Ultima Mentor

SC Plan Optimization

PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL. The information contained in this material is privileged and confidential, and is intended only for the use
of the individual to whom it is addressed and others who have been specifically authorized to receive it. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this material is strictly prohibited. If you have received this material
in error, please destroy it immediately.
Lesson Objectives

By the end of this lesson you will be able to

perform SC optimization to resolve co-SC
conflicts and to reserve SCs for new sites

SC Plan Optimization | 2
Main Topics
 Describe SC optimization objectives
 Introduce the SC Optimization wizard
 Explore the workflow for running SC optimizations
 Review SC optimization layers and reports
 Display potential co-SC conflicts

SC Plan Optimization | 3
SC Plan Optimization
Mentor provides an automatic solution for SC optimization in all
wide-band technologies, to resolve co-SC conflicts before running
any other optimization.

 The optimization plan takes into consideration the physical array of

cell sites and antennas, the neighbor list definition, and various
constraints and planning rules.

 SC planning is required in the following cases:

 Optimizing existing sites – resolving co-SC conflicts or reserving
SCs for future sites.
 New site planning – selecting the best SCs for new sites.
 Redefining pilots for large clusters, which can be the result of
reserving SCs for new sites.

SC Plan Optimization | 4
Pre-Conditions
 Use the updated setting of the network in terms of physical sites and
antenna array (especially location, azimuth and antenna profiles).

 Include non-active sites and sites with missing data (e.g. planned sites).

 Update Mentor with the latest switch dump, including an accurate and
current SC plan and NL.

 It is recommended to conduct a “basic” NL optimization before

optimizing the SCs.
 Using the current NL, Mentor can detect 1st or 2nd tier co-SCs and
co-SCs in the NL.
 Thorough NL optimization can be repeated after co-SC conflicts are
resolved.
SC Plan Optimization | 5
SC Selection Set
 Only sectors in the selection set can be changed.

 Mentor will consider both inner selection co-SC conflicts and conflicts
between the selection and sectors outside the selection set.

 The selection set can include non-active cells as well or cells with
missing data.

SC Plan Optimization | 6
SC Optimization Wizard
After you have imported the network, you can launch the SC Optimization
wizard, which guides you through the process of planning the SCs.

SC Plan Optimization | 7
SC Optimization Wizard – General
The General step of the SC Optimization wizard enables you to
define general properties for the SC plan.

 Enter a Name for the new SC plan.

 If required and available, you can select a predefined
optimization Template.

SC Plan Optimization | 8
General – SC Optimization Goal
 Recreate global SC plan (within the selection) – global co-SC
solution, enabling you to plan as well as reserve SCs for new sites.
 Resolve severe co-SCs for active sites (within the selection) –
detect conflicts and assign new SCs.
 Plan SCs for new sites – detect sectors that are missing data, or
were listed as inactive, and assign them new SCs.
 Plan SCs for new sites and resolve severe co-SCs for active sites
– assign different SCs to new sites and solve co-SC conflicts for
active sites.

SC Plan Optimization | 9
Goal – Recreate global SC plan
 Global SC solution for the entire selection.
 Also resolves all geographic-based conflicts up to the maximum range
(50km as default) for all cells.
 All kinds of conflicts.

SC Plan Optimization | 10
Goal – Resolve severe co-SCs for active sites
 Resolving the severe co-SC cases in the selection.
 Only active sectors can be changed.
 This scenario is resolved using the minimal changes approach.
 Severe cases are:
 Co-located SCs (same site).
 Nearby sectors – below a certain range.
 Tier 1 co-SC neighbors (source SC = target SC).
 Tier 2 co-SC neighbors (source SC = 2nd tier target SC).
 Co-SCs in the NL (2 targets with the same SC).
 Other conflicts are ignored.
 Sectors with irregular SCs not matching
the SC allocation policy can be fixed too.

SC Plan Optimization | 11
Goal – Plan SCs for new sites
 Setting SCs for new sites in order to avoid co-SC conflicts with
neighboring cells (both new and existing).
 New sites are:
 Sectors marked as missing data (even without SC or NL).
 Sectors marked as non-active.
 Conflicts between any active sectors are ignored.

SC Plan Optimization | 12
Goal – Plan new and resolve co-SCs for active sites
 Combined solution for both severe active co-SC conflicts and new sites.

 Does not resolve geographical-based conflicts for active cells.

 Highest priority is given to conflicts with higher severity:

(Co-located (2 sectors with the same SC below 200m)-> nearby
(below co-SC distance) & 1st tier (Source and Target with the same SC)
& NL co-SC -> 2nd tier)

 Sectors with irregular SCs not matching

the SC allocation policy can be fixed.

SC Plan Optimization | 13
Goal Selection – Guidelines
 Recreate Global SC plan – recommended in most cases.
 Fixes all types of conflicts for distances below
MAX_CO_SC_DISTANCE (50km).
 Select all co-SCs identified in the import or NL reports and fix
them along with new sectors.
 Only valid option for global SC redraw: A wide selection will also
fix other geo-conflicts.

 Active site co-SC solution – recommended when a minimal amount

of changes are required.
 Mentor will ignore the regular SCs if their distance is above
MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE (5km) and are not involved in
NL-based conflicts (tier 1 & tier 2 & NL co-SC).

SC Plan Optimization | 14
Goal Selection – Guidelines (cont.)
 New site SC planning – recommended for setting SCs for new sites
only.
 Considers all possible conflicts.

SC Plan Optimization | 15
Non Active Cells – Guidelines
 Mentor always considers non-active cells.
 If you don’t want to consider them – they must be removed from
the network.

 Mentor will consider the NL of non-active cells in tier 1 or tier 2

co-SC or NL co-SC as active cells.
 Without the NL, Mentor will consider only distance-based
conflicts, like other cells.

 These rules also apply to active cells

with missing NL data.

SC Plan Optimization | 16
Greenfield SC Planning – Guidelines
 When conducting Greenfield SC planning, select Recreate Global
SC plan.

 Build the environment with all possible sites.

 Including sites that are not activated immediately – best option.
 Optional – keep SCs for later activated sites.

 Consider adding neighboring systems (at least ones with soft HO).

 Use base carrier covering all the cells.

SC Plan Optimization | 17
New Site Optimization – Guidelines
 Export the current environment to Schema Format.

 Add the relevant sectors in Schema Format:

 In antennas.txt with expected location, azimuth, and antenna
profile.
 In sectorcarriers.txt as sectors with the relevant base
carrier – use a random SC or any SC currently selected for these
new sectors.
 Option: add basic NL of neighbor list file.

 Import the new environment with all new sites.

 Run the SC plan for the new sectors only.

SC Plan Optimization | 18
SC Optimization Wizard – Constraints
The Constraints step enables you to define global and sector-level
constraints for the SC optimization.

 Select the method for SC allocation policy

(the parameters are discussed later):
 Sector Wise – SC range is divided into groups according to the
SECTOR_WISE_SC_DELTA parameter, and then allocated
accordingly to the sectors in a site.
 Site Wise – allocated sequentially per site, with the delta based
on the SITE_WISE_SC_STEP parameter.
 Best Available – randomly from within the range of valid SCs.

SC Plan Optimization | 19
Global SC Allocation – Sector Wise
 Sector wise FGA = Fixed SC Group Assignment per site
based on fixed SC range per sector where the range is defined by
SECTOR_WISE_SC_DELTA.

 Rules
 Alpha sector receives the 1st range, Beta sectors receive the 2nd
range, etc.
 Sectors 4,5,6 are handled like sectors 1,2,3, respectively.
 Sectors 4…6 are considered as independent sites.
 An Alpha sector is identified as the sector with the azimuth
nearest to 0°.

SC Plan Optimization | 20
Global SC Allocation – Site Wise
 Site wise FGA = fixed SC group assignment per site
based on these rules:
 Sequential SC numbers starting at Sector 1.
 Fixed steps between sectors (X, X+SITE_WISE_SC_STEP,
X+SITE_WISE_SC_STEP*2).
 SC assignment is done in sets – for example, if
SITE_WISE_SC_STEP= 8 then 0-7 will be assigned to the Alpha
sector, 8-15 to Beta and 16-23 to Gamma. The following set will be
24-31; 32-39; 40-47, etc.

 Additional Rules
 Sectors 4,5,6 are handled like Sectors 1,2,3, respectively
 By default, sectors 4…6 will be considered as independent sites.

SC Plan Optimization | 21
Global SC Allocation – Best Available
 Any SC combination is allowed.

 No dependencies between sectors.

 Most flexible solution for special cases such as single sectors or

cases that cannot be optimized well with FGA.

 Global SC range and NL constraints are always considered.

SC Plan Optimization | 22
Global Allowed SCs – Range
 If required, enter the global allowed SC range in the SCs field.
 This enables you to reserve SCs for new sectors, or for future sites.
 For example:
 0-500: Keeps SC 501-511 for new cells.
 0-200, 205-511: Keeps SCs 201-204 for Femto cells.

SC Plan Optimization | 23
SC Constraints File
The SC constraints file is used for:

 Locking sectors for optimization.

 Setting local range of SCs – using either forbidden or allowed set of
SCs per sector.
 Smart local FGAs when global policy is Best Available.

SC Plan Optimization | 24
Constraints Analysis
Generate a report showing the number of sectors that can be
optimized, and the sectors that are locked for optimization.

 Takes the constraints of the allocation method and global allowed

scrambling codes into consideration.

 If Sector-Wise or Site-Wise is used, the analysis is done per site, e.g.

locking one sector will lock the whole site.

SC Plan Optimization | 25
Running the Optimization
 Use the Summary step to view a summary of the optimization,
including the data consistency checks.

 Click Finish to run the optimization and

use the Calculation pane to review
its status.

 As soon as the optimization run has completed, its status changes to

Valid, and the SC Optimization Completed dialog box is displayed

SC Plan Optimization | 26
Co-SC Conflicts – Overview
The Algorithm Orientation
 Resolve co-SC problems in the network with minimal SC changes.
 Identify the most critical co-SC pairs and find the better allocation
with lower co-SC weight.
 Each pair receives a weight reflecting its severity.
 Try to reduce the overall weight of the selection set by correcting
co-SC pairs.
 Pairs with higher weight have a greater chance of being solved.

SC Plan Optimization | 28
Types of Co-SC Weights
 Co-SC Conflicts
 Distance and angle-based weight – reflecting the co-SCs’
geographic relationship
 NL co-SC based weight – reflecting 1st tier and 2nd tier and NL
co-SC – higher weight than the geographic conflict above
 Minimal Distance-based weight – co-SCs are below minimum
allowed distance (MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE) – Same weight as
tier 1 NL-based co-SC
 Co-located sectors – co-SCs sharing the same site (distance is
below 200 meters) – highest weight.

 The impact of every pair is reflected as the severity of the co-SC pair
in the reports.

SC Plan Optimization | 29
NL-based Weights
 Tier 1 HO
 B is a neighbor of A and SC(A)=SC(B).
 Higher weight is given to tier 1 HO (1,000,000).
 Tier 2 HO
 C is a neighbor of A and D is a neighbor of C and SC(A)=SC(D).
 The weight of this case is high (1000).
 NL co-SC
 B & D are neighbors of A and SC(A)=SC(D).
 The weight of this case is same as tier 1 (1,000,000).

SC Plan Optimization | 30
Distance-based Weights
 Co-located Site
 Highest weight is given to co-SCs that are less than 200m away
(score of 1-E09)

 Nearby Site
 High weight (same as tier 1 HO) is given to co-SCs with a distance
lower than MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE (5km default)
 All cases with distances between MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE and
200m, get the same weight
 Consider when using the Active site co-SC solution.

SC Plan Optimization | 31
Distance and Angle-based Weight
 Every co-SC pair receives weight that reflects:
 The distance between the sectors.
 The relative gain of the antennas on the line of sight.

 The formula is:

Weight=1000*Loss /Dist^SC_DISTANCE_WEIGHT

Where:
Loss = Average(10^-LossA/10, 10^-LossB/10)
Dist = the distance between the sectors, in Km
SC_DISTANCE_WEIGHT = 2, by default

SC Plan Optimization | 32
Distance and Angle-based Weight (cont.)
 Examples:
 A & B: 2 face-to-face, 10 km away (gain loss is 0 dB, loss value
is 1):
 Weight (A  B)= 1000 * 1 / 10^2 = 10
 B & C: 2 back-to-back, 10 km away (gain loss is 20 dB, loss
value is 0.01):
 Weight (B  C)= 1000 * 0.01 / 10^2 = 0.1

 Note – Reducing the distance by X increases the weight by X2,

since the weight of the distance is squared.

SC Plan Optimization | 33
SC Optimization Layers
Mentor creates three layers for each SC Optimization plan:

 Scrambling Code Changes – sectors whose SC changed.

 Scrambling Code Reuses After – SC-reuse pairs after the optimization.
 Scrambling Code Reuses Before – SC-reuse pairs before the
optimization.

SC Plan Optimization | 34
SC Optimization Layers

SC Plan Optimization | 35
SC Optimization Layers (Cont.)
Depending on the severity of the SC reuse, the following can be
displayed in the layers:

 Co-located sectors – two sectors that probably share the same site,
or the distance between the antennas is 200 meters or less.
 Nearby sectors – distance between the SC-reuse pair is below the
distance defined by the MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE parameter.
 Tier 1 HO – SC-reuse pair are 1st tier neighbors, meaning the source
and the target sectors have the same SC.
 Tier 2 HO – SC-reuse pair are defined as 2nd tier neighbors in at least
one direction.
 <number> – calculated severity of the SC-reuse before optimization,
based on the angle, antenna profile, and distance between the
sectors in the SC-reuse pair.

SC Plan Optimization | 36
Displaying Potential Co-SC Conflicts
You can display potential co-SC conflicts by highlighting and displaying
links to all sectors sharing the same SC as the selected sector.

 To limit the number of possible conflicts, Mentor will show potential

co-SC conflicts only within the range specified by the
MAX_CO_SC_DISTANCE parameter or within a range 4-times the
average neighbor distance.

SC Plan Optimization | 37
Displaying Potential Co-SC Conflicts (Cont.)
 Save the layer under the GIS category in the Layers pane.

SC Plan Optimization | 38
Scrambling Code Report
The SC report shows details of the SC changes, as well as of
the SC reuses before and after the optimization.

 Report tabs:
 Summary
 SC Changes
 SC Reuses Before
 SC Reuses After
 Carrier Summary
 Reuses Summary
 Network Properties
 Details

SC Plan Optimization | 39
SC Solution Evaluation
 Compare the worst co-SCs in the “after” vs. “before” report and
check if they improved.

 Count the number of severe cases before and after optimization.

 Make sure that worst cases are less critical in the “after” report.
 Check the worst co-SC pairs (old and new) on the map layers.

 Compare the sum of numerical weights.

 Compare the average distances for top cases or all cases.

SC Plan Optimization | 40
SC Key Parameters – Summary

Parameter Default Value Remarks

Can be increased to distance the co-
MIN_CO_SC_DISTANCE 5 km [0..100]
SCs.
Conflicts beyond this range are
MAX_CO_SC_DISTANCE 50 km [0..1000]
ignored.
Controls the delta between sectors
SECTOR_WISE_SC_DELTA 168 [1..171] in the sector wise FGA option.
(For example: 3,171,339)
Controls the way the SC is assigned
OMNI_SC_POLICY FREE [SECTOR1]
to Omni cells.
Minimal geographical impact to be
MIN_CO_SC_SCORE_FOR_LAYER 1 [0…1000] shown on the map layers. Higher
value will show more severe cases.
SC_DISTANCE_WEIGHT 2 [0..4] 2 is the optimal value since impact 
1/R2.

SC Plan Optimization | 41
Lesson Summary – Q&A
 Describe the steps to perform a SC optimization.
 What are the available SC optimization goals?
 List the layers and reports created by the SC optimization
wizard.

SC Plan Optimization | 42