POST LAUNCH TUNING –

Troubleshooting guidelines
Accessibility
 CS/PS
Accessibility
(Ericsson Classification)

RRC RAB
 Hardware/Ant
enna alarms,
VSWR CS/PS Accessibility

(RRC)

MP Load Adm Control License Node Blocking Transport Blocking

•Check MP load
•1-Adm Control •Check for
•RBS specific •Check for node
congestion on user
•2-Check available parameters configuration
plane (AAL2)/ control
resources (Downlink error/mismatch,
plane (UniSaal
Tx power, node limitations or
/SCTP) for IuB
Channelization •Verify /correct transport network
resources.
codes).This is low individual licensed layer service
possibility since ,at this capacity levels for the unavailability. • Expand TN
stage, resources node. bandwidth
required are much
•b) Check Channel
lower than at RAB
elements usage trends
stage. •Check IuCs / IuPs
succ rate, affects all
cells in RNC
Hardware/Ant
enna alarms,
VSWR CS/PS Accessibility

(RAB)

Node Blocking Transport Blocking

Congestion •Check for congestion on user plane

Check for node
(AAL2)/ control plane (UniSaal /SCTP)
configuration
for IuB resources.
error, node
limitations or • Expand TN bandwidth
transport network
layer service
unavailability.
 CS/PS Accessibility

(RAB)

Congestion

DL Power Code Hardware Resource Connection Limit

Verify Admission settings

Check if Maximum
Transmission Power is
aligned with MaxDlCapability
Increase PwrAdm, Reduce
PwrOffset
Explore IFLS with other
Carrier
Enable or Increase Directed
Retry to GSM
Reduce sf16Adm/sf8Adm
Add another Carrier
(Refer slide 39 for details)
Check dlCodeAdm /Usage trends for
values if adjustment is different SF RAB.
still possible
Check Locked TX/RAX
Reduce 384k Users on Boards Fine tune parameter
DL (sf8Adm) Check hanging CE settings to maintain
balance between
Reduce HS-PDSCH
Check HS/EUL resource Accessibility &
Codes allocation ul/dlHwAdm throughput.
parameter in Iublink
Reduce HS-SCCH
Codes
(Refer slide 41 for Reduce
details) eulServing/NonServingAdm
Add,Replace RAX/TX Boards
 CS/PS Accessibility

(RAB)

Hardware Fault

RSSI Alarms

Transimission Errors
Escalate
Incorrect
Attenuation/Losses Escalate
TMA UL Gain
Parameter Check

External
Interference(UL
RSSI problem even
during off-peak
hours)
UL line physical
problems (UL RSSI
issue worst during
peak hours)
Accessibility/Block Reasons
• Common Failure Reasons
• Lack of DL Power
• Lack of DL Code
• Lack of UL/DL Hardware Resource
• Exceed Connection Limits (for PS)
• Iub Congestions
• UL RSSI
• HW or T1 Faults
• Neighbor site/cell down

• Admission Control - Set of rules that determines whether a UE is granted access on

making a connection request. Admission control is also used when adding a RAB , or
a new RL via SHO or upswitch of services
 RRC/RAB FailuresAfterAdm
• These can include failures for reasons that are Transport Network (TN)
related as well as not TN-related.

• RAB and RRC establishment failures which occur after admission control
can be due to
• timeout in the UE, RNC or RBS.
• invalid parameter settings.
• TN failure/ HW capacity reasons.
• If it disconnects with RRC you may get an Abnormal
Disconnect message which is failure to setup a call.
Accessibility
Lack of DL Power – Admission Control
• Counter: pmNoFailedRabEstAttemptLackDlPwr
• Suggestions:
1. Make sure maxTransmissionPower is set at the same level as maxDlPowerCapability. DL
Attenuation (feeder, TMA) is correctly set.
2. Apply suitable downtilts if cell is an overshooter or has high coverage overlays with
neighbors.
3. Adjust Parameters PwrAdm+PwrOffset but SHO & HS channels will have less power
available. pwrAdm + pwrOffset = 75 + 15 -> 85 + 10 -> 90 + 5
4. Set GSM direct retry target on parameter: directedRetryTarget. Adjust Directed Retry
Thresholds (% of pwrAdm level to start directed retry) loadSharingGSMThreshold; and
Fractions (% of traffic to shift to GSM) loadSharingGSMFraction .
5. Reduce R99 traffic by sf8Adm = 8 -> 4 -> 2 -> 1 -> 0.sf16Adm = 16 -> 6
6. Adjust CPICH Power. (impact of reduced coverage)
7. Using offset parameters to offload traffics to neighbors:
– Qoffset1sn: applies RSCP offset to individual relations for cell reselection. Can be
Intra-F/IF reselection/ GSM (Check Qualmeasquantity= 0 or 1)
– Qoffset2sn: applies Ec/No offset to individual relations for cell reselection. Can be
Intra-F/IF reselection (Check Qualmeasquantity= 0 or 1)
– individualOffset: applies to all event triggers so use with caution and increases
SHO overhead (less HS power)
8. Increase qrxlevmin to shrink Idle mode footprint & avoid edge calls (high power demanding)
9. Reduce DL attenuation (e.g. better/shorter cables, Main-Remote cabinets)
10. Add additional carrier.
11. Consider the possibility of re-panning the azimuths if traffic is unbalance in this area.
Accessibility
Lack of DL CODE – Admission Control

Counter: pmNoFailedRabEstAttemptLackDlCode

Suggestions:
– Apply suitable downtilts if cell is an overshooter or has high coverage overlays with neighbors.

– Increase dlCodeAdm
› Con: Less codes reserved for SHO,& Dynamic HS.
› Reduce R99 traffic by sf8Adm = 2 -> 1 -> 0.sf16Adm = 16 -> 8. (note : SFxxAdm parameters only limit R99
SFxx connections.)

– Reduce number of reserved (SF16) HS codes (numHsPdschCodes)

– Use qrxlevmin and CPICH to control footprint, especially for HS and R99 users (use WMRR to see
distribution of RSCP samples)
Accessibility
Lack of UL/DL Hardware (CE) – Admission Control

› Counters: pmNoFailedRabEstAttemptLackUlHw ; pmNoFailedRabEstAttemptLackDlHw

› Suggestions:
1. For lack of hardware, check the off-peak hours for these counters. If the blocking
occurs during off-peak hours(low traffic but still high CE usage) then it could be the
“hanging resource” issue which can be usually fix by restart the TX or RAX boards
depending on DL or UL.
2. Adjust parameters dlHWAdm for DL resource and ulHWAdm for UL resource. Less
resource will be available to SHO.
3. Check the CE usage and add TX or RAX boards accordingly or replace them with
higher capacity versions.
4. Check if the CE license is the bottleneck.
5. Check for HS/EUL resource allocation (from OSS, Utran Report and verify it they are
according to guidelines) Ask UTRAN for support
6. Trial a lower (FIRS) UlprefRate/DlPrefrate absed on congestion in UL/DL
Accessibility
Exceed Connection Limits (For PS) – Admission Control

› Counter: pmNoFailedRabEstAttemptExceedConnLimit
The count increases when a PS RAB failed to establish due to SF connection limits
(defined by the SFAdm parameters) has been reached. This can happen either due to
UL or DL.

› Suggestions:
1. Adjust (increase) SFAdm parameters. Increasing SF4AdmUl from 0 ->4->6 has
shown to improve exceed conn limit. (affects only R99 UL connections, will increase
UL noise/load)
2. Increasing SFxxAdm (DL) can cause lack of DL power,code and has to be assessed
carefully.
 Accessibility
Failures After Adm

› Counter: pmNoFailedAfterAdm
The RRC and RAB fails after being admitted by the Admission Control.
› Possible Causes:
– Iub Congestion:
Check for AAL2 Setup failure for QoS Classes. Class A is CS. Class C is HS.
Counters are (pmUnSuccOutConnsLocalQosClassA; pmUnSuccInConnsLocalQosClassA;
pmUnSuccOutConnsRemoteQosClassA; pmUnSuccInConnsRemoteQosClassA).
UL RSSI:
Check the Quality Report for UL RTWP level.
– HW or T1 issues:
Check alarms and Transmission error seconds/unavailability.
Drop CS/PS
 CS/PS
Retainability

Missing Neighbour Soft Handover Uplink Sync IRAT Congestion Others

Check HW Alarms Check down switch Transport Issue

Check neighbor cell Identify the failing counter for
availability phase. congestion reason.
Check Transmission RBS / RNC HW
Add suggested
Errors issue
Neighbors with Drive Audit the External
Investigating the UE Investigate the RRC
Test data GSM Cell MO
TxPwr by using Access failure due to
with latest 2G lack of DL power & RF issues outside of
Analyze existing Check Cell Drive test data or
dump codes available counters
neighbors with 3G-3G Availability WMRR
cell relation report
Analyze cell
Analyze cell coverage by coverage by RF GSM coverage
Determine if the Perform analysis of UE issues
RF Planning tool /Drive Planning tool or area verification
issue affects only coverage area and
Test data/ Drive test data for IRAT
one cell or a RBS or reduce overshooting
neighbors
Down tilts or other cluster Check Cells doe
RSSI Issues
physical optimization Verify CE usage and
Re-prioritization HW allocation and
Verify for SC
the neighbor list dimensioning
Clashes based on usage
Drop Reasons

• Drops reasons based on counters:

• Due to Missing Neighbors

• Due to Soft Handover

• Due to UL Synchronization

• Due to Speech Congestion

• Due to Other
Retainability

• Drops due to Missing Neighbors

• Counter: pmNoSysRelSpeechNeighbr

• Suggestions:
1. Check inter-site distance to determine if they need to be added
2. Check neighbor cell availability. If any of the neighbor cell is down, it can cause missing neighbor drops.
 Retainability - Drops due to Soft Handover

Counter: pmNoSysRelSpeechSoHo
This counter is pegged when the speech call release is due to inability to add a cell with or without
relation into the active set. So it also includes the missing neighbor drops.

Suggestions:
• Check 3G-3G Cell Relation Report on BO for both out-going and in-coming directions, to see which
relation/direction is the cause.
• Check Hourly SHO stats. If occurring during busy hours, identify the cause and relieve congestion
on target cell.
• If SHO fails in off-peak hours then it is not lack of resource or Admission Control. Check cell
availability/reserved, Iub configurations and UL RSSI for target cell.Check Alarms/T1/UL
RSSI/HW/MP Load for the cell and its neighbors.
• Check Scrambling Code Collisions.
• If SHO fail rate is high on many relations, the issue could be with Source cell. Check admission
control parameters such pwrAdm(90) + pwrOffset(9), DLCodeAdm(95), to see if there is sufficient
margin available for SHO
• Trial Ind Offset(0) to increase(faster HO) or decrease (delayed HO) the SHO area with the problem
neighbor.
 Flowchart – drop due to Sho
High number of Drops due to SoHo

the issue could be with Source

cell.Check admission control
parameters such pwrAdm, Identify
Are missing Yes
DLCodeAdm, UL/DL HWAdm missing
Nbr drops
to see if there is sufficient Nbrs with
also high
& add
resources available for SHO
Several relations No
having moderate
Cell maybe serving a RF SHO fail rate Check SHO
area having sudden Success rate
per Nbr
interference changes. Check if Coverage overlap is
relation
Identify some sufficient. Increase footprint
relations with using Tilts or CPICH
high SHO fail rate
Is relation defined
correctly in Is Nbr site having HW issues,
Yes
UtranRelation MO UL RSSI,or Congestion due
(Target RNC, to Trasnport,pwr or other
RelationID = Target resources. Fix nbr site
cellname)

Is it Inter-RNC relation?
Check Iur Definitions &
Delete and re-define
investigate other relations
over same Iur.

Increase IndOffset to expand HO

Reduce interference with
area. Monitor power utilization to Check for SC Collisions.
tilt or CPICH changes avoid Acc/Throughput issue
 Retainability-Drops due to UL Sync
• Counter: pmNoSysRelSpeechUlSynch
This counter is Incremented by one when the speech call release is due to the timer dchRcLostT
expires.

• Suggestions:
1. Resolve Missing nbrs & SoHo issues, if any.
2. Check Alarms/T1/UL RSSI/HW/MP Load for the cell.
3. Check Prop delay and Drive test for radio condition. Check the UE Tx Power . If RSCP is bad, site
needs to be optimized for coverage by up tilting (coverage hole) and if EcNo is bad ,down tilt to
reduce pollution.
4. Check IRAT failure rates. Audit 2G (IRAT) neighbor list to see if there is missing 2G neighbors. This
may be especially true for cells on the border of the 3Gcoverage area
5. Check for UL RSSI issues on the neighbor cells as well.
6. Limit qRxlevmin(-115) to avoid taking far away samples (calls starting at low quality and dropping
immediately).
7. Cell maybe serving a radio environment with a relatively high number of UEs experiencing sudden
interference changes (generally caused by bridges, buildings, tunnels, steep hilly terrain, etc). As a
consequence of these changes, power utilization is higher. failures.
8. An external UL interference source may also be the cause of UL sync drops
 Solutions to control Drops due to ULsync & Others
1) minpwrMax(-15): Defines the maximum power per Radio Link relative to CPICH power where Radio Link bit
rates are equal to or below minimumRate (15.9 Kbps). Increasing this parameter, provides more power for CS
users on the cell edge, at the expense of DL power.
• Connections that fall into this range are: Signaling Radio Bearers (3.7 Kbps), Standalone Signaling Radio
Bearers (14.8 Kbps), Conversational Circuit Switch Speech AMR 12.2 Kbps (15.9 Kbps)
2) minpwrRL(-150): By changing this parameter, the minimum power given per radio link is increased, therefore
the starting point for power control ramping is higher, avoiding deep power decreases due to good RF
conditions. Hence the radio link become now less sensitive to sudden RF conditions degradation.
3) rlfailureT(10): Increasing the time before the radio link is considered out of sync, can lead to the signal
recovering and the call being saved from being dropped
4) noutsyncInd(10): Increasing the consecutive no. of errored radio frames can lead to the delay in UE entering
the “Out-of-Sync” state and the delay in starting the rlfailureT timer.
Flowchart – drop due High number of Drops due to UL Sync
to ulsync
Are there
drops due to Resolve missing nbrs and
missing SHO drops
nbr/SHO
Yes
also

Improve Ecno in the

Is cell coverage area by using
overshooting downTilts or CPICH changes

No
Nbring site might be overshooting. Use
No WNCS to identify boomers and control
pollution
Increase minpwrmax. Ensure Yes
Is Ecno in cell’s
cell is not power-congested coverage area No
(Use busy hour stats) good
No Change IRAT thresholds
Yes
Yes
Increase minpwrRl. Ensure
cell is not power-congested
(Use busy hour stats)
Possible external interference.
Check UL RSSI

Increase rlFailureT &

If the RF serving area has
nOutsyncInd.
Sudden Ecno changes
(tunnels,bridges)
Increase (or decrease) Ind
offset to improve SHO area
 Retainability – due to speech congestion

• Drops due to Speech Congestion

• Counter: pmNoOfTermSpeechCong
This counter is Incremented by one when the speech call release is due to congestion. The connection is terminated by RNC.

• Suggestions:
1. Check admission counters(LackdlCode, lackdlpwr, UL/DLHwAdm)
2. Check for MPLoad. (Suggest temporary traffic-offloading)
3. Check for Iub congestion. (Suggest temporary traffic-offloading)
4. Verify CE usage and HW allocation and dimensioning
5. Check for special events (sports/festivals/holidays/accidents) or if a site nearby was down.
Retainability-Drops due to Others
• KPI Formula:
Drop Due to Other = pmNoSystemRabReleaseSpeech –pmNoSysRelSpeechUlSynch –
pmNoSysRelSpeechSoHo - pmNoOfTermSpeechCong

Basically all other speech drops which were not pegged in any of the speech drop counters described in the
previous slides.

• Suggestions:
1. Resolve missing nbrs, SoHo, UL sync issues if any before “other” drops
2. Check Alarms/T1/UL RSSI/HW/VSWR/MPLoad for the cell.
3. Check WMRR and Propagation Delay to improve radio condition and coverage range.
4. Assess the terrain profile and see if tilt can be adjusted.
5. Check Iub Congestions.
6. Check SHO/IRAT/IFHO failure rates. Optimize the respective (SHO/IRAT/IFHO) nbr list
7. Trial hotype and Adjust 2d thresholds (usedFreqThresh2dRscp, usedFreqThresh2dEcNo) if
coverage is weak in the area.
8. Check for RAX/TX board errors,
9. Check Scrambling Code Collision.
HSDPA
Low HSDPA throughput

The causes of the low HSDPA throughput:

› Resources Shortages
› Bad CQI
› HW issue
› High R99 users
Resources Shortages
pmRemainingResourceCheck: indicates the reason why it is not possible to schedule
another high-speed user.

[0]: HS-SCCH code shortage

[1]: HS-PDSCH code shortage
[2]: HS-PDSCH power shortage
Example
Bad CQI
CQI: radio condition:
The radio conditions (CPICH Ec/No, CPICH RSCP, CQI …) have an impact on cell
throughput.
Bad radio conditions means:
Bad CPICH Ec/No,
Bad CPICH RSCP (bad coverage).
Pilot pollution.
High UL interference.

Bad radio conditions have a negative influence on cell throughput.

HW issue
HW issue:

• RAX/TX board errors,

• Alarms/T1/UL RSSI/HW/VSWR for the cell
• Faulty RET and TMA
High R99 traffic

• CE ul congestion
• HS user shortage