faults are caused by interference, check for interference sources onsite or
perform DTs to locate the interference sources. In addition, check whether repeaters have
been installed and, if so, whether they are faulty by using the following procedure. If any
interference source is found, eliminate it by referring to Interference Problems. Then, go to
Step 2.
a. Run the MML command LST GCELLSOFT to check whether Directly Magnifier BTS
Flag is set to Yes. If Directly Magnifier BTS Flag is set to Yes, the cell is
configured with repeaters. If Directly Magnifier BTS Flag is set to No, check
whether other operators' repeaters are installed near the cell or whether any repeaters
are installed without permission.
b. If repeaters are installed, check whether they are wideband repeaters. If they are
wideband repeaters, check whether the uplink or downlink gain is large. If the uplink
or downlink gain is large, reduce it as required. Shut down the repeaters if they have
great impacts on the access success rate.
c. Check whether the repeaters are faulty or whether the uplink or downlink gain is
beyond the normal range. If either is case, the actual BTS coverage may change,
leading to access faults. If any repeater problems occur in the cell, the number of
MRs with a large timing advance (TA) value measured for Number of MRs based on TA
per TRX(MR.TaDistribOrig.TRX) changes significantly.
 If access faults are not caused by interference, go to Step 3.

2. Check whether the access faults are rectified.
 If yes, no further action is required.
 If no, go to Step 3.
3. Check whether the uplink and downlink signal levels are balanced.
Check Uplink-and-Downlink Balance Measurement per TRX(MR.BalanceOrig.TRX). If the percentage of
the uplink and downlink signal level balance class 1 or 11 to all uplink and downlink signal
level balance classes exceeds 30%, the uplink and downlink signal levels are unbalanced.
 If yes, go to Step 5.
 If no, check whether the transmission equipment and TRX cable connections onsite are
proper, and whether there are any potential risks on the antenna system using the
following procedure. After the preceding items are checked and the faults are rectified, go
to Step 4.
 If dual-transmit antennas are configured, ensure that the tilt and azimuth of the
antennas are the same.
 Analyze DT data to check whether the jumpers are incorrectly connected. If they are
incorrectly connected, the uplink signal level in the cell is significantly lower than the
downlink signal level and access faults are likely to occur in a cell far away from the
BTS. In this case, reconnect the jumpers.
 If the feeders are damaged, wet, or distorted, or if the connectors are not tight, both the
transmit power and receive sensitivity are reduced and access faults occur as a result.
Locate these problems by referring to ALM-4144 TRX VSWR alarm, ALM-2156 TRX VSWR
Alarm, or ALM-26529 RF Unit VSWR Threshold Crossed. Immediately replace any faulty
feeders.
5. Check whether there are any coverage problems.
a. Check TCHF Receive Level Measurement per TRX(MR.RecvLevlOrigFullRate.TRX) or TCHH Receive
Level Measurement per TRX(MR.RecvLevlOrigHalfRate.TRX) and analyze the mapping between
the receive quality and receive signal levels. If receive quality is generally poor at low
receive signal levels, access faults in the cell may be caused by poor receive quality,
resulting from coverage problems.
b. Analyze Number of MRs based on TA per TRX(MR.TaDistribOrig.TRX). If many MRs have large
TA values, access faults are caused by wide coverage or coverage overlap. Otherwise,
access faults are caused by weak coverage. If the percentage of TA values at levels 0 to
5 is less than 90%, check for coverage problems in the cell based on the coverage
scenario and DT result.
 If yes, contact network optimization engineers to resolve the problem, and then go to
Step 6.
7. Check the Um interface quality.
Check TCHF Receive Level Measurement per TRX(MR.RecvLevlOrigFullRate.TRX) or TCHH Receive Level
Measurement per TRX(MR.RecvLevlOrigHalfRate.TRX) . If the percentage of receive quality bands 6
and 7 exceeds 10%, the uplink or downlink receive quality is poor.
 If the Um interface quality is poor, contact the network optimization department to check
and optimize the frequency planning data. Then, go to Step 8.
 If the Um interface quality is good, go to Step 9.
9. Perform DTs to check whether high receive signal levels with poor receive quality or low
receive signal levels with poor receive quality occurs.
 If yes, contact network optimization engineers to analyze and resolve the problem. Then,
go to Step 10.
 If no, return to Figure 1.
 If no, return to Procedure for locating access faults.
Typical Case
Symptom
After a BSC is swapped at a first office application (FOA) site, the immediate assignment
success rates in multiple cells are less than 93% during peak hours due to co-channel and
adjacent-channel interference.
Cause Analysis
The cells work on the same frequency and use the same base transceiver station identity code
(BSIC), leading to interference.
1. Analyze the signaling traced at the problem site. The signaling shows that most access
attempts fail because the BTS delivers the immediate assignment commands upon receiving
channel requests from MSs, but the MSs do not return any messages. An analysis of the
channel requests shows that the access uplink signal level is about -80 dB and the TA values
are 0 and 1, which are normal. For details about how to parse the TA value and uplink access
signal level from channel request messages, see Figure 2.
Figure 2 Channel request message
2. The results of multiple DTs show that the downlink quality at the junction of problem cell A
and cell B is poor. The result of frequency scanning at the junction shows that the two BSICs
for the broadcast control channel (BCCH) frequencies at the junction are different but the
signal levels of the BCCH frequencies are similar. This indicates that co-channel
interference occurs. One BCCH frequency belongs to cell A and the other BCCH frequency
belongs to cell B.
3. After the BCCH frequency of cell A is modified, the traffic statistics shows that the
immediate assignment success rate in cell A increases noticeably.
1.4 Troubleshooting Low Immediate

Assignment Success Rates Caused by SDCCH
Congestion
This section describes how to troubleshoot low immediate assignment success rates caused by
standalone dedicated control channel (SDCCH) congestion.
Symptom
The values of CA300J:Channel Requests (Circuit Service) and RR370:Congestion Rate on SDCCH per CELL
(due to Busy) or the values of K3004:Traffic Volume on SDCCH, K3000:SDCCH Seizure Requests, and
K3001:Failed SDCCH Seizures due to Busy SDCCH increase noticeably, but the immediate assignment
success rate decreases.
 SDCCH congestion is probably caused by one of the following causes:
 The traffic volume on an SDCCH increases sharply. As a result, new services cannot be
assigned to the SDCCH, leading to an immediate assignment failure.
 The configuration data is inappropriate, such as the location area (LA) planning, dual-band
network parameters, and timer settings.
 The number of functional SDCCHs decreases because some TRXs carrying SDCCHs are
faulty, but the traffic volume remains unchanged.
 The methods for troubleshooting SDCCH congestion are as follows:
 For SDCCH congestion caused by heavy traffic on the SDCCH, expand the capacity.
Alternatively, modify parameters related to location updates and SDCCH dynamic
adjustment.
 SDCCH congestion caused by traffic bursts such as group sending of short messages and
location update at the portal of a tunnel cannot be completely resolved. For more
information, see "SDCCH Dynamic Adjustment" in GBSS Feature Documentation.
 For SDCCH congestion caused by a decrease in the number of functional SDCCHs due to
hardware faults, rectify the hardware faults. For details, see Troubleshooting Low Immediate
Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults.
 The related parameters are as follows:

 CELL_RESELECT_OFFSET (CRO)
This parameter specifies the likelihood with which MSs select a cell. If the communication
quality in a cell is poor due to heavy traffic or for other causes, ensure that MSs do not
work in this cell. In this case, if you set PENALTY_TIME (PT) to 31,
TEMPORARY_OFFSET (TO) becomes invalid. C2 equals C1 minus CRO. Users can
set CRO as required. The larger the CRO, the less likely MSs are to select the cell. You
can also decrease the value of C2 manually to reduce the likelihood that MSs will select
the cell.
 CELL_RESELECT_HYSTERESIS
This parameter specifies whether to perform inter-LA reselection. It prevents an increase in
the network signaling volume due to frequent location updates and reduces the possibility
of losing paging messages. This parameter is generally set to 6. For dual-band networks in
urban areas belonging to different LAs, the value of this parameter ranges from 8 to 10.
 When the traffic volume in an area is heavy and the signaling flow is overloaded
frequently, increase the CRH of neighboring cells that belong to different LACs in this
area.
 When the overlapping coverage of neighboring cells that belong to different LAs is
large, increase the CRH.
 When the border coverage of the neighboring cells that belong to different LAs is poor
or the borders are located on high-speed highways or other high-speed areas, set the
CRH to a value ranging from 2 to 6 dB.
 Parameters related to SDCCH dynamic adjustment
 SDCCH Dynamic Allocation Allowed
When this parameter is set to YES(Yes), dynamic conversion between SDCCHs and
traffic channels (TCH) can be implemented.
 Idle SDCCH Threshold N1
When the number of idle SDCCHs in a cell is less than or equal to the value of this
parameter, the BSC uses the channel allocation algorithm to attempt to find a TCHF
that can be converted to an SDCCH. This parameter is one of the conditions for
dynamically converting a TCHF to an SDCCH.
 Cell SDCCH Channel Maximum
Before initiating dynamic conversion from the TCH to the SDCCH, the BSC checks
whether the number of SDCCHs in a cell after the conversion will exceed Cell SDCCH
Channel Maximum. If the number will exceed Cell SDCCH Channel Maximum, the
BSC does not initiate the conversion.
 TCH Minimum Recovery Time
This parameter specifies the minimum duration for converting an SDCCH back to a
TCH.
 Related timers
 T3101
Timer T3101 monitors the immediate assignment procedure. Setting timer T3101 to a
small value can effectively reduce the SDCCH congestion rate. If timer T3101 is set to
a large value, the invalid duration for occupying signaling resources is prolonged,
resulting in waste of signaling resources. To optimize signaling resource usage, set
timer T3101 to a small value, especially when the queuing function is enabled.
 T3122
An MS starts timer T3122 when receiving the IMMEDIATE ASSIGN REJECT
message and sends a new channel request message after timer T3122 expires.
Increasing the value of timer T3122 can prevent the MS from sending channel request
messages frequently when no system resource is available, preventing increases in the
load on random access channels (RACH) and common control channels (CCCH).
 T3212
Timer T3212 monitors the location update period. Appropriately increasing the value of
timer T3212 can minimize the SDCCH load, which becomes heavy due to periodic
location updates.
 T3111
Timer T3111 specifies the connection release delay. This timer is used to delay channel
deactivation after the main signaling link is disconnected. This is to reserve some time
for another disconnection, if necessary. Timer T311 starts when a TCH is released and
when an SDCCH is released. The value of timer T3111 must be the same as that of
timer T3110 on the MS side and is generally two seconds. If timer T3111 is set to a
large value, severe SDCCH congestion may occur.
 CS RACH Min. Access Level
If this parameter is set to a small value, a large number of interference signals request
SDCCHs to access the network, leading to the SDCCH congestion. If the parameter is set
to a large value, call failures may occur even when signals are available. Therefore, set this
parameter according to the actual BTS sensitivity, the lowest MS access signal level, and
the interference.
 Late Assignment
This function is set on the MSC side. If late assignment is enabled, the calling MS always
occupies the SDCCH when waiting for the called MS to pick up the phone. In this case, the
duration of SDCCH occupation increases. As a result, other MSs may fail to request the
SDCCH, leading to SDCCH congestion.
 Minimum Access RXLEV
If this parameter is set to a small value, the requirement for the access signal level is low.
As a result, a large number of MSs attempt to camp on this cell, increasing the cell load
and call drop rate and leading to SDCCH congestion.
 TX-integer
When the network traffic volume is heavy, the immediate assignment success rate is low if
the sum of S and T is low. You can adjust the value of T within reason to increase the sum
of S and T. For details about S and T, see description about TX-integer contained in the
MML command SET GCELLIDLEBASIC.
 CELL BAR ACCESS (CBA)
This parameter specifies whether accessing a cell is allowed. 0 indicates that accessing a
cell is allowed, and 1 indicates that accessing a cell is prohibited. This parameter can be
used with cell bar qualify (CBQ) to determine the cell priority.
Table 1 Mapping relationship between CBA, CBQ, cell selection, and cell reselection
CBQ CBA Cell Selection Priority Cell Reselection

Priority
0 0 Normal Normal
0 1 Prohibited Prohibited
1 0 Low Normal
1 1 Low Normal
 Cell Bar Qualify (CBQ)

CBQ affects only cell selection.
Location Procedure
shows the procedure for locating low immediate assignment success rates caused by
Figure 1
SDCCH congestion.
Figure 1 Troubleshooting low immediate assignment success rates due to SDCCH congestion
1. Check whether no SDCCH is available due to an increase in the traffic volume.
 If yes, modify the relevant parameters according to the parameter description in
Background Information. If the problem persists, expand the capacity to resolve the problem.
If the problem is resolved after capacity expansion, no further action is required. If the
problem persists, go to Step 2.
2. Check whether the value of RR300:SDCCH Availability is too small.
 If yes, rectify hardware and transmission faults according to Troubleshooting Low Immediate
Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults. If the problem is resolved after
the hardware and transmission faults are rectified, no further action is required. If the
problem persists, return to Procedure for locating access faults.
Typical Case
Symptom
The immediate assignment success rate of a BSC is low. According to the traffic statistics,
certain BTSs are experiencing SDCCH congestion.
Cause Analysis
SDCCH become congested easily when the traffic volume increases sharply. In addition, low
SDCCH availability due to hardware faults may also lead to SDCCH congestion.
1. Check RR300:SDCCH Availability. The SDCCH availability is 100%. Therefore, SDCCH
congestion is not caused by hardware faults.
2. Check K3000:SDCCH Seizure Requests and K3001:Failed SDCCH Seizures due to Busy SDCCH. The
number of SDCCH seizures is about 300 to 400 during peak hours for cells served by a BTS
in S1/1/1 mode. Each cell is configured with eight SDCCHs, which can process 300 to 400
SDCCH seizures during peak hours. However, SDCCH congestion occurs dozens of times in
each cell during peak hours.
3. Check Counters Related to Call Setup Indication. Most SDCCH seizures are caused by location
updates. Most BTSs experiencing SDCCH congestion are located at the junction of two LAs
along railways. According to the train schedule, four to five trains pass through the junction
at about the time the SDCCHs become congested. When multiple trains pass through the
junction, a large number of location updates occur abruptly during a very short period,
leading to SDCCH congestion.
4. Run the MML command SET GCELLBASICPARA with SDCCH Dynamic Allocation Allowed
for cells served by the BTSs at the junction of two LAs along railways set to YES(Yes), and
reserve redundant SDCCHs. The problem is resolved.

Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware
or Transmission Faults
Symptom
The symptoms of low immediate assignment success rates due to hardware or transmission faults
are as follows:
 According to the signaling tracing over the Abis interface, after successful channel
assignment, the BSC sends a Channel Activation message to the BTS. However, the BTS
responds with a Channel Activation Nack message or does not respond.
 After successful channel activation, the BSC delivers an immediate assignment message but
does not receive an Establish Indication message. The BSC finally releases the call.
 According to the signaling tracing over the Abis interface, after receiving a channel request,
the BSC sends the MS an immediate assignment rejection message due to unavailable
standalone dedicated control channels (SDCCHs). The SDCCHs are unavailable because the
TRX carrying the requested SDCCHs is faulty and reports a large number of Overload
messages.
 For details about the hardware or transmission fault alarms, see Background Information.
NOTE:
 If the BTS returns a Channel Activation Nack message, check the following performance counters based on the
channel types: R3300B:CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent by BTS in Immediate Assignment Procedure
(SDCCH), R3307B:CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent by BTS in Immediate Assignment Procedure (TCHF),
and R3308B:CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent by BTS in Immediate Assignment Procedure (TCHH).
 If the BTS does not respond to the channel activation initiated by the BSC, check the following performance
counters based on the channel types: R3300C:Channel Activation Timeouts in Immediate Assignment Procedure
(SDCCH), R3307C:Channel Activation Timeouts in Immediate Assignment Procedure (TCHF), and
R3308C:Channel Activation Timeouts in Immediate Assignment Procedure (TCHH).
 If the BTS or BSC hardware is faulty, immediate assignment may fail. You can find BTS or
BSC hardware faults by checking the following performance counters and alarms.
 The following are the performance counters related to BTS or BSC hardware faults:
 RK3255:TRX Usability
 RR300:SDCCH Availability
 CR330C:Channel Activation Timeouts in Immediate Assignment Procedure
 CR330B:CHAN ACTIV NACK Messages Sent by BTS in Immediate Assignment Procedure
 The following are the alarms related to BTS or BSC hardware faults that can result in
access faults:
 ALM-21807 OML Fault
 ALM-2204 TRX Communication Alarm
 ALM-2156 TRX VSWR Alarm

 ALM-4144 TRX VSWR alarm
 ALM-26529 RF Unit VSWR Threshold Crossed
 ALM-3606 DRU Hardware alarm

 ALM-20241 Board Unavailable
 ALM-20243 Board Hardware Fault
 If transmission faults occur (for example, delay and frame loss), immediate assignment fails
because channel activation times out or the immediate assignment command fails to be
delivered to the MS. You can find transmission faults by checking the following alarms
related to transmission faults that can result in access faults:
 OML fault alarms
ALM-21807 OML Fault
 BTS LAPD link alarms

ALM-4102 TRX LAPD Link Interrupt Alarm
ALM-3052 LAPD alarm
ALM-3572 LAPD alarm
 BSC LAPD link alarms

ALM-21511 LAPD Link Congestion
 Alarms related to the Multiplex Section Protection (MSP) of optical ports

ALM-21311 MSP Multiplex Section K1/K2 Mismatch
ALM-21312 MSP Multiplex Section K2 Mismatch
ALM-21313 MSP Port Protection Mode Mismatch
 Optical Interface Transmission Alarms (ALM-21251 to ALM-21291)
 IP transmission alarms
ALM-21345 Ethernet Link Fault
ALM-21346 IP Connectivity Check Failure
ALM-21541 SCTP Link Fault
Location Procedure
shows the procedure for locating low immediate assignment success rates due to
Figure 1
Figure 1 Procedure for locating low immediate assignment success rates due to hardware or transmission
faults
1. Check whether any of the hardware fault alarms listed in Background Information are reported.
 If yes, clear these alarms by referring to the alarm help and go to Step 2.
2. Check whether the immediate assignment success rate returns to normal.
3. According to the signaling tracing over the Abis interface, locate the TRX that reports the
Overload messages and replace the TRX. Then, check whether the immediate assignment
success rate returns to normal.
4. Request transmission device engineers to clear transmission fault alarms. Then, check the
performance counters listed in Background Information to determine whether channel activation
fails or the timer for waiting for the Establish Indication message expires. If the immediate
assignment success rate returns to normal, no further action is required. Otherwise, return to
Procedure for locating access faults.
Typical Case
Symptom
After a BTS is deployed, almost all SDCCHs are busy, but some traffic channels (TCHs) are
idle. According to the traffic statistics during peak hours, the value of K3001:Failed SDCCH Seizures
due to Busy SDCCH is about one thousand. In addition, a large number of LAPD link fault alarms
and clear alarms are reported at an interval of about ten minutes.
Cause Analysis
Almost all SDCCHs are busy, but some TCHs are idle. Although the possibility of incorrect data
configurations cannot be ruled out as the cause, the problem is more likely to have resulted from
transmission faults, because a large number of LAPD link fault alarms and clear alarms have
been frequently reported.
1. Check the data configurations. The data configurations are correct. Then, exchange the
transmission port on the problem BTS with that on another BTS of the same type. The latter
BTS operates properly, but the problem persists. Therefore, the problem is not caused by
incorrect data configurations or BSC hardware faults.
2. Replace the TMU and TRXs. The problem persists.
3. Request transmission device engineers to test the transmission quality. Error codes are
detected during the transmission. Then, perform transmission testing segment by segment. A
board in the intermediate transmission device is faulty. After the faulty board is replaced, the
problem is resolved.

Assignment Success Rates Due to Location
Updates of Problem MSs
location updates of problem MSs.
Symptom
The immediate assignment success rates are low in some cells because of location updates of
problem MSs in these cells. After the problem MSs send channel requests to the BSC because of
location updates, the BSC assigns standalone dedicated control channels (SDCCHs) to the
problem MSs and sends immediate assignment messages to the problem MSs. The problem MSs,
however, do not access these SDCCHs. As a result, a timeout occurs when the BSC waits for the
ESTABLISH INDICATION messages, leading to low SDCCH immediate assignment success
rates.
The characteristics of low immediate assignment success rates due to location updates of
problem MSs are as follows:
 When the difference between A300F:Channel Requests (Location Updating) and A3030F:Call Setup
Indications (Location Updating) (SDCCH) is similar to A3040:Call Setup Indications Timed Out (SDCCH), the
low immediate assignment success rates are due to location updates of problem MSs.
However, the service type contained in the channel requests sent by some MSs may not be
location updates. In this case, you need to determine the cause of low immediate assignment
success rates based on the other characteristics.
 The immediate assignment success rates may be low during peak hours or during off-peak
hours.
 Calls are not affected. Aside from the immediate assignment success rates of some cells
during certain periods, all key performance indicators (KPIs) are normal. In addition, drive
test results are normal, and no subscribers complain about call drops because the MSs retry
periodically or in other cells if location updates fail.
 There is no interference or co-frequency co-BSIC cell.
 There is no problem such as uplink and downlink signal-level imbalance.
 According to the signaling tracing over the Abis interface, the retry times and retry intervals
of failed location updates meet the network configuration requirements.
Low immediate assignment success rates due to location updates of problem MSs are caused by
MS faults and therefore cannot be resolved on the BSS side.
Location Procedure
None
1. Based on the characteristics described in Background Information, determine whether the low
immediate assignment success rates are due to location updates of problem MSs.
 If no, Contact Huawei Customer Service Center.
Typical Case
Symptom
A customer complains that the SDCCH immediate assignment success rates in some cells are
low because of location updates.
Cause Analysis
Low SDCCH immediate assignment success rates in some cells may be caused by Um interface
faults, hardware faults, transmission faults, and SDCCH congestion. According to the onsite
symptom, the SDCCH immediate assignment success rates are low only in certain cells and the
immediate assignment failures are due to location updates. Therefore, the problem is most likely
to have resulted from MS faults.
1. Deduce that the problem is caused by MS faults because the problem occurs only in certain
cells.
2. Analyze traffic statistics to check whether the low immediate assignment success rates are
caused by location updates. The difference between A300F:Channel Requests (Location Updating)
and A3030F:Call Setup Indications (Location Updating) (SDCCH) is similar to A3040:Call Setup Indications
Timed Out (SDCCH), which indicates that the SDCCH setup failures are due to location updates.
3. Trace the signaling over the Abis interface. Figure 1 shows the problem signaling. According
to the time advance (TA) and signal level information in channel requests, the TA values are
small and the signal level values are large. In addition, the uplink signal strength measured
by the BTS is lower than -110 dBm during the period in which the BSS waits for MSs to
access the assigned SDCCHs, which indicates that the MSs do not access the SDCCHs. As a
result, the immediate assignment fails.
NOTE:
For details about how to query TA values, see the typical case in Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor
Um Interface Quality.
Figure 1 Signaling tracing over the Abis interface
4. Analyze the signaling shown in Figure 2. According to channel requests, the location updates
are initiated by the same MS. The maximum number of location updates is 4, which matches
the value of MS MAX Retrans.
NOTE:
MS MAX Retrans specifies the maximum number of Channel Request messages sent by an MS during an
immediate assignment process. You can query the value of this parameter by running the MML command LST
GCELLCCBASIC and set the value of this parameter by running the MML command SET GCELLCCBASIC.
Figure 2 Channel Request messages consecutively sent by an MS

1.7 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success

Rates Due to TCH Congestion
This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to traffic channel
(TCH) congestion.
Symptom
According to the result of signaling tracing over the A interface, the BSC sends the MSC an
assignment failure message containing the cause value of No radio resource available. In
addition, the values of the following counters increase significantly: ZTA3129J:Failed Assignments per
BSC (Channel Unavailable), CA312:Failed Assignments (Channel Unavailable), and K3011A:Failed TCH Seizures
due to Busy TCH (Traffic Channel).
 The following is the formula for calculating the TCH congestion rate:
[K3021:Failed TCH Seizures due to Busy TCH (Signaling Channel) + K3011A:Failed TCH Seizures due to Busy
TCH (Traffic Channel) + K3011B:Failed TCH Seizures in TCH Handovers due to Busy TCH (Traffic
Channel)]/[K3020:TCH Seizure Requests (Signaling Channel) + K3010A:TCH Seizure Requests (Traffic Channel)
+ K3010B:TCH Seizure Requests in TCH Handovers (Traffic Channel)] x 100%
 If the TCH congestion rate of a cell with a high assignment success rate is greater than 10%,
assignment failures are mainly caused by TCH congestion. The following are the common
causes of TCH congestion in a cell:
 The traffic volume in a cell increases.
 The cell does not support the half-rate speech versions 1 and 3 in an effort to ensure speech
quality.
 Traffic volume in the cell is large because the subscriber density is high or coverage
overlap occurs in the cell.
 The traffic volume in the cell sharply increases because emergencies occur or any
neighboring cells are out of service.
 The cell is configured with a large number of static packet data channels (PDCHs) or
dynamic PDCHs and processes PS services preferentially.
 Some TRXs of the cell are faulty or some channels of the cell are blocked.
 Very early assignment is enabled.
 When TCHs are congested, new access requests are rejected because TCHs are unavailable,
decreasing the assignment success rate.
Location Procedure
Figure 1 shows the procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to TCH congestion.
Figure 1 Procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to TCH congestion
1. Run the MML command LST GCELLCCACCESS to check whether a cell with a low assignment
rate supports the half-rate speech versions 1 and 3. Run the MML command LST GTRXDEV to
check whether TCH Rate Adjust Allow is set to YES(Yes).
 If no, perform the following operations to enable the half-rate speech versions 1 and 3
when the speech quality meets the requirement:
a. Run the MML command SET GCELLCCACCESS with Speech Version set to
HALF_RATE_VER1(Half-rate VER 1) and HALF_RATE_VER3(Half-rate
VER 3).
b. Run the MML command SET GTRXDEV with TCH Rate Adjust Allow set to
YES(Yes).
c. Check whether the assignment success rate returns to normal.
 If yes, no further action is required.
 If no, go to Step 2.
2. Check whether coverage overlap or unbalanced traffic distribution occurs in the cell where
TCHs are congested according to drive test logs and traffic statistics.
 If yes, reduce the cell coverage by performing operations such as decreasing the power,
reducing the antenna tilt, and improving CS RACH Min. Access Level. Then, check
whether the assignment success rate returns to normal. If yes, no further action is
required. If no, go to Step 3.
3. Check whether any neighboring cells are out of service according to alarm logs.
 If yes, resolve the problem of out-of-service cells. Then, check whether the assignment
success rate returns to normal. If yes, no further action is required. If no, go to Step 4.
NOTE:
If TCHs become congested abruptly in the cell because of emergencies such as a gathering, no action is
required.
4. Run the MML command LST GTRXCHAN to check whether the cell is configured with a large
number of static packet data channels (PDCHs) or dynamic PDCHs and processes PS
services preferentially.
 If yes, reduce the number of PDCHs. Then, check whether the assignment success rate
returns to normal. If yes, no further action is required. If no, go to Step 5.
5. Run the MML command LST GCELLBASICPARA to check whether TCH Immediate
Assignment is Yes, that is, whether very early assignment is enabled.
 If yes, run the MML command SET GCELLBASICPARA with TCH Immediate Assignment
set to NO(No) to disable very early assignment. Alternatively, perform capacity
expansion. Then, check whether the assignment success rate returns to normal. If yes, no
further action is required. If no, go to Step 6.
6. Check whether RR307:TCH Availability is less than 100%.
 If yes, some TRXs are faulty or some channels are blocked. Check the TRX status or run
the MML command DSP CHNSTAT to check channel status, and rectify TRX or channel
faults. Then, check whether the assignment success rate returns to normal. If yes, no
further action is required. If no, return to Procedure for locating access faults.
Typical Case
Symptom
A customer complains that TCHs are congested in some cells during off-peak hours.
Cause Analysis
TCH congestion is generally caused by problems such as improper parameter settings, hardware
faults, and large traffic volumes.
1. Analyze the traffic statistics of one of the cells where TCHs are congested. The cell is
configured with 12 TCHs, and the TCHs are congested twice at a certain time and
R3561:Maximum Number of Busy Channels (TCHF) measured at the time is 12. This indicates that all
TCHs are occupied at the time, resulting in TCH congestion. This indicates that all TCHs are
occupied at the time, resulting in TCH congestion.
2. Analyze the traffic statistics of all cells where TCHs are congested. The traffic volume of
these cells during the measurement period is low but all the TCHs are occupied within a
short period. In this case, TCHs are congested when new calls access these cells, leading to
assignment failures.
3. Check the data configuration of these cells. TCH Rate Adjust Allow are all No.
4. Perform the following operations to resolve the problem:
a. Run the MML command SET GTRXDEV with TCH Rate Adjust Allow set to YES(Yes).
b. Run the MML command SET GCELLCHMGAD with TCH Traffic Busy Threshold set to a
required value.
c. Run the MML command SET GCELLCHMGBASIC with Enhanced TCH Adjust Allowed
set to YES(Yes).
Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults
This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to hardware or
Symptom
 According to the result of signaling tracing over the A interface, the BSC sends the MSC an
assignment failure message containing the cause value of Equipment failure. In addition, the
values of ZTA312L:Failed Assignments per BSC (Equipment Failure) and A3129B:Failed Assignments (First
Assignment, Terrestrial Resource Request Failed) increase.
 When TRXs or combiners of a BTS are faulty, or radio frequency (RF) cables are connected
incorrectly, some channels are unavailable, leading to assignment failures. The signaling
tracing result shows that MSs fail to access traffic channels (TCHs) and send assignment
failure messages on standalone dedicated control channels (SDCCHs).
 When troubleshooting hardware faults, pay attention to BSC alarms such as SCU fault alarms,
Abis/A interface board fault alarms, and alarms about the inter-SCU communication failures.
On the BTS side, pay attention to BTS alarms or check BTS hardware status on the Web
LMT; in addition, check whether the RF cables at a site are properly connected.
The following are the common hardware fault alarms that can result in access faults:
 ALM-21807 OML Fault
 ALM-2204 TRX Communication Alarm

 ALM-4144 TRX VSWR alarm
 ALM-3606 DRU Hardware alarm
 ALM-20241 Board Unavailable

 ALM-20243 Board Hardware Fault
 ALM-20221 Link Between GE Switching Boards Faulty

 ALM-20222 Communication Between GE Switching Boards Faulty
 ALM-20227 Communication Between Subracks Faulty
 ALM-20228 GE Link Between GE Switching Board and Service Board Faulty
 When transmission problems such as delay, frame loss, and LAPD link congestion occur,
channel activation times out or messages for inter-subrack communication of the BSC are
lost, leading to assignment failures. You can verify whether transmission faults occur by
checking transmission fault alarms. The following are the common transmission fault alarms
that can result in access faults:
 OML fault alarms
ALM-21807 OML Fault
 BTS LAPD link alarms

ALM-3052 LAPD alarm
ALM-3572 LAPD alarm
 BSC LAPD link alarms

ALM-21511 LAPD Link Congestion
 Alarms related to the MSP of optical ports

ALM-21311 MSP Multiplex Section K1/K2 Mismatch
ALM-21312 MSP Multiplex Section K2 Mismatch
ALM-21313 MSP Port Protection Mode Mismatch
 Optical Interface Transmission Alarms (ALM-21251 to ALM-21291)
 IP transmission alarms
ALM-21345 Ethernet Link Fault
ALM-21346 IP Connectivity Check Failure
ALM-21343 PPP/MLPPP Link Fault
ALM-21344 MLPPP Group Failure
ALM-21541 SCTP Link Fault
Location Procedure
shows the procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to hardware or
Figure 1
Figure 1 Procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to hardware or transmission faults
1. Check whether any of the hardware fault alarms listed in Background Information are reported.
 If yes, clear these alarms by referring to the alarm reference help and go to Step 2.
2. Perform dialing tests to check whether the assignment success rates return to normal.
3. Check whether any of the transmission fault alarms listed in Background Information are
reported.
 If yes, contact transmission engineers to clear the transmission fault alarms. Then, go to
Step 4.

4. Perform dialing tests to check whether the assignment success rates return to normal.
Typical Case
Symptom
After a cutover was conducted at midnight at a site, the assignment success rate in some cells is
low, and the failure cause is equipment failure.
Cause Analysis
On the backplane of subrack 0 in the BSC, one link connecting active and standby SCUs is
faulty. This results in the packet changes and packet errors between the active and standby SCUs
and the assignment failure.
1. Check the alarms. The results show that a lot of ALM-20221 Link Between GE Switching Boards
Faulty and ALM-20228 GE Link Between GE Switching Board and Service Board Faulty alarms were
generated during the problem period.
2. Since failures in the link connecting GE switching boards may occur on the SCU board or
the backplane, first replace the SCU in slots 6 and 7 of subrack 0. If the problem persists
after the board replacement, the board can be eliminated from the problem. It can then be
concluded that the problem is caused by subrack 0.
3. Replace subrack 0. After that, the alarms are cleared, and the assignment success rate
becomes normal.

Rates Due to Inappropriate BSC Configuration
This section describes how to troubleshoot low assignment success rates due to inappropriate
BSC configuration.
Symptom
A large number of assignment failures occur during peak hours. The cause value is equipment
failure or requested terrestrial resource unavailable and the values of ZTA312L:Failed
Assignments per BSC (Equipment Failure) and A3129B:Failed Assignments (First Assignment, Terrestrial Resource
Request Failed) increases.
When the number of resources configured for a BSC board exceeds its processing capacity,
requesting call-related circuit resources fails during peak hours, leading to assignment failures
and ALM-21604 Insufficient Transmission Resources is generated.. For details about the processing
capacity of BSC boards, see BSC6910 GSM Hardware Description.
 In Abis over IP mode, if the BTS are not configured with IP logical ports, assignment may fail
during peak hours.
 In A over IP mode, assignment fails if the media gateway (MGW) IP address carried by an
assignment request delivered by the mobile switching center (MSC) is incorrect.
 If the assignment fails due to insufficient internal transmission resources, such as the Abis
resourcesand intra-board switching resources, ALM-21604 Insufficient Transmission Resources is
generated.
Location Procedure
shows the procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to inappropriate BSC
Figure 1
configuration
Figure 1 Procedure for locating low assignment success rates due to inappropriate BSC configuration
1. Check whether alarms (including ALM-21604 Insufficient Transmission Resources) mentioned in
Background Information are generated.
 Yes: Clear the alarms by following the instructions described in the alarm help. After
that, if the alarms are cleared, no further action is required. If the alarms persist, go to 2.
 No: Go to 2.
2. In Abis over IP mode, if the problem occurs only during peak hours and the value of
A312F:Number of Assignment Failures (No Abis Resource Available) increases significantly, run the
MML command LST IPLOGICPORT to check whether the problem BTS is configured with
logical ports.
 If no, run the MML command ADD IPLOGICPORT to add a logical port. Then, check
whether the problem is resolved. If yes, no further action is required. If no, go to Step 3.
3. In A over IP mode, run the MML command LST IPRT to check whether the MGW IP address
carried by the assignment request delivered by the MSC is on the destination IP network
segment configured for IP route (IPRT).
 If no, request MSC engineers to check whether the IP data configuration on the MSC is
consistent with that on the BSC. If the IP data configuration is inconsistent, modify the IP
data configuration based on the actual situation. Then, check whether the problem is
resolved. If yes, no further action is required. If no, go to Step 4.
4. Check whether the numbers of resources configured for some BSC boards exceed the
processing capacity of these BSC boards (pay attention to the A and Abis interface boards).
 If yes, add BSC boards accordingly and configure resources for the new BSC boards.
Ensure that the numbers of resources configured for the new BSC boards do not exceed
the processing capacity of these BSC boards. Then, check whether the problem is
resolved. If yes, no further action is required. If no, Contact Huawei Customer Service Center.
 If no, Contact Huawei Customer Service Center.
Typical Case
Symptom
During the deployment of a BSC, the BSC uses the MSC pool networking. After the installation
and commissioning are complete, calls cannot be initiated.
Cause Analysis
The service IP address of the MGW is incorrectly configured, resulting in the assignment failure.
1. Trace the signaling messages. The results show that the call failure is caused by the
assignment failure. The assignment failure cause is Requested-circuit-or-channel-not-
available.
2. Check that the A interface data configuration on the BSC is correct based on the A interface
data planning.
3. Analyze the assignment request message from the MSC, and find that the IP address of the
MGW is 0xad03438, that is, 10.208.52.56 in decimal. However, the IP address of the MGW
is 10.148.52.33-40/28 in the data planning. Ask the core network side to check data
configurations, and find that the incorrect IP address, that is, 10.148.52.49-56/28, is
configured for the MGW. As a result, the BSC fails to assign resources based on the
incorrect IP address. After the correct IP address is configured, calls can be initiated
successfully.

BSC6910 Access Faults

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BSC6910 GSM Product Documentation

Product Version: V100R015C00

For any question, please contact us.

 Locating Access Faults

 Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor Um Interface Quality

 Troubleshooting Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates Caused by SDCCH Congestion

 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to TCH Congestion

 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Hardware or Transmission Faults

 Troubleshooting Low Assignment Success Rates Due to Inappropriate BSC Configuration

Parent topic: GBSS Troubleshooting Guide (BSC6910-Based)

Access Procedure and Measurement Points

Table 1 Measurement point

Measurement Point Description

A1 K3100:Immediate Assignment Requests

A2 K3101:Immediate Assignment Commands

A3 CA303J:Call Setup Indications (Circuit Service)

Parent topic: Access Faults

1.2 Locating Access Faults

 Procedure for Locating Access Faults

 Common Causes for Access Faults

Parent topic: Access Faults

1.2.1 Procedure for Locating Access Faults

Table 1 Possible causes of low immediate assignment rates

Phase Symptom Possible Cause

SDCCH assignment After receiving random access SDCCH congestion and

The BSC sends the Channel Act Equipment and transmission

Phase Symptom Possible Cause

Table 2 User-defined formulas for calculating immediate assignment success rates

Formula Possible Cause

Um Interface Channel SDCCH MS Fault

Formula Possible Cause

Um Interface Channel SDCCH MS Fault

 Possible causes of low assignment success rates

Table 3 Possible causes of low assignment success rates

Counter Possible Cause

CA312:Failed Assignments (Channel Unavailable) TCH congestion

A3169A:Failed Assignments (Um Cause) Um interface faults

A3129F:Failed Assignments (CIC Allocated) BSC faults and MSC faults

Table 4 Access fault location information

No. Item Description Remarks

No. Item Description Remarks

No. Item Description Remarks

Parent topic: Locating Access Faults

1.2.2 Common Causes for Access Faults

Common Causes for Low Immediate Assignment Success Rates

 TRX and transmission faults

Common Causes of Low Assignment Success Rates

 TRX and transmission faults

 Incorrect BSC configuration

 Inconsistent circuit identification code (CIC) status over the A interface

1.3 Troubleshooting Access Faults Due to Poor

 If access faults are not caused by interference, go to Step 3.

1.4 Troubleshooting Low Immediate

 The related parameters are as follows:

CBQ CBA Cell Selection Priority Cell Reselection

 Cell Bar Qualify (CBQ)

1.5 Troubleshooting Low Immediate

 ALM-2156 TRX VSWR Alarm

 ALM-3606 DRU Hardware alarm

 ALM-20243 Board Hardware Fault

 BTS LAPD link alarms

 BSC LAPD link alarms

 Alarms related to the Multiplex Section Protection (MSP) of optical ports

 Optical Interface Transmission Alarms (ALM-21251 to ALM-21291)