Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
UNIVERSITE DE YAOUNDE I
UNIVERSITY OF YAOUNDE I
DEPARTEMENT OF ELECTRICAL
AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
E.N.S.P Yaound
President:
Superviser :
Members :
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
Dedication
DEDICATION
To my lord JESUS CHRIST
I thank you lord for your constant intervention in all aspects of my life. I thank you especially
for your help during the period of my end of course dissertation. Father you gave me all the
strength and support I needed. You made available to me all the resources I asked for, be it
human or material. You nourished my spirit and that gave me the strength and courage to
breakthrough all difficulties. Lord, yours I am and yours I want to remain. Do with me
whatever you wish.
To my loving parents
My father CHEFUH James MUYAH and mother CHEFUH Patricia LUM. I thank you
very much for your love and care. I know you have always wanted to give me the best in all
situations. May the almighty reward all your efforts and grant your greatest desires.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
Acknowledgments
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to everyone who assisted me to realise this work.
They include:
My Academic Supervisor, Pr. Emmanuel TONYE for all the advice and
encouragement during this internship and during my stay at ENSP. Also, to all the
other Lecturers of ENSP.
Dr. Paul Salomon NGOHE of the department of Mathematics and Physical sciences,
for accepting to examine my work.
The chief of service of the Littoral-West radio department, Mrs. NGO BIBOUM
Clmence for her constant encouragements and motherly care.
The NSS Engineering department especially Mr. Freddy OYONO for the training I
received from them during my 2010 internship in Orange Cameroun SA.
AYUNI SENGUM FAI, for being my friend, study mate, for everything
All my friends who have continually encouraged me, especially NJUMBE Divine.
All my Aunties and Uncles for the wonderful support they gave me.
My Brothers and sisters BISI, EMI, VAL, VEVE, NENE and JAY-JAY
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
List of abbreviations
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AUC
BSC
BSS
BSSAP
BTS
CEPT
CGI
CI
DCS
EIR
ETSI
GSM
HLR
IM
IMEI
IMSI
ISDN
LAI
MAP
MCC
MS
MSC
MSIN
MSISDN
MSRN
NPO
NSS
OCM
OMC
OSS
PCS
QoS
SIM
SMS
SS7
TDMA
TEMS
TMSI
TRAU
TRX
TUP
VLR
VSAT
WIMAX
Authentication Centre
Base Station Controller
Base station Subsystem
Base Station Subsystem Application Part
Base Transceiver Station
Conference of European Posts and Telegraphs
Cell Global Identity
Cell Identity
Digital Cellular System
Equipment Identity Register
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
Global System for Mobile Communication
Home Location Register
Interference Matrix
International Mobile Equipment Identity
International Mobile Subscriber Identity
Integrated Services Digital Network
Location Area Identification
Mobile Application Part
Mobile Country Code
Mobile Station
Mobile Station Controller
Mobile Station Identification Number
Mobile Station ISDN Number
Mobile Station Roaming Number
Network Performance Optimiser
Network Subsystem
Orange Cameroun
Operations and Maintenance Centre
Operations Subsystem
Personal Communication System
Quality of Service
Subscriber Identification Module
Short Message Services
Signalling System Number 7
Time Division Multiplexing
Test Mobile System
Temporal Mobile Subscriber Identity
Transcoder and Rate Adaptation Unit
Transceiver
Telephony User Part
Visitor Location Register
Very Small Aperture Terminal
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
ABSTRACT/RESUME
RESUME
ABSTRACT
In a cellular network, a good frequency
This
prediction
software
relies
on
prediction calculations.
processus
Planning Modules.
Frquences.
matrices
la
constitueront
dallocation
dinterfrence
planification
les
de
de
frquences,
compatible
frquences,
donnes
de
et
base
danalyse dinterfrences.
new cells.
nouvelles cellules.
Key Words: Interference matrix, Cell id, Drive tests, Frequency planning, QoS
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Architecture of Generic GSM Network................................................................................. 14
Figure 2: The Orange Cameroon Network (May 2011)........................................................................ 16
Figure 3: Fields of LAI ......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 4: Fields of CGI ......................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 5: Other transmitters emitting at the same frequency band as serving transmitter .................... 22
Figure 6: Other transmitters emitting at the adjacent frequency bands as serving transmitter ............. 22
Figure 7: Frequency reuse pattern........................................................................................................ 23
Figure 8: Inputs into the AFP module of ATOLL ................................................................................ 24
Figure 9: Some ATOLL modules ......................................................................................................... 32
Figure 10: Procedure for interference matrix generation ...................................................................... 34
Figure 11: Sample .im0 file format interference matrix ....................................................................... 36
Figure 12: Sample .clc file format interference matrix ......................................................................... 37
Figure 13: Sample .dct file format interference matrix ......................................................................... 39
Figure 14: Sample .im1 file format interference matrix ....................................................................... 40
Figure 15: Sample .im2 file format interference matrix ....................................................................... 42
Figure 16: Flowchart for generation of the .im0 file format interference matrix.................................. 45
Figure 17: Flowchart for generation of the .im2 file format interference matrix.................................. 46
Figure 18: Correlation analyses show highly reliable drive test based data. ........................................ 49
Figure 19: Correlation analyses show highly reliable drive test based data. ........................................ 50
Figure 20: Factors to consider during the allocation of new CI values................................................. 51
Figure 21: Steps to put in place mechanism for CI allocation .............................................................. 53
Figure 22: Sample BSS Configuration files in the directory ACME of the OMC-R............................ 54
Figure 23: Header of a sample BSSConf file (BSSConf.omcrdla1.20110510090500) ........................ 54
Figure 24: CELL_SECTION of sample BSSConf file ......................................................................... 55
Figure 25: Illustration of mechanism for CI attribution as in OCM ..................................................... 56
Figure 26: Flowchart for automatic allocation of CI values ................................................................. 58
Figure 27: Platform architecture ........................................................................................................... 59
Figure 28: Database conception ............................................................................................................ 60
Figure 29: Final database tables ............................................................................................................ 60
Figure 30: Toolkit arborescence ........................................................................................................... 63
Figure 31: Authentication page ............................................................................................................. 64
Figure 32: Application Home Page ....................................................................................................... 65
Figure 33: Generation of an Interference matrix................................................................................... 66
Figure 34: Sample of .im0 interference matrix generated from IM_CI Tool. ...................................... 67
Figure 35: Upload new log file to server. ............................................................................................. 67
Figure 36: Combining multiple log files ............................................................................................... 68
Figure 37: Loading interference matrix for comparison ....................................................................... 69
Figure 38: Example Results of evaluation ............................................................................................ 69
Figure 39: Interactive interference analyses. ........................................................................................ 70
Figure 40: C/I histograms for server-interferer couple. ........................................................................ 71
Figure 41: Channel information for frequency analyses. ...................................................................... 71
Figure 42: Input parameters for CI allocation. ...................................................................................... 72
Figure 43: Cell Ids generated for 3 cells of tri-sectorial site. ................................................................ 73
Figure 44: Mailing list .......................................................................................................................... 73
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: GSM key Interfaces and protocols.......................................................................................... 17
Table 2: logic channels ......................................................................................................................... 19
Table 3: Different RxLev ranges .......................................................................................................... 20
Table 4: Correspondences between BER and signal quality (RXQUAL) ............................................ 21
Table 5: Channel protection ratios ........................................................................................................ 23
Table 6: Comparison with NGAN TAFAM ......................................................................................... 30
Table 7: Comparison with NDEFO TAKA .......................................................................................... 31
Table 8: columns definition for .im0 files format interference matrices. ............................................. 35
Table 9: Columns definition for .clc files format interference matrices. .............................................. 37
Table 10: Columns definition for .dct files ........................................................................................... 38
Table 11: Columns definition for .im1 files format interference matrices............................................ 40
Table 12:Columns definition for .im2 files format interference matrices............................................. 41
Table 13: List of log-file information elements for IM generation and interference analyses ............. 44
Table 14: Interference matrices with high correlation .......................................................................... 48
Table 15: Interference matrices with low correlation ........................................................................... 49
Table 16: CI value ranges for GSM band per zone as used in Orange Cameroon................................ 51
Table 17: Ranges of CI values for DCS band per zone as used in Orange Cameroon ......................... 52
Table 18: Example of CI values for site with 3 cells ............................................................................ 52
Table 19: Programming Languages ...................................................................................................... 61
Table 20: Programming tools................................................................................................................ 61
Table 21: Template for exporting TEMS log file ................................................................................. 76
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENT
Dedication_________________________________________________________________ 2
Acknowledgements _________________________________________________________ 3
List of Abbreviations_________________________________________________________ 4
ABSTRACT _________________________________________________________________ 5
RESUME __________________________________________________________________ 5
List of figures ______________________________________________________________ 6
List of tables _______________________________________________________________ 7
Table of content ____________________________________________________________ 8
INTRODUCTION ___________________________________________________________ 10
CHAPTER 1:
1.1
1.1.1
1.1.2
1.1.3
1.1.4
1.1.5
1.2
1.2.1
1.2.2
CONTEXT _______________________________________________________________ 13
General Presentation of GSM Network ______________________________________________ 13
The GSM Radio Interface _________________________________________________________ 19
Notions on Interferences _________________________________________________________ 21
Frequency Planning _____________________________________________________________ 23
Drive Tests (Radio Measurements) _________________________________________________ 25
CHAPTER 2:
METHODOLOGY ______________________________________________ 28
2.1
2.2
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
2.2.4
2.2.5
2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2
2.3.3
2.3.4
2.4
2.4.1
2.4.2
2.4.3
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND COMMENTS ________________________________________ 62
3.1
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
One of the major worries of a mobile phone operator is to insure a good quality of service to
its customers. This quality of service is principally linked to 2 parameters which are: good
signal coverage and good signal quality. But then, interferences arise due to frequency reuse.
These interferences degrade the signal quality, and hence cause a drop in the quality of
service. To reduce this, it was required to Design and Implement a toolkit for the
processing of files issued from radio measurements and the automatic allocation of Cell
Ids to new cells.
This project tackles two aspects, first supplying data issued from radio measurements into the
frequency allocation process. This will permit the amelioration of frequency plans and thus
reduce interferences. The radio measurement data could also serve as input for an interactive
interference analyses between couples of cells with the goal of detecting and reducing
interferences. Reducing interferences will improve on the QoS.
Secondly to put in place a mechanism for an automatic allocation of cell ids to new cells
integrated into the operators network.
This document presents details of all that was done to realise the project.
The first chapter of the document, Context and Problem statement, describes relevant
concepts to the project for a clear understanding. Here also, the problem at hand is described
with all its details.
The second chapter, methodology, is where the approach adopted to resolve the problem is
described clearly.
The third chapter, results and comments, shows screen shots of the developed toolkit and
comments on the screen shots.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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CHAPTER 1:
The context starts with a brief description of the GSM norm: its
origins, architecture, main components and the radio interface. It
also mentions some notions on interferences.
It then goes on to give information on frequency planning and drive
tests, giving tools used for these in the company Orange Cameroon.
The Problem Statement outlines the Project specifications made by
Orange Cameroon.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
OUTLINE
CONTEXT
Notions on Interferences
Definition
Frequency Planning
Frequency Reuse Pattern
Frequency Planning in OCM (use of ATOLL)
Interference Matrices
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Problem description
Objectives to be attained
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
1.1
CONTEXT
Origin of GSM:
During the early 1980s, analogue cellular telephone systems were experiencing rapid growth
in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Each
country developed its own system, which was incompatible with everyone else's in
equipment and operation. This was undesirable; not only was the mobile equipment limited
to operation within national boundaries, but there was also a very limited market for each
type of equipment.
The Europeans realized this early on, and in 1982 the Conference of European Posts and
Telegraphs (CEPT) formed a study group called the Groupe Spcial Mobile (GSM) to study
and develop a pan-European public land mobile system. The proposed system had to meet
certain criteria, among which were:
ISDN compatibility.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
13
Context
band and other equipment using the bands of one or more of its variants, with these different
equipments inter-functioning
functioning with each other.
1.1.1.1
The Network
Architecture
Generic Architecture
Apart from connecting subscribers to a network, the GSM, like all other mobile norms has
two other major challenges:
It must also permit the subscribers to be able to call or receive calls and all other services
offered by the network from any point within the area covered by the network: this is the
concept of ROAMING.
As seen from the above diagram, the GSM network can be split into four main entities:
Mobile Station (MS), Base Station Subsystem (BSS), Network Subsystem (NSS) and
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
Operation Subsystem (OSS). Note that depending on the interpretation, the MS can be
included in the BSS or considered as a separate entity.
This is the mobile part of the network. An MS is any physical equipment capable of
communicating with the network. It is characterised by two main entities:
The International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, which is put in the memory
of the phone during its fabrication.
The SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card: This is an electronic card containing
personal information of the subscriber (serial number, Pin code, PUK code, received
SMS, directory of phone numbers, IMSI, TMSI, etc). It provides personal mobility, so
that the subscriber can have access to all subscribed services regardless of the terminal
being used or location of that terminal.
It is also known as access network. It assures radio-electric transmissions and manages the
radio resources. The BSS is comprised of the BTS (Base Transceiver Station) and the BSC
(Base Station Controller).
The NSS is the part of the GSM system that assures establishment of calls and mobility. It
contains the switches and network databases. It is made up of the following entities: the HLR,
VLR, AUC, and MSC.
This permits the network operator to administer his network. The Operation and Maintenance
Centre (OMC) of the OSS is made of two parts: OMC_S (Operation and Maintenance Centre
Switching part) which supervises detects and corrects abnormalities of the NSS.OMC-R
(Operations and Maintenance Radio part) The OMC-R exploits and maintains the radio subsystem.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
Orange Cameroon Network
More than 730 GSM sites
01 Mobile BTS
46 WIMAX Sites
30 VSAT
02 Principal technical Platforms
04 Technique Centres (DoualaYaound
Yaound-Garoua-Bafoussam)
One High Bit rate Transmission loop
(Douala Yaound -Bafoussam)
(Douala-
DOUALA
147
13
YAOUNDE
178
09
WEST/NORTH WEST
W
110
04
LITTORAL/SOUTH WEST
W
106
03
CENTRE/EAST
ST
174
02
NORTH/ADAMAOUA/
/ADAMAOUA/ EXTREME NORTH
NOR
151
09
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
Table 1: GSM key Interfaces and protocols
Name
Position
Role
Protocol
Support
LAPDm
Electromagnetic waves
LAPD
2 Mbits/s links
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
Transport of :
- Voice at 13 Kbits/s for each communication
Um or
MS BTS
Radio
mobiles
Transport of :
- Voice at 16 Kbits/s per communication.
Abis
BTSBSC
Ater
BSC TC
Transport of :
-Voice at 16 Kbits/s used for communication
- signalling for traffic management.
-on
some
equipment
signalling
(BSSAP =
for
TC - MSC
BSSAP
Transport of :
-Voice at 64 Kbits/ used for communication.
BSSMAP+DTA
P)
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
BSSAP
MSC - VLR
MSC - HLR
VLR - HLR
MSC-MSC
Transport of :
- Signalling for MAP.
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
MSC - EIR
VLR - VLR
PSTN
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
(SS7 basic) +
2 Mbits/s links
MAP
MSC -
(SS7 basic) +
PSTN
(MAP).
TUP or ISUP
2 Mbits/s links
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
1.1.1.2
MCC
MNC
LAC
Field
Meaning
MCC:
MNC:
LAC:
MCC
MNC
LAC
CI
Field
Meaning
MCC:
MNC:
LAC:
CI:
Cell Identity
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
1.1.2 The GSM Radio Interface
1.1.2.1
TDMA Structures
Each of the frequency channels in GSM is divided into timeslots of approximately 577s
duration. These timeslots are grouped together in sets of 8 consecutive timeslots as one
frame. These frames are then grouped together in one of two ways as multiframes:
A 26-frame multiframe with duration of 120ms, comprising 26 TDMA frames; this
multiframe is used to carry traffic channels and their associated control channels.
A 51-multiframe with duration of approximately 235.4ms, comprising 51 TDMA frames; this
multiframe is exclusively for control channels.
1.1.2.2
Logic Channels
These are a set of slots in a multiframe permitting the transportation of either control or
signalling information with a given periodicity.
Logic channels have the advantages that:
Logic channels can be classified into 2 big classes: dedicated channels, which are generally
duplex channels and non dedicated channels which are generally simplex channels. The table
below shows a list of all major logic channels and their primary functions:
Table 2: logic channels
Channel Category
Channel Name
Frequency Correction
Channel (FCCH)
Synchronisation Channel
(SCH)
Broadcast control channel
(BCCH)
Paging Channel (PCH)
(downlink)
Random Access Channel
(RACH) (uplink)
Access Grant Channel
(AGCH) (downlink)
Cell Broadcast Channel
(CBCH)
Stand-Alone Dedicated
Control Channel (SDCCH)
(uplink and downlink)
Slow Associated Control
Channel (SACCH) (uplink
and down link)
Major Functionality
Blocking on carrier
frequency.
Synchronisation and
Identification
Broadcast of System
information
Call of mobile
Random access of mobile
Allocation of resources
Diffusion of short messages
Signalling
Link supervision
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
Handover execution
User data
RXLEV
Deep Indoor
Indoor
Incar
Outdoor
Bad Service
RXQUAL:
This parameter is used to measure the quality of the received signal. It is obtained by doing a
quantisation of the Bit Error Rate (BER) according to the correspondence defined by the table
below (3GPP TS 45.008, section 8.2.4)
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
RxQual
BER, Ranges
Representative Values
Interpretation
BER 0.2%
0,4%
0,28%
Good quality
0,57%
Good quality
1,13%
Average quality
2,26%
Average quality
4,53%
Average
9,05%
Bad quality
12.8% BER
18,10%
Definition
Interference is anything that alters, modifies or disrupts a signal as it travels along a channel
between a source and a receiver.
In radio-mobile networks, there are 2 major kinds of interferences:
Co-channel Interference
Adjacent channel interference.
Co-channel Interference:
It occurs when for the transmitter to which the mobile is accorded (called the serving
transmitter), emitting in a defined frequency band, there are other transmitters emitting in the
same frequency band such that:
< 9
C/I = Carrier over Interference ratio,
(1)
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
Figure 5:: Other transmitters emitting at the same frequency band as serving transmitter
(2)
Figure 6:: Other transmitters emitting at the adjacent frequency bands as serving transmitter
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Context
The GSM norm (ETSI 05.05, ETSI = European Telecommunications Standards Institute)
defines protection ratios for a channel given by the following table:
Table 5: Channel protection ratios
Practical
Co-channel Interference
C/Ic
9dB
ACS
12dB
C/Ia1
-9dB
18dB
-6dB
C/Ia2
-41dB
50dB
-38dB
C/Ia3
-49dB
58dB
-46dB
An operator fixes a quality margin for practical uses. This quality margin is added to the cochannel protection ratio to get the practical margin (as in the table above). The value for the
quality margin is 3dB for Orange Cameroon. The Adjacent Channel Suppression (ACS)
ratio is defined as Ia/ Ic.
In the GSM network like in other radio-mobile networks, there are predefined frequency
bands for usage. An operator cannot acquire the entire band. Only a fixed number of channels
are attributed to the operator by the Telecommunications Regulatory Board. For example
Orange Cameroon has 40 channels (ARFCN 85 to ARFCN 124) in the GSM 900 band and 60
channels (ARFCN 512 to ARFCN 571) in the DCS 1800 band.
These limitations in frequency imply that the operator must put in place a frequency plan
(define a reuse pattern) that will take into consideration co-channel and adjacent-channel
interferences.
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Context
D is called the reuse distance. It is calculated as:
=
(3)
Where R is the radius of a cell and N the number of cells in a cluster (in the above example
N=12)
1.1.4.2
The frequency plan needs to be constantly ameliorated to take into account newly integrated
network cells. This is the optimisation of the frequency plan.
There exist several tools that permit the design and optimisation of frequency plans. Among
these is ATOLL which is used in Orange Cameroon.
Using ATOLL, there are 3 methods of frequency attribution to cells:
Among these frequency assignment methods, those considered here are the AFP and IFP.
The Automatic frequency planning module of ATOLL has multiple input parameters as
shown on the figure below:
Interference
Matrices
Current
Frequency Plan
Network
Information
Separation
Constraints
Other
Constraints
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Context
1.1.4.3
Interference Matrices
Among the multiple inputs into the AFP module of ATOLL is the interference matrix.
Definition: In Atoll, the interference matrix is an array that stores the probability of
interference between a couple of cells (a victim cell and an interfering cell).
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Problem Statement
1.2
Problem Statement
On one hand, to use field data gotten from drive tests for the generation of
interference matrices that will serve:
In the supply of AFP (Automatic Frequency Planning) and IFP (Interactive
Frequency Planning) modules of ATOLL (radio frequency design tool); these
ATOLL modules will use the matrices combined with others issued from
prediction calculations to produce better frequency plans. This in view of
minimising
co-channel
and
adjacent
channel
interferences
between
On the other hand, to put in place a mechanism for allocation of cell identities to
new cells integrated into the network. The access network of Orange Cameroon is
in a rapid extension phase and CI values are limited (to 65535). Thus the proposed
mechanism should be:
Automatic
Centralised and
Not wasteful
Obtain log files gotten from the tool TEMS Investigation (a tool used to conduct drive
tests). These log files contain information that describes the state of the network
(precisely for the area covered during the drive tests).
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Problem Statement
Offer the possibility to combine multiple log files to generate a single interference
matrix.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
CHAPTER 2:
METHODOLOGY
The methodology starts with a state of the art that point out
previous work done in this domain.
After that, a step by step description is done to lead to a clear
comprehension of the procedure of generation of Atoll interference
matrices and for the automatic allocation of cell ids.
Finally, a description of the designing of the toolkit is done.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
OUTLINE
Toolkit Designing
Toolkit Architecture
Database Modelling
Programming languages and tools used
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
29
Methodology
2.1
A similar project was undertaken in the same company Orange Cameroon. This was
undertaken by NGAN TAFAM Aaron Achille on the occasion of his end of course
dissertation to obtain a Masters degree in Telecommunications Engineering (year 2009) at the
National Advanced School of Engineering Yaound Cameroon. The theme of the project
was: linteroprabilit des outils RNO et Atoll
Among other project specifications, the student had to:
-
The table below compares the 2 projects in terms of their inputs and outputs:
Table 6: Comparison with NGAN TAFAM
NGAN TAFAM
CHEFUH Divine
Tests
Taken from the tool RNO in Taken from the tool TEMS
Input Data:
the
form
of
matrices
These
statistics
Output Data
was
generated,
the
CLC
format
We notice from table 6 above that the two projects have different input data. As such,
although the required output is Atoll compatible interference matrices for both cases, the
methods of approach differ.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
30
Methodology
Another similar project was done by William NDEFO TAKA on the occasion of his end of
course dissertation to obtain a Masters degree in Telecommunications Engineering (year
2005) at the National Advanced School of Engineering Yaound Cameroon. The theme of the
project was: Rsolution du problme dinterfrence par la mise en oeuvre dun outil de
gestion de frquence CAS DORANGE CAMEROUN.
Among other project specifications, the student was expected to:
-
The table below compares the 2 projects in terms of their inputs and outputs.
Table 7: Comparison with NDEFO TAKA
NDEFO TAKA
CHEFUH Divine
Log files issued from Drive Log files issued from Drive
Tests
Input Data:
Tests
Taken from the tool TEMS Taken from the tool TEMS
Investigation.
Investigation.
Output Data
compatible
interference
matrices required
Table 7 above shows us that the 2 projects have different expected results. As such, the
methodology employed for each case is different.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
31
Methodology
ATOLL has several modules. The figure below shows some of the key modules in the
software:
Network
Modelling
Support of Dual
Band Networks
Support for FH,
DTX and other
configurations
Service
planning and
analyses
Interference
matrix
generation
Automatic
Frequency
Planning
Cell couverage
analyses
Interference
analyses
Handover analyses
Prediction and
drivetest based
interference
matrices supported
Open format
allowing the editing
and modifications
of interference
matrices using third
party applications
Allocation of FH
parameters
Intergrate with 3rd
party AFP tools
2G/3G coplanning
Site sharing
Simultaneous
display and
analyses of 2G and
3G networks
(4)
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
38
(5)
Where
234 : Signal level at receiver.
5
2: Effective Isotropic Radiated Power.
Propagation models
Digital Terrain Models (DTM)
Clutter height and class considerations.
These prediction calculations have some limitations since the geographical databases (DTM)
are not very precise in some regions, hence the need to complete them with real terrain data.
TEMS Investigation
It is an air interface test tool for cellular networks. It supports several wireless networks like
GSM and CDMA networks.
It has 2 major modules:
-
Data Collection
This module interfaces with the mobile phone and other measurement devices like the GPS.
It collects data and records them in log files. It also does analyses of single log files at a time.
-
Route Analyses
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
33
Methodology
2.2
The first aspect treated was the generation of ATOLL compatible interference matrices. The
steps followed
llowed for this are illustrated by the figure below.
Definition of
fields from log
files needed for
generation of
interference
histograms
Transformation of
the fields from the
log file to the
ATOLL
interference
histogram proper
Figure 10:
10 Procedure for interference matrix generation
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
34
Methodology
2.2.1 Study of Formats of ATOLL Interference Matrices
There are four different file formats for ATOLL interference matrices. These are:
The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and contain
the following lines:
The second part details interference histograms for each interfered sub-cell/interferer
sub-cell 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>
Column name
Description
Column1
Interfered transmitter
Column2
Interfering transmitter
Column3
Interfered TRX type
Column4
C/I probability
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
35
Methodology
Sample
The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and contain
the following lines:
The second part details interference histograms for each interfered sub-cell/interferer
sub-cell 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>
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
36
Methodology
The 5 tab-separated columns are defined in the table below:
Table 9: Columns definition for .clc files format interference matrices.
Column name
Column1
Interfered transmitter
Column2
Interfering transmitter
Column3
Interfered TRX type
Column4
C/I threshold
Column5
Probability C/I > Threshold
Description
Identification
number
of
interfered
transmitter. If the column is empty, its value
is identical to that of the above line
Identification
number
of
interferer
transmitter. If the column is null, its value is
identical to that of the above line
Interfered sub-cell. If column is null, its
value is identical to the one of the line above.
In order to save storage, all sub-cells with no
power offset are not duplicated (e.g. BCCH,
TCH)
C/I value. This column cannot be null.
Probability to have C/I the value specified in
column 4 (C/I threshold). This field must not
be empty.
Sample
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
Note: The columns 1, 2 and 3 must be defined only in the first line of each histogram.
DCT File (Dictionary file)
Description
The DCT file is divided into 2 parts:
The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and contain
the following lines:
The second part provides information about transmitters taken into account in the
AFP. The lines after the header are considered as comments if they start with the #
symbol. If not, they must start with and contain the following lines:
<Column1><tab><Column2 ><newline>
Table 10: Columns definition for .dct files
Column name
Type
Description
Column1
Transmitter name
Text
Name of transmitter
Column2
Transmitter identifier
Column3
Column4
Column5
% of vic coverage
Float
Column6
% of int coverage
Float
.
The last 4 columns describe the interference matrix scope.
Note:
When importing interference matrices with CLC format, you must specify the .clc file
to be imported. ATOLL looks for the associated .dct file in the same directory and
uses it to decode transmitter identifiers. If the .dct file is unavailable, ATOLL assumes
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
that the transmitter identifiers are transmitter names. In this case, the columns 1 and 2
of the .clc file must contain the names of the interfered and interfering transmitter
instead of their identifiers. Its like this that we generate our CLC interference
matrices. No associated DCT file is needed.
Sample
The first part is a header used for format identification. It must start with and contain
the following lines:
The second part details interference histograms for each interfered sub-cell/interferer
sub-cell 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
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
39
Methodology
Table 11: Columns definition for .im1 files format interference matrices.
Column name
Description
Column1
Interfered transmitter
Column2
Interfering transmitter
Column3
Interfered TRX type
Column4
C/I probability
Column5
Probability C/I > Threshold
Sample
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
40
Methodology
Only Co-Channel and Adjacent values (.im2) Format
In this case, there is only one .im2 file containing co-channel and adjacent channel
interference probabilities specified for each interfered transmitter, interferer transmitter pair.
Each line must have the following format:
<Column1><SEP><Column2>< SEP ><Column3>< SEP ><Column4><newline>
Column name
Description
Probability of having
: 6B
9
:
9
:
*$<=99>,@9> A
: 6B
Probability of having
*$<=99>,@9> D
EF
6B
6B
C K!
Where ACS is the Adjacent Channel Suppression Ratio; for the first adjacent channel,
ACS = 18dB, thus
F = 12dB 18dB
F = -6dB
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
41
Methodology
Sample
Ethereal
MDM (CDMA)
Among these different file formats, the one used by the application is the text export format.
The text export format for log-files uses an ASCII representation with tab delimited data. The
default file extension is the FMT.
The FMT file has 2 major parts:
The first part is a file header. The first line in the file contains column headers. Below
is a list of these headers, headers marked * are or can be excluded in a reduced
version of the text export file.
- Time
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
42
Methodology
- MS
- Frame Number *
- Direction
- Message Type
- Message ID *
- Hexadecimal String *
- Event
- Event Info *
- One header for each information element component exported, composed
of: the device designation (or All, if the data is exported for all devices), the
name of the information element, and the argument if there is one. Examples:
All-RxLev Full, MS1-Neighbor BSIC [1]
The remainder of the export file contains log-file data. Each line of data represents
one message.
The part of the log files that is of interest is the information elements. During the exportation
of the log-file, only a desired number of information elements may be exported, based on the
need. The significance of all the different information elements were studied to know which
of them could serve for the generation of ATOLL compatible interference matrices. The next
section outlines the different information elements which were retained.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
43
Methodology
Table 13: List of log-file information elements for IM generation and interference analyses
Information Elements
Brief Description
Cell Name
ARFCN BCCH
Hopping
Hopping List
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
Generation of .im0 interference matrices
Start
Get chosen information elements from exported
TEMS log-file.
Step 2: Make a list of distinct serving cells, this list is called the S_List.
Step 3: For a serving cell, Si S_List, get its distinct interferers in an I_List.
Step 4: For an interferer (Ij) taken from I_List, form the couple (Si, Ij). For
this couple, form its list of distinct C/I values and the occurrence
probabilities (p) corresponding to each C/I Value (this is the CIR_List).
Step 5: Use values of p to calculate cumulative probability (P) for each C/I
value from CIR_List. P is the probability to have a C/I value greater than
that taken from the CIR_List. Form another list, CIR_Final, of each C/I
value and its corresponding cumulative probability value (P).
NO
Is I_List
empty?
YES
Is S_List
empty?
NO
YES
End
Figure 16: Flowchart for generation of the .im0 file format interference matrix
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
45
Methodology
Generation of .im2 interference matrices (In red are the steps that differ from Figure16)
Start
Get chosen information elements from exported
TEMS log-file.
Step 2: Make a list of distinct serving cells, this list is called the S_List.
Step 3: For a serving cell, Si S_List, get its distinct interferers in an I_List.
Step 4: For an interferer (Ij) taken from I_List, form the couple (Si, Ij). For
this couple, form its list of distinct C/I values and the occurrence
probabilities (p) corresponding to each C/I Value (this is the CIR_List).
Step 5: Use values of p to calculate the probabilities for co-channel (Pco) and
for adjacent interferences (Padj). Pco is the probability to have C/I values less
than 12dB and Padj is the probability to have C/I values less than -6dB.
NO
Is I_List
empty?
YES
Is S_List
empty?
NO
YES
End
Figure 17: Flowchart for generation of the .im2 file format interference matrix
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
46
Methodology
2.2.5 Evaluation of Generated matrices (Correlation Analyses)
After generating the different interference matrices, their reliability has to be checked. This is
because the drive test data is sometimes inaccurate due to the fact that, the person
undertaking it may not follow proper procedure.
To check the reliability of the drive test based interference matrices, the parameter used is the
Correlation Coefficient.
Normally, if the geographical databases are well calibrated, the results obtained from
prediction calculations should reflect values obtained from field measurements. What this
means is, if prediction data suggests increasing probabilities of interferences between couples
of cells, field measurements should depict the same trends and if the prediction calculations
show the inverse, the measurement data should do same. In other words, the data sets
(prediction calculations and field measurements) should vary together.
The correlation coefficient is a measure of how 2 things vary together or inversely. On one
hand, if the two quantities co-vary positively and perfectly, their correlation coefficient will
be 1.00. On the other hand, if two things vary oppositely and perfectly, then the correlation
will equal -1.00. Two things have a zero correlation if they vary separately. That is, when the
magnitudes of one thing are high, the others magnitude is sometimes high and sometimes
low.
Consider 2 variables L and LM with </ being the number ' value of variable L while </M is
the number ' value of the variableLM . Lets define N/ and N/M as follows:
N/ =
N'R =
</ LPO
Q
<'R SSS
LR
QR
(6)
(7)
SSSM are the average values of the variables L and LM respectively. Q And QM
Where LPO and L
are the standard deviations (square root of the variance) of the variables L and LM
respectively. With these defined the correlation coefficient between the variables L and LM is
given by the following formula:
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
47
Methodology
Where TM
N/ N/M
(8)
(
is the correlation coefficient between L and LM and ( is the number of cases for
TM =
the variables.
The following example illustrates how the correlation coefficient is used to determine the
reliability of the drive test based interference matrices.
Case 1: high correlation
Table 14: Interference matrices with high correlation
VW
VX
Victim
Interferer
Interference
Victim
Interferer
Interference
cell
cell
probability
cell
cell
probability
Bali_1
Bali_2
0.468
Bali_1
Bali_2
0.234
Bali_1
Bali_3
0.114
Bali_1
Bali_3
0.057
Bali_2
Bali_1
0.525333
Bali_2
Bali_1
0.266
Bali_2
Bali_3
0.18
Bali_2
Bali_3
0.09
Bali_3
Bali_1
0.205333
Bali_3
Bali_1
0.1025
Bali_3
Bali_2
0.169333
Bali_3
Bali_2
0.086
Consider the prediction based interference matrix with the corresponding drive test based
interference matrix (table above). The chart below makes it clear that these 2 datasets vary
together positively. Calculating the correlation coefficient here gives the value of 1, the
maximum possible value. So for this case, the drive test based matrix is highly reliable
(excellent) and should be considered during frequency planning with a high weight.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
48
Methodology
Figure 18: Correlation analyses show highly reliable drive test based data.
VW
VX
Victim
Interferer
Interference
Victim
Interferer
Interference
cell
cell
probability
cell
cell
probability
Bali_1
Bali_2
0.468
Bali_1
Bali_2
0.234
Bali_1
Bali_3
0.114
Bali_1
Bali_3
0.256
Bali_2
Bali_1
0.525333
Bali_2
Bali_1
0.266
Bali_2
Bali_3
0.18
Bali_2
Bali_3
0.09
Bali_3
Bali_1
0.205333
Bali_3
Bali_1
0.05
Bali_3
Bali_2
0.169333
Bali_3
Bali_2
0.086
In this second case, the 2 datasets do not vary perfectly together. The correlation coefficient
is small. It has a value of 0.56.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
49
Methodology
Figure 19: Correlation analyses show highly reliable drive test based data.
This analysis is implemented in the toolkit using the .im2 interference matrix. After the
generation of an interference matrix, check the correlation with the corresponding ATOLL
matrix and if the correlation is lower than 0.6, further investigations should be carried out to
verify which is not accurate, the drive test based interference matrix or that based on models
(from ATOLL). The investigations could either reveal that:
-
The geographical databases of the region in question are well calibrated and thus
provide accurate results. In such a situation, the drive test matrices should be put in to
question. There could have been a problem during the conduction of the drive test that
falsified the collected data. This problem could either be linked to the measurer or
defective equipments.
N.B: A correlation coefficient of 0.6 means that 36% of the variance is in common (that is
64% not in common).
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
50
Methodology
2.3
The second aspect to be treated was the automatic allocation of CI values to new cells. A
mechanism had to bee proposed for this. This mechanism had to improve on the existing by
rendering it centralised, automatic and not wasteful.
During CI attribution to new cells, the radio engineer had to do a manual collection of a list
of all the existing CI values in the network. This by logging on to a tool called NPO
(Network Performance Optimizer) and copying this list. Then, with the list at hand there were
some consideration to be made in other to choose CI values not in use already. These
considerations are the following:
wing:
Frequency band
(900MHz or
1800MHz or dual
band)
The lastly
attributed CI value
in the considered
range
Number of cells in
the site (1,2 or 3)
The frequency band in which the transmitters of the new site will operate, these
transmitters could work in the 900MHz or the 1800MHz bands. Based on these
the there
are segmented ranges from which CI values have to be gotten. These ranges are
shown in the following tables:
table
Table 16:: CI value ranges for GSM band per zone as used in Orange Cameroon
Frequency Band
Minimum value
Maximum value
GSM (Littoral/West)
13001
15153
GSM (Centre/North)
11500
12100
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
Table 17: Ranges of CI values for DCS band per zone as used in Orange Cameroon
Frequency Band
Minimum value
Maximum value
DCS (Littoral/West)
30011
38396
DCS (Centre/North)
40300
40900
The zone of implantation of the new site is also taken into consideration. In OCM, the
radio department has 2 major services, the Littoral/West and the Centre/North
services. Each of these services manages a given section of the network over the
national territory. Based on the different zones, there are reserved ranges of CI values
to be used.
The number of cells in the site determines the number of CI values to be allocated. If
for example a site has 3 cells, then it will be allocated 3 consecutive CI values. The
table below illustrates this with an example of the site Bamenda-CRTV which has 3
cells.
Table 18: Example of CI values for site with 3 cells
Cell Name
Cell Id
Bamenda-CRTV_1
3341
Bamenda-CRTV_2
3342
Bamenda-CRTV_3
3343
The step is to get the last set of CI value in the identified range (range identified with
the help of the above constraints) and from it, an increment of 10 is made from the
smallest value in this set before the next set of consecutive CI values is attributed. E.g.
with the example of the Bamenda-CRTV site above, the next CI values attributed will
be 3351, 3352 and 3353 (for a site with 3 cells).
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
The steps followed to put in place a mechanism for CI allocation
allocation are shown in Figure21
below:
Define
Constrainss for
new site being
created
Define new CI
values
according to
new procedure
and constrains
Notify all
concerned
parties about
newly allocated
CI values
Network configuration;
Network Maintenance;
Network supervision.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
given location on the OMC-R server. All the files contain the same information fields but the
most recent of them has the most updated information values.
Address to
directory that
contains required
files
Figure 22: Sample BSS Configuration files in the directory ACME of the OMC-R
By establishing an ftp connection with the OMC-R server, the BSSConf files from it are
downloaded to the toolkit application server. Based on the date and time of generation of the
file, as is included in the file name (figure 22 above), the most recent file is chosen. This ftp
connection and file download process is done on demand (i.e. when allocation of CI values is
to be done).
The following is a description of the structure of a BSSConf file obtained from the OMC-R
(BSSConf.omcrdla1.20110510090500). It comprises of two major parts, a header and a
body (made up of several SECTIONS). The header contains information on generation time,
version and OMC_NAME as shown on the figure below.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
The body of the BSSConf file contains configuration information on different sections of the
BSS. These sections are fifteen in number and are:
BSC_SECTION; CELL_SECTION; BTS_SECTION; TRX_SECTION; N7_SECTION;
ADJACENCY_SECTION;
N7SL_SECTION;
AIC_SECTION;
X25_SECTION;
N7LS_SECTION;
TRXTS_SECTION;
LAPDA_SECTION;
ABIS_SECTION;
ABIS_BTS_SECTION; TC_SECTION.
Among these different sections, that which contains information on network cells is the
CELL_SECTION. Figure 24 below is a portion extracted from a sample BSSConf file. It
illustrates the different information fields in the CELL_SECTION and some values.
Information Fields
Sample
Values for
the fields
Cell Name
Figure 24: CELL_SECTION of sample BSSConf file
Cell ID
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
It is seen from figure 24 above that in the cell section of the BSSConf file, information on the
CI values for existing network cells can be gotten.
After downloading the BSS configuration file to the toolkit application server, a script will
extract from the file all the CI values for all network cells and load them to a table of the
database (database structure is defined in the section Toolkit Design). This table is upgraded
with the most recent state of CI values from the network each time the CI allocation process
is launched.
Unused
ranges in
former
mechanism
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
Figure 25 above illustrates the mechanism for CI allocation. The new aspect is also included
in this figure. The new aspect reduces the wasteful nature of the previous. This reduction is
due to a modification made on the increment factor.
Consider the example given in figure 25 above. For an existing 2G 900 site, SITEA, with 3
cells named CELL A_1, CELL A_2 and CELL A_3, the attributed CI values are 1, 2 and 3.
Now, for the next site, SITED, integrated in the same 2G 900 band, the attributed CI values
are gotten by taking an increment of 10 from the first CI value in the lastly attributed set (i.e.
the last values are 1, 2 and 3 so 1+10 gives 11, thus the next set of values are 11, 12 and 13).
The same thing is done in the 2G 1800 band as is shown on figure 25 above.
Now, taking increments of 10 is wasteful and the limiting value for CIs is 65535. As such, for
future sites, a new mechanism is put in place that gives the possibility to go back and use the
CI values that were left behind. This is illustrated in figure 25 above. With this new method,
for a future 2G 900 site like SITEB, the values 4, 5 and 6 which were left behind are
attributed. If all values that were left behind are already taken, the new set of CI values is
gotten from the bottom of the given range.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Methodology
Flowchart for the generation of CI values
Start
Get Site name, Frequency band, Zone of implantation of site,
Number of cells in site and the Increment (Inc).
Step 2: On OMC, Change current directory to ACME (which contains BSSConf files).
Step 3: Transfer the most recent BSSConf file from OMC to toolkit application server.
Step 4: Get all CIs from CELL_SECTION of BSSConf file (make the CI_list_omc).
Step 5: Get all CIs locally defined in the application (make the CI_list_local).
Step 6: Make the final list of existing CI: CI_list = (CI_list_omc) Union (CI_list_local).
Zone =
LT-W?
YES
YES
Freq =
900?
NO (Freq= 1800)
YES
Freq =
900?
NO (Freq= 1800)
Step 6: Chose CI values from those which are in (Range) but not in (CI_sub), consider defined Inc
End
Figure 26: Flowchart for automatic allocation of CI values
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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58
Methodology
2.3.4 Notification
Several departments in OCM are involved in the creation of new cells. The cell id is what all
these entities use to identify a cell so when it is generated, all concerned parties have to be
informed so that they carry on with the cell creation at their levels.
The notification done here is a mail notification via the intranet of OCM.
2.4
Toolkit Designing
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
2.4.2 Database Modelling
The data conceptual model is as shown on Figure 27. This model takes into account all the
different entity classes handled in the application and the associations between them.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Methodology
2.4.3 Programming languages and tools used
Table 19: Programming Languages
Language
HTML, CSS
JavaScript
PHP
Description
Web based languages interpreted by the web
navigator. Basic building blocks for web
pages
Client side language, easy to implement.
Embedded into HTML to do dynamic web
programming
Server side language, easy to implement.
Embedded into HTML to do dynamic web
programming
Table 20: Programming tools
Tool
Dream Weaver
EasyPHP5.2.0
Fusion Charts Enterprise
Adobe flash plug-in
Description
Advantage
Web
development Available for both Mac and
application.
Windows operating systems.
Incorporates several web
technologies
like
CSS
JavaScript
and
various
server-side
scripting
languages like PHP and ASP
Simulator of client-server Contains both APACHE and
applications
MYSQL servers and is free
Charting library
Easy to use and very
Dynamic
Plug-in for web browser to Fast to download, easy to
read flash videos. Needed to configure and free
view charts from Fusion
Charts Enterprise
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Results and
and Comments
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
62
Results and
and Comments
3.1
The following section contains some screen shots to demonstrate the key functionalities of
the toolkit developed in this project. The toolkit was named IM_CI Tool,
Tool, IM for Interference
Matrices and CI for Cell Identity generation.
generatio
Toolkit Arborescence
IM_CI Tool
Authentication
HOME PAGE
Export IM
Analyse IM
Allocate CI
Do interference
analyses for a chosen
victim cell and all its
possible interferers
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation
Allocatio of Cell Ids to New Cells
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63
Results and
and Comments
Authentication Page
application. This option is not provided on the authentication page to prevent any kind
individual from subscribing to the application. There are default authentication parameters for
the first connection to the application and after this, these parameters can be changed.
!
To enhance security, the clear text of users authentication parameters is not directly
stored in the database. MD5 (Message Digest 5) hash values of both the username and
password are calculated before storing into the database.
As such, When the user attempts to login, the parameters which he enters are taken
and the MD5 hash values calculated. It is this hash values that are compared with the
values in the database.
Note here that for the MD5 hashing functions, an inbuilt algorithm exists in the
language PHP (like in many other languages) for this. It is this inbuilt function that
was exploited.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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64
Results and
and Comments
Home Page
After authentication, the user has access to the applications home page. Here, a brief
description of the various modules is done. These modules include:
1. Export IM: In this module, the user has the possibility to load drive test data onto the
application server (in the form of FMT log files). The loaded drive test data can be
used to generate all Atoll compatible interference matrices. Also, several log files can
be combined for the generation of a single interference matrix.
2. Analyse IM: This module gives the possibility to do interference analyses between
couples of cells. For data from a given drive test, the user has the possibility to select
a server interferer couple and analyse the probabilities of co-channel and adjacent
channel interferences.
3. Allocate CI: Here, the user has the possibility to do an automatic attribution of CI
values to new cells.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
65
Results and
and Comments
Generation of interference matrices
7
2
3
1
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
66
Results and
and Comments
Sample generated .im0 interference matrix generated from IM_CI Tool
Tool:
Figure 34: Sample of .im0 interference matrix generated from IM_CI Tool.
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
67
Results and
and Comments
In IM_CI Tool, there is the possibility to combine multiple log files to generate a single
interference matrix.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Results and
and Comments
Evaluation of matrices
This is an example situation in which there is a low correlation between the drive tests
based matrix and the Atoll matrix. In such a situation, matrix sources should be investigated
to draw conclusions as explained in section 2.2.5 of chapter 2.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Results and
and Comments
Interference Analyses
4
1
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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70
Results and
and Comments
C/I values that are less than 12dB (in this case, 100% of the C/I values are
less than 12dB)
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Results and
and Comments
Confirm choice
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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72
Results and
and Comments
Correspondence between
Cell Ids and Cell names
Tick the names of individuals to notify and click on the send button. Mail notification is done
on the newly attributed CI values.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
73
improvement in the quality of service provided to clients and secondly the well structured and
organised identification plan for cells hence proper management.
This work is just a first mile stone among several, since there are other aspects that can be
done to ameliorate it. These aspects include: Considering other sources for drive test log files
(like QVOICE which is also used in Orange Cameroon), since only TEMS Investigation log
files where used here. Also, proposing local frequency changes to minimise interferences will
be very good. Finally, offering the possibility for the detection of interferences (co-channel
and adjacent channel) caused by signals from the transmitters of other operators will go a
long way for the improvement of this work.
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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74
Electronic Documents
[8] EFORT, GSM : Global System for Mobile Communications Architecture,
Interfaces et Identits, EFORT 2008,
http://www.efort.com/r_tutoriels/GSM1_EFORT.pdf
[9] M.R.L Hodges, GSM Radio interface, Br Telecom Technol J Vol 8 No 1 January
1990, www.telecom.cpehn.be/doc/fichiers/Hodges.pd
[10] R J RUMMEL, THE CORRELETION COEFFICIENT, Honolulu:
Department of Political Science University of Hawaii, 1976,
http://www.mega.nu/ampp/rummel/uc.htm
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
End of course Dissertation written by: CHEFUH DIVINE NGWA June 2011
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Annex
ANNEX
Table 21: Template for exporting TEMS log file
ARFCN BCCH
Hopping
Cell Name
HSN
RxLev Sub (dBm)
Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[1]
Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[2]
Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[3]
Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[4]
All-Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[5]
Neighbor Cell Name (Sorted)[6]
Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[1]
Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[2]
Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[3]
Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[4]
Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[5]
All-Neighbor RxLev (dBm) (Sorted)[6]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[1]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[2]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[3]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[4]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[5]
Neighbor ARFCN (Sorted)[6]
Hopping List
Hardware Configuration
For proper functioning, the application needs the following minimum hardware
configuration:
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Annex
Source codes for generation of .im1 interference matrices (others are
similar). The codes are in PHP.
<?php
if(array_key_exists(9,$row)){
$val = 0;
$server = $row[9];
set_time_limit($val);
ini_set('memory_limit',"512M");
for($i=1;$i<7;$i++){
function diff($n)
$j = $i + 17;
$k = $i + 11;
if(array_key_exists(11,$row) &&
array_key_exists($j,$row) &&
array_key_exists($k,$row)){
$a = abs(-12 - $n);
return($a);
}
$interferer = $row[$k];
}
if($interferer != '' && $server != ''){
$SERVER[] = $server;
# Fields are:
$INTERFERER[] = $interferer;
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
$CIR[] = $cir;
}
#Transmitter
Interferer
Probability
#----------------------------------------------------------------------#
}
}
array_multisort($SERVER,$INTERFERER,$CIR);
$samples = count($SERVER);
$unique = array_unique($SERVER);
##--------------------------------------------------------------------#';
$S_list = array_values($unique);
$Sorter = array_values(array_flip($unique));
// Define content
$condition1 = count($S_list);
while (!feof($file1)){
if($i == $condition1-1){
$nbr = $samples-$Sorter[$i];
Design and Implementation of a Toolkit for the Processing of files issued from Radio Measurements and the Automatic Allocation of Cell Ids to New Cells
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Annex
$i_list =
array_slice($INTERFERER,$Sorter[$i],$nbr);
$Occurance_list[] =
$flipper[$CIR_list[$x+1]] $flipper[$CIR_list[$x]];
$cir_short_list =
array_slice($CIR,$Sorter[$i],$nbr);
$offset1 = count($cir_list);
$nbr = $Sorter[$i+1]-$Sorter[$i];
$i_list =
array_slice($INTERFERER,$Sorter[$i],$nbr);
$cir_short_list =
array_slice($CIR,$Sorter[$i],$nbr);
$offset2 = count($CIR_list)-1;
$offset3 = $CIR_list[$offset2];
$Occurance_list[] = $offset1 $flipper[$offset3];
//We now have CIR_list and occurances for given
server S_list[$i], interferer I_list[$k] and
$Occurance_list.
}
array_multisort($i_list,$cir_short_list);
$unique2 = array_unique($i_list);
$I_list = array_values($unique2);
$sum = array_sum($Occurance_list);
$Sorter2 =
array_values(array_flip($unique2));
$condition4 = count($CIR_list);
//calculate occurance probabilities
$samples2 = count($i_list);
$cumulative = 0;
//We now have I_list for given server S_list[$i]
for($p = 0; $p < $condition4; $p++){
$condition2 = count($I_list);
for($k = 0; $k < $condition2; $k++){
//filter out C/I list or CIR_list for server interferer.
if($k == $condition2-1){
$nbr2 = $samples2-$Sorter2[$k];
$cir_list =
array_slice($cir_short_list,$Sorter2[$k],$nbr2);
}else if($k != $condition2-1){
$nbr2 = $Sorter2[$k+1]-$Sorter2[$k];
$cir_list =
array_slice($cir_short_list,$Sorter2[$k],$nbr2);
$Occurance_list[$p] =
$Occurance_list[$p]/$sum;
$cumulative = $cumulative +
$Occurance_list[$p];
}
for($q = 0; $q < $condition4-1; $q++)
{
$cumulative = $cumulative $Occurance_list[$q];
$Occurance_list[$q] =
round($cumulative, 3);
}//end
}
sort($cir_list);
$unique_CIR = array_unique($cir_list);
$CIR_list = array_values($unique_CIR);
$flipper = array_flip($unique_CIR);
$condition3 = count($flipper)-1;
$cumulative = abs($cumulative
- $Occurance_list[$condition4-1]);
$Occurance_list[$condition4-1]
= round($cumulative, 3);
//start C/I filter here
if($condition4 > 24){
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Annex
$diff_list = array_map("diff", $CIR_list);
$i_list = array();
$min = min($diff_list);
$cir_list = array();
$index = array_search($min,$diff_list);
$Occurance_list = array();
$list = array_slice($CIR_list,$index,24)
$CIR_list = $list;
$vals = array_slice($Occurance_list,$index,24);
$file = fopen($outputIM, 'w');
$Occurance_list = $vals;
fwrite($file, $Content);
fclose($file);
$list = array_slice($CIR_list,$index,$length);
$CIR_list = $list;
$vals =
array_slice($Occurance_list,$index,$length);
include("includes/DBConn.php");
$Occurance_list = $vals;
$titleFile = $_GET['chosenFMT'];
$tempVariable = explode('.',$titleFile);
$nameMatrix = $tempVariable[0];
$newCount = count($CIR_list);
$nameMatrix .= $timeStamp;
$nameMatrix .= '.im0';
$sizeMatrix = round(filesize($outputIM)/1024,3);
//file size in Kbytes
$query2 = mysql_query("SELECT
MAX(`codeMatrix`)
";
$Content .= "BCCH,TCH";
$Content .= "
";
$Content .= "$I_list[$k]";
$Content .= "
";
$Content .= $CIR_list[$q];
$Content .= " ";
$Content .= $Occurance_list[$q];
FROM `interferencematrix`");
$result2 = mysql_fetch_row($query2);
$codeMatrix = $result2[0];
$query3 = mysql_query("SELECT `codeFile`
FROM `logfile`
}
}
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Annex
//$num = mysql_num_rows($query3);
//for($i=0; $i<$num; $i++){
$result3 = mysql_fetch_row($query3);
$codeFile = $result3[0];
$query4 = mysql_query("INSERT INTO
export(idExport, codeFile, codeMatrix, date)
VALUES('', '$codeFile', '$codeMatrix', '$date')");
//end of database upgrade.
$val = 30;
set_time_limit($val);
ini_set('memory_limit',"128M");
?>
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