Technical Product Description ™
TEMS Symphony 6.1 With the MTP-4 Platform
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Contents 1
Introduction
1.1 2
Measurement Principle ....................................................... .............................................. 5
2.2
Measurement Part .............................................................. .............................................. 5
2.3
TEMS Symphony MTP-4 ............................................................... ................................... 5 2.3.1
Highly Modular ...............................................................................................................6
2.3.2
Main Components of TEMS TEMS Symphony MTP-4 .................... ..................... .....................6
2.3.3
The Unique Strengths of TEMS Symphony ................... ..................... ...................... .... 10
2.3.4
Portable Version .......................................................................................................... 11
TEMS Symphony Land Unit ............................................................................. .............. 12 2.4.1
PSTN/ISDN Interfaces Interfaces ..................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 12
2.4.2
Data Server for IP Data Measurements..................... ..................... ...................... ........ 12
2.4.3
TEMS Symphony GUI...................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 13
2.4.4
TEMS™ Discovery................... Discovery ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ................... 13
TEMS Symphony Overview ........................................................... ................................. 14
TEMS Symphony Highlights
3.1
15
Data Collection Features ................................................................................................ 15
QoS Measurements
17
4.1
Measure All Technologies .............................................................................................. 17
4.2
Independent Channels.................................................................................................... 17
4.3
Measurement Configuration ........................................................................................... 17
4.4
Master/Slave Configurations .......................................................... ................................. 18 4.4.1
4.5
4.6
2
5
2.1
2.5
4
TEMS™ Symphony ............................................................ .............................................. 4
System Components
2.4
3
4
Evolved Measurement Configuration Configuration...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 19
Mobile Speech Call Tests ............................................................................................... 19 4.5.1
Measurement Configurations Configurations ................................. ...................... ..................... ........... 19
4.5.2
Real Speech Quality and In-Band Problem Detection ..................... ..................... ........ 20
4.5.3
Live Recording ...................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... 20
4.5.4
Audio Call Recording Recording ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ............... 20
4.5.5
Call Statistics ............................................................................................................... 20
4.5.6
Benchmarking Speech Calls ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... .... 21
4.5.7
No-Coverage Areas ..................................................................................................... 21
4.5.8
Real-Time Real-Time Display.................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ................... 21
Mobile Data Tests............................................................... ............................................ 22 4.6.1
TEMS Symphony Land Unit and Public Server .................... ..................... ................... 22
4.6.2
FTP Tests Tests ...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 23
4.6.3
UDP Tests ................................................................................................................... 23
4.6.4
Ping Tests...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 24
4.6.5
HTTP Download Download Tests ....................................... ...................... ..................... ............... 25
4.6.6
HTTP Internet Explor Explorer er .................................. ...................... ..................... ................... 26 NT11-17590, 1.0,8/29/2011
Contents 1
Introduction
1.1 2
Measurement Principle ....................................................... .............................................. 5
2.2
Measurement Part .............................................................. .............................................. 5
2.3
TEMS Symphony MTP-4 ............................................................... ................................... 5 2.3.1
Highly Modular ...............................................................................................................6
2.3.2
Main Components of TEMS TEMS Symphony MTP-4 .................... ..................... .....................6
2.3.3
The Unique Strengths of TEMS Symphony ................... ..................... ...................... .... 10
2.3.4
Portable Version .......................................................................................................... 11
TEMS Symphony Land Unit ............................................................................. .............. 12 2.4.1
PSTN/ISDN Interfaces Interfaces ..................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 12
2.4.2
Data Server for IP Data Measurements..................... ..................... ...................... ........ 12
2.4.3
TEMS Symphony GUI...................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 13
2.4.4
TEMS™ Discovery................... Discovery ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ................... 13
TEMS Symphony Overview ........................................................... ................................. 14
TEMS Symphony Highlights
3.1
15
Data Collection Features ................................................................................................ 15
QoS Measurements
17
4.1
Measure All Technologies .............................................................................................. 17
4.2
Independent Channels.................................................................................................... 17
4.3
Measurement Configuration ........................................................................................... 17
4.4
Master/Slave Configurations .......................................................... ................................. 18 4.4.1
4.5
4.6
2
5
2.1
2.5
4
TEMS™ Symphony ............................................................ .............................................. 4
System Components
2.4
3
4
Evolved Measurement Configuration Configuration...................... ..................... ...................... ........... 19
Mobile Speech Call Tests ............................................................................................... 19 4.5.1
Measurement Configurations Configurations ................................. ...................... ..................... ........... 19
4.5.2
Real Speech Quality and In-Band Problem Detection ..................... ..................... ........ 20
4.5.3
Live Recording ...................... ...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... 20
4.5.4
Audio Call Recording Recording ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ............... 20
4.5.5
Call Statistics ............................................................................................................... 20
4.5.6
Benchmarking Speech Calls ................... ...................... ...................... ..................... .... 21
4.5.7
No-Coverage Areas ..................................................................................................... 21
4.5.8
Real-Time Real-Time Display.................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ................... 21
Mobile Data Tests............................................................... ............................................ 22 4.6.1
TEMS Symphony Land Unit and Public Server .................... ..................... ................... 22
4.6.2
FTP Tests Tests ...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 23
4.6.3
UDP Tests ................................................................................................................... 23
4.6.4
Ping Tests...................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 24
4.6.5
HTTP Download Download Tests ....................................... ...................... ..................... ............... 25
4.6.6
HTTP Internet Explor Explorer er .................................. ...................... ..................... ................... 26 NT11-17590, 1.0,8/29/2011
4.7
5
6
7
8
9
HTTP Upload Tests...................................................................................................... 26
4.6.8
WAP Tests..................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 27
4.6.9
E-Mail Tests...................... ...................... ...................... ...................... ..................... .... 27
4.6.10
Streaming Test............................. ...................... ..................... ...................... ............... 27
Messaging ............................................................... ....................................................... 32 4.7.1
SMS Tests ..................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 32
4.7.2
MMS Tests..................... ..................... ...................... ...................... ..................... ........ 32
4.8
Video Telephony Tests With Speech and Video MOS ....... ............................................ 33
4.9
VoIP Tests ............................................................... ....................................................... 34
4.10
Summary ................................................................. ....................................................... 37
Engineering Tests – Tests – GSM
38
5.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement .......................................................... .............. 38
5.2
RF Scan Views in TEMS Symphony............................................................................ ... 38
5.3
GSM Parameters Measured .......................................................... ................................. 40
Engineering Tests – Tests – GPRS/EDGE
42
6.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement .......................................................... .............. 42
6.2
GPRS Parameters Measured ........................................................ ................................. 44
Engineering Tests – Tests – WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+
46
7.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement .......................................................... .............. 46
7.2
Parameters Recorded..................................................................................................... 49
Engineering Tests – Tests – CDMA2000
52
8.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement .......................................................... .............. 52
8.2
CDMA2000 Parameters Recorded ........................................................... ...................... 54
8.3
CDMA Scanner ........................................................ ....................................................... 5 5
Engineering Tests – Tests – WIMAX
9.1 10
4.6.7
56
WIMAX Parameters Recorded ....................................................................................... 56
Engineering Tests – Tests – LTE
57
10.1
LTE Parameters Recorded ............................................................................................. 57
10.2
LTE Scanner ............................................................ ....................................................... 57
10.3
Continuous Expansion ........................................................ ............................................ 58
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Standards Fulfilled by TEMS Symphony
59
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Appendix
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12.1
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Glossary ......................................................................................................................... 61
3
1
Introduction
1.1
TEMS™ Symphony
To attract, satisfy, and retain customers, mobile operators must combat the number one source of dissatisfaction: poor quality stemming directly from inadequate services or weak network performance. The TEMS Symphony wireless benchmarking solution gives insight into the customer’s experience of both voice and IP -based services from operators and their competition. This information is critical to the operators for making network improvements, changes, and investments that will improve customer satisfaction. Based on Ascom Network Testing’s powerful and flexible new MTP -4 hardware platform, TEMS Symphony 6.1 offers a single solution that meets all of mobile op erators’ benchmarking needs – whether vehicular, indoor, stationary, or nomadic testing. TEMS Symphony interfaces with a wide range of user equipment, including standard handsets, USB devices, and PCIe MiniCards, and provides voice, data, and video service testing. It can be paired with our TEMS™ Discovery software for optimal post -processing. Also thanks to the MTP-4 platform, TEMS Symphony 6.1 utilizes a modular configuration for easy installation and maintenance. The flexibility of the MTP-4 system assures that users have the right test tool for the task at hand, with the ability to easily reconfigure the unit when confronted with different measurement requirements. This document gives a description of the features and functions of TEMS Symphony 6.1.
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System Components
TEMS Symphony consists of two major components: Measurement which collects data during drive-tests or indoor measurements
Post-processing for detailed analysis of the measured data
2.1
Measurement Principle
Test connections are built up between two end points. These connections can be speech telephony calls, video telephony calls, VoIP calls, multimedia/video applications, mobile data applications (for example, e-mail, FTP, UDP, HTTP, WAP, Ping) or messaging (SMS, MMS). The performance of the network is then measured during these test calls/connections The measurements are in two groups: Subscriber view. Quality of service (QoS) measurements represent network performance as seen by the subscriber. These include real speech and video quality, dropped call rates, failed call rates, SMS/MMS/e-mail success rates and delivery times, FTP/UDP/HTTP throughputs, etc. Engineering view. These measurements deliver detailed air interface information such as RxLev, RxQual, interference, serving/neighbor cells, Layer 3 messages, etc. These are invaluable in troubleshooting/optimizing the radio network.
2.2
Measurement Part
The TEMS Symphony measurement component provides an optimized solution for measurements in cellular networks: It is designed to measure all generations of cellular networks (2G, 3G, and 4G). The unrivaled flexibility of the TEMS Symphony product enables the user to choose or configure the optimal system for his or her measurement requirements, and the system can be reconfigured by the user for other measurements. The packaging of the solution allows it to be mounted in a vehicle, for traditional drive-testing purposes, carried in a bag for in-building surveys, or placed in a stationary location.
2.3
TEMS Symphony MTP-4
TEMS Symphony can cope with the different requirements of benchmarking networks all over the world. It is very powerful and can be configured in very flexible ways.
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The TEMS S ymphony MTP-4 chassis, supporting up to 12 measurement channels
Most powerful measurement platform Up to 12 networks/services can be measured simultaneously in one chassis. Additional chassis can be added for a maximum of 24 channels under the control of one external PC with the TEMS Symphony GUI installed. Different air interface technologies can be mixed at will, for example, WCDMA, HSPA+, GSM/EDGE, CDMA2000, WiMAX, and LTE test mobile phones, modems, and PCIe MiniCards. The test devices can carry out their own tests, independent of one another. For example, one channel can measure circuit or packet-switched connections in WCDMA, another can test SMS, a third can test streaming applications/UDP transport, a fourth can measure speech calls in GSM, etc. The external tablet or notebook PC can be connected to the measurement hardware by LAN or wirelessly. The GUI can be configured for easy operation by either an unskilled user (with basic information) or a skilled cellular engineer (for detailed analysis). TEMS Symphony 6.1 can be installed in a vehicle and used for extensive measurement test drives. It is also very well suited for stationary applications, as well as for benchmarking in high-end tests such as video MOS, which require maximum processing power.
2.3.1
Highly Modular
With the highly modular design, measurement systems can be ideally adapted to customer requirements. Between one and 12 measurement channels are possible per MTP-4 chassis. Chassis may be daisy-chained, to expand the system up to 24 measurement channels. With four measurement processors per chassis, performance is entirely scalable. If one measurement processor is available per channel, maximum data rates can be evaluated in parallel (several video streams). Up to four chassis may be connected to support up to 16 processors. This provides an unparalleled level of capacity with which to measure highspeed data services.
2.3.2
Main Components of TEMS Symphony MTP-4
MTP-4 Chassis: 6
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The MTP-4 chassis contains:
The MTP-4 main board, providing: Four powerful Intel Core i7 processors o Power supply circuitry, with two power inputs, and an uninterruptible power o supply (UPS) switch A GPS receiver o A large capacity HDD, for the storage of measurement data o Slots for 12 measurement interface modules (MIFs) o
TEMS Symphony measurement software resides on the processors in the MTP-4 chassis, providing control of test devices and RF scanners.
MTP-4 chassis with cover removed
Measurement Interface Modules (MIFs): MIFs provide an interface to various types of test devices. Up to 12 MIFs can be plugged into an MTP-4 chassis, supporting multiple voice or data test channels in parallel. The following types of MIFs are currently available:
Phone MIF: module to control test phones via USB interface, audio interface, and SIM card slot. This MIF provides power to the phone.
USB 12V MIF: module with two power-cycled USB interfaces and one switched 12VDC output to connect commercial USB modems and RF scanners.
MiniCard MIF: module to control a Mobile Radio PCIe MiniCard 2G/3G/4G. This MIF provides a SIM card slot, and two antennas for voice and data testing.
Each MIF provides one or two device interfaces, and supports an equal number of measurement channels.
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USB 12V MIF
TEMS Symphony MTP-4 Vehicle Kit For use in vehicles, the MTP-4 chassis may be quickly, easily, and safely mounted using a vehicle kit. The vehicle kit provides stackable mechanics, allowing two MTP-4 chassis to be mounted in a limited area. Additional MTP-4 components, including phone platforms and RF combiner platforms, can also be stacked with t he vehicle kit.
A single MTP-4 chassis mounted in a vehicle kit
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Vehicle kit with 2 x MTP-4 chassis, and 2 x RF combiner platforms
Phone Platform/Isolation Chamber A phone platform is available for mounting up to five test phones. The platform provides a stable base for the phone, and allows the use of external RF antennas. All connectors are provided on the front of the platform. Phone platforms may be stacked to accommodate more than five phones. RF isolation The isolation chamber is an optional accessory to the TEMS Symphony MTP-4 chassis. It provides significant RF isolation between each t est mobile phone.
Non-RF isolated phone platform
RF Combiner Platform
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To help reduce the number of external antennas, and control the RF isolation of the test devices, an RF combiner platform is provided as an available option. Each stackable RF combiner platform contains 3 x 4 port combiners, and provides front-mounted connectors for all RF inputs and outputs.
Stackable RF combiner platform
RF Scanner Modules The TEMS Symphony MTP-4 platform provides support for 3G and 4G EX scanning receivers from PCTEL. EX scanners can be plugged into the MTP-4 platform. This allows a very compact solution that can complete QoS measurements with RF scanner data.
2.3.3
The Unique Strengths of TEMS Symphony
Infinite Symphony The flexibility and modularity of TEMS Symphony is unprecedented. It can be configured in practically an infinite number of ways to suit the measurement job at hand. There is no other measurement system with the unique features of TEMS Symphony:
Multi-Processor Test Platform with 4 powerful CPUs
One to four chassis can be daisy-chained together, supporting up to 16 measurement processors
Expandable to 24 measurement channels
Compact and capable of drive, walk, and stationary testing
Multiple interface types to control variety of mobile user equipment (UE) types
Since the TEMS Symphony GUI is connected to the measurement system via a LAN or a wireless connection, the user can decide where to be during a measurement. Several TEMS Symphony GUIs at the same time While the TEMS Symphony GUI PC controls the measurement, other read-only GUI PCs can also be connected, showing the real-time measurement results. This enables, 10
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for example, the technical expert in his office to assist the driver in case of any problems or questions during drive tests. Time shift and replay of measurement data Yet another innovation is the ability to replay the measurement data during the actual measurement. For example, if the measurement has been in process for five minutes, the results of the previous minutes can be replayed on the GUI device without having to stop the measurement itself. To make life even simpler, a SIM card slot is provided on the front of the MTP-4 chassis for all applicable devices. This means that changing the SIM card on a test mobile phone can be done easily, without opening the cover or removing the battery of the mobile phone. Another very useful feature is that there are no cable connections at the back of the electronic unit, making for easy mounting in vehicles/portable systems.
2.3.4
Portable Version
The portable kit
A portable kit is available to allow TEMS Symphony to be used for indoor/walk tests. The system is housed in a backpack, which may be carried or rolled as a trolley. The portable kit provides support for a single TEMS Symphony chassis, with up to eight measurement channels. The portable kit provides:
A discreet backpack which is convertible to a rolling trolley
Battery pack to provide several hours of operation
RF combiner
Patch antennas
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GPS antenna
Lightweight components for easy transport and setup
Hot swappable battery functionality for continuous operation
The total weight of the MTP-4 in the portable kit is approximately 15kg. Combined with the portable kit, TEMS Symphony with the MTP-4 platform may be used in any pedestrian areas, including trains, airports, offices, or stadiums. In addition, TEMS Symphony can also be quickly and easily installed in a vehicle for drive testing.
2.4
TEMS Symphony Land Unit
The optional TEMS Symphony Land Unit provides a land-based termination point for measuring audio quality and placing land-to-mobile test calls. Calls can be placed between the TEMS Symphony Land Unit and the MTP-4 benchmarking platform.
2.4.1
PSTN/ISDN Interfaces
Powerful partner for speech tests Speech calls between TEMS Symphony systems and the TEMS Symphony Land Unit can be configured as:
MOC/MTC calls
Uplink/downlink speech quality (built-in DSPs)
Up to 12 PSTN and ISDN interfaces can be placed in the 19" TEMS Symphony Land Unit equipment. Mobile phones The TEMS Symphony Land Unit can also be used for stationary measurements with mobile phones. The phones are typically used for speech calls in cases of mobile-to-mobile call testing, video telephony tests, or for SMS and MMS tests. VoIP calls via LAN Connected to a LAN interface, the TEMS Symphony Land Unit can be used for testing VoIP sessions against mobile equipment. Different VoIP agents can concurrently run on one system, allowing MOC/MTC calls and speech quality evaluation.
2.4.2
Data Server for IP Data Measurements
Optimized server for IP data tests
In mobile data applications, the TEMS Symphony Land Unit can host the server so that the TEMS Symphony MTP-4 can:
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Transfer data (FTP and UDP)
Read e-mail
Ping for round-trip delay
Download Web pages using HTTP, etc.
When used as a data server, the TEMS Symphony Land Unit may be either connected to the Gi interface or to the public Internet.
TEMS Symphony Land Unit: industry PC in a 19" housing
The TEMS Symphony Land Unit is a PC that has been enhanced with the necessary supplementary cards. It has a 19" housing with a height of four units. The TEMS Symphony Land Unit is designed for use without operator assistance. Even in cases of point-to-point tests, all configurations of the Slave channels in TEMS Symphony Land Unit are performed by the full automatic configuration from the Master channels in drive and walk test equipment.
2.4.3
TEMS Symphony GUI
The measured data can be replayed in the GUI of the measurement component, thus enabling the network engineer to re-examine the data in detail. All of the powerful functions of the GUI during measurement are available in data replay (e.g., drag and drop, multiple text/graphics windows, and forward/reverse replay, etc.).
2.4.4
TEMS™ Discovery
TEMS Discovery is a highly configurable and user-friendly post-processing solution for air interface measurement data. It allows engineers to easily assess wireless performance and quickly pinpoint network problems. With TEMS Discovery, the user has the flexibility to configure a wide range of items, from simple view layouts to sophisticated report templates and user-defined key performance indicators (KPIs).
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2.5
TEMS Symphony Overview
The following illustration show the different components of TEMS Symphony, the wo rld’s leading cellular measurement system:
TEMS Symphony measurement systems
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3
TEMS Symphony Highlights
With more than 15 years of continuous development, TEMS Symphony has many distinctive features that enable users to carry out measurements easily, and to analyze and present the results quickly. Below is a short list of features, which will be expanded in more detail in the following chapters.
3.1
Data Collection Features
Different measurement configurations to suit every customer requirement
Unprecedented flexibility for configuring TEMS Symphony
Optimization and benchmarking in one system: up to 24 simultaneous measurements/networks
Unrivaled GUI for real-time display of measured data and control of measurements, such as pausing of display scrolling, triggering the pause on user-specified engineering messages, user-configured graphical display of measured data, replay during measurement, and much more
One-touch start/stop button for drive tests with non-technical personnel
The same GUI can also be configured for in-depth analysis in the field by expert network engineers
The best algorithms for speech, video, and audio testing – industrial and ITU standards
Video clips on the screen of the mobile device can be captured electronically by an Ascom Network Testing patent pending process. This means that no other hardware is involved, and no distortion is introduced into the video
Similarly, the Ascom Network Testing patent pending process can also feed a video signal into the mobile device. This signal is then sent to the cellular network, instead of the picture seen by the camera in the device
The above two points form the basis for very accurate video telephony tests, using a referenced video algorithm
Speech MOS values are displayed in real-time during tests. These values can be measured continuously (e.g., every five seconds) and simultaneously on all measurement channels
The measurement data file is very compact; hence no “storage full” stops are needed during testing to unload the data. This small size also leads to much faster operations in the post-processing system
Online display of AMR codec status
Video quality MOS algorithm for mobile video applications
In addition to real speech quality, other in-band audio problems like silence, level jump, echo, gaps (e.g., in handover) can be detected
Complete calls can be audio-recorded, which can be very helpful for analyzing failed calls by listening to busy tones or operator announcements
Wide range of mobile data tests: FTP, UDP, Ping, HTTP, SMS, MMS, e-mail
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Mobile application protocol stack (e.g., MMS/WAP), so measurement trigger points can be precisely defined (e.g., as per ETSI definition). The protocol messages are recorded simultaneously with air interface data (e.g., Layer 3). Therefore, the user has a complete view of different layers, which is invaluable in troubleshooting/optimization
Combining test mobile phone and scanner based measurements, resulting in powerful diagnostic functions
Subscriber view of QoS in uplink and downlink, with numerous features to simulate subscriber behavior (e.g., redial, pause, MOC/MTC/mobile-to-mobile calls, etc.)
Detailed decoding of engineering data: Layer 3, RLC/MAC messages
Flexibility in running measurements over different air interfaces (e.g., the same FTP tests can be run over GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, CDMA2000 EV-DO, WIMAX, LTE, etc.)
Technology-specific features (e.g., TBF usage), QoS fulfillment, time used/time wasted for transmission for GPRS)
The IP traces captured per channel allow in-depth analysis in case of weak performance or problems with IP-based services
VoIP sessions between two mobile phones or between a mobile and a fixed Internet user can be set up and evaluated in the same way as circuit-switched calls, including speech MOS in uplink and downlink
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QoS Measurements
QoS measurements are a true representation of what subscribers experience in the network. QoS measurements can be made in a mobile operator’s network or competitors’ networks, and the results can be viewed in real time during measurement or in post-processing systems.
4.1
Measure All Technologies
An important advantage of TEMS Symphony is that the QoS measurements can be made on almost any air interface technology, simultaneously. For example, the same speech call tests can be made on GSM and WCDMA and provide the dropped call/failed call rates, real speech quality measurements, etc. Similarly, mobile data tests of FTP, UDP, and e-mail can be made on GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, HSPA+, CDMA2000, EV-DO (including Rev. A) WiMAX, and LTE, and give invaluable results for each network/technology. This also enables the benchmarking of different networks (irrespective of which technologies are in use) or the technologies themselves.
4.2
Independent Channels
Each channel in the TEMS Symphony measurement system can have its own measurement task, and it will run independently of what other channels are measuring (e.g., speech, IP data, SMS, MMS tests).
4.3
Measurement Configuration
The setup and configuration of a test measurement can be done very quickly and easily. There are dedicated measurement programs for the different types of tests (e.g., speech and FTP). Creation of the measurement programs is supported by special editors and can also be exchanged among different users and systems.
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Measurement Program Editor
Subscription parameters (e.g., SIM subscriptions and phone numbers), as well as destination parameters, can be separately configured and used for the final measurement configuration of the system. The system configurations can be prepared by the drive test manager and distributed to the different Symphony systems in use.
4.4
Master/Slave Configurations
In peer-to-peer tests such as speech calls or SMS, both involved parties have to know about the test parameters. The parties sitting on the TEMS Symphony system used in drive or walk tests and controlled by an operator are the so-called Master channels. The Master channels will contact their corresponding peers (called Slave channels) before measurement and inform them about the measurement parameters (e.g., call length and type of call sequence).
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No operator assistance is needed for the TEMS Symphony Land Unit, even in the case of peer-to-peer tests.
4.4.1
Evolved Measurement Configuration
Evolved measurement configuration (EMC) applies to the configuration of Slave channels from a Symphony drive/walk test system over an IP bearer. EMC is available for network combinations whereas the Slave cannot be controlled via inband signaling.
Evolved Measurement Configuration – EMC • Measurement Parameters • Commands
EMC Server
GPRS EDGE / WCDMA HSPA / CDMA 1xEV-DO
Internet P T C
Company LAN
T C P
Master
Slave Data Card
TEMS Symphony MTP-4
GPS / NTP Time
GPS / NTP Time
TEMS Symphony Land Unit
TEMS Symphony evolved measurement configuration
Master and Slave communicate via an EMC server using TCP After TEMS Symphony starts up, the Master and Slave channels register with the EMC server using their speech number (circuit-switched calls)/SIP number (VoIP). The EMC server uses these numbers as a unique channel ID when forwarding messages. The clocks of both the Master and the Slave must be set using GPS or an NTP server.
4.5
Mobile Speech Call Tests
4.5.1
Measurement Configurations
Circuit-switched speech telephony tests can take place between:
Mobile to PSTN/ISDN
Mobile to mobile
Different types of calls (e.g., MOC and MTC) can be configured in different sequences (e.g., 2× MOC followed by 1× MTC). Speech quality can be configured in three different modes:
Downlink (speech MOS on Master side)
Uplink (speech MOS on Slave side)
Half duplex (speech MOS alternately on Master and Slave side)
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Speech channels can be synchronized in time (that is, speech calls on the TEMS Symphony systems will start at exactly the same time).
4.5.2
Real Speech Quality and In-Band Problem Detection
When a real speech sample has been transmitted through the network being tested, the PESQ algorithm (according to ITU-T recommendation P.862) evaluates the speech quality – as heard by a human ear – in real time, and shows the speech quality on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (excellent). In addition, the user can detect other in-band problems like silence, audio-level jump, and echo, which can lower the speech quality as heard by the subscriber. Gaps in speech such as those caused by handovers are measured in terms of length and position within the speech sample. Networks using GSM Full Rate, Enhanced Full Rate, and Half Rate codecs, as well as AMR networks, can be measured. Support for POLQA, the Latest Speech MOS Algorithm Support has been added for the new voice quality testing standard algorithm, POLQA (ITU-T recommendation P.863). POLQA provides new opportunities to benchmark the voice quality of competing mobile networks. With enhanced MOS accuracy, POLQA is suitable for highdefinition voice, 3G, and 4G/LTE technologies. Wideband Speech Testing To accommodate the testing of new voice codecs like AMR-WB, a wideband speech testing option has been added. Based on the POLQA algorithm, the wideband speech option provides new speech samples that are optimized for testing either narrowband speed (up to 3.2kHz) or wideband speech (up to 7kHz).
4.5.3
Live Recording
This is a unique feature of TEMS Symphony that the user can employ to set the thresholds by which the received speech sample will be recorded. For example, if the received speech sample has a quality between 3.5 and 1.0, it will be recorded.
4.5.4
Audio Call Recording
Entire calls can be audio-recorded and can be used for investigation of problems (e.g., in cases of congestion, “busy” called party, and diversion to speech box).
4.5.5
Call Statistics
During speech tests, other QoS parameters that affect the subscriber perception of network quality are also measured – dropped call rates, blocked calls (call status failed but network was available), no service (no usable network found), successfully completed call rates (can be defined as completed calls or completed calls with speech quality greater than x), setup times, and more.
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4.5.6
Benchmarking Speech Calls
Simultaneous measurements of different networks can be done giving an accurate picture of how the networks perform under the same conditions. The easy-to-use reports/statistics in QVP show the network comparisons under different criteria (e.g., speech quality, dropped/blocked call rates, or no service).
4.5.7
No-Coverage Areas
TEMS Symphony allows the user to specify whether to make calls in no-coverage areas. This is vitally important for benchmarking statistics because, for example, if calls are made in an area where network A has coverage but not network B, then the call success rate of A would be much higher than B. This could be misleading if not interpreted carefully.
4.5.8
Real-Time Display
During measurement, the measured results – e.g., MOS and other values – can be shown in real-time. The user can construct preferred displays using graphics/text/rolling text windows.
Speech quality display during drive-test
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4.6
Mobile Data Tests
Mobile data tests measure the performance of the network in transferring data/messages. A great variety of tests are available – FTP, UDP, Ping, e-mail, and others – and the user can set up a measurement program consisting of different tests.
Measurement Program Editor: defining an IP data test
4.6.1
TEMS Symphony Land Unit and Public Server
In mobile data tests, the TEMS Symphony measurement system acts as the client, and, as such, needs a server with which to communicate. The server can be:
TEMS Symphony Land Unit-Data, connected at the Gi interface or on the public Internet
Other server (i.e., a public server)
Possibilities with TEMS Symphony Land Unit Using a TEMS Symphony Land Unit provides optimal control over IP data services, enabling Ping, UDP, and FTP uplink testing to be carried out. This may not be possible with a public server. Even FTP downloads, normally not a problem with a public server, could sometimes fail because the target file has been moved to another directory or deleted. In addition, a public server may be temporarily overloaded and hence bias the measurement result. However, sometimes it may be desirable to use a public server, such as in benchmarking exercises where a connection via a competitor’s network to one’s own TEMS Symphony Land Unit-Data may not be possible. TEMS Symphony Land Unit at the Gi interface Another advantage of TEMS Symphony Land U nit-Data is that it can be connected to the Gi interface, thus eliminating the (highly variable) impact of the public Internet.
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This gives the operator a more accurate picture of the performance of its network and the elements under its control.
4.6.2
FTP Tests
FTP measurements (active or passive) can be configured using file types of zip, jpg, text, or binary, and the file size can be 15 KB to 1 GB. This is another advantage of TEMS Symphony, where the slow-start mechanism of TCP (which can lower the data throughput) can be investigated or eliminated by using different file sizes. FTP download (“get”) or upload (“put”) measurements can be performed. Sample time specifies how often the FTP throughput is reported or recorded. Below is a typical screen shot during FTP measurements:
Example of an FTP test: grid views (tables), message browser, and line chart
4.6.3
UDP Tests
TEMS Symphony UDP measurements can be used to t est the maximum capacity/throughput of the network (without TCP retransmission), or the performance in most streaming applications. They can be set up with message sizes of 200 to 5,000 bytes and the number of messages to be sent can be controlled by the count parameter (10 to 10,000). The throughput sample time can also be changed.
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Bandwidth limit The bandwidth limit is another unique feature of TEMS Symphony. In the measurement path between the TEMS Symphony MTP-4 client and the TEMS Symphony Land Unit-Data, or public, server, there may be bottlenecks that limit the UDP performance (e.g., intermediate nodes with limited buffers) and it is useful to be able to steer the test program to send UDP packets up to a certain throughput limit, but not beyond (which could lead to loss of datagrams). UDP tests can be done in uplink and downlink. In the case of uplink, the TEMS Symphony Land Unit-Data measures the UDP uplink throughputs and stores the uplink results.
4.6.4
Ping Tests
Ping is a useful measurement for testing round-trip delays and hence its impact on handshake-based protocols (e.g., TCP) or interactive classes of applications (reaction time). TEMS Symphony enables the user to define the message size (20 to 5,000 bytes) because it is an important factor for some investigations, such as:
The relationship between message size and round-trip delay
Network sensitivity to message size (some real-life measurements show that some networks tend to lose a lot of messages of a particular size)
The impact of the maximum packet size on the network under test
If the maximum echo time is greater than the timeout specified (500 to 20,000 ms), then the message is considered as lost. The pause (100 to 10,000 ms) is another important advantage of TEMS Symphony. It specifies the pause between receiving the echo from the previous message to sending the next message. TEMS Symphony’s ability to vary the pause duration (in addition to the message size) enables the user to investigate:
The behavior of opening/closing/delayed closing of TBF in GPRS
The inter-relationship between the Ping frequency and the echo time
In addition, TEMS Symphony’s Ping tests (unlike, for example, console Ping in Microsoft) can be run simultaneously on all measurement channels (i.e., benchmarking is possible with Ping tasks). An Ascom Network Testing Application Note is available to explain the details of the Ping timing and its impact on measured results.
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IP data test: Ping results together with IP event rolling display
4.6.5
HTTP Download Tests
HTTP download tests are done with connections to a destination, which can be configured as follows:
IP data test: Destination Editor
For testing the retrieval of Web pages, for example, HTTP tests are configured with a count specifying how many times the Web page is downloaded. A timeout gives the maximum time
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allowed until the end of the transmission. If the same Web page is downloaded more than once, a pause specifies the wait time between retrievals. HTTP tests can also be run over a proxy server. Number of threads Number of threads is another unique feature of TEMS Symphony that allows the user to control the number of parallel downloads. For special investigations of network performance, the number can be set to, say, 1 (one file download at a time). To emulate performance of commercial browsers, the number can be set higher, to, say, 6. A sample result, shown in real time with signaling messages, is:
IP data test: HTTP download
4.6.6
HTTP Internet Explorer
This type of test allows for the download of Web pages from the Internet via Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. By using Internet Explorer, the experience of common users will be reflected.
4.6.7
HTTP Upload Tests
This type of test simulates mobile users uploading their data (such as photo books) to a network server on the Internet.
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A dedicated TEMS Symphony application running on a server will communicate the HTTP upload test running on the TEMS Symphony system. As with the HTTP download, files of different sizes can be selected. Upload time and throughput are measured and will be stored on the TEMS Symphony system.
4.6.8
WAP Tests
WAP tests perform end-to-end quality measurements of the WAP service, including all elements involved: mobile network, WAP proxy server, and Web server. These tests help pinpoint the detailed reasons for service faults across various protocol layers. The WAP browser runs on the TEMS Symphony system. The mobile phone is used as a data modem only.
4.6.9
E-Mail Tests
Sending and retrieving e-mail (with or without attachments) can be programmed, with the text size of the e-mail between 10 to 10,000 bytes.
Wait time (the delay before the e-mail is retrieved) can also be set by the user.
Count is the number of times the e-mail is sent and retrieved.
Timeout is the maximum delay for the anticipated response time (TEMS Symphony will suggest a suitable value, depending on the size of the attachment).
Pause is between 0 to 1,000 seconds and represents the pause between sending e-mail. A random pause can also be specified. Attachment, if activated, can be a text, jpg, or zip file of 10 KB to 5 MB.
The measured results of the e-mail test include success/failed operations (send/retrieve), send times, and retrieve times (minimum, maximum, and mean).
4.6.10
Streaming Test
TEMS Symphony can test streaming multimedia services delivered over packet-switched bearers. Multimedia clips can be streamed via the mobile Internet in an automated repetitive way and all relevant streaming QoS parameters will be measured and presented online. Perceptual streaming video quality measurement will result in video MOS values. The values are mapped on a scale ranging from 1 (bad) to 5 (excellent). From TEMS Symphony 5.2 onwards, the multimedia clip can be observed in a dedicated window and heard via the audio output. Live recording of the video stream for later documentation and investigation is also possible. When using TEMS Symphony GPRS/EDGE or WCDMA test mobile phones, all engineering traces including Layer 3 messages will be presented online and logged for post-processing. TEMS Symphony's streaming test is optimized for wireless video and supports all major streaming players (Windows Media, RealMedia, QuickTime). Different 3GPP codecs (ITU-T H.263, MPEG-4) can be tested. Perceptual Quality Measurement TEMS Symphony uses absolute metrics. The perceptual metrics take into account the image content and frame data of the video resulting from the given coding and transmission conditions.
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Quality metrics can be divided into relative (full-reference) metrics and absolute (noreference) metrics. Relative metrics compare a compressed or otherwise processed video directly with the original, whereas absolute metrics analyze any given video without the need for a reference, using only the data contained in the clip under test. The figures below show the different application scenarios for relative and absolute metrics: System under test
System under test
Relative
Absolute metrics
Relative versus absolute streaming quality measurement scenarios
Relative metrics have two important shortcomings: 1. As can be seen from the figure, they are restricted to measurement of video quality at locations where both the reference video and the test video are readily available (e.g., at the encoder site the encoded reference file has to be installed or loaded on the quality measurement system). In the case of live streaming where the reference file cannot be available on others sites, it will never be possible to measure the perceptual quality with a relative metric. 2. The other restriction is the need for aligning the test video with the reference video for relative analysis. Without proper alignment, relative analysis cannot be carried out. This alignment is not only a very time-consuming procedure; if variable delays or jerkiness (see below) are introduced by the system, it is nearly impossible to align the two sequences. For these reasons, relative metrics are limited to out-of-service testing. Absolute metrics do not have any of these restrictions and are thus ideally suited for inservice quality measurement of (video) streaming. They enable real-time measurement of quality at any point in the content reproduction and delivery chain. Absolute metrics are particularly useful for monitoring quality variations due to network problems, as well as for applications where service level agreements (i.e., quality control) are required. The possibility of using an absolute metric for in-service quality testing of video streaming was one of the main reasons why Ascom Network Testing chose the absolute metrics agent. One of the most important KPIs, aside from video quality, is still the service accessibility of live streaming. The perceptual quality metrics measure specific artifacts introduced into the video as perceived by a human viewer. These artifacts are well known and are easily recognized even by inexperienced people. The aim of the metrics is to provide an automatic measure of those artifacts that viewers perceive, in a way that is correlated with human perception. Additionally, the overall quality of the video, also known as MOS from subjective experiments with viewers, is estimated by a dedicated metric. The artifacts and metrics are discussed in more detail in the following sections. Jerkiness is a perceptual measure of frozen pictures or motion that does not look smooth. Transmission problems such as network congestion or packet loss are the primary causes of jerkiness. Because video transmission is a time-critical process, missing data packets cannot 28
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simply be retransmitted. If substantial parts of the video stream are not available when they are needed for display, decoders often show the last good picture until they can resume playback. An illustration of this is shown below. Jerkiness can also be introduced by the encoder dropping frames in an effort to achieve the given bit rate constraints. Finally, a reduced or varying frame rate can also create the perception of jerky motion.
Video Playback
Jerkiness: Missing Frames
Time
Time
Blockiness is a perceptual measure of the block structure that is common to all DCT-based image and video compression techniques (see the examples below). The DCT (discrete cosine transform) is typically performed on 8x8 blocks in the frame, and the coefficients in each block are quantized separately, leading to discontinuities at the boundaries of adjacent blocks. Due to the regularity and extent of the resulting pattern, the blocking effect is easily noticeable. Blockiness can also be caused by transmission errors, which often affect many blocks in a video frame. The agent’s blockiness metric looks for these characteristic block patterns in the video. Blur is a perceptual measure of the loss of fine detail and the smearing of edges in the video (see figures below for examples). It is due to the attenuation of high frequencies by coarse quantization, which is applied in every “lossy” compression scheme. It can be further aggravated by filters, such as for de-blocking, which are sometimes used in the decoder to reduce the noise or blockiness in the video. In certain compression schemes, transmission errors or packet loss can also induce blur. Another important source of blur is low-pass filtering (e.g., digital-to-analog conversion). The agent’s blur metric analyzes the video for these types of distortions. Subjective experiments with images containing different types of blur show a correlation of up to 96% between the agent’s blur metric and perceived blur.
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Original
Blockiness from an actual video clip
Blockiness
Blur
Blur
Video MOS prediction When determining the quality of video sequences in subjective experiments, each observer gives a quality rating to every test video. The average of these ratings over all observers is called mean opinion score (MOS). The agent’s metric provides predictions for subjective MOS. The agent’s MOS predictions are metrics that correlate with human perception of video quality. The MOS prediction uses the aforementioned perceptual metrics (jerkiness, blockiness, and blur) to estimate the overall quality of the video content. Numerous sets of subjective test data have been used to verify the correlation and the prediction error that this measure has with MOS from subjective tests. These tests were carried out in accordance with ITU-R Rec. BT.500 and ITU-T Rec. P.910, as well as criteria proposed by the Video Quality Experts Group. They comprise:
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A wide range of content (such as sports, news, music videos, cartoons, and film)
Various frame rates and sizes
Different codecs (MPEG-4, Windows Media, RealMedia, and others)
Bit rates ranging from 64 Kb/s to 1 Mb/s
Transmission error effects (packet losses as well as bit error patterns as observed over a WCDMA wireless link)
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Using the data from these tests, the agent’s metrics achieve a correlation with subjective MOS of around 90%. As a comparison, PSNR (which is a relative metric) has a correlation of only 40% for these experiments. Cause analysis The different types of perceptual artifacts described above and common video problems causing them are summarized in the following table: Metric overview and cause analysis Perceptual metric
Type
Description
Common causes
Jerkiness
Temporal
Perceptual measure of video freeze or motion that does not look smooth
Transmission errors, network congestion, packet loss, frames dropped by the encoder, reduced frame rate
Blockiness
Spatial
Perceptual measure of the block grid structure (discontinuities at adjacent block boundaries)
Block DCT-based compression (e.g., JPEG, MPEG), packet loss
Blur
Spatial
Perceptual measure of the loss of fine detail and the smearing of edges due to high-frequency attenuation
Compression, de-blocking filters, transmission errors, packet loss, low-pass filtering, analog-domain processing
MOS prediction
Spatial and temporal
Perceptual measure of overall image or video quality
All of the above
Operation of Streaming Test The user should specify the URL and type of stream where he can choose between QuickTime, RealMedia, and Windows Media. Every two seconds the video MOS and video effects (jerkiness, blockiness, and blur) will be measured, displayed online, and logged. The stream stops after reaching the end (or after 10 minutes). If the average MOS over the whole stream is 3.1, the stream will be stored so that it can be viewed again after measurement. TEMS Symphony supports streaming with all GPRS/EDGE and WCDMA capable test mobile phones or standard mobile phones. Details about the accessed video stream are recorded, including duration, average frame rate, frame width, frame height, target bit rate, and video codec used. The video MOS and the video metrics (jerkiness, blockiness, and blur) are recorded into the measurement data file. The values are updated in the interval chosen in the measurement program (sample time). Some statistical results of the ongoing stream are also recorded, including minimum, maximum, and mean values of MOS, jerkiness, blockiness, and blur. Technical information about actual bandwidth and buffer status are continuously updated for all types of players. Details about numbers of packets received, recovered, and lost are given when using RealMedia and Windows Media players. NT11-17590, 1.0, 8/29/2011
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All these parameters can be shown in customizable line charts. More details about the reliability of the video quality evaluation are given by the reliability index (e.g., during initial buffering, the video MOS outputs become the special index = 4). Only quality results with index = 1 (good) will be used for reports. The total number of results (count total) is split into four reliability categories: good, questionable, bad, and initial buffering.
Streaming results in the TEMS Symphony GUI
4.7
Messaging
4.7.1
SMS Tests
SMS tests are carried out between two channels/test mobile phones. One sends the SMS (and records the sent time and whether it was successfully sent), and the receiver records the receive time and whether it was successfully received. The delivery time (send to receive) is calculated. The measured results include: number of sent requests (of which how many are successful) and send times (minimum, maximum, mean).
4.7.2
MMS Tests
The MMS test consists of sending/retrieving MMS between two channels (Master/Slave) in the same equipment, measuring the success/failure of the MMS transmission, the send/retrieve times, and detecting any failures during the WAP/MMS message exchange. This is implemented by having the WAP stack and the MMS software running in TEMS Symphony, with the test mobile phone providing the co nnection.
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Integration of the WAP stack in TEMS Symphony software offers many advantages:
During MMS/WAP tests, the test mobile phone can still deliver engineering information like Layer 3 messages.
Precise trigger points (per ETSI definitions) can be defined (i.e., starting the time measurement at a particular WAP/MMS message, and ending the measurement at a specific message).
The exchange of MMS/WAP messages can be monitored and any problems detected.
The MMS test is independent of which type of test mobile phone is in use (e.g., a GPRS or a WCDMA test mobile phone).
The measured results of the MMS test include: send and delivery success rates, numbers of send requests (and how many were successful), send times (minimum, maximum, mean), notification times (minimum, maximum, mean), retrieve times (minimum, maximum, mean), and unexpected receives. MMS trigger point definitions Due to the availability of the MMS stack in TEMS Symphony, the trigger points for the various measurements can be precisely defined. For send-receive-delivery indication (T1 to T9 as per ETSI TS 102-250-2), see figure below: Master
g i n d e n S t r t a S Send Timeout
T1
T2
n n g i o v i t a c t r i e i d I n R e y t f a r i t t o S N
Slave
i r m f n C o d n S e
Notification Timeout
T3
T4
PDP Cont. PDP Cont. Activation Send MM Deactiv.
Retrieve Timeout
T5a T5b Notify MM
T6
PDP Cont. Activation
s e n o s p e R f y i t N o
T7 Retrieve MM
Master
T8
PDP Cont. Deactiv.
T9 Delivery Indication
IP data test: trigger points with MMS
4.8
Video Telephony Tests With Speech and Video MOS
Video telephony tests can also be done with:
Video samples sent in full duplex (uplinks and downlinks simultaneously). The uplink and downlink samples can be different from each other
Speech samples sent in half duplex
This combination represents real subscriber usage of video telephony. The video samples are fed into the mobile devices for outward transmission. At the receiving end, the video seen by the subscriber on the screen is captured electronically by this process – with no loss in quality. Another powerful advantage of this feed/capture process is that the received video clip can also be seen during the test on the screen of the mobile device. This gives TEMS Symphony users an accurate picture of the tests in progress.
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Since the video quality at the receiving end is impacted by the quality of the radio link and the demand placed on it (e.g., how fast is the video picture changing), TEMS Symphony provides four different video samples to ensure that tr uly representative tests can be done.
Provided video content
Grandma is a fairly stable video clip, with the subject talking without much movement.
Salesman has – due to waving arms, etc. – more movement built in.
Car phone represents a typical video telephony usage, with someone talking in a moving vehicle.
The captured video is then evaluated by a referenced video quality algorithm PEVQ, giving the following measured values:
Video MOS score
[1 to 5]
Effective frame rate
[fps]
Number of frozen and skipped frames
[%]
Jerkiness
[0 to 10]
Blur
[0 to 10]
Blockiness
[0 to 10]
Brightness reference and captured vide
[0 to 10]
Contrast reference and captured video
[0 to 10]
PSNR of luminance (Y) and chrominance
(Cb, Cr)
[dB]
At the same time as video transmission, speech signals are alternately sent in both directions (half duplex) and their quality is evaluated at both ends. The measurement parameters are the same as with speech tests described previously. The video telephony test with video and speech MOS can be carried out with sending and receiving ends on the same equipment (TEMS Symphony) or on two different systems.
4.9
VoIP Tests
VoIP sessions can be set up between two mobile subscribers (2) or between a mobile and a subscriber connected to a stationary LAN/Internet connection (1):
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VoIP
Internet
Cellular Network
EMC Server Data Card for EMC
M
TEMS Symphony MTP-4
M = Master
Data Card for EMC M
S =Slave
TEMS Symphony MTP-4
S
EMC
S
TEMS Symphony Land Unit
EMC = Evolved Measurement Configuration
After building up an IP bearer to the Internet and registration of both parties, VoIP sessions can be configured with the same flexibility as circuit-switched speech calls. The number of MOC/MTC calls and the speech mode (uplink, downlink, half duplex) can be configured per test.
By using VoIP agents installed on TEMS Symphony modules and on the TEMS Symphony Land Unit, VoIP sessions can be set up and quality can be measured on different levels:
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IP-trace log
Jitter Delay Packet Loss R-factor (MOS)
NB/WB MOS Special effects
PESQ ETSI KPI
VQMon
VoIP AGENT
VQMon Metrics
IP Trace
CODEC
Jitter Buffer Emulator
Jitter Buffer
RTP
Call ctr
SIP UDP IP
Call statistics All trigger points for calculations of the call statistics as defined in ETSI TS 102 250:
Registration failure ratio
Registration time
Session setup failure ratio
Session setup time
Session completion failure ratio
Speech quality, based on ITU P.862.1
Speech transmission delay
Speech quality Speech quality MOS can be measured in uplink or downlink and is currently based on ITU P.862.1. Network transmission quality VQMon measures the quality of the IP network and codec performance using synchronized video and speech samples, providing metrics for:
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Jitter
Packet loss
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R-factor (as defined in E-model, the ITU-recommended computational model for transmission planning)
IP trace Logging the full IP trace can be very helpful for analyzing problems during registration and session setup. Choice of codecs TEMS Symphony customers can select from several different t ypes of codecs:
G711
G723.1
G729
WB-AMR
GSM
4.10
Summary
TEMS Symphony can test the network QoS performance from a subscriber’s point of view, measuring:
Speech calls with speech quality, in-band audio problems, and call statistics
Mobile data applications with a great variety of protocols (with special configuration possibilities for in-depth investigations) and popular applications like SMS, e-mail, W AP, and MMS
Video connections for video streaming and video telephony, with unique features for feeding/capturing video signals and seeing the video during tests
VoIP sessions including speech MOS quality, call statistics parameters, and network transmission quality metrics
These tests can be mixed and matched on a single system, with each channel independently running different measurement programs. The channels can be of different air interface technologies: GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA, CDMA2000, EV-DO, WiMAX, and LTE.
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5
Engineering Tests – GSM
While it is performing the QoS measurements described above, TEMS Symphony can simultaneously measure the engineering parameters in the air interface. This chapter covers the engineering measurements which are invaluable for network tuning and troubleshooting.
5.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement
TEMS Symphony presents the following types of data in real time:
Base station information of serving, previous serving, and neighbor cells
Radio environment and radio interface information like RxLev/RxQual and dedicated channel ARFCN/number/type and mode
Layer 3 message decoder (rolling display)
C/I measurements of ARFCN, C/I, RxLev
Scanning information from a dedicated scanner or a test mobile phone
Status of the forcing functions: handover suppression, ignore cell barring, override path loss, voice codec forcing, power class forcing, cell f orcing
Real-time display with GSM tests
5.2
RF Scan Views in TEMS Symphony
Scanning results can be monitored online in different specific optimized views. The box plot view is an all-channel monitor showing the signal strength of all the channels selected in the 38
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system. The RSSI is color-coded and gives a good idea of the signal strength. Detailed RSSI results are displayed in dBm together with results for BSIC, C/I, and BCCH. All of these scanning results can be sorted by channel number or signal level.
In the box plot view , numerical details are highlighted by hovering over the channel numbers
In addition, interesting results can be analyzed in the field in time shift mode and can be combined with all types of other results in different windows.
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Display of GSM and WCDMA results
5.3
GSM Parameters Measured
In GSM, the engineering parameters measured/recorded include:
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C1
Dedicated reports
Cell Name Speech quality Quality Silence
Speech quality P.862 During speech sample < –28 dB Signal Level -30 dB to +30 dB Echo Amplitude -45 to +30 dB Echo Delay 100 to 750 ms Gap in speech Start time, length
Speech sample recording Uplink Downlink
Channel report BSIC CHTYPE TN SUBCH TSC MAIO HSN BCCH_ARFC
BSIC of the Serving Cell TchF, TchH, Sdcch4, Sdcch8 Time slot Number (0 to 7) Subchannel Number Training Sequence Code Hopping Sequence Number ARFCN for the BCCH carrier
C/I values GSM Layer 3 Info
TA Actual Timing Advance TxPwr Actual MS TxPower RxLevFull Serving Cell RxLevFull RxQualFull Serving Cell RxQualFull RxLevSub Serving Cell RxLevSub RxQualSub Serving Cell RxQualSub FER Frame Erasure Rate RLCinit Radio Link Counter init RLActual Radio Link Counter actual RLCStatus Radio Link Counter status DTX UL Uplink DTX status DTX DL Downlink DTX status Neighbor Cell Count ARFCNx Frequency Channel neighbor x RxLevNx RxLev of neighbor x BSICNx BSIC of neighbor x
Idle reports RxLevFull Serving Cell RxLevFull TxPowerMax Tx max power serving cell RxLevAccMin RxLev min access lev serving cell Power Class MS Power Class DSC init, actual, status change C1 C1 from serving Cell C2 C2 from serving Cell Neighbor Cell Count ARFCNx Frequency Channel neighbor x RxLevNx RxLev of neighbor x BSICNx BSIC of neighbor x C1Nx C1 of neighbor x C2Nx C2 of neighbor x RACNx RA Color Code neighbor x
The actual list of measured parameters may differ slightly depending on the model of the test mobile phone.
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6
Engineering Tests – GPRS/EDGE
GPRS engineering measurements are carried out at the same time as the mobile data QoS tests described above. The test mobile phones in TEMS Symphony will carry out tests (such as UDP) while delivering GSM/GPRS engineering data. Since GPRS is based on GSM technology, the aforementioned GSM engineering parameters are also available during GPRS measurements. Additional configuration possibilities include:
APN
Bearer type
Packet-switched
Dial-up mode
Connect for every task
Auto attach
On/off
Band forcing
850/900/1800/1900
Number of time slots forcing
Preferred coding scheme
Record RLC control message On/off
Do detach/attach On: detach with every disconnect
6.1
Attach
with
every
connect
and
Real-Time Display During Measurement
Similar to the GSM displays, GPRS real-time display during measurement shows in-depth information on the operation of the network:
Which measurement program is in progress (e.g., an HTTP task)
Serving and neighbor cell information
GPRS radio environment – TA, C value, etc., and dedicated channel information
Layer 3 messages (rolling window)
GPRS idle information (BCCH RxLev, C1, C2, etc.)
Layer 2 information including LLC frames and throughput, RLC frames and throughput, PDP context information, status of the GPRS layers (SM, GM, RR)
QoS fulfillment and TBF information
EDGE parameters like coding schemes
A typical screen shot during testing shows the wealth of information available in the TEMS Symphony real-time display:
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Real-time display with GPRS tests
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6.2
GPRS Parameters Measured A great wealth of GPRS information is measured/recorded: Pause Marker
GPRS Channel Information
Pause Between IP Data Tasks
C_Value RxQual SIGN_VAR I_LevelTS0 I_LevelTS1 : I_LevelTS7 Timing Advance TxPower Frame Erasure Rate Block Error Rate
Measurement Task STOP Marker Measurement Task START Marker Ping GPRS Routing Area Update Marker GPRS Attachment Marker GPRS Context Marker GPRS Layer Status Measurement Results Ping
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Delay Messages Transferred Packet Loss
GPRS TBF Marker (Temporary Block Flow)
GPRS Values from RLC and LLC
GPRS TBF Statistics (TBF of previous task)
Coding Scheme UL Coding Scheme DL Time Slot Count UL Time Slot Count DL RLC Throughput UL RLC Frames Transmitted UL RLC Frames Repeated UL RLC Throughput DL RLC Frames Transmitted DL RLC Frames Repeated DL RLC Acknowledge Mode LLC Throughput UL LLC Frames Transmitted UL LLC Frames Repeated UL LLC Throughput DL LLC Frames Transmitted DL LLC Frames Repeated DL LLC Acknowledge Mode Time Slot Allocation UL Time Slot Allocation DL
Uplink TBF Time Usage Downlink TBF Time Usage
Direction TFI (Temporary Flow Identity)
IP Data Session Marker (Start/end of measurement program)
GPRS QoS Fulfillment Mean Throughput Agreed Mean Throughput Ratio Throughput Mean Delay Agreed Mean Delay Packets Above Agreed Mean Delay
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GPRS Layer States SM Layer State GM Layer State RR Mode
Measurement Task START Marker FTP
Measurement Task START Marker HTTP Measurement Results HTTP Pages Loaded Pages Timed Out Download Time Page Size
Measurement Results FTP Throughput Transferred Size
Measurement Results HTTP Part Download Time Page Size
Measurement Task START Marker UDP Measurement Task START Marker MAIL Measurement Results UDP Throughput Messages Transferred Packet Loss
Data Q Class Actual Throughput Actual Block Errors Total Throughput
The actual measured parameters may differ slightly depending on which test mobile phone models are used.
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7
Engineering Tests – WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+
Similarly to GSM/GPRS engineering tests, the WCDMA tests are run simultaneously with the QoS measurements, so if TEMS Symphony is carrying out a speech test call or a UDP transfer, the WCDMA engineering data will be simultaneously measured and recorded. Several test devices for WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA+ testing equipped with engineering trace software are available for different WCDMA frequency bands
7.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement
The real-time display includes:
Dedicated physical channels with downlink SIR target/actual, downlink DPCH, uplink minimum SF, uplink DPDCH bit rate
Power control parameters
Transport channel information uplink/downlink channel ID, type, TTI, coding, CRC, minimum bit rate, maximum bit rate
Physical channel state
PRACH information (initial Tx power, preamble offset, preamble Tx count, max preamble count, message Tx power)
Network environment including RR status, active set/serving cell, previous active set/serving cell, network registration
QoS information (requested, negotiated, minimum)
Layer 2 information
QoS fulfillment
Examples of real-time displays
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WCDMA measurement display for Layer 1 DCH
Layer 2 IP DCH information displayed in grid views (FACH is similarly displayed)
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Layer 3 information can be displayed in a message browser
Collection of real-time information (viewer) for HSDPA mea surements by TEMS S ymphony
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7.2
Parameters Recorded
The parameters recorded in the measurement data file include: Network Identifiers
RAB info
Network Type Network State MCC, MNC LAC RAC URAid
Radio Access Bearer ID Radio Access Bearer Type CS Bearer Type
Serving Cell info Cell ID in SIB3/4 Downlink UARFCN Primary Scrambling Code P-CPICH Tx Power Maximum Allowed UL Tx Power Cell Barred Cell Reserved Cell Reservation Extension P-CPICH Ec/Io P-CPICH RSCP UTRA Carrier RSSI Use of HCS
Active Set info Active Set Size Downlink UARFCN UTRA Carrier RSSI Primary Scrambling Code (per radio link) P-CPICH Ec/Io (per radio link) P-CPICH RSCP (per radio link) Maximum Allowed UL Tx Power (per radio link)
Neighbor info Neighbor Count Downlink UARFCN Downlink UARFCN of 2nd freq UTRA Carrier RSSI UTRA Carrier RSSI of 2nd freq Cell ID (per neighbor cell) Cell Type (per neighbor cell) Cell Status (per neighbor cell) Primary Scrambling Code (per neighbor cell) P-CPICH Ec/Io (per neighbor cell) P-CPICH RSCP (per neighbor cell)
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PS Layer States SM State GMM State PMM State
RLC info RLC Entity Count Radio Access Bearer ID (per RLC entity) Radio Bearer ID (per RLC entity) Logical Channel Type (per RLC entity) UL Transport Channel ID (per RLC entity) DL Transport Channel ID (per RLC entity) RLC Mode (per RLC entity)
Transport Channel info Transport Channel Count Transport Channel ID (per TrCH) Direction (per TrCH) TrCH Type (per TrCH) Transmission Time Interval (per TrCH) Channel Coding (per TrCH) CRC Size (per TrCH) Rate Matching Attribute (per TrCH) Max. bit rate (per TrCH) Min. bit rate (per TrCH) DL TrCH BLER Target (per TrCH) DL TrCH BLER (per TrCH)
PRACH info PRACH Initial Tx Power PRACH Preamble Offset PRACH Preamble Tx Count PRACH Message Tx Power PRACH Max. Preamble Count
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Power Control info
HSPA+ Configuration
Uplink Tx Power Uplink Interference PC Algorithm PC Step Size DPC Mode
DL 64QAM Modulation MIMO MIMO Antenna2 CPICH Type MAC Mode HS-SCCH Less Operation
Dedicated Physical Channel info
HSPA+ HS_PDSCH Statistics Report HSPA+ Uplink HS_DPCH Statistics Report
Compressed Mode State Compressed Mode Method Tx Diversity State Avg. Measured UL PhCH Frame Bit Rate UL Minimum SF DL SIR Target DL BER DL TFCI BER Radio Link Count Primary Scrambling Code (per radio link) DL Spreading Factor (per radio link) Max. Configured DL PhCH Frame Bit Rate (per radio link) TPC Combination Index (per radio link)
Layer 1 info L1 Channel State STTD on P-CCPCH Number of S-CCPCHs
HSDPA info Serving HSDPA RL HSDPA Activity HS-PDSCH Decoding Success Rate No. of HS-PDSCH HS-PDSCH Gross Bit Rate HS-PDSCH Re-transmission Rate Modulations QPSK, 16QAM UL HS-DPCCH Statistics (CQI, CRC results)
HSUPA info Serving E-DCH Cell RG Index Max. Spreading Factor Max. Layer 1 Bit Rate Happy Bit Delay Condition 2- and 3-Index Step Threshold
Release 99 QoS Profile Type:
Requested Minimum Negotiated QoS Version: R97 R99 R97&99 Precedence Class Delay Class Reliability Class Peak Throughput Mean Throughput Radio Priority Traffic Class Delivery Order Delivery of Erroneous SDU Max. SDU Size Max. Bit Rate UL Max. Bit Rate DL Residual BER SDU Error Ratio Transfer Delay Traffic Handling Priority Guaranteed Bit Rate UL Guaranteed Bit Rate DL
Markers Handover Cell Reselection RRC State Transition URA Update Location Area Update (same as in GPRS) Routing Area Update (same as in GPRS) PS Attach/Detach (same as in GPRS) PDP Context (same as in GPRS)
Layer 3 Messages 50
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Please note that the parameters recorded depend on the make and software release of the test mobile phone and can therefore t herefore vary somewhat from the above.
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8
Engineering Tests – Tests – CDMA2000 CDMA2000
At the same time t ime the QoS measurements described above above are performed, TEMS Symphony can measure the engineering parameters in the air interface. This chapter covers the engineering measurements for CDMA2000 technology, including EV-DO and EV-DO Rev. A, which are invaluable for network tuning and troubleshooting. TEMS Symphony CDMA2000 tracing functionality also covers AMPS in case of a handoff to the analog network. Supported measurement devices include various models of handsets and data cards from vendors such as Samsung, Kyocera, Sierra Wireless, and others.
8.1
Real-Time Display During Measurement
The CDMA2000 real-time displays include:
Radio environment – environment – serving serving cell info, active set, candidate set, and neighbor set
Layer 1 measurements measurement s – fingers, – fingers, receive, and transmit power levels
Network type (frequency (frequency band) and technology mode (1x, EV-DO, EV-DO Rev. A) A)
Handoff parameters – parameters – T_Add, T_Add, T_Drop, T_Comp, etc.
Phone state and Vocoder info
Layer 3 signaling messages
Examples of real-time displays
Online information during speech calls in CDMA2000 network
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Online information during FTP measurement in CDMA2000 EV -DO network
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8.2
CDMA2000 Parameters Recorded
Serving info
EV-DO Rate Adaptation
Network Type ARFCN Channel Number SID/NID Technology Mode (1x, EV-DO, EV-DO Rev. A) T_Add T_Drop T_Comp TT_Drop Network State Vocoder Type Phone State
Tx Power Tx Power Adjust Rx0 and Rx1 Power Serving PN Serving SINR DRC Requested/Current Reverse Rate Limit (Rev. A) Current Reverse Rate (Rev. A)
Active Set/Candidate Set/ Neighbor Set info PN Count Pilot PN (per radio link) Pilot Ec/Io (per radio link)
EV-DO Session info Access Attempt info Connection Attempt info Session Attempt info
Markers Handoff
Layer 3 Messages Finger info Finger Count PN Code per finger Ec/Io per finger
Power Control Tx Power Tx Power Adjust Rx1 Power Forward FCH, SCH0 and SCH1 FER Forward FCH, SCH0 and SCH1 Frame Rate Reverse FCH, SCH0 and SCH1 Frame Rate
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Access Channel Reverse Channel Traffic Sync Channel Paging Channel Forward Channel Forward Dedicated Control Channel Reverse Dedicated Control Channel Broadcast Control Channel Reverse Enhanced Access Channel Forward Common Control Channel EV-DO Signaling
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8.3
CDMA Scanner
The scanner is an important tool for the user to check coverage and pilot pollution on CDMA technology. A CDMA RF scanner is integrated into TEMS Symphony covering the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz frequency bands. The scanner can operate on CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO carriers reporting a variety of measurements including:
CDMA RSSI scan
Pilot and Pilot TopN scan, with the possibility to highlight T_Add and T_Drop thresholds
Time domain scan
Walsh code scan
Example: CDMA time domain scan
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9
Engineering Tests – WIMAX
While it is performing the aforementioned QoS measurements for mobile data, TEMS Symphony can simultaneously measure the engineering parameters in the air interface. For WiMAX mobile (IEEE 802.16e) technology, supported measurement devices are data cards based on chipsets of Beceem.
9.1
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WIMAX Parameters Recorded
Network info
Physical metrics
Network Type Network State Subscriber Station State Base Station ID Operator ID Cell ID
Mean RSSI Mean CINR Center Frequency Channel Bandwidth TxPower PER UL Data Rate DL Data Rate
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Engineering Tests – LTE
At the same time the QoS measurements described above are performed on mobile data, TEMS Symphony can measure the engineering parameters in the air interface. For LTE technology, supported measurement devices are data cards from Samsung and LG, for the 2600 MHz and 700 MHz bands.
10.1
LTE serving cell info: -
MCC, MNC Tracking area h Cell ID DL bandwidth EARFCN (DL & UL)
LTE NAS: -
LTE Parameters Recorded
ESM states EMM states NAS signaling messages
LTE RRC: -
RRC states RRC signaling messages
10.2
LTE Scanner
The LTE scanner is an important tool for checking LTE coverage, and identifying potential sources of interference in the LTE band. An LTE baseband scanner is available for the 700 MHz upper and lower bands. It is capable of a variety of measurements, including:
Primary and secondary sync
SIR
Power
Ec/No
Cell ID
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Example: LTE scanner Top N display
10.3
Continuous Expansion
Ascom Network Testing’s policy is one of continuous expansion, and therefore the company reserves the right to change the functions in the TEMS Symphony system without advanced notice.
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Standards Fulfilled by TEMS Symphony
TEMS Symphony is tested for the following standards EN55022:1998, class B EN 55024
Electromagnetic compatibility
ENV 50204:1995
Radiated electromagnetic field from digital radio telephones; immunity test
EN 55022:1998 + A1 + A2 CISPR 22:1997 + A1 + A2
Emission: Interference voltage, common mode at telecommunication ports, radiated electromagnetic field
2004/104/EG
Emission: Radiated electromagnetic field
EN 61000-4-2:1995 + A1 + A2 IEC 61000-4-2:1995 + A1 + A2
Immunity: Electrostatic discharges
EN 61000-4-3:2002 IEC 61000-4-3:2002 ENV 50204
Immunity: Electromagnetic fields
EN 61000-4-4:2004 IEC 61000-4-4:2004
Immunity: Fast electric transients (burst)
EN 61000-4-6:1996 + A1 IEC 61000-4-6:1996 + A1
Immunity: Radio frequency common mode
MIL-STD-810,M514:2000
Mechanical stress/transport simulation: Vibration random X-, Y-, Z-direction
EN 60068-2-56:1990
Climatic test: Damp heat, steady state
IEC 68-2-1 IEC 68-2-2
Environmental testing
IEC 68-2-6
Vibrations
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EN55022:1998, class B EN 55024
Electromagnetic compatibility
Other standards, including car-mounted equipment RL 73/23/EWG
Niederspannungsrichtlinie
RL 89/336/EWG
Electromagnetic compatibility
RL 93/68/EWG
CE-Kennzeichnung
RL 95/54/EC ECE 10 R-02
Car-mounted equipment
Lead-free rules fulfilled
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EU-WEEE
Waste electrical and electronic equipment
EU-RoHS
Restriction of hazardous substances
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Appendix
12.1
Glossary
AMPS
Advanced Mobile Phone Service
AMR
Adaptive Multi Rate
(GSM codec type)
APN
Access Point Name
(GPRS)
ARFCN
Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number
BCCH
Broadcast Control Channel Channel for broadcasting general network data in a radio cell; contains the ARFCN of the BCCH carrier.
BLER
Block Error Rate
BSIC
Base Station Identity Code Contains NCC + BCC Color Codes.
C/I
Measurement parameter: Carrier/Interference While interference has the consequences as noise (high BER, poor speech quality), it can also occur at a high receive level. Estimation of the level of interference: C/I 10 dB no influence on BER and speech quality Smaller values instant and significant deterioration
C1
Cell Selection Criterion
(GSM, GPRS)
C2
Cell Reselection Criterion
(GSM, GPRS)
CDMA
Code Division Multiple Access Communications technique/Mobile network system.
Channel Report
Information transmitted at regular intervals on the send channel
CRC
Cyclic Redundancy Code
CS
Circuit-switched
DCH
Dedicated Channel
DCT
Discrete Cosine Transformation
Dedicated Report
Parameters of the serving BTS and six neighboring BTSs transmitted at intervals of 480 ms during a call. (GSM)
Downlink
Normally: Radio channel from base station to mobile phone. With TEMS Symphony: Slave transmits, Master analyses.
DPC Mode
Downlink Power Control Mode
DSP
Digital Signal Processor
Ec/Io
Measurement parameter: [Chip energy]/[Received power spectral density] (WCDMA, CDMA)
EDGE
Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (GSM) Tripled data rate by the use of 8 Phase Shift Keying compared to standard GSM using Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying.
ETSI
European Telecommunications Standards Institute
FACH
Forward Access Channel
FER
Frame Erasure Rate
FTP
File Transfer Protocol File transmission protocol (see RFC 959)
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(GSM)
(GPRS, WCDMA) (GSM)
(WCDMA) (Streaming)
(WCDMA Layer 1)
(WCDMA) (IP)
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62
(GPRS Layer 3 message type)
GMM
GPRS Mobility Management
GPRS
General Packet Radio Service Mobile network system for packet-switched data.
GPS
Global Positioning System Satellite navigation.
GSM
Global System for Mobile Communication Mobile network system.
GUI
Graphical User Interface
Handover
Switchover to another base station/frequency
HCS
Hierarchical Cell Structure
HSDPA
High Speed Downlink Packet Access
HSN
Hopping Sequence Number
HSPA
HSDPA + HSUPA
(WCDMA)
HSUPA
High Speed Uplink Packet Access
(WCDMA)
HTTP
Hyper text Transport Protocol Transmission protocol (see RFC 1945/2068/2616)
ID
Identifier
Idle Report
As with the Dedicated Report, but without a call
(WCDMA)
(IP)
IP
Internet Protocol (see RFC 791)
(IP)
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network
KB
Kilobyte (1'000 bytes)
LAC
Location Area Code National code for the location area.
LTE
3GPP Long Term Evolution is 4G standard for mobile network technology
Master
Master always makes the first call. Master can call a Slave/a response station or set up a connection to a server.
MCC
Mobile Country Code Country code for mobile networks.
MECCB2
Measurement Execution Controller Card Bus 2nd Generation Measurement module of TEMS Symphony providing interfaces for MIA and HSPA PC-Card.
Message Browser
Tool for representing MDF records in table form
MIA
Measurement Interface Adapter Interface module between TEMS Symphony and a test mobile phone/scanner. Includes a DSP for evaluation of speech quality and in-band signaling.
MMS
Multimedia Messaging Service
MNC
Mobile Network Code Code for network operators.
MOC
Master channel calling
MOS
Mean Opinion Score Average evaluation of speech quality (see ITU-T Rec. P.830, P.800) Rating scale: 1 to 5 (bad…excellent).
ms
Millisecond
MTC
Slave channel calling a Master channel
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MUC
Measurement Unit Controller Basic module of the main rack of TEMS Symphony.
NAS
Non-Access Stratum
NCC
Network Color Code Color code as a network identification code, part of the BSIC
P.862
Speech quality as per P.862 algorithm (see ITU-T Rec. P.862). Rating scale: –0.5 to 4.5
P.862.1
P.862 mapped on the MOS rating scale (see ITU-T Rec. P.862.1). Rating scale: 1 to 4.5
P.863
ITU-T recommendation for speech quality analysis (POLQA)
P-CCPCH
Primary Common Control Physical Channel
P-CPICH
Primary Common Pilot Channel
PDP
Packet Data Protocol
PESQ
Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality Voice evaluation algorithm (see ITU-T Rec. P.862)
PEVQ
Perceptual Evaluation of Video Quality Video evaluation algorithm.
Ping
Measurement of the Round-Trip Delay between the MU and a server (see RFC 792)
PMM
Packet Mobility Management
P.OLQA
Perceptual Objective Listening Quality Analysis Voice evaluation algorithm (see ITU-T Rec. P.863)
PRACH
Physical Random Access Channel
Proxy
Proxy servers provide protection against attacks from the Internet and optimize the data transfer.
PS
Packet-switched
PSNR
Peak Signal to Noise Ratio
PSTN
Public Switched Telephone Network
QoS
Quality of Service
QVP
TEMS Symphony Presentation Data evaluation unit.
QVS
TEMS Symphony Stationary Stationary data acquisition unit.
R-Factor
Transmission Rating Factor A value derived from metrics such as latency, jitter, and packet loss (see ITU-T Rec. G.107)
RAB
Radio Access Bearer
RAC
Routing Area Code
RF
Radio f requency
RLC
Radio Link Counter Value for radio connection errors.
RLC/MAC
Radio Link Control/Medium Access Control Layer in the protocol stack.
RRM
Radio Resource Management
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(WCDMA Layer 3) (GSM)
(WCDMA Layer 1 Report) (WCDMA Active Set Report) (GPRS)
(Video tel.) (IP)
(WCDMA Packet-Switched Layer)
(WCDMA)
(Video tel.)
(VoIP)
(WCDMA) (GPRS)
(GSM Layer 3 message type)
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(WCDMA Layer 3)
RRC
Radio Resource Control
RSCP
Received Signal Coded Power
RSSI
Received Signal Strength Indication
RxLev
Received Signal Level Range with GSM: 0 to 63/ –110 to –48 dBm
RxQual
Received Signal Quality (Bit error rate) Range with GSM: 0 to 7
s
Second
SBC
Single Board Controller Measurement module of TEMS Symphony providing interfaces for MIA.
SDU
Service Data Unit (see ITU-T X.200/ISO-IEC 7498-1)
Serving Cell
The base station supplying the measurement point currently under observation
SIM
Subscriber Identity Module Subscriber card for personal identification.
SIP
Session Initiation Protocol
SIR
Signal to Interference Ratio
SIRA
Symphony Interface Radio Adapter Like MIA: Interface module between TEMS Symphony and a test mobile phone/scanner.
SM
Session Management
SMS
Short Message Service Text message service.
SQL
Structured Query Language Query language for relational databases standardized by ANSI.
TA
Timing Advance To compensate the signal delay.
TBF
Temporary Block Flow
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol Transmission protocol (see RFC 793)
TDMA
Time Division Multiple Access Communications technique.
TFCI
Transport Format Combination Indicator
(WCDMA)
TPC
Transmit Power Control
(WCDMA)
UARFCN
UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number
UDP
User Datagram Protocol Transmission protocol (see RFC 768)
UMTS
Universal Mobile Telephone System Mobile network system 3rd Generation.
Uplink
Normally: Radio channel from mobile phone to base station. With TEMS Symphony: Master transmits, Slave analyzes.
URAid
UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network Registration Area Identifier
URL
Uniform Resource Locator
USB
Universal Serial Bus Universal interface for peripherals.
UTRA
Universal Terrestrial Radio Access
(WCDMA Active Set Report)
(IP)
(GPRS Layer 3 message type)
(GSM) (GPRS) (IP)
(UMTS) (IP)
(IP)
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