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Administrator Manual
Version 3.4.0
AT340_AM_E3
Atoll 3.4.0 Administrator Manual
Release: AT340_AM_E3 (April 2019)
© Copyright 1997-2019 Forsk. All Rights Reserved.
Published by:
Forsk
7 rue des Briquetiers
31700 Blagnac, France
Tel: +33 562 747 210
Fax: +33 562 747 211
The software described in this document is provided under a licence agreement. The software may only be used or copied under the terms and
conditions of the licence agreement. No part of the contents of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
without written permission from the publisher.
The product or brand names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective registering parties.
Third party services that are not part of Atoll are governed by the terms and conditions of their respective providers, which are subject to change
without notice.
The publisher has taken care in the preparation of this document, but makes no expressed or implied warranty of any kind and assumes no
responsibility for errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for incidental or consequential damages in connection with or arising out of the
use of the information contained herein.
Atoll 3.4.0 Administrator Manual
AT340_AM_E3 Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.1 Supported Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.2 Supported Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.3 Supported Database Management Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.4 Recommended Hardware and Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
1.4.1 Single-user Standalone Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
1.4.2 Multi-user Thick Client Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
1.4.3 Multi-user Thin Client Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
1.4.4 Floating License Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
1.4.5 File Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
4 Managing Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.1 Atoll Database Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.2 Customising Atoll Database Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.2.1 Adding Custom Fields to Data Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
4.2.2 Setting User-defined Default Values for Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
4.2.3 Setting User-defined Choice Lists for Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
4.3 Atoll Management Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.4 Creating New Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.4.1 Creating a New Database Using the Atoll Management Console. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
4.4.2 Creating a New Database Using Atoll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
4.5 Upgrading Existing Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.5.1 Upgrading Databases for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
4.5.2 Upgrading Databases Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
4.5.3 Adding a Technology in a Multi-RAT Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
4.6 Working With Multi-level Databases Using Oracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5 Multi-user Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1 Setting Up Multi-user Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.2 Components of Multi-user Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.2.1 Master Atoll Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.2.2 Master Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2.3 Shared Geographic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2.4 Shared Path Loss Matrices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
5.2.5 Shared Microwave Link Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.2.6 User Atoll Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.3 Managing User Accounts and Access Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.3.1 Defining Database and Interface Access Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.3.2 Managing User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
5.3.3 Resetting User Database Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.3.4 Managing Custom Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
5.4 Appendices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.4.1 Appendix 1: Checking Data Integrity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.4.2 Appendix 2: Database Regionalisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5.4.3 Appendix 3: Calculating Path Loss Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5.4.4 Appendix 4: Path Loss Matrices From Different Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Introduction
This Administrator Manual explains how to install, configure, and deploy Atoll and how to set up back-end databases
and manage users in a multi-user environment. Database structures of the different technology modules are also
provided for reference.
For information about managing licenses, see the Atoll Licensing Guide.
About Atoll
Atoll is a multi-technology wireless network design and optimisation platform that supports wireless operators
throughout the network lifecycle, from initial design to densification and optimisation. Atoll offers unique
capabilities of using both predictions and live network data throughout the network planning and optimisation
process.
Atoll includes integrated single RAN–multiple RAT network design capabilities for both 3GPP and 3GPP2 radio
access technologies including 5G NR, LTE, NB-IoT, UMTS, GSM, and CDMA. It provides operators and vendors with
a powerful framework for designing and optimising current and future integrated multi-technology networks.
Atoll supports the latest technology advances such as massive MIMO, 3D beamforming, and mmWave propagation
for the design and roll-out of 5G networks.
Atoll Microwave is a state-of-the-art point-to-point and point-to-multipoint backhaul planning and optimisation
software. It allows designing large microwave link networks, according to ITU recommendations, industry
standards, and operator guidelines.
Atoll’s integration and customisation features help operators smoothly streamline planning and optimisation
processes. Atoll supports a wide range of implementation scenarios, from standalone to enterprise-wide server-
based configurations. Atoll has become the industry standard for radio network planning and optimisation.
If you are interested in learning more about Atoll, please contact your Forsk representative to inquire about our
training solutions.
About Forsk
Forsk is an independent software company providing operators and vendors with wireless network design and
optimisation products. Atoll, Forsk’s flagship product, is the market-leading wireless network planning and
optimisation software on the market; it allows operators to streamline planning and optimisation activities by
combining predictions and live network data.
With more than 9000 active licenses installed with 500+ customers in 140 countries, Atoll has become the industry
standard for wireless network design and optimisation.
Forsk distributes and supports Atoll directly from offices and technical support centres in France, USA, and China
as well as through a worldwide network of distributors and partners.
Getting Help
The online help system that is installed with Atoll is designed to give you quick access to the information you need
to use the product effectively. It contains the same material as the Atoll 3.4.0 User Manual.
You can browse the online help from the Contents view, the Index view, or you can use the built-in Search feature.
You can also download manuals from the Forsk web site at:
http://downloads.forsk.com
You can print individual topics or chapters from the online help.
To print help topics or chapters:
1. In Atoll, click Help > Help Topics.
2. In the Contents tab, expand the table of contents.
3. Right-click the section or topic that you want to print and click Print. The Print Topics dialog box appears.
4. In the Print Topics dialog box, select what you want to print:
If you want to print a single topic, select Print the selected topic.
If you want to print an entire section, including all topics and sections in that section, select Print the
selected heading and all subtopics.
5. Click OK.
The following PDF manuals are available to customers with a valid maintenance contract for Atoll and Atoll
Microwave and can be downloaded from the Forsk web site at:
http://downloads.forsk.com/
To read PDF manuals, download Adobe Reader from the Adobe web site at:
http://get.adobe.com/reader/
Hardcopy manuals are also available. For more information, contact to your Forsk representative.
Forsk provides global technical support for its products and services. To contact the Forsk support team, visit the
Forsk web site at:
http://downloads.forsk.com
Alternatively, depending on your geographic location, contact one of the following support teams:
Forsk US
For North and Central America, contact the Forsk US support team:
Tel.: 1-888-GO-ATOLL (1-888-462-8655)
Fax: 1-312-674-4822
Email: support_us@forsk.com
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 8.00 am to 8.00 pm (Eastern Standard Time)
Forsk China
For Asia (except Japan), contact the Forsk China support team:
Tel: +86 20 8557 0016
Fax: +86 20 8553 8285
Email: atollsupport@forsk.com.cn
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.30pm (GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi.
1 Getting Started
Atoll is an open, scalable, and flexible multi-technology network design and optimisation platform that supports
wireless operators throughout the network life cycle, from initial design to densification and optimisation.
Atoll supports a wide range of implementation scenarios from single-user standalone to enterprise-wide server-
based configurations using distributed and multi-threaded computing.
This manual explains how to install, configure, and deploy Atoll and how to set up back-end databases and manage
users in a multi-user environment. In this chapter, the following are explained:
This chapter covers the following topics:
◼ "Supported Technologies" on page 15
◼ "Supported Operating Systems" on page 15
◼ "Supported Database Management Systems" on page 16
◼ "Recommended Hardware and Software" on page 16
Among other Microsoft Windows components, Atoll 64-bit uses the 64-bit
Microsoft Access Database Engine, which is included in 64-bit Microsoft Office,
and is also available as a free redistributable Microsoft Windows component from
the Forsk support website.
◼ If the computer on which you wish to install and run Atoll 64-bit already has
the MSI edition of Microsoft Office installed, you must upgrade it to Microsoft
Office 64-bit (version 2010 SP1 or newer).
◼ If you do not have Microsoft Office installed or if you have the Click-To-Run
edition of Microsoft Office, you can download and install the Microsoft
Access Database Engine 64-bit redistributable (version 2010 SP1) needed by
Atoll 64-bit from the Forsk support website.
Note: Installing the MSI version of 64-bit Microsoft Office or the Microsoft Access
Database Engine requires uninstalling any 32-bit Microsoft Office components that
may be installed on the computer.
◼ Multi-user thick client: Atoll installed on each individual user computer on a network with a floating license
management server that allocates license tokens to Atoll sessions run by users on their computers.
◼ Multi-user thin client: Atoll installed on servers connected to user computers and a floating license
management server on a network. The floating license management server allocates license tokens to Atoll
sessions run by the users on the servers. The servers can be Citrix-based, where users run Atoll sessions on
the servers through the Citrix interface.
This section provides guidelines for dimensioning client computers and servers on your network for optimum
performance with Atoll. This section lists the recommended hardware and software for:
◼
The following table lists the required/recommended hardware and software in a single-user standalone Atoll
configuration:
Atoll Workstation
RAM 8 GB or more
◼ Atoll is installed and run directly on user workstations and all the base software and drivers are provided with
Atoll.
◼ The following data is stored on user workstations: coverage prediction files, geographic data, and user
projects.
The user licenses are managed locally (fixed licenses) or from a server (floating licenses):
◼ A USB port must be available on the user workstation to plug a fixed license key dongle.
◼ The nethasp.ini file must be available on the workstation to provide information on accessing a floating
license server through the network.
A connection with the central database is required during synchronisation operations, to exchange between users.
If you are working with an Oracle database, you must install the relevant Oracle clients on the user computers.
The following tables list the required/recommended hardware and software in a multi-user thick client
configuration:
Storage 1
512 GB (SSD recommended) 2 x 128 GB (RAID 1) or more2
Operating System Microsoft Windows3 Oracle: Windows, UNIX, Linux, Solaris
SQL Server 2017: Microsoft Windows, Linux4
Users can work with Atoll installed on application servers through thin clients such as Remote Desktop or Citrix.
In a multi-user thin client configuration, the Atoll installation is centralised, i.e.:
◼ Atoll is accessed via a thin client interface
◼ Server resources are used to run Atoll and perform calculations
◼ The following data is stored on a file server: coverage prediction files, geographic data, and user projects.
An asynchronous connection is required with the central database for data exchange between users.
The user licenses are managed through the network and a limited bandwidth (300+ kbps per user) is required
between servers and client workstations for satisfactory performance.
If you are working with an Oracle database, you must install the relevant Oracle clients on the user computers.
The following tables list the required/recommended hardware and software in a multi-user thin client Atoll
configuration:
File servers can store shared data, such as geographic data, path loss matrices, Atoll configuration and initialisation
files, and user projects. The required hard disk space must be determined from the file sizes of this data.
1 or 10 Gigabit Ethernet is recommended for connecting user computers, application servers, database servers, and
file servers.
In a multi-client or multi-server configuration, the use of a file server can significantly improve data management by
providing a central repository for shared files. In this case, a higher bandwidth is required between the client
applicationsuser workstations and the file server (1 Gbps or higher).
In a single-user or single-server configuration, storing shared data locally instead of using a file server can improve
response time and calculation performance.
8. Click Next.
If you selected the Distributed Calculation Server component for installation, the Logon Information dialog
box appears.
If you did not select this component, the Select Start Menu Folder dialog box appears. In which case, proceed
to step 8.
a. Enter the Domain name, Username, and Password.
This information will be used to run the distributed calculation service on the computer, and allow other
users of the domain to access this service.
b. Click Next. The Select Start Menu Folder dialog box appears
9. Click Next. The Ready to Install dialog box appears.
10.Review the installation parameters.
11.Click Install. Atoll and its selected components are installed on the computer.
If the following files do not already exist in the installation folder, default ones are created by the setup:
If you have installed Atoll on a Citrix server, you must publish the application to
make it accessible to users.
The Atoll Developer Reference Guide can be downloaded separately from the Forsk
support web site.
Overrides the default start menu folder name displayed on the Select Start Menu Folder wizard page. Use
quotes if the folder name contains spaces.
◼ /LOG="file name"
Causes the setup to create a log file listing file installation and actions taken during the installation process.
This can be helpful for troubleshooting. For example, if you suspect a file is not being installed as it should be,
the log file will tell you if the file was actually skipped and why. Use quotes if the filename contains spaces. If
the file cannot be created, the setup will abort with an error message.
◼ /SVRACCOUNT="domainname\username"
The domain name and user name for installing the distributed calculation server.
◼ /SVRPASSWD=password
Password for installing the distributed calculation server.
◼ /TYPE=type name
Overrides the default setup type. The setup type names are:
◼ Full installation: full
◼ Compact installation: compact
◼ Custom installation: custom
For full and compact setup types, the /COMPONENTS parameters are ignored.
◼ /COMPONENTS="comma separated list of component names"
Overrides the default component settings. Using this command line parameter causes the setup to
automatically select a custom installation type. Only the specified components will be selected. Component
names are:
◼ Atoll: Atoll
◼ Export to Google Earth add-in: "Addins\GoogleEarth"
◼ Driver for fixed license keys: RainbowDongle
◼ Distributed calculation server: Atoll_Server
◼ Atoll Management Console: AMC
◼ C++ development kit: DevKit
Example: To install Atoll, the distributed calculation server, and the driver for fixed license keys:
/COMPONENTS="Atoll,Atoll_Server,RainbowDongle"
◼ /skipACEcheck
By default, the installer checks that all ACE components are installed. In some cases, this verification
produces an error even though the components are properly installed. You can use this option to skip the
verification and proceed with the installation.
Available Add-ins
The following Atoll add-ins can be downloaded in their most recent version from the Forsk web site at:
http://www.forsk.com/support. For more information, contact to your Forsk representative.
◼ General add-ins:
◼ Export to Google Earth (installed with Atoll)
◼ Multistorey Prediction
◼ Easy Location Converter
◼ ArcView Grid ASCII Import
◼ Multi-RAT Converter
◼ Difference Plot
◼ Update Sites With Geo Data
◼ FCC Boundaries
◼ Incidence Angle Footprint
◼ Database add-ins:
◼ History Module
◼ Scenario Manager
◼ Geo Selector
Lists of macros available in Atoll can be stored in user configuration files. Macros listed in the user configuration
files are added to Atoll when the user configuration files are loaded. For more information, refer to "Contents of User
Configuration Files" on page 114.
To remove a macro from Atoll:
1. In Atoll, select Tools > Add-ins and Macros. The Add-ins and Macros dialog box appears.
2. In the list of VBS files, select the one corresponding to the macro you want to remove.
3. Click Delete.
Other commands available in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box are:
◼ Edit: Edit the selected macro in the default text editor.
◼ Icon: Assign an icon to the selected macro. Icons assigned to macros appear in the Macros toolbar.
◼ Refresh: To reload the selected macro file.
◼ -log "logfilename"
Instructs Atoll to create a log file containing all the messages listed in the Events tab. This can be helpful for
troubleshooting. "logfilename" is the full path and file name of the log file inside quotes.
◼ -Ini "inifilename"
Instructs Atoll to load the specified initialisation file when run. This can be used to override the default loading
of the Atoll.ini file located in the Atoll installation folder. "inifilename" is the full path and file name of the
initialisation file inside quotes.
◼ -Cfg "cfgfilename"
Instructs Atoll to load the specified user configuration file when run. This can be used to override the default
loading of the Atoll.cfg file located in the Atoll installation folder. "cfgfilename" is the full path and file name
of the user configuration file inside quotes.
◼ -Stu "studiesfilename"
Instructs Atoll to load the specified studies XML file when run. This can be used to override the default loading
of the studies XML file located in "C:\Temp\studies.xml". "studiesfilename" is the full path and file name of the
studies XML file inside quotes.
◼ -Provider providername
Instructs Atoll to use the mentioned providername to access the database server:
◼ -DataSource server
Instructs Atoll to access the mentioned database server using the given provider.
◼ -UserId username
Instructs Atoll to access the mentioned Oracle database server using the mentioned username.
◼ -Password password
Instructs Atoll to access the mentioned Oracle database server using the mentioned password.
◼ -Project projectaccount
Instructs Atoll to access the mentioned Oracle database server using the mentioned projectaccount.
The keywords Provider, Password, UserId, DataSource, and Project are case
sensitive.
◼ The current version of the driver for fixed license keys (Sentinel SuperPro driver) installed with Atoll is the
7.6.3.
◼ If Atoll is unable to access the fixed license key, even after a clean installation, try reinstalling the Sentinel
SuperPro driver manually. The driver’s setup program (SPI763.exe) is copied by the setup to the Sentinel
subfolder in the Atoll installation folder if you selected the Driver for Fixed Licence Keys component during
the installation. You can also download the driver from http://www.safenet-inc.com.
◼ Restart the computer when asked by the setup. Restarting the computer is necessary for the driver for fixed
license keys to work.
◼ If you get a protection key error message, verify that the fixed license key is correctly plugged in and that the
license has not expired.
◼ In case the fixed or the floating license key becomes unavailable, Atoll will ask the users currently accessing
the key to save their open documents before Atoll closes. If the key becomes available again, Atoll will let the
users continue working.
◼ Do not change the computer’s date.
Citrix
◼ If you have installed Atoll on a Citrix XenApp server, you must publish it to make it available to the users.
Acknowledgement
◼ Atoll uses Inno Setup for installation. For more information, see http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php.
5. On the Log On tab, enter the user name and password for the user account through which you wish to run this
service.
6. Click OK.
By default, a single instance of the distributed calculation service is run. You can, however, run up to 9 additional
distributed calculation services (a total of 10 including the first one) manually. Each instance of the service can
calculate up to eight path loss matrices if the computer has eight processor cores available (one core per
calculation).
If the computer on which you are running the distributed calculation service has more than eight cores available, you
can use these cores for calculations by running more than one instance of the distributed calculation service. Atoll
can detect a total of 10 instances of the distributed calculation service. If you run more than 10 instances of the
distributed calculation service, they will not be detected by Atoll.
To run an additional instance of the distributed calculation service:
1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.
2. To create an instance of the service, type and run the following command:
Where binPath should correspond to the location of the AtollSvr.exe file, DisplayName is the name of the
service as it will appear in the Windows list of services.
3. To start the service created in step 2, type and run the following command:
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each new instance of the service that you want to run by replacing "AtollCalcSvr1"
and "Atoll DCS1" by "AtollCalcSvr2" and "Atoll DCS2", respectively, and so on.
You can verify that the new service instances appear in the list of services through Control Panel > Administrative
Tools > Services.
You can also run additional instances of the distributed calculation service by double-click the AtollSvr.exe file
located in the Atoll installation folder. For each new instance of the service, a command prompt window opens. To
stop an additional, manually run service, close the corresponding command prompt window.
2. Atoll sends the needed network data to the available calculation servers.
3. Either Atoll sends the needed geographic data to the calculation servers or the servers access the geographic
data on a file server.
4. Distributed calculation servers calculate the path loss matrices one by one.
Distributed calculation servers that have spare threads start the calculations using these threads. If no thread
is available, the request is placed in a queue to wait for a thread to become available.
5. For each calculated path loss matrix, a confirmation is sent to the Atoll session. Any error or warning
messages generated are passed back to the Atoll session and displayed in the Event Viewer.
If an error occurs on any of the distributed calculation servers, Atoll transfers the calculations back to the local
computer. However, to avoid memory saturation, Atoll uses one thread on the local computer and calculates
the path loss matrices one by one. It does not attempt creating more than one thread.
6. In order to reduce the amount of data flow in the network, distributed calculation servers send the results
directly to the storage location (which can also be on a file server, not necessarily on the user’s computer that
requested the calculations).
7. Atoll user can then request the path loss matrices from the file server if they are needed for coverage
predictions.
4 Managing Databases
In Atoll, you can work with standalone documents, i.e., documents without any back-end database, or with
documents connected to databases. Standalone documents are more portable, however a back-end database is
required when working in a multi-user environment. In multi-user environments, several users work on the same
project and a central data storage is necessary for keeping the data modifications made by a team of radio planning
and optimisation engineers.
Atoll enables you to create databases, upgrade them to newer versions, archive and refresh data with databases,
manage and resolve data conflicts, and create and work with multi-level databases.
A database server can store one or more databases. For example, a GSM, a UMTS, and a microwave links database
can be stored on the same database server using the same RDBMS (Oracle, for example).
This chapter covers the following topics:
◼ "Atoll Database Templates" on page 33
◼ "Customising Atoll Database Structures" on page 34
◼ "Atoll Management Console" on page 36
◼ "Creating New Databases" on page 38
◼ "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41
◼ "Working With Multi-level Databases Using Oracle" on page 45
◼ "Setting Database Access Privileges" on page 49
◼ "Managing Data Modifications History" on page 50
Database template files must not be modified without consulting Forsk customer
support.
The following table lists the types of fields used in Atoll database templates, their sizes, and the equivalent field
types and sizes in different RDBMS:
BLOB3 Variable
1.Lengths for these fields are specified in parentheses in the database structure tables.
2.Character large object
3.Binary large object
For more information on the Atoll Management Console and upgrading databases, see "Atoll Management Console"
on page 36 and "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41, respectively.
Do not add custom fields to data tables in the default document templates. It is
recommended to add them in copies of the default templates so that the original
database structure remains intact.
If you add custom fields to a default template of your current Atoll version (n-1), and
forget to add the same in the template of the next version (n), the Atoll Management
Console of the next version (n) will consider that these fields were intentionally
removed by the administrator. It will delete such custom fields from the database
during upgrade.
Custom fields can be added to data tables at different stages keeping in mind that:
◼ Custom fields added directly to the Atoll database templates (MDB files), using Microsoft Access 2003, will
be available in all new Atoll documents created from that template. A new database created by exporting such
a document will also contain these custom fields.
◼ Custom fields added to an Atoll document through the Atoll user interface will not be automatically added to
the corresponding Atoll database template. However, a new database created by exporting such a document
will contain these custom fields. For more information on adding custom fields to Atoll documents through
the user interface, see the User Manual.
◼ Custom fields added to an Atoll database will be available in all new Atoll documents created from that
database.
After adding a custom field to a data table, you can perform an Install/Repair on the database to propagate the
changes. For more information, see "Updating Data Modifications History after a Data Structure Upgrade" on
page 51.
To add a custom field to a data table:
1. Add the custom field to the definition of the data table by defining its name, type, and size.
2. Add a corresponding record in the CustomFields table and enter values for each of the following fields:
User Interface
Field Description
Caption
TABLE_NAME Database name of the data table that contains the field
CAPTION Legend Caption of the field as it will appear in the user interface (optional but recommended)
GROUP_NAME Group Semicolon-separated list of the names of groups to which the field belongs (optional)
CHOICE_TYPE Restricted 1: Custom field only accepts values listed in the choice list
0: Custom field accepts values other that those listed in the choice list
DISPLAY_TYPE Read-only 1: Custom field is read-only in the user interface
0: Custom field is modifiable in the user interface
Custom fields are for information only and are not taken into account in
calculations. You can find these fields on the Other Properties tab of an object’s
Properties dialog box.
You can set your own default values for standard as well as custom fields using the CustomFields table. User-
defined default values entered in the CustomFields table have precedence over the predefined default values.
To enter a user-defined default value for any field, add a new record in the CustomFields table and enter values for
each of the following fields:
User Interface
Field Description
Caption
TABLE_NAME Database name of the data table that contains the field
For floating point default values, make sure that all the users use the same decimal
symbol.
You can set your own choice lists for standard as well as custom text fields using the CustomFields table. User-
defined choice lists entered in the CustomFields table have precedence over the predefined choice lists.
To enter a user-defined choice list for any text field, add a new record in the CustomFields table and enter values for
each of the following fields:
User Interface
Field Description
Caption
TABLE_NAME Database name of the data table that contains the text field
For example, you can replace the default choice list available for the SUPPORT_INFO field in the Sites table with a
different list of options corresponding to the different types of towers and pylons that may exist in your network.
You can enter one of the choice list items in the DEFAULT_VALUE in order to set a
default value for the text field.
For custom text fields, you can set the CHOICE_TYPE to 1 if you want the custom
text field to only accept values listed in the choice list. By default, CHOICE_TYPE is
considered to be 0 meaning that users are allowed to enter values other than those
defined in the choice list.
4. On the Provider tab, select the provider for your database server and click Next.
5. On the Connection tab, enter the server name, user name, and password required to access the database
server.
6. Click Test Connection to verify that the information you entered is correct. An information message should
appear to indicate that the "Test connection succeeded" .
7. Click OK. The selected database server is registered and available in the Atoll Management Console. You now
have access to the features offered by the Atoll Management Console.
The tree in the left pane lists the registered database servers. Registered database servers can be connected ( )
or disconnected ( ).
The right pane lists the databases available on the connected database server currently selected in the left pane.
The current user can be the owner of one of the listed databases; his name appears between parentheses in the title
bar after the name of the database owner. One Oracle user can create and own one database. Therefore, for each
new database, you must create a new Oracle user who will own the new database.
The following details are available for databases created or upgraded using the Atoll Management Console:
◼ Name: name of the database preceded by an icon which indicates whether the database corresponds:
◼ to the current version of Atoll ( ), or
◼ to a previous version of Atoll not yet upgraded to the current version of Atoll ( )
◼ Owner: name of the database owner.
◼ Version: most recent Atoll version to which the corresponding database was upgraded.
Only the databases corresponding to the current and previous major releases of
Atoll are listed. The version is indicated if the database has been upgraded via the
AMC.
◼ The databases corresponding to other major releases of Atoll are not listed.
◼ If the database server does not contain any database corresponding to the
current/previous major release of Atoll, no database is listed.
You can create new databases using the Atoll Management Console.
You must have administrator rights to the database and to the server for creating
new databases.
If your password must contain special characters, for example, !, ?, etc., type the
password inside double quotation marks: "mypassword!" instead of mypassword!
5. Click Next. The Name the database and specify a network type page appears.
6. Enter a Name for the new database and select the Network type. The Network type can be one of the database
templates installed with Atoll.
Atoll and the Atoll Management Console must have the same version. This means
that the Atoll Management Console can create databases based on the database
templates installed with Atoll of the same version.
7. Click Next. The Specify units and coordinate systems page appears.
8. Select a Transmission power unit and a Reception threshold unit.
9. Under Coordinate systems, select a Cartographic projection system and the System to be used in the
database.
10.Click Next. The Ready to create database page appears. This page provides a summary of the selected
parameters.
11.Click Execute. The Atoll Management Console creates the new database with the defined parameters on the
selected database server.
A database created using the Atoll Management Console contains an ATOLL_ADMIN table with the following
structure:
ATOLL_TEMPLATE Text (50) Atoll database template used to create the database
Among other uses, the ATOLL_ADMIN table is used to speed up the database upgrade to the next version. This table
stores the data required by the Atoll Management Console for database upgrade.
Databases created with Atoll, instead of the Atoll Management Console, and databases that have never been
upgraded using the Atoll Management Console contain a smaller ATOLL_ADMIN table, with just the NAME,
ATOLL_VERSION, and ATOLL_BUILD fields. Upgrading such databases using the Atoll Management Console can
take a long time because the Atoll Management Console must search for the data required for the upgrade in the
whole database.
For more information on upgrading databases, see "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41.
All the tables in a database created using the Atoll Management Console (except the COORDSYS and UNITS tables)
contain a non-modifiable, integer DB_RECORD_ID field. This field is used to store the ID of every record in the table.
It is not added to Microsoft Access databases.
You can create new databases in all supported RDBMS using Atoll.
To create a new database:
1. Run Atoll.
2. Create a new Atoll document or open an existing one. The new database will be created from this document.
3. Select Document > Database > Export. The Export to a Database dialog box appears.
4. In the Export to a Database dialog box, select the database type in the Save as type list.
By setting an option in the Atoll.ini file, you can instruct Atoll to always use a defined
database type (MS Access, SQL Server, or Oracle). In this case, the Export to a
Database dialog box will be skipped and the database-specific authentication
dialog box will appear immediately. For more information, see "Setting the Type of
Database Being Used" on page 184.
5. Depending on the selected database type, enter the user name and password of the database owner.
6. Click Save. Atoll asks whether you want to connect the document to the new database.
7. Click Yes or No. Atoll creates a new database based on the document.
A database created using Atoll contains an ATOLL_ADMIN table with the following structure:
Before creating the database, make sure that you have defined the coordinate
systems and units in the source document.
Before creating the database, make sure that you have added any required custom
fields. Custom fields of the source document are created in the new database.
If you want to add a custom field to the data structure after you have created the
database, you will have to add it directly in the database and not through Atoll.
Custom fields added to a database are available to users connected to the
database when they create a new Atoll document from the database or refresh an
existing one.
Do not skip a major version of Atoll. For example, if you are currently using Atoll
3.2.x, you should first upgrade the database to Atoll 3.3.x before upgrading to Atoll
3.4.x. Upgrading your database will be simpler if you do not skip a major version. If
you skip or have skipped an intermediate major version, you must upgrade your
database twice in order to make it compatible with the new version.
If you are upgrading a database which was neither created nor already upgraded (at
least once) using the Atoll Management Console, see "Upgrading Databases for the
First Time" on page 43 first.
+ For Oracle databases, you can select multiple databases by pressing CTRL. This
allows you to upgrade multiple databases in one pass. After the upgrade, a log
displays any errors encountered on each individual database.
2. Select Upgrade Database. The Database Upgrade Wizard dialog box appears with the current database
version and the version to which the database will be upgraded.
3. Click Next. The Name the database page appears.
4. Enter a Name and description for the database.
5. Click Next.
The Database Upgrade Wizard reads the database to determine the Atoll database template using which it
was created. If there is more than one template corresponding to the network, select the template to be used
for the upgrade and click Next.
The Atoll Management Console upgrades the database.
If some of the tables in a database have been replaced by views, the Database
Upgrade Wizard asks to select the views to upgrade. Select the views that you want
the Atoll Management Console to upgrade and click Execute.
If, for example, the definition of a view is given by the condition:
Select Field1, Field2 from Table1 where (Condition1);
The wizard first upgrades the schema of Table1 and then upgrades the definition
of the view. The upgraded definition will take the newly added fields into account.
When you upgrade a 3GPP Multi-RAT database, the Atoll Management Console
adds any missing tables to the database. For example, a database created by
exporting a 3GPP Multi-RAT document containing only GSM contains only GSM
tables. When upgraded, the Atoll Management Console will add the UMTS and LTE
tables to the database as well.
Obsolete fields in the data structure are automatically deleted from the database by the Atoll Management Console
during the upgrade.
If you use the Atoll Management Console’s history management tool, you must
repair the upgraded database in order to continue using this tool. For more
information, see "Managing Data Modifications History" on page 50.
It is possible to upgrade an existing database manually (not recommended) by adding and deleting tables and fields
as required by the new version. For information on manually upgrading a database, see "Upgrading Databases
Manually" on page 43.
If you want to upgrade a database which was neither created nor already upgraded (at least once) using the Atoll
Management Console, you must first upgrade the database to the same version as the current version of the
database. This is required so that the Atoll Management console adds the required information to the database to
make it upgradable to newer versions.
To upgrade the database:
1. Before installing the new version of Atoll, install the Atoll Management Console (if not already installed)
compatible with the existing version of Atoll.
2. Upgrade the database (as described in "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41) using the Atoll
Management Console to the existing version of Atoll.
The Atoll Management Console adds additional fields to the ATOLL_ADMIN table and DB_RECORD_ID fields
in all the tables, as described in "Creating a New Database Using the Atoll Management Console" on page 38.
Once the Atoll Management Console has performed the necessary modifications, you can upgrade the
database to the new Atoll version.
3. Install the new version of Atoll and the Atoll Management Console.
4. Upgrade the database (as described in "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41), using the new version of
the Atoll Management Console, to the new version of Atoll.
When a new version of the Atoll Management Console is installed, the setup overwrites the Windows registry key
that stores the information about the Admin.dll file, and the existing version of the Atoll Management Console can
no longer be used.
If you have already installed the new version of the Atoll Management Console, you will have to register the old
Admin.dll again, upgrade the database to the existing version, register the new Admin.dll, and upgrade the database
to the new version using the new Atoll Management Console.
Due to the complex nature of the database upgrade process, it is highly recommended to use the Atoll Management
Console for upgrading existing databases. You should only proceed with a manual upgrade of your database, as
described below, if and only if an automatic upgrade using the Atoll Management Console is not possible.
The following procedure is not recommended for customised Atoll databases and only suits very simple databases.
Parameters and settings (triggers, views, user privileges, custom fields, etc.) defined in advanced database
configurations are lost following the manual database upgrade.
1. In the previous version of Atoll, create a new document from the database.
2. In the new version of Atoll, open the document created in step 1. Atoll upgrades the document data structure
to make it compatible with the new version.
3. Using the upgraded document, create a new database as explained in "Creating a New Database Using Atoll"
on page 40.
If you are upgrading your database using a script based on the data structure
modifications listed in the Data Structure Reference Guide, you must:
◼ Add the ATOLL_ADMIN table to the database. For more information on this
table, see "Creating a New Database Using the Atoll Management Console" on
page 38.
◼ For LTE databases, rename the smart antenna models and equipment as
follows:
◼ Delete existing smart antenna equipment ("Optimum Beamforming Smart
Antenna") from the SmartAntennas table.
◼ Delete existing smart antenna model ("Optimum Beamformer") from the
SmartAntennasModels table.
◼ Create a new smart antenna equipment ("Conventional Beamforming
Smart Antenna") in the SmartAntennas table. Set the smart antenna model
for this equipment to "Conventional Beamformer."
A multi-RAT document can be based on multiple technologies in 3GPP and 3GPP2 documents. Provided such a
document has already been exported to a database, you can add a technology to the corresponding database
through the Atoll Management Console.
1. Start the Atoll Management Console.
2. When the Atoll Management Console opens, right-click on Database in the left pane. The context menu
appears.
3. Select Register a New Server. The Data Link Properties dialog box is displayed.
4. On the Provider tab, select an OLE DB provider and click Next.
5. On the Connection tab, specify a database in the Select or enter a database name field.
6. Click the Test Connection button. If the connection is successful, click OK to close the Data Link Properties
dialog box.
7. Upgrade the database if necessary, as explained in "Upgrading Existing Databases" on page 41.
8. In the right pane, right-click the database you want to upgrade with an additional technology and select Multi-
RAT: View/Add Technologies. The Technologies in the Multi-RAT Database dialog box appears.
A new record is added to the networks table for each technology added to the database.
Project databases are intermediate databases created from a common master database. A project database
contains the original master database, that remains hidden from the end-users, and an copy of the master database
accessible to the end-users. When a user modifies a record, only its accessible copy is modified in the project
database. The original value in the master database remains unchanged until the database administrator archives
all the modifications from the project databases to the master database.
Project databases can be used to improve performance and ensure data security and reliability. Instead allowing all
the end-users to work directly with the master database, one or many project databases can be created with copies
of the entire master database or a part of the master database corresponding to a given physical location or region.
Creating and working with project databases restricts the number of users who have access to the master
database. This reduces the risk of conflicts in the database as only the database administrator can archive
modifications from project databases to the master database.
For example, if a country-wide network database is accessible to all end-users:
◼ The probability of human error increases with the number of users who can modify data.
◼ The probability of conflicts increases with the number of users accessing the database.
◼ The performance is reduced because the entire network is loaded every time a user accesses the database.
◼ For routine city-wide planning, an end-user does not require the entire country’s database to be loaded.
Project databases can be created using filters on sites, thus allowing users to work with regional databases. A
possible scenario is depicted in the figure below:
Multi-level databases can be set up using the Atoll Management Console. In this section, the following are
explained:
◼ "Creating Project Databases" on page 46
◼ "Archiving Project Databases to Master Databases" on page 48
◼ "Refreshing Project Databases from Master Databases" on page 48
You can create project databases using the Atoll Management Console.
For creating a project database, you must have enough rights to be able to create
new tables in the master database schema.
Some versions of Oracle let you create a new user through this dialog box but the
new user is not assigned DBA rights, which makes the new user unable to create
the project database. Therefore, it is recommended to create the new user with DBA
rights directly in the database before create the project database using the Atoll
Management Console using the new user account.
MASTER_DBSCHEMA Text (50) The name of the original schema of the master database.
Oracle databases do not support the dot (".") character in schema names.
SEL_METHOD Short Data extraction method used to select the sites to include in the project database
SEL_PARAM Text (255) Site selection method parameters (the SQL condition, if any)
You can view the details stored in the ATOLL_ADMIN_PRJ table in the project database properties. To view the
above details of a project database:
1. In the right pane, right-click the project database in the list. The context menu appears.
2. Select Properties. The database Properties dialog box appears.
3. The Properties dialog box contains three tabs:
◼ General tab: The General tab displays the Name, Description, Owner, Type, and Version of the database.
◼ Project Database tab: Under Source master database, the Project Database tab displays the Connection
settings to and the Owner of the master database. Under Site selection, this tab displays the site filtering
Method and Settings used for creating the project database.
◼ Statistics tab: The Statistics tab displays the number of records in each table of the project database.
The project database contains a copy of all the original tables of the master database. The names of the original
tables are prefixed with "O_". For example, the ANTENNAS table of the master database is stored in the project
database under the name O_ANTENNAS. The COORDSYS and UNITS are not copied to the project database
because their contents cannot be different from those of the master database.
All the tables in a project database contain a non-modifiable, integer O_RECORD_ID field and a Boolean O_CHANGED
field. The O_RECORD_ID field is used to locate records in the master database. Modified records are archived in
master database using the O_RECORD_ID of the project database and DB_RECORD_ID of the master database. The
O_CHANGED field is set to TRUE for records modified in the project database.
Changes made in the project databases can be archived to the master database using the Atoll Management
Console. The Archive dialog box lets you select changes you want to archive.
Before archiving the database, check that the structure of the O_ tables are consistent with the main tables in the
project database.
To archive the changes from a project database to its master database:
1. In the Atoll Management Console window, in the right pane, right-click the project database from which you
want to archive changes to its master database. The context menu appears.
2. Select Archive. If pending changes exist, the Archive dialog box appears. The Archive dialog box lists the
records of the project database for which the O_CHANGED field is TRUE.
3. In the Archive dialog box, you can do the following:
◼ Select a site list in Filter by site list to filter the pending changes by a site list.
◼ Click Archive All to archive all the changes to the master database.
◼ Select the check boxes to the left of the changes that you want to archive and click Archive Sel. to archive
only the selected changes.
◼ Click Undo All to overwrite all the changes in the project database with data from the master database.
◼ Select the check boxes to the left of the changes that you want to undo and click Undo Sel. to overwrite
only the selected changes in the project database with data from the master database.
◼ Select the Check conflicts check box to see whether conflicts occurred during the archive.
A conflict occurs when the project database contains a different original value of a field than the current
value of the field in the master database. This can occur if the master database has been updated with
changes from another source and the project database has not yet been refreshed with data from the
master database.
Under Errors, Atoll Management Console displays errors that occurred during archive.
4. Once archive is complete, click Close.
Project databases can be refreshed with data from the master database using the Atoll Management Console.
To refresh a project database with data from its master database:
1. In the Atoll Management Console window, in the right pane, right-click the project database that you want to
refresh with data from its master database. The context menu appears.
2. Select Refresh. If pending changes exist, the Refresh a Project Database dialog box appears.
3. In the Refresh a Project Database dialog box, you can:
◼ Select Refresh unmodified data only to keep any changes in the project database and only update
unmodified records from the master database. During the refresh, the Atoll Management Console will
reload records from the master database for which the O_CHANGED field is FALSE in the project database.
◼ Select Cancel your changes and reload all data from the master database to overwrite modified and
unmodified records in the project database with data from the master database.
1. Click OK. The project database is refreshed with data from the master database.
GSM GPRS EDGE Sites, Transmitters, TRGs, TRXs, Repeaters, SecondaryAntennas, Neighbours, Neigh-
boursExt
CDMA2000 1xRTT 1xEV-DO Sites, Transmitters, CDMACells, Repeaters, SecondaryAntennas, Neighbours, Neigh-
boursExt
3GPP sites, ltransmitters, utransmitters, gtransmitters, lcells, ucells, gtrgs, gtrxs, lrepeaters,
urepeaters, grepeaters, lsecondaryantennas, usecondaryantennas, gsecondaryanten-
nas, lneighbours, uneighbours, gneighbours, lneighext, uneighext, gneighext, guneigh-
bours, ugneighbours, glneighbours, lgneighbours, ulneighbours, luneighbours
Microwave Radio Links/Backhaul Sites, MWLinks, MWHubs, MWPmp, MWMultiHops, MWMultiHopsLinks, MWRepeaters,
MWOTLinks, MWPorts, BHNodes, BHSegments, BHSegmentsMedia
You can, however, enable or disable history management for table as required (see "Enabling/Disabling Data
Modifications History Management" on page 51 for more information). You can also purge old data modifications
history (see "Purging Old Data Modification Records" on page 52 for more information).
The history management tool is available for Oracle and SQL Server databases. The following section describes
how to set up the history management tool using the Atoll Management Console.
When you set up history management for any database, the Atoll Management Console adds new tables to the
database structure. For each tracked table, it adds a corresponding history table that has the same name as the
tracked table with the suffix "_H". Each history table has the same structure as the corresponding tracked table, but
with the following four additional fields. These fields enable the Atoll Management Console to store the
modifications made by users to each tracked table:
The above fields are also added to all the tracked tables in order to store information about the latest modification.
Therefore, opening any tracked table, you can see when a record was last modified, by whom, and the type of
modification.
You can enable or disable data modifications history management for any table. You can enable or disable history
management for each individual table. When history management is enabled for a table, the MODIFIED_BY,
MODIFIED_DATE, and HISTORY_STATUS fields are updated with each modification, and a copy of each modification
is stored in the history table corresponding to the table. When history management is disabled for a table, the
MODIFIED_BY, MODIFIED_DATE, and HISTORY_STATUS fields are still updated with each modification, but the
history of modifications is not stored in the corresponding history table.
To enable data modifications history management for a table:
1. In the Atoll Management Console window, in the right pane, right-click the database for which you want to
enable data modifications history management. The context menu appears.
2. Select Manage Data Modifications History. The Data Modifications History Management dialog box appears.
3. In the Data Modifications History Management dialog box, right-click the table for which you want to enable
data modifications history management. The context menu appears.
4. Select Enable in the context menu.
Data modifications history management is now enabled for this table. The Status in the Data Modifications
History Management dialog box is set to OK for this table.
To disable data modifications history management for a table:
1. In the Atoll Management Console window, in the right pane, right-click the database for which you want to
disable data modifications history management. The context menu appears.
2. Select Manage Data Modifications History. The Data Modifications History Management dialog box appears.
3. In the Data Modifications History Management dialog box, right-click the table for which you want to enable
data modifications history management. The context menu appears.
4. Select Disable in the context menu.
History management is now disabled for this table. The Status in the Data Modifications History Management
dialog box is set to Deactivated for this table.
When you modify the structure of a tracked database table (for which data modifications history management is
enabled), either automatically upgrading your database using the Atoll Management Console, or manually by adding
or removing fields, or by modifying a field type, the corresponding data modifications history management table
becomes invalid and has to be updated to match the new structure of the tracked table.
The Status column of the Data Modifications History Management dialog box shows an error for the tracked table
whose history management table does not match its structure.
To update the data modifications history management tables:
1. In the Atoll Management Console window, in the right pane, select one or several databases whose tables you
want to update. The context menu appears.
2. Right-click the selection and select Manage Data Modifications History. The Data Modifications History
Management dialog box appears.
3. In the Data Modifications History Management dialog box, right-click the table that you want to update. The
context menu appears.
4. Select Install/Repair in the context menu.
The Atoll Management Console repairs the data structure of the history management table to match the
structure of the corresponding tracked table.
History management tables store the lists of all the modifications made by all the users. These tables can therefore
quickly become very large and require a lot of disk space. You can purge old data modifications history (records)
from these tables in order to gain disk space.
In this section, the following is explained:
◼ "Purging Old Data Modification Records of a Table" on page 52.
◼ "Purging Old Data Modification Records of a Database" on page 53.
3. In the Data Modifications History Management dialog box, right-click the table for which you want to purge
old data modifications history. The context menu appears.
4. In the context menu, select Purge. The table record purge dialog box appears (see Figure 4.11 on page 53).
5. Under Purge data modifications recorded before, move the slider to select from which date onwards you want
to keep the data modification history records.
All the data modification history records before this date will be deleted. The fields under Record Information
indicate the number of Records that will be left after the purge and the corresponding Size.
6. Under Options, select the Keep creation and deletion records check box if you want to keep the records
related to creation and deletion.
7. Click Purge. All the history records before the selected date are deleted from the history management table.
If you selected the Keep creation and deletion records check box, creation and deletion records before the
selected date are not deleted.
Here:
Parameter Description
job_name AHMS_<schema_name>
job_type PLSQL_BLOCK
start_date SYSTIMESTAMP
end_date NULL
comments Custom character string with codes for easy identification of the scheduler type
4.9 Appendices
The first appendix shows how to use SQL for Oracle database customisation and the second appendix shows how
to set up databases for co-planning taking the example of GSM and UMTS MS Access databases.
You can use SQL in order to manage access to and share the Sites table (example 1), or to restrict the connection
to a set of transmitters for some users (example 2). To implement the following two examples, you must log on as
the owner of the tables through SQL Plus 8.
4. Commit.
3. Create a POSTCODETABLE table to link users and postcodes (one user can be linked to several postcodes).
4. Create a view owned by this user hiding the actual SITES table through these commands.
"with check option" is very important as it specifies that insert and update operations performed through the
view must result in rows that the view query can select.
5. Hide the TRANSMITTERS table, so that Atoll can only select transmitters whose associated sites are present
in the SITES view.
6. Commit.
The error message "ORA-01402: view WITH CHECK OPTION - clause violation"
appears if you try to archive a record that does not match the project.
To set up a shared Sites table for a GSM-UMTS co-planning project in Microsoft Access:
1. Make backups of the GSM and UMTS documents.
2. Open the GSM document in Atoll.
3. Delete all the transmitters from the Transmitters table and all the sites from the Sites table.
4. Export the GSM document to a Microsoft Access database (GSM.mdb).
5. Open GSM.mdb in Microsoft Access.
6. Delete the Sites table.
7. Open the UMTS document in Atoll
8. Export the UMTS document to a Microsoft Access database (UMTS.mdb).
9. Open GSM.mdb in Microsoft Access.
10.In Microsoft Access 2003 and earlier, select File > Get External Data > Link Tables. In Microsoft Access 2007
and later, select External Data > Access Database.
11.In Microsoft Access 2003 and earlier, the Link dialog box appears. Select UMTS.mdb. In Microsoft Access
2007 and later, the Get External Data - Access Database dialog box appears, specify UMTS.mdb as data
source and select Link to data source by creating a linked table.
12.Click OK. The Link Tables dialog box appears.
13.Select the Sites table.
14.Click OK. Microsoft Access creates a Sites table in GSM.mdb which is linked to the Sites table in UMTS.mdb.
The tables contain the same data.
Once the linked Sites table has been created in the GSM database, you have to define the relations of this table with
the other tables in the database. See the Data Structure Reference Guide for detailed information on database tables.
The UMTS Sites table has more fields than the GSM Sites table. Therefore, you
should replace the GSM Sites table with the UMTS one.
When you upgrade one by one the databases that share the Sites table, any triggers
that you might have set on the Sites table of the database that is upgraded first
might be overwritten by the triggers set on the Sites table of the database upgraded
last. In order to avoid the triggers being overwritten, you can rename the triggers on
the Sites table of the database upgraded first (by adding, for example, the database
technology as prefix to the trigger names) before upgrading the other database(s).
5 Multi-user Environments
A multi-user environment is where more than one user work simultaneously on an Atoll project, sharing data over a
network. In large, structured multi-user environments, groups of users can work on specific parts of a common,
large-scale project. For example, different user groups can work on different regions of a country-wide network.
This chapter covers the following topics:
◼ "Setting Up Multi-user Environments" on page 59
◼ "Components of Multi-user Environments" on page 59
◼ "Managing User Accounts and Access Rights" on page 62
The Atoll administrator should regularly update the shared path loss matrices.
As the users work on the network and archive changes in the database, the Atoll
administrator should regularly run data integrity checks on the master Atoll
document after loading modified data from the master database. For more
information, see "Appendix 1: Checking Data Integrity" on page 68.
It is the source Atoll document that contains the entire project’s network data. It is created and maintained by the
Atoll administrator. This document is initially used to create the radio network database with which all the end-users
work. The master Atoll document allows the administrator to globally manage all the data shared by the end-users.
The master Atoll document is also used for calculating path loss matrices for the transmitters of the entire network
and keeping the path loss matrices up to date with the user modifications to the radio network data. The document
also contains the required geographic data for path loss calculations. Geographic data are usually located on file
servers and linked to the document, not embedded in the ATL file. The private path loss matrices of this document
are used as shared path loss matrices by the end-users. The shared path loss matrices folder is usually located on
a file server accessible to all the users on the network.
For exceptionally large networks, you can also work with more than one master Atoll document (for example, one
master document per region). However, the multi-user environment set up remains the same. Master Atoll
documents should not have redundant radio network data (same sites, for example), and should ideally cover
different geographical regions. For more information on regionalisation, see "Appendix 2: Database Regionalisation"
on page 69.
If you wish to add custom fields in the Atoll document, you should first add the field
in the database, and then update your Atoll document from the database. Custom
fields added in an Atoll document connected to a Microsoft Access database are
automatically added to the database. However, this is not the case with other
RDBMS, such as Oracle.
The master database stores the radio network data shared by all the end-users. It can be created by exporting the
radio network data in the master Atoll document to a database from Atoll (for more information, see "Creating a New
Database Using Atoll" on page 40). An empty database can also be created using the Atoll Management Console,
and populated with data later on (for more information, see "Creating a New Database Using the Atoll Management
Console" on page 38).
Only radio network data are stored in the database, i.e., sites, transmitters, antennas, etc. Parameters related to
geographic data files, their paths, folder configurations, prediction definitions, zones, traffic maps, measurements
can be stored in user configuration files (see "Configuration Files" on page 113 for details).
For large networks, you can subdivide the network’s master database into regions. For more information on
regionalisation, see "Appendix 2: Database Regionalisation" on page 69. For more information on database
management, see "Managing Databases" on page 33. The recommended database server configuration is provided
in "Recommended Hardware and Software" on page 16.
The same database server can be used to store one or more master databases
corresponding to different technologies. For example, a GSM database and a UMTS
database can be stored on the same database server using the same RDBMS
(Oracle, for example).
Geographic data files are usually stored on a file server accessible to and shared by all the users working on the
same network. User configuration files (CFG or GEO) are used to store the parameters related to geographic data.
For more information, see "Configuration Files" on page 113.
The administrator can set up different user configuration files (CFG) for separate user groups. User configuration
files can be created so that only the geographic data required by a user are loaded. It is possible to load a user
configuration file automatically when running Atoll. User configuration files can be shared and exchanged between
users working on the same project. For more information, see "Atoll Command Line Parameters" on page 26.
Geographic data files are usually large files, and it is recommended that these be stored externally and not
embedded in Atoll documents. The recommended file server configuration is provided in "Recommended Hardware
and Software" on page 16.
If users modify geographic data locally, for example edit clutter or traffic in their
respective projects, they should store these modified geographic data locally so
that the modifications do not impact other users.
Shared path loss matrices are usually stored on a file server accessible to and shared by all the users working on
the same project. These path losses are calculated using the master Atoll document by the Atoll administrator. The
private path loss matrices of the master Atoll document are used as shared path loss matrices by the end-users.
The Atoll administrator is the owner of the shared path loss matrices, and must have read/write access to the
shared path loss matrices folder. End-users should have read-only access to this folder.
It is the administrator’s duty to regularly update the master Atoll document with the modifications made to the
master database by the end-users, and to calculate the shared path loss matrices using the master Atoll document
on a routine basis. This task can be carried out using a macro. For more information, see "Appendix 3: Calculating
Path Loss Matrices" on page 70.
Shared path loss matrices are available for use in calculations to all the end-users. However, end-users are not
allowed to modify the shared path loss matrices.
The shared path loss matrices must be unlocked in order for users to be able to
work with them. You can check whether path loss matrices are unlocked in the
Propagation tab of the Transmitters folder’s properties dialog box.
Shared microwave link profiles are usually stored on a file server accessible to and shared by all the users working
on the same project. These profiles are calculated using the master Atoll document by the Atoll administrator. The
private profile data of the master Atoll document is used as shared profile data by the end-users.
The Atoll administrator is the owner of the shared profiles, and must have read/write access to the shared profiles
folder. End-users should have read-only access to this folder.
It is the administrator’s duty to regularly update the master Atoll document with the modifications made to the
master database by the end-users, and to calculate the shared profile extraction using the master Atoll document
on a routine basis. This task can be carried out using a macro.
User Atoll documents are created from the master database. These can contain the entire project network data or
only a part of it. User documents are the working documents of the Atoll end-users connected to the master
database, the geographic data, and the shared path loss matrices folder.
You should load data from the master database in each user Atoll document and save it before setting the shared
path loss matrices folder for the document. For any modifications made by end-users in their Atoll documents that
render some shared path losses invalid, Atoll calculates the invalid path loss matrices locally for the end-users and
stores them in their private path loss matrices location. Shared path loss matrices are only used in calculations if
valid private path loss matrices are not available. Therefore, in order to use shared path loss matrices, you must
delete the corresponding private path loss matrices.
If users are going to work on regions of a network, the regionalisation should be set up before creating the user
documents. For more information on regionalisation, see "Appendix 2: Database Regionalisation" on page 69.
If you wish to add custom fields in the Atoll document, you should first add the field
in the database, and then update your Atoll document from the database. Custom
fields added in an Atoll document connected to a Microsoft Access database are
automatically added to the database. However, this is not the case with other
RDBMS, such as Oracle.
3. Click Yes when asked whether you want to make your database compatible with the user management tool.
The Atoll Management Console adds a GUIUserRights table in the database with the following structure:
Each user’s interface access rights are stored in a unique record in the GUIUserRights table. The contents of the
RIGHTS field have the following syntax:
RADIOPARAMS;CALCPARAMS;PROPAGMODELS;PASSWORD
The syntax is explained in detail in "Defining Database and Interface Access Rights" on page 63.
If interface access rights are not defined for a database, i.e., the GUIUserRights table does not exist, all the users
have unrestricted access to the Atoll interface.
If interface access rights are defined for a database, and a user creates a document from the database or opens a
document connected to the database, Atoll retrieves the interface access rights for the user when he enters his user
name and password to access the database.
If the database is not reachable, the user is not listed in the GUIUserRights table, or if the password is not correct,
the user’s interface access rights are set to read-only by default (for more information, see "Defining Database and
Interface Access Rights" on page 63). If the user is listed in the GUIUserRights table, his interface access rights are
read and applied to the Atoll interface (table grids and properties dialog boxes). A message is displayed in the Event
Viewer window to inform the user of his interface access rights. It is possible to remove interface access
restrictions by disconnecting the document from the database. However, a disconnected document cannot be
reconnected to the database.
The GUIUserRights table is also stored in the Atoll document, and is updated when the document is saved. Hence,
users can work on their documents without actually being connected to the database, and still have their usual
interface access rights applied in the document.
Atoll does not ask for the user name and password when a document is opened
using the API. The interface access rights stored in the document are used.
When database connection properties are modified for a document, for example, when a different user enters his
user name and password in the connection properties, Atoll reads and applies the interface access rights defined
for the new user.
For any existing user account, you can set the database and Atoll interface access rights using the Atoll
Management Console.
To manage database and Atoll interface access rights for an existing user account:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database. A context menu
appears.
2. In the context menu, select Manage Users. The User Management dialog box appears.
3. Under Projects, select the projects for which you want to manage user accounts. You can select multiple
projects by pressing CTRL.
4. Under List of users, select the user accounts whose database and interface access rights you want to set. You
can select multiple users by pressing CTRL.
Users who have database access rights in the selected database are marked with the green icon ( ). Users
who do not have any database access rights in the selected database (Category = No Access) are marked with
the red icon ( ). Locked (deactivated) user accounts are marked with a yellow lock icon ( ). For more
information on locked user accounts, see "Managing User Accounts" on page 66.
5. You can set the Filter list to:
◼ All users: Users with access ( ), without access ( ), or locked ( )
GSM GPRS EDGE Sites, SitesLists, SitesListsNames, Transmitters, TXLists, TXListsNames, TRGs, TRXs,
Repeaters, SecondaryAntennas, Neighbours, NeighboursExt, NeighboursConstraints,
NeighboursConstraintsExt
CDMA2000 1xRTT 1xEV-DO Sites, SitesLists, SitesListsNames, Transmitters, TXLists, TXListsNames, CDMACells,
Repeaters, SecondaryAntennas, Neighbours, NeighboursExt, NeighboursConstraints,
NeighboursConstraintsExt
Microwave Radio Links/Backhaul Sites, SitesLists, SitesListsNames, MWLinks, MWHubs, MWPmp, MWMultiHops,
MWMultiHopsLinks, MWRepeaters, MWOTLinks, MWPorts, BHNodes, BHSegments,
BHSegmentsMedia
7. Under Interface rights, you can select interface access rights for:
◼ Access to radio data:
◼ Full: (RADIOPARAMS = ALL) Users with read and write access to all the tables and properties dialog
boxes.
◼ Standard: (RADIOPARAMS = STD) Users with read and write access to radio network data tables and
properties dialog boxes including sites, transmitters, cells, carrier aggregation groups, carrier
aggregation group definitions, CoMP sets, CoMP set definitions, MBSFN areas, MBSFN area definitions,
subcells, repeaters, remote antennas, secondary antennas, intra- and inter-technology neighbours and
exceptional pairs, site and transmitter lists, microwave point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, and multi-hop
links, microwave repeaters, microwave hubs.
◼ Read only: (RADIOPARAMS = NONE) Users with read-only access to tables and properties dialog boxes,
i.e., users are not allowed to modify radio network data and parameters.
Database access rights and access rights to radio data in Atoll can be set
independently. For example, a user can have full access rights in the interface but
not be allowed to archive changes to the database.
However, access rights in the interface should only be granted if the user has at
least read-only access to the database.
◼ Customised only: (CALCPARAMS = NONE) Users with access to customised coverage predictions only,
but not allowed to modify coverage conditions and display settings. These users do not have access to
the microwave calculation settings mentioned above.
◼ Access to propagation models:
◼ Full: (PROPAGMODELS = ALL) Users with read and write access to all propagation models and their
properties.
◼ Read only: (PROPAGMODELS = NONE) Users with read-only access to the properties of all the
propagation models. Adding and deleting propagation models is also not allowed.
◼ Password confirmation:
◼ Yes: (PASSWORD = STD) Atoll will ask users for password when opening a document connected to this
database or creating a new document from this database.
◼ No: (PASSWORD = NONE) Atoll will not ask users for password when opening a document connected to
this database or creating a new document from this database.
8. Click OK. The database and interface access rights of the selected user are saved in the database.
You can create and edit user accounts using the Atoll Management Console.
To create a new user account:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database and select Manage
Users. The User Management dialog box appears (see Figure 5.2 on page 64).
2. Under Users, click Create. The User Creation/Edition dialog box appears.
3. Under Identification:
◼ Enter a User name, a Password, and Confirm your password.
◼ Select a Tablespace, a Temporary tablespace, and a Profile.
4. Under Advanced:
◼ Select Use operating system authentication if you want to use OS authentication prefix with the user name.
◼ Select "Unlimited tablespace" privilege if you want to assign this system privilege to the user or specify a
Quota in megabytes.
5. Click OK. The new user account is created.
To edit a user account:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database and select Manage
Users. The User Management dialog box appears (see Figure 5.2 on page 64).
2. Under List of users, select the user account whose information you want to edit.
3. Under Users, click Edit. The Create/Edit User dialog box appears (Figure 5.3 on page 66).
4. Under Identification, modify the user’s Password and the assigned Tablespace, Temporary tablespace, and
Profile.
5. Under Advanced:
◼ Select Use operating system authentication if you want to use OS authentication prefix with the user name.
◼ Select "Unlimited tablespace" privilege if you want to assign this system privilege to the user or specify a
Quota in megabytes.
6. Click OK. The new account information is saved.
To deactivate (lock) a user account:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database and select Manage
Users. The User Management dialog box appears (see Figure 5.2 on page 64).
2. Under List of users, select the user account you want to deactivate.
3. Under Users, click Edit. The Create/Edit User dialog box appears (Figure 5.3 on page 66).
4. Under Advanced, select the Account locked check box.
5. Click OK. The user account is deactivated and can no longer be used.
To delete a user account:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database and select Manage
Users. The User Management dialog box appears (see Figure 5.2 on page 64).
2. Under List of users, select the user account you want to deactivate.
3. Under Users, click Delete. The user account is deleted.
The permissions reset feature in the Atoll Management Console enables you to rebuild user database permissions
while keeping existing role assignments. It is particularly useful after a major Atoll upgrade or after tables were
added as a result of a project customization, and for all unforeseen reasons which can require fixing user database
permissions.
The reset process does not remove any object privileges assigned prior to rebuilding the database. It just looks for
new objects and assigns permissions based on existing user profiles ("Administrator", "Standard", "Read-only",
"Super-user").
To reset user permissions for all users:
1. In the right-hand pane of the Atoll Management Console window, right-click a database and select Manage
Users. The User Management dialog box appears (see Figure 5.2 on page 64).
2. Under Database rights, click Reset.
3. Acknowledge the message informing you about the rebuilding process duration.
The duration of the database rebuild depends on the number of users and on the
database processing speed.
It is possible to assign permissions to user roles for one or several specific database columns. When using a third
party add-in or an external tool, this allows users who are in a read-only role to still archive changes on specific
fields.
Custom permissions do not allow read-only users to archive changes from within
the Atoll user interface.
The duration of the database rebuild depends on the number of users and on the
database processing speed.
5.4 Appendices
The following appendices provide additional information on:
◼ "Appendix 1: Checking Data Integrity" on page 68
◼ "Appendix 2: Database Regionalisation" on page 69
◼ "Appendix 3: Calculating Path Loss Matrices" on page 70
◼ "Appendix 4: Path Loss Matrices From Different Sources" on page 70
Atoll includes data consistency and integrity checking tools that allow you to check data consistency between the
different Atoll tables (Sites, Transmitters, etc.). It is recommended that the Atoll administrator runs data integrity
checks regularly on the master Atoll document after it is updated with data modifications in the master database.
To perform data integrity check:
◼ In Atoll, select Document > Data Audit > Integrity Check.
Atoll searches for records with integrity problems which can occur with objects that have foreign keys.
Integrity problems occur when records refer records that do not exist. For example, transmitters located on
sites that do not exist in the Sites table, transmitters referring to an antenna that does not exist in the Antennas
table, etc.). Records with integrity problems can be deleted when found.
To perform undefined record check:
◼ In Atoll, select Document > Data Audit > Undefined Record Check.
Atoll searches for undefined records such as sites without transmitters, transmitters without subcells, TRXs,
and neighbours in GSM, transmitters without cells, and cells without neighbours in UMTS, CDMA2000, TD-
SCDMA, LTE, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi. Atoll lists all the undefined records found in the Event Viewer.
To perform duplicate record check:
◼ In Atoll, select Document > Data Audit > Duplicate Record Check.
Atoll searches for records that have the same identifier. For example, sites with the same name, transmitters
with the same name, etc. Atoll lists all the duplicate records in the Event Viewer.
To perform microwave data check:
1. In Atoll, select Document > Data Audit > Microwave Data Check. The Microwave Data Check dialog box
appears.
2. In the Microwave Data Check dialog box, select the data to check.
3. Select List all the checks to list all the checks in the Event Viewer.
4. Click OK.
Atoll searches the microwave links tables for problems related to the selected checks. Atoll lists the problems
found in the Event Viewer.
If you fix any problems in the Atoll document, you must archive the changes in the
database in order to fix the problems for all the users working with that database.
You can subdivide the network into regions in the following ways:
◼ Static regionalisation using multi-level databases
Static regionalisation can be based on site lists, SQL filters, or geographic zones in the form of filtering
polygons. Static regionalisation is carried out by creating project databases from the master database, i.e.,
multi-level databases as explained in "Working With Multi-level Databases Using Oracle" on page 45.
Static regionalisation requires manual synchronisation between the master database and the regional project
databases using the Atoll Management Console. In a multi-level database environment, end-users work with
project databases, refreshing and archiving data as they continue to work on their respective regions of the
network. Data archive and refresh between the project databases and the master database are performed by
the administrator alone.
◼ Advantage: High performance.
◼ Disadvantage: Manual Synchronisation between the master and the project databases.
◼ Dynamic regionalisation using Oracle Spatial or Oracle Locator
Dynamic regionalisation can be based on Oracle Spatial, which does not create separate regional databases
from the master database, but rather lets the different users work with the master database directly while
managing their access privileges according to their user connection properties. In an Atoll multi-user
environment, you can create such regionalisation without installing Oracle Spatial. You can implement this
solution using Oracle Locator, which is provided in the standard Oracle installation.
Specific documents explaining how to set up this regionalisation, using Oracle, in any Atoll master database
are available on demand from Forsk. These documents provide scripts for creating different types of users,
e.g., the administrator, advanced user, read-only user, etc., and give examples of how to set up regions in the
network and how to assign user rights to each region.
◼ Advantage: Once set up, does not require administrator intervention.
◼ Disadvantage: Slow performance (archiving data in the database takes a long time).
You can calculate only the invalid path loss matrices or all the path loss matrices in Atoll or using a macro.
You should only calculate the shared path loss matrices when they are not being
accessed by users.
+ You should also make regular backups of the master Atoll document. The above
macro could also create a backup ATL file of the master Atoll document on a
regular basis. This file can be overwritten daily, whenever path losses are
calculated.
Atoll calculates path loss matrices and creates path loss matrix storage files using the propagation models
assigned to transmitters. Atoll can also work with path loss matrices calculated by other tools. To use path loss
matrices from different sources, make sure that the path loss matrices are:
◼ Available in a format compatible with Atoll. File formats are described in "Path Loss Matrix File Format" on
page 89.
◼ Stored at the location set in the Atoll document.
◼ Valid. If the path loss matrices are not valid, Atoll will automatically calculate them the next time they are used.
Path loss matrices calculated by other tools should include antenna pattern
attenuation (i.e., should be masked) in order to be consistent with the path loss
matrices calculated by Atoll.
The shared path loss matrices architecture can contain path loss matrices from different sources. The Pathloss.dbf
file provides the means to manage several sources of path loss matrices. This file stores, among other information,
the validity status and the location (path) of the path loss matrix files for each transmitter.
Let us assume that users of group A wish to work with the path loss matrices generated by Atoll only, and users of
group B wish to work with path loss matrices generated by a different tool for a part of the network and with path
loss matrices generated by Atoll where the matrices from the other tool are not available.
Let us assume that the shared path loss matrices folder where Atoll stores the generated path loss matrices files
is C:\Path_Loss_Internal, and the folder where the other tool stores its path loss matrices is C:\Path_Loss_External.
The Pathloss.dbf file in the Path_Loss_Internal folder will store the path to the LOS files for each transmitter in the
network. This folder can be set as the shared path loss matrices folder in the ATL files of group A users.
To set up the shared path loss matrices folder for group B users, you must create a new folder with a Pathloss.dbf
file in it. This folder can be called C:\Path_Loss_Mixed. The Pathloss.dbf file in this folder can be a copy of the
Pathloss.dbf file in the Path_Loss_Internal folder with the paths to the LOS files modified. For example, if the path
loss matrices generated by the other tool include Transmitter_1, the Pathloss.dbf file in the Path_Loss_Mixed folder
will have all the same entries as Pathloss.dbf file in the Path_Loss_Internal folder except for the path for the
Transmitter_1 path loss matrices file. Figure 5.4 on page 71 explains this concept.
Figure 5.4: : Path Loss Architecture for Multiple Source Path Loss Matrices
Once the Pathloss.dbf file in the Path_Loss_Mixed folder is updated with the correct paths corresponding to the
different transmitters, the Path_Loss_Mixed folder can be set as the shared path loss matrices folder in the ATL files
of group B users.
If a group B user changes some parameters which make some path loss matrices invalid, Atoll will recalculate the
private path loss matrices with the propagation models assigned to the transmitters. The external path loss matrix
will no longer be used.
References:
1. Snyder, John. P., Map Projections Used by the US Geological Survey, 2nd
Edition, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 313
pages, 1982.
2. http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html
3. http://www.epsg.org/Geodetic.html
4. http://geodesie.ign.fr/contenu/fichiers/documentation/pedagogiques/
transfo.pdf (French)
A geographic coordinate system is a latitude and longitude coordinate system. The latitude and longitude are
related to an ellipsoid, a geodetic datum, and a prime meridian. The geodetic datum provides the position and
orientation of the ellipsoid relative to the earth.
Cartographic coordinate systems are obtained by transforming each (latitude, longitude) value into an (easting,
northing) value. A projection coordinate system is obtained by transforming each (latitude, longitude) value into an
(easting, northing) value. Projection coordinate systems are geographic coordinate systems that provide longitude
and latitude, and the transformation method characterised by a set of parameters. Different methods might require
different sets of parameters. For example, the parameters required for Transverse Mercator coordinate systems
are:
◼ The longitude of the natural origin (central meridian)
◼ The latitude of the natural origin
◼ The False Easting value
◼ The False Northing value
◼ A scaling factor at the natural origin (central meridian)
Basic definitions are presented below.
Datum
The datum consists of the ellipsoid and its position relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid. In addition to the ellipsoid,
translation, rotation, and distortion parameters define the datum.
Meridian
The standard meridian is Greenwich, but some geographic coordinate systems are based on other meridians. These
meridians are defined by the longitude with respect to Greenwich.
Ellipsoid
The ellipsoid is the pattern used to model the earth. It is defined by its geometric parameters.
Projection
The projection is the transformation applied to project the ellipsoid of the earth on to a plane. There are different
projection methods that use specific sets of parameters.
Depending on the working environment, there can be either two or four coordinate systems used in Atoll. If you are
working with stand-alone documents, i.e., documents not connected to databases, there are two coordinate
systems used in Atoll:
◼ Projection coordinate system
◼ Display coordinate system
If you are working in a multi-user environment, Atoll uses four coordinate systems:
◼ Projection coordinate system for the Atoll document
◼ Display coordinate system for the Atoll document
◼ Internal projection coordinate system for the database
◼ Internal display coordinate system for the database
available raster geographic data. You can set the projection coordinate system of your document in the Options
dialog.
All the raster geographic data files that you want to import and use in an Atoll document must have the same
coordinate system. You cannot work with raster geographic data files with different coordinate systems in the same
document.
If you import vector geographic data (e.g., traffic, measurements, etc.) with
different coordinate systems, it is possible to convert the coordinate systems of
these data into the projection coordinate system of your Atoll document.
The projection coordinate system is used to keep the coordinates of sites (radio network data) consistent with the
geographic data.
When you import a raster geographic data file, Atoll reads the geo-referencing information from the file (or from its
header file, depending on the geographic data file format), i.e., its Northwest pixel, to determine the coordinates of
each pixel. Atoll does not use any coordinate system during the import process. However, the geo-referencing
information of geographic data files are considered to be provided in the projection coordinate system of the
document.
If the coordinate systems of all your geographic data files and sites (radio network
data) are the same, you do not have to define the projection and display coordinate
systems separately. By default, the two coordinate systems are the same.
If you want to export an XML document with a coordinate system that is different
from the coordinate system used by the document, you must disconnect the
document from the database before changing the coordinate system.
If you change the display coordinate system in a document which is connected to a database, the coordinates of all
the sites are converted to the new coordinate system in the Atoll document locally but not in the database because
the internal coordinate systems cannot be changed.
Atoll uses the internal coordinates systems in order to keep the site coordinates consistent in the database which
is usually accessed by a large number of users in a multi-user environment.
The Coordsystems folder located in the Atoll installation directory contains all the coordinate systems, both
geographic and cartographic, offered in the tool. Coordinate systems are grouped by regions. A catalogue per region
and a "Favourites" catalogue are available in Atoll. The Favourites catalogue is initially empty and can be filled by
the user by adding coordinate systems to it. Each catalogue is described by an ASCII text file with .cs extension. In
a .cs file, each coordinate system is described in one line. The line syntax for describing a coordinate system is:
Code = "Name of the system"; Unit Code; Datum Code; Projection Method Code,
Projection Parameters; "Comments"
Examples:
You should keep the following points in mind when editing or creating .cs files:
◼ The identification code enables Atoll to differentiate coordinates systems. In case you create a new
coordinate system, its code must be an integer value higher than 32767.
◼ When describing a new datum, you must enter the ellipsoid code and parameters instead of the datum code
in brackets. There can be 3 to 7 parameters defined in the following order: Dx, Dy, Dz, Rx, Ry, Rz, S. The syntax
of the line in the .cs file will be:
Code = "Name of the system"; Unit Code; {Ellipsoid Code, Dx, Dy, Dz, Rx, Ry, Rz,
S}; Projection Method Code, Projection Parameters; "Comments"
◼ There can be up to seven projection parameters. These parameters must be ordered according to the
parameter index (see "Projection Parameter Indices" on page 79). Parameter with index 0 is the first one.
Projection parameters are delimited by commas.
◼ For UTM projections, you must provide positive UTM zone numbers for north UTM zones and negative
numbers for south UTM zones.
◼ You can add all other information as comments (such as usage or region).
Codes of units, data, projection methods, and ellipsoids, and projection parameter indices are listed in the tables
below.
Unit Codes
5 Yard -1 Unspecified
6 Nautical mile
7 Mile
-1 Unspecified
Datum Codes
202 Australian Geodetic Datum 1966 269 North American Datum 1983
248 Provisional South American Datum 1956 313 Reseau National Belge 1972
8 Oblique Stereographic
Ellipsoid Codes
Atoll provides a large default catalogue of coordinate systems. However, it is possible to add new geographic and
cartographic coordinate systems. New coordinate systems can be created from scratch or initialised based on
existing ones.
To create a new coordinate system from scratch:
1. Select Document > Properties. The Properties dialogue opens.
2. Select the Coordinates tab.
3. Click the Browse button ( ) to the right of Projection. The Coordinate Systems dialogue appears.
4. Click New. The Coordinate System dialogue appears.
5. In the Coordinate System dialogue:
a. Select the coordinate systems catalogue to which you want to add the new coordinate system.
b. Under General, enter a Name for the new coordinate system and select a Unit. In Use, you can enter
comments about its usage. Atoll assigns the code automatically.
c. Under Category, select the Type of coordinate system. Enter the longitude and latitude for a geographic
coordinate system, or the type of projection and its set of associated parameters for a cartographic
coordinate system (false easting and northing, and the first and second parallels).
d. Under Geo, specify the meridian and choose a Datum for the coordinate system. The associated ellipsoid
is automatically selected. You can also describe a geodetic datum by selecting "<Customised>" in the
Datum list. In this case, you must select an Ellipsoid and enter parameters (Dx, Dy, Dz, Rx, Ry, Rz, and S)
needed for the transformation of the datum into WGS84.
6. Click OK. The new coordinate system is added to the selected coordinate system catalogue.
To create a new coordinate system based on an existing system, select a coordinate system in the Coordinate
Systems dialogue before clicking New in step 4. The new coordinate system is initialised with the values of the
selected coordinate system.
Distance Units
Atoll uses the distance unit defined in the current Atoll document as display unit of the distances in the dialogues,
in the tables, and in the status bar.
Metre is used as the internal measurement unit for the distance in all Atoll documents whether they are connected
to databases or not. The internal measurement unit is not stored in the database and cannot be changed.
Temperature Units
Atoll uses the temperature unit defined in the current Atoll document as display unit of the temperatures in the
dialogues and in the tables.
Degree Celsius is used as the internal measurement unit for the temperature in all Atoll documents whether they are
connected to databases or not. The internal measurement unit is not stored in the database and cannot be changed.
+ Atoll expects the BSIC format in the database to be the octal format. If that is not
the case, do the following:
In the Atoll database, update the setting of UNITS.BSIC_FORMAT to 1.
In your ATL project (and in any ATL project created from the previous database
configuration), go to the Parameters tab, select GSM Network Settings > BSICs >
Format > Octal and save the ATL file.
Planet Both 16-bit 16-bit 16-bit User profile density 1, 4, 8, 24- Index file
Sector traffic maps bit
User profile raster
(16-bit)
User density raster
(16-bit)
"Vector" Formats
"Raster" Formats
BIL Both 8, 16, 32- 8-bit 8, 16, 32- User profile raster (8- 1, 4, 8, 24- 8, 16, 32- HDR file
bit bit bit) User density ras- bit bit
ter (16, 32-bit)
TIFF Both 8, 16-bit 8-bit 8, 16-bit User profile raster (8- 1, 4, 8, 24- 8, 16, 32- Yes TFW file
bit), User density ras- bit bit
ter (16, 32-bit)
BMP Both 8-bit 8-bit 8-bit User profile raster (8- 1, 4, 8, 24- 8, 32-bit Yes BPW or BMW file
bit) User density ras- bit
ter (16, 32-bit)
Erdas Imagine Import 8, 16, 32- 8-bit 8, 16, 32- User profile raster (8- 1, 4, 8, 24- 8, 16, 32- Embedded
(IMG) bit bit bit) bit bit
User density raster
(16, 32-bit)
ArcView ASCII Export ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII Embedded
Grid (TXT)
Vertical Map- Both GRD GRC GRD User profile raster Raster Vector Embedded
per User density raster Images
(GRD, GRC)
World files (e.g. TFW, BPW) are header files used for the georeferencing of raster
files. See next sections for more information on World file types generated by Atoll.
The smallest supported resolution for raster files is 1 m. There is no restriction on
the resolution of images.
DTM, clutter classes, and clutter height maps must have an integer resolution.
All the raster maps you want to import in an ATL document must be represented in
the same projection system.
Specific header files are used to describe how data is organised within any of these geographic data file formats.
This section describes the following header file formats:
◼ "HDR Header File for BIL Files" on page 85
◼ "TFW Header File for TIFF Files" on page 87
◼ "BPW/BMW Header Files for BMP Files" on page 88
◼ "PGW Header File for PNG Files" on page 88
◼ "JGW Header File for JPG Files" on page 88
keyword value
where ‘keyword’ corresponds to an attribute type, and ‘value’ defines the attribute value.
Keywords required by Atoll are described below. Other keywords are ignored.
If no pixeltype parameter is available, then the default value is UNSIGNEDINT (8, 16,
or 32 bits).
DTM Sample
Here, the data is 20 m.
nrows 1500
ncols 1500
nbands 1
nbits 8 or 16
byteorder M
layout bil
skipbytes 0
ulxmap 975000
ulymap 1891000
xdim 20.00
ydim 20.00
nrows 1500
ncols 1500
nbands 1
nbits 8
byteorder M
layout bil
skipbytes 0
ulxmap 975000
ulymap 1891000
xdim 20.00
ydim 20.00
[RasterExport]
ExportBILAsESRI = 1 #default=0
984_UTM_Zone_31N",
GEOGCS["GCS_WGS_1984",
DATUM["D_WGS_1984",
SPHEROID["WGS_1984",6378137,298.257223563]],
PRIMEM["Greenwich",0],
UNIT["Degree",0.017453292519943295]],
PROJECTION["Transverse_Mercator"],
PARAMETER["latitude_of_origin",0],
PARAMETER["central_meridian",3],
PARAMETER["scale_factor",0.9996],
PARAMETER["false_easting",500000],
PARAMETER["false_northing",0],
UNIT["Meter",1]]
TFW files contain the spatial reference data of associated TIFF files. The TFW file structure is simple; it is an ASCII
text file that contains six lines. You can open a TFW file using any ASCII text editor. The TFW file structure is as
follows:
Line Description
2 1 amount of translation
3 amount of rotation
1. Atoll does not use the lines 2 and 3 when importing a TIFF format geographic file.
100.00
0.00
0.00
-100.00
60000.00
2679900.00
The header file is a text file that describes how organised in the BMP file. The header file is made of rows, each row
having the following description:
Line Description
2 amount of translation
3 amount of rotation
Atoll supports BPW and BMW header file extensions for Import, but exports headers with BPW file extensions.
100.00
0.00
0.00
-100.00
60000.00
2679900.00
A PNG world file (PGW file) is a plain text file used by geographic information systems (GIS) to provide
georeferencing information for raster map images in PNG format. The world file parameters are:
Line Description
2 amount of translation
3 amount of rotation
A JPEG world file (JGW file) is a plain text file used by geographic information systems (GIS) to provide
georeferencing information for raster map images in JPEG format. The world file parameters are:
Line Description
2 amount of translation
3 amount of rotation
The pathloss.dbf file has a standard DBF (dBase III) format. The file can be opened in Microsoft Access, but it should
not be modified without consulting the Forsk customer support.
For general information, the format of DBF files in any Xbase language is as follows:
DBF Structure
n+1 1st record of fixed length (see next parts); 2nd record (see next part for size, byte10) …; last record If .dbf is not empty
DBF Header
The DBF header size is variable and depends on the field count.
Field descriptor array in the DBF header (32 bytes for each field):
16 1 byte Field length, bin (see next paragraph) all \ FS,CL: for C field type
17 1 byte decimal count, bin all / both used for fld lng
Field type and size in the DBF header, field descriptor (1 byte):
n = 1...254 all
M 10 Memo 10 digits repres. the start block posit. in .dbt file, or 10 spaces if all
no entry in memo
The DBF file provides information that is needed to check validity of each path loss matrix.
MODEL_SIG Text Signature (identity number) of model used in calculations. You can check it in the propagation
model properties (General tab).
The Model_SIG is used for the purpose of validity. A unique Model_SIG is assigned to each
propagation model. When model parameters are modified, the associated model ID changes.
This enables Atoll to detect path loss matrix invalidity. In the same way, two identical prop-
agation models in different projects do not have the same model ID1.
ULXMAP Float X-coordinate of the top-left corner of the path loss matrix upper-left pixel
ULYMAP Float Y-coordinate of the top-left corner of the path loss matrix upper-left pixel
ANTENNA_SI Float Logical number referring to antenna pattern. Antennas with the same pattern will have the
same number.
MAX_LOS Float Maximum path loss stated in 1/16 dB. This information is used, when no calculation radius
is set, to check the matrix validity.
CAREA_XMIN Float Lowest x-coordinate of centre pixel located on the calculation radius2
CAREA_XMAX Float Highest x-coordinate of centre pixel located on the calculation radius
CAREA_YMIN Float Lowest y-coordinate of centre pixel located on the calculation radius
CAREA_YMAX Float Highest y-coordinate of centre pixel located on the calculation radius
WAREA_XMIN Float Lowest x-coordinate of centre pixel located in the computation zone3
WAREA_XMAX Float Highest x-coordinate of centre pixel located in the computation zone
WAREA_YMIN Float Lowest y-coordinate of centre pixel located in the computation zone
WAREA_YMAX Float Highest y-coordinate of centre pixel located in the computation zone
INC_ANT Boolean Atoll indicates if losses due to the antenna pattern are taken into account in the path loss
matrix.
0: antenna losses not taken into account
1: antenna losses included
1. In order to benefit from the calculation sharing feature, users must retrieve the propagation models from the same central
database. This can be done using the Open from database command for a new document or the Refresh command for an
existing one. Otherwise, Atoll generates different model_ID (even if same parameters are applied on the same kind of model)
and calculation sharing become unavailable due to inconsistency.
2. These coordinates enable Atoll to determine the area of calculation for each transmitter.
3. These coordinates enable Atoll to determine the rectangle including the computation zone.
The LOS (path loss results) files are binary files with a standard row-column structure. Data are stored starting from
the southwest to the northeast corner of the area. The file contains 16-bit signed integer values in the range [-32768;
+32767] with a 1/16 dB precision. "No data" values are represented by +32767.
The DBF file provides information about the measured transmitters involved in the tuning.
The PTS (path loss tuning) files contain a header and the list of measurement points.
Header:
◼ 4 bytes: version
◼ 4 bytes: flag (can be used to manage flags like active flag)
◼ 50 bytes: GUID
◼ 4 bytes: number of points
◼ 255 bytes: original measurement name (with prefix "Num" for drive test data and "CW" for CW measurements)
The CLC format uses wo ASCII text files: a CLC file and a DCT file. Interference matrices are imported by selecting
the CLC file to import. Atoll looks for the associated DCT file in the same directory and uses it to decode transmitter
identifiers. If no DCT file is available, Atoll assumes that the transmitter identifiers are the transmitter names, and
the columns 1 and 2 of the CLC file must contain the names of the interfered and interfering transmitters instead of
their identification numbers.
The second part details interference histogram of each interfered subcell-interfering subcell pair. The lines after the
header are considered as comments if they start with "#". If not, they must have the following format:
<Column1><tab><Column2><tab><Column3><tab><Column4><tab><Column5><newline>
Column1 Interfered transmitter Identification number of the interfered transmitter. If the column is empty, its
value is identical to the one of the line above.
Column2 Interfering transmitter Identification number of the interferer transmitter. If the column is null, its value
is identical to the one of the line above.
Column3 Interfered TRX type Interfered subcell. If the column is null, its value is identical to the one of the line
above. In order to save storage, all subcells with no power offset are not dupli-
cated (e.g. BCCH, TCH).
Column5 Probability C/I > Threshold Probability to have C/I the value specified in column 4 (C/I threshold). This field
must not be empty.
The columns 1, 2, and 3 must be defined only in the first line of each histogram.
Sample
11 0.892
14 0.844
15 0.832
16 0.812
17 0.752
22 0.316
25 0.292
1 2 BCCH,TCH1 8 1
9 0.944
10 .904
13 0.872
14 0.84
17 0.772
1. If the TCH and BCCH histograms are the same, they are not repeated. A single record indicates that the histograms belong to
TCH and BCCH both.
The second part provides information about transmitters taken into account in AFP. The lines after the header are
considered as comments if they start with "#". If not, they must have the following format:
<Column1><tab><Column2><newline>
Column5 % of vic’ coverage Float Percentage of overlap of the victim service area
Column6 % of int’ coverage Float Percentage of overlap of the interferer service area
The last four columns describe the interference matrix scope. One transmitter per line is described separated with
a tab character.
Sample
This file contains one histogram per line for each interfered/interfering subcell pair. The histogram is a list of C/I
values with associated probabilities.
The .im0 file consists of two parts. The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and
contain the following lines:
The second part details interference histogram of each interfered subcell-interferer subcell pair. The lines after the
header are considered as comments if they start with "#". If not, they must have the following format:
<Column1><tab><Column2><tab><Column3><tab><Column4><newline>
Column3 Interfered TRX type Interfered subcell. In order to save storage, all subcells with no power offset are
not duplicated (e.g. BCCH, TCH).
Column4 C/I probability C/I value and the probability associated to this value separated by a space char-
acter. This entry cannot be null.
Sample
#
# Warning, The parameter settings of this header can be wrong if
# the "export" is performed following an "import". They
# are correct when the "export" follows a "calculate".
#
# Service Zone Type is "Best signal level of the highest priority HCS layer".
# Margin is 5.
# Cell edge coverage probability 75%.
# Traffic spreading was Uniform
##---------------------------------------------------------------------#
#
Site0_2 Site0_1 BCCH,TCH-10 1 -9 0.996 -6 0.976 -4 0.964 -1 0.936
0 0.932 1 0.924 4 0.896 7 0.864 8 0.848
9 0.832 10 0.824 11 0.804 14 0.712 17 0.66
Site0_2 Site0_3 BCCH,TCH-10 1 -9 0.996 -6 0.976 -4 0.972 -1 0.948
0 0.94 1 0.928 4 0.896 7 0.856 8 0.84
11 0.772 13 0.688 14 0.636 15 0.608 18 0.556
Site0_3 Site0_1 BCCH,TCH-10 1 -9 0.996 -6 0.98 -3 0.948 0 0.932
1 0.924 4 0.892 7 0.852 8 0.832 9 0.816
10 0.784 11 0.764 14 0.644 15 0.616 18 0.564
Site0_3 Site0_2 BCCH,TCH-9 1 -6 0.972 -3 0.964 -2 0.96 0 0.94
1 0.932 4 0.904 7 0.876 8 0.86 9 0.844
11 0.804 13 0.744 14 0.716 15 0.692 18 0.644
This file contains one C/I threshold and probability pair value per line for each interfered/interfering subcell pair. The
histogram is a list of C/I values with associated probabilities.
The .im1 file consists of two parts. The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and
contain the following lines:
The second part details interference histogram of each interfered subcell-interferer subcell pair. The lines after the
header are considered as comments if they start with "#". If not, they must have the following format:
<Column1><tab><Column2><tab><Column3><tab><Column4><tab><Column5><newline>
Column5 Probability C/I > Threshold Probability to have C/I the value specified in column 4 (C/I threshold). This field
must not be empty.
Sample
IM2 files contain co-channel and adjacent-channel interference probabilities for each interfered transmitter –
interfering transmitter pair. In GSM, there is only one set of values for all the subcells of the interfered transmitter.
Each line must have the following format:
<Column1><SEP><Column2><SEP><Column3><SEP><Column4><newline>
Sample
The columns in the sample above are separated with a tab. These columns can also be separated with a semilcolon:
Site0_2;Site0_1;0.226667;0.024
Site0_2;Site0_3;0.27;0.024
Site0_3;Site0_1;0.276;0.02
Site0_3;Site0_2;0.226;0.028
An MNU file is used for importing clutter classes or raster traffic files in TIFF, BIL, and IMG formats. It gives the
mapping between the clutter or traffic class code and the class name. It is a text file with the same name as the
clutter or traffic file with MNU extension. It must be stored at the same as the clutter or traffic file. It has the same
structure as the menu file used in the Planet format.
Class code Integer (>0) Identification code for the clutter (or traffic) class
Class name Text (50) Name of the clutter (or traffic) class. It can contain spaces.
0 none
1 open
2 sea
3 inland_water
4 residential
5 meanurban
In both cases, an XML file describing the prediction is also created in the
corresponding ’<doc_name>\{<GUID>}’ folder.
The format of ‘<per_transmitter_prediction>.dbf’ files is identical to the format described in "Pathloss.dbf File
Format" on page 89.
The ‘<per_transmitter_prediction>.dbf’ files generated in specific ’{<GUID>}’ folders provide information that is
needed to check the validity of each "per transmitter" prediction> calculated by value intervals.
RESOLUTION Float Resolution of the calculation, same as ’xdim’ and ’ydim’ in the HDR file
Link or Embed
◼ Only embed geographic data in ATL files if you wish to make a portable document. In all other cases, it is
recommended to link geographic data files to the Atoll documents.
◼ It is recommended to set the paths to linked geographic data files using the Universal Naming Convention
(UNC).
Following the UNC, an absolute path, such as "C:\Program Files\Forsk\Geo Data\...", is represented as
"\\Computer\C\Program Files\Forsk\Geo Data\...", where "Computer" is the computer name, and "C" is the
share name of disk C.
Example:
If you define paths to geographic data files using UNC, Atoll will be able to keep track of the linked files even
if the Atoll document is moved to another computer.
Size of Tiles
◼ Some network planning tools require geographic data to be available in small tiles in order to work more
efficiently. For a country-wide project, this can lead to hundreds of files describing the geographic data. Atoll
is designed to optimise memory consumption, which enables it to perform efficiently with regional tiles (1 tile/
file per region). Merging small tiles to build a regional tile can improve performance greatly.
◼ The recommended file size is between 100 and 200 MB
◼ Erdas Imagine Pyramids files can be bigger.
◼ ECW files can be of any size (no limitations).
Recommended Formats
◼ In order to improve performance, it is recommended to use uncompressed DTM and clutter files, for example,
BIL files. Using compressed geographic data files, for example, compressed TIF or Erdas Imagine, can cause
performance reduction due to decompression of these files in real time. If you are using compressed
geographic data files, it is strongly recommended to:
◼ Either, hide the status bar that displays geographic data information in real time. You can hide the status
bar from the View menu.
◼ Or, disable the display of some of the information contained in the status bar, such as altitude, clutter class,
and clutter height using an option in the Atoll.ini file, see "Hiding Information Displayed in the Status Bar"
on page 172.
◼ The following table shows the recommended file formats for different geographic data:
Vectors SHP
Link or Embed
Only embed path loss matrices in ATL files if you wish to make a portable document. In all other cases, it is
recommended to link path loss matrices to the Atoll documents.
Externalising path loss matrices to shared or private path loss folders will keep the ATL file size reasonable, which
will result in less fragmentation. Externalising path loss matrices does not reduce the performance of display and
calculations in Atoll.
If you define paths to the private and shared path loss matrices folders using UNC, Atoll will be able to keep track
of the linked files even if the Atoll document is moved to another computer.
Resource saturation during the calculation of path loss matrices for multi-RAT
documents only occurs when using the RunPathloss API function in a macro or
script. When calculating path loss matrices for a multi-RAT document using Atoll,
this does not occur.
General
◼ It is recommended to define a rule for making backups of your Atoll ATL documents at regular intervals.
◼ Do not skip a major Atoll version. For example, if you are currently using Atoll 3.2, you should first upgrade the
ATL document to Atoll 3.3 before upgrading to Atoll 3.4.
Upgrading your document will be simpler if you do not skip a major version. If you skip or have skipped an
intermediate major version, you should upgrade your document twice in order to make it compatible with the
new version.
8.4 Databases
General
◼ In order to use Atoll with Oracle, you must create Oracle users and schema with names in uppercase.
◼ Create backups of the database before upgrading.
◼ It is recommended to define a rule for making backups of the database at regular intervals.
◼ Do not skip a major Atoll version. For example, if you are currently using Atoll 3.2, you should first upgrade the
database to Atoll 3.3 before upgrading to Atoll 3.4.
Upgrading your database will be simpler if you do not skip a major version. If you skip or have skipped an
intermediate major version, you must upgrade your database twice in order to make it compatible with the new
version.
In order to prevent users from deactivating the use of the Distributed Calculation
Server, and hence bypassing the resource control procedure established above, the
Atoll.ini file should be set made read-only for end-users.
Apart from the above setup, you can also make some other system improvements:
◼ To avoid error messages caused by requesting a large number of files over the network, the following
Microsoft Windows registry parameter can be modified in order to dedicate more resources to network read/
write operations:
IRQSTACKSIZE should be set to 30 instead of 11, for example.
◼ To avoid ‘out of memory’ problems, the Pagefile size should be increased so that the server does not run out
of global memory when supporting more than 10 Atoll sessions simultaneously. This is different from the
2 GB per process limit. Virtual memory can be increased from 8 GB to 16 GB, for example.
◼ For 32-bit Windows operating systems, you can also increase the default Windows memory allocation limit
from 2 GB to 3 GB as explained in "Process Memory" on page 108.
If you have already configured these files for one installation, and you are setting up another installation, you can
copy these files to their respective locations on the new installation to have the exact configuration and set-up as
the first. If you do not copy these files, or create them, you will not have the same configuration of the new
installation, but apart from that you will be able to work with Atoll normally. These files are optional.
Use Atoll to create these files and avoid modifying these files manually as human errors can create problems.
Uncheck image visibility to avoid loading unnecessary data in the memory.
You can set up your configuration files with Atoll in the following manner:
◼ A common configuration file that points to the geographic data, macros, and other common parameters in
your Atoll documents.
◼ Separate configuration files can be created for separate projects, which would store their respective coverage
prediction studies parameters, traffic information, and other technology-specific parameters.
◼ Separate configuration files based on, and for, different groups of users. These groups can be, for example,
for different regions, different radio technologies, or certain operations such as performing certain types of
coverage predictions, running the AFP, and so on.
For more information about CFG files, see "Configuration Files" on page 113.
8.8 Printing
You should place different layers of geographic and radio data in a definite order when printing a project or a section
of the project. The following order should be followed:
1. Visible objects of the Data tab
All the visible objects of the Data tab are displayed above those in the Geo tab. However, it is strongly
recommended to place vector layers on the top of coverage prediction plots. You can do this by transferring
these vector layers to the Data tab using the context menu. For performance reasons, it is advised to place
vector layers on top of raster layers before printing a project. Sites and Transmitters must be on the very top,
above all other layers. You should place sites and sectors on the top, then vector layers, and then raster layers.
2. Unidimensional vectors (points)
3. Open polygonal vectors (lines, i.e., roads and other linear items, etc.)
4. Closed polygonal vectors (surfaces, i.e., zones and areas, etc.)
5. Multi-format maps (vector or raster maps, i.e., population, rain, generic maps, traffic, etc.)
6. Transparent raster maps (clutter class maps, etc.)
7. Non-transparent maps (images, DTM, clutter height maps, etc.)
City Center 5m
City 20 m
County 50 m
State 100 m
◼ Some Kathrein antenna pattern files might have names different from the antenna pattern names present
inside the file. You will have to replace the name of the pattern inside the file by the name of the pattern file
itself, in order to import these antennas correctly.
◼ A Planet Index file contains the path to and the name of each antenna file available. Creating such an Index
file when there are hundreds of antenna patterns available can be a difficult task. You can easily create the
index file from the Microsoft Windows command prompt. You can open the Command Prompt window by
selecting Start > Run, entering "cmd" and pressing ENTER. In the Command Prompt window, navigate to the
directory containing the antenna pattern files, enter the following command and press ENTER:
dir /b > Index
This will create a file called "Index" in the same directory as the antenna patter files containing a list of all the
antenna pattern file names, with one name per line. The file will also contain a line with its own name, so,
before importing this file into Atoll, you should use a text editor to remove the line containing the file name
"Index."
◼ The electrical tilt, which can be defined in the antenna properties dialogues in Atoll, is an additional electrical
downtilt. It might be redundant to define an additional electrical downtilt for antennas whose patterns already
include electrical tilt. Users should verify whether the antenna patterns of the antennas in their projects, do not
already include the effect of an electrical tilt.
Memory Refresh
◼ You can avoid memory fragmentation while working with Atoll documents by saving the Atoll document from
time to time, closing and restarting Atoll, and reopening the document.
This advice is applicable to any application running under Microsoft Windows because many common DLL
files are accessed by applications, and unloading and reloading these DLL files refreshes the memory
allocation.
◼ If you are working in a Citrix XenApp environment, you should restart your Citrix server every week or fortnight.
The exact time should be determined by the administrator depending on the state of the network (LAN).
◼ In certain cases, it might be more appropriate to start working on a completely fresh ATL file. If you have been
working on your existing ATL file for a long time, it might become unnecessarily large and might contain some
useless remains from your earlier operations, e.g., traces of records that no longer exist in the database, etc.
You can completely refresh your project by following these steps:
a. Open the existing ATL file in Atoll that you want to replace.
b. Create a CFG file from your existing ATL file with all the required information, e.g., geographic data set,
coverage prediction parameters, neighbour allocation parameters, etc. For more information, refer to
"Configuration Files" on page 113.
c. Close the old ATL file.
d. Create a new ATL from the database to create a fresh ATL file.
e. Import the CFG file in the new ATL file.
You now have a clean ATL file to work with, which has all the same information as the old ATL file, and takes
up less space on the hard disk, has less fragmented data, and improved performance.
Memory Allocation
◼ If you have to open several large ATL files simultaneously on the same computer, it is better to open each in
a separate Atoll session rather than to open them all in the same Atoll window. Each Atoll session on the same
computer has its own memory space allocated by the operating system. Each computer consumes a single
license token independent of the number of Atoll sessions opened simultaneously.
◼ For 32-bit Windows operating systems, you can also increase the default Windows memory allocation limit
from 2 GB to 3 GB as explained in "Process Memory" on page 108.
Storage
◼ To increase performance, it is strongly recommended to use a local storage device for path loss files,
preferably an SSD device.
◼ Coverage predictions calculated over large areas require more memory. If you are working on an Atoll ATL
document covering a large area, with coverage predictions calculated over the entire network, this document
will require more memory for loading all the coverage predictions. You can reduce memory consumption by
making copies of your Atoll document, and keeping a few coverage predictions in each copy. These ATL files
will be faster to load and work with compared to a single ATL file with all the coverage predictions.
Large coverage predictions can take up a considerable amount of memory even if they are not displayed on
the map.
◼ Externalise DTM, clutter, path loss matrices, and any other data that can be externalised, so that the ATL file
size does not become unnecessarily large.
Regionalisation
◼ Use database regionalisation or site lists if you are working on smaller parts of a large network. Atoll loads
only the data necessary for your working area. If you load a large network, Atoll will load a lot of data that might
not be necessary all the time, such as the neighbour relation data.
9 Configuration Files
Configuration files can be used to store parameter and display settings. These files are optional, not required for
working with Atoll, but are useful means for making work easier.
This chapter describes the formats of these files in detail:
◼ User configuration files (UTF-8 encoded XML-format GEO or CFG files)
A user configuration file containing only the geographic data settings can be saved with a GEO extension. A
user configuration file containing the geographic data settings and other parameter settings can be saved
with a CFG extension.
User configuration files must be created using Atoll to ensure correct syntax and structure. It is possible to
edit the contents of these files in an XML editor and make changes if required (for example, to update the
paths to geographic data files). For more information on how to create and load user configuration files in
Atoll, see the User Manual.
These files can store:
◼ Geographic data settings
◼ Filtering, focus, computation, printing, and geographic export zones
◼ Map centre and zoom level
◼ Folder configurations
◼ List of coverage predictions in the Predictions folder and their settings
◼ Automatic neighbour allocation parameters
◼ Automatic frequency planning parameters (GSM GPRS EDGE documents)
◼ Automatic scrambling code allocation parameters (UMTS HSPA and TD-SCDMA documents)
◼ Automatic PN offset allocation parameters (CDMA2000 documents)
◼ Automatic OFDM resource allocation parameters (LTE, WiMAX, Wi-Fi)
◼ Microwave link parameters
◼ Full paths to macro files
Projection and display coordinate systems are stored in the database, not in user
configuration files.
Simulation settings are not stored in user configuration files.
For more information on the contents of user configuration files, see "Contents of User Configuration Files"
on page 114.
A user configuration file can be automatically loaded when Atoll is run if:
◼ The file is identified in the command line parameter -Cfg "cfgfilename" (see "Atoll Command Line
Parameters" on page 26 for more information), or
◼ The file is named "Atoll.cfg" and is located in the Atoll installation folder. This file will be ignored if a user
configuration file is loaded through the command line parameter.
◼ Additional configuration files (UTF-8 encoded XML-format CFG files or plain text INI files)
The following parameter settings can be stored in additional configuration files with a CFG extension:
◼ Print setup configuration
◼ Table import/export configuration
◼ Coverage prediction report configuration
The following parameters are saved for various geographic data types:
◼ <DegreeFormat>: Format used to display degrees, minutes, and seconds for geographic coordinate systems
◼ Population, geoclimatic parameters, vector traffic maps, and other vector layers:
◼ <Items> properties, such as for each item: <Value>, <Min>, <Max>, <Legend>, <MainColor>,
<SecondaryColor>, <LineStyle>, <LineWidth>, and <FillStyle>
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ <File>: <Format> and <Path> to linked files, if any
Sample
Sample with display set to value intervals.
<Type>
<Name>Population</Name>
<Formats>15</Formats>
<Type>800</Type>
<Integrable>1</Integrable>
</Type>
<Files/>
</Population> // or </GeoClimaticParams> or </Vectors>
<ClassifiedClutter UseOnlyDefault="0">
<Display>
<Type>ByIntervals</Type>
<FieldSelector>3</FieldSelector>
<FieldDesc>
<FieldId>3</FieldId>
<FieldTitle>Height (m)</FieldTitle>
</FieldDesc>
<Opacity>50</Opacity>
<Items>
<Item>
<Min>54.</Min>
<Max>56.</Max>
<Legend>54 <=Height (m) <56</Legend>
<MainColor>255 38 0</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>255 38 0</SecondaryColor>
<LineStyle>5</LineStyle>
<LineWidth>10</LineWidth>
<FillStyle>1</FillStyle>
</Item>
</Items>
<minZoom>500</minZoom>
<maxZoom>20000000</maxZoom>
<visible>Yes</visible>
</Display>
<Attributes>
<fields>
<field length="1" type="uint" name="CODE"/>
<field length="4" type="int" name="COLOR"/>
<field length="50" type="text" name="NAME"/>
<field length="4" type="real" name="HEIGHT"/>
<field length="2147483647" type="text" name="INDOOR"/>
</fields>
<records/>
</Attributes>
<Name>Clutter Classes</Name>
<AddToLegend>0</AddToLegend>
<DefaultValues>
</DefaultValues>
</ClassifiedClutter>
<Altitudes> // or <BuildingHeights>
9.1.2 Zones
The user configuration files store the coordinates of the vertices of the filtering, focus, computation, printing, and
geographic export zone polygons, i.e., the points forming these polygons. The first and the last points have the same
coordinates.
Sample
The following sample has rectangular computation and focus zones of the same size.
<FocusZone>
<Point>35950.000000 -15445.000000</Point>
<Point>33.000000 -15445.000000</Point>
<Point>33.000000 -33.000000</Point>
<Point>35950.000000 -33.000000</Point>
<Point>35950.000000 -15445.000000</Point>
</FocusZone>
<Atoll>
Sample
◼ <Configuration>: If any configuration exists for the folder, this tag contains the configuration <Name> and
the <Filter>, <Groups>, and <Sort> criteria
◼ Transmitters, Multi-Hops, and Point to Multipoint folders:
◼ <Name>: Name of the folder
◼ <Display>:
◼ Displate type <Type>, selected field <FieldSelector>, field description <FieldDesc> containing <FieldId>
(same as <FieldSelector>) <FieldTitle> and <FieldDBName>, visibility flag <Visible>, and visibility range
between <MinZoom> and <MaxZoom>
◼ <LabelFont> properties, such as label font name <Name>, label font size <Size>, label font colour
<Color>, label font background colour <BackColor>, and label font style <Style>
◼ <Items> properties, such as for each <Item>: <Value>, <Legend>, <MainColor>, <SecondaryColor>,
<Symbol>, and <SymbolSize>
◼ <DataTips>: List of <items> displayed in tip texts
◼ <Labels>: List of <items> displayed in labels
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ <DefaultConfiguration>: The default configuration for the folder, this tag contains the default configuration
<Filter>, <Groups>, and <Sort> criteria
◼ <Configuration>: If any configuration exists for the folder, this tag contains the configuration <Name> and
the <Filter>, <Groups>, and <Sort> criteria
◼ <OFDM_AFP>: LTE, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi frequency allocation constraint weights:
◼ <Techno>: Name of the technology
◼ <NeighbourWeight>: Weight of the first order neighbour relation
◼ <InterNeighbourWeight>: Weight of the relation between two neighbours of a common cell
◼ <IMWeight>:Weight of the interference matrices relation
◼ <DistanceWeight>: Weight of the distance-based relation
◼ <PCI_Alloc>: LTE physical cell ID allocation constraint weights:
◼ <NeighbourWeight>: Weight of the first order neighbour relation
◼ <SecondNeighbourWeight>: Weight of the second order neighbour relation
◼ <InterNeighbourWeight>: Weight of the relation between two neighbours of a common cell
◼ <IMWeight>:Weight of the interference matrices relation
◼ <DistanceWeight>: Weight of the distance-based relation
◼ <IDWeight>: Weight of the physical cell ID constraint
◼ <PSSWeight>: Weight of the PSS ID constraint
◼ <SSSWeight>: Weight of the same SSS ID per site constraint
◼ <ULDMRSSGWeight>: Weight of the UL DMRS (PCI Mod 30) collision constraint
◼ <DLRSSCaWeight>: Weight of the single antenna port DL CRS (PCI Mod 6) collision constraint
◼ <PCFICHREGWeight>: Weight of the PCFICH REG (PCI Mod (N_RB/2)) collision constraint
◼ <PI_Alloc>: WiMAX preamble index allocation constraint weights:
◼ <NeighbourWeight>: Weight of the first order neighbour relation
◼ <SecondNeighbourWeight>: Weight of the second order neighbour relation
◼ <InterNeighbourWeight>: Weight of the relation between two neighbours of a common cell
◼ <IMWeight>:Weight of the interference matrices relation
◼ <DistanceWeight>: Weight of the distance-based relation
◼ <IndexWeight>: Weight of the preamble index constraint
◼ <SegmentWeight>: Weight of the segment constraint
◼ <PermBaseWeight>: Weight of the same cell permbase per site constraint
◼ Links folder:
◼ <Name>: Name of the folder
◼ <Display>: Contains visibility flag <visible>, and visibility range between <minZoom> and <maxZoom>
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ <DefaultConfiguration>: The default configuration for the folder
◼ <LabelFont> properties, such as: label font name <Name>, label font size <Size>, label font colour <Color>,
label font background colour <BackColor>, and label font style <Style>
◼ <SiteDisplay> properties, such as:
◼ <SymbolFont> properties, such as: font name <Name>, font size <Size>, font colour <Color>, background
colour <BackColor>, and font style <Style>
◼ <LabelFont> properties, such as: label font name <Name>, label font size <Size>, label font colour
<Color>, label font background colour <BackColor>, and label font style <Style>
◼ <Symbol>: Symbol used for microwave links
◼ <ShowText>: Caption for microwave links shown or not
◼ <RepeaterDisplay> properties, such as:
◼ <SymbolFont> properties, such as: font name <Name>, font size <Size>, font colour <Color>, background
colour <BackColor>, and font style <Style>
◼ CW Measurements folder:
◼ <DefaultConfiguration>: The default configuration for the folder
◼ <Distance>: The minimum <Min> and maximum <Max> distance for measurement filtering
◼ <DistanceUnit>: The distance unit
◼ <Measure>: The minimum <Min> and maximum <Max> measured level for filtering
◼ <MeasureUnit>: The measurement unit
◼ <Angle>: The minimum <Min> and maximum <Max> angle for measurement filtering
◼ <Relative>: Whether the angle is relative to each transmitter’s azimuth or an absolute value
◼ <Clutter>: For each <Class>, its <Code> and whether it is in the <Filter> or not
◼ <Advanced>: Any advanced filter used for filtering
◼ <PathLosses>: Path loss tuing parameters, i.e., <ParallelAxisRadius>, <PerpendicularAxisRadius>,
<GlobalMargin>, <LocalMargin>, and <Threshold>
◼ <Display>:
◼ Displate type <Type>, selected field <FieldSelector>, visibility flag <Visible>, and visibility range between
<MinZoom> and <MaxZoom>
◼ <SymbolFont> properties, such as: font name <Name>, font size <Size>, font colour <Color>, background
colour <BackColor>, and font style <Style>
◼ <LabelFont> properties, such as: label font name <Name>, label font size <Size>, label font colour
<Color>, label font background colour <BackColor>, and label font style <Style>
◼ <Items> properties, such as for each <Item>: <Legend>, <MainColor>, <SecondaryColor>, <Symbol>, and
<SymbolSize>
◼ <DataTips>: List of <items> displayed in tip texts
◼ <Labels>: List of <items> displayed in labels
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ Drive Test Data folder:
◼ <Techno>: Name of the technology (if exported from a 3GPP Multi-RAT document.
◼ <DefaultConfiguration>: The default configuration for the folder
◼ <Clutter>: For each <Class>, its <Code> and whether it is in the <Filter> or not
◼ <Advanced>: Any advanced filter used for filtering
◼ <PathLosses>: Path loss tuing parameters, i.e., <ParallelAxisRadius>, <PerpendicularAxisRadius>,
<GlobalMargin>, <LocalMargin>, and <Threshold>
◼ <Display>:
◼ Displate type <Type>, selected field <FieldSelector>, visibility flag <Visible>, and visibility range between
<MinZoom> and <MaxZoom>
◼ <SymbolFont> properties, such as: font name <Name>, font size <Size>, font colour <Color>, background
colour <BackColor>, and font style <Style>
◼ <LabelFont> properties, such as: label font name <Name>, label font size <Size>, label font colour
<Color>, label font background colour <BackColor>, and label font style <Style>
◼ <Items> properties, such as for each <Item>: <Legend>, <MainColor>, <SecondaryColor>, <Symbol>, and
<SymbolSize>
◼ <DataTips>: List of <items> displayed in tip texts
◼ <Labels>: List of <items> displayed in labels
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ Propagation Models and Smart Antenna Models folders:
◼ <Name>: Name of the folder
◼ <DefaultConfiguration>: The default configuration for the folder, this tag contains the default configuration
<Filter>, <Groups>, and <Sort> criteria
Sample
<MWLinks>
<Name>Links</Name>
<Display>
<minZoom>500</minZoom>
<maxZoom>20000000</maxZoom>
<visible>Yes</visible>
</Display>
<AddToLegend>0</AddToLegend>
<DefaultConfiguration/>
<LabelFont>
<Name>MS Shell Dlg</Name>
<Size>-83</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</LabelFont>
<SiteDisplay>
<SymbolFont>
<Name>Wingdings</Name>
<Size>80</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</SymbolFont>
<LabelFont>
<Name>MS Shell Dlg</Name>
<Size>-80</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</LabelFont>
</SiteDisplay>
<Symbol>65444</Symbol>
<ShowText>0</ShowText>
<RepeaterDisplay>
<SymbolFont>
<Name>Wingdings</Name>
<Size>80</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</SymbolFont>
</RepeaterDisplay>
</MWLinks>
<CWMeasurements>
<DefaultConfiguration>
<Distance>
<Min>0.</Min>
<Max>1000.</Max>
</Distance>
<DistanceUnit>0</DistanceUnit>
<Measure>
<Min>-105.</Min>
<Max>-90.</Max>
</Measure>
<MeasureUnit>0</MeasureUnit>
<Angle>
<Min>-180.</Min>
<Max>180.</Max>
</Angle>
<Relative>Yes</Relative>
<Clutter>
<Class>
<Code>1</Code>
<Filter>Yes</Filter>
</Class>
</Clutter>
<Advanced>([DIST]> 500)</Advanced>
</DefaultConfiguration>
<PathLosses>
<ParallelAxisRadius>200.</ParallelAxisRadius>
<PerpendicularAxisRadius>100.</PerpendicularAxisRadius>
<GlobalMargin>30.</GlobalMargin>
<LocalMargin>30.</LocalMargin>
<Threshold>-130.</Threshold>
</PathLosses>
<Display>
<Type>ByIntervals</Type>
<FieldSelector>Error (P-M) (dB)</FieldSelector>
<SymbolFont>
<Name>Wingdings</Name>
<Size>-120</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</SymbolFont>
<LabelFont>
<Name>MS Shell Dlg</Name>
<Size>-83</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</LabelFont>
<Items>
<Item>
<Min>-20.</Min>
<Legend>Error (P-M) (dB) >=-20</Legend>
<MainColor>255 0 0</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<Symbol>167</Symbol>
<SymbolSize>100</SymbolSize>
</Item>
</Items>
<DataTips>
<Item>M (dBm)</Item>
</DataTips>
<Labels>
<Item>M (dBm)</Item>
</Labels>
</Display>
</CWMeasurements>
<TestMobileData>
<Techno>GSM</Techno>
<DefaultConfiguration>
<Clutter>
<Class>
<Code>1</Code>
<Filter>Yes</Filter>
</Class>
</Clutter>
<Advanced></Advanced>
</DefaultConfiguration>
<PathLosses>
<ParallelAxisRadius>200.</ParallelAxisRadius>
<PerpendicularAxisRadius>100.</PerpendicularAxisRadius>
<GlobalMargin>30.</GlobalMargin>
<LocalMargin>30.</LocalMargin>
<Threshold>-130.</Threshold>
</PathLosses>
<Display>
<Type>ByIntervals</Type>
<FieldSelector>Ec_I0</FieldSelector>
<SymbolFont>
<Name>Wingdings</Name>
<Size>-120</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</SymbolFont>
<LabelFont>
<Name>MS Shell Dlg</Name>
<Size>-83</Size>
<Color>0 0 0</Color>
<BackColor>255 255 255</BackColor>
<Style>0</Style>
</LabelFont>
<Items>
<Item>
<Min>-60.</Min>
<Legend>Ec_I0 >=-60</Legend>
<MainColor>255 0 0</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<Symbol>167</Symbol>
<SymbolSize>100</SymbolSize>
</Item>
</Items>
</Display>
</TestMobileData>
<PropagationModels> // or <SmartAntennasModels>
<Name>Propagation Models</Name> // or <Name>Smart Antenna Models</Name>
<DefaultConfiguration/>
</PropagationModels> // or </SmartAntennasModels>
</FoldersConfigurations>
</Atoll>
The list of coverage predictions available in the Predictions folder and the following parameters are saved:
◼ General tab:
◼ <Techno>: Name of the technology
◼ <Name>: Name of the folder
◼ <Resolution>: Prediction resolution
◼ <Configuration>: <Filter>, <Groups>, and <Sort> criteria for the prediction
◼ <LockedStudy>: Locked or not
◼ Conditions tab: Depend on technologies and prediction types.
◼ <Reliability>: Cell edge coverage probability
◼ <Indoor>: Clutter indoor losses checked or not
◼ <WithShadowing>: Shadowing margin taken into account or not
◼ ...
◼ Display tab:
◼ <Display>: (Different combinations of the following parameters exist in different display settings.)
◼ Display type <type>, selected field <FieldSelector>, field description <FieldDesc> containing <FieldId>
(same as <FieldSelector>) and <FieldTitle>, visibility flag <visible>, opacity <Opacity>, and visibility range
between <minZoom> and <maxZoom>
◼ <Items> properties, such as for each item: <Value>, <Min>, <Max>, <Legend>, <MainColor>,
<SecondaryColor>, <LineStyle>, <LineWidth>, and <FillStyle>
◼ <AddToLegend>: Add to legend option checked or not
◼ <DataTips>: List of <items> displayed in tip texts
Sample
GSM coverage by signal level
<CoverageTRXStudy>
<Techno>GSM</Techno>
<Name>GSM: Coverage by Signal Level 0</Name>
<Display>
<minZoom>500</minZoom>
<maxZoom>20000000</maxZoom>
<visible>Yes</visible>
<Type>ByIntervals</Type>
<FieldSelector>80000008</FieldSelector>
<Opacity>50</Opacity>
<Items>
<Item>
<Min>-75.</Min>
<Legend>Best Signal Level (dBm) >=-75</Legend>
<MainColor>255 147 0</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<LineStyle>5</LineStyle>
<LineWidth>15</LineWidth>
<FillStyle>1</FillStyle>
</Item>
<Item>
<Min>-85.</Min>
<Legend>Best Signal Level (dBm) >=-85</Legend>
<MainColor>70 255 0</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<LineStyle>5</LineStyle>
<LineWidth>15</LineWidth>
<FillStyle>1</FillStyle>
</Item>
<Item>
<Min>-95.</Min>
<Legend>Best Signal Level (dBm) >=-95</Legend>
<MainColor>0 255 217</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<LineStyle>5</LineStyle>
<LineWidth>15</LineWidth>
<FillStyle>1</FillStyle>
</Item>
<Item>
<Min>-105.</Min>
<Legend>Best Signal Level (dBm) >=-105</Legend>
<MainColor>0 0 255</MainColor>
<SecondaryColor>0 0 0</SecondaryColor>
<LineStyle>5</LineStyle>
<LineWidth>15</LineWidth>
<FillStyle>1</FillStyle>
</Item>
</Items>
<DataTips>
<Item>c0000000</Item>
<Item>c0000001</Item>
</DataTips>
</Display>
<AddToLegend>1</AddToLegend>
<Resolution>50</Resolution>
<GUID>{52D66F26-5710-4F4B-A327-6DAFF337AB21}</GUID>
<LockedStudy>0</LockedStudy>
<ComputeHisto>1</ComputeHisto>
<HistoPerTx>0</HistoPerTx>
<HistoLabel></HistoLabel>
<Conditions>
<FieldDbm>
<Min>-105.</Min>
</FieldDbm>
<Reliability>0.75</Reliability>
<TRXType>BCCH</TRXType>
<DefTrgThreshold>1</DefTrgThreshold>
<Indoor>0</Indoor>
<WithShadowing>0</WithShadowing>
</Conditions>
</CoverageTRXStudy>
</Studies>
</Atoll>
The following parameters are saved for intra-technology (intra-carrier and inter-carrier) and inter-technology
automatic neighbour allocations:
◼ <ANP_options>: Intra-technology (intra-carrier) neighbour allocation parameters
◼ <ANP_IL_options>: Intra-technology inter-carrier neighbour allocation parameters (UMTS HSPA and
CDMA2000 documents)
◼ <ANP_IT_options>: Inter-technology neighbour allocation parameters
A <Techno></Techno> tag is also present if the user configuration is exported from a 3GPP Multi-RAT
document. This tag contains the name of the technology to which the parameters belong.
The following parameters are saved:
◼ Parameters common to all technologies:
◼ <numMax>: Maximum number of neighbours to allocate
◼ <useCoSite>: Force co-site transmitters/cells as neighbours or not
◼ <useAdjacent>: Force adjacent transmitters/cells as neighbours or not
◼ <symetric>: Force symmetry between neighbours or not
◼ <keepNeighbs>: Reset existing neighbours or keep them
◼ <MaxDist>: Maximum distance between sites
◼ <PercentCoverage>: Coverage conditions: Minimum percentage of covered area
◼ <UseShadowing>: Coverage conditions: Take shadowing into account or not
◼ <reliability>: Coverage conditions: Cell edge coverage probability
◼ <applyConstraints>: Force exceptional pairs as neighbours or not
Sample
UMTS HSPA inter-technology, intra-carrier neighbour allocation parameters:
<traffic>0</traffic>
<symetric>0</symetric>
<keepNeighbs>0</keepNeighbs>
<MaxDist>10000</MaxDist>
<PercentCoverage>1000</PercentCoverage>
<UseShadowing>0</UseShadowing>
<reliability>7500</reliability>
<UseIndoor>0</UseIndoor>
<deltaMax>1200</deltaMax>
<applyConstraints>0</applyConstraints>
<covBased>1</covBased>
<minDistImportance>100</minDistImportance>
<maxDistImportance>1000</maxDistImportance>
<minCov>1000</minCov>
<maxCov>3000</maxCov>
<minAdj>3000</minAdj>
<maxAdj>6000</maxAdj>
<minCos>6000</minCos>
<maxCos>10000</maxCos>
<UseGlobalThreshold>0</UseGlobalThreshold>
<EcIoMin>-1400</EcIoMin>
<usePmax>0</usePmax>
<PerCentMaxPower>5000</PerCentMaxPower>
<EcIoMax>-700</EcIoMax>
<useEcIoMax>0</useEcIoMax>
</ANP_options>
</Atoll>
The following parameters are saved for automatic frequency planning (GSM GPRS EDGE documents):
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_SITE_BB>: Default co-site separation rule for two BCCH type TRXs.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_CELL_BB>: Default co-transmitter separation rule for two BCCH type TRXs.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_NEIGH_BOUR_BB>: Default neighbour separation rule for two BCCH type TRXs.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_SITE_BT>: Default co-site separation rule for a BCCH and a TCH type TRX.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_CELL_BT>: Default co-transmitter separation rule for a BCCH and a TCH type
TRX.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_NEIGH_BOUR_BT>: Default neighbour separation rule a for BCCH and a TCH type
TRX.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_SITE_TT>: Default co-site separation rule for two TCH type TRXs.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_CO_CELL_TT>: Default co-transmitter separation rule for two TCH type TRXs.
◼ <defSeparations__CONF_NEIGH_BOUR_TT>: Default neighbour separation rule for two TCH type TRXs.
◼ <freezeState>: Last minute resource freezing options available in the AFP launch wizard
◼ <numMinutes>: Target time alloted to the AFP
◼ <useDTX>: Consider the effect of discontinuous transmission or not
◼ <dtxVocalFactor>: Voice activity factor for discontinuous transmission
◼ <AfpBasedOnInterference>: Load all potential interferers or not
◼ <AfpBasedOnSeparations>: Load all the subcells potentially involved in separation constraints or not
◼ <IM_calculate__WithTraffic>: Whether traffic spreading is uniform or based on the maps used in the default
traffic capture (for interference matrices calculation)
◼ <IM_calculate__BestServerZoneMargin>: Margin in case of Best signal level per HCS layer (for interference
matrices calculation)
◼ <IM_calculate__ServiceZoneType>: All or Best signal level per HCS layer (for interference matrices
calculation)
◼ <IM_calculate__reliability_X_10000>: Cell edge coverage probability (for interference matrices calculation)
◼ <TakeTfFromCapt>: Whether traffic loads are read from the default traffic capture or from the Subcells table
◼ <preferedSenario>: Scenario type, i.e., modification of existing TRXs allowed or not
Sample
The following parameters are saved for automatic scrambling code allocation (UMTS HSPA and TD-SCDMA
documents):
◼ <MinEcI0>: Minimum Ec/I0 constraint (not used in TD-SCDMA)
◼ <margin>: Ec/I0 margin (not used in TD-SCDMA)
◼ <reliability>: Cell edge coverage probability (not used in TD-SCDMA)
◼ <DistanceMin>: Default re-use distance
Sample
<Strategy>0</Strategy>
<FromScratch>1</FromScratch>
<UseCurrentNghbs>1</UseCurrentNghbs>
<NghbOrder>1</NghbOrder>
<ComputeNghbs>0</ComputeNghbs>
<UseMaxCodes>1</UseMaxCodes>
<UseShadowing>1</UseShadowing>
<SameCodeForCarriers>0</SameCodeForCarriers>
<NbClusterPerSite>3</NbClusterPerSite>
<ClustNghbs>0</ClustNghbs>
<Clust2ndNghbs>0</Clust2ndNghbs>
<NbCodesPerCluster>8</NbCodesPerCluster>
<UseDistance>1</UseDistance>
<UseExcepPairs>1</UseExcepPairs>
<minField>-10500</minField>
<usePmax>0</usePmax>
<PerCentMaxPower>5000</PerCentMaxPower>
<Max1stNghbCost>100</Max1stNghbCost>
<Max2ndNghbCost>50</Max2ndNghbCost>
<Max3rdNghbCost>5</Max3rdNghbCost>
<CoplanCost>100</CoplanCost>
<MaxCoClusterCost>50</MaxCoClusterCost>
<MaxDistCost>100</MaxDistCost>
<ExcepPairCost>100</ExcepPairCost>
<UseIndoor>0</UseIndoor>
<UseCloseNghbs>1</UseCloseNghbs>
<CloseDistance>80000.</CloseDistance>
<CloseImportance>3000.</CloseImportance>
<MaxCloseCost>100</MaxCloseCost>
</SCP_options>
</Atoll>
The following parameters are saved for automatic PN offset allocation (CDMA2000 documents):
◼ <MinEcI0>: Minimum Ec/I0 constraint
◼ <TDrop>: Value for the TDrop
◼ <reliability>: Cell edge coverage probability
◼ <DistanceMin>: Default re-use distance
◼ <Strategy0>: PN Offset per Cell strategy available or not
◼ <Strategy1>: Adjacent PN-Cluster per Site strategy available or not
◼ <Strategy2>: Distributed PN-Cluster per Site strategy available or not
◼ <Strategy>: PN offset allocation strategy
◼ <FromScratch>: Reset all already allocated codes or not
◼ <UseCurrentNghbs>: Use existing neighbours or not
◼ <NghbOrder>: The order of neigbours to take into account, i.e., 1st, 2nd, or 3rd
Sample
<CoplanCost>100</CoplanCost>
<MaxDistCost>100</MaxDistCost>
<ExcepPairCost>100</ExcepPairCost>
<UseIndoor>0</UseIndoor>
</PNO_options>
</Atoll>
The following parameters are saved for automatic allocation of resources in OFDM networks:
◼ <UseNeighbs>: Neighbours taken into account or not
◼ <UseDistance>: Distance taken into account or not
◼ <UseIM>: Interference matrices taken into account or not
◼ <BasedOnFrqPlan>: Frequency plan taken into account or not
◼ <SameSegPerTx>: Allocate the same segment to co-transmitter cells or not
◼ <MinDistance>: Minimum global reuse distance
◼ <SiteStrategy>: Per-site or free allocation for SSS ID (LTE) and cell permbase (WiMAX)
◼ <UniformIDDistribution>: Uniform physical cell ID or preamble index distribution active or not
◼ <RangeType>: Physical cell ID, preamble index, or zone permbase allocation domain (restricted = 0, entire = 1,
custom = 2, or per-cell = 3)
◼ <ExcludedPis>: List of excluded physical cell IDs, preamble indexes, or zone permbases for custom allocation
domain type
Automatically allocated resources in OFDM networks include:
◼ LTE: Frequency and physical cell ID allocation parameters
◼ WiMAX: Frequency, preamble index, and zone permbase allocation parameters
◼ Wi-Fi: Frequency allocation parameters
Sample
Sample
<InterferenceOverShoot>0</InterferenceOverShoot>
<CochannelOnly>0</CochannelOnly>
<IgnoreIntraLinkInterference>1</IgnoreIntraLinkInterference>
<Resolution>50</Resolution>
<INTERF_DETAIL>both</INTERF_DETAIL>
<ClutterCategory0>0</ClutterCategory0>
<ClutterDryCategory0>B</ClutterDryCategory0>
<ClutterCategory1>1</ClutterCategory1>
<ClutterDryCategory1>B</ClutterDryCategory1>
<ClutterCategory2>1</ClutterCategory2>
<ClutterDryCategory2>B</ClutterDryCategory2>
<ClutterCategory3>1</ClutterCategory3>
<ClutterDryCategory3>B</ClutterDryCategory3>
<ClutterCategory4>0</ClutterCategory4>
<ClutterDryCategory4>B</ClutterDryCategory4>
<ClutterCategory5>1</ClutterCategory5>
<ClutterDryCategory5>B</ClutterDryCategory5>
<ClutterCategory6>2</ClutterCategory6>
<ClutterDryCategory6>B</ClutterDryCategory6>
<ClutterCategory7>2</ClutterCategory7>
<ClutterDryCategory7>B</ClutterDryCategory7>
<ClutterCategory8>2</ClutterCategory8>
<ClutterDryCategory8>B</ClutterDryCategory8>
<ClutterCategory9>4</ClutterCategory9>
<ClutterDryCategory9>B</ClutterDryCategory9>
<ClutterCategory10>2</ClutterCategory10>
<ClutterDryCategory10>B</ClutterDryCategory10>
<ClutterCategory11>2</ClutterCategory11>
<ClutterDryCategory11>B</ClutterDryCategory11>
<ClutterCategory12>2</ClutterCategory12>
<ClutterDryCategory12>B</ClutterDryCategory12>
<ClutterCategory13>2</ClutterCategory13>
<ClutterDryCategory13>B</ClutterDryCategory13>
<ClutterCategory14>2</ClutterCategory14>
<ClutterDryCategory14>B</ClutterDryCategory14>
<ClutterCategory15>1</ClutterCategory15>
<ClutterDryCategory15>E</ClutterDryCategory15>
<ClutterCategory16>1</ClutterCategory16>
<ClutterDryCategory16>E</ClutterDryCategory16>
<ClutterCategory17>0</ClutterCategory17>
<ClutterDryCategory17>E</ClutterDryCategory17>
<ClutterCategory18>1</ClutterCategory18>
<ClutterDryCategory18>E</ClutterDryCategory18>
<ClutterCategory19>1</ClutterCategory19>
<ClutterDryCategory19>E</ClutterDryCategory19>
<ClutterCategory20>1</ClutterCategory20>
<ClutterDryCategory20>E</ClutterDryCategory20>
<ClutterCategory21>1</ClutterCategory21>
<ClutterDryCategory21>E</ClutterDryCategory21>
<ClutterCategory22>1</ClutterCategory22>
<ClutterDryCategory22>E</ClutterDryCategory22>
<ClutterCategory23>1</ClutterCategory23>
<ClutterDryCategory23>E</ClutterDryCategory23>
<ClutterCategory24>1</ClutterCategory24>
<ClutterDryCategory24>E</ClutterDryCategory24>
<ClutterCategory25>1</ClutterCategory25>
<ClutterDryCategory25>E</ClutterDryCategory25>
<ClutterCategory26>1</ClutterCategory26>
<ClutterDryCategory26>A</ClutterDryCategory26>
<ClutterCategory27>1</ClutterCategory27>
<ClutterDryCategory27>A</ClutterDryCategory27>
<ClutterCategory28>1</ClutterCategory28>
<ClutterDryCategory28>A</ClutterDryCategory28>
<ClutterCategory29>1</ClutterCategory29>
<ClutterDryCategory29>A</ClutterDryCategory29>
<ClutterCategory30>1</ClutterCategory30>
<ClutterDryCategory30>A</ClutterDryCategory30>
<ClutterCategory31>1</ClutterCategory31>
<ClutterDryCategory31>E</ClutterDryCategory31>
<ClutterCategory32>1</ClutterCategory32>
<ClutterDryCategory32>E</ClutterDryCategory32>
<ClutterCategory33>1</ClutterCategory33>
<ClutterDryCategory33>E</ClutterDryCategory33>
<ClutterCategory34>1</ClutterCategory34>
<ClutterDryCategory34>E</ClutterDryCategory34>
<ClutterCategory35>1</ClutterCategory35>
<ClutterDryCategory35>E</ClutterDryCategory35>
<ClutterCategory36>1</ClutterCategory36>
<ClutterDryCategory36>E</ClutterDryCategory36>
</Microwave>
</Atoll>
9.1.12 Macros
Sample
<Timeout>3600</Timeout>
</File>
</Macros>
</Atoll>
Sample
Sample
</FIELDS>
<CHOOSEN_FIELDS>
Site
Transmitter
...
</CHOOSEN_FIELDS>
Sample
More than one CW measurement import configurations can be saved in a single CWMeasurementsImport.ini file.
The following parameters are saved in the CWMeasurementsImport.ini files:
◼ Configuration name in square brackets
◼ First measurement row (Header)
◼ Separator (Separator)
◼ Decimal symbol (DecimalSeparator)
◼ Type of files for which the configuration has been defined (Pattern)
◼ Column containing the X coordinates (Xindex)
◼ Column containing the Y coordinates (Yindex)
◼ Column containing the measurement values (MeasIndex)
◼ Unit of the measurement values (Unit)
◼ Frequency of the measurements (Frequency)
◼ Height of the receiver used for measurements (Height)
◼ Gain of the receiver used for measurements (Gain)
◼ Losses of the receiver used for measurements (Losses)
◼ Total number of columns in measurement files (NbCol)
Type Index
Text 0
Integer 1
Real 2
Date 3
<Ignore> 4
Sample
[ConfigurationName]
Header=2
Separator=tab
DecimalSeparator=.
Pattern=*.txt
Xindex=1
Yindex=2
MeasIndex=4
Unit=0
Frequency=2110
Height=1.5
Gain=0
Losses=0
NbCol=23
Col0=1
Col3=4
Col5=0
...
More than one drive test data import configurations can be saved in a single DriveTestDataImport.ini file.
The following parameters are saved in the DriveTestDataImport.ini files:
◼ Configuration name in square brackets
◼ First measurement row (Header)
◼ Separator (Separator)
◼ Decimal symbol (DecimalSeparator)
◼ Type of files for which the configuration has been defined (Pattern)
◼ Column containing the X coordinates (Xindex)
◼ Column containing the Y coordinates (Yindex)
◼ Unit of the measurement values (Unit)
◼ Height of the receiver used for measurements (Height)
◼ Gain of the receiver used for measurements (Gain)
◼ Losses of the receiver used for measurements (Losses)
◼ First identifier (GenericNameIdOne)
◼ Second identifier (GenericNameIdTwo)
Type Index
Text 0
Integer 1
Long Integer 2
Single 3
Double 4
Date 5
<Ignore> 6
Sample
[ConfigurationName]
Header=2
Separator=tab
DecimalSeparator=.
Pattern=*.*
Xindex=1
Yindex=2
Unit=0
Height=1.5
Gain=0
Losses=0
GenericNameIdOne=
GenericNameIdTwo=BSID
IdFormat=Decimal
Techno=IEEE 802.16e
NbCol=21
Col0=1
Col3=1
Col4=4
...
10 Initialisation Files
Initialisation files can be used to store operational and working environment settings. These files are optional, not
required for working with Atoll, but are useful means for selecting required calculation methods and other settings.
This chapter describes the formats of these files in detail:
◼ Atoll initialisation file (Atoll.ini)
This file contains conventions, calculation settings, and other options for Atoll. For more information on these
options, see "Atoll Initialisation File" on page 147.
Atoll.ini can be automatically loaded when Atoll is run when it is:
a. Identified in the command line parameter -Ini "inifilename" (see "Atoll Command Line Parameters" on
page 26 for more information), or
b. Located in the Atoll installation folder. This file will be ignored if an initialisation file is loaded through the
command line parameter.
You can open the Atoll.ini file in the Atoll installation folder for editing by pressing
CTRL+SHIFT+i. If no Atoll.ini file exists, a blank Atoll.ini file is created.
You must restart Atoll in order to take into account modifications made in Atoll.ini.
A given Atoll.ini section, for example [GUIUserRights] or [LTE], must occur only once
in the file, with all options pertaining to that section listed under it. If you enter the
same section twice, only the first occurrence of the section will be read and loaded
by Atoll.
The Atoll initialisation file is a powerful tool. You should not modify any option until
and unless you are absolutely sure of what you are doing.
The maximum amount of usable memory for Atoll 64-bit is determined by the size of available physical memory and
the paging file. In Windows operating systems, the memory allocated to any process is either part of the physical
memory or of the paging file. In order to track the memory consumption of a process, two memory usage indicators
are available:
◼ Committed Memory: The amount of memory allocated either from the physical memory or from the paging
file. This information is available in the Windows Performance Monitor (Perfmon) under the "Process->Virtual
Bytes" counter.
◼ Working Set Memory: The amount of committed memory allocated from the physical memory. The working
set memory is less than or equal to the committed memory. This information is available in the Windows
Performance Monitor (Perfmon) under the "Process->Working Set" counter.
You can set a maximum working set memory per Atoll session by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Memory]
MaximumWorkingSetSize = N
If required, multiple Atoll shortcuts can also be created, each using a dedicated Atoll.ini file. This enables you to
define different values for the maximum working set memory option in different Atoll.ini files and assign different
memory limits to different users. Once you have created different Atoll.ini files with different values for this option,
you can point to these Atoll.ini files in the path defined in the Atoll shortcut. For more information, see "Atoll
Command Line Parameters" on page 26.
You can also monitor the amount of memory used by an Atoll session using:
◼ The Event Viewer: You can have the maximum working set size defined for the Atoll session displayed in the
Atoll Event Viewer. To do so, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Memory]
DisplayMaximumWorkingSetSize = 1
[Units]
MeterToFeetFactor = value
[Units]
MilesToMeterFactor = value
[Site]
Prefix = <prefix>
When the Prefix parameter is specified, new sites are named <prefix><number> instead of Site<number>.
By default, when a transmitter is created, it is named <sitename>_<number>, where <sitename> is the name of the
site where the transmitter is located and <number> is the sequential transmitter sector identifier on that site. You
can specify a prefix and a suffix for the default transmitter name by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Transmitter]
Prefix = <prefix>
Suffix = <suffix>
◼ When the Prefix parameter is specified, new transmitters are named <prefix>_<number> instead of
<sitename>_<number>.
◼ When the Suffix parameter is specified, new transmitters are named <sitename>_<suffix><number> instead of
<sitename>_<number>.
◼ When both the Prefix and Suffix are specified, new transmitters are named <prefix>_<suffix><number> instead
of <sitename>_<number>.
◼ If you omit the Prefix or Suffix parameters (or if you use Prefix = <AUTO>) the default naming method is used.
It is also possible to remove the underscore character ("_") from the transmitter name. For example, new
transmitters can be named <sitename><number> instead of <sitename>_<number>. To remove the underscore, add
the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Transmitter]
Underscore = 0
By default, Underscore is set to 1. When Underscore is set to 0, the underscore character is omitted in new
transmitter names.
You can also specify whether the sequential <number> identifier that is appended to transmitter name should be a
numeric (0-9) or an alphabetic (a-z or A-Z) character. You can also specify whether the numbering sequence starts
with 0, 1 or any other value, or whether the alphabetical sequence starts with a, A (to specify upper or lower case),
or any other character. The following lines define these options in the Atoll.ini file:
[Transmitter]
SuffixIsNum = 0|1
First = <numeric_value>
FirstCharSuffix = <character>
◼ When SuffixIsNum = 1 , new transmitter names are appended with a numeric suffix. The parameter First
specifies the number of the first transmitter in the numbering sequence. For example, if SuffixIsNum = 1 and
First = 0, then the transmitter names will be appended with 0, 1, and 2.
◼ When SuffixIsNum = 0, new transmitter names are appended with a letter. The parameter FirstCharSuffix
specifies the letter of the first transmitter in the alphabetic sequence. For example, if SuffixIsNum = 0 and
FirstCharSuffix = a, then the transmitter names will be appended with a, b, and c.
By default, SuffixIsNum is set to 1, First is set to 1, and FirstCharSuffix is set to A.
[AutoRename]
Transmitters = 0
3GCells = 0
Repeaters = 0
[TiffExport]
PaletteConvention = Gis
[EventsObserver]
LogPath = FullPath\LogFile.log
The path should be the full path to the log file, which can be, for example, "\\Server\Drive\Root\Folder\Atoll\" or
"C:\Program Files\Forsk\Atoll\" (without quotation marks). "LogFile.log" will be created by Atoll as an ASCII text file,
and can have any file name and extension. Atoll will overwrite any already existing log file with the same name. If
Atoll is unable to overwrite the existing log file, it will not create any log.
You can also start Atoll, specifying a log file, by starting it with "Atoll.exe -log LogFile.log", either from the command
line, or by modifying the shortcut parameters. If you have a log file defined in the Atoll.ini file, and run Atoll with the
-log option in the command line, the command line log file will have priority over the one mentioned in the Atoll.ini
file.
The option available in Atoll.ini is more suitable for running Atoll using macros. Apart from these options, you also
have the possibility to save the messages in the Event Viewer to a log file during an Atoll session (via context menu
of Event Viewer).
[EventsObserver]
ShowAddinAccessDeniedMsg = 0
[Print]
MaxDPI = 300
[Settings]
CopyExternalResultsDialog = 0
CopyExternalResults = value
CopyExternalResultsDialog is set to 1 by default. This means that the dialog box appears by default. Setting
CopyExternalResultsDialog to 0 hides the dialog box and the externalised calculation results are managed
according to the value of the CopyExternalResults option:
◼ 0: Do not retrieve externalised calculation results for the new document
◼ 1: Make copies of the externalised calculation results with the new document
CopyExternalResultsDialog is ignored when Atoll is run in non-interactive mode, for example using the API, and the
externalised calculation results are managed according to the value of the CopyExternalResults option.
[Studies]
NumericalResults = value
When NumericalResults is set to 0, the Store prediction numerical results check box is cleared by default. When
NumericalResults is set to 1, the Store prediction numerical results check box is checked by default.
[Studies]
ExportStudySvrFiles = 0
[Studies]
EnableStudyCompanionFileExport = 0
[Studies]
CoordSystemForTextExportIsProjection = 1
10.1.1.15 Restricting the List of Predictions for Creating Sector Traffic Maps
When you create a sector traffic map, i.e., traffic map based on cell coverage areas, Atoll uses an existing best
server coverage prediction in order to be able to distribute the live traffic data geographically. Atoll lets you select
the best server coverage prediction on which the traffic map will be based. In the list of available best server
coverage predictions, Atoll lists all the best server coverage prediction available in the Predictions folder, whether
they were created using a margin or without.
If you want Atoll to list only the best server coverage predictions that were created without a margin, i.e., with 0 dB
margin, you can add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
SelectNullMarginOnly = 1
SelectNullMarginOnly is set to 0 by default, which means that Atoll lists all the best server coverage predictions
available.
[Pathlosses]
DisplayInvalidityCause = 1
DisplayIndividualSuccessOrFailure = 1
DisplayOverallSuccessOrFailure = 1
Setting the DisplayInvalidityCause option to 1 will display the cause for which path losses were calculated for each
transmitter, setting DisplayIndividualSuccessOrFailure to 1 will display whether the path loss calculation succeeded
or failed for each transmitter, and setting DisplayOverallSuccessOrFailure to 1 will display the total number of path
loss matrices calculated, the number of path loss matrices calculated successfully, and the number of calculations
that failed.
These details are listed in the Events tab of the Event Viewer.
[MITAB]
Coordinate system definition in the header file = Coordinate system code in Atoll
In this way, Atoll is able to exactly detect the coordinate system used by the vector file being imported. In MIF files,
the CoordSys clause defines the coordinate systems, datum, unit, and other information. The coordinate system
definition is different in the PRJ files. The syntax used in Atoll.ini follows the syntax of the CoordSys clause in MIF
files. Using the same syntax for MIF and PRJ files, Atoll is able to read the detect the coordinate systems for both
MapInfo and ESRI vector files.
The coordinate system codes in Atoll are stored in the CS files in the coordsystems folder. To access the coordinate
system codes through Atoll:
1. Select Tools > Options. The Options dialog box opens.
2. On the Coordinates tab, click the browse button (...) to the left of the Projection field. The Coordinate Systems
dialog box opens.
3. Select a coordinate system in the pane.
4. Click the Properties button. The Coordinate System properties dialog box opens.
The coordinate system code is available in the properties dialog box.
[MITAB]
; NTF
Earth Projection 1, 107 = 4275
; Tokyo
Earth Projection 1, 97 = 4301
; WGS 84 / UTM zone 31N
Earth Projection 8, 104, "m", 3, 0, 1, 500000, 0 = 32631
; WGS 84 / UTM zone 53N
Earth Projection 8, 104, "m", 135, 0, 0.9996, 500000, 0 = 32653
; WGS 84 / UTM zone 54N
Earth Projection 8, 104, "m", 141, 0, 0.9996, 500000, 0 = 32654
; NTF (Paris) / France II étendue
Earth Projection 3, 1002, "m", 0, 46.8, 45.8989188889, 47.69601444, 600000, 2200000
= 27595
Enabling this option influences the export feature for all exportable vector fomats
(MIF, TAB, AGD, SHP, TXT). When this option is enabled, only the largest polygon is
exported for coverage layers having more than one polygon.
You can enable this feature by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
EnableLBS = 1
Setting EnableLBS to 1 adds a new coverage prediction export format "LBS Polygon Files (*.txt)" to Atoll. The
polygons are exported in a comma separated values format.
[WMS]
S1 = Server1
S2 = Server2
...
SN = ServerN
You can define any number of servers by incrementing the index N. These servers will be available in the WMS data
import dialog box in Atoll.
[Perfos]
PtAnalysisNbServersMax = <number>
PtAnalysisMargin = <margin>
PtAnalysisNbServersMax allows you to define the maximum number of servers (i.e. transmitters or cells) to
consider when calculating the received signal levels. <number> is the maximum number of servers and is set to 100
by default. If PtAnalysisNbServersMax is set to zero, then no restriction is considered.
PtAnalysisMargin allows you to define a margin with respect to the best server signal level. Atoll calculates the
signal levels from all servers within a Y dB margin from the best server signal level. The default value is 30 dB.
In addition to the above, you can also set the maximum number of servers displayed in the Point Analysis window
and, consequently, the maximum number of arrows displayed in the Map window (from the pointer location). To set
this number, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Perfos]
PtAnalysisNbServersDisplayed = Z
PtAnalysisNbServersDisplayed is set to 100 by default. It affects all tabs and reports of the Point Analysis tool in
GSM, LTE, WiMAX, and WiFi. Only the Reception tab is impacted in UMTS, CDMA2000, and TD-SCDMA.
[Import]
LoadKMLVectors = 0
LoadKMLVectors is set to 1 by default, which means that vectors are imported along with placemarks.
[Import]
ShowOptionMergeZone = 1
ShowOptionMergeZone is set to 0 by default. When the option is set to 1, a Combine with existing zones option is
available in the User Configuration dialog box.
[Import]
WarningSameValues = 1
10.1.1.24 Setting the Precision for the Antenna Pattern Verification at Import
Atoll checks whether the vertical and horizontal patterns are correctly aligned at the extremities. The antenna
patterns are correctly aligned when:
◼ the horizontal pattern attenuation at 0° is the same as the vertical pattern attenuation at the pattern electrical
tilt angle, and
◼ the horizontal pattern attenuation at 180° is the same as the vertical pattern attenuation at the 180° less the
pattern electrical tilt angle.
By default, the option is inactive, i.e., the pattern attenuations are considered the same if they differ less than 100 dB.
If you want to change this default precision, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Antenna]
PrecisionTimes10 = X
Where X is the required precision in dB multiplied by 10. For example, if you want to set the precision to 0.5 dB, X
will be 0.5 10 = 5 .
[Antenna]
HighResolutionAntennaPattern = 1
10.1.1.26 Setting the Threshold for the Electrical Tilt and Azimuth Audit
By default, the electrical tilt and azimuth audit produces a report that lists antennas for which the difference between
either the calculated electrical tilt and the value defined in the vertical pattern, or the calculated electrical azimuth
and the value defined in the horizontal pattern, exceeds 1.5°. You can modify this threshold, in degrees, by adding
the following lines to the atoll.ini file:
[Antenna]
AntennaPatternConsistencyDifference = <value in degrees>
[Export]
AdvancedXML = 1
10.1.1.28 Keeping the Original List Separator when Exporting in CSV Format
Before exporting in CSV format, Atoll verifies if the list separator symbol is identical to the decimal or digit grouping
symbols defined in your regional settings.
By default, Atoll will change the list separator if it is found to be identical to the decimal symbol or the digit grouping
symbols. You can force Atoll to keep the original list separator symbol by adding the following option in the Atoll.ini
file:
[Export]
AlwaysUseListSeparatorInCSV = 1
[Export]
AutoOpenWithExcel = 1
[GUIUserRights]
EnableNewDocFromTemplate = 0
[GUIUserRights]
EnableMacrosAddins = 0
[GUIUserRights]
EnableZip = 0
[GUIUserRights]
HidePropagationModelsFolder = 1
[GUIUserRights]
AllowSharedParameterModification = 0
[Transmitter]
CheckImpactOnRepeaters = 1
[Grids]
NbDecimals = 2
This option applies to most non-formatted floating point parameters in Atoll, i.e., excluding geographic coordinates,
formatted floating point values, and certain values where decimal precision is important.
NbDecimals is set to -1 by default. This corresponds to maximum precision, i.e., all the digits after the decimal point
available in the database are displayed.
[Geo]
FindGeoButtonAlwaysActive = 1
FindGeoButtonAlwaysActive can be useful when you have changed the location of a geographic data file, and you
wish to change the path to the new location. It is set to 0 by default.
When changing the path to a linked geographic data file, you must provide the new
path to the same file. This option does not allow linking to another file instead. In
order to link to another file, you must follow the normal file import procedure.
[Geo]
VectorDisplayConfigurationCompanionFile = 0
VectorDisplayConfigurationCompanionFile is set to 1 by default. When you import vector data in an Atoll document,
the same option enables you to simultaneously import the corresponding display configuration file (CFG). The
display configuration file will only be imported if it has the same file name and if it is located in the same directory
as the imported vector-format file.
[Geo]
ReportObeysVisibility = 1
10.1.1.40 Exporting BMP, TIF, and PNG Files with a TAB Reference File
When exporting BMP, TIF, and PNG files, Atoll can export the georeference information in a TAB file instead of the
default respective World files (BPW or BMW for BMP, TFW for TIF, and PGW for PNG). If you want Atoll to export the
georeference information in a TAB file when you export in BMP, TIF, and PNG formats, add the following lines to the
Atoll.ini file:
[RasterExport]
GeorefWithTAB = 1
[RasterExport]
ExportBILAsESRI = 1
[CoPlanning]
LinkSites = 1
[MITAB]
DisableNormalization = 1
10.1.1.44 Customising Performance Optimisation when Exporting Vector Files in TAB Format
When you export vector files in TAB format, the performance is optimised by default , i.e. the export process is less
time-consuming. If the resulting TAB files do not meet the quality level you were expecting, you can disable the
performance optimisation feature by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file :
[MITAB]
OptimizedTABExport = 0
10.1.1.45 Adding the Duplicate Site to the Original Site’s Site List
When you duplicate a site, you can choose to add the duplicate site to the site list (if any) of the original site by
adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Site]
AddToSiteListOnDuplicate = 1
[GUI]
MoveSiteMethod = 1
MoveSiteMethod is set to 0 by default. The following behaviour occurs when you move a site according to the value
of MoveSiteMethod:
MoveSiteMethod Behaviour
0 The relative coordinates of the antennas follow the coordinates of the site.
2 A dialog box appears asking you whether to move the antennas with the site or not.
[Site]
ResetAltitude = 0|1|2
ResetAltitude is set to 0 by default. The following occurs to the duplicate/moved site according to the setting of
ResetAltitude:
0 The Real field of the duplicate/moved site inherits the original site’s Real altitude.
2 The Real field of the duplicate/moved site inherits the duplicate/moved site’s own DTM value.
If a site’s coordinate(s) and its real altitude are modified at the same time (from the
site’s Properties dialog box or from the Sites table), the new value in the Real field
will be kept even if ResetAltitude is set to 1 or 2.
2 The Real field of the new site inherits the site’ own DTM value.
[Clutter]
OnlyVisibleClassesInInterferenceReport = 1
OnlyVisibleClassesInInterferenceReport is set to 0 by default. The visibility of clutter classes on the map can be
managed through the Display tab of the Properties dialog box of the Clutter Classes folder. Using this option, you
can exclude clutter classes which are not relevant in interference prediction reports, for example, water.
[Clutter]
PerClassPercentagesRelativeToCoverageInReport = 0
[Traffic]
PerClassPercentagesRelativeToCoverageInReport = 0
[Pathlosses]
FullResyncPrivShared = 0|1|2
◼ When FullResyncPrivShared is set to 0: invalid private path loss matrices are deleted if shared path loss
matrices are valid when running calculations or checking the validity of path loss matrices (Propagation tab
of the transmitter Properties dialog box). Valid private path loss matrices are preserved.
◼ When FullResyncPrivShared is set to 1: in addition to the 0 setting, valid private path loss matrices are deleted
if shared path loss matrices are valid when checking the validity of path loss matrices.
◼ When FullResyncPrivShared is set to 2: in addition to the 1 setting, valid private path loss matrices are deleted
if shared path loss matrices are valid when running calculations. This setting is not compatible with the use
of tuned path loss matrices.
FullResyncPrivShared is set to 1 by default.
If you have private path loss matrices tuned using measurement data, setting
+
◼
FullResyncPrivShared to 2 will force Atoll to delete them automatically when
calculations are run.
◼ You should set FullResyncPrivShared to 1 when working with tuned private
path loss matrices.
[Print]
LogoFooterChecked = 1
10.1.1.53 Filtering Predictions by Technology When Reading the XML Studies File
In the XML studies file, some common CDMA coverage predictions can be available for CDMA2000 and UMTS, or
some common OFDMA coverage predictions can be available for WiMAX and LTE. If you want to filter the
customised predictions stored in the XML studies file by technology, e.g. separate the WiMAX and LTE coverage
predictions, and load only the predictions specific to the technology of the current Atoll document, add the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
CustomStudiesFilteredByTechno = 1
CustomStudiesFilteredByTechno is set to 0 by default. This option is only relevant for reading the XML studies file.
Atoll always writes the technology type in the XML studies file when customised coverage predictions are saved in
it.
[MITAB]
EnableMessages = 1
EnableMessages is set to 0 by default. Atoll does not display any message related to MapInfo file import and export.
[Population]
ReportResolution = X
Where X is the resolution for the conversion of population map vectors into raster.
[Studies]
ReportDecimalPlacesAbsolute = X
[Studies]
ReportDecimalPlacesPercent = X
[Studies]
ShowIntervalsWithNoCoverageInReport = 1
[Studies]
UseFullHotSpotSurfaceOnReport = 1
[Studies]
ExportOnlyVisibleLevels = 1
ExportOnlyVisibleLevels is set to 0 by default, which means that when a coverage prediction is exported, Atoll will
export all of its levels whether they are visible or not.
[Studies]
NoOverlapOnBestServer = 1
NoOverlapOnBestServer is set to 0 by default. When NoOverlapOnBestServer is set to 1, Atoll arbitrarily selects one
of the best servers on such pixels. This option can be useful, for example, when calculating population statistics
based on a best server coverage prediction. When a pixel is covered by more than one best server, the population
belonging to that pixel is counted as many times as the number of best servers, which can give erroneous
percentages of covered population.
[Studies]
ReportMethod = 0
[Compression]
StartSizeInMB = X
Where X is the file size in MB. Atoll will compress the ATL file if it is larger than X. By default, StartSizeInMB is set
to 200.
[Add-ins]
Add-in Name = 0
◼ If you want an add-in to be loaded, activated, and accessible in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box for
activation/deactivation, add the following lines to the Atoll file:
[Add-ins]
Add-in Name = 1
◼ If you want an add-in to be loaded and activated, but only shown in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box for
information (impossible to deactivate), add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Add-ins]
Add-in Name = 2
◼ If you want to set an add-in to be mandatory for Atoll, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Add-ins]
Add-in Name = 3
Any add-in set to option 3 will be loaded and activated, but only shown in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box
for information (impossible to deactivate). Atoll will not run if it is unable to load this add-in.
Add-in Name is the name of the add-in as it appears in the Add-ins and Macros dialog box. Atoll fails to start if for
some reason it is unable to load an add-in whose status is set to 3. The default status for add-ins is 1.
[OnlineMaps]
Name1 = City1
URL1 = http://...
Name2 = City2
URL2 = http://...
...
NameN = CityN
URLN = http://...
You can define any number of online map URLs by incrementing the index N. These URLs will be available in the
online map import dialog box in Atoll.
If you need to use a proxy server for accessing online maps, you must specify the IP address of the proxy server by
adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[HTTP_REQUEST]
Proxy = IP_address
10.1.1.65 Changing the Default Cache Location for the Loaded Map Tiles
The map tiles that you load into Atoll are stored in a specific cache directory named after the corresponding tile
server. By default, the location of this cache is "%TEMP%\OnlineMaps". You can change this location by adding the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[OnlineMaps]
TilesCachePath = new_path
10.1.1.66 Defining the Microsoft Bing Tile Server for Online Maps
If you want to define the Microsoft Bing Maps Server for online maps, you must request a Bing Maps key from
Microsoft and use it with the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[OnlineMaps]
BingKey = key
BingMetadataUrl=http://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/V1/Imagery/Metadata/%s
You must request your key from Microsoft. When BingKey is specified with a valid key, "Bing" becomes available
under Provider in the Add a Tile Server dialog box. A Type and a Language must also be defined before you can
validate.
BingCultureX = culture
BingLanguageX = language
X = 0 is equivalent to 4th position in the Language list (after the 3 default languages)
culture and language settings can be found in the Culture and Language columns
at the following URL: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh441729.aspx
The BingMetadataUrl value specifies the URL for the Bing metadata. You can change this value if Microsoft changes
its default URL.
10.1.1.67 Defining the Microsoft Bing Tile Server for Online Searches
By default, when you search for a point on the map by its full or partial postal address, Atoll returns specific search
results. If you want to force Atoll to return a list of results based on the Microsoft Bing Maps server, you must
request a Bing Maps key from Microsoft and use it with the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[OnlineSearch]
BingKey = key
BingLocationUrl=http://dev.virtualearth.net/REST/v1/Locations/
The BingLocationUrl value specifies the URL for the Bing location queries. You can change this value if Microsoft
changes its default URL.
[OnlineSearch]
MapQuestKey = key
[Export]
NewLineEscapeSequence = " "
[Settings]
KeepFilterZoneOnRemoveFilter = 0
[Settings]
EnableDataExchangeCommands = 0
[System]
RestartOnImproperExit = 1
RestartOnImproperExit is set to 0 by default. If set to 1, Atoll restarts following an improper exit without using any
command line options that may be defined for its shortcut.
[DefaultFolders]
RootFolder = <path shortcut>
ATLFilesFolder = <path for loading and saving Atoll documents>
UserConfigurationFilesFolder = <path for loading and saving configuration files>
ImportFolder = <path for importing files and zones>
PredictionExportFolder = <path for generating and exporting predictions>
GeoExportFolder = <path for exporting and saving geo files>
DataExchangeImportFolder = <path for importing grid views and XML files>
DataExchangeExportFolder = <path for exporting grid views and XML files>
CustomReportExportFolder = <path for exporting microwave custom reports>
You can use RootFolder as a global shortcut, which can be used in the other folder paths. For example:
RootFolder = \\Server\Path
ATLFilesFolder = {RootFolder}\ATL
You can use the shortcut {UserLogin} to replace the Windows user name. For example:
RootFolder = \\Server\Path
ATLFilesFolder = {RootFolder}\ATL\{UserLogin}
In this case, if the user name is JSmith, then the default directory for ATL files is:
\\Server\Path\ATL\JSmith
[FavouriteViews]
DefaultStorage = 0|1
◼ When DefaultStorage is set to 0, favourite views are created and stored in the user profile.
◼ When DefaultStorage is set to 1, favourite views are created and stored in the document.
DefaultStorage is set to 0 by default, which means that favourite views are created and stored in the user profile.
[FavouriteViews]
UpdateFocusAndComputationZone = 1
UpdateFocusAndComputationZone is set to 0 by default, which means that the computation zone and focus zone
are not saved in the favourite views.
10.1.1.76 Fixing Antenna Electrical Azimuth and Tilt Values on Document Update
Antenna electrical azimuths and tilts are used in calculations to determine the attenuation due to antenna patterns
in different directions. Therefore, it is important that these values be correct. When you update Atoll documents
from version 3.2 to 3.3, you can have Atoll check and fix any erroneous values in the Antennas table.
◼ If you want Atoll to ignore any errors in the electrical azimuths and tilts, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini
file:
[Antenna]
CheckOrFixElecAzAndTilt = 0
◼ If you want Atoll to notify you about any errors in the electrical azimuths and tilts, add the following lines to
the Atoll.ini file:
[Antenna]
CheckOrFixElecAzAndTilt = 1
◼ If you want Atoll to notify you about any errors in the electrical azimuths and tilts and fix these errors, add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Antenna]
CheckOrFixElecAzAndTilt = 2
◼ If you want Atoll to notify you about any errors in the electrical azimuths and tilts and set the electrical
azimuths to 0, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Antenna]
CheckOrFixElecAzAndTilt = 3
[Antenna]
LimitChoiceToAntennaFolder = 0
[OFDMCells]
DefaultFirstCellNameIsTxName = 1
[3GCells]
DefaultFirstCellNameIsTxName = 1
The default value for DefaultFirstCellNameIsTxName is 0. When this option is enabled, if other cells are created for
a transmitter, then they are named with the standard naming convention (Transmitter name followed by the carrier).
[Licenses]
Live = 0
10.1.1.80 Enabling the Import of GSM OSS Data with the Atoll Live Module
The Atoll Live module for GSM can import files from OSS systems into your GSM document. You can use the OSS
configuration management tools from various vendors to obtain and export the data.
To enable this capability, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[GSM_Live]
GsmLiveGui=1
[SitesSymbol]
FontName = Name of the font
Symbol = Character used for the site symbol from the character set of the font
Size = Character size in number of pts
Color = Colour of the symbol
The default sites symbol is used when a new document is created in Atoll. To know the name of the font to use, and
to set the symbol, you can use the Windows’ Character Map tool. You can use the copy/paste features to set the
symbol in the Atoll.ini file.
Example:
[SitesSymbol]
FontName = Wingdings
Symbol = ¤
Size = 12
Color = 0
[RemoteAntennas]
FrozenSymbol = 1
[Repeaters]
FrozenSymbol = 0
[Transmitter]
ChangeSymbolOnSearch = 0
[Transmitter]
EmptySymbolWhenInactive = 0
[Transmitter]
AutoSynchronizeDisplay = 1
[StatusBar]
DisplayZ = 0
DisplayClutterClass = 0
DisplayClutterHeight = 0
DisplayZ, DisplayClutterClass and DisplayClutterHeight respectively refer to the display of altitude, clutter class, and
clutter height.
[EventsObserver]
milliseconds = 1
date = 1
[Settings]
ZoomWithCtrlKey = 1
10.1.2.10 Setting the Maximum Number of Lines to Coverage Prediction Tool Tips
If you have more than one coverage prediction displayed on the map, the tool tips display the tip text for all the
coverage predictions available at a pixel up to 30 lines by default. You can change this default number of tool tip
text lines through the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
MultiplePlotsTipTextLines = X
X is the number of lines to display in the tool tips. By default, MultiplePlotsTipTextLines is set to 30. If you set it to
a very large value, however, the tool tip might not display correctly.
[SAModel]
DrawSingleElementPattern = 0
H
DrawSingleElementPattern is set to 1 by default, and the displayed diagram is g n S R Avg S . When you set
H
DrawSingleElementPattern to 0, the diagram displayed will represent S R Avg S .
10.1.2.12 Adding Exposure Analysis to the List of Multi-RAT Coverage Predictions (Hidden en
3.2.0.02, ces infos sont dans TN013)
The maximum permissible exposure (MPE) to electromagnetic fields (EMF) can be analysed in single-RAT and
multi-RAT documents. A multi-RAT exposure analysis is a combination of the corresponding single-RAT exposure
analyses.
You can include "Exposure Analysis" in the list of coverage predictions available in single-RAT and multi-RAT
documents by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
ExposureStudy = 1
When Exposure Analysis predictions are enabled, "Exposure Analysis" appears in the list of predictions in all types
of single-RAT (except TD-SCDMA and Wi-Fi) and multi-RAT (including 3GPP2) documents.
[Studies]
CommentsInLegend = 1
The comments are displayed between the name of the coverage prediction and the thresholds. CommentsInLegend
is set to 0 by default.
[Display]
CellIDNbDigits = X
Where X is the number of digits that the CELL_IDENTITY field should contain. For example, CellIDNbDigits = 5 means
that Atoll will display at least five digits in the CELL_IDENTITY field by adding leading zeros where required. This
means that Atoll will display "00678" in the above example. However, if the CELL_IDENTITY field contains a number
that has more than X digits, all the digits will still be displayed. For example, all seven digits in "9376562" will still be
displayed even if CellIDNbDigits is set to 5.
[Antenna]
REDTDisplay = 1
10.1.2.16 Increasing the Width of the Clutter Description Pane in the Status Bar
You can increase the width of the clutter description pane in the Status bar (bottom right), to display the descriptions
of clutter classes with long names, by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[StatusBar]
ClutterPaneWidth = X
ClutterPaneWidth is set to 100 by default, which means 100% of its default width. To increase the width to, for
example, twice the original width, set ClutterPaneWidth to 200.
[DocTitle]
UseTechnoName = 0
[Display]
PaletteColor0 = 141 211 199
PaletteColor1 = 255 255 179
PaletteColor2 = 190 186 218
PaletteColor3 = 251 128 114
PaletteColor4 = 128 177 211
PaletteColor5 = 253 180 98
PaletteColor6 = 179 222 105
PaletteColor7 = 252 205 229
PaletteColor8 = 217 217 217
PaletteColor9 = 188 128 189
PaletteColor10 = 204 235 197
PaletteColor11 = 255 237 111
You can also override user-defined colours, if any, and force shading (from red to blue) by setting the following
option in the Atoll.ini file.
[Display]
DiscreteValueColoring = Shading
[Display]
MaxColorNeighbours = <value>
In addition to this setting, you must define enough distinct palette colours to cover the number of neighbours
considered, as explained in "Displaying Objects’ Discrete Values with User-defined Colours" on page 175. For
example, if you set MaxColorNeighbours to 100, then you must define PaletteColor1 to at least PaletteColor100.
[GeoProfileDisplay]
Beamwidth = 1
The geographic profile displays clutter classes and the Fresnel ellipsoid by default. When the Beamwidth option is
set to 1, the option is enabled and three additional lines are added to the diagram:
◼ Thick upper and lower lines: These lines todicate the upper and lower -3 dB beamwidth limit in the vertical
plane.
◼ Thick central line: This line indicates the axis of minimal loss, which coincides with the actual tilt axis of the
antenna (combining the physical and electrical tilt).
You can specify the colors of the lines with the BeamWidthColor, Upper3dbColor, and Lower3dbColor options.
The vertical beamwidth is widest in the azimut axis of the antenna. If you move the position of the Point Analysis
tool off of the antenna azimut axis, the vertical beamwidth diminishes and disappears when the vertical beamwidth
loss exceeds -3 dB.
[Display]
LockTransmittersDisplay = 1
LockSitesDisplay = 1
[Display]
CaseInsensitiveGroups = 1
[Display]
RepeaterDefaultType = 1
[Explorer]
ShowCellularSchemaFolder = 1
[Site]
AskConfirmDeleteSite = 0
[RemoteCalculation]
NumberedServers = Server1NameN; Server2NameN; ...
Here Server1Name and Server2Name refer to the names of the computers being used as calculation servers, and N
is a number from 0 to 9. This means, for example, that Server1 can run up to 10 instances of the distributed
calculation application, and all these instances can be listed in the NumberedServers option (Server1Name0;
Server1Name1; Server1Name2; ...). Using this option, you can assign distributed calculation servers to different
groups of users working with two different Atoll.ini files. For example, user group 1 can use Server1Name0 to
Server1Name4, and group 2 can use Server1Name5 to Server1Name9.
If an error occurs on any of the distributed calculation servers, Atoll transfers the calculations back to the local
computer. However, to avoid memory saturation, Atoll uses one thread on the local computer and calculates the
path loss matrices one by one. It does not attempt creating more than one thread.
[RemoteCalculation]
AtollSvrPriority = -1, 0, 1 or 2
[RemoteCalculation]
DetectTimeOut = 5000
[RemoteCalculation]
MultiUserDCS = 1
[License]
TimeBombNotice = X
X is the number of days prior to the temporary License end date you want Atoll to warn you. When no information is
given in the Atoll.ini file, Atoll warns the user 30 days before the License end.
CDMA2000 CDMA = 0
TD-SCDMA TD-SCDMA = 0
LTE LTE = 0
NB-IoT NB-IoT = 0
5G NR 5GNR = 0
LPWA LPWA = 0
Backhaul BH = 0
Measurements Measures = 0
You can also block access to GSM, UMTS, or LTE radio access technologies in 3GPP Multi-RAT documents using
these options.
[License]
GSM_AFP = 0
LTE_AFP = 0
5GNR_AFP = 0
WiMAX_AFP = 0
In order to carry out a Wi-Fi frequency planning using the AFP module, you must have access to the WiMAX AFP
module license, i.e. WiMAX_AFP must not be set to 0.
[License]
ACP_GSM = 0
ACP_UMTS = 0
ACP_LTE = 0
ACP_5GNR = 0
ACP_CDMA = 0
ACP_WiMAX = 0
ACP_LPWA = 0
In order to carry out a combined GSM and UMTS optimisation using the ACP module, you must have access to both
ACP module Licenses, i.e. ACP_GSM and ACP_UMTS must both not be set to 0.
In order to carry out a Wi-Fi optimisation using the ACP module, you must have access to the WiMAX ACP module
license, i.e. ACP_WiMAX must not be set to 0.
[License]
IdleTime = X
Where X is the time in minutes. The idle time can be set to infinity by defining IdleTime = 0.
10.1.5.1 Checking Data Integrity After Database Upgrade and Data Refresh
You can configure Atoll to perform a database integrity check when you open anAtoll document connected to a
database that was recently upgraded to a new version or when you refresh data in anAtoll document from the
database.
After an integrity check, if any problems are detected, a dialog box allows the user to correct any discrepancies.
To configure this option, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Refresh]
ControlIntegrity = <setting>
[Database]
IntegrityChecker = 1
When this option is enabled, Atoll applies a series of SELECT filters to the database to guarantee data integrity and
to avoid integrity problems in the future.
By default, IntegrityChecker is set to 0.
[Refresh]
RefreshUnmodifiedDataOnlyByDefault = 1
10.1.5.4 Trimming Leading and Trailing Space Characters from Text Fields
Atoll does not allow leading and trailing spaces in text fields such as names, custom fields, and so on. By default,
space characters at the beginning and at the end of text fields are automatically trimmed.
This behaviour can be modified by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Validation]
TrimTextFields = 0
When TrimTextFields is set to 0, text field values are not trimmed and may contain leading and trailing space
characters.
TrimTextFields is set to 1 by default.
A macro can be obtained from Forsk support to verify that existing text fields in the database comply with this rule.
[Database]
DisplayTableNamesOnOpenFromDB = 1
[Database]
AllowNullRecordsForNonNullableCustomFields = 1
[Database]
SubCellAuditConsistency = 1
To automatically audit the consistency of redundant values in the transmitters, subcells, and TRXs tables and fix
any problems found, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Database]
SubCellAuditConsistency = 2
To automatically audit the compatibility of the main subcell values without fixing any problems found, add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Database]
SubCellAuditMainValues = 1
To automatically audit the compatibility of the main subcell values and fixi any problems found, add the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Database]
SubCellAuditMainValues = 2
[Database]
CommandTimeout = X
Where X is the timeout value in an integer number of seconds. After X seconds, the command is considered too long
to execute. If you set CommandTimeout = 0, there will be no time limit for the execution of the command.
[Database]
ExportTransactionMethod = 1
[PlanetImport]
SensitiveCase = 1
Case sensitive means that "Site0" will be considered different from "site0" during import.
10.1.5.11 Setting the Sign for KClutter When Importing Data From Planet EV
Planet EV uses the opposite sign for the Kclutter parameter with respect to Planet DMS. If you are importing data
from Planet EV, you might have to change the sign of this parameter. You can instruct Atoll to change the sign for
Kclutter when importing data from Planet EV by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[PlanetImport]
ChangeKclutterSign = 1
10.1.5.12 Setting the Clutter No Data Value for When Importing Data From Planet EV
Atoll automatically detects undefined clutter class data as No Data when importing data from Planet EV. No Data
clutter is considered transparent on the map and in calculations. You can instruct Atoll to use a specific value as
the No Data value when importing data from Planet EV by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[PlanetImport]
ClutterNoData = X
Where X is the No Data value for clutter. ClutterNoData is set to -9999 by default.
[Database]
PromptOnArchive = 1
PromptOnArchive = 1 is the default setting used if this option is not provided in the Atoll.ini file. The user will be
prompted for password when he tries to archive data in the database for the first time during anAtoll session.
If you want Atoll to ask the user to enter the username and password for every refresh and archive, set:
PromptOnArchive = 2
PromptOnArchive = 0
Username and password are stored in the ATL file in an encrypted form.
This option is only appropriate if the database connection string contains a
password.
[Database]
UseTransaction = 0
Before modifying this option, make sure that the database server is correctly
configured for transactions.
[Database]
OverwriteSharedFolderPath = 0
OverwriteSharedFolderPath is set to 1 by default, meaning that the path loss directory is overwritten.
[MajorVersionChange]
EnablePartialRefreshInMigration = 1
[Database]
ExclusiveProvider = providername
Where providername can be "Access", "SQLServer", or "Oracle". When this option is set, Atoll uses the defined
database type and does not display the database selection dialog box that appears when creating a new document
from an existing database or when exporting a document to create a new database.
10.1.5.18 Displaying Only the First Export to Database Error in a Dialog Box
When a document containing several inconsistencies is exported to a database, you can force Atoll to display only
the first error in a dialog box and log all other inconsistencies in the Events viewer by adding the following lines to
the Atoll.ini file:
[Database]
LogExportToDbErrors = 1
[Database]
KeepAMCDatabaseFields = 1
[Antenna]
Catalog Vertical Diagram Orientation = 90 or angle value
InterpolatePatternEvenIfOnlyOneDiagram = 0 or 1
InterpolatePatternIndB = 0 or 1
Catalog Vertical Diagram Orientation is a display option. It enables rotating the antenna’s vertical diagram to a user-
defined angle. By default, Catalog Vertical Diagram Orientation is set to 90 meaning that the vertical diagram is
displayed pointing to the right. Setting it to 0, for example, will show the vertical diagram pointing to the top.
InterpolatePatternEvenIfOnlyOneDiagram can be used to change the way Atoll interpolates antenna pattern
attenuation diagrammes for antennas with only one diagramme available, vertical or horizontal. With
InterpolatePatternEvenIfOnlyOneDiagram = 0 (default, new method), Atoll uses the only diagramme available for
both vertical and horizontal planes. With InterpolatePatternEvenIfOnlyOneDiagram = 1 (previous method), Atoll uses
the diagramme available for the plane to which it corresponds, vertical or horizontal, and an isotropic diagramme (a
0 dB circular attenuation pattern) for the plane for which no diagramme is available.
InterpolatePatternIndB sets the unit used by Atoll when it performs linear interpolations on antenna pattern
attenuation. When InterpolatePatternIndB = 0 (default), interpolations are calculated in Watts. When
InterpolatePatternIndB = 1 (or any value other than 0), interpolations are calculated in dB leading to stronger antenna
pattern attenuation.
[Studies]
AutoLock = 0
AutoLock is to 1 by default.
automatic scrambling code and PN offset allocation, and interference matrices calculation. This average value
depends on the cell edge coverage probability that you define for the calculation and the standard deviations
defined per clutter class.
In the dialog boxes of all the above-mentioned calculations, the Shadowing taken into account check box is not
selected by default. Not selecting this check box implies that the shadowing margin is neither calculated nor used
in the calculations.
If you want to select the Shadowing taken into account check box by default in all the above-mentioned dialog
boxes, you have to enter the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Shadowing]
UseShadowing = 1
This option does not affect the shadowing margin calculation during Monte Carlo
simulations. Monte Carlo simulations do not use an average value of the
shadowing margin depending on the cell edge coverage probability. During Monte
Carlo simulations, random shadowing margin values are calculated based only on
the standard deviations defined per clutter class.
In UMTS HSPA and CDMA2000 documents, you can also deactivate the calculation and use of macro-diversity
gains. For more information, see "Disabling Macro-diversity (SHO) Gains Calculation for Ec/Io and Eb/Nt" on
page 202.
10.1.6.4 Setting a Default Value for the Cell Edge Coverage Probability
The default value of the cell edge coverage probability can be configured in the Atoll.ini file. If you enter the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file, Atoll will consider the value of the cell edge coverage probability defined in the Atoll.ini file
as the default value, and will take it into account when performing point analysis, in the shadowing margins
calculator, and will propose it as the default value for coverage prediction studies.
[Shadowing]
Reliability = 60
The value of cell edge coverage probability used for automatic neighbour allocation
and interference matrices calculation is stored in user configuration files (CFG).
[ClutterParams]
IndoorActivity = 1
10.1.6.6 Modifying the Resolution for the LOS Area Calculation Around a Site
The calculation of line of sight area around a given site uses the resolution of the geographic data as the default
calculation resolution. These calculations can be time-consuming if the geographic data is available with a very high
resolution. You can set the calculation resolution to a multiple of the resolution of the geographic data by adding
the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[LOSArea]
ResolutionMultFactor = X
Where X is an integer. Therefore, setting ResolutionMultFactor to 2 will double the calculation resolution and
decrease the time required for the calculation by half.
[Pathlosses]
EmbeddedByDefault = 1
[Studies]
ContinueOnError = 0
ContinueOnError = 1 by default. This means that by default Atoll does not stop the calculations on error.
10.1.6.9 Warning About Prediction Validity When Display Options are Modified
Coverage predictions have to be recalculated if you modify their display options. Atoll displays a warning message
when you modify the display options for coverage predictions. To deactivate this warning message, add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
RecomputationWarning = 0
[Calculations]
UseSiteAltitude = 0
UseSiteAltitude is set to 1 by default, which means that the altitude used in calculations will be the one which is
either read from the Sites table or from the DTM at the site’s coordinates, if the user-defined altitude is not available
in the Sites table.
Setting UseSiteAltitude to 0 means that, during calculations, Atoll will read the altitudes from the DTM at the exact
coordinates of each transmitter considering the values entered for the DX and DY parameters.
The above option is also valid for microwave links. In this case, setting UseSiteAltitude to 0 means that, during
calculations, Atoll will read the altitudes from the DTM at the exact coordinates of each microwave link considering
the values entered for the DX_A, DY_A, DX_B, and DY_B parameters.
[Studies]
SpecifyResolutionAfterComputation = 0
Once SpecifyResolutionAfterComputation is set to 0, Atoll no longer resets the resolution to the default value for
coverage predictions that do not have a resolution defined. Atoll allows you to leave the field empty in the coverage
prediction properties, and directly reads the default resolution defined in the Predictions folder’s Properties dialog
box. In this way, when you create coverage predictions without defining resolutions for them, you can modify the
default resolution in the Predictions Properties dialog box and, therefore, change the display resolution for all the
coverage predictions, new or existing.
To return to the normal working, remove the lines from the Atoll.ini file or set SpecifyResolutionAfterComputation
to 1.
[RemoteCalculation]
Priority = 0, 1, or 2
Priority enables you to set the priority between calculations and user interface.
◼ 0: User interface has the highest priority.
◼ 1 (default): User interface has a higher priority than calculations.
◼ 2: User interface and calculations have the same priority.
[RemoteCalculation]
NumberOfProcessors = X
NumberOfThreadsPathloss = 1, 2, ..., or 8
NumberOfThreadsSimulation = 1, 2, ..., or 8
NumberOfThreadsStudy = 1, 2, ..., or 8
NumberOfThreadsNeighbour = 1, 2, ..., or 8
NumberOfThreadsMicrowave = 1, 2, ..., or 8
[GSM]
ParallelSimulations = 1
10.1.6.14.2 Parallel Calculation of Monte Carlo Simulations in UMTS HSPA and CDMA2000
In UMTS HSPA and CDMA2000 (1xRTT and 1xEV-DO) documents, Atoll perform multi-threaded calculations of
Monte Carlo simulations by default. To disable parallel calculations in these two technologies, add the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[CDMA]
ParallelSimulations = 0
ParallelSimulations in UMTS HSPA and CDMA2000 (1xRTT and 1xEV-DO) documents is set to 1 by default.
By default, when you open a read-only Atoll document, it is not possible to run calculations in it. If you want to run
calculations in read-only documents, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
ComputeEvenIfReadOnly = 1
If you open a document that is already open in another Atoll session, Atoll lets you open the document as read-only.
[Studies]
AerialStudy = 1
[Antenna]
RoundBeamwidth = 0
[Calculations]
RoundAltitudes = 0
10.1.6.19 Disabling Calculations Over NoData Values for DTM and Clutter Classes
If you don’t want Atoll to calculate path losses on the pixels located over nodata values defined in the DTM and
clutter classes files, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[FskPropagModels]
OptimOnNoData = 1
By default, OptimOnNoData is set to 0. This option only works with the propagation models available with Atoll by
default.
[CoPlanning]
ComputeLinkedPredictions = 0
[CoPlanning]
LinkedPredictionsComputationMode = Parallelized
LinkedPredictionsComputationMode is set to "Serialized" by default, which means the path loss matrices and
unlocked coverage predictions in the current and linked documents are calculated in a serial way. If you set the
option to any other value, the calculations are performed in parallel but without being managed by a task list.
Calculations are carried out starting with the current document in the order of the coverage predictions in the
Predictions folder.
[Neighbours]
ForceSymmetryInFocusZone = 1
of distribution, i.e., to have the same number of mobiles generated in each simulation of a group, add the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Simulation]
RandomTotalUsers = 0
[Simulation]
GlobalScalingFactorDigitsNumber = <value>
[Studies]
EIRPfromMaxPower = 1
EIRPfromMaxPower is set to 0 by default. This option applies to "Coverage by Transmitter", "Coverage by Signal
Level", and "Overlapping Zones" predictions in UMTS, CDMA2000, and LTE.
[Neighbours]
ExcludeFilteredCellsFromNeighbourLists = 1
[Neighbours]
DistanceAzimutWeightingPercent = 30 (default)
If the value you set is too high (e.g. 70), the resulting inter-transmitter distance can
be negative. In such a case, nothing will be displayed in the corresponding table
cell.
10.1.6.28 Extending the Maximum Inter-site Distance to Repeaters and Remote Antennas
The maximum inter-site distance used in automatic neighbour allocation and neighbour importance evaluation
considers the donor sites only. If you want it to also consider repeaters and remote antennas, then add the following
lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Neighbours]
RepeaterInterSiteDistanceInAlloc = 1
[Neighbours]
RealInterSiteDistanceCondition = 1
[Neighbours]
CandidatesMaxDistanceInImportanceCalculation = 1
10.1.6.31 Keeping Assigned Neighbours that are not Symmetric with the Reference Transmitter
By default, when the Force Symmetry option is selected and the neighbour list of a transmitter is full, the reference
transmitter is not added as a neighbour and that transmitter is removed from the reference transmitter’s neighbours
list.
To force Atoll to keep that transmitter in the reference transmitter’s neighbours list, add the following lines to the
Atoll.ini file:
[Neighbours]
DoNotDeleteSymmetrics = 1
[Neighbours]
DeleteOnAuditIfSourceEqualsTarget = false
[RemoteCalculation]
DisablePathlossPerSiteCalculation = 1
[Transmitter]
MaximumCalculationRadius = value
Where value is the maximum calculation radius in metres. By default, there is no limit for the path loss calculation
radii. The limit you set here is applied to values entered by the user in the Transmitters table or properties dialog box.
[Transmitter]
UpdateLossIfNoEquipment = 0
The above applies if no equipment is defined and if the Miscellaneous losses are
set to 0 dB (in transmission and reception) in the Equipment Specifications dialog
box. If no equipment is defined and one of these values is different from 0 dB, then
the total losses will be updated even if UpdateLossIfNoEquipment is set to 0.
[Calculations]
InterTechIRFInterpolationMode = 1
[DisplayProfileRealTime]
Propagation Model Type = False
Here Propagation Model Type is the text string stored under Type in the Propagation Models table. For example, the
Propagation Model Type of the "Standard Propagation Model" is "Atoll.StdPropagModel". This option does not apply
to Aster and CrossWave propagation models. These two models always redraw the profile when the left mouse
button is released.
[Studies]
RFRepeatersFullInterferences = 1
[Studies]
RFRepeatersDetails = 1
[GSM]
ExternalIncluded = 0
ExternalIncluded is set to 1 by default, i.e. inter-technology interference is taken into account by default in GSM
"Coverage by C/I Level (DL)" predictions (the Inter-technology check box does not appear in the list of Interference
Sources) and in point analyses’ "Interference" and "Details" views.
[Features]
IM_TRAFFIC_OVERLAP = 1
[BsicFormat]
DefaultValue = 1 for Octal or 0 for Decimal format
DefaultValue enables you to change the default BSIC format (Octal by default) when you create a new Atoll
document.
[Refresh]
TRXIntegrity = 1
[Perfos]
MaxRangeApplied = No
If you set this option to anything other than "No", Atoll will use the maximum range parameter and set it to the default
value of 35 km.
[Perfos]
where <block size> is the amount of memory allocated to block calculation in megabytes (MB). It is important to
take into account the amount of memory (RAM and dynamic memory or "swap") available for calculations on the
machine, after substracting normal operating system and application usage.
By default, StudyMemorySize is set to 2048.
[Studies]
MultiBandManagement = 1
MultiBandManagement is set to 0 by default. Enabling multi-band management allows the users to access the
multi-band management features through the Frequency Band Propagation button under the Subcells section of
the TRXs tab of a transmitter’s Properties dialog box, and through the Subcells > Multi-Band Propagation
Parameters command in the context menu of the Transmitters folder.
In the Multi-Band Propagation Parameters table and in the database, Atoll uses the "@" character to identify the
multi-band transmitters. Therefore, if you are working on a document with multi-band transmitters, and you have the
"@" character in the names of repeaters, remote antennas, or subcells without a donor/main transmitter, Atoll
deletes these records when opening the document from a database. If you do not want Atoll to automatically delete
such records when opening the document from a database, you have to sett the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
RemoveBadMultiCells = 0
[Studies]
CleanMultiCellManagement = 1
10.1.7.8 Setting the Best Server Calculation Method in Same Priority HCS Layers
Atoll can calculate serving transmitters according to HCS layer priorities in coverage predictions. The signal level
HCS
received from the serving transmitter must be higher than the minimum reception threshold ( T Rec ) for its HSC
layer.
If there are two HCS layers with different priorities:
◼ The serving transmitter is the one that belongs to the HCS layer with the highest priority.
If there are two HCS layers with the same priority:
◼ 1st strategy: The serving transmitter is the one for which the difference between the received signal level and
HCS HCS
T Rec is the highest. Where, T Rec is the minimum reception threshold for the HSC layer of each respective
transmitter.
◼ 2nd strategy: The serving transmitter is the one which has the highest received signal level.
The default strategy is the 1st one. You can use the 2nd strategy by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Studies]
UseThresholdForSameLayerPriorities = 0
[AFP]
SimpleUserGUI = 1
SimpleUserGUI is set to 0 by default. When set to 1, the Interference Matrices, Finalisation, and Advanced tabs are
hidden.
[AFP]
HideHopping = 1
HideHopping is set to 0 by default. When set to 1, the HSN tab, the MAL tab, and the MAIO frame on the Reuse tab
are hidden.
10.1.7.11 Hiding Violations from Low Importance GSM Neighbours in AFP Results
By default, each neighbour pair has an importance value which defines the quality (and the rank) of the neighbour
link. This importance can be evaluated during the automatic neighbour allocation, a specific calculation process or
manually populated in the neighbour tables. In the Allocation tab of the AFP results dialog box, no difference is
made between high and low importance neighbours in term of violation display. In other words, whatever the
importance value is, any neighbour link in a separation violation is systematically displayed in a specific colour. You
can avoid displaying separation violations between low importance neighbours in a specific colour by adding the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[GSM]
MinNeighbourImportanceInAFPResults = XX
Where XX is the minimum importance for a neighbour pair to be considered as potentially violated.
The value in the Atoll.ini file has to be between 0 and 100 whereas the importance
value in the neighbours tables is between 0 and 1.
[GSM]
ShowNonSynchSFHViolationsInAFPResults = 0
[GSM]
CoRedColorThreshPercent = 12
AdjRedColorThreshPercent = 15
CoRedColorThreshPercent (for co-channels) and AdjRedColorThreshPercent (for adjacent channels) are set to 12
and 15 by default. You can modify these thresholds to any value from 0 to 999.
Setting CoRedColorThreshPercent and/or AdjRedColorThreshPercent to 0 will force the behaviour of previous
versions of Atoll where important and less important violations were both highlighted.
[AFP]
WorstCaseIM_FskAfp = 0|1
WorstCaseIM_FskAfp is set to 1 by default (corresponding to the Worst Case Method) and is only valid for Forsk’s
AFP.
When set to 0, the First Value Method is used.
◼ Worst Case Method: For each interference matrix relationship, the worst case value in all the active
interference matrices is taken into consideration.
◼ First Value Method: For each interference matrix relationship, the first value found in any active interference
matrix is taken into consideration. The order in which the interference matrices are scanned to find the first
value is the order of the interference matrices in the Interference Matrices folder in the Network tab, i.e. the
first IM is the one on top.
The First Value Method was the default method in previous versions of Atoll.
That allowed multiple interference matrix imports.
[AFP]
GlobalDistanceMatrixDegreeUB = 70
[AFP]
MaxNumberofSeparations = 21
[GSM]
CanEditTRXInfoAtTXLevel = 0
The redundant fields in the Transmitters table are the BCCH and the Number of TRXs fields.
CanEditTRXInfoAtTXLevel is set to 1 by default, which means that the fields are editable.
[Studies]
2GTxDiversityGain = X
[IM]
FilterByFrequencyBands = 0
[GSM]
FirstTRXIndex = 1
FirstTRXIndex is set to 0 by default. Setting it to any other value has the same effect as FirstTRXIndex = 1.
[GSM]
TRXIndexHidden = 1
[GSM]
SortSubcellsAlphabetically = 1
Reception threshold < -116 dBm or > -50 dBm -102 dBm
If you wish to modify this default behaviour, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[GSM]
SubcellValueFixMethod = 1
SubcellValueFixMethod is set to 0 by default, which corresponds to the default behaviour described above.
If you set this parameter to 1, the values currently out-of-range are shifted to the closest boundary of the authorised
range. For example if the reception threshold is less than -116 dBm, it will be replaced by -116 dBm instead of -102
dBm as in the default behaviour. Likewise, if it is greater than -50 dBm, it will be replaced by -50 dBm instead of -102
dBm.
[3GCells]
NoSuffixIfUniqueCarrier = 0 or 1
This is set to 0 by default, which means that cell names will follow the normal convention of Atoll, SiteN_X(C). If
there is only one carrier, meaning that C is unique, then this option can be set to 1. This will result in cell names which
will be same as the transmitter names, SiteN_X.
10.1.8.2 Disabling Macro-diversity (SHO) Gains Calculation for Ec/Io and Eb/Nt
In UMTS HSPA and CDMA2000 documents, macro-diversity gains are calculated by default for pilot Ec/Io, DL and
UL Eb/Nt based on their respective standard deviations.
You can deactivate the calculation and use of macro-diversity gains for all of the above by adding this option in the
Atoll.ini file:
[Shadowing]
WithSHOGain = 0
[CDMA]
AddPilotSHOGain = 0
[CDMA]
HSDPAThroughputPeak = 0 or 1
[CDMA]
HSDPAAvgSimuResults = 1
HSDPAAvgSimuResults = 0 by default.
[CDMA]
PmaxInIntraItf = 1
[CDMA]
UseStudyCnxProba = 1
MinUsersPerBin = X
This coverage prediction study is available in the list of prediction studies if UseStudyCnxProba is set to 1.
Otherwise, it will not be available. MinUsersPerBin is the minimum number of users per pixel required for that pixel
to be taken into account in the coverage prediction.
[CDMA]
CQIDeltaWithPower = 0 or 1
CQIDeltaWithPower is set to 1 by default. In this case, the HS-PDSCH CQI is calculated using the formula:
If you set CQIDeltaWithPower to 0, the HS-PDSCH CQI will be calculated using the formula:
EC EC
CQI HS – PDSCH = CQI pilot – ------- + -------
N T pilot N T HS – PDSCH
Note that the default configuration (CQIDeltaWithPower set to 1) is relevant only when N T is calculated using the
"Total Noise" option.
The above equations are in dB. Refer to the Technical Reference Guide for more details.
Orthogonality Factor is related to the correlation between the CPICH physical channel and other intra-cell physical
channels.
You can instruct Atoll to use the Orthogonality Factor in the calculation of pilot EC/NT in HSDPA instead of %Pilot
Finger by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[CDMA]
OrthoInCPICH = 1
[CDMA]
MaxRejections = X
If a mobile is rejected X number of times, it will no longer be considered in the next iterations.
[CDMA]
HSDPAMaxRejections = X
Where X is the number of times an HSDPA mobile should be rejected to be considered permanently rejected for the
simulation.
[CDMA]
CutOffSimu = X
Where, X is the offset value in dBs. During Monte Carlo simulations, calculations performed on each mobile only
take into account the cells whose received power, at the mobile location, is greater than the thermal noise minus
this offset. You should set CutOffSimu to 20 dB for optimum performance without losing a lot of interference.
The primitive libraries, which perform the conversion from vector to raster, deal in terms of float values for the x and
y coordinates of the vector polygons. Since these are float values, you will have to create vector polygons with the
exact (accurate to all the decimal places) size of a pixel (or multiples of a pixel) in order to get raster pixels with the
exact same surface area as the vector polygons. If the coordinates of the vector polygons are not accurate, it is
possible that the raster pixel found from the vector polygon will be shifted 1 bin to the right or to the left.
Such a rasterisation means that the number of users in the vector remains correct, but the density might be different
since the surface area has changed (Number of users = User Density x Area).
If you want Atoll to increase the precision of the rasterisation process for hotspots in your network. You can add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[Rasterization]
Improve = 0 or 1
Precision = 1
SurfRatio = 20
MaximumSurf = 2500
◼ SurfRatio = 20 (by default) means that the accurate algorithm will be used only for polygons whose size is
smaller than 20 times the size of the normal raster bin. The normal raster bin size in anAtoll document is the
finest resolution among the geographic data available in the document.
If your Atoll document contains two geographic data files, one with a 20 m
resolution and the other with a 5 m resolution, and you remove the 5 m one from
your document, Atoll will still keep 5 m as the normal raster bin size.
◼ MaximumSurf = 2500 (by default) means that a polygon will be considered small only if its surface area is less
than or equal to 2500 sq. m.
So, a polygon will be considered small, and will be rasterised using the accurate algorithm, if either the ratio of its
surface area to the surface area of the normal raster bin is equal to or less than SurfRatio, or if its surface area is
less than MaximumSurf. If you want to use just the MaximumSurf option, you can set the SurfRatio to 0.
[CDMA]
IterBeforeDown = X
[CDMA]
PFSchedulerCQIFactor = X
Where X is a number between 0 and 100, which represents the proportional fair scheduler weight.
PFSchedulerCQIFactor = 50 by default. If you set PFSchedulerCQIFactor = 0, the proportional fair scheduler
functions like the Round Robin scheduler. If you set PFSchedulerCQIFactor = 100, the proportional fair scheduler
functions like the Max C/I scheduler.
[CDMA]
DisplayEcIoOfRejected = 1
[UMTS]
BestServer_LayerPriority = 0
[CDMA]
MultiBandSimu = 0
10.1.8.16 Switching Back to the Old Radio Bearer Allocation Algorithm for Multi-carrier EVDO
Rev.B
Before Atoll 3.2.1, radio bearer allocation for multi-carrier EVDO Rev.B used to be performed by equally sharing the
available terminal power between the carriers.
To switch back to this radio bearer allocation method, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[CDMA]
SharingEquallyPower = 1
UsingPreviousIterationPowerWeight = 1
[PSC]
DisplayCostValues = 1
[CDMA]
CodeStrategies = 1, 2, 3, 4
[PSC]
ConstantStep = 1
[Neighbours]
CompressModeEval = 1
[Studies]
SCActivesetMaxSize = X
Where X is the maximum number of transmitters in the active set. If you set SCActivesetMaxSize = 10, you will get
the same results in the coverage prediction as the SC Interference tab in the point analysis.
[Studies]
UplinkLosses = 1
10.1.8.23 Setting the Maximum UL Reuse Factor for HSUPA Users’ Noise Rise Estimation
In UMTS HSPA simulations, Atoll assumes a constant uplink reuse factor for estimating the maximum available
noise rise per HSUPA user. This can cause unnecessary rejection of some HSUPA users in very low traffic cases.
You can set an upper limit for the uplink reuse factor by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[UMTSSimus]
MaxReuseFactor = value
Atoll can calculate HSUPA-results for a single user by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[UMTS]
HSUPA_users_sharing_resource = 0
In this case, the entire remaining load of the cell is allocated to a single HSUPA bearer user.
HSUPA_users_sharing_resource is set to 1 by default.
[WiMAX]
ModifiableIEEEParams = 0
By default, ModifiableIEEEParams is set to 1, which means that all the parameters are modifiable. When you set
ModifiableIEEEParams to 0, it means that the following parameters will be unmodifiable in the GUI:
◼ In the Permutation Zones table: Number of Used Subcarriers, Number of Data Subcarriers, and Number of
Subchannels per Channel.
◼ In the Permutation Zones table: Subchannel Groups (Segment 0), Subchannel Groups (Segment 1), and
Subchannel Groups (Segment 2) for FFT sizes < 1000.
In the Permutation Zones table, the first DL PUSC permutation zone cannot be
deactivated.
◼ In the Frame Configurations table and in the General tab of the frame configurations Properties dialog box:
Number of Preamble Subcarriers.
In the Frames Configurations table, the cells under Total Number of Subcarriers
change into combo boxes with the following five values: 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048.
[OFDM]
UseCommonBearersOnly = 1
When UseCommonBearersOnly is set to 1, Atoll only uses the bearers for which selection thresholds are defined in
both the terminal and the cell equipment for both downlink and uplink bearer selection.
◼ For DL calculations, Atoll compares the DL bearer selection threshold curves of the terminal and the cell
equipment.
◼ For UL calculations, Atoll compares the UL bearer selection threshold curves of the terminal and the cell
equipment.
UseCommonBearersOnly is set to 0 by default.
10.1.9.3 Enabling Display of Signals per Subcarrier Point Analysis in LTE and NB-IoT
By default a point analysis in LTE and NB-IoT displays carrier-wide signal levels. You can also use a point analysis
to display per-subcarrier signal levels by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
DisplaySignalsPerSCInPtA = 1
10.1.9.4 Including Cyclic Prefix Energy in LTE and NB-IoT Signal Level Calculation
The useful signal level calculation takes into account the useful symbol energy (Es), i.e., excluding the energy
corresponding to the cyclic prefix part of the total symbol duration. However, you can include the cyclic prefix energy
in the useful signal level calculation by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
ExcludeCPFromUsefulPower = 0
10.1.9.5 Excluding Cyclic Prefix Energy in WiMAX and Wi-Fi Signal Level Calculation
The useful signal level calculation can exclude the energy corresponding to the cyclic prefix part of the total symbol
duration, hence taking into account only the energy belonging to the useful symbol duration. In order to do so, you
must add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[WiMAX]
ExcludeCPFromUsefulPower = 1
[WiMAX]
InterNeighbourPICollisions = 0
[LTE]
InterNeighbourIDCollisions = 0
[WiMAX]
ReplaceOPUSCwithPUSCUL = 1
[OFDM]
UniformIDDistribution = 0
[OFDM]
SecondNeighbours = 1
10.1.9.11 Excluding the Adjacent Channel Overlap from the AFP Cost Functions
The LTE, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi AFPs take the adjacent channel overlap into account for allocation frequencies, physical
cell IDs, preamble indexes, and other resources. If you wish to take only the co-channel overlap into account and
exclude the effect of adjacent channel overlap in resource allocation, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[OFDM_AFP]
AdjacentProtection = 0
[LTE]
SameItf_PDSCH_RS_PDCCH = 0
Synchronised transmission and reception means that OFDM symbols of the interfered and interfering frames
overlap and match each other in time.
Method 2: Unsynchronised transmission/reception
Atoll calculates the interference between two cells using this method when:
◼ The frequency channels assigned to the interfered and interfering cells do not have the same centre
frequency, or
◼ The interfered and interfering cells do not both have an even number of frequency blocks or do not both
have an odd number of frequency blocks, or
◼ The following option is set in the Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
SameItf_PDSCH_RS_PDCCH = 1
This method is also used to calculate interference received from LTE and NB-IoT cells of an external network
in co-planning and multi-RAT modes, i.e. inter-technology interference received from LTE and NB-IoT cells
calculated using inter-technology IRFs.
[LTE]
SameItf_PDSCH_RS_PDCCH = 1
ApplyDLLoadOnPDCCHInterf = 0
10.1.9.14 Calculating EIRP from RS/NRS EPRE in LTE/NB-IoT Signal Level Predictions
Atoll calculates the EIRP from the RS and NRS power in LTE and NB-IoT. In signal level-based coverage predictions,
if you wish to calculate the EIRP from the RS and NRS EPRE instead, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
EIRPfromRSEPRE = 1
EIRPfromRSEPRE is set to 0 by default. This option applies to Coverage by Transmitter, Coverage by Signal Level,
and Overlapping Zones predictions in LTE and NB-IoT.
[LTE]
ExtendedServerMethodsInPredictions = 1
[OFDM_SIMU]
MeanNRInDB = 1
[LTE]
ServiceMBRDowngrading = 0
ServiceMBRDowngrading is set to 1 by default. The above does not apply to LTE-A mobiles performing carrier
aggregation or downlink non-coherent joint transmission CoMP.
[OFDM]
DisplayThroughputZero = 1
[LTE]
NR_CONTROL_MARGIN_MIN = X
Positive values of NR_CONTROL_MARGIN_MIN are considered as negative margins. For example, X is interpreted
by Atoll as -X dB. NR_CONTROL_MARGIN_MIN is set to 1 by default, interpreted as -1 dB.
If you wish to include the uplink noise rise control in the simulation convergence criteria, you can change the uplink
noise rise control method from best effort to strict by setting the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
ULNRControlMethod = 1
[LTE]
ULNRControlPrecision = X
Integer values of ULNRControlPrecision are considered as tenths of dB. For example, X is interpreted by Atoll as
0.X dB. ULNRControlPrecision is set to 5 by default, interpreted as 0.5 dB.
[LTE]
UseABSonCellEdgeOnly = 1
By default, UseABSonCellEdgeOnly is set to 0. Applying the ABS patterns only on the cell-edge means that all
subframes are considered non-ABS subframes in the cell centre. This method enables you to include the cell-edge
traffic ratio in the calculation of interference.
[LTE]
CAWithinENB = 0|1|2
where:
◼ 0 corresponds to the multi-eNode-B mode. This means that cells belonging to any site can perform carrier
aggregation/multicarrier operation with each other.
◼ 1 corresponds to intra-eNode-B mode. This means that only cells belonging to the same site can perform
carrier agrregation/multicarrier operation with each other. Atoll only selects secondary/slave serving cells
from within the same eNode-B (belonging to the same site) as the selected primary/anchor serving cell.
◼ 2 corresponds to the group-based mode. This means that cells belonging to the same group can perform
carrier aggregation/multicarrier operation with each other.
CAWithinENB is set to 2 by default. For more information on managing carrier aggregation/multicarrier operation
groups, see the User Manual.
If you wish to have each user’s remaining throughput demand (maximum – minimum) distributed over each of its
serving cells proportionally only to the resources available on each serving cell, add the following lines to the Atoll.ini
file:
[LTE]
CASchedulingMethod = 1
CASchedulingMethod is set to 0 by default. The CASchedulingMethod option is only used when the option
CAWithinENB is either set to 0 or 1.
[LTE]
OldBestServerMethodForCA = 1
[GOB_MODEL]
DisplayLinearDiagram = 0
[OFDM]
ForceSameFrequencyForCoTXCells = 0
[LTE]
CellEdgeMethod = 1
CellEdgeMethod is set to 0 by default. For calculating the cell-edge regions for CoMP, if CellEdgeMethod is set to 1,
Atoll compares the difference between the RSRP from the best server and the second best server belonging to the
same CoMP set with the cell edge margin defined for the best server.
10.1.9.27 Filtering LTE and NB-IoT Cell Groups Loaded From a Database
In multi-user environments, cell groups, such as carrier aggregation/multicarrier operation groups and CoMP sets,
can be stored in the database. When you open a document from a database, Atoll loads all the cell groups by default.
If you want Atoll to only load cell groups relevant to the cells being loaded, you must set the following option in the
Atoll.ini file:
[LTE]
FilterUsedGroups = 1
[OFDM_AFP]
CandidatePrachRsiListsWithOverlap = 0
CandidatePrachRsiListsWithOverlap is set to 1 by default. This option is also taken into account by the audit.
Note that setting this option to 0 reduces the number of available resources for allocation, reduces the AFP search
space, and may result in an allocation plan with many full collisions between PRACH RSI lists.
CandidatePrachRsiListsWithOverlap set to 0 may provide better allocation results when the number of cells to
allocate is less than the number of available resources.
[LTE]
ApplyDMRSOverhead = 1
[LTE]
NumberOfServerDisplay = 1
[LTE]
ThresholdForCAWithNoThroughputOnPcell = X
[OFDM_AFP]
DisplayStatisticsTab = 1
DisplayStatisticsTab is set to 0 by default, implying that the Statistics tab of the AFP is hidden by default.
[NB-IoT]
NPDCCHtoNPDSCHRatio = X
[NB-IoT]
InbandMethod = 1
[LTE]
LimitMuMimoGain = 1
10.1.9.36 Defining the Table Row Height for the Display of the Angular Distribution of Interference
Diagrams
By default, Atoll draws the diagrams stored in the Angular Distributions of Interference (AAS) field of the Cells table
only if the row height is greater than 120 pixels. You can change this threshold by adding the following lines to the
Atoll.ini file:
[OFDM]
MinimumAASResultsCellSize = X
10.1.10.1 BSIC, SC, and PCI Allocation with Inter-technology Neighbour Constraints
The automatic allocations of BSIC (using the GSM AFP), scrambling codes (in UMTS), and physical cell IDs (using
the LTE AFP) take inter-technology neighbour constraints into account. For example, different physical cell IDs are
assigned to two LTE cells that are neighbours of the same GSM transmitter or UMTS cell. If you wish to disable the
inter-technology neighbour constraints in the automatic allocations of BSIC, SC, and PCI, add the following lines to
the Atoll.ini file:
[MultiRAT]
AllCodesAllocWithInterRATNeighbours = 0
[MultiRAT]
UncheckTechnoChoices = 1
[MWLinks]
AutoNameForbiddenChars = list of forbidden characters surrounded by quotes
For example, if AutoNameForbiddenChars is set to "_ ", any new link will be named "SiteName123-SiteName345"
instead of "Site_Name 123-Site_Name 345".
AutoNameForbiddenChars is set to "" by default, meaning that no characters are forbidden.
[MWCalculations]
UpdateOppositeHop = 1
[MWCalculations]
ShieldingFactorOnWantedSignal = 0
ShieldingFactorOnWantedSignal is set to 1 by default, which means that the shielding factor is taken into account
at the receiver when calculating interference. On the transmitter side, the shielding factor is always taken into
account when calculating interference.
[MWCalculations]
CCDP_XPIF = 1
CCDP_XPIF is set to 0 by default, which means that XPIF is considered in the decoupling calculation only. When the
option is set to 1, the XPIF value is considered in the decoupling and it is deducted from the interference level.
[MWCalculations]
HIDE_REC530_5 = 0
HIDE_REC-5 is set to 1 by default. If the method was selected in a document saved in a previous Atoll version, it will
be available even if HIDE_REC-5 is set to 1 in the Atoll.ini file.
[MWCalculations]
PXPBDOnDualOnly = 0
[Compatibility]
MWEquipment_CIMIN = 1
[MWReport]
tab = 2000
[MWReport]
MaxNumberOfModulations = value
[MWReport]
SortModulationByRxThreshold = 1
[MWReport]
DesignSummaryCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
LinkAnalysisCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
LinkInterferenceCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
RequiredMarginCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
LinksBudgetCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
LinksInterferenceCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
MultihopAnalysisCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
ReflectionAnalysisCfg = path to the report’s default configuration file
Where each of the above options corresponds to a specific Report Configuration dialog box:
◼ DesignSummaryCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after clicking the
Configure Report button ( ) from the Design Summary view (MW Analysis window).
◼ LinkAnalysisCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after clicking the Configure
Report button from the Analysis Report view (MW Analysis window).
◼ LinkInterferenceCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after clicking the
Configure Report button from the Interference Report view (MW Analysis window).
◼ RequiredMarginCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after clicking the
Configure Report button from the Required Margin view (MW Analysis window).
◼ LinksBudgetCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after selecting Microwave
Radio Links > Links > Link Budgets > Configuration Report from the Network explorer.
◼ LinksInterferenceCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after selecting
Microwave Radio Links > Links > Interference > Configuration Report from the Network explorer.
◼ MultihopAnalysisCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after selecting
Microwave Radio Links > Multi-Hops > [Multi-Hop X] > Analysis from the Network explorer.
◼ ReflectionAnalysisCfg: corresponds to the Report Configuration dialog box displayed after:
◼ right-clicking in the Profile Analysis view (MW Analysis window) and selecting Reflection and Diversity
Analysis,
◼ then clicking the Configure Report button from the Analysis Report view (MW Reflection/Diversity
window).
10.1.11.12 Defining a Default Configuration File for the Channel Arrangement Display
You can define a default configuration file for the channel arrangement display by specifying an absolute or UNC
path in the Atoll.ini file:
[MWChannelArrangement]
DefaultConfiguration = path to the channel arrangement default configuration file
Where the above option corresponds to the Channel Arrangement dialog box displayed after selecting Microwave
Radio Links > Interference > Channel Arrangement > Display on Map from the Network explorer.
[MWReport]
DefaultTemplate = path to the default template for microwave links custom reports
[MWCalculations]
AtpcOnlyOnHighest = 1
[MWProfile]
AlwaysDrawClutters = <setting>
[MWCalculations]
NewDecouplingCoSite = 0
10.1.11.17 Calculating the Receiver Thermal Noise for the Radio Effective Bandwidth
The thermal noise is calculated for the channel bandwidth and the temperature defined in the Geoclimatic
parameters of the link. To consider the radio effective bandwidth instead of the channel bandwidth, add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[MWCalculations]
UseFktb332 = 0
[MWLink]
AskConfirmDeleteLinkOrOTLink = 1
[TestMobileData]
ShowCoupleInfo = 1
10.1.12.2 Setting the Number of Transmitters per Drive Test Data Path
By default, Atoll can import information about one serving transmitter (or cell in CDMA documents) and six
neighbour transmitters (or cells in CDMA documents) for drive test data paths. You can change the number of
transmitters per drive test data path by adding the following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[TestMobileData]
NumberOfTestMobileTransmitters = X
Where X is the number of transmitters per drive test data path. The default value of
NumberOfTestMobileTransmitters is 7.
[TestMobileData]
RecalcDist = 1 or 0
The default value of RecalcDist is 1, which means that Atoll will calculate the distance for each measurement point.
The nearest serving cell is the one closest to the measurement point which has the same (Scrambling Code, SC
Group), (BSIC, BCCH), or (PN Offset, PN Offset Group) pair as the point.
10.1.12.4 Defining the BCCH and BSIC Columns for FMT Import
The .fmt files generated by the TEMS Investigation GSM tool contain a number of columns. To define which of these
columns should be imported as the BCCH column and which one as the BSIC column in Atoll, you can add the
following lines to the Atoll.ini file:
[TestMobileDataImportFmt]
BCCHColumn = Column1
BSICColumn = Column2
Where, Column1 and Column2 are the titles of the two columns in the .fmt file corresponding to the BCCH and the
BSIC columns respectively.
[TestMobileData]
FloatingPointScramblingCodeSupport = 1
FloatingPointScramblingCodeSupport is set to 0 by default, and the scrambling codes are imported according to the
numeric data type selected for the scrambling code column in the import dialog box.
10.1.12.6 Importing Drive Test Data for Active and Filtered Transmitters Only
When you import drive test data in Atoll, it assigns servers and neighbours to each measurement point based on the
cell identification method defined for the import. By default, Atoll takes all the transmitters and cells of the
document into account, whether they are active or inactive and filtered or not. If you want Atoll to take only active
and filtered transmitters and cells into account for drive test data import, add the following option in the Atoll.ini file:
[TestMobileData]
ImportForFilteredTransmittersOnly = 1
[ACP]
iniFile = path_to_ACP.ini
You can comment out any option in the ACP.ini by preceding the line with a semi-colon (";") or a hashtag ("#").
The ACP initialisation file is a powerful tool. You should not modify any option in the
ACP.ini file until and unless you are absolutely sure of what you are doing.
In order for the ACP initialisation file to be used by Atoll, you should place the ACP.ini file in the Atoll installation
directory.
You can define a different location for the ACP.ini file as shown in "Specifying the Location of the ACP.ini File" on
page 224.
Some of the settings provided in the ACP.ini file can be modified directly using the ACP - Automatic Cell Planning
Properties dialog box, under ACP Automatic Cell Planning on the Setup Template tab. ACP either embeds these
settings directly in the ATL document or in a user-defined ACP.ini file. These settings are referred as "local settings".
Local settings are the settings found in sections using the "Tpl" keyword, such as [ACPTplGeneralPage].
The local settings, defined using the ACP - Automatic Cell Planning
◼
Properties dialog box, take precedence over the same settings defined in the
global ACP.ini file. The settings in the ACP.ini file are read when you start a
new project to initialise the settings of the ACP.
◼ When using the ACP.ini file to define options, instead of using the ACP -
Automatic Cell Planning Properties dialog box, you can also define any other
settings even if they can not be set using the ACP - Automatic Cell Planning
Properties dialog box. These settings redefined locally have precedence over
the global settings.
In this section are the settings defining default values and certain aspects of the GUI configuration. These settings
are local and are usually defined using Setup Template tab of the ACP - Automatic Cell Planning Properties dialog
box, and stored either in the Atoll project or a local ACP.ini file.
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
nbIteration = 100
resolution = 50
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
cost.type = 0|1|2
# 0=off, 1=limt to max, 2=apply cost to change plan
cost.unit = unit
# unit = $, yen, etc. (less than 4 characters recommended)
cost.tradeoffLevel = 0|1|2
# 0=low, 1 = normal, 2=strong
cost.maxCost = 50
cost.azimuth.cost = 1
cost.azimuth.isSiteVisit=true
cost.tilt.cost = 1
cost.tilt.isSiteVisit=true
cost.antenna.cost = 1
cost.antenna.isSiteVisit=true
cost.etilt.cost = 0.1
cost.etilt.isSiteVisit=false
cost.height.cost = 1
cost.height.isSiteVisit=true
cost.power.cost = 0.1
cost.power.isSiteVisit=false
cost.siteVisitCost = 2
cost.upgradeSiteCost = 5
cost.newSiteCost = 10
cost.removeSiteCost = -5
10.2.2.3 Default Settings of the Optimisation > Advanced Cost Control Tab
The following options can be used to define the default settings for advanced cost control. Advanced cost control
options allow you to define the maximum number of changes to be made (either as a value or a ratio) and to change
the ranking of the order of cost in the final implementation plan.
The option below allows you to display the Advanced label under Cost Control in the left-hand pane of the
Optimisation tab. It is set to 0 by default.
[ACPGeneralPage]
enableAdvancedCost = 1
The following option enables you to define the importance of cost in the implementation plan. It is set to 1 by
default.
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
cost.planCostWeighting = 0|1|2
#0=low, 1=medium (default), 2=high
The following option enables you to specify the number of changes in the implementation plan. It is set to 0 by
default.
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
cost.planLimitType = 0|1|2
#0=unlimited, 1=max as absolute value, 2=max as ratio
cost.planChangeMax = 10
◼ 2: use cost.planChangePercent to define the max. number of changes in the implementation plan as a ratio of
the number of antennas currently available in the computation zone:
cost.planChangePercent = 20
When cost.planLimitType is set to 2, you can also set cost.planChangeRefZone to 1 in the [ACPGeneralPage]
section to define the focus zone as the reference zone instead of the computation zone:
cost.planChangeRefZone = 0|1
#0=computation zone (default), 1=focus zone
[ACPGeneralPage]
zone.autobuildHotspot = 1
# Automatically build hotspot from Atoll hotspot (default)
The following options can be used to automatically create ACP custom zones from one or more clutter classes or
from a SHP file:
[ACPGeneralPage]
zone.count = 2
# Number of zones to be created.
zone.0.name = MyClutterZone1
# Name of the zone (in this case from clutter)
zone.0.clutters = 10,11,12
# Clutter classes that will constitute this zone
zone.1.name = MyVectorZone2
# Name of the zone (in this case from SHP)
zone.1.file=c:\path\to\file.shp
# Absolute path to the SHP file.
[ACPTplObjectivePage]
traffic.global.file = "C:\tmp\traffic.bil"
The following option can be used to define the default extraction resolution of the traffic map (in metres). It is set
to 50 by default.
[ACPTplObjectivePage]
traffic.global.resolution = value
The following options can be used to define the default values for the technology quality indicators (UMTS Ec/Io,
UMTS RSCP, UMTS overlap, GSM signal level, GSM overlap, WiMAX CINR, WiMAX C/N, LTE C/N, etc.):
[ACPTplObjectivePage]
param.gsm.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.gsm.overlap.margin = 5
param.gsm.overlap.minRxLevel = 0
# 0=use defined TRG threshold, other=defined value
param.gsm.bcch.autoPrediction = yes
param.gsm.bcch.isShadowing = no
param.gsm.bcch.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.umts.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.umts.overlap.margin = 10
param.umts.overlap.minRxLevel = -120
param.umts.rscp.autoPrediction = yes
param.umts.rscp.isShadowing = no
param.umts.rscp.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.umts.ecio.autoPrediction = yes
param.umts.ecio.isShadowing = no
param.umts.ecio.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.cdma.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.cdma.overlap.margin = 10
param.cdma.overlap.minRxLevel = -120
param.cdma.coverage.autoPrediction = yes
param.cdma.coverage.isShadowing = no
param.cdma.coverage.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.cdma.ecio.autoPrediction = yes
param.cdma.ecio.isShadowing = no
param.cdma.ecio.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.lte.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.lte.overlap.margin = 5
param.lte.overlap.minRxLevel = -105
param.lte.coverage.autoPrediction = yes
param.lte.coverage.isShadowing = no
param.lte.coverage.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.lte.cinr.autoPrediction = yes
param.lte.cinr.isShadowing = no
param.lte.cinr.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.lte.cinr.useICIC = 1
param.wimax.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.wimax.overlap.margin = 5
param.wimax.overlap.minRxLevel = -105
param.wimax.coverage.autoPrediction = yes
param.wimax.coverage.isShadowing = no
param.wimax.coverage.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.wimax.cinr.autoPrediction = yes
param.wimax.cinr.isShadowing = no
param.wimax.cinr.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.wimax.cinr.useSegmentation = 1
param.wifi.overlap.autoPrediction = yes
param.wifi.overlap.margin = 5
param.wifi.overlap.minRxLevel = -105
param.wifi.coverage.autoPrediction = yes
param.wifi.coverage.isShadowing = no
param.wifi.coverage.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
param.wifi.cinr.autoPrediction = yes
param.wifi.cinr.isShadowing = no
param.wifi.cinr.cellEdgeCov = 0.75
The following options can be used to define the default threshold for each objective rule:
[ACPTplObjectivePage]
quality.gsm.bcch.threshold = -85
quality.gsm.overlap.threshold = 4
quality.gsm.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.umts.rscp.threshold = -85
quality.umts.ecio.threshold = -13
quality.umts.overlap.threshold = 4
quality.umts.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.cdma.rscp.threshold = -85
quality.cdma.ecio.threshold = -13
quality.cdma.overlap.threshold = 4
quality.cdma.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.lte.coverage.threshold = -85
quality.lte.c.threshold = -85
quality.lte.cn.threshold = 20
quality.lte.rsrp.threshold = -105
quality.lte.cinr.threshold = 10
quality.lte.rsrq.threshold = -12
quality.lte.rssi.threshold = -80
quality.lte.overlap.threshold = 5
quality.lte.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.wimax.coverage.threshold = -85
quality.wimax.c.threshold = -85
quality.wimax.cn.threshold = 20
quality.wimax.cinr.threshold = 10
quality.wimax.overlap.threshold = 5
quality.wimax.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.wifi.coverage.threshold = -85
quality.wifi.c.threshold = -85
quality.wifi.cn.threshold = 20
quality.wifi.cinr.threshold = 10
quality.wifi.overlap.threshold = 5
quality.wifi.distance.threshold = 5000
quality.lpwa.coverage.threshold = -130
quality.lpwa.redserver.threshold = 3
The following option can be used to define a default number of servers for the 1st-Nth objective. It is set to 4 by
default.
[ACPTplObjectivePage]
NbServers1stNth = value
The following option can be used to remove the Capacity and Load Balancing features from the Objectives tab.
[ACPCapacityPage]
enable = 0
The following option can be used to clear the Scale Traffic according to Zone Weighting check box on the Capacity
page:
[ACPCapacityPage]
useZoneWeight = 0
The following options can be used to define a capacity traffic map, either by a BIL file or by a comma-separated list
of traffic map names:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
traffic.file = c:\tmp\traffic.bil
traffic.maps = user_density_traffic_map; environment_map
traffic.resolution = 50
The following option can be used to avoid recalculating capacity traffic maps after each new run:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
calculationcapacitytrafficmap = 1
The following option can be used to force ACP to show load balancing and traffic capture results when either feature
is enabled:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
show.loadbalancingandthroughput = 1
The following options can be used to define the default threshold for each quality (Objectives tab > Capacity page
> Services Definition frame):
The following options can be used to define the default quality used by each technology for traffic capture condition:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
quality.gsm.bcch.threshold = -85
quality.umts.rscp.threshold = -85
quality.umts.ecio.threshold = -13
quality.cdma.rscp.threshold = -85
quality.cdma.ecio.threshold = -13
quality.wimax.coverage.threshold = -85
quality.wimax.c.threshold = -85
quality.wimax.cn.threshold = 20
quality.wimax.cinr.threshold=10
quality.lte.coverage.threshold = -85
quality.lte.c.threshold = -85
quality.lte.cn.threshold = 20
quality.lte.rsrp.threshold = -105
quality.lte.cinr.threshold=10
quality.lte.rsrq.threshold = -12
quality.lte.rssi.threshold = -80
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
service.gsm.condition.quality=bcch
service.umts.condition.quality=rscp
service.cdma.condition.quality=coverage
service.wimax.condition.quality=coverage
service.lte.condition.quality=coverage
service.factor=1.0
service.density = 30
The following option can be used to enable the load balancing feature by default:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
loadBalancing.enable = 1
Note that the Load Balancing feature is not available on the Objectives tab if CDMA2000 transmitters are detected.
The following options can be used to specify the load balancing default target coverage (%) and the load balancing
weight:
[ACPTplCapacityPage]
loadBalancing.target = 80
loadBalancing.weight = 1
The options in this section do not select the default reconfiguration options when
set to "1", instead they disable those reconfiguration options.
By default, all the zones listed under Zone Parameters on the Optimisation > Zones tab appear in the drop-down list
next to Display on on the Reconfiguration tab (except the KPI zones and lines). You can force ACP to list only the
main zones ("Computation", "Focus", "All") in both drop-down lists by adding the following lines to the ACP.ini file:
[ACPReconfPage]
filter.onlyMainZones = 1
[ACPTplReconfPage]
umts.disablePilotPowerOptimisation = 1
umts.disableMaxPowerOptimisation = 1
umts.SyncMultiCellPower = 1
umts.SyncSiteMultiCellPower = 1
# lock UMTS cell power optimisation for co-site cells
umts.defaultPowerAutoMinMax = 3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
cdma.1xrtt.SyncMultiCellPower = 1
cdma.1xrtt.SyncSiteMultiCellPower = 0
cdma.1xrtt.disablePilotPowerOptimisation = 1
cdma.1xrtt.disableMaxPowerOptimisation = 1
cdma.1xevdo.SyncMultiCellPower = 1
cdma.1xevdo.SyncSiteMultiCellPower = 0
cdma.1xevdo.disableMaxPowerOptimisation = 1
cdma.defaultPowerAutoMinMax = 3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
gsm.disablePowerOptimisation = 1
gsm.defaultPowerAutoMinMax = 3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
wimax.disablePreamblePowerOptimisation=1
wimax.SyncMultiCellPower = 1
wimax.SyncSiteMultiCellPower = 1
# lock WiMAX cell power optimisation for co-site cells
wimax.defaultPowerAutoMinMax = 3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
lte.disablePowerOptimisation = 1
lte.SyncMultiCellPower = 1
lte.SyncSiteMultiCellPower = 1
# lock LTE cell power optimisation for co-site cells
lte.defaultPowerAutoMinMax = 3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
nbiot.disablePowerOptimisation=1
nbiot.SyncMultiCellPower=1
nbiot.SyncSiteMultiCellPower=0
# lock NB-IoT cell power optimisation for co-site cells
nbiot.defaultPowerAutoMinMax=3
# automatically set min/max power at an offset of 3dBm around actual value.
# If 0, use fixed value 37-46
The following options can be used to define the default settings for the reconfiguration of transmitters and sites:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
disableAntennaOptimisation = 1
disableAzimuthOptimisation = 1
disableHeightOptimisation = 1
disableETiltOptimisation = 1
disableMechTiltOptimisation = 1
disableSiteSelection = 1
disableRepGainOptimisation = 1
disableCandidateSelection = 1
The following options can be used to define default settings for reconfiguration ranges:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
defaultTxAzimuthVariation = 20
defaultTxAzimuthStep = 5
defaultTxAzimuthMinInterSector = 0
defaultTxTiltMin = 0
defaultTxTiltMax = 5
defaultTxTiltStep = 1
defaultTxETiltMin = 0
defaultTxETiltMax = 10
defaultTxHeightMin = 0
defaultTxHeightMax = 10
defaultTxHeightStep = 5
defaultTxHeightMin.feet = 0
defaultTxHeightMax.feet = 30
defaultTxHeightStep.feet = 15
umts.disablePilotPowerOptimisation = 0
umts.disableMaxPowerOptimisation = 0
The following options can be used to define a default range for the optimisation of repeater gains:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
defaultRepGainMin = -1
# if -1, the default equipment min value is used
defaultRepGainMax = -1
# if -1, the default equipment max value is used
defaultRepGainStep = 3
# default = 3
The following option can be used to hide the No. Remotes column on the Reconfiguration > Transmitters vertical
tab:
[ACPReconfPage]
showNbRemotes = 0
#default = 1 to display the No. Remotes column
The following option can be used to display on the Reconfiguration > Transmitters vertical tab the additional
constraint applied to electrical tilt changes.
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.etilt.deltaLimitConstraint.show = 1
#default = 0
When tx.etilt.deltaLimitConstraint.show = 1, the Variation + column appears under Electrical Tilt (deg). You can
enter a value next to the Variation + header or add the following lines to ACP.ini to define a default value:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
etilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 1,2,...
#default = 0
◼ If etilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 0, the variation constraint is disabled and the Variation + column is greyed.
◼ If etilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 1,2,..., the constraint is enabled and the following appears under Variation +:
◼ A check box which must be selected in order for the constraint to be considered.
◼ A range determined by the value under Current and the value indicated next to the Variation + header.
The Variation + constraint determines one range and the specified Min. and Max. limits determine another
range. The final electrical tilt will fall within the intersection of the two ranges.
You can use the following option to disable proposals for electrical tilt changes below a defined relative
variation.
E.g. to disable electrical tilt change proposals for relative variations of 1 degree, you should set this option to 2.
[ACPTplReconfPage]
etilt.relative.min.variation = 2
#default = 1
The following option can be used to display on the Reconfiguration > Transmitters vertical tab the additional
constraint applied to mechanical tilt changes.
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.tilt.deltaLimitConstraint.show = 1
#default = 0
When tx.tilt.deltaLimitConstraint.show = 1, the Variation + column appears under Mechanical Tilt (deg).
You can enter a value next to the Variation + header or add the following lines to ACP.ini to define a default value:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
tilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 1,2,...
#default = 0
◼ If tilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 0, the variation constraint is disabled and the Variation + column is greyed.
◼ If tilt.deltaLimitConstraint = 1,2,..., the constraint is enabled and the following appears under Variation +:
◼ A check box which must be selected in order for the constraint to be considered.
◼ A range determined by the value under Current and the value indicated next to the Variation + header.
The Variation + constraint determines one range and the specified Min. and Max. limits determine another
range. The final mechanical tilt will fall within the intersection of the two ranges.
You can use the following option to disable proposals for mechanical tilt changes below a defined relative
variation. E.g. to disable mechanical tilt change proposals for relative variations of 1 degree, you should set
this option to 2.
[ACPTplReconfPage]
tilt.relative.min.variation = 2
#default = 1
The following option can be used to display on the Reconfiguration > Transmitters vertical tab the additional
constraint applied to global tilt changes (electrical + mechanical).
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.etilt.tilt.sum.deltaLimitConstraint.show = 1
#(Default = 0)
When tx.etilt.tilt.sum.deltaLimitConstraint.show=1, ETilt + MTilt (deg) appears with Current and Variation +
columns.
You can enter a value next to the Variation + header or add the following lines to ACP.ini to define a default value:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
etilt.tilt.sum.deltaLimitConstraint = 1|2|...
#(Default = 0)
◼ A range determined by the value under Current (sum of the values under Current for electrical and
mechanical tilts) and the value indicated next to the Variation + header.
The Variation + constraint determines one range and the specified Min. and Max. limits determine another
range. The final gloabl tilt will fall within the intersection of the two ranges.
The final mechanical tilt will fall within the intersection of the two ranges.
The following option allows you to reconfigure inter-sector electrical tilts as asymetrics, i.e. it allows you to obtain
different tilts for sectors belonging to the same site. The value you specify (in degree) is a "minimum difference"
constraint if tilts are reconfigured. If they are not reconfigured, the constraint will not apply.
[ACPTplReconfPage]
etilt.asymetric = 1
#(No default)
The following option can be used to automatically disable reconfiguration of all donors (possibly in cascade) of a
repeater:
[ACPTplReconfPage]
autoLockDonor = 0
#(Default = 0)
Possible settings:
Value Description
0 No auto lock (default).
1 The Use check boxes for transmitter reconfiguration parameters are cleared (antenna, tilt, azimuth, and
height). Only the last repeater in a series of cascading repeaters is optimised; the rest are cleared by
default (but can be selected manually).
2 The Use check boxes for all reconfiguration parameters are cleared (antenna, tilt, azimuth, height, and
power). Only the last repeater in a series of cascading repeaters is optimised; the rest are cleared by
default (but can be selected manually).
5 Same as 1, except that the Use check boxes can not be selected in the user interface.
6 Same as 2, except that the Use check boxes can not be selected in the user interface.
[ACPTplReconfPage]
defaultSiteCellsRemoveable = 1
defaultSiteRemoveable = 1
defaultSiteAzimuthLocked = 1
#Lock Sector/Azimuth
defaultSiteHeightLocked = 1
#Lock Sector/Height
defaultSiteReconfigurationLocked = 1
[ACPTplReconfPage]
site.min.distance.colocated = 2
#default setting in metres
[ACPTplReconfPage]
tx.min.distance.colocated = 1
#default setting in metres
[ACPReconfPage]
site.custom.count=x
site.custom.0.type=tabularDataColumn
site.custom.0.column=FOO
Where ’tabularDataColumn’ displays data issued from Atoll’s SITES table and identified by site.custom.0.column
(column name). Atoll column names are case sensitive.
The option below defines an optional label for a given column. If unset, the Atoll column name is used (e.g. FOO):
[ACPReconfPage]
site.custom.0.label=The Foo Label
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.tilt.asRelative = 1 (default = 0)
tx.etilt.asRelative = 1 (default = 0)
The following option can be used to display the minimum and maximum electrical tilts only once for each group of
linked transmitters, when the Advanced mode is selected for display.
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.etilt.groupMinMax = 1 (default = 1)
When tx.etilt.groupMinMax is set to 0, the min/max electrical tilts are displayed for each transmitter.
[ACPReconfPage]
tx.custom.count = 2
You can then set the following options to specify the data you want to show under each custom column.
tx.custom.0.type=tabularDataColumn
tx.custom.0.column=FOO
tx.custom.0.label=The FOO label
tx.custom.1.type=elevation
#site altitude + transmitter height
tx.custom.1.type=bandwidth
#cell bandwidth (only for LTE, WiMAX, and Wi-Fi)
[ACPTplEMFPage]
enable = 1
The following option enables you to define the level of importance accorded to the optimisation of EMF exposure.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
weightLevel = 1
#(normal, default)
Possible values:
Value Description
0 Low: EMF exposure is optimised only if does not worsen coverage quality.
1 Normal: There is a trade-off between EMF exposure and coverage quality (default).
2 Critical: EMF exposure is optimised independently from the effect it may have on coverage quality.
The following options enable you to define the default resolution in metres in the X, Y, and Z planes:
[ACPTplEMFPage]
resolutionXY = 5
resolutionZ = 3
The following options define how EMF exposure will be measured in buildings: only on the facade or inside the
building as well:
[ACPTplEMFPage]
onlyFacade=1
#only on facade in building propagation classes. Default = 1 (yes)
buildingDeeping=10
#if onlyFacade is set to 0, the depth in the building measured.
The following option defines whether clutter classes and clutter heights are used to create a 3D representation of
the terrain or whether just vectors are to be used. The default is 1 (yes), but, given that vectors are always given
priority where they exist, this option can be disabled if vectors are available for the entire area of interest.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
useDhmFromClutter=1
# Default is 1 (yes)
The following option defines whether the 3D propagation model is using diffraction. When it is not, only positions
with a direct LOS to transmitters will register EMF exposure.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
useDiffraction = 0
The following option defines whether the EMF module should use transparent mode. When transparent mode is
used, no obstacle or indoor loss is accounted for.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
isWorstCase = 0
# Default is 0 (no)
The following option defines the calculation radius (in metres) around transmitters when calculating EMF exposure:
[ACPTplEMFPage]
calculationRadius = 300
The following options define the default threshold and weight for the EMF exposure objective:
[ACPTplEMFPage]
defaultObjThreshold = 0.6
defaultObjWeight = 1
The following options enable you to define up to 16 propagation classes for EMF exposure. Each class is defined
by a name, an indoor loss, and whether it can be edited by the user.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
eclass.count = 2
# Total number of propagation classes defined.
eclass.0.name=Open
eclass.0.position = 0
# Distribution of measurement points:
# 0 = 3D, i.e., distribution at all heights over area, 1 = 2D on top, 2 = 2D on bottom
eclass.0.buildingLos = 0
eclass.0.linearBuildingLos = 0
eclass.0.linearBuildingStart = 0
eclass.0.editionFlag = 0
# 0 can not be edited by user
The following options enable you to map clutter classes to propagation classes. Each mapping is defined on two
lines: the first line defines the clutter class (by its code from the Description tab of the Clutter Classes Properties
dialog box); the second line defines the propagation class (by its ID under Propagation on the Optimisation tab of
the ACP Setup dialog box). The default propagation classes in the ACP are "Open" (ID "0"), "Vegetation" (ID "1"), and
"Building" (ID "2"). Any additional propagation classes will have an ID assigned when they are created.
[ACPTplEMFPage]
clutterMapping.count = 3
clutterMapping.0.clutterCode = 10
clutterMapping.0.classCode = 0
clutterMapping.1.clutterCode = 4
clutterMapping.1.classCode = 1
clutterMapping.2.clutterCode = 6
clutterMapping.2.classCode = 2
clutterMapping.3.clutterCode = 7
clutterMapping.3.classCode = 2
In the [ACPEMFPage] section, you can specify whether or not users can define new propagation classes:
[ACPEMFPage]
isPropClassesExtendable = 1
# 1 enables user to create propagation classes.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
enable = 1
#default = 0
The following option can be used to define the minimum number of storeys for a building to be considered by the
Multi-Storey module. This is the value displayed next to Ignore buldings smaller than (storeys) on the Optimisation
> Multi-Storey tab.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
minHeight = value
#default = 3
The following option can be used to define the vertical calculation step in the number of storeys. This is the value
displayed next to Calculation step (storeys) on the Optimisation > Multi-Storey tab.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
resStorey = value
#default = 3
The following options can be used to define the default storey height in metres (or in feet when Atoll is configured
to use feet) displayed next to Storey height on the Optimisation > Multi-Storey tab.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
storeyHeight = value
#default = 3
storeyHeight.feet = value
#default=10
The following option can be used to define the traffic weighting method for pixels in storeys, i.e. weight inside
buildings Vs. weight outside buildings (when value = 1, the total weight for all indoor pixels is equal to the weight of
an outdoor pixel). The defined weighting method will only be considered when the Vertical weight sharing check
box is selected.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
weightShareMode = value
#default=1
The following option can be used to specify the maximum number of storeys for a building to be considered by the
Multi-storey calculation. This is the value displayed next to Maximum number of storeys on the Optimisation >
Multi-Storey tab.
[ACPTplMultistoreyPage]
MaxStoreyNb = value
#default=10
[ACPGenericPM]
cw.antennaLossesThreshold = X
where X is a value between 0 and 500 specified by AntennaLossesThreshold in Crosswave.ini to increase the
specific threshold applied by Crosswave.
[ACPAntennaPage]
autoGroupPattern=(.*)
#for example (.*18deg) or (.+18deg)
autoGroupPattern_ant=(.*)
autoGroupPattern_group=(.*)
When the following option is set to 1 (default), ACP applies the default antenna configuration automatically (i.e. the
last configuration backed up as default) each time a new setup is created:
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoRestoreDefaultConfig = 1
[ACPAntennaPage]
enableETilt = 1
# (default = 0)
You can also use the option below to enable management of AEDT (additional electrical downtilt); an additional Use
AEDT column appears. When a check box is selected under this column, an AEDT constraint will be applied to the
corresponding antenna pattern.
[ACPAntennaPage]
enableAedt = 1
When enableETilt and/or enableAEDT is set to 1, you can modify the Min and Max values that appear under
Electrical Tilt Constraint (°).
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
defaultETiltMin = 0
#default = 0
defaultETiltMax = 10
#default = 10
You can use the following option if you want to use a regular expression to define a set of antenna patterns on which
electrical tilt constraints will be used automatically. As a result, the Use check box will be selected under Electrical
Tilt Constraint (°) and the defined electrical tilt constraints will appear under Min and Max.
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoUseEtiltFromRegex=(.*)
Conversely, you can use the autoDisableEtiltFromRegex option if you want to use a regular expression to define a
set of antenna patterns on which electrical tilt constraints will be disabled automatically. As a result, the Use check
box is cleared under Electrical Tilt Constraint (°) and a dash appears under Min and Max..
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoDisableEtiltFromRegex=(.*)
[ACPAntennaPage]
enableMTilt = 1
#default = 0
When enableMTilt is set to 1, you can modify the Min and Max values that appear under Mechanical Tilt Constraint
(°).
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
defaultTiltMin = 0
#default = 0
defaultTiltMax = 5
#default = 5
You can use the following option if you want to use a regular expression to define a set of antenna patterns on which
mechanical tilt constraints will be used automatically. As a result, the Use check box will be selected under
Mechanical Tilt Constraint (°) and the defined mechanical tilt constraints appear under Min and Max.
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoUseTiltFromRegex=(.*)
Conversely, you can use the autoDisableTiltFromRegex option if you want to use a regular expression to define a
set of antenna patterns on which mechanical tilt constraints will be disabled automatically. As a result, the Use
check box is cleared under Mechanical Tilt Constraint (°) and a dash appears under Min and Max.
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoDisableTiltFromRegex=(.*)
For physical antennas containing several antenna patterns with different electrical tilts, if you set the following
option the Use check box will be selected under Mechanical Tilt Constraint (deg) and a dash appears under Min and
Max.
[ACPTplAntennaPage]
autoDisableTiltOnMultiPattern = 1
#default = 0
[ACPAntennaPage]
freqBandRange = 49
#default = 49 (MHz)
You can also add the following lines to the ACP.ini file if you want to activate electrical tilt sharing between merged
physical antennas when the frequency difference lies within a defined limit.
[ACPAntennaPage]
etiltShareFrequencyRange = 100
#default = 100 (MHz)
[ACPAntMaskModelPage]
advancedUI = 1
#Default = 0 ("Delegate Calculation to Model" feature disabled)
The following option can be used to allow "Optimised" propagation models (i.e., propagation models that use the
"Optimised" mode) to use "Full Path Loss" mode:
[ACPAntMaskModelPage]
nativeAllowFullPathLoss = 1
#default = 0 (disabled)
For external propagation models other than Aster that correctly implement the relevant API, the following option can
be used to force the default setting of "Antenna Masking Method" to "Antenna Correction":
[ACPAntMaskModelPage]
DefaultAntennaCorrection = 0
#default = 0
The relevant API interface must be implemented in order for the above option to
work.
◼ If a value is undefined in a custom field, ACP will use the default value for that
parameter.
10.2.2.18.1 Defining Reconfiguration Values for Transmitters, Repeaters, and Secondary Antennas Using
Custom Fields
In the [ACPCustomFieldExtraction] section, you can set options that will enable ACP to extract data from custom
fields in the Transmitters, Repeaters, and Secondary Antennas tables of the Atoll database. This data will be used
to initialise the reconfiguration parameters of transmitters, repeaters, remote antennas, and secondary antennas in
the corresponding technology.
The custom columns in the Transmitters, Repeaters, Remotes, and Secondary Antennas tables of the Atoll platform
must match the column names defined in the ACP.ini file.
Some reconfiguration parameters such as height and azimuth can be defined either
as relative values (i.e., by defining the reconfiguration range starting from the
current value) or as absolute values. You therefore only need to define the settings
relevant to the value type (i.e., relative or absolute).
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
tx.antenna.optimize=acp_ant_use
#Best to define this column as a Boolean
tx.antenna.group=acp_ant_group
tx.etilt.optimize=acp_etilt_use
tx.etilt.min=acp_etilt_min
tx.etilt.max=acp_etilt_max
tx.etilt.deltamin=acp_etilt_deltamin
tx.etilt.deltamax=acp_etilt_deltamax
tx.tilt.optimize=acp_tilt_use
tx.tilt.min=acp_tilt_min
tx.tilt.max=acp_tilt_max
tx.tilt.deltamin=acp_tilt_deltamin
tx.tilt.deltamax=acp_tilt_deltamax
tx.tilt.step=acp_tilt_step
tx.tilt.sum.optimize=acp_tilt_sum_use
tx.tilt.sum.delta=acp_tilt_sum_delta
tx.azimuth.optimize=acp_azim_use
#Relative values from current azimuth
tx.azimuth.deltamin=acp_azim_deltamin
tx.azimuth.deltamax=acp_azim_deltamax
tx.azimuth.min=acp_azim_min
#Absolute value for azimuth angle
tx.azimuth.max=acp_azim_max
tx.azimuth.step=acp_azim_step
tx.azimuth.minInterSector=acp_azim_inter
The following options are NOT valid for the SecondaryAntennas table.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
tx.height.optimize=acp_height_use
tx.height.deltamin=acp_height_deltamin
#Relative values from current height
tx.height.deltamax=acp_height_deltamax
tx.height.min=acp_height_min
#Absolute value for height values
tx.height.max=acp_height_max
tx.height.step=acp_height_step
The following options are ONLY valid for the GSM Transmitters table.
In GSM, ACP extracts data from custom fields in the GSM Transmitters tables of
the Atoll database and displays it in ACP on the Reconfiguration > GSM Cells
vertical tab.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
tx.gsm.power.optimize=acp_gsmpower_use
tx.gsm.power.min=acp_gsmpower_min
tx.gsm.power.max=acp_gsmpower_max
tx.gsm.power.step=acp_gsmpower_step
The following options are ONLY valid for the Repeaters table.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
repeater.gain.optimize=acp_gain_use
repeater.gain.min=acp_gain_min
repeater.gain.max=acp_gain_max
repeater.gain.step=acp_gain_step
In GSM, ACP extracts data from custom fields of the Transmitters table (not Cells
table) in the Atoll database and displays it in ACP on the Reconfiguration > GSM
Cells vertical tab. The relevant options are described in "Defining Reconfiguration
Values for Transmitters, Repeaters, and Secondary Antennas Using Custom Fields"
on page 242.
The following options can be used to extract data from custom fields in the "CDMA2000 cells" table of the database.
The custom columns in the CDMA2000 Cells table of the Atoll platform must match the column names defined in
the ACP.ini file.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
ccell.pilotPower.optimize=acp_pilotpower_use
ccell.pilotPower.min=acp_pilotpower_min
ccell.pilotPower.max=acp_pilotpower_max
ccell.pilotPower.step=acp_pilotpower_step
ccell.maxPower.optimize=acp_maxpower_use
ccell.maxPower.min=acp_maxpower_min
ccell.maxPower.max=acp_maxpower_max
ccell.maxPower.step=acp_maxpower_step
The following options can be used to extract data from custom fields in the "UMTS cells" table of the database. The
custom columns in the UMTS Cells table of the Atoll platform must match the column names defined in the ACP.ini
file.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
wcell.power.optimize=acp_power_use
wcell.power.min=acp_power_min
wcell.power.max=acp_power_max
wcell.power.step=acp_power_step
The following options can be used to extract data from custom fields in the "LTE cells" table of the database. The
custom columns in the LTE Cells table of the Atoll platform must match the column names defined in the ACP.ini
file.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
lcell.power.optimize=acp_power_use
lcell.power.min=acp_power_min
lcell.power.max=acp_power_max
lcell.power.step=acp_power_step
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
site.status=acp_site_status
# Name of the custom column in Sites table.
# Default value is 'ACP_STATUS'.
site.gsm.status=acp_site_gsm_status
site.umts.status=acp_site_umts_status
site.lte.status=acp_site_lte_status
site.status.candidate=candidate
# Name used to define a candidate site.
The following options can be used to define custom columns in the Sites table of the Atoll platform. These will be
used for default reconfiguration options for each site.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
site.disableSelection=acp_site_disableSelection
site.gsm.disableSelection=acp_site_gsm_disableSelection
site.umts.disableSelection=acp_site_umts_disableSelection
site.lte.disableSelection=acp_site_lte_disableSelection
site.removeable=acp_site_removeable
site.gsm.removeable=acp_site_gsm_removeable
site.umts.removeable=acp_site_umts_removeable
site.lte.removeable=acp_site_lte_removeable
site.sectorsRemoveable=acp_site_sectorsRemoveable
site.gsm.sectorsRemoveable=acp_gsm_site_sectorsRemoveable
site.umts.sectorsRemoveable=acp_umts_site_sectorsRemoveable
site.lte.sectorsRemoveable=acp_lte_site_sectorsRemoveable
The following option can be used to manage the Inter Sector Lock check boxes (Height and Azimuth) in the
Reconfiguration column of the Reconfiguration > Sites vertical tab.
The following option can be used to manage the Disable check box in the Reconfiguration column of the
Reconfiguration > Sites vertical tab.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.model=PHYSICAL_ANTENNA
If the physical antenna has been defined using the antenna.model option, the following option can be used to name
the custom column in the Antennas table that is used to define antenna groups. In the custom column in the
Antennas table, all antenna patterns corresponding to physical antenna belonging to the same group are identified
with a unique string. The ACP automatically groups all physical antenna into a new group with the name given by
the string used in the column.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.group.model=acp_group_model
The following options can be used to name the custom columns in the Antennas table to automatically define the
mechanical tilt options.
◼ The name of the custom column in ANTENNA table of type 'bool', defining which antenna pattern is associated
with a mechanical tilt constraint:
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.tilt.use=ACP_TILT_USE
◼ The name of the custom columns in ANTENNA table of type 'string' or numeric, defining the mechanical tilt
allowed range. Non-valid values are treated as "forbidden":
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.tilt.min=ACP_TILT_MIN
antenna.tilt.max=ACP_TILT_MAX
The following options can be used to name the custom columns in the Antennas table to automatically define the
electrical tilt options.
In order to optimise the electrical tilt, you must first activate the following option:
[ACPReconfPage]
enableETilt = 1
Optionally, if you want to activate AEDT support, you must also set the following
option:
[ACPAntennaPage]
enableAedt = 1
◼ The name of the custom column in the ANTENNA table of type 'bool', defining which antenna pattern is
associated with an 'electrical tilt constraint':
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.etilt.use=ACP_ETILT_USE
ACP supports additional electrical downtilt (AEDT) processing. AEDT is used when antenna patterns are not
available for changes in electrical tilts. The patterns are derived by ACP using geometric downtilts of the
original antenna pattern. When you have activated AEDT support, new columns appear in the Antenna Pattern
table on the Antenna > Patterns vertical tab allowing you to configure which antenna uses AEDT and the range
of allowed electrical tilt.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.aedt.use=ACP_AEDT_USE
◼ The name of the custom columns in the ANTENNA table of type 'string' or numeric, defining the allowed range
for AEDT and electrical tilt. Non-valid values are treated as "forbidden":
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.etilt.min=ACP_ETILT_MIN
antenna.etilt.max=ACP_ETILT_MAX
The following option can be used to name the custom column in the Antennas table to automatically link antenna
elements of a multi-band physical antenna which have the same electrical tilt. In the ACP Setup dialog box, this is
accomplished by selecting the check box in the Same Elec. Tilt column. The antenna.etilt.share option should
contain a list of the space-separated frequencies for which the corresponding physical antenna must be linked (i.e.,
physical antenna that always uses same electrical tilt):
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
antenna.etilt.share=ACP_ETILT_SHARE
[ACPGeneralPage]
cost.classes.showUI = 1
# Default = 1 (site class feature is enabled).
The following option can be used to define the default settings when the site class option is available. These
settings are local.
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
cost.classes.count = 1
# Number of defined classes
You can then define the site classes that will appear each time a new ACP optimisation is created along with pre-
defined costs. The name of each class as it appears in the ACP is defined by an option called cost.classes.X.name
where X is a sequential number. The corresponding settings for the class defined in cost.classes.X.name are
defined using the following options:
◼ cost.classes.X.azimuth.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the antenna azimuth.
◼ cost.classes.X.azimuth.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.tilt.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the mechanical tilt of the antenna.
◼ cost.classes.X.tilt.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.antenna.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the type of the antenna.
◼ cost.classes.X.antenna.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.etilt.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the electrical tilt of the antenna.
◼ cost.classes.X.etilt.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.height.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the antenna height.
◼ cost.classes.X.height.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.power.cost: This key is used to define the cost of changing the power.
◼ cost.classes.X.power.isSiteVisit: This key is set to "true" if this cost entails a site visit; "false" if it does not.
◼ cost.classes.X.siteVisitCost: This key is used to define the cost of a site visit.
◼ cost.classes.X.upgradeSiteCost: This key is used to define the cost of upgrading an existing site.
◼ cost.classes.X.newSiteCost: This key is used to define the cost of creating a new site.
◼ cost.classes.X.removeSiteCost: This key is used to define the cost of removing an existing site.
The following is an example of the keys for the first site class (numbered 0) called "Planned" in this example.
[ACPTplGeneralPage]
cost.classes.0.name=Planned
cost.classes.0.azimuth.cost = 1
cost.classes.0.azimuth.isSiteVisit=true
cost.classes.0.tilt.cost = 1
cost.classes.0.tilt.isSiteVisit=true
cost.classes.0.antenna.cost = 1
cost.classes.0.antenna.isSiteVisit=true
cost.classes.0.etilt.cost = 0.1
cost.classes.0.etilt.isSiteVisit=false
cost.classes.0.height.cost = 1
cost.classes.0.height.isSiteVisit=true
cost.classes.0.power.cost = 0.1
cost.classes.0.power.isSiteVisit=false
cost.classes.0.siteVisitCost = 2
cost.classes.0.upgradeSiteCost = 5
cost.classes.0.newSiteCost = 10
cost.classes.0.removeSiteCost = -5
You must first create the corresponding custom column in the Sites table of the
Atoll database and assign a site class to each site in this column for this option to
have effect.
[ACPCustomFieldExtraction]
site.costClass=[name of custom field in Site table]
The site class defined in the Sites table will be assigned automatically when an ACP optimisation is defined. For
new candidate sites which are located on an existing site, the site class is the same as the site on which the new
candidate is located. For new candidate sites which are not co-located on an existing site, the site class is set to
"Default" and can be changed manually.
By defining the costs of each site class as explained in "Defining Automatic Site Classes" on page 246, the cost
structure is automatically defined as well.
10.2.2.20.1 Defining the Colours in the Analysis Maps on the Quality Tab
The following settings can be used to define the colours in the analysis maps on the Quality tab.
None of the options described in this section are available by default in the ACP.ini
file. If you want to use any of them, you must specify it manually in the ACP.ini file.
There are two possible formats for defining the range of colours on maps:
1. Detailed format: The detailed format enables you to set a non-uniform range. The number of ranges is defined
and, for each range, the minimum and maximum value of the range followed by its RGB color representation.
[ACPMapDefault]
colormap.techno.quality.nbRange = 8
# Number of ranges to be defined
colormap.techno.quality.range.0=[-99999.000000 -15.000000] RGB(0 0 255)
colormap.techno.quality.range.1=[-15.000000 -13.000000] RGB(0 128 255)
colormap.techno.quality.range.2=[-13.000000 -11.000000] RGB(0 196 196)
colormap.techno.quality.range.3=[-11.000000 -9.000000] RGB(0 224 0)
colormap.techno.quality.range.4=[-9.000000 -7.000000] RGB(128 255 0)
colormap.techno.quality.range.5=[-7.000000 -5.000000] RGB(255 224 0)
colormap.techno.quality.range.6=[-5.000000 -3.000000] RGB(255 128 0)
colormap.techno.quality.range.7=[-3.000000 99999.000000] RGB(255 0 0)
◼ Uniform format description: A uniform format description using a range and step, in one of the following
intervals: [firstBreak startcolor] [lastBreak endColor]
◼ -INF [firstBreak startcolor] [lastBreak endColor]
where interval starts from minus infinite to englobe all lower values and avoid transparent pixels for lower
values.
[ACPMapDefault]
colormap.techno.quality.rangeDefinition=[-5 RGB(255 0 0)] [-20 RGB(0 0 255)] -5
colormap.techno.quality.rangeDefinition = -INF[-5 RGB(255 0 0)] [-20 RGB(0 0 255)]
-5
These descriptions are used for default colormap and can easily be changed by the user. The settings are the same
for the various quality indicator in various technologies, where you replace:
◼ techno by "umts", "gsm", "lte", "wimax", "cdma"
◼ quality by "sl", "slgain" (in GSM), "ecio", "ec", "ecgain", "eciogain", "ecnt", "ecntgain" (in UMTS), "sl", "slC", "slCN",
"rsrp", "cinr", "rsrq", "slgain", "cinrgain", "rssi" (in LTE), "sl", "slC", "slCN", "cinr", "slgain", "cinrgain" (in WiMAX)
[ACPMapDefault]
colormap.gsm.sl
colormap.gsm.slgain
colormap.umts.ec
colormap.umts.ecgain
colormap.umts.ecio
colormap.umts.eciogain
colormap.umts.ecnt
colormap.umts.ecntgain
colormap.lte.cinr
colormap.lte.cinrgain
colormap.lte.rsrp
colormap.lte.rsrq
colormap.lte.rssi
colormap.lte.sl
colormap.lte.slC
colormap.lte.slCN
colormap.lte.slgain
colormap.wimax.cinr
colormap.wimax.cinrgain
colormap.wimax.sl
colormap.wimax.slC
colormap.wimax.slCN
colormap.wimax.slgain
In addition, a number of other colormaps can be defined for other types of maps, e.g: overlap maps, objective status
maps, electrical tilt maps, mechanical tilt maps, combined electrical/mechanical tilt maps, change maps, emf maps,
etc.
[ACPMapDefault]
colormap.bestcell.etilt
colormap.bestcell.objective
colormap.bestcell.sector
colormap.bestcell.tilt
colormap.bestcell.ttilt
colormap.bestcellHeight
colormap.capacity
colormap.capacitygain
colormap.change.azimuth
colormap.change.cost
colormap.change.etilt
colormap.change.impr
colormap.change.power.cdma
colormap.change.power.gsm
colormap.change.power.lte
colormap.change.power.umts
colormap.change.power.wimax
colormap.change.power2.cdma
colormap.change.power2.umts
colormap.change.selectionType
colormap.change.tilt
colormap.change.ttilt
colormap.change.type
colormap.changeHeight
colormap.diff
colormap.emf
colormap.emf.badSector
colormap.emf.gain
colormap.gain
colormap.imprCoverage
colormap.objective
colormap.objective.gain
colormap.objective.weighting
colormap.overlap
colormap.overlapgain
[ACPMapPage]
config.foreground = 0
#default foreground colour setting (black)
config.background = 16777215
#default background colour code (white)
8 16
The RGB code for white is calculated as follows: 255 + 255 2 + 255 2 = 16777215 .
The following options define the size of the map title on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.titleHeight = 16
# Title height in pixels
config.titleFontSize = 16
# Size of title font in points
The following option defines the width of the margin on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.margin = 2
# Margin width in pixels
The following options define the appearance of the map legend on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.showLegend = 1
# Defines whether the legend is displayed.
config.legendWidth = 40
# Defines the width of the legend in pixels.
config.legendFontSize = 11
# Defines the font used in points.
config.legendForeground = 0
# RGB code as integer: here black
The following option defines whether or not the axis will be displayed on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.showAxis = 1
The following options define the appearance of the histogram on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.showHistogram = 1
# Defines whether the histogram is displayed.
config.histogramHeight = 60
# Defines the width of the histogram in pixels.
The following options define the appearance of the selected zone on the Quality tab:
[ACPMapPage]
config.showZoneSelection = 1
# Defines whether the selected zone is displayed.
config.zoneLighterPercent = 70
# Defines how much lighter selected zone is displayed.
[ACPMapDefault]
transparency = 50
The following option automatically selects the Add to legend check box in the properties of new ACP predictions:
[ACPMapDefault]
isAddToLegend = 1
The following option forces any new ACP prediction to not reuse the shading settings (if any) of the Atoll prediction
defined next to Base prediction settings in the Objectives page of the corresponding quality parameter.
[ACPMapDefault]
isUsePredictionColormap = 1
#default = 1 (shading settings of ACP prediction prevail)
[ACPNewPredictionDlg]
showBestServerAerialPrediction = 1
#default = 0
Setting the following option allows you to create a prediction that displays the coverage by layer.
[ACPNewPredictionDlg]
showBestServerLayerPrediction = 1
#default = 0
Setting the following option allows you to create a prediction that displays the weight used for the traffic and for
each zone.
[ACPNewPredictionDlg]
showObjectiveWeightPrediction = 1
#default = 0
Setting the following option allows you to create a prediction that displays the improvement in coverage.
[ACPNewPredictionDlg]
showchangeImprovementPrediction = 1
#default = 0
[ACPCommitPage]
allowUserChangeForCommit=false
You can use the addCandidateComment option to create a comment in any site, transmitter, and cells automatically
created by ACP in Atoll as part of the candidate site selection. No comment is added if this option is left blank.
In the [ACPOverlayDialog] section is the option for defining the opacity of the overlay window when it loses focus.
A value of 100 disables it.
[ACPOverlayDialog]
opacity = 100
[ACPGraphPage]
showTimeMarkers = 1
# To add time markers on the X axis. Default is 0
[ACPUI]
DefaultFont = MS UI Gothic
#Font used by grid, graph component, and map component
DefaultGridFontSize = 0
#Font size for grid only. 0 mean default size
[ACPXmlReport]
enableXmlExport = 1
# Enable the XML report from the ResultStatPage
generateXmlSection = -1
# Bit combination of the following: 1=metadata, 2=setup, 4=resultSummary,
# 8=resultSectors, 16=resultIterations, 32=resulstChangeset, 64=resultMaps, -1=all
encoding=UTF-8
saveDefaultStylesheet = 1
#save a default stylesheet if none exist
defaultStylesheetName=.acpReport.xslt
# Name of default stylesheet file.
# Set it empty to disable stylesheet processing instruction
The settings in the [ACPCore] section are used to define how the ACP engine functions.
[ACPCore]
generateLogFile = 0
# default = 0; no log file.
[ACPCore]
useComputationThreadPool=true
computationThreadPoolSize = 4
The default setting for computationThreadPoolSize is 4 and the maximum value that can be specified is 8.
[ACPCore]
pathlossThreadPoolSize = -2
# Default = -2
Possible settings:
Value Description
-2 The default value means that the propagation model will use the same number of threads as the number
of threads defined by computationThreadPoolSize.
-1 Auto configuration; the propagation model will use one thread for each CPU core.
Other The defined numerical value indicates the number of threads that the propagation model can use.
When ACP estimates actual memory use (i.e., using either memLimitMemory or
memLimitUseableMemory), the memory estimate is only a rough estimate.
Depending on the project, actual memory usage can be quite different.
[ACPCore]
memLimitNumPos = -1
# -1 deactivates this option.
memLimitMemory = -1
# -1 deactivates this option.
memLimitUseableMemory = 80
# -1 deactivates this option.
abortIfMemLimitReach = 0
[ACPCore]
AutomaticStopSearchPhase = 0
#Default = 1
[ACPCore]
useProgressiveThreshold = 0
#default = 1
The following options define the values used by ACP to control the curve shapes. Although you can modify these
settings, they are the recommended factory values:
[ACPCore]
gsm.signallevel.th.min = -120
gsm.signallevel.th.max = -50
gsmcnircocanal.th.min = 0
gsm.cinrcocanal.th.max = 20
umts.rscp.th.min = -120
umts.rscp.th.max = -60
umts.ecio.th.min = -20
umts.ecio.th.max = -6
lte.rsrp.th.min = -130
lte.rsrp.th.max = -70
lte.rscinr.th.min = -10
lte.rscinr.th.max = 30
lte.rsrq.th.min = -20
lte.rsrq.th.max = -8
lte.pdschcinr.th.min = -10
lte.pdschcinr.th.max = 40
wimax.signallevel.th.min = -120
wimax.signallevel.th.max = -50
wifi.signallevel.th.min = -120
wifi.signallevel.th.max = -50
lpwa.signallevel.th.min = -140
lpwa.signallevel.th.max = -50
[ACPCore]
addPilotSHOGain = 1
#Default = 1
For details on disabling macro-diversity gains calculation, see "Disabling Macro-diversity (SHO) Gains Calculation
for Ec/Io and Eb/Nt" on page 202.
Possible settings:
Value Description
2 ACP uses the same value as the one defined for the AddPilotSHOGain option in the Atoll.ini file:
[CDMA]
AddPilotSHOGain = value
[ACPCore]
useSiteAltitude = 1
#Default = 1
For details on reading altitudes from the DTM in Atoll, see "Reading Exact Altitudes From the DTM" on
page 187.Possible settings:
Value Description
0 During calculations, ACP will read the altitudes from the DTM at the exact coordinates of each transmitter
considering the values entered for the DX and DY parameters.
1 Default. This is the value used by the Atoll platform (which uses either the user-defined site altitudes from
the Sites table or, if they are not defined, the site altitudes read from the DTM for the site coordinates
defined in the Sites table).
2 ACP uses the same value as the one defined for the useSiteAltitude option in the Atoll.ini file:
[Calculations]
useSiteAltitude = value
[ACPAutoCandPosDlg]
interSiteDist = 500
#default = 500
For areas (polygon zones only, not polylines), you can set the following option to modify the default minimum ratio
of inter-site distance below which candidate sites will not be proposed:
[ACPAutoCandPosDlg]
minInterSiteDistRatio = 25
#default = 25
ACP normally places candidate sites in a strict hexagonal pattern. However, the ACP can search for a more
appropriate site within a search radius ratio according to the defined rules. The following option defines the default
search radius ratio as a percentage of the defined inter-candidate site distance.
[ACPAutoCandPosDlg]
searchRadiusRatio = 30
The following option defines the default minimum increase in altitude (in metres) that the ACP must find when
placing a new automatic candidate site.
[ACPAutoCandPosDlg]
hpHeightThres = 10
[ACPCore]
minInterSiteDistanceCandidates=500
◼ High Speed: Using the highest speed also uses the least memory although the final results might be slightly
less accurate.
◼ Default: When no changes are made to the ACP.ini file, ACP uses the default settings. The default settings can
be overridden by changing the settings in this section.
◼ High Precision: When the settings in this section are defined to give the results of the highest precision,
calculating the results will take the longest time and will use more memory.
The options described below are those used for the default operation mode.
The ACP.ini options that define how the selected mode works are described below:
◼ maxMonitorCell: defines the maximum number of cells monitored. This option affects memory use and
accuracy. The analogous options for the high speed mode and the high precision mode are
maxMonitorCellSpeed and maxMonitorCellPrec, respectively.
◼ threshLevelMonitorCell: defines the best server signal threshold (dB) in order to be monitored. This option
affects memory and accuracy.
◼ The analogous options for the high speed mode and the high precision mode are
threshLevelMonitorCellSpeed and threshLevelMonitorCellPrec, respectively.
The following options define the values ACP uses for default mode:
[ACPCore]
maxMonitorCell = 32
threshLevelMonitorCell = 35
The following options define the values ACP uses for high speed mode:
[ACPCore]
maxMonitorCellSpeed = 30
threshLevelMonitorCellSpeed = 30
The following options define the values ACP uses for high precision mode:
[ACPCore]
maxMonitorCellPrec = 35
threshLevelMonitorCellPrec = 40
Other options in the ACP.ini file can be used to define additional offsets that will be used by the specific technology
that ACP is optimising:
[ACPCore]
threshLevelOffGsm = 0
maxMonitorOffGsm = 0
threshLevelOffUmts = 0
maxMonitorOffUmts = 0
threshLevelOffCdma = 0
maxMonitorOffCdma = 0
threshLevelOffLte = 10
maxMonitorOffLte = 10
threshLevelOff5gnr = 10
maxMonitorOff5gnr = 10
threshLevelOffWimax = 5
maxMonitorOffWimax = 5
threshLevelOffWifi = 5
maxMonitorOffWifi = 5
threshLevelOffLpwa = 20
maxMonitorOffLpwa = 20
[ACPCore]
gisDataTechnoShared = 0
ACP loads raster data with block-based processing to reduce memory usage. The maximum memory (in Mb)
allowed for this block processing in Mb is controlled with the following setting (you can reduce the value if you
experience issues with ACP failure due to memory allocation):
[ACPCore]
gisDataCacheMemMax = 256
For lower memory usage, you can use the following option to specify an optimized block-based raster data loading
strategy:
[ACPCore]
gisDataCacheStrategy = 1
# default = 1
When you set the following option, ACP will consider a mix or raster data and polygons for the DLU file (should be
set to 1 when clutter classes are edited with the clutter editor):
[ACPCore]
gisDataClutterUsePoly = 0
# default = 0
When you set the following option, ACP creates multistorey points for areas where the DLU file is present (with
default heights) without the presence of DHM raster (clutter height). The default setting (TRUE) makes the ACP
distribute vertical points only where DHM is available:
[ACPCore]
multistorey.onlyDHM = TRUE|FALSE
# default = TRUE
[ACPCore]
gisDataClutterOnlyRes = 20
# ACP will only use clutter classes with this resolution
If you set the gisDataClutterOnlyRes option to filter out all clutter classes but those with the defined option, you
should also list the clutter classes that are not to be used in the zone.clutter.hiddenCodes in the [ACPGeneralPage]
section to ensure that the user will not create zones based on clutter classes that are not used. When you define the
clutter classes that are not used, they will not be displayed in the Zone Definition dialog box.
[ACPGeneralPage]
zone.clutter.hiddenCodes = 0,1,2,12,13
# These clutter classes are not displayed
10.2.3.14 Fixed Ratio Between Pilot Power and Max Power (UMTS)
When optimising the maximum cell power in UMTS, the ACP forces the ratio between pilot power and maximum
power to stay constant. You can remove this constraint using the following option:
[ACPCore]
umtsPilotPowerRatioFixed = 0
[ACPResultSectorPage]
showDlLoad = 1
#default = 0
[ACPResultSectorPage]
custom.count = 2
#default = 2
You can then set the following options to specify the data you want to show under each custom column.
custom.0.type=tabularDataColumn
custom.0.column=FOO
custom.0.label=FOO label of custom.0.column
custom.1.type=tabularDataColumn
custom.1.column=BAR
[ACPImportProject]
importWimax = 1
# default = 0
In the [ACPEMFCore] section there are several options controlling the EMF exposure calculation engine.
One set of options allows for the detection and auto correction of transmitter heights which are found to be indoors,
just below the roof. This is usually caused by inconsistencies between the vectors imported to create the 3D
representation of the terrain and Atoll database.
The other option controls the resolution used internally to rasterise input vectors, the default being 2 metres.
When the height of a transmitter is within the Digital Height Model (i.e., the combination of clutter heights and
imported vectors used to create the 3D representation of the terrain) and DHM-offset, then it is considered to be
indoors, just below the roof. The ACP automatically detects these transmitters and displays warnings in the Event
Viewer. The default distancebeneath the roof is 5 metres.
[ACPEMFCore]
detectTxIndoorOffset = 5
The ACP can automatically adjust the height of transmitters that are below roof so that they are on top of the clutter
height using the defined offset (in metres).
[ACPEMFCore]
resetTxHeightWhenIndoor = 0
#default = 0; height is not reset.
The following option defines the internal resolution in metres (2 by default) for terrain 3D representations when the
ACP rasterises input vectors:
[ACPEMFCore]
vectorRasterizationResolution = 2
The following option allows you decrease the displayed EMF exposure level when penetration loss is increased for
buildings.
[ACPEMFCore]
flagPixelFacadeDist = distance
flagPixelFacadeDist defines (in metres) the indoor distance from facade for a pixel to be considered as "indoor".
When the distance is 0, the outdoor pixels will be applied the indoor penetration loss specified in the Propagation
Class Definition table (Propagation page on the Optimisation tab).
[ACPExtension]
emf = 1
Likewise, you can add the following lines to show the Optimisation > Multi-Storey tab in ACP setups (equivalent to
manually selecting the Multi-Storey check box under Extensions on the Preferences tab):
[ACPExtension]
multistorey = 1
[ACPMisc]
autoCheckPathlossValidity = 0|1
autoCheckPathlossValidity is set to 1 by default, which means that the validity of path loss matrices is automatically
checked before running an optimisation setup.
In addition, the following options can be used:
◼ To enable ("1") or disable ("0") the automatic check of the path loss matrix files (file location and file size)
before a run:
autoCheckPathlossFileValidity = 0|1
autoPathlossRecomputation = 0|1
autoCheckTxNumber = 0|1
manageLockedPathlossAsvalid = 0|1
[ACPMisc]
CalculateEtiltWhenZero = 0
[ACPMisc]
canLinkOnSameBand = 1