Analyzer Solution Overview
Contents Introduction............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... ......................................................... ....................... 3 Actix Company overview.................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... .............................................................. ........................... 3 Analyzer Overview Overview ............................. ................................................................ .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................ ..... 3 Use Cases......................................... .......................................................................... ................................................................... .................................................................... ............................................. ........... 4 Accelerating Accelerating Technology Rollout ............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ......................................................... ....................... 4 Network Acceptance ............................................... ................................................................................ .................................................................... ................................................... ................ 4 LTE Rollout .............................. ................................................................. .................................................................... ................................................................... ............................................. ........... 5 New Device Rollout ............................................................................ .............................................................................................................. ........................................................ ...................... 6 In-building/Venue In-building/Venue Rollout ................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 7 Improving Customer Experience Experience ................................................................... ...................................................................................................... ................................................... ................ 7 Voice Service Analysis ............................................................ .............................................................................................. .................................................................... .................................. 7 Data Services Analysis...................................... Analysis........................................................................ .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 8 Competitive Benchmarking Benchmarking ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 9 Increasing Operational Efficiency Efficiency ............................................................................. ................................................................................................................ ...................................... ... 10 Best Practice Encapsulation Encapsulation ..................................................... ....................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 10 Process Automation..................................... Automation...................................................................... .................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 10 Expert Troubleshooting Troubleshooting ...................................................... ....................................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 11 Features....................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 12 Data Processing................................... .................................................................... .................................................................. .................................................................... ...................................... ... 12 Multi-vendor Multi-vendor and multi-technology multi-technology ...................................... ....................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 12 Import/edit network configuration information........... information............................................ .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 13 Data aggregation and binning............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ....................................................... ..................... 14 Configurable batch data processing ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 14 Text import and export .............................. ................................................................. ...................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 14 Visualization Visualization ................................. .................................................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 15 Synchronized maps, charts, graphs, tables and state views................................ .................................................................. ........................................... ......... 15 Message level investigation investigation ................................................................. ................................................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 20 Geographic polygons for filtering and analysis ....................................... ......................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 21 Screen layouts...................................... layouts........................................................................ ................................................................... ................................................................. ................................ 22 Replay of a drive survey .......................................................................... ............................................................................................................. ................................................. .............. 22 Analysis......................................................................... ........................................................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 23 Spotlight automated analysis ............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ....................................................... ..................... 23 Delta Analysis .............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... ........................................... .......... 25 User defined queries and KPIs ........................................................................ .......................................................................................................... ........................................... ......... 26 User Defined Events ............................. ............................................................... ..................................................................... .................................................................. ............................... 27 Filtering of measurements measurements and KPIs ................................................................................ ........................................................................................................... ........................... 27 Correlation of data from different vendors and sources (scanner, UE, call trace, IP sniffer) ............................... 28 Report...................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................ .................................................................. ................................ 28 Generation pre-defined reports ................................ ................................................................. .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 29 Creation of customized reports ................................................................. .................................................................................................... ................................................. .............. 29 Configuration ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 30 Operations......................................................................... ........................................................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 31 Requirements Requirements............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 31 Licensing ............................... .................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 31 Stand-alone Licensing ........................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................... ...................................... ... 31 Network Licensing ....................................... ........................................................................ .................................................................. ............................................................ ........................... 32 Support........................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 33 Introduction.................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................................ ........................... 33 Support and Maintenance Maintenance .................................................................................. .................................................................................................................... ........................................... ......... 33 Best Practice Process and Methodology.............................. ................................................................ .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 33 Global Presence................................... .................................................................... .................................................................. .................................................................... ...................................... ... 33 MyActix On-line Support Portal .................................... ..................................................................... .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 33 Maintenance Maintenance Software Updates.............................. ............................................................... .................................................................... ....................................................... .................... 34 Service Offering at a Glance.................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 34 Support Plan ........................................................................ ......................................................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 35 Actix Application Support ............................... .................................................................. ...................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 35 Support Communication Communication Channels ...................................................................................... ................................................................................................................. ........................... 35
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Contents Introduction............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... ......................................................... ....................... 3 Actix Company overview.................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... .............................................................. ........................... 3 Analyzer Overview Overview ............................. ................................................................ .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................ ..... 3 Use Cases......................................... .......................................................................... ................................................................... .................................................................... ............................................. ........... 4 Accelerating Accelerating Technology Rollout ............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ......................................................... ....................... 4 Network Acceptance ............................................... ................................................................................ .................................................................... ................................................... ................ 4 LTE Rollout .............................. ................................................................. .................................................................... ................................................................... ............................................. ........... 5 New Device Rollout ............................................................................ .............................................................................................................. ........................................................ ...................... 6 In-building/Venue In-building/Venue Rollout ................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 7 Improving Customer Experience Experience ................................................................... ...................................................................................................... ................................................... ................ 7 Voice Service Analysis ............................................................ .............................................................................................. .................................................................... .................................. 7 Data Services Analysis...................................... Analysis........................................................................ .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 8 Competitive Benchmarking Benchmarking ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... ........................................................ ...................... 9 Increasing Operational Efficiency Efficiency ............................................................................. ................................................................................................................ ...................................... ... 10 Best Practice Encapsulation Encapsulation ..................................................... ....................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 10 Process Automation..................................... Automation...................................................................... .................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 10 Expert Troubleshooting Troubleshooting ...................................................... ....................................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 11 Features....................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 12 Data Processing................................... .................................................................... .................................................................. .................................................................... ...................................... ... 12 Multi-vendor Multi-vendor and multi-technology multi-technology ...................................... ....................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 12 Import/edit network configuration information........... information............................................ .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 13 Data aggregation and binning............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ....................................................... ..................... 14 Configurable batch data processing ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 14 Text import and export .............................. ................................................................. ...................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 14 Visualization Visualization ................................. .................................................................. ................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 15 Synchronized maps, charts, graphs, tables and state views................................ .................................................................. ........................................... ......... 15 Message level investigation investigation ................................................................. ................................................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 20 Geographic polygons for filtering and analysis ....................................... ......................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 21 Screen layouts...................................... layouts........................................................................ ................................................................... ................................................................. ................................ 22 Replay of a drive survey .......................................................................... ............................................................................................................. ................................................. .............. 22 Analysis......................................................................... ........................................................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 23 Spotlight automated analysis ............................ ............................................................. ................................................................... ....................................................... ..................... 23 Delta Analysis .............................................................................................. ............................................................................................................................... ........................................... .......... 25 User defined queries and KPIs ........................................................................ .......................................................................................................... ........................................... ......... 26 User Defined Events ............................. ............................................................... ..................................................................... .................................................................. ............................... 27 Filtering of measurements measurements and KPIs ................................................................................ ........................................................................................................... ........................... 27 Correlation of data from different vendors and sources (scanner, UE, call trace, IP sniffer) ............................... 28 Report...................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................ .................................................................. ................................ 28 Generation pre-defined reports ................................ ................................................................. .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 29 Creation of customized reports ................................................................. .................................................................................................... ................................................. .............. 29 Configuration ............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 30 Operations......................................................................... ........................................................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 31 Requirements Requirements............................... ................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 31 Licensing ............................... .................................................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 31 Stand-alone Licensing ........................................................................................ ........................................................................................................................... ...................................... ... 31 Network Licensing ....................................... ........................................................................ .................................................................. ............................................................ ........................... 32 Support........................................................................................ .......................................................................................................................... .................................................................. ................................ 33 Introduction.................................................................................... ..................................................................................................................... ............................................................ ........................... 33 Support and Maintenance Maintenance .................................................................................. .................................................................................................................... ........................................... ......... 33 Best Practice Process and Methodology.............................. ................................................................ .................................................................... ........................................... ......... 33 Global Presence................................... .................................................................... .................................................................. .................................................................... ...................................... ... 33 MyActix On-line Support Portal .................................... ..................................................................... .................................................................... ................................................. .............. 33 Maintenance Maintenance Software Updates.............................. ............................................................... .................................................................... ....................................................... .................... 34 Service Offering at a Glance.................................. .................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................................... .................... 34 Support Plan ........................................................................ ......................................................................................................... .................................................................... ...................................... ... 35 Actix Application Support ............................... .................................................................. ...................................................................... ............................................................ ......................... 35 Support Communication Communication Channels ...................................................................................... 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Introduction Actix Company overview Actix is the world leader in mobile network analytics and optimization, with more than 230 operator customers, including 25 of the top 30 operators worldwide. In 1997, Actix invented the world's first multi-vendor mobile network analytics post processing tool, Analyzer, which is the current de facto global standard. In 2007, Actix delivered another world first, a new category of software software for automating mobile network analytics and optimization, optimizati on, ActixOne. This optimization platform encompasses solutions to assure network rollout quality, improve customer experience and accomplish accomplis h multivendor network optimization. Already deployed at 6 of the top 10 operators, ActixOne helps operators successfully manage their increasingly complex ecosystem of customers and suppliers.
Analyzer Overview Analyzer is a desktop solution for drive test post-processing supporting network optimization, network acceptance and validation. In use at over 230 operators, including 25 of the top 30, Analyzer supports 2G, 3G and now LTE rollout s with flexible and powerful drive survey analytics.
Multi-vendor and multi-technology: ensuring multi-technology: ensuring support for all data sources now and in the future
KPI reporting: sophisticated reporting: sophisticated management quality KPI reports for acceptance of network improvements
Ease of use: mapuse: map-centric centric visualization organized around an engineer’s most common tasks
Spotlight automated analysis: embedded analysis: embedded workflow automating identification, analysis and diagnosis of the most common issues Data services analysis: embedded analysis: embedded workflow specifically focused on the issues impacting user experience of data services 2G, 3G and LTE: comprehensive LTE: comprehensive support for GSM, GPRS, CDMA, EVDO, WiMAX, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE across all chipsets, devices and test equipment Indoor: support Indoor: support for all indoor test equipment, enabling validation of the indoor network and its interaction with the macro network Configurability: streamline Configurability: streamline the testing of new technologies and services and share expertise with the engineering team.
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Use Cases Analyzer enables operators in a number of their challenges in mobile network optimization.
Accelerating Technology Rollout With the rise of the mobile internet, the mobile network has become a source of critical performance and capacity bottlenecks. The two major sources of the bottlenecks are capacity limitations in the radio link and base station backhaul. Upgrading backhaul with Ethernet, fiber and microwave technology will take time but will eventually remove backhaul as a key bottleneck. That will leave the radio link as the key capacity bottleneck in the mobile network. On top of that, the mobile data performance of today’s 3G radio link technologies falls far short of the fixed line experience that mobile internet users desire. The good news is that new radio network technologies such as HSPA+ and LTE improve both capacity and performance at the same time, with LTE delivering the greatest capacity and performance improvements. In addition, new HSPA sites and carriers can be used to effectively increase data network capacity. As a result, aggressive rollouts of new HSPA sites and carriers and HSPA+ technology are well underway and more than 100 LTE rollouts are underway or planned over the next several years. With data demand projected to lead to a 40x increase in traffic by 2014, this rollout trend is expected to persist for the next 10 years as HSPA+ and then LTE rolls out globally. Network Acceptance Network rollout is a high risk activity for operators; the ROI of the rollout is dependent on an on-time and on-quality delivery of the network. If the network is not rolled out on time, operators face product launch delays, regulatory compliance issues, and extensions to the rollout operation resulting in revenue loss and increased costs. If the delivered network does not have sufficient quality, operators will experience lower service uptake, higher levels of customer dissatisfaction, increased post launch optimization costs, and a reputation for poor network quality. Compounding these risks, operators hand complete control of the rollout pr ocess to network equipment providers. This gives the network equipment provider responsibility for meeting both rollout schedules and network quality, enabling them to trade off network quality to meet contractual deadlines. Network Acceptance is the process by which a mobile network operator ensures that deployed network equipment meets performance targets prior to launch. Network Acceptance, if used effectively, provides a powerful mechanism for operators to control network rollout and maximize network launch quality However, many operators fail to execute an effective network acceptance process due to a number of issues:
Ambiguous quality measures: Ambiguous acceptance KPI definitions and a lack of transparency extend negotiations between the operator and the NEP. Limited resources: Operators have insufficient resources to pro-actively accept all sites and defer to the NEP for acceptance Poor central visibility: Existing highly distributed approaches make it difficult to build a centralized view of the network rollout.
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Analyzer provides Operators with a pro-active and comprehensive network acceptance process that:
Ensures the network meets clear and unambiguous operator requirements for network quality. Enables operators to take a hands-on approach to acceptance and independently accept all sites to validate network quality. Provides central visibility at all levels of the operator to enable effective rollout management.
LTE Rollout The mobile internet is here and many mobile networks are experiencing a year on year doubling in the volumes of data traffic they need to support. For most operators the only cost effective strategy to cope with this exponential data growth is the deployment of LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks. LTE will enable operators to carry data traffic at a lower cost per bit than current network technologies thanks to improved spectral efficiency, a simpler all IP architecture, increased equipment standardization and improved operational efficiency through SON. However, LTE is a new and evolving standard and to realize its full potential operators need to measure, validate and maximize real world performance during the early phases of network rollout. Drive testing will be a key feature of the LTE rollout process and operators and vendors need a post processing tool able to support:
Acceptance Testing: A detailed acceptance process will enable operators and vendors to ensure the correct performance of their LTE networks prior to launch. To do this it is essential that they capture the right performance measures, get the correct diagnoses for problems and receive accurate guidance on how best to resolve issues. Planning Validation: Network planners need to understand if theoretical models used in planning tools are accurate. Functional Testing: During the early phases of rollout basic functional testing is required to ensure the network is ready to handle traffic.
To complicate matters LTE provides unique features that will present new measurement challenges:
LTE features such as MIMO offer the possibility of higher data rates but are not achievable in all network conditions. The success of LTE rollouts will depend on understanding when and where the new features are available, in use and what improvements they deliver. LTE is first and foremost a data network. Voice measures like drop call rate (DCR) are both easy to measure and broadly representative of customer experience. In contrast data networks require complex KPIs that measure both the underlying IP network and the services, such as web surfing, video streaming and Twitter updates that run over it. Inter technology handover is a traditional weakness in new networks technologies. Initial LTE deployments will provide capacity overlays in data hotspots, meaning that successful handover to 3G networks will be critical to maintaining user experience.
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Actix is maintaining its leadership in mobile network analytics and has gained real world LTE experience in research projects, test networks and standards bodies. Actix is already helping the leading edge operators in the process of rolling out some of the world’s first LTE networks and has been nominated for an Informa Award recognizing LTE industry leadership. Operators and vendors require a powerful and flexible post processing tool that has been specifically built for LTE. Analyzer for LTE is the leading multi-vendor post processing solution for LTE on the market today; it features:
Full support for LTE scanners and Ue devices Detailed LTE measurements with flexible KPI definition for Radio Quality CQI, RSRP, RSRQ, Modulation & coding, Frame usage, MIMO analysis, Scheduler variations, Resource allocation, RRC and NAS Event analysis
Dedicated data service analysis for troubleshooting data services
Performance reports for use in Acceptance Testing
New Device Rollout Increasing competition is challenging operators to offer new, feature rich devices that offer everything from web browsing to 3-D gaming. At the same time operators are feeling pressure to reduce the cost of these devices, often offering large subsidies to bring the price down and attract customers to their new services. Operators need to find methods for testing these much more sophisticated devices while minimizing the costs associated with bringing a new device to market. Major operators are publicly acknowledging that the flood of smartphones and data devices has broken traditional testing approaches. With the complexity of data devices, post-launch problems are the new norm, from high profile hardware issues to more subtle mobility, RF or call quality issues. Analyzer enables engineers in device testing labs to streamline many aspects of the verification process. Actix solution automates the process of validating handset performance against pre-defined criteri a. When a device does not meet performance standards Analyzer enables engineers to determine the cause of the issue, isolating away network and other non-handset-related factors. Ultimately, the number of times a handset is rejected and/or returned for additional development is minimized, significantly reducing the time and cost associated with launching new devices.
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In-building/Venue Rollout As wireless phone usage becomes ever-present, subscribers take for granted the ability to use their ph ones indoors as well as outdoors. As 3G and 4G data services become more readily available, subscribers will want to use these services in airports, hotels, and other indoor locations. Analyzer geo-references all collected RF measurements and events and overlays them with an image for visualizing the layout of the building or venue and measurements are distributed linearly across the image using waypoint interpolation. Sophisticated KPI reports can be generated to automatically evaluate the readiness of the in-building network ahead of launch.
Improving Customer Experience With the arrival of 3.5G and 4G data network technology, mobile networks are now more complex than ever before. Many operators are deploying HSPA, HSPA+ or LTE technology in new bands which have varying RF characteristics and most operators are adding new sites and carriers to ramp up their data capacity. Relative to voice services, data services are inherently more challenging to troubleshoot given the number of applications offered and the complexity of how various factors such as throughput and latency influence the customer’s experience of each application. Furthermore, the introduction of a multitude of complex smartphones and new core network technology adds even more complexity to the network. The net impact of these layers of network complexity is a dramatic, corresponding increase in the complexity of performance problems. With a rush of increasingly complex network problems, and few, if any, new engineering resources, many operators are struggling to maintain an excellent customer experience. Problem resolution has become increasingly inefficient and ineffective as problems with high business impact are lost in a sea of issues, and problems which have very simple rootcauses (such as temporary or planned outages), take up an inordinate amount of effort. Analyzer enables optimization teams to analyze Network Performance using drive survey and subscriber trace data. The software analyzes IP and application layers to identify data service issues and then uses automated diagnostics to detect RF problems causing the issues. Using this information, experienced optimization teams can determine solutions to address the issues. This approach is ideal for smaller teams of expert users, who may need to perform advanced or ad hoc analyses of the data. Voice Service Analysis Wireless Voice services continue to be an important source of revenue and profits for the mobile network operator. To maximize the profit potential of voice and to keep the increasing level of competition at bay, carriers must seek to maximize the subscribers’ quality of service by maximizing coverage and voice quality while minimizing call failures. With Actix Analyzer, operators can quickly and effectively evaluate the performance of their voice network. Actix Analyzer automatically diagnose potential reasons for poor voice performance and recommends possible solutions.
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Data Services Analysis The mobile internet is here and now with over a third of all phones being sold Smartphones, operators have to cope with data volumes that are doubling year on year. Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast (TB per Month) 3.6 2.2 1.2 0.09
0.2
0.6
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
For Some Operators, LTE is a reality today, or is on the horizon - Promising increased network data capacity at a lower cost per bit. However due to spectrum availability (especially in coverage bands) and high rollout costs most operators remain focused on getting the most out of their existing data networks. For these operators, this means extending the capacity of their current HSPA networks through investment in additional carriers and the deployment of HSPA+. HSPA+ features such as 64QAM (higher order modulation) and MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) offer the possibility of higher data rates but are not achievable in all network conditions. The success of HSPA+ rollouts will depend on understanding when and where new the features are available, being used and what improvements are delivered. Data Service KPIs are different. For voice networks measurements like drop call rate (DCR) are both easy to measure and broadly representative of customer experience. For data networks more complex KPIs are required for example measures for average data throughput per session. Whereas circuit switched voice is effectively a single service network customers use the data networks to access a wide variety of services such as web surfing, video streaming and Twitter updates. To measure the performance of the data network operators need to measure the performance of the many different services that use that network. Operators still rely on drive testing to validate the performance of data network rollouts and as a result they require post processing tools that can analyze the latest network measurements and complex data services. Actix Analyzer enables engineers and vendors to quickly evaluate the behavior of packet data services and provides tools to troubleshoot the causes of poor data service performance. Analyzer enables engineers to quickly evaluate the end -to-end performance of the service and isolate areas of the network where data services are being impacted by the underlying network. In addition, Analyzer supports the analysis of measurements made by standard protocol analyzers and IP sniffers to enable engineers to compare service performance at each point in the network between the end-user and the application server in order to isolate the factors contributing to poor performance.
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Competitive Benchmarking A common method for gathering intelligence on competitor's data and voice networks is by performing drive surveys on pre-defined routes using mobile devices for each network. Many operators outsource the collection of the data to third parties and the majority of them also outsource the collection, processing and report g eneration. Network operators receive a static report every quarter or 6 months, typically 1-2 months after the actual drives were performed, along with a massive amount of raw data. The static reports typically offer little flexibility for slicing and dicing the data to address specific questions. Given the dynamic nature of the network, and the delay in receiving the report, acting on competitive weaknesses in areas where the network has changed is simply not realistic. New data must be collected to verify the problem, before any action can be taken. Even in problem areas where the network has been static, the massive amount of data produced can make it incredibly difficult to find a specific problem and diagnose the root cause. A typical large metropolitan area will generate up to 100 GB of raw data which must be processed, aggregated and analyzed. Actix Analyzer’s competitive base-lining capabilities enable operators to effectively compare the performance of their network against their competition regardless of the network technologies involved. Analyzer combines data validation, report generation, problem area identification, prioritization, and diagnosis into a single, end-to-end solution for finding and resolving the issues that can lead to poor service quality and ultimately subscriber churn.
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Increasing Operational Efficiency Mobile internet and voice competition is driving operators to improve efficiency. With the mobile network representing 25% of total OPEX, network-related efficiency initiatives are one of the key levers to constrain OPEX growth. At the same time, engineering groups within operators are being challenged to keep up with an increasing number of technologies while supporting the growth requirements of the existing services. In order to accomplish this, operators must find new ways to improve the efficiency of engineering teams and to make experienced technical resources available for new technology and service rollout initiatives. Actix Analyzer enables operators to achieve operational excellence while maximizing performance by automating repeatable tasks and driving the standard best practice processes throughout the organization. By working with hundreds of network operators, Actix has captured solutions to the most frequent radio engineering tasks. The high level of configurability ensures organizations can build on this knowledge using specific processes and KPIs, focused on particular challenges and business goals. Actix Analyzer enables carriers to leverage the best practices of engineering teams across network functions and regions, streamlining processes and improving overall efficiency. By automating time-intensive engineering tasks, resources are freed up to focus on resolving complex issues associated with the rollout of new technologies and services. Best Practice Encapsulation Engineering teams undertake numerous activities in order to achieve the desired level of performance and to support the rollout of new services. In many cases, these activities lack well-defined processes for execution. And even when the activities have well-defined processes, it’s difficult for the carrier to ensure that the processes are being followed. Actix works with carriers to establish and develop the best practices for undertaking network optimization activities. Once best-practices are established, they can be embedded into Actix Analyzer solutions and distributed throughout the organization. By enabling engineers with best practices, operators can ensure that network optimization is undertaken in a consistent and repeatable manner, reducing the technology expertise required, increasing productivity and maximizing operational efficiency. Process Automation The engineering processes required to achieve the operator’s quality and expansion goals require the use of many disconnected tools and sources of performance information. Often, a very high level of skill is required to complete these activities. The resulting processes can be inefficient, labor intensive and overly reliant on limited expertise. In order to reduce the cost of engineering the network, operators must find ways to automate these processes and minimize the expertise required to complete everyday engineering tasks. Actix Analyzer enables operators to capture and automate many of their day-to-day analysis and reporting tasks. Actix services team can work with engineers to define new analyses and processes which capture the knowledge of the top technology specialists so these skills can be employed by every radio engineer. A complex sequence of steps can be
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embedded and executed in a single step. By automating many of the day-to-day processes and eliminating duplicati on of tasks, operators are able to increase the efficiency of engineering teams and improve the overall quality of process output. Expert Troubleshooting Complex network issues require specialist skills to resolve. Operators are seeing significant growth in the number subscribers utilizing next generation services requiring even more focus and engineering resource to address resulting complaints and technical issues. As a result, the resources and expertise available to focus on resolving increasingly complicated issues is becoming scarce. Recognizing this, operators must find ways to stream-line the process of troubleshooting problems in the network while making expert resources available for resolving the most complex issues. Actix Analyzer captures solutions to the most frequent engineering tasks and embeds these into software. By building in automated solutions to the most common radio engineering problems, organizations can standardize on best practices for troubleshooting, resulting in faster and more efficient problem resolution with minimal training and management costs. With the solution’s advanced analysis capabilities and powerful visualizations, engineers are able to get to the root cause of a problem faster, and take corrective action with confidence.
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Features Analyzer provides advanced visualization of performance data through synchronized maps, charts, graphs and tables. Analyzer supports the import of MapInfo map files and allows Microsoft BING maps to be used as background images. Drive data and events can be plotted on maps, charts and tables, and all views are fully synchronized. Flexible query and visualization options enable the creation of maps from any attribute collected in the drive data. Data can be exported in a variety of formats including CSV, MapInfo TAB and Google Earth KML.
Analyzer’s features include:
Data Processing o Multi-vendor and multi-technology o Import/edit network configuration information o Data aggregation and binning o Configurable batch data processing o Text import and export Visualization o Synchronized maps, charts, graphs, tables and state views o Message level investigation o Geographic polygons for filtering and analysis o Screen layouts o Replay of a drive survey
Analysis o
o o o o
Spotlight automated event and radio network analyses Delta analysis User defined queries and KPIs Filtering of measurements and KPIs Correlation of data from d ifferent vendors and sources (scanner, UE, call trace, I P sniffer)
Reporting o Generation pre-defined reports o Creation of customized reports o Configuration
Data Processing Multi-vendor and multi-technology Actix actively maintains a library of over 225 interfaces providing support for the latest logging formats from all major vendors, including drive test, walk test, handsets, scanners, call traces and protocol analyzers, across GSM, GPRS, CDMA, EVDO, WiMAX, UMTS, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE radio technologies. This unrivalled capability allows our customers to use a variety of logging equipment. Analyzer normalizes this data so engineers see a consistent set of data across different data sources.
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Import/edit network configuration information Analyzer supports the importing of network topography and parameters based on data exported from a variety of sources including cell planning software databases, vendor OSS/OMC or other sources of network data. To support integration with available network configuration data sources, Analyzer supports:
Import from any text delimited format using an easy to use wizard
Creation and retrieval of pre-defined import templates
Monitoring of a pre-defined directory location to automate importing
Extension to include any number of fields which may be useful for analysis and reporting
Analyzer automatically associates each drive test point to its corresponding sector based on the imported network topography information. The data is visually presented to the user by drawing lines to sectors from the drive data (serving and neighbor).
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Data aggregation and binning Analyzer aggregates measurements and events into groups called "bins" in order to provide a reasonable number of data points from a computing and analysis perspective. The actual aggregation method used to create one bin from many data points depends on the type of parameter. Measurement parameters such as Ec/Io and BER are binned by averaging all component measurements into one data point. For network state parameters, such as Handoff State, a bin is given the value which occurs most frequently. Events, such as dropped calls and handoffs, are binned by the number of events occurring within the bin. Analyzer supports all four modes for determining how to aggregate data into bins:
By Message
By Time
By Distance
By Location
Configurable batch data processing Analyzer’s Data Repository utilizes a desktop database technology that allows users to batch process large volumes of network performance data. The Repository utilizes a relational database to manage the large statistical results generated when analyzing large volumes of drive test data. Once log files have been processed and results stored in the Repository, they can be instantly reloaded in future Analyzer sessions. Repositories are typically used to provide a high-level overview of the state of a network. This can be used, for example, to identify broad problem areas, such as a cell that has a high rate of dropped calls. Having identified a broad problem area, an engineer would often want to "drill down" into the sequential message data for the calls that dropped in that cell, in order to attempt to discover the actual cause of the problem. Text import and export The Analyzer provides a wizard for ASCII import and export of text-based data collection formats. This allows the user to import data from any device not supported directly by Actix and to export data to other software applications for further analysis.
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Visualization Synchronized maps, charts, graphs, tables and state views Analyzer provides a complete set of views for investigating message-level, time-series, location-based, and statistical analysis results. All views are synchronized so that the selection of information in one view causes all other views to highlight the same point in time or location. Maps
Attributes and events can be displayed geographically by dragging them from the Analyzer Workspace Explorer window onto a map. Multiple attributes can be mapped, with complete control over the layering of each data set and the symbols used to mark each data point. Each symbol can be colored and scaled automatically according to the values of the data point, based on user-defined legends.
Street maps and/or building plans can be displayed as a backdrop, with the performance information over-laid. Analyzer provides support for Microsoft Bing™ Road and Aerial maps. Map layers can also be loaded from the MapInfo™ native format directly, or from MapInfo™ Workspaces. With Analyzer’s Maps, the user can:
Alter legend ranges, colors and symbols
Offset measurement types for easy comparison or combine then into a single multi-dimensional data set
Overlay network configuration with configurable size, labels and coloring
Export a map in a variety of formats including Google Earth, MapInfo and BMP
Modify all aspects of Map Layers including labels, zoom layering, order, etc.
Utilize in-building images and Waypoint interpolation to analyze in-building measurements and events
Add annotations highlighting areas of interest
Print a single map or perform a batch print to output many analyses as a single task
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Charts
Attributes can be dragged from the Analyzer Workspace window onto a chart. This graphical display of statistical data lets the user interpret performance statistics in the time domain. The user can:
Analyze the interaction of multiple parameters on the same time-domain axis.
Zoom and pan around the chart.
Configure the display (to show a histogram, series data, and more).
Copy and paste the chart into a worksheet report.
The Analyzer’s Chart can be configured to create very sophisticated and graphically rich presentations of measurement data. The Analyzer Chart and each series within the Chart can be configured independently too with several Graph styles available in 2D and 3D together with a rich set of axes and style settings.
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Tables and Spreadsheets
The Analyzer table view allows users to quickly display the values of multiple parameters. The table view is synchronized to the map, chart and messaging, so that you can easily obtain values near the location of key network events.
Sometimes the user will want to view a straightforward overview of a data attribute. The table view allows the user to display statistics for attributes as well:
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Performance metrics can be dragged from the Analyzer window onto a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet.
With Excel, users can:
Manipulate data in a spreadsheet environment
Produce high-quality management reports
Harness the power of the industry standard spreadsheet for ease-of-use and compatibility
Statistics
The Analyzer Statistics Explorer is a powerful data-manipulation tool that lets you rapidly pinpoint problems by displaying statistical data across a variety of dimensions (e.g. network element, carrier, band, etc.). The Statistics Explorer’s configurable display enables multiple drill-down approaches to the problem.
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State Views
Analyzer’s StateForms allow users to view multiple performance metrics simultaneously. Used in conjunction with the replay tool, maps, tables, and charts, you can quickly ascertain the values of several optimization parameters for problem identification. The StateForms Editor allows you to view custom forms, modify existing forms, and build new forms from scratch. The components of the StateForms Editor window are shown in the screenshot below (attribute values, time charts, scan charts, etc.).
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Message level investigation Message Browser
The Message Browser combines an event panel with a panel of Layer 3 messaging, allowing the user to pinpoint root causes.
Event panel contains a sequential list of call events.
Filter and format the messages to display specific message types.
Locate specific messages using a search engine
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Protocol Stack Browser
The Protocol Stack Browser provides a view of the sequential message data, generally filtered for one or more particular protocol layers and to display relevant columns of information, so that engineers can easily visualize the sequential messaging appropriate for a particular task or analysis. A Protocol Stack view can be configured to:
Display any number of columns based on attributes or expressions
Color and/or Filter rows based on any criteria
Geographic polygons for filtering and analysis The Regions feature in Analyzer allows the user to utilize pre-defined geographical regions for analysis. Using this feature a user can base analyses on regions that have been defined in MapInfo. This is useful when you want to break out KPIs by an administrative area or clutter (land usage) type, for example. Using this feature you can also filter drive test data based on the regions that you define. This is useful, for example, when you want only to examine the data within a pre-defined geographic area or type.
Measured Data ‘Filtered’ for Selected Regions
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Screen layouts A screen layout is a configurable arrangement of views on a user’s screen, such as that shown below, that can be saved, packaged, distributed and later reloaded. For example, when troubleshooting a UMTS dropped call, you might like to arrange your screen with a map and state view displaying active set RSCP measurements, together with the Replay control and the Attribute Search available. You can now save this arrangement as a screen layout and use it again and again each time you troubleshoot the same type of problem.
Replay of a drive survey With a drive test file, you may want to recreate the drive test by 'playing' through the data file from beginning to end. You can do this using the Replay control accessible from Analyzer’s main toolbar.
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Analysis Spotlight automated analysis Designed by optimization engineers, for optimization engineers, Analyzer’s Spotlight capability identifies key performance indicators, provides automated root-cause troubleshooting, coverage and interference identification, and concise reporting. Engineers can solve and report on more problems faster by eliminating time consuming data manipulation and manual deduction. Event analysis
The Event Explorer provides engineers with a detailed analysis of critical failure events. Based on the drive test data provided for the analysis, ActixOne generates automatically root-cause diagnostics for the most common subscriber problems, for example, dropped calls, failed connections and poor throughput. The side panel lists all the critical events occurring in the drive and provides a diagnosis for the selected failure event. The Drill-down Analysis enables the engineer to drill down even further to investigate the event at the messaging level providing access to the lowest level of detail available from the measurement data. The drill down view provides a set of configurable charts, tables and messaging panes. All panes are synchronized so that the selection of information in one pane causes all other views to highlight the same point in time or location:
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Radio network analysis
The Radio network analysis enables the analysis and verification of RF conditions including:
Missing Neighbors Analysis - This analysis provides the users with the capability to groom neighbor lists based on scanner data for sites within a user defined radius of the cell selected. The suggestions made by the software can be exported directly to a CSV file for easy import and updates directly to the switch.
Pilot Pollution Analysis - This analysis provides the user with the ability to quickly identify ‘inbound’ vs. ‘outbound’ pilot pollution and visually see the offending sectors on the map. The user can determine the relative degree of pollution for each cell and prioritize which cells in the network are strong candidates for down-tilts and coverage optimization. This analysis is available for both scanner as well as handset data.
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Cell Coverage Analyses - The Cell Coverage Analyses allow the user to determine coverage for the cells in their networks. These analyses are available for both scanner and handset data. The following analyses are available as part of the cell coverage analyses: o Cell Footprint Analysis - This analysis allows the user determine the coverage footprint for each cell. o Best Server Analysis - The user can quickly visualize where a cell is the best server by selecting a cell. o Cell Overspill Analysis – visually determine where cells are overshooting their coverage design boundary (configurable).
Delta Analysis Analyzer allows drive test measurement data to be compared over time, between networks, and between devices by selecting two sources of measurement information and the measurements to be compared. The delta analysis can be used to:
Compare pre- and post-optimization data sets and identify traffic based issues such as cell breathing
Compare test and reference devices
Perform competitive analysis to determine and evaluate quality of service and coverage between competing network operators
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User defined queries and KPIs Analyzer enables the creation of simple or complex expressions to extract meaningful performance data, based on userdefined thresholds or the value of other expressions. Controlled through the Analysis Manager, the following Queries can be created:
Binned – for time series and location-based analysis
Histogram – for creation of custom CDFs and PDFs
Statistical – for creation of complex statistics (average, std. dev., variance, etc.)
Event - for summarizing measurement information associated with a particular event or trigger
Crosstab queries – for creating complex multi-dimensional analyses
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User Defined Events Analyzer Event diagrams (state machines) provide a powerful method for creating new events and KPIs based on message sequences and measured attributes. These diagrams can be modified and/or added to support additional events/situations now or in the future. The state diagrams enable specific sequences of messages (and values within messages) to be used to track the state of a device and to trigger events and the calculation of metrics under very specific circumstances. Examples of state diagrams used by Analyzer’s Call Event Engine are provided in the following screen capture:
Filtering of measurements and KPIs Analyzer provides an easy-to-use filtering wizard. Users can create filters to show areas where, for example, FER > 5% or where RSSI > -80dBm. These filters can be applied to specific streams or to previously created queries.
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The Regions feature in Analyzer allows the user to filter data based on pre-defined geographical regions. This feature is useful for capturing statistics at a specific location within a network, and isolating data in key network areas.
Measured Data ‘Filtered’ for Selected Regions
Correlation of data from different vendors and sources (scanner, UE, call trace, IP sniffer) Quality of Service may suffer on the Reverse Link as well as on the forward link (measured by the mobile). Data collected from the switch (or other data sources) does not contain GPS data and as a result, it is not possible to plot reverse-link data for direct correlation with the drive test. The Analyzer’s Superstream capability automatically merges reverse link and drive test performance data to enable visualization of uplink data parameters on maps and uplink vs. downlink comparisons. The Superstream capability can also be used to correlate drive data with other data sources such as an IP Sniffer or protocol analyzer.
Report Analyzer is integrated with Microsoft Excel for the creation and generation of reports. With Analyzer, reports can be defined to be run on any suitable data and which you can share with colleagues. Any performance measurement or metric can be dragged from the Analyzer Workspace window into a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet. With Excel, users can:
Manipulate data in a spreadsheet environment
Produce high-quality management reports
Harness the power of the industry standard spreadsheet for ease-of-use and compatibility
All information required to regenerate the report with new/future data is stored within the report facilitating distribution and reuse of available report templates.
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Generation pre-defined reports Analyzer provides a set of pre-configured reports, each concentrating on a particular type of network analysis. These reports distil advanced analysis techniques into simple, comprehensive spreadsheet reports, ready for immediate use by staff of all levels of experience. Each technology has a different set of available reports:
Creation of customized reports With Analyzer, users can create Microsoft Excel report templates that can be run on any suitable data and which can be shared with other Analyzer users. Performance measurements and queries can be output from the Analyzer window onto a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet. After adding additional formatting and calculation, the newly created report template is saved to Excel’s native format and can be used for distribution and regeneration with new data sets. All the information necessary to regenerate the report is contained within the report template.
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Configuration Analyzer can be configured in a range of ways that makes sense to evolving engineering organization and resources. New analysis techniques and processes that have been identified and defined by an organization’s technology specialists can be captured and shared with colleagues. Analyzer’s configuration capabilities enable expert engineers to define new KPIs, events, analyses and reports to stream-line the testing of new devices, technologies and capabilities and to share their expertise with the broader engineering team. All of the files associated with the customizable layers can be distributed in convenient packages, which are similar to .zip files. The resources remain stored in packaged form after they are installed on the user's machine and Analyzer accesses them directly from the package. Generally each package contains a group of related files. For example, all of the files that are associated with an engineering process module are typically placed in one package. This means that when installing an engineering process module just one package file needs to be installed instead of many different files into a number of different folders. This streamlines the management, distribution, and installation of the customized resources. Other advantages of packages include a signing mechanism that enables Analyzer to identify and disable packages that have been tampered with and an option to encrypt some or all of the resources in each package in order to protect the intellectual property they contain.
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Operations Requirements Item
Requirement
Processor
1 GHz (2GHz dual-core recommended)
Framework (installed automatically)
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and 3.5 SQL Server 2005 Express Edition SP2 (for more information, see: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2005/en/us/system-requirements.aspx)
Operating System
SQL Server Express 2008 is also supported but not included in the installation. o
Windows 7
o
Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 or later
o
Windows XP with Service Pack 3 or later
o
Windows 2008 Server all editions
o
Windows Server 2003 all editions with Service Pack 1 or later
Actix software runs on all 64-bit operating systems but in 32-bit mode. All editions of operating systems are supported (i.e. Home, Professional etc.)
Memory
1 GB RAM (4Gb Recommended)
Hard Disk Space
2 GB (100Gb Recommended)
Other Requirements
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (Internet Explorer 8 or above recommended) Microsoft Office XP (Microsoft Office 2007/2010 recommended)
Licensing Analyzer offers standalone and Network license options. The standalone option utilizes either a dongle or an electronic activation key depending on the customers' preference. Stand-alone Licensing Actix offers electronic-only and hardware-based licensing options for stand-alone installations. Software Activation Key - This option doesn't require a dongle however in order to move the license to another machine, you have to contact Actix support to release the license from the original machine Dongle (Hardware) Key - This option enables you to move the license between machines by attaching a dongle to the machine that you wish to use. This option offers more flexibility, but would require management of a hardware dongle which may not be desirable. If you decide to go with this option, a temporary Software Activation key will be provided for you to utilize while the dongle is being shipped to your office location.
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Network Licensing Actix Analyzer’s Network License capability enables a pool of licenses to be shared among many users. Once a license is obtained, the user may disconnect from the network and use the license “off -line”. This license method uses your local network connection to communicate with a locally hosted Activation server to obtain and automatically renew on a regular basis the product’s license and activation. The Activation server can also allow the user to work without being connected to the local network. Once the Actix software product has been activated, users can work disconnected from the network, only requiring reconnection to renew their Activation. The Activation period is the length of time the user’s PC may be disconnected from the local network before the Activation license expires. Normally the user would accept the default activation period configured by Actix, but users can request a non-standard period – for example, if they were to be working on a laptop away from the network, they might want to set the activation period to cover this time. Optionally, a Windows Domain Security Group can be assigned to each license, to only allow activations of that Product by users who validate as members of the associated Windows Domain security group. The server also supports reporting and usage logging.
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Support Introduction Actix Product Support is dedicated to optimizing the customer experience and attaining the highest levels of customer satisfaction through the delivery of professional, efficient and quality support across the Actix product portfolio. The global Actix Product Support organization operates based on well-defined best practices and methodologies and strives to continuously improve performance, measuring the support delivery process regularly according to stringent performance indicators and quality targets.
Support and Maintenance Actix recognizes that good technical support and product maintenance is key to extracting the full benefit from Actix products and solutions, and has a comprehensive support capability, which is delivered through the purchase of the Actix Support and Maintenance Agreement.
Best Practice Process and Methodology Actix Product Support strives to manage the incidents raised by customers accurately and effectively, with the appropriate classification of problems and allocation of expert resources, in accordance with customer priorities. The incident and problem management process aims to ensure that Actix apply the right levels of reactive and proactive service, providing full visibility to customers and assurances that their cases will be handled effectively, especially during critical periods.
Global Presence Actix delivers support services through service desks located in the UK, US and Asia, and provides 24x7 access to a web-enabled support system that allows customers to leverage the power of the Actix knowledgebase, facilitate selfhelp and allow Actix to track and communicate the progress of any logged issue quickly and effectively.
MyActix On-line Support Portal Actix provides access to Product Support via a dedicated web portal www.MyActix.com. The MyActix portal provides a personalized interface to the Actix Support Service and many other useful resources including product downloads, a knowledge base of known issues and general product information. Customer Contacts can use MyActix to report new cases, monitor their progress and submit requested information, with automatic emails providing notification of updates. Cases submitted by a specific customer are visible only to the Contacts associated with that customer.
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Maintenance Software Updates Actix’ commitment to consistent product quality and performance is backed by measures to proactively adjust and update core Actix applications in line with market developments and technology advances, while reactively releasing periodic maintenance updates to continuously improve the underlying operation of Actix products and resolve and prevent faults. All customers with active Support and Maintenance agreements are entitled to receive software updates for their Actix products under license.
Service Offering at a Glance Item
Included
Product Support access via web portal, phone and e-mail
Standard support hours: 9 AM – 5 PM
Unlimited 24x7 access to the web portal knowledge base
Full product documentation
Access to major/minor releases updates and feature requests
Access to maintenance releases
Defined Service Performance Targets
Formal escalation path for business impacting issues
Proactive communications
Application support for custom reports / queries
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Support Plan The Actix support offering provides a comprehensive package of benefits, to offer peace of mind that the users of Actix products are effectively supported and that software issues are formally tracked and resolved in a timely manner. The support package includes:
Product documentation (in English), available on-line. Service desk support during Actix Product Support Center standard business hours (9:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Friday). 24x7 access to the Actix Web Portal for raising and tracking incidents, and provision of access to additional informational and self-help resources. First line (L1) support for initial review, provision of quick response times and escalation to product specialists. Second line (L2) product support specialists, to provide comprehensive diagnostic and root cause analysis and resolution to issues. Internal escalation procedures to expedite the resolution of critical issues. Third line (L3) product maintenance for the provision of corrective maintenance releases for the software purchased. Entitlement to all future major upgrade releases of the software for the licensed product purchased.
Actix Application Support Actix offers an application support option to customers as an additional service, which is not included within the annual support service. With Actix Application Support, the delivery of additional report/query design which is normally performed by the customer is performed by Actix as a managed services project, subject to proposal.
Support Communication Channels Actix Product Support’s communication channels are designed to make the case handling experience, from initialization through to resolution, as clear, efficient and user-friendly as possible. Actix Product Support offers various communication channels for customers to contact us. The Actix Support Portal is the most efficient and preferred channel for raising Cases and providing updates, but during the support process, telephone contact is recommended to ensure that communication is clear and that severity and priority are correctly applied to a Case. Actix offers the following communications channels for Customer Contacts to engage with Product Support: Channel Web Portal Telephone
Method https://www.myactix.com UK: +44 20 8735 6303 US: +1 703 707 4779
Description The most efficient method for creating Cases and providing updates. The recommended communication method for Critical severity issues that require rapid response and action.
US toll free: +1 8777 72 ACTIX E-mail
APAC: +65 6333 7469
[email protected]
The preferred method for on-line communication is via the Web portal. For users who experience difficulties using the portal, email is a suitable alternative.
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