Lte FDD User Guide

>> LTE FDD User Guide
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Copyright 2011 Mentum S.A. All rights reserved.
Notice This document contains confidential and proprietary information of Mentum S.A. and may not be copied, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced in any format or media, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of Mentum S.A. Information contained in this document supersedes that found in any previous manuals, guides, specifications data sheets, or other information that may have been provided or made available to the user. This document is provided for informational purposes only, and Mentum S.A. does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, quality, validity, completeness or suitability for any purpose the information contained in this document. Mentum S.A. may update, improve, and enhance this document and the products to which it relates at any time without prior notice to the user. MENTUM S.A. MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THIS DOCUMENT OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.
Trademark Acknowledgement Mentum, Mentum Planet, Mentum Ellipse, Mentum Fusion, Mentum CellPlanner, and Mentum LinkPlanner are registered trademarks owned by Mentum S.A. MapInfo Professional is a registered trademark of PB MapInfo Corporation. iBwave is a trademark owned by iBwave. This document may contain other trademarks, trade names, or service marks of other organizations, each of which is the property of its respective owner. Last updated November 8, 2011
Contents
CHAPTER 1 Introduction Features of Mentum Planet Project Explorer Site Editor Traffic Map Generator Interference Matrix Generator Neighbor Plan Generator Network Data Import Wizard Survey Data tool Subscriber Settings Data Manager Automatic Cell Planning tool Microwave Links MapInfo Professional Using this documentation User documentation updates Online Help Documentation library Notational conventions Textual conventions Contacting Mentum Getting technical support Send us your comments CHAPTER 2 Overview of Mentum Planet planning Network planning modeling best practices Forecasting network traffic 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 7 7 7 9 9 10 11 12 13
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Predicting the traffic of a target market Traffic model outputs Transforming census information into a traffic map Geodata requirements Workflow for LTE network design using Mentum Planet CHAPTER 3 Understanding the fundamentals of Mentum Planet Understanding projects Understanding project data types Understanding MapInfo tables Understanding grids What is a grid? Understanding grid types Numeric grids Classified grids Understanding project geodata Heights folder Clutter folder Clutter Heights folder Polygons folder Custom folder Understanding project files Site files Workspaces Understanding the Project Explorer Understanding the Project Explorer data window Using multiple data windows Access to commands Filtering Project Explorer data
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Defining user preferences To define user preferences Understanding the project folder structure Creating and using workspaces To create a workspace To open a workspace To associate a workspace with a project Attaching files to a Mentum Planet project To attach a file to a project To open an attached file To remove an attached file from a project Working with site sets Master site set Site subsets Active site set Site table To update a site set To copy the active site set To change the active site set To compare site sets To compare a site set to the network To merge a subset into the active site set To create a shared site set To update a shared site set To remove a site set To rename a site set To view the site set description To edit the site set description Working with map layers
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To manipulate map layers with the Project Explorer To manipulate map layers with the Layer Control Working with geodata folders To manage geodata files To group geodata files Defining the coordinate systems to use in a project To define the coordinate system for sites Defining color profiles To choose color profiles To create a color profile CHAPTER 4 Creating a project Understanding projects Creating projects To create a project To view or edit project settings Migrating projects Batch migration of projects Improved data validation Upgrade paths Important considerations when migrating projects Workflow for migrating Mentum Planet projects To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 4.x To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 5.x To migrate projects in a batch Creating a network overlay To create a network overlay Opening and closing projects To open a project
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Restoring projects To restore a project Saving projects To save a project To back up a project CHAPTER 5 Working with propagation models Workflow for propagation modeling Workflow for model tuning Understanding the role of propagation models Understanding propagation model types Planet General Model PGM-A model Predict 4 model Predict-Air Universal Model Q9 model Longley-Rice model Understanding model tuning Understanding clutter classes and clutter properties Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT To tune the Planet General Model using AMT Tuning models using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner To tune a model using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner Tuning a propagation model Guidelines for model tuning Creating and editing propagation models To define a new propagation model To edit propagation model settings
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To view or hide unassigned propagation models CHAPTER 6 Defining network settings Understanding network settings Technology types Carriers Modulations Frame Setup Slow Fading Base station types Workflow for defining network settings Defining network settings To define network settings To define frame configurations CHAPTER 7 Configuring and placing sites Workflow for configuring and placing sites Using site templates To create a site template To rename a site template To set the site template as active To view a site template To delete a site template Understanding sites and sectors General site parameters General sector parameters Custom user data Link parameters Implementation parameters Configuration parameters
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Power parameters Neighbor list Antenna Systems Placing sites automatically Determining site placement in the Basic mode Determining site placement in the Advanced mode To place sites in Basic mode To place sites in Advanced mode Defining link configurations Losses and gains To define link configurations To view or hide unassigned link configurations Creating and editing sites To create a new site To edit site parameters To create a new site based on an existing site CHAPTER 8 Adding repeaters Understanding repeaters Types of repeater implementations Using split sectors Using distributed antenna systems Repeaters and predictions Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors Adding repeaters to sectors To add repeaters to sectors Site Editor Configuration Carriers
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Equipment Site Editor Donor Type Site Editor Link Service Prediction Isolation Site Editor Implementation Filters Quality Locating repeaters in a Map window To locate repeaters in a Map window CHAPTER 9 Defining subscribers Understanding subscribers Workflow for creating subscriber types Defining subscriber equipment types LTE bearers To define subscriber equipment types Defining subscriber services To define subscriber services Defining subscriber types Example To define subscriber types Defining environment settings To define environment settings
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Creating a fixed subscriber database To create a fixed subscriber table CHAPTER 10 Generating network analyses Understanding network analyses Prediction view files Workflow for generating an analysis Defining default analysis layers To define default analysis layers Common LTE Analysis Layers Carrier-Specific LTE Analysis Layers Defining default analysis settings To define default analysis settings Creating and generating a network analysis To create and generate a network analysis Network Analysis Wizard Analysis Best Server Reference Coverage Probability Based On Number of Uplink Resource Blocks per User Uplink Power Control Other System Interference Network Analysis Wizard System Subscriber Generating an existing analysis To generate an existing analysis Viewing analysis layers To view analysis layers
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Generating multiple analyses To generate multiple analyses Deleting analyses To delete analyses Recoloring best serving sector layers To recolor best serving sector layers Examining layer statistics CHAPTER 11 Generating Monte Carlo simulations Understanding Monte Carlo simulations The phases of a Monte Carlo simulation Placing subscribers in a random pattern Sorting subscribers by priority Analyzing the downlink and uplink Generating operating points and subscriber information Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs Convergence method Level of Convergence calculation Factors affecting the required number of runs Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings To define default Monte Carlo simulation settings Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation To create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard System Subscriber Types Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard
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Analysis Best Server Reference Coverage Probability Based On Uplink Power Control Other System Interference Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard Monte Carlo Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation To generate an existing simulation Viewing simulation layers To view simulation layers Deleting simulation layers To delete simulation layers Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results To update analysis cell loads Examining layer statistics To calculate layer statistics Creating reports To create reports CHAPTER 12 Generating fixed subscriber analyses Understanding fixed subscriber analyses Before you generate an analysis How the analysis is performed Editing fixed subscribers To edit fixed subscribers using the Subscriber Editor Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis To generate a fixed subscriber analysis To view analysis results
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Analyzing a single fixed subscriber To analyze a single subscriber CHAPTER 13 Generating frequency And physical cell ID plans automatically Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID planning Frequency planning Cell ID planning Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning constraints and costs Frequency, preamble, and perm base planning constraints Frequency and physical cell ID planning violation costs Addressing frequency planning requirements Single-channel PUSC subchannel group planning Multi-channel frequency planning Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning Creating a frequency plan To create a frequency plan To save current frequency and physical cell ID assignments Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning General Interference Matrix Plan Generation Option Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning Frequency Interference Threshold Carrier Allocation Cost Algorithm Ending Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning Physical Cell ID Planning
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Optimization Algorithm Ending Setting up general frequency and physical cell ID planning parameters To set up general frequency and physical cell ID parameters Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID plan To generate a frequency or physical cell ID plan Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors To apply a frequency plan to sectors CHAPTER 14 Working with the Tabular Editor Working with the Tabular Editor To edit sites, flags, or link configurations CHAPTER 15 Importing and exporting data Importing, replacing, and exporting project data Importing data Replacing data Exporting data To export project data To import project data Importing network data into Mentum Planet projects Binding network data Viewing the results of data binding To import network data CHAPTER 16 Establishing height benchmarks Establishing height benchmarks To establish height benchmarks for the closest point To establish height benchmarks along multiple radials Interpreting results
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All_Radials.tab Failing_Radials_Summary.tab Site_Summary How to interpret radial color Appendix A Mentum Planet file types Understanding project folders and files Project files Output files MapInfo files
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction
This User Guide provides an overview of the full life cycle of a wireless network, and includes information on the tools and procedures that are common to all network technologies. Many procedures, for example network analyses, are dependent on the technology being used, and are not included in this User Guide. For more information on technology-specific procedures, see the appropriate User Guide. This chapter covers the following topics:
Features of Mentum Planet Using this documentation Contacting Mentum
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LTE FDD User Guide 1
Chapter 1
Features of Mentum Planet

Mentum Planet provides you with all the tools you need to accurately design, analyze, and optimize wireless networks. You can add extensions and enable additional technologies to support the planning functions that you require. Below is a list of some of the main features of Mentum Planet. This list is not comprehensive. For a detailed feature list, go to the Mentum web site at http://www.mentum.com.
Project Explorer
The Project Explorer organizes all components of a project into a hierarchical structure, enabling you to easily manage all project-related data including sites, project information, network analyses, network data, and surveys. You can sort components such as sites and antenna patterns by their characteristics and manage support documents such as census tract data, capacity planning information, or RF design review documents. Shortcut menus give you quick access to a wide variety of commands.
Site Editor
The Site Editor brings together all the parameters you need to specify when defining base station technologies, sites, and sectors. This includes the link configuration, the implementation settings as well as general site and sector settings.
Traffic Map Generator

Using the Traffic Map Generator, you can create traffic maps based on various sources of data, including market information, demographics, vehicular traffic, and switch statistics. You can combine this information with clutter information for your coverage area for an even more accurate assessment of traffic loading for your wireless network. You can also scale traffic maps to better meet your requirements.
Interference Matrix Generator

The Interference Matrix Generator analyzes the potential for co-channel and adjacent-channel interference in your wireless network. If required, you can include traffic map information in the interference matrix calculations. Interference matrices
2 LTE FDD User Guide
Introduction
are required input for the Neighbor List Generator and the Automatic Frequency Preamble and Perm Base Planning tool.
Neighbor Plan Generator

You can use the Neighbor Plan Generator to create, view, edit, and compare neighbor lists for single-technology networks and for multi-technology networks. Neighbor plans can be based on cell adjacency or interference. Multiple user-defined criteria determine neighbor selection. You can also import and export neighbor plans.
Network Data Import Wizard

You can import switch statistics for use in traffic maps, interference matrices, neighbor lists, and other Mentum Planet analysis tools. Performance-related data you can import includes dropped call rates, blocked call rates, and traffic levels. The Network Data tool can also produce a thematically mapped display of the imported data by sector.
Survey Data tool

Using the Survey Data node in the Project Explorer, you can import, manage, and visualize survey data.
Subscriber Settings
The Subscriber Settings dialog box contains all the parameters you need to define the characteristics of your network subscribers including the mobile equipment and services they use as well as the Quality of Service thresholds.
Data Manager
The Data Manager enables you to store data centrally and manage projects more efficiently, thus facilitating project collaboration and data sharing.
Chapter 1
Automatic Cell Planning tool

Using the Optimization features of Mentum Planet, you can extend coverage and increase capacity by fine tuning antenna parameters and by activating only those sites that best fit the network design and goals.
Microwave Links
You can visualize microwave transmission links within the context of your Mentum Planet projects and perform basic microwave planning tasks when designing your wireless network. Using the shortcut menus that are accessible within the Microwave category in the Project Explorer, you can create microwave links between sites by selecting the sites in the Project Explorer Sites category and using the shortcut commands and you can view links in the Map window.
MapInfo Professional
Mentum Planet includes a full version of MapInfo Professional, an industry standard mapping tool that gives you access to a full suite of raster and vector analysis tools, cartographic-quality tools, and advanced thematic mapping capabilities. For a list of new features in MapInfo 10.5, see the MapInfo Professional User Guide located in the mapinfo folder within the Mentum Planet installation folder.
Introduction
Using this documentation

Before using this documentation, you should be familiar with the Windows environment. It is assumed that you are using the standard Windows desktop, and that you know how to access ToolTips and shortcut menus, move and copy objects, select multiple objects using the Shift or Ctrl key, resize dialog boxes, expand and collapse folder trees. It is also assumed that you are familiar with the basic functions of MapInfo Professional . MapInfo Professional functions are not documented in this User Guide. For information about MapInfo Professional, see the MapInfo online Help and MapInfo Professional User Guide. You can access additional MapInfo user documentation from the Pitney Bowes Business Insight website at http://www.pbinsight.com/support/product-documentation. All product information is available through the online Help. You access online Help using the Help menu or context-sensitive Help from within a dialog box by pressing the F1 key. If you want to view the online Help for a specific panel or tab, click in a field or list box to activate the panel or tab before you press the F1 key. The following sections describe the structure of the online Help.
User documentation updates

User documentation is continually evolving to address feedback or introduce improvements. You can download the latest user documentation from the Customer Care Product Downloads page where it is available as a separate download from the software.
Online Help
From the Help menu, you can access online Help for Mentum Planet software and for MapInfo Professional. This section describes the structure of the Mentum Planet online Help. The online Help provides extensive help on all aspects of software use. It provides
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help on all dialog boxes procedures for using the software
Chapter 1
an extensive Mentum Planet documentation library in PDF format
The following sections provide details about the resources available through the online Help.
Resource Roadmap
When you first use the online Help, start with the Resource Roadmap. It describes the types of resources available in the online Help and explains how best to use them. It includes a step-by-step guide that walks you through the available resources.
Knowledge Base
You can access the Knowledge Base maintained by the Customer Care group by clicking the Knowledge Base button on the online Help toolbar or by choosing the Knowledge Base command from the Help menu. The Knowledge Base contains current information on Mentum products such as How To procedures as well as solutions to issues.
Printing
You have two basic options for printing documents:
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If you want a good quality print of a single procedure or section, you can print from the Help window. Click Print in the Help window. If you want a higher quality print of a complete User Guide, use Adobe Reader to print the supplied print-ready PDF file contained in the Mentum Planet documentation library. Open the PDF file and choose File Print.
Library Search
You can perform a full-text search on all PDF files contained in the Mentum Planet documentation library if you are using a version of Adobe Reader that supports fulltext searches. The PDF files are located in the Mentum\Planet\Help\User Guides folder. You can also perform a search on all online Help topics by clicking the Search tab in the Help window. Type a keyword, and click ListTopics to display all Help topics that contain the keyword. The online Help duplicates the information found in the User
Introduction
Guide PDF files in order to provide more complete results. It does not duplicate the information in the Release Notes, or Glossary.
Whats This? Help

Whats This? Help provides detailed explanations of all dialog boxes.
User Guides
All User Guides for Mentum Planet software is easily accessible as part of the online Help.
Documentation library
Mentum Planet comes with an extensive library of User Guides in PDF format. You can access PDF versions of the user guides by navigating to the Help/User Guides folder within the Mentum Planet installation folder or by choosing the Guides command from the Mentum Planet Help menu. Additional documents, including Application Notes and Technical Notes as well as tutorials, are available at http://www.mentum.com.
Notational conventions
This section describes the textual conventions and icons used throughout this documentation.
Textual conventions
Special text formats are used to highlight different types of information. The following table describes the special text conventions used in this document. Bold text is used in procedure steps to identify a user interface element such as a dialog box, menu item, or button. bold text For example: In the Select Interpolation Method dialog box, choose the Inverse Distance Weighting option, and click Next. Courier text is used in procedures to identify text that a user must type.For example: In the File
courier text
Chapter 1
Name box, type Elevation.grd.
bright blue text
Bright blue text is used to identify a link to another section of the document. Click the link to view the section. Menu arrows are used in procedures to identify a sequence of menu items that you must follow. For example, if a step reads Choose File you would click File and then click Open. Open,
<>
For example, if a menu item changes depending on the chosen unit of measurement, the menu structure would appear as Display <unit Of Measurement>.
Introduction
Contacting Mentum
Mentum is committed to providing fast, responsive technical support. This section provides an extensive list of contacts to help you through any issues you may have. We also welcome any comments about our documentation. Customer feedback is an essential element of product development and supports our efforts to provide the best products, services, and support we can. See "Send us your comments" on next page.
Getting technical support

You can get technical support by phone or email, or by visiting the Self-Service Portal on the Mentum website at http://www.mentum.com/customer-care. When you call for technical support, ensure that you have your product ID number and know which version of the software you are running. You can obtain this information using the About command from the Help menu. When you request technical support outside of regular business hours, a Product Support Specialist will respond the next working day by telephone or email, depending upon the nature of the request. The technical support options available depend on the edition of the software you are using as shown in Figure 1.1. For more details about the levels of support, see the Mentum website.
Figure 1.1: Abbreviated list of support options
Chapter 1
North America
Phone: +1 866 921-9219 (toll free), +1 819 483-7094 Fax: +1 819 483-7050 Email: support.americas@mentum.com Hours: 9am 7pm EST/EDT (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Phone: +33 139 26 46 42 (Paris) Fax: +33 1 39264601 Email: support.emea@mentum.com Hours: 9am 6pm CET/CEST (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Asia Pacific (excluding Japan)

Phone: +852 2593 1287 Fax: +852 2593 1234 Email: support.apac@mentum.com Hours: 9am 6pm HKT (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Japan
Phone: +81 3 6861 7555 Fax: +81 3 5847 7901 Email: support.japan@mentum.com Hours: 9am 6pm JST (Monday-Friday, excluding local holidays)
Send us your comments

Feedback is important to us. Please take the time to send comments and suggestions on the product you received and on the user documentation shipped with it. Send your comments to: techpubs@mentum.com
CHAPTER 2 Overview Of Mentum Planet Planning

Using Mentum Planet, you can model networks designed for LTE communication. This chapter describes key planning processes and the workflow you should adopt. This chapter covers the following topics:
Network planning modeling best practices
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Chapter 2
Network planning modeling best practices

As with any communication network, the cornerstones of the network planning process are:
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balancing coverage, quality, and capacity minimizing costs and complexity
To design a network that successfully addresses these basic tenets of network planning, you need to create an accurate model of the radio propagation and of the subscriber traffic. The accuracy of the network model is highly dependent on the accuracy of the data you use as the foundation of the project. When you create a Mentum Planet project, you must have:
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up-to-date geodata accurate and up-to-date survey data tuned propagation models that are appropriate for the environment and data accurate and up-to-date site configuration information
Forecasting Network Traffic
Forecasting network traffic

When designing a new network, the traffic forecast typically comes from marketing assessments while traffic models can be created from the network traffic reports. There are various methods in Mentum Planet to generate traffic so that all stages of network design are covered (i.e., from the early stages of a new greenfield network to the later stages of a live network). When analyzing a network, the traffic loading at each sector is calculated based on the location of subscribers across the network, their utilization of network resources, and the modulation assigned to them. Higher modulation formats means that a subscriber can support more traffic. For example, if a subscriber is assigned a modulation of 16QAM, they will support more traffic than a subscriber with a modulation of QPSK. Knowing the location of users within a network is an important network design element. A network is designed to support the expected traffic and the quality of the design depends on how well the demand (i.e., the traffic model) and the capacity match. This is particularly true for LTE, which uses adaptive modulation. For this reason, it is very important that high-traffic areas are served with high signal quality in order to improve the overall system capacity.
Predicting the traffic of a target market

The first stage of designing a network is to determine where the demand will be (i.e., where potential subscribers are located). Using the GIS features of MapInfo and Mentum Planet, you can identify regions where demand for services exist.
Chapter 3
There are various types of data upon which you can base your market prediction:
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Census information: this data provides information such as population, income, and age. This data is generally vector based. Clutter data: this data provides land use information. This data is generally raster based. Telecom related data: this data provides information such as mobile phone subscriber density, Internet connection density, and other related parameters that can be useful in identifying the location of potential subscribers. The processing of this data is very much dependent on the format (vector or raster) and units.
Processing the data can take many forms and requires that you understand some of the Mentum Planet GIS features. The proposed sequence of data processing described here should be seen as an example and might not be applicable to your situation.
Traffic model outputs

When modeling the traffic of a market, the objective is to spatially represent the density of potential subscribers. Such values are continuous in nature and will therefore be best represented by a numeric grid (.grd file). You can generate a grid of the market demand using the GIS and traffic modeling features of Mentum Planet.
Transforming census information into a traffic map

Because census information is generally provided in a vector format where attributes (such as the population) are attached to a region, you will need to transform this information into a traffic map. For information on generating traffic maps, see Managing Traffic in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Geodata requirements
Predicting network propagation accurately is highly dependent on the quality and type of geographical data (i.e., geodata) you use. Table1.1 indicates the suitability of common data types for the different technologies.
Table 1 Data requirements for various data types Frequency Range (GHz) Data Type (Meters) 20-30 meter resolution height and clutter (land use) data 5-meter resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) 2.5-3.6 GHz 2.5-3.6 Nomadic/Mobile GHz Fixed Acceptable Acceptable Greater Than 3.6 GHz Fixed Not sufficient for LOS estimation Ideal for LOS analysis at low cost
Difficult to use with standard models
Difficult to use with standard models
High-resolution 3D model (i.e., vector building models and high-resolution clutter data)
Ideal for urban areas
Ideal for Ideal for urban areas urban areas
Chapter 3
Workflow for LTE network design using Mentum Planet

The workflow outlined in this section shows the typical order of steps only. Depending on your work practices, you may not complete the steps in the same order. Step 1 Gather information about potential site locations, collect electronic antenna patterns, and obtain required geodata. If required, prepare your data.
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Step 2
Verify that your data is in a format that Mentum Planet 5 can use. See the Grid Analysis User Guide for information on importing grids. If you want to perform propagation model tuning or generate merged predictions, you need to import survey data. See the Mentum Planet User Guide for information on importing and filtering surveys.
Step 3
Customize your Mentum Planet environment by specifying default settings and actions for projects. Create a new project or open an existing project. A Mentum Planet project stores all the information required to simulate the network. In other words, it contains the network and all details related to it. You can create a project with as little as a DEM and later add a clutter grid, propagation models, and so on. The Project Wizard makes project creation simple. Define network settings. Configure and place sites. At this stage of the workflow, you place sites using the default propagation models. You can later create and fine tune propagation models to suit your requirements.
Step 4
Step 5 Step 6
Step 7
Optionally, create the groups and flags you need to organize and manage sites. See Working with Sites and Sectors in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Define propagation models. Propagation models are the basis of predictions. Optionally, compare and analyze survey data. See Managing Survey Data in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10 Optionally, generate predictions. You can generate predictions independent of network analyses or as part of the network analysis process. See Generating Predictions in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Step 11 Optionally, generate traffic maps for the services and area that you plan to analyze. See Managing Traffic in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Step 12 Optionally, optimize your network design. See "Optimizing Network Design" in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Step 13 Define subscriber attributes including equipment and services.
Step 14 Define environment settings for each clutter class. Step 15 Generate a nominal analysis or a Monte Carlo simulation and view results. Step 16 Generate and review layer statistics. Step 17 Optionally, generate interference matrices in order to determine whether there is potential interference between sectors. See Working with Interference Matrices in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Step 18 Optionally, generate neighbor plans in order to examine the effect neighboring sites have on network coverage and capacity. See Managing Neighbor Relationships in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Step 19 Optionally, create coverage map reports. See Generating Reports in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
CHAPTER 3 Understanding The Fundamentals Of Mentum Planet

In order to work effectively with Mentum Planet, it is important that you have an understanding of basic Mentum Planet concepts. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding projects Understanding project data types Understanding project geodata Understanding project files Understanding the Project Explorer Defining user preferences Understanding the project folder structure Creating and using workspaces Attaching files to a Mentum Planet project Working with site sets Working with map layers Working with geodata folders Defining the coordinate systems to use in a project Defining color profiles
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Chapter 3
Understanding projects
A project contains and organizes all of the information pertaining to a particular wireless network. This includes
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digital terrain models clutter information propagation models site locations sector equipment, including antennas sector groups link configurations flags traffic maps survey data network data any documents you want to attach to the project
A project also contains the results of predictions and network analyses made on the basis of this information.
Understanding The Fundamentals Of Mentum Planet
Understanding project data types

For GIS data, Mentum Planet uses MapInfo tables and grids. An understanding of these types of data will help you to use Mentum Planet effectively.
Understanding MapInfo tables

Tables are like spreadsheets. Each row in a table contains one record, and each column in the record contains information about a particular field. In Mentum Planet , MapInfo tables store
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site data, such as site name, sector name, and various site and sector labels points, such as tower locations or survey result lines and polylines, such as roads polygons, such as bodies of water or county boundaries
Once you have opened a table, you can view the contents of each record by choosing Window NewBrowserWindow.
Understanding grids
Grid data is the best way to represent phenomena that vary continuously through space. Elevation, signal strength, path loss, and signal interference are excellent examples of properties that are distributed in constantly varying degrees through space and are best represented in grid format. Grids are part of the raster data format. Regions, points, and lines are part of the vector data format. A grid can be used to effectively visualize the trends of geographic information across an area. Grids enable you to quickly compare and query layers of information, create new derived grids, or analyze grid layers for such unique properties as visual exposure, proximity, density, or slope. There are two types of Mentum Planet grids: numeric grids and classified grids. For more information, see Numeric grids and Classified grids.
Chapter 3
What is a grid?
A grid is made up of regularly spaced square cells, called bins, where each bin has a value and a color representing the value. If there are several bins between two known locations, the change in color between these bins indicates how the values change. All data that varies through space is captured at discrete sample locations where the value is known. For example, an RF engineer performs a survey to record the signal strength from a sector. Readings are collected every second. In a vectorbased GIS system, there are limited ways to portray this kind of data. Some of the more traditional ways are to label each individual sample location with the known value, to create graduated symbols at each sample site where the symbol size reflects the samples value, or to generate contour lines or contour regions depicting locations of equal value (see Figure 3.1). Another common method of displaying survey data in a vector-based GIS system is to thematically shade points based on signal strength.
Figure 3.1: Three examples of how a traditional vector-based GIS system displaysdata that varies continuously. The problem with these methods is that it is difficult to portray how the data changes between known locations. Grids, on the other hand, easily display how the data changes between locations.
Understanding grid types

Mentum Planet supports two types of grids:
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numeric gridsuse numeric attribute information classified gridsuse character attribute information
Numeric grids
One example of a numeric grid is a DEM, where each bin is referenced to a value measured in units of height above sea level (see Figure 3.2). Numeric grids are best used to define continuously varying surfaces of information, such as elevation, in which bin values are either mathematically estimated from a table of point observations or assigned real numeric values. For example, in Figure 3.2 each bin was calculated (interpolated) from a table of recorded elevation points. In Mentum Planet , numeric grid files are given the extension .grd. Numeric grids have a corresponding .tab file containing important metadata that describes the grid file.
Figure 3.2: Numeric grid showing the continuous variation of elevation across an area
Classified grids
Classified grids are best used to represent information that is more commonly restricted to a defined boundary. They are used in the same way that a region is used to describe a boundary area, such as a land classification unit or a census district. In this case, the grid file does not represent information that varies continuously over space. In Figure 3.3 a land classification grid displays each bin with a character attribute attached to it that describes the land type underlying it. A common type of classified grid is a Best Serving Sector
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analysis layer. In Mentum Planet , classified grid files use a .grc file extension. Classified grids have a corresponding .tab file containing important metadata that describes the grid file.
Figure 3.3: Classified grid representing land use (called a clutter file) where each bin is referenced to a descriptive attribute TIP: Grids can easily be converted to vector format by contouring and vector-based data can be converted to grids. For more information, see Creating Grids Using Other Methods, in the Grid Analysis User Guide.
Understanding project geodata

Project geodata includes digital terrain models, clutter files, building outlines, region files along with other data required to accurately model a network. All geodata files must be saved in a geodata folder (using the naming convention of your choice) but the folder itself can be saved locally or remotely depending on your work requirements. The geodata folder must, however, contain a folder called Heights where the elevation file is saved and a folder called Clutter. The Clutter folder can be empty if you are not using clutter. CAUTION: Longitude/latitude projection is not supported for geodata. You must re-project the original geodata into a meter coordinate system (e.g., UTM). In Mentum Planet , geodata is organized into categories that are reflected in the following folder structure:
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Heightsa mandatory folder that contains DEM files used to define the height of the terrain above sea level. Cluttera mandatory folder that contains files used to describe land classification or land use. While its mandatory to have this folder within the Geodata folder, you do not have to associate a clutter file with the project. Clutter Heightsan optional folder that contains files used to define the height of clutter Above Ground Level (AGL). Polygonsan optional folder that contains files used to define 3D regions building models. Custom an optional folder that contains geographic files that do not fit into the other geodata folders. This folder is typically used to store 2D vector data such as streets and demographic data.
Each folder can contain multiple files, each of a different resolution and/or coverage. TIP: Specialized geodata is available from Mentum. See the Mentum Geodata web page at http://www.mentum.com/index.php?page=geodata&hl=en_US.
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CAUTION: Files in the Heights, Clutter, Clutter Heights, and Polygons folder should use the same map projection. Files in the Custom folder do not have to use the same map projection as other geodata files.
Heights folder
The Heights folder contains one or more Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). Each grid (.grd) file contains, for each bin, the height in meters or feet of the terrain above sea level. Using Mentum Planet , you can build height files from point data or use many industry standard data formats. Each height file has a corresponding .tab file that contains important metadata about the grid file. When the Heights folder contains multiple grid files, each grid file must use the same coordinate system, but may have a different resolution. The primary height file, defined on the Geodata tab in the Project Settings dialog box, should geographically contain all of the other grid files in the Heights folder.
Clutter folder
The Clutter folder contains one or more clutter files in classified grid (.grc) format. Each classified grid file contains, for each bin, the clutter class that covers the majority of the bin. Clutter files are derived from aerial/satellite imagery or generated from digitized maps. Each clutter file has a corresponding .tab file that contains important metadata about the classified grid file. You are not required to choose a clutter file when you create a project. However, using clutter files is fundamental to increasing the accuracy of predictions when using propagation models that support clutter attenuation parameters (e.g., Predict 4 and the Planet General Model). Without land-use information, predictions cannot model the effects of man-made structures or trees. When the Clutter folder contains multiple classified grid files, each classified grid file must use the same coordinate system, but may have a different resolution. The primary clutter file, defined on the Geodata tab in the Project Settings dialog box, should geographically contain all of the other classified grid files in the Clutter folder.
Clutter Heights folder

The Clutter Heights folder is an optional folder that contains one or more clutter height files in numeric grid format. Each grid (.grd) file specifies, for each bin, the
mean height above ground level of the clutter specified in the clutter file over the bin. Height values must always be greater than or equal to -400m. Clutter height files are particularly useful in urban environments, for high resolution clutter files, to describe the height of buildings at the bin level. It is also useful for lower resolution clutter files to describe clutter heights with more granularity wherever the height of a clutter is not uniform over the covered area. In this case, you would use a lower resolution grid file to specify average clutter height, and a higher resolution grid file to provide more precise clutter height information. When the Clutter Heights folder contains multiple grid files, each grid file must use the same coordinate system. NOTE: You must add files to the Clutter Heights folder manually. See To manage geodata files.
NOTE: Not all propagation models use clutter height information. If the model you are using does not support clutter height data, you can create a classified grid from the clutter height data and merge it with the clutter file.
Polygons folder
The Polygons folder is an optional folder that contains one or more polygon files in MapInfo table (.tab) format. Each row in a table file specifies a polygon or region object. Typically, individual polygon files are used to define polygons of different types (e.g., one polygon table defines building contours, and another defines vegetation contours). Polygon table files must contain at least the columns specified in Table 1, while 3D polygon tables files must also contain either of the columns specified in Table 2. Tables may contain other columns such as street address, building population, attenuation factor, or other user-defined or model-specific columns.
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Table 1 Required polygon table columns Field name
Type
Comment Unique ID to represent each polygon object Descriptive information about a polygon; such as, Building, Vegetation, or Water.
Polygon_ Character (64) ID Polygon_ Character (256) Type
Height values for 3D polygons are specified in either this AMSL or AGL column. Polygons are considered 2D when a polygon table file does not contain either the AMSL or AGL columns. Table 2 Required 3D polygon table columns Field Type Name AMSL Float
Comment A floating point number representing the height above average mean sea level. A floating point number representing the height above ground level.
AGL
Float
NOTE: The measurement unit used by values in the AMSL and AGL columns are specified in the metadata associated with the .tab file. Use the following integer values to specify measurement units: n 2Inches n 3Feet n 5Millimeters n 6Centimeters n 7Meters When the Polygons folder contains multiple table files, each table file must use the same coordinate system as the primary heights file. NOTE: You must add files to the Polygons folder manually. See To manage geodata files.
Custom folder
The Custom folder is an optional folder that contains one or more geographic files that do not fit in the other geodata folders. The following are some examples of geographic files that you would add to the Custom folder:
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boundaries road networks railway networks water ways aerial or satellite photos
Mentum Planet can display custom data if it is a MapInfo grid or table file. For other types of custom data, Mentum Planet will use an appropriate application with which to display the chosen custom data. NOTE: You must add files to the Custom folder manually. See To manage geodata files.
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Understanding project files

When you create a project in Mentum Planet , you are prompted to select a project folder, specify the project heights grid file and, optionally, a project clutter file. You must also define the project technologies, the default settings files, and the coordinate system. The site set is automatically created.
Site files
When you create a project, a default site set is added to the Project Data category of the Project Explorer as shown in Figure 3.4. A site set defines a collection of sites and contains the site data. You can create multiple site sets within a Mentum Planet project but only one site set is active at any one time. It is the active site set that you modify when you change site parameters. Using multiple site sets enables you to have several versions of the same network available and offers more flexibility to create and analyze What-If scenarios. See Working with site sets. The site information required to display sites in the Map window is duplicated in the site table (i.e., in the .tab file) as shown in Appendix A: Site Table Format. Additional site table columns are also available if you want to query the site data using MapBasic functionality; however, you cannot update site data by modifying the .tab file as this data is always updated from the internal Mentum Planet project,which is held in-memory and stored in the project file. You can update site sets using the Tabular Editor or Import/Export Wizard. CAUTION: To update the site table (.tab) file, right-click the Sites node and choose Update Site File. Site updates are not automatically added to the site table. CAUTION: Do not update the site table manually using MapBasic or MapInfo functionality.
Workspaces
A workspace (.wor) file records which MapInfo files are open, the position of each Map window and the properties of each layer it contains. You can save your working configuration to a workspace file whenever you want. This feature is particularly useful for features such as print layouts. If you associate a workspace with a project, that workspace is opened whenever you open the project.
Use of a workspace is optional. If you do not use a workspace, Mentum Planet will automatically save the initial workspace configuration when you close your project. The initial workspace configuration will be restored when you reopen the project unless you choose to use a workspace and have enabled the Workspace Autosave feature. For more information on workspaces, see Creating and using workspaces.
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Understanding the Project Explorer

The Project Explorer simplifies viewing and manipulation of Mentum Planet project data. It provides
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tree representation of hierarchical relationships such as groups and sites, sites and sectors, analyses and analysis layers an indicator showing the number of sites and sectors contained in the Sites node and individual Group nodes; for example, if a group name is followed by [10/25/76/5] (see Figure 3.4), then there are 10 sites, 25 base stations, 76 sectors, and 5 repeaters contained in the group. Data Manager status bar, indicating the project status in Data Manager (if applicable) easy access to all information about a site, sector, or group right-click access to relevant commands mouse operations (e.g., drag and drop) for tasks such as adding a site to a group copy and paste operations easy access to Restore functionality where minimized dialog boxes (e.g., the Prediction Generator dialog box and the Point-to-Point dialog box) can be maximized again.
The Project Explorer is present whenever a project is open, and is initially docked at the left side of the application window. You can:
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dock the Project Explorer to the right, at the top, or at the bottom of the application window by dragging the Explorer window over the arrows that display in the center of the application. undock the Project Explorer by dragging it to any location on the screen. When undocked, both the height and width of the Project Explorer are resizable.
NOTE: When docked, only the width of the Project Explorer is resizable.
Hide TIP: If you want to hide the Project Explorer from view, choose View Project Explorer. Choose View Show Project Explorer to once again view the Project Explorer.
Figure 3.4: Project Explorer
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The Project Explorer can contain one, two, or three data windows. The Data Window control buttons, located just below the title bar, control how many data windows the Project Explorer displays. Button Function Adds another data window at the bottom of the Project Explorer. The button is unavailable when there are three data windows. Removes the bottom data window in the Project Explorer. The button is unavailable when there is only one data window. Updates the content of the Project Explorer. To reorder items in the Sites category, right-click the Groups, Repeaters, or Sites node and choose Refresh.
Understanding the Project Explorer data window

Project information is divided into several broad categories:
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Network Analyses Operational Data Optimization Project Data RF Tools Sites Fixed Subscribers Microwave Monte Carlo Simulations Windows
NOTE: By default, the Windows category is not displayed. You can change this by opening the User Preferences dialog box and, on the Project Explorer pane, enabling the Show Windows category check box. If the project contains many open layers,

displaying the Windows category can impact performance. Instead, use the Layer Control accessible by clicking the Layer Control button on the Main toolbar.
A data window displays a single category of information as a tree view. You select the category from the Category list. The items in the tree view are generically called nodes. Specific nodes are always referred to by name. A node can be
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a collection of nodes of one type, such as the Groups node, which is a collection of Group nodes an item that contains subordinate items, such as a site that contains sectors
The tree view represents hierarchical relationships graphically. You can expand or collapse nodes to reveal or hide subordinate nodes as needed. You can define some relationships by dragging nodes. For example:
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To add a site to a group, drag the site into the group from the Sites node. To change the order of layers in a Map window, drag the layer to where you want it in the list of map layers.
Using multiple data windows

If you configure the Project Explorer with multiple data windows, you can
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view multiple categories of information at once view different parts of a lengthy tree view so that you can easily perform mouse drag operations between them
By default, a category can only be viewed in one data window at a time. For information on how to view the same category in more than one data window, see Defining user preferences.
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Access to commands
When you right-click on any node, you access a shortcut menu of commands that apply to that type of node. For example, the following menu appears when you rightclick on a site node.
Figure 3.5: Right-click commands Each shortcut menu has a default command that appears in bold. For example, the default command for a site node is Edit. You can access these default commands quickly by double-clicking a node.
You can make multiple selections by holding the Shift or Ctrl key while clicking nodes, and then right-click to perform a command on all of them. In this case, the shortcut menu contains only commands that are valid for multiple nodes. For example, if you right-click on multiple sites, the New Sector command is not available. You can add a sector to only one site at a time. TIP: Clicking the arrow in the upper right corner of the Project Explorer creates a tabbed version of the Explorer that you can collapse or expand. To specify the position of the Project Explorer, drag it onto the arrows that display in the center of the screen.
Filtering Project Explorer data

Scrolling through a long list of sites or antennas is tedious. To alleviate this problem, in the Project Explorer, click next to the Sites node or Antennas node and use the filtering capabilities of the Project Explorer to refine the list displayed.
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Figure 3.6: Project Explorer window showing filtering capabilities
Defining user preferences

In the User Preferences dialog box, you can specify default settings and actions for Mentum Planet . These defaults are maintained between Mentum Planet sessions and upgrades and preserved across all projects. Preferences are user-specific so in a centralized work environment (such as when using Citrix or Windows Terminal Server), user preferences are unique to the individual who defines them. User preferences are divided into the following categories:
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GeneralMentum Planet startup actions and project data validation settings Unitsunits to be used across the project as well as the project coordinate system. Project Explorerperformance, site selection, and layer display settings Data Managerlogon settings and profile management Project Wizard Defaultsdefault folder settings and geodata settings Microwavedefault units for microwave calculations and location of geodata files Miscellaneousprediction view, import/export, Monte Carlo simulation, and Automatic Cell Planning settings
NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To define user preferences

CAUTION: The Transmitted Power, Height, Distance, and Coordinates settings are global parameters that affect the interpretation of all the values stored for sites. Use the same units of measure consistently throughout your project to avoid inadvertently changing global parameters.
Choose Edit
Preferences.
The User Preferences dialog box opens.
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Define your user preferences as required. User preferences are maintained between Mentum Planet sessions.
CAUTION: You must restart Mentum Planet to apply value changes for any user preference marked by an asterisk (*).
Understanding the project folder structure

Each project folder contains many sub-folders. These are described in Table2.3. Table 2.3 Project folders Folder Antenna Algorithm Contents Files that are used to describe the algorithms used in various configurations of multiple antenna systems Antenna query files Files for antennas used in the project Area classified grid files Files you want to associate with a project. Only shared files are saved in the Attachments folder. These files will automatically be put into Data Manager when you submit the project. project data backup Path loss files cdma2000 analysis files cdma2000 Monte Carlo simulation parameters and results Curve files, which are used by the application to configure relationships between performance indicators
Antenna Queries Antennas Areas Attachments
Backup Bin CDMA2000_Analyses CDMA2000MC_ Simulations Curves
Environment FCC Contours Field Strength Filters FixedWiMAXFDD_ Analyses FCC region and point files Combined signal strength files, which are created dynamically when viewing overall site field strength Filter loss (.flt) files Fixed WiMAX FDD network analysis files
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Folder FixedWiMAXTDD_ Analysis FrequencyPlan General Geodata
Contents Fixed WiMAX TDD network analysis files WiMAX frequency plans Settings files (e.g., contour.set) Mapping data including elevation, clutter, clutter height, 2D/3D polygon, and other types of mapping data files such as streets and photographic imagery. The geodata folder must contain a Heights folder and a Clutter folder. The Heights folder must contain the mandatory primary DTM. The Clutter folder can be empty. Interference matrix files LTE analysis files LTE Monte Carlo simulation parameters and results Propagation model and clutter property assignment files Neighbor plan files (.xml and .csv). Imported network data files Optimization profile parameters Optimization parameters, scenario parameters, scenario reports, and optimization cache
InterferenceMatrix LTE_Analyses LTEMC_Simulations Model NeighborList Network_Data Optimization Profiles Optimizations PerformanceAnalyses PNOffsetPlanning PredictionCache PredictionView Profiles Propagation_Model_ Analyses
PN offset plans Optimized pathloss storage used for network analyses and Monte Carlo simulations Optimized pathloss storage used for network analyses and Monte Carlo simulations Grid color profile files, point-to-point profile settings files, and contour color profile files Propagation model analysis files
Folder
Contents
Reports Scanner Data Scanner Survey Data
Report files Scanner data files and templates Scanner survey data files and templates
ScramblingCodePlanning Scrambling code plans Sector Display Scheme Sector Queries Settings SignalStrength Site Sets Site Templates SPT Subscriber Data Surveys TDMA_FDMA_Analyses Test Mobile Data TrafficMaps WCDMA_Analyses WCDMAMC_Simulations WiMAX_Analyses WiMAXMC_Analyses WiMAXMC_Simulations Workspaces Sector display schemes Sector query (.xml) files Files created by the Traffic Map Generator and Layer Statistics tool Prediction files for individual sectors Local and shared site sets Local and shared site templates Files related to the process of merging surveys and predictions. Fixed broadband wireless access database Survey files TDMA/FDMA network analysis files Test mobile data files and templates Numeric grid and clutter relative weighting files for traffic maps WCDMA network analysis files WCDMA Monte Carlo simulation parameters and results WiMAX network analysis files WiMAX Monte Carlo simulation parameters and results WiMAX Monte Carlo simulation parameters and results MapInfo workspace files including the default ProjectOpening.wor file.
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Creating and using workspaces

A workspace (.wor) file saves the current settings for each Map window and its layers. At any time, you can save the current settings to a workspace file. When you open a workspace, the Map windows and layers specified in the workspace are re-created, opening any files that are required. For more information about workspaces, see Using Workspaces in the MapInfo Professional User Guide. You can define a workspace in your project settings that Mentum Planet will open when you open the project. By default, Mentum Planet does not associate a workspace with your project; it stores the working configuration in a default workspace. To automatically update a workspace file when you make changes, you must use a defined workspace (.wor) file and enable the Workspace Autosave check box on the General tab in the Project Settings dialog box.
To create a workspace 1 2 3 4
Choose GIS SaveWorkspace.
In the Save Workspace dialog box, navigate to your project folder. Ensure that Workspace (*.wor) is selected in the Save As Type list. In the File Name box, type a workspace name or accept the default, and click Save.
To open a workspace 1 2 3
Choose GIS Open Workspace.
In the Open Workspace dialog box, navigate to your workspace file, and click Open. Ensure that Workspace (*.wor) is selected in the Files of Type list.
TIP: You can also view the contents of a workspace file using a text editor such as Notepad.
To associate a workspace with a project

You can specify a previously-saved workspace that Mentum Planet opens each time you open this project. By doing this, you can have the project open with the same configuration of windows and map layers every time.
With a project open, choose Edit
ProjectSettings.
The Project Settings dialog box opens.
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Click the General tab. In the Workspace section, click Browse beside the Workspace box, navigate to the workspace you want to use, and then click Open. To automatically save the workspace each time you close the project, enable the Workspace Autosave check box.
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Attaching files to a Mentum Planet project

You can attach files of any type to a Mentum Planet project and organize them into folders for easy access. This is useful when you want to include support documents in a Mentum Planet project such as census tract data, capacity planning information, or RF design review documents. And, you can update attached information that is saved as a .xls or .csv file using the Import command. NOTE: Files can be saved locally on your workstation or shared with other users using the Data Manager.
To attach a file to a project 1

In the ProjectExplorer, in the ProjectData category, expand the Attachments node and do any of the following:
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To attach a file that you want stored locally, right-click Local and choose Add. To attach a file that you want stored in Data Manager, right-click Shared and choose Add.
In the Open dialog box, locate the file you want to add, and click Open. The attached file is added to the Local or Shared attachments node in the Project Explorer. Shared files are saved in the Attachments folder within the project folder.
TIP: You can also double-click the Local or Shared node to attach a file.
To open an attached file

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In the ProjectExplorer, in the ProjectData category, right-click the attached file and choose Open.
To remove an attached file from a project

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In the ProjectExplorer, in the ProjectData category, right-click the attached file and choose Remove.
The file is deleted from the Attachments folder.
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Working with site sets

A site set is a container that holds a selection of sites. Initially, the site set is empty. Once you have placed and configured sites in the network, you can update the site set so that it contains project site data. It is the "Master" site set that contains details of all sites in a project once it is updated. With a site set update, site data is saved as .csv files in the Sites Sets folder within the project. Because you can create subsets of the Master site set, you can work more efficiently on a specific region of the network by creating and working with only the subset you are responsible for. When you make changes to sites in the subset, these changes are only reflected in the project once you merge the subset into the Master site set. In contrast, when you work with groups, changes you make to sites in the group are reflected in the project as soon as you apply them. For more information, see Grouping sites in the Mentum Planet User Guide. To facilitate network and site set comparison, Mentum Planet provides a Comparison tool where changes are highlighted.
Figure 3.7: Compare to Network example Once you have compared the subset to the Master site set and are satisfied with the results and the changes you have made, you can merge the site subset back into the Master site set. And, if you are working with the Data Manager, you can then submit
the Master site set to the server project so that others can access your changes. Site subsets are not stored in Data Manager. NOTE: To help you identify a site set, you can add a detailed description by right-clicking on the site set and choosing Edit Description.
CAUTION: Site sets are only updated when you switch between site sets. You can, however, manually update a site set by right-clicking on the subset and choosing Update.
Master site set

When you create a project, a Master site set is automatically created and is identified with a green plus sign. It is from the Master site set that you create site subsets in order to perform specific planning and optimization tasks outside the production environment (i.e., in a virtual sandbox). In other words, you can, for example, generate and examine predictions or network analyses and then make modifications to site or network parameters without changing the Master site set. TIP: You can create a copy of the entire Master site set (i.e., all the sites in the project) if you want to backup all site data. In the Project Explorer, rightclick the Master site set and choose Copy.
Site subsets
A site subset is a copy of specific sites contained in the Master site set. In the Project Explorer, a site subset is identified with a green minus sign as shown in Figure 3.8. Using site subsets, you can test various site configurations before applying these changes to the project.
Active site set

The sites in the Active site set are those you change when you make site and sector modifications. The Active site set is identified with a green arrow as shown in Figure 3.8.
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Figure 3.8: Icons identifies the active site set
Site table
The site table (or site file) is used mainly for display purposes. It contains the information required to display sites in the Map window as well as additional site table columns that can be used if you want to query site data using MapInfo functionality. You cannot permanently update site data by modifying the site (.tab) file as this data is always updated from the internal Mentum Planet project, which is held in-memory and stored in the project file. Site data saved in the site table is not updated automatically when you make changes to site or sector parameters. You can, however, refresh the site data stored in the site table using the Update Site File command from the Sites node in the Project Explorer but these updates are not saved. The site table is re-written each time you open a project.
To update a site set

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In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand the Site Sets node, right-click a site set and choose Update. The .csv files contained in the Site Sets folder within the project are created or updated.
To copy the active site set 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the active site set and do one of the following:
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To copy the entire site set, choose Copy . To copy a subset of the site set, choose Copy Subset.
If you are copying a subset, in the Select Sites dialog box, specify the sites that you want to be part of the subset by choosing one of the following options in the Sector Selection section:
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All Sites to include all sites in the subset. Current Selection if you have selected specific sectors in the Map window. Flag Filtering if you have defined and assigned flags to sectors. Enable the Invert Conditions check box to select those sectors for which the applied conditions do not apply. Group Selection if you have defined and created groups. Query Selection if you have defined and created sector queries.
In the Band Filtering section, enable the bands you want to include in your sector selection. The sites that will be included in the subset are displayed in the Selected Sites list.
Click OK. The new site set is added to the Site Sets list.
NOTE: If the number of sites in a site set is high (i.e., greater than 5000 sectors), the action of switching between site sets can take some time to complete.
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To change the active site set 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the site set that you want to set as the active site set and choose Active. The active site set changes, and the new site set is displayed in the Map window. NOTE: When you change site sets, only the sites change. Defined flags, groups, and link configurations are preserved. For example, flags you have defined for the active site set will also be available for use with a subset of the site set.
To compare site sets 1 2 3

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Ctrl+click to choose the two sites sets you want to compare. Right-click and choose Compare. The Site Set Comparison dialog box opens.
From the tool strip at the top of the dialog box, choose one of the following options:
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Differencesdisplays only data that is not in either site set. Similaritiesdisplays only data that is in both site sets. Only In Masterdisplays data that is only in the Master site set. Only In Networkdisplays data that is only in the site table (and appears on the map) but which is not contained in the Master site set.
When you have finished analyzing the data, click Close.
To compare a site set to the network 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Ctrl+click to choose the two sites sets you want to compare.
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Right-click and choose Compare To Network. The Compare to Network dialog box opens.
From the tool strip at the top of the dialog box, choose one of the following options:
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Differencesdisplays only data that is not in either site set. Similaritiesdisplays only data that is in both site sets. Only In Masterdisplays data that is only in the Master site set. Only In Networkdisplays data that is only in the site table (and appears on the map) but which is not contained in the Master site set.
When you have finished analyzing the data, click Close.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you backup the site set before doing a merge. Changes made to the original site set cannot be undone.
To merge a subset into the active site set 1 2 3

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the site set into which you want data merged and choose Active. Right-click the subset site set and choose Merge To Active. Site data in the active site set is overwritten with the data from the subset.
To create a shared site set 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand the Local node. Right-click the site set you want to share and choose Create Shared. A copy of the selected site set is added to the Shared node.
To update a shared site set

You can only update a shared site set when the original site set is not the active site set.
1 2
In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand the Local node. Right-click the original site set used to create the shared copy and choose Update Shared. The shared copy of the selected site set is updated to match the original site set.
To remove a site set 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node.
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Right-click the site set and choose Remove. The site set is removed from the list, but the site set files are not deleted from the project folder.
CAUTION: If you right-click a site set and choose Delete, the site set files are deleted from the project folder.
To rename a site set 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the site set, choose Rename, type a new name, and press Enter.
To view the site set description 1 2 3

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the site set for which you want to view site set details, choose About. Once you have read the description, click OK.
To edit the site set description 1 2 3

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand SiteSets, and then expand either the Local or Shared node. Right-click the site set you want to edit and choose Edit Description. In the Edit Description dialog box, type the details you want to associate with the site set and click OK.
Working with map layers

You should be familiar with the concept of map layers when you work with Mentum Planet . Each unique layer of information exists as a separate file that can be added as a layer in a Map window. Just as each layer can be visualized above or below another layer, layers can be compared using spatial analysis functions. When you open a grid, the Map window consists of a cosmetic layer and individual map layers. You can manipulate these layers using the Project Explorer or using the Layer Control.
Figure 3.9: Various map layers covering the same geographic area can hold different types of information. In the Windows category of the Project Explorer, you can
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view the names of the individual layers add or remove layers change the position of individual map layers make layers visible or invisible, editable or not editable open the layer in a new Map window make layers selectable and/or editable enable automatic labeling of objects, such as sites
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You can also manipulate map layers with the Layer Control. Right-click on the Map window and choose Layer Control. For more information about the Layer Control, click the Help button in the Layer Control dialog box. NOTE: For information on visualizing map layers as Microsoft Bing Aerial or Microsoft Bing Hybrid layers, see the MapInfo Professional User Guide, located by default in the \Program Files\Mentum\Planet 5\mapinfo\Documentation folder.
Close Table, the grid is NOTE: When you close a Map window by choosing File not deleted or removed from the project, it is simply no longer visible.
To manipulate map layers with the Project Explorer 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Windows category, expand the Map Windows node to see the individual map layers. Do any of the following:
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To add new map layers, right-click the Map window name, choose Add Layer, then choose the layers you want to add, and click OK. To remove a map layer, right-click the map layer and choose Remove. To remove a map layer and close the associated file, right-click the map layer and choose Close. To move a map layer, drag it to the where you want it to appear in the list of layers. To hide a layer, right-click the layer and choose Visible if the check box is not already cleared. To make a layer visible, right-click the layer and choose Visible if the check box is not already enabled. To make a layer editable, right-click the layer and choose Editable if the check box is not already enabled. The Editable command is available only for layers that can be made editable, such as vector and point layers. To make a layer non-editable, right-click the layer and choose Editable if the check box is not already cleared. The Editable
command is available only for layers that can be made editable, such as vector and point layers.
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To make a layer selectable, right-click the layer and choose Selectable if the check box is not already enabled. The Selectable command is available only for layers that can be made selectable, such as vector and point layers. To make a layer non-selectable, right-click the layer and choose Selectable if the check box is not already cleared. The Selectable command is available only for layers that can be made selectable, such as vector and point layers. To automatically label objects on a layer, right-click the layer and choose AutoLabel if the check box is not already enabled. The availability of automatic labeling depends on the layer. Usually you use it on the site table. To view a layer in a Browser window, right-click the layer and choose Browse. To scale the Map window to show the full extent of a layer, right-click the layer and choose ViewEntireLayer. To open a layer in a new Map window, right-click the layer and choose New Map Window.
To manipulate map layers with the Layer Control 1

Do one of the following:
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In the Project Explorer, in the Windows category, rightclick a Map window node and choose Layer Control. In the Project Explorer, in the Windows category, rightclick a Map window node and choose Layer Control. Right-click in the Map window and choose Layer Control.
In the Layer Control dialog box, do any of the following:

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To add a new map layer, click the Add Layers button, choose a layer, and then click OK. To remove a map layer, choose a map layer and click the Remove Layers button.
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To move a layer up, choose a map layer and click the Move Layers Up button. To move a layer down, choose a map layer and click the Move Layers Down button. To make a layer visible, enable the Visible check box next to the map layer. To make a layer editable, enable the Editable icon next to the map layer. Some layers cannot be made editable. To make a layer selectable, enable the Selectable icon next to the map layer. To add labels to the layer, enable the Automatic Labels icon next to the map layer.
For more information about the functionality available in the Layer Control dialog box, click the Help button.
Click OK to close the Layer Control dialog box.
NOTE: Move the cursor over the symbols above each column in the Layer list to display the check box labels.
Working with geodata folders

The Geodata node in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer brings together all of the geographic data contained in a project to enable you to manage different types of data in a consistent manner. From the Geodata node, you can
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view geodata files by type or resolution add or remove files from geodata folders view or hide geodata layers
The folder you define for geodata can be located within the project folder although it doesnt have to be. In order to save disk space, the geodata folder can be located on a server or in a common location where multiple users can access it. At a minimum, it must, however, contain a Heights folder and a Clutter folder. The Heights folder must contain the primary DEM file but the Clutter folder can be empty. CAUTION: You must add the files you want in the Clutter Heights, Polygons, and Custom folders manually.
To manage geodata files 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, expand the Geodata node to see the geodata folders. Do any of the following:
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To add a file to a geodata folder, right-click the geodata folder name, choose Add, choose the file you want to add, click Open, then click OK. If the chosen file was not in the appropriate Geodata folder, it will be copied to this folder. To remove a file from a geodata folder, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose Remove. The chosen file is only removed the geodata folder, it is not deleted from your computer. To hide a geodata file, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose View if the check box is not already cleared.
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To make a geodata file visible, expand the geodata folder, rightclick the file and choose View if the check box is not already enabled. To view a geodata file in a Browser window, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose Browse. You can only browse MapInfo tables, not grids or other custom data files. To open the Grid Info tool, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose Grid Info. To create a legend for the geodata layer, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose Grid Legend. To view the colors associated with the layer, expand the geodata folder, right-click the file and choose Grid Color.
To group geodata files

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In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click Geodata, choose Group By , and then choose the type of grouping that you want. The geodata files are listed based on the type of grouping you chose.
Defining the coordinate systems to use in a project

You choose which coordinate system you want to use in a Mentum Planet project when you create a project using the Project Wizard. You can change the coordinate system on the Coordinate System tab in the Project Settings dialog box as shown in Figure 3.10.
Figure 3.10: Coordinate System tab
To define the coordinate system for sites 1 2

Choose Edit Project Settings.
In the Project Settings dialog box, click the Coordinate System tab. The coordinate system of the project height file is displayed in the Terrain Coordinate System field and cannot be changed because it is the coordinate system of the geodata itself. The geodata coordinate system is used for display purposes.
To change the coordinate system used for sites, click the Select button next to the Network Coordinate System field. In order to create the highest quality network model, you should ideally use the same coordinate system for the site database as is used for the
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geodata. Using a different coordinate system for sites could introduce inaccuracies in predictions. For information on specific unit settings, press the F1 key.

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Click Apply to save the project settings without closing the dialog box. Click OK to save project settings and close the dialog box.
Defining color profiles

In order to improve the appearance and readability of map layers, you can modify the default color schemes that Mentum Planet uses for numeric grids. Changing the color profiles, affects the grids currently open in Mentum Planet and the new profiles will be used when creating a new project. Existing network analysis layers are not updated. You can specify common color profiles that will be applied globally across all project data, or you can choose a color scheme (a .vcp file) for specific numeric grids. Color profiles are text files saved with a .vcp extension. These files should be saved in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>\Global\Profiles folder.
To choose color profiles 1

Choose Edit Color Profiles.
The Color Profiles dialog box opens.
In the Color Profiles dialog box, from the Analysis Type list, choose the type of analysis for which you want to create color profiles. The values and colors defined in the profile are shown in the Colors table.
Chapter 3
To create a color profile 1 2 3

If the Grid Manager is not visible, choose View GridManager. In the Grid Manager, choose a numeric grid (.grd). Click the Color button.
Do any of the following:

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To add a color inflection point, click Add, define a value for the inflection point, and click OK. To define a new color for the inflection point, double-click on a color inflection point, choose a new color in the Color dialog box and click OK. To move an inflection point, click a color inflection point and drag it to the new location. This will update the value for this inflection point in the Color Scheme list. The calculated values in the Color Scheme List are automatically updated. To change color values and percentiles, click an entry in the Color Scheme List to make the value editable and type a new value. This will move the inflection point to the appropriate location on the color ramp.
In the Color Profile section, do any of the following:

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Enable the Solid Band check box if you want hard breaks between colors instead of interpolated fading. Click Flip if you want the colors associated with inflection points in reverse order. Click Revert if you want to return to the color pattern that was in place before you clicked Flip.
If you want to redefine the grid colors based on how they would be illuminated by a single light source, in the Relief Shading section, enable the Enabled check box, and click Properties. If you want this profile to be available for use with all Mentum Planet projects, save the .vcp file in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>\Global\Profiles folder. Otherwise, the default location is the Profiles folder within the project folder.
NOTE: In deciding whether to save color inflection points by value or by percentile, use the following guidelines: n If it is more important to assign specific colors to specific values in a series of related grid files, then save by value. n If it is more important to assign a particular color range to a series of related grid files where the value range may vary considerably, then save by percentile. TIP: You can add a color inflection point in the Grid Color Tool by doubleclicking on the color slider bar. Conversely, you can delete an inflection point by clicking on an inflection point to highlight it and pressing Delete.
CHAPTER 4 Creating A Project

A project can include any of the technologies supported by Mentum Planet. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding projects Creating projects Migrating projects Workflow for migrating Mentum Planet projects To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 4.x To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 5.x To migrate projects in a batch Creating a network overlay Opening and closing projects Restoring projects Saving projects
68 69 73 77 79 80 81 82 84 86 87
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Understanding projects
A Mentum Planet project contains and organizes all of the information pertaining to a particular wireless network. At a minimum, a project is created from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) although you can also include clutter information (i.e., land use) in a project. A project contains:
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digital terrain models (i.e., digital elevation models) project clutter information clutter information for specific environments propagation models site locations sector equipment, including antennas groups flags traffic maps operation data (e.g., surveys, network measurement data, neighbor lists, interference matrices, frequency plans, etc.) any documents you want to attach to the project
A project also contains the results of predictions and network analyses made on the basis of this information.
Creating A Project
Creating projects
The Project Wizard leads you through the process of creating a project. In order to streamline design work, you can specify that the Wizard automatically displays when you start Mentum Planet. If you want Mentum Planet to automatically open the last project, instead of the Project Wizard, in the Startup Options section of the User Preferences dialog box, choose the Open Most Recent Project option. You can use remote project folders to store and access Mentum Planet project data. For example, you can use shared project folders for the following types of project files to conserve disk space on your workstation:
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bin files signal (field) strength files prediction view files
By default, these files are saved in the local project folder. If you use shared project folders, the project files are stored in the shared folders, instead of the local project folder. The shared folders must have read/write access permissions for all Mentum Planet users accessing the shared folders. CAUTION: If you are using shared folders and do not enable the corresponding check box in the Sharing section of the Advanced Options tab in the Project Settings dialog box, the shared path is not stored in Data Manager when you check in the project. For any Data Manager users who perform a Get on the project, all data will be stored within their local project folder. When you create a project, you can choose to use a workspace to save your map window settings, although this is not required. You can also choose the coordinate system. For additional information about projections, see Appendix B, Elements of a Coordinate System in the MapInfo Professional User Guide. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
CAUTION: Never save projects in the Mentum Planet installation folder.
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To create a project 1
Start Mentum Planet. By default, the Project Wizard opens when you start Mentum Planet. To use the wizard at any other time, choose File New Project.
2 3
On each page of the Wizard, provide the required information and clickNext. On the Choose Default Settings For Each Enabled Technology page, specify those technologies you want to include in the project and click Next. Default settings are saved in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>\Global\Technologies folder. If you want to customize the default settings to use each time a new project is created, you can modify the Excel file.
On the Choose Geodata That Covers All Of Your Site Locations page, click the Browse button and navigate to where the project geodata is saved and then click Next.
Creating A Project
The folder you define for geodata can be located within the project folder although it doesnt have to be. In order to save disk space, the geodata folder can be located on a server or in a common location where multiple users can access it. At a minimum, it must, however, contain a Heights folder and a Clutter folder. The Heights folder must contain the primary elevation file but the Clutter folder can be empty.
Click Finish. The project opens in a Map window.
NOTE: When you create a project, default propagation model (.pmf) files are copied to the Model folder located within the project folder.
To view or edit project settings 1

Choose Edit Project Settings.
The Project Settings dialog box opens.
Modify project settings as required.
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NOTE: To open the Project Settings dialog box once a project is open, choose Edit Project Settings, or click the Project Settings button on the Network toolbar.
TIP: To make a copy of an existing project, close the existing project and copy the contents of its project folder to a new project folder. It is not recommended that you create the new project folder as subfolder of the existing project folder.
TIP: In the new project folder, you can delete large folders (e.g., Bin, SignalStrength, PredictionView, and <technology>_Analyses) or you can elect not to copy them because Mentum Planet automatically recreates these folders.
Creating A Project
Migrating projects
Changes to the data storage and management architecture in Mentum Planet 5.3 require that projects created in previous versions of the software be migrated in order to make them consistent with the new data schema. Project Migration is an automated process achieved using the Mentum Planet Migrator utility. CAUTION: After a legacy project has been migrated to Mentum Planet 5.3, it can no longer be opened in previous versions of Mentum Planet . It is recommended that you create a complete project backup prior to opening your project in Mentum Planet 5.3.
Batch migration of projects

If order to facilitate migration of multiple Mentum Planet projects, the Mentum Planet Migrator includes a Batch Migration command. Batch migration supports the same upgrade paths as the Mentum Project Migrator. To use it, you must first create an .xml configuration file structured as follows: <?xml version="1.0"?> <batch_migration> <localsettings> <projectsFolder>C:\Projects\BatchMigration</projectsFolder> <project>C:\Projects\Jun10\Jun10.dBP</project> <project>C:\Projects\SplitCT\SplitCT.dBP</project> <project>C:\Projects\Subbands\Subbands.dBP</project> <summary>C:\Projects\BatchMigrationSummary.xml</summary> </localsettings> </batch_migration> Where: <projectsFolder> is the root folder that contains the Mentum Planet project folders to be migrated. This is an optional parameter.
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<project> indicates a single project folder to be migrated. This is an optional parameter. <summary> is the file where an overall summary of batch migration is recorded. This file is overwritten each time a batch migration is completed. A log file (ProjectMigration.log) is created in each project folder with detailed information about the migration. While the configuration file must conform to the stated structure, you can name the file as it best suits your needs. NOTE: If project migration fails for a particular project, the original project is kept, the log files are created and the batch migration continues. When a project migration is successful, the project is automatically saved.
Improved data validation

Mentum Planet includes stringent data validation controls aimed at preserving data integrity and reducing the chance of error or data corruption. As a consequence, project data must be free of inconsistencies to ensure successful migration to Mentum Planet 5.3.
Upgrade paths
The Mentum Planet Migrator supports the following upgrade paths:
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5.0 (fixed and mobile WiMAX, LTE) 5.1 (fixed and mobile WiMAX, LTE, cdma2000) 5.2, 5.2.1 (all technologies)
NOTE: If you are using versions prior to Mentum Planet 4.5, contact Customer Care for assistance with project migration. If you are using Data Manager and working in a multi-user environment, the software upgrade must be coordinated such that Mentum Planet and Data Manager Server are both the same version. In this deployment model, it is also critical to coordinate data migration from previous releases.
Creating A Project
Important considerations when migrating projects

Each new version of Mentum Planet brings improvements in all areas of the software. Key areas of change include (but are not limited to):
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Antennas Link configurations Propagation models
Antennas
A new antenna format (.paf) was introduced that supports complex antenna configurations including multiple bands and e-tilt variations. When antenna files are migrated from earlier version of Mentum Planet (prior to verson 5.0), the files are migrated as they were in the previous version (i.e., with limited antenna support). To take advantage of the new antenna format, you need to contact the antenna supplier and obtain multiple band and e-tilt patterns in the Planet Antenna Format (.paf).
Link configurations
The concept of link configuration files was introduced in Mentum Planet 5. A link configuration contains the gains and losses that occur as a signal travels. You can assign the same link configuration to several sectors. If you are migrating a project created in a version of Mentum Planet prior to version 5.0, the migrated project may have a large number of link configurations because in previous versions of the software the link budget was created per sector.
Propagation models
Propagation models that are not supported in the current version of Mentum Planet (such as the Cost231 model or the Lee Model) are converted to the default_PlanetGeneralModel. In addition, there are several versions of the Predict propagation model available:
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Version 4.2 contains fixes related to predictions. Version 4.3 is based on version 4.2 and incorporates a fix related to clutter class order. Version 4.4 is based on version 4.3 and includes the ability to use Predict with very high clutter heights. Use this version only when modeling very high clutter. Version 4.5 is based on version 4.3 and fixes an issue related to predictions and changes to propagation distance. It also includes a fix related to the use of fraction of incident power scattered values.
You can change the version that is used in the Site Editor. Version 4.5 is the recommended Predict version.
Creating A Project
Workflow for migrating Mentum Planet projects

NOTE: Errors that occur during the migration process are clearly identified in the log (e.g., "Error: Column length (ft) is not part of the Sectors table"). While errors must be rectified in order to continue project migration, warnings provide important information about migration but do not block the successful migration of a project.
NOTE: If order to facilitate migration of multiple Mentum Planet projects, the Mentum Planet Migrator includes a Batch Migration command. Batch migration supports the same upgrade paths as the Mentum Project Migrator.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you create a complete project backup prior to opening your project in Mentum Planet5.3. Do not use the Backup command. After a legacy project has been migrated to Mentum Planet5.3, it can no longer be opened in previous versions of Mentum Planet. Step 1 Ensure that the project height and clutter files are saved in the Geodata folder (e.g., the DEM must be saved in the Geodata/Heights folder and the clutter must be saved in the Geodata/Clutter folder). Ensure the project does not contain overlapping bands. Run Data Inspector on the project you want to migrate to identify any issues prior to migrating the project to Mentum Planet 5.3. If errors appear in the Project Status message window, contact Customer Care for assistance. See Getting technical support. To run Data Inspector, choose Start Run. Type <Mentum Planet 5 Installation folder>\DataInspector.exe" /expert and click Open. For example, C:\Program Files\Mentum\Planet 5\DataInspector.exe /expert Step 4 Step 5 Back up all local project data. Do one of the following:
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Step 2 Step 3
If you are migrating a project from Mentum Planet 4.x, open the Mentum Planet Migrator, migrate the project, save it, and then
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open the project in Mentum Planet.

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If you are migrating a project from Mentum Planet 5.x, open Mentum Planet and choose File Open Project.
Step 6
If issues arise, run Data Inspector on your local project to identify any known issues. The Data Inspector shipped with Mentum Planet may identify issues that are not detectable in previous versions of the tool. If errors appear in the Project Status message window, contact Customer Care for assistance.
NOTE: When migrating a Mentum Planet project that contains network analyses, the analysis files are copied to the Obsolete folder within the Mentum Planet project folder. You can open these files and view the associated analysis layers in Mentum Planet 5.3.
Creating A Project
To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 4.x

1
Click Start All Programs Mentum Planet Migrator. Mentum Planet 5.3
The Mentum Planet Migrator opens.
2 3 4 5
Choose File
Migrate.
In the Open Project dialog box, navigate to the folder where the project is saved and click Open. Choose File Validate Project. Save Project.
If validation is fine, choose File
The project is saved with a .planet extension.
Choose File
Exit.
New project files are created including the Mentum Planet project (.planet) file and the associated .dat and .xml files.
7 8 9
Open the newly migrated project in Mentum Planet 5.3. Choose Edit Network Settings.
In the tree view, choose the technology you are working with.
10 Verify all network settings values and click OK once you are
satisfied with the settings. In particular, ensure that you define appropriate values for the Useful Bits Per Symbols column as well as Amplifier Backoff (dB) columns. NOTE: The Migrate Files To command is used strictly when you want to convert antenna files and propagation models contained in an existing project for use with the Network Overlay tool. Only site and sector information is migrated. If you do not migrate the project first, the Network Overlay tool uses a default antenna file and propagation file.
Chapter 4
To migrate projects from Mentum Planet 5.x

1 2
In Mentum Planet, choose File Open Project and navigate to where the project is saved, and then click Open. Read the message and click Yes to continue with the migration. The Project Migrator opens and migration proceeds.
Read the information message and click OK. The projects opens.
4 5
Choose Edit
Network Settings.
In the tree view, choose the technology you are working with.
6 Verify all network settings values and click OK once you are satisfied
with the settings. In particular, ensure that you define appropriate values for the Useful Bits Per Symbols column as well as Amplifier Backoff (dB) columns. NOTE: The Migrate Files To command is used strictly when you want to convert antenna files and propagation models contained in an existing project for use with the Network Overlay tool. Only site and sector information is migrated. If you do not migrate the project first, the Network Overlay tool uses a default antenna file and propagation file.
Creating A Project
To migrate projects in a batch

1
Click Start All Programs Mentum Planet Migrator. Mentum Planet 5.3
The Mentum Planet Migrator opens.
Choose File
Batch Migration
Load Configuration File.
The configuration file is an .xml file with a defined structure.
Chapter 4
Creating a network overlay

Using the Network Overlay tool, you can add sites and sectors to a Mentum Planet project using the project data you exported from Mentum Planet 4.x or 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, or 5.2.1. You can also create a network overlay within a Mentum Planet project. The Network Overlay tool supports all technologies. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
CAUTION: If the exported worksheets or .csv files do not contain summary information, data should use the same units and same coordinate system as those defined in the User Preferences dialog box.
To create a network overlay

You can create a network overlay from comma-separated values (.csv) files or from Excel (.xls) files. This procedure uses Excel files.
To export the data to an Excel file, do one of the following:

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In Mentum Planet 4.x, choose Data Export Project Data. You must export the following worksheets: Sites and Sectors (with all fields selected). In Mentum Planet 5.x, choose Data Export Project Data. You must export the following worksheets: Sites and Sectors (with all fields selected) as well as the Antennas worksheet.
Once the export is complete, in Mentum Planet, choose Tools Network Overlay. The Network Overlay Wizard opens.
On the first page of the Wizard, specify the following:

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the version of Mentum Planet used to created the data files. the format of the data files. the location of the data files.
Click Next and follow the prompts to complete the network overlay.
Creating A Project
When you have specified all required information, click Finish. The network overlay file contains three worksheets: Sites, Sectors, and Antennas.
Chapter 4
Opening and closing projects

You must close an open project before opening a new one. TIP: If you want Mentum Planet to automatically open the last project, choose the Open Most Recent Project option on the General panel in the User Preferences dialog box. If you do not want the last project to open, choose the None option.
CAUTION: When you open a project, existing 4.x predictions are automatically migrated. After predictions have been converted for use in the latest version of Mentum Planet, you cannot use them or view them in previous versions of Mentum Planet. You should create a backup copy of legacy predictions before opening the project.
To open a project 1
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Double-click the Mentum Planet (.planet) project file to start Mentum Planet and open the project. Double-click the Mentum Planet (.planet) project file to start Mentum Planet and open the project. In Mentum Planet, choose File OpenProject and go to Step 2.
In Mentum Planet, choose File RecentProjects <Project Name>. The path to the project is displayed in the Mentum Planet taskbar at the bottom of the application window.
In the Open dialog box, locate the project you want to open, and click Open. The project opens in a Map window.
TIP: To view two projects side-by-side, you can open multiple instances of Mentum Planet on your workstation.
Creating A Project
TIP: Create a shortcut to your Mentum Planet project (.planet) file to quickly open projects that you use often.
Chapter 4
Restoring projects
Each time you save a project, a copy is stored in the Backup folder within the project folder. When a project has been terminated abnormally, you can choose to restore the last saved version of the project or the last opened version of the project. CAUTION: Do not open a .planet file saved in the Backup folder. Backup .planet files should only be opened from the Restore Project Files dialog box.
To restore a project 1 2
Start Mentum Planet . Choose File Restore.
The Restore Project Files dialog box opens.
Click the Browse button next to the Restore Project Files From box and navigate to the .planet file saved in the Backup folder within the project folder, and then click OK. Click the Browse button next to the Restore Project Files To box and navigate to the original folder where project files were saved, and then click OK.
Creating A Project
Saving projects
You can save project data at any time without closing a project. It is recommended that you save your project periodically in order to avoid the loss of data in the event of a network or system failure. You can also save a named backup of your project. This can be useful if you want to save the project at various stages in the network development.
To save a project
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Choose File
Save Project.
The project is saved in the project folder.
To back up a project 1 2
Choose File Back Up Project.
In the Backup Project dialog box, in the Name box, type a name for the folder where the data will be saved and click OK. Project data is saved in the named folder within the Backup folder.
CHAPTER 5 Working With Propagation Models

Using the Propagation Model Editor, you can adjust the parameters of propagation models to account for the characteristics of the environment. A set of propagation models is installed with Mentum Planet and is copied to the project folder when you create a new project. This chapter describes how to choose and edit a number of propagation models. It also describes how to use the Model Tuning tool to automatically adjust the parameters of a propagation model based on measurement data in order to produce signal strength predictions that are as accurate and realistic as possible. This chapter covers the following topics:
Workflow for propagation modeling Workflow for model tuning Understanding the role of propagation models Understanding propagation model types Understanding model tuning Understanding clutter classes and clutter properties Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT Tuning models using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner Tuning a propagation model Guidelines for model tuning Creating and editing propagation models
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Chapter 5
Workflow for propagation modeling

Step 1 Step 2 Create and edit propagation model. Tune the propagation model.
Working With Propagation Models
Workflow for model tuning

Step 1 Collect survey data and modify as required. See Workflow for surveys. Configure the model (e.g., matching the frequency used when collecting the survey data with the frequency in the tuned propagation model). See Workflow for editing propagation models. Tune the propagation model. See:
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Step 2
Step 3
If you are tuning the Planet General Model, see Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT. If you are tuning any other propagation model, see Tuning models using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner.
Step 4
Validate the model.

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Generate predictions for the survey sites using the tuned model. See Generating predictions. View a thematic map of survey points and compare them to the prediction layer. See Displaying survey data.
Step 5
Investigate discrepancies between the survey data and the prediction layer by comparing the survey data to the prediction output and reviewing survey reports. Once you have examined the differences, you may decide to remove additional points, modify the clutter properties, or change the propagation model settings. See Viewing survey statistics, Creating survey reports, and Combining and comparing surveys. The data in the model tuning report does not provide a comparison between the survey data and the final prediction. In most cases, the differences will be negligible; however, if required, you can generate an additional prediction and use the Compare to Grid feature to view final comparison statistics. See Combining and comparing surveys in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Chapter 5
Understanding the role of propagation models

Propagation models simulate how radio waves travel through the environment from one point to another. Because of the complex nature of propagation modeling and the great amount of information needed to perform an accurate estimation of path loss, there will always be differences between the path loss estimation of a model and real-world measurements. Nevertheless, some models are inherently more accurate than others in specific situations, and it is always possible to refine a model (or its understanding of the environment) so that it better matches the real world. There are several things you can do in order to minimize discrepancies between the propagation model and the real world, including choosing an appropriate model and calibrating it effectively. To model the real-world behavior of a network and account for how radio waves react to elevation changes and clutter (e.g., reflection, diffraction, and scattering), you must account for features in the environment such as the surface of the terrain (e.g., hilly or flat) and the presence of lakes. Ground cover such as buildings and trees must also be taken into consideration because of the influence they have on radio propagation, particularly at the frequencies used by mobile networks. Although it is possible to create predictions without a clutter file, using one will produce much more accurate predictions. The clutter file (in the form of a classified grid) details surface features that are classified into meaningful categories (or classes). It is important to be flexible in defining the physical properties associated with each clutter type. For example, land on the west coast of North America categorized as forest may have physical properties significantly different from similarly categorized land on the east coast. Because of the vast differences possible between clutter classes, it is important to create and tune a propagation model for each clutter class. For example, for a large urban city center, you might create a dense urban model, an urban model, and a suburban model each tuned to reflect a specific area of the region. In order to improve the accuracy of predictions, it is common to use three or four propagation models for a specific market. This is because some models are inherently more capable of adjusting to changes in the environment. Also, the more deterministic a model is, the more adaptable it is as well. Propagation models are organized in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer. The icons of propagation models that have been assigned to a sector are displayed in color. The icons of propagation models that have not been assigned to a sector, but are located in the Model folder of the project, appear dimmed.
You can find more information in the following documents:

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Federal Communications Commission. Methods for Predicting Interference from Response Station Transmitters and to Response Station Hubs and for Supplying Data on Response Station Systems. MM DOCKET 97-217 J. Epstein and D.W. Peterson. An experimental study of wave propagation at 850 Mc., Proc. IRE, vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 595-611, May, 1953
You can find detailed information about propagation models in the following documents available in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>\Help folder:
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Predict Technical Note An Investigation Into Predict 4 Emulation of CRC-Predict2 Planet General Model Technical Note Mentum PlanetUser Guide Universal Model User Guide
Chapter 5
Understanding propagation model types

This section describes the propagation model types that Mentum Planet supports. Slope-based models, such as the Okumura-Hata model, take clutter into account automatically when generating predictions. Deterministic models, such as the Predict 4 model, depend on the model of the environment and the specification of clutter property assignments. Table4.1 rates how each of the three main propagation models perform when used under certain conditions. Table 1 Ratings for popular propagation models Used... Predict 4 Planet General Model Good Fair Fair Fair Poor Poor Fair Fair Universal Model Excellent Excellent Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Good
For macro-cell planning Good For mini-cell planning For micro-cell planning Poor Very poor
Over large propagation Excellent distances With no model tuning With cluster tuning On a per-sector basis With merged predictions Fair Fair Fair Good
Planet General Model

The Planet General Model is a flexible hybrid model that can be used to model many different kinds of propagation environments. This model has been available for more than 10 years and enables you to migrate data from versions as far back as Planet 2.8 to Mentum Planet and obtain the same coverage results. The Planet General Model has become an industry standard and can be used when migrating projects from other wireless planning products. You can use the Planet General Model to model many different kinds of propagation environments. The path loss equation incorporates losses due to a number of models (such as Okumura-Hata), contributors, and coefficients that can be pieced together to create a user-defined propagation model. Some of these are defined by algorithms derived from statistical data. These algorithms are quite accurate under
specific conditions, but become less appropriate as the terrain and clutter varies from these conditions. Various correction factors exist to compensate for these varying conditions, and it is very important for these values to be assigned accurately in order to make models simulate the real situation. The Planet General Model predicts the path loss for each element within the prediction area. This is achieved by constructing a terrain and clutter profile from the base station (transmitter) to each element and then computing the path loss for that profile. In order to ensure that path loss at each element within the prediction region is computed, a profile can be constructed to each element on the perimeter of the prediction region. Thus the number of radials, , is given by
However, for most practical applications, a fraction of the above number of radials is sufficient. A corresponding signal strength at each element is also computed using the antenna pattern. One of the most visible differences between the Planet General Model used with Planet2.8/PlanetDMS and the one used with Mentum Planet is the shape of the prediction area; Planet2.8/PlanetDMS uses a square prediction area, whereas Mentum Planet defines a circular prediction area. Although the shape and the total area of the prediction areas are markedly different, this has no effect on the computed path loss or signal strength values. Using simple geometry, you can convert Planet2.8 Prediction Size to Mentum Planet Propagation Distance using
The above equation overlaps the Mentum Planet circular prediction area with Planet2.8 square prediction region, thus assuring total coverage of the prediction zone. For more information on the Planet General Model, see the Planet General Model Technical Note.
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You can use 3D building data with the Planet General Model. To do this, you must first convert the 3D data into new clutter classes, which represent the height of the buildings. Then, you need to define clutter properties such that each class is assigned a height equal to the height of the building. Using the model in this way can increase the accuracy substantially in urban areas. The best resolution for this type of model is 5-10 meters.
PGM-A model
PGM-A is a variation on the Planet General Model and is useful when migrating projects from other wireless planning products. Contact Customer Care for support in determining when to use PGM-A. Some of the characteristics that differentiate PGM-A from the Planet General Model include the following:
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It may be unnecessary to retune models that you migrate from another wireless planning product to PGM-A. There is some variation in the method for computing received signal strength and diffraction loss. The Planet General Model allows you to specify how the radio wave is modeled over the horizon as a result of the earths atmosphere. The Planet General Model allows you to apply Okumura correction factors.
Predict 4 model
Predict 4 is a general-purpose model intended for macrocell planning. CAUTION: The Predict 4 propagation model is not a ray-tracing model and, as such, should not be used with high-resolution data. Instead, it is best used with geodata with a resolution between 20 to 30 meters. You can use it in most circumstances, regardless of the kind of terrain, if detailed terrain or clutter information or both are available. The following cases are exceptions:
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for very short paths, for example micro-cellular paths, in which the locations of individual buildings are important
for very short paths, for example micro-cellular paths, in which the locations of individual buildings are important when a very rapid calculation is wanted, because the CRCPredict model is more computationally intensive than most models
The path loss calculation in the Predict 4 model is designed for the VHF to UHF (30 MHz to 3 GHz) frequency range. The physical principles used by the Predict 4 model are also applicable up to 30 GHz. However, accurate predictions for that range depend on very detailed and accurate terrain data, and currently there are no supporting test measurements. Also, above 10 GHz, rain attenuation becomes significant. The principal algorithm is a diffraction calculation, based on the Fresnel-Kirchoff theory that takes terrain into account in a detailed way. An estimate of the additional loss for obstructions such as trees, buildings, or other objects is included when data on clutter classes are available. Tropospheric scatter is included for long paths. Estimates of time and location variability can be made. The diffraction algorithm samples the propagation path from the transmitter to the receiver and determines the signal strength at many points in space. First, the wave field is determined as a function of height (a vertical column of many values) above a terrain point close to the transmitter by an elementary calculation. Then, using the Huygens principle of physical optics, each of these field points is regarded as a source of radiation, and from them, the signal strength is calculated a little farther away. In this way, a marching algorithm simulates the progress of the radio wave from the transmitter to the end of the path. Even though the signal strength is calculated at many points, an efficient integration algorithm and a choice of only the most important signal strength points permit the integration calculation to be fast enough for practical use. The Predict 4 model also uses surface-type or clutter data in its calculations. Because Predict 4 is a deterministic model, the more precise and physically realistic terrain and clutter information you use, the more accurate the output tuned model will be. Clutter interacts with the algorithm in two ways:
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As the wave propagates over the ground toward a distant receiver, the effective height of the ground is assumed to be the real height of the ground plus the assumed clutter height. As the wave propagates over the ground toward a distant receiver, the effective height of the ground is assumed to be
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the real height of the ground plus the assumed clutter height.
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Clutter close to the receiver is assumed to terminate close to the receiver, e.g., 50 meters. That is, the receiving antenna is not assumed to be on the doorstep of a building, or in the middle of a forest, but rather on a street or in a road allowance in the forest. Part of the calculation is an estimate of the attenuation from the clutter down to street level.
In addition to the height and distance of solid (opaque) clutter, there is an additional attenuation, entirely empirical, which takes into account trees and other absorbing material adjacent to the receiving antenna. This attenuation factor (expressed in decibels) is the parameter most easily used to make median predictions agree with measurements in a particular area (model tuning). NOTE: For more information on the Predict 4 model, see the Predict Technical Note.
Predict-Air
CAUTION: Only masked path loss is calculated and saved in the prediction files. As a result, if you change any site setting (other than transmitted power), all of the prediction files are regenerated. Predict Air is a unique model designed for high-altitude communication (e.g., aircraft to ground) where the signal is being broadcast upwards (between 0 and +90/-90 degrees). It is based on the Predict 4.0 propagation model. You can use the Predict Air model in two modes:
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AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) Modein this mode, you can define the antenna height. For the purpose of propagation calculation, the receive height remains at a constant height above sea level. AGL (Above Ground Level) Modein this mode, the receiver antenna height will be relative to the ground level as defined by the input Digital Elevation Model (DEM).
Unlike the Predict 4 model, this new model will not generate path loss predictions (grid files) which can be re-masked. It is also important to note that you cannot tune Predict Air models.
NOTE: The Point-to-Point tool does not support the Predict Air propagation model; however, the Predict 4 model provides results similar to the Predict Air model when used in AGL mode.
Universal Model
The Universal model is only available if you have purchased a license. You can obtain detailed information about the Universal model by pressing the F1 key from the Universal Model Parameters dialog box. The online Help contains context-sensitive help and provides access to the Universal Model User Guide. The Universal model is a high-performance deterministic propagation model that has been integrated into Mentum Planet . Unlike other propagation models, the Universal model automatically adapts to all engineering technologies (i.e., micro, mini, small, and macro cells), to all environments (i.e., dense urban, urban, suburban, mountainous, maritime, and open), and to all systems (i.e., GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, WIFI, WIMAX, LTE) in a frequency range that spans from 400MHz to 5GHz. In addition, the Universal Model:
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uses a new AGL layer and a new polygon layer where modifications to the layers can be done directly in the Map window. uses a new AGL layer and a new polygon layer where modifications to the layers can be done directly in the Map window. outperforms other models in terms of the speed and accuracy of predictions.
Q9 model
The Q9 propagation model is based on the Okumura-Hata model. Using the variables shown in Figure 1, it calculates the expected pathloss between the transmitter and the receiver using the terrain profile. In other words, it considers a cross-section of the earth along a straight line between the transmitter and the receiver. This propagation model is most useful for frequency bands in the 150-2000 MHz range and works best within a radius of
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0.2-100 km. The Q9 model is intended for use with high-resolution elevation and clutter data. Pathloss depends on frequency as well as the antenna heights of the transmitter and the receiver. The Q9 model allows for both uptilt and downtilt of antennas and takes into account the vertical antenna pattern. There are three input values that the Q9 model considers:
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Okumura-Hatas wave propagation equations with modifying parameters A0 to A3. See Equation 1. For more information, press the F1 key in the Q9 Parameters dialog box for online Help. Extra losses that occur when wave propagation is disturbed by obstacles such as mountain peaks. When the distance between the transmitter and receiver becomes sufficiently large, a correction due to earths curvature is necessary. Land use code loss.
Figure 5.1 illustrates the variables that are taken into account to calculate pathloss.
Figure 5.1: The process of calculating pathloss The equation below details the formula used to calculate pathloss.
Where: L is the pathloss b HOA (Hata Open Area) is a variant of Okumura-Hatas equation in dB as shown in equation Equation 2 mk[mobile] is the land use code at the mobile in dB is a parameter related to the knife-edge diffraction KDFR is the contribution from knife-edge diffraction in dB JDFR is the diffraction loss due to the spherical earth in dB
Longley-Rice model
You can use the Longley-Rice area calculation for rural (non-urban) areas if little is known about the terrain and clutter. The Longley-Rice model is applicable to point-to-point communication systems in the 20 MHz to 10 GHz range over different types of terrain (Rappaport, 1996). The Longley-Rice model operates in two modes. The pointto-point mode uses terrain information if it is available, while the point-to-area mode uses techniques that estimate the path-specific parameters when little terrain information is available.
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In point-to-point mode, median path loss is predicted by using tropospheric refractivity and terrain geometry. However, only some features of the terrain are used. The terrain profile is used to find effective antenna heights, horizon distances and elevation angles as seen from the antennas, the angular distance for a transhorizon path, and the terrain irregularity of the path. The prediction is performed in terms of these parameters. A ray optic technique using primarily a two-ray ground reflection model is used within the radio horizon. The two or three isolated obstacles causing the greatest obstruction are modeled as knife edges using the Fresnel Kirchoff theory. Forward scatter theory is used to make troposcatter predictions for long paths and far field diffraction losses are predicted using a modified Van der PolBremmer method (Rappaport, 1996). The Longley-Rice point-to-point model is also referred to as the Irregular Terrain Model (ITM) (Hufford, et al. 1982). Although the point-to-area mode is an old method, it is still perhaps the best method of estimating path loss in open country if the only parameters known about the ground are its irregularity and (less importantly at UHF) its electrical constants. The Longley-Rice model is best suited to the following parameters:
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Frequency: 20 MHz to 10 GHz Distance: 1 km to 2000 km Antenna Heights: 0.5 m to 3000 m Polarization: Vertical or Horizontal
References
For more information about the Longley-Rice model, see the following references:
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Rappaport, T.S. Wireless Communications: Principles and Practice. Prentice Hall, 1996. Hufford, Longley, and Kissick. A Guide to the Use of the ITS Irregular Terrain Model in the Area Prediction Mode, U.S. Department of Commerce. April 1982.
Understanding model tuning

The term model tuning applies generally to the process of adjusting the parameters of a propagation model in order to generate predictions that are as accurate and realistic as possible. Model tuning is usually performed using measured signal strength data collected during surveying. This survey data is used to change clutter absorption loss values and other parameters in the propagation model. For more information on collecting and working with survey data, see Chapter 5: Managing Survey Data. To tune a model in Mentum Planet , you can use:
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the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner which enables you to tune all propagation model types the Planet Automatic Model Tuner (AMT) which enables you to tune the Planet General Model
Chapter 5
Understanding clutter classes and clutter properties

Propagation models perform path loss calculations based on the types of clutter through which the signal passes. The terrain is classified into clutter classes based on land use or ground cover, e.g., Industrial, Residential, Forest. For each clutter class, a set of clutter properties is specified, depending on the propagation model. All models (with the exception of the Universal Model)specify clutter absorption loss. Some models specify additional properties, such as average obstacle height. For your project, the clutter file specifies the clutter class for each bin of the coverage area. Before you can generate signal strength predictions or do model tuning, you must define the values of the clutter properties for each clutter class. These values are saved in the Propagation Model File (.pmf). Your choice of ground type for each clutter class sets default values for numeric properties, such as Clutter Absorption Loss. You can edit these values. Usually this is done as part of model tuning.
Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT

You can use the Planet Automatic Model Tuner (AMT) to automatically optimize components of the Planet General Model using survey data from single or multiple sites. You can tune the Planet General Model using one of the following methods:
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Smartsimplifies the tuning process and is recommended if you have little or no knowledge of model tuning Standardenables you to manually tune the model using a complex, multi-step procedure. For detailed information on using the Standard option, see Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT in the Planet General Model Technical Note.
When you use the Smart option, all of the model parameters are set to Optimize. When set to Optimize, the Planet AMT runs various correlation and cross-correlation tests to determine which model parameters can be optimized. If any parameters cannot be optimized, default values are used.
To tune the Planet General Model using AMT 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Operational Data category, right-click a survey and choose Model Tuning. The Model Tuning dialog box opens.
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Provide the information for which you are prompted and, from the Model To Tune list, choose a Planet General Model template. From the Model Tuner list, choose Planet AMT Version 1.5. To edit the AMT, click Edit Tuner.
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In the Tuner Type section, choose the Smart option. For information on using the Standard AMT option, see Tuning the Planet General Model using AMT in the Planet General Model Technical Note. Custom model parameter values will not be optimized. If a factor cannot be optimized, a suitable default value is used.
To define custom correlation or cross-correlation values, in the Correlation/Cross-Correlation Threshold Values section, type values in any of the following boxes:
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Correlation P3T Correlation P4T Cross-Correlation P35T Cross-Correlation P45T
Defining a custom correlation or cross-correlation value is useful if you want to optimize a particular factor that does not meet the threshold requirements.
For example, if p4T=0.4, and p4 = 0.15, K4 cannot be optimized. You can enable K4 to be optimized by setting p4T to 0.1. If you chose to define custom thresholds, the resulting factors might produce an invalid model. Before applying the model, you must ensure that the ranges you have specified are valid. For more information, see the Planet General Model Technical Note.
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Save the settings in a Planet AMT settings (.set) file if required and click OK. In the Model Tuning dialog box, click OK to begin the model tuning process. When the model tuning process is complete, the tuned model is added to the Propagation Models node in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer.
NOTE: You can edit the properties of the tuned model using the Propagation Model Editor. To access the Propagation Model Editor, expand Propagation Models in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer, right-click the tuned model and choose Edit.
Chapter 5
Tuning models using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner

Using the Clutter Absorption Loss (CAL) tuner, you can determine the appropriate clutter property assignment values for clutter absorption loss for a single site. The CAL tuner can be used to optimize all propagation model types, except for thirdparty models. The Clutter Absorption Loss tuner enables you to calculate the mean error between the predicted signal strength and the survey data for each clutter class. The mean error is then used as the value for the clutter absorption loss of each clutter class in the clutter property assignment file. Tuning is different for slope-based models and deterministic models such as Predict 4. Slope-based models take clutter into account automatically when generating predictions. For example, when using the Okumura-Hata model, you can choose from four clutter classes: Urban, Suburban, Quasi-Open, and Open. Each clutter class implies a generalized clutter environment that affects the slope of the models algorithm. When using the Planet General Model, you can set many parameters. The Predict 4 model, however, depends on the model of the environment and the specification of clutter property assignments. The Predict 4 algorithm interacts with a model of the clutter environment in a deterministic fashion to predict path loss. Path loss is calculated by simulating the propagation of a radio wave as it passes over various terrain features. Model tuning with survey data for all models involves updating the clutter absorption loss values. Model tuning for the Predict 4 model involves the additional step of adjusting the clutter property assignments for average obstacle height and ground type. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To tune a model using the Clutter Absorption Loss tuner 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Operational Data category, rightclick a survey and choose Model Tuning. The Model Tuning dialog box opens.
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Provide the information for which you are prompted and, from the Model Tuner list, choose the Clutter Absorption Loss Tuner. To edit the CAL Tuner, choose Edit Tuner.
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Modify Tuner settings as required and click OK. In the Model Tuning dialog box, click OK to begin the tuning process. The Model Tuning dialog box opens and displays the progress of the model tuning process.
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When the process is complete, click Close in the Model Tuning dialog box. To view a model tuning report in text format, click Yes in the Mentum Planet dialog box. When the model tuning process is complete, the tuned model is added to the Propagation Models node in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer.
NOTE: If the calculated Clutter Absorption Loss (CAL) values are overwhelmingly negative, lower the clutter heights and retune the model. CAL values should normally fall between -3 dB and +12 dB.
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TIP: You can edit the properties of the tuned model using the Propagation Model Editor. To access the Propagation Model Editor, expand Propagation Models in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer, right-click the tuned model and choose Edit.
Tuning a propagation model

In order to model a network that is as close to the real-world network as possible, you should calibrate the propagation model using survey measurements. Once you have calibrated the model, you can apply the model to other sites that share the same general type of environment, provided that the model is not overly dependent on calibrations (empirical models generally rely heavily on calibrations). For detailed information about:
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using survey data with Mentum Planet, see Managing Survey Data in the Mentum Planet User Guide. In particular, see the Workflow for surveys. model tuning, see Working with Propagation Models in the Mentum Planet User Guide .
NOTE: If you are using the Universal Model, you can tune it using the Universal Model Tuning algorithm.
Chapter 5
Guidelines for model tuning

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Follow the recommended guidelines for collecting survey data. See Collecting survey data in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Aggregate survey data in order to account for Rayleigh fading. See Modifying survey data in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Ensure that the frequency of the input model used in model tuning is accurate and the receiver height corresponds to measured data. Ensure that the clutter maps you use are accurate and up-to-date. Verify that the model uses clutter heights that are recommended or appropriate for the model. Ensure that ground types, if used, are appropriate. For example, moist ground should be assigned to farmland. Create one model to cover all surveys with similar characteristics. For example, for a given metropolitan area, start with one input propagation model. Tune one model for the sub-urban area. Using the same input model, tune a second model for very dense urban and downtown area. The tuned models will provide reasonably accurate predictions for topologies of similar clutter characteristics (such as neighboring regions). This approach can be fine tuned by subdividing the metropolitan area to more than two areas and generating corresponding models for each area.
Creating and editing propagation models

Propagation models are organized in the Project Data category of the Project Explorer. The icons of propagation models that have been assigned to a sector are displayed in color. The icons of propagation models that have not been assigned to a sector, but are located in the Model folder of the project, appear dimmed. You can refine how a propagation model behaves by modifying the propagation model settings using the Propagation Model Editor. Once you have refined the model, you can apply the propagation model to an individual site or sector. Propagation models saved in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>/Global/Model folder will be available each time you create a project. Models saved in the project folder are project specific.
To define a new propagation model 1

In the Project Explorer, in the ProjectData category, rightclick Propagation Models and choose New. The Create New Propagation Model dialog box opens.
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From the Propagation Model Type list, choose the model on which you want to base your new model, and then click OK. In the Propagation Model Editor, on the Settings tab, click in the Name field and define a name for the new model. Modify the parameters of the propagation model to correspond to your network design. For detailed information on the settings available on these tabs, press F1 for online Help.
Click OK.
To edit propagation model settings 1

In the Project Explorer, in the ProjectData category, expand Propagation Models, right-click a propagation model and choose Edit. The Propagation Model Editor opens.
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The tabs that are displayed in the Editor depend on the model you have chosen.
In the Propagation Model Editor, modify the settings on any of the following tabs:
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Settingsallows you to set frequency, receiver height, and earth curvature. Enables you to use a different resolution heights file or clutter file with the propagation model than that which is specified in the project settings. This is useful if you want to generate a prediction where you are using a high-resolution grid in urban areas and a lower-resolution grid in the rest of the project area. ClutterPropertiesallows you to specify whether or not the model uses a clutter grid and allows you to define the physical properties of the environment that affect predictions. The values assigned to the electrical and physical properties for each clutter class are determined from observations of the physical area and from data gathered during surveys. Generalallows you to define model-specific parameters. The parameters displayed on the general tab depend on the model you chose.
Path Clutterallows you to adjust the effect of clutter based on four weighting functions. This tab is specific to the Planet General Model. Troposcatter Effectallows you to specify how the radio wave is modeled over the horizon as a result of the earths atmosphere. This tab is specific to the Planet General Model. Okumuraallows you to apply Okumura correction factors. This tab is specific to the Planet General Model. Effective Antenna Heightallows you to define the effective antenna height using one of seven algorithms: base height, spot height, average height, slope, profile, absolute spot height, or ground reflection slope. This tab is specific to the Planet General Model. RainAttenuationdetermines whether or not rain attenuation is calculated. If you choose to include rain attenuation, you can define an attenuation rate or a rate of rainfall. This tab is specific to the Planet General Model.
Click OK to save propagation model settings. When you choose the ground type for the Predict 4 model, the Clutter Absorption Loss is set to 0. When you optimize survey results using the Model Tuning tool, the tool calculates the Clutter Absorption Loss.
TIP: You can also access the Propagation Model Editor in the Site Editor. To edit the model for a sector, in the Site Editor, click the Link tab and click Edit next to the Model list.
To view or hide unassigned propagation models

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In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click Propagation Models and do one of the following:
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To display in the Project Explorer those propagation models that have not been assigned to a sector, choose Show Unassigned Propagation Models. To hide in the Project Explorer those propagation models that have not been assigned to a sector, choose Hide Unassigned Propagation Models.
CHAPTER 6 Defining Network Settings

After you create a project, you must define the network settings. Network settings include the technology type, supported modulations, frame configuration, and the spectrum allotment. This chapter describes how to define network settings. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding network settings Workflow for defining network settings Defining network settings
116 119 120
Chapter 6
Understanding network settings

Network settings define the technology type, supported modulations and the frame configuration settings that apply to your network as well as the spectrum definition. All network settings are grouped in the Network Settings dialog box.
Technology types
Mentum Planet supports WiMAX TDD, Fixed WiMAX TDD, Fixed WiMAX FDD, LTE FDD, cdma2000, and WCDMA technologies as well as a generic technology. You define which technologies are available on the Spectrum Allocation tab. It is important to configure bands correctly in order to avoid cases where a single real physical band is defined to several sub-bands; therefore, making it difficult to manage the channels correctly at the sector level.
Carriers
Carriers define the frequencies available in your network and the bandwidth of each. They are automatically calculated according to the available spectrum and channel bandwidth specified on the Spectrum Allocation tab. After carriers are calculated, you can assign them to individual sectors. Once you do so, you cannot modify the spectrum allocation or carriers. The start and end frequencies are read-only when the carriers are in use. You can define multiple bands per technology and overlapping between bands is allowed. Each sector in the network is assigned to a single band but can be allocated one or more carriers within that band. Subscriber equipment is configured to support one or more bands. You can view details of all available carriers and specify carrier availability on the Carriers tab in the Network Settings dialog box for the selected technology. When carriers are reserved, for example, clear the Availability check box.
Modulations
System modulations define downlink and uplink modulation schemes used by the network. Each modulation can be defined by either a single CINR/spectral efficiency value or by a CINR to spectral efficiency curve. Each modulation can be defined by its modulation efficiency (Useful bits per symbol) and required CINR (C/(N+I)). You can also specify a downlink amplifier back-off level, which represents the reduction of
Defining Network Settings
power used when using a specific modulation. This is sometime required with higher order modulations in order to increase the linearity of the amplifier given the higher required CINR of these modulations. This applies, for example, in OFDM as the peak-to-average power ratio of OFDM signals is actually high. Default modulations are provided depending on the configuration file that you chose when you created a project. You must define any additional modulations supported by your network.
Frame Setup
The configuration of the OFDM frame provides a means of controlling (in a detailed way) the allocated frame structure and resources. In the time domain, a channel is divided into frames. On the Frame Setup tab in the Network Settings dialog box, you can define the OFDM sampling factor. You can also add or remove the frame configuration or edit the frame configuration using the Frame Editor. The Frame Editor consolidates all parameters related to a frame configuration in one dialog box. You can specify the cyclic prefix. The cyclic prefix is the fraction of each data symbol that is copied from the end of the symbol and added to the beginning. The cyclic prefix functions as a guard interval between OFDM symbols in order to limit the Inter-Symbol Interference (ISI) that is caused by the multipath propagation of radio signals. The standard defines two cyclic prefix values (i.e., Normal and Extended). The choice you make for the cyclic prefix is based on the frequency band and the radio environment. You can eliminate the ISI by selecting a guard interval that is larger than the expected multipath delay spread. However, the larger guard interval increases the symbol period, which leads to a loss of bandwidth efficiency and a waste of transmit power.
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Figure 6.1: LTE Frame Editor You can define the cyclic prefix and duration as well as the number of reference symbols per subframe and the frequency separation between them. You can also specify various parameters related to the OFDM symbols and the resource blocks.
Slow Fading
On the Slow Fading tab, you can specify how slow fading is accounted for and whether it is applied to only the server or to the server as well as interferers.
Base station types

Base station types are used to define different base station configurations in terms of the modulations supported and are also used in neighbor planning.
Workflow for defining network settings

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Specify the technologies supported by the network. Define the spectrum allocation. For each available technology, specify which carriers (or carriers) are available, define supported modulations, and determine the frame configuration.
Chapter 6
Defining network settings

When you define network settings, you specify the technology types for the project. You also define the carriers supported, the available downlink and uplink modulations, as well as the frame configuration.
To define network settings 1

Choose Edit Network Settings.
The Network Settings dialog box opens.
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On the Network Technologies panel, enable the technologies supported by the network. In the tree view, choose Spectrum Allocation. Click the LTE FDD tab and modify LTE parameters as required. In the tree view, choose LTE FDD. Define carrier and modulation parameters as required. Click the Frame Setup tab, define OFDM settings. In the Frame Configuration table and click any of the following buttons:
Editto open the Frame Editor and modify frame parameters for the selected frame configuration. Addto add a new frame configuration. Removeto delete a frame configuration.
To define frame configurations 1 2

In the LTE Frame Editor, define frame parameters as required. Click OK.
CHAPTER 7 Configuring And Placing Sites

Once you have created a project and defined network settings you can configure and place the sites in your network. This chapter describes how to configure and place sites. This chapter covers the following topics:
Workflow for configuring and placing sites Using site templates Understanding sites and sectors Placing sites automatically Defining link configurations Creating and editing sites
123 124 126 131 138 142
Chapter 7
Workflow for configuring and placing sites

Step 1 Create a new site using one of the following methods:
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by defining a new site based on the settings of an existing site based on a site template
Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6
Define the supported antenna system. Define sector parameters. Define traffic settings. If required, edit placed sites and sectors. If required, save a site template.
Configuring And Placing Sites
Using site templates

Site templates store the settings defined in the Site Editor and make it easy to add sites with the same configuration at a later time. You can create a site template from either a site or a repeater. You can create as many site templates as required for your project. By default, the active site template is used in site creation. When you export a site template, you can view all the site and sector parameters in Excel. CAUTION: When the active site template is for a repeater, the donor sector value in the template is not copied over to the new site. You need to manually set the donor sector for the new site using the Site Editor.
To create a site template 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Sites node, right-click the site upon which you want to base the template and do one of the following:
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Choose Create Site Template Local if you want to save the site template on your workstation Choose Create Site Template Local if you want to save the site template on your workstation Choose CreateSiteTemplate Shared if you want to share the site template with other users using the Data Manager
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Type a name for the site template. Enable the Set as Active Template check box to set this site template as active. The active site template is used when creating new sites. If there is no active site template, default values are used.
Click OK. The site template is added to the Project Explorer.
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To rename a site template 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site Templates node, right-click the site template you want to rename, and choose Rename. Modify the name as required.
To set the site template as active

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In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site Templates node, right-click the site template you want to be active and choose Active.
The active site template is used when creating new sites. If there is no active site template, default values are used.
To view a site template

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In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site Templates node, right-click the site template you want to view, and choose View.
The site template opens in Excel.
To delete a site template

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In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Site Templates node, right-click the site template you want to delete, and choose Delete.
Understanding sites and sectors

A site is a fixed geographical location. At the site, there are technologyspecific base stations, each with associated sectors as illustrated in Figure 7.1. Hence, antenna systems can be shared between sectors that support different technologies.
Figure 7.1: Example of how a site, base stations, and sectors relate. In the Site Editor, you can access all pertinent information about a site, associated base stations and the sectors they support. This includes link information, quality and performance criteria, as well as details about the supported antenna systems as shown in Figure 7.2.
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Figure 7.2: Site Editor A unique name identifies each site. You can add additional identification information about a site such as a detailed site name, descriptive site details, and a Universal ID. You can view and update site and sector parameters using the Tabular Editor.
General site parameters

On the General tab at the base station level, you select the modulations that you want the site to support and define the maximum pooled throughput allowed. You also assign a base station type.
General sector parameters

On the General tab at the sector level, you define the flags and groups that are applicable to the sector and you specify the frequency band supported.
Custom user data

You can add additional attributes to project data in order to clarify or expand on it. This is particularly useful when you are working in a multi-user environment where projects are being shared.
There are two types of custom user data:

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user data that can be shared with others and is saved in Data Manager user data that is only saved locally and is not stored in Data Manager
For custom data to be shared using Data Manager, the Data Manager Administrator must define the attributes and type definitions. The name and type of the attribute is then displayed on the User Data tab and you can specify a value for it. The Shared check box is enabled to indicate that the data is saved in Data Manager when sharing projects. On the other hand, if you only need to save the custom data locally, you can define attributes and type definitions in the project settings. These attributes are also displayed on the User Data tab but the Shared check box is cleared indicating that the information will be saved locally and cannot be shared using Data Manager. You can add custom user data to base stations, sites, sectors, repeaters, antennas, and carriers.
Link parameters
The parameters on the Link tab focus on the settings required to model a communication link between the user and the sector. This includes antenna parameters, prediction parameters, and the link configuration (as defined in the link configuration).
Implementation parameters
The parameters on the Implementation tab center around the performance and quality of the signal provided by the sector. This includes filter loss parameters and quality parameters (such as the best server coverage threshold). You can use filters to suppress unwanted interference from adjacent channels. Filter characteristics are saved as filter (.flt) files. You can specify filters for the downlink (i.e., the transmit mask) and you can also specify filters for the uplink (i.e., the receive filter).
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The filter loss table allows you to specify the frequency offset and the associated filter loss parameter. The frequency is the difference between the first and second channel away from the center frequency. Filter loss values depend on the filter chosen by the equipment manufacturer. These values will be used to determine the nature of the adjacent-channel interference. You can save the values in the Filter Loss table as a .flt file using the options from the File menu. Figure 6.3 illustrates a filter that models a channel with a 10 MHz bandwidth. With a 5.45 MHz frequency separation, the excessive energy transmitted outside the channel bandwidth is attenuated by 25 dB while at 9.75 MHz, it is attenuated by 32 dB. If your filter files are not configured correctly, this could result in an excess or shortage of adjacent channel interference. The latter is a less desirable situation because it could lead to overestimated coverage. Figure 7.3: This figure illustrates a sample filter loss graph for the transmit signal. In this example, the filter loss is specified as 32 dB for 9.75 MHz frequency separation. You can also define a separate filter loss graph for the receive signal.
Configuration parameters
Configuration parameters include the carrier and frame configuration for the sector. You define the frame configuration in the Frame Editor.
Power parameters
Power parameters define the power requirements for the sector. You can view the power distribution.
Neighbor list
It is on the Neighbor List tab in the Site Editor that you can specify how to determine candidate neighbors (i.e., what is the allowable distance between neighbors) as well as which sites are not to be considered as part of the neighbor planning process (and are black listed). You can also view neighbor candidates in the Map window.
Antenna Systems
In the Site Editor, you define various elements of the antenna system including the antenna pattern, associated antenna parameters, and location, which are grouped on the General tab making it easy to set up a non co-located sector. You can also define the degree of correction to apply during antenna masking in order to improve modeling of the antenna backlobe in predictions, specify optimization constraints to consider in automatic cell planning and, if available, you can specify custom antenna attributes. You can also access the Antenna Editor where you can define more detailed elements of the antenna system including the settings related to the use of multiple antennas, the master antenna, or the antenna element.
Chapter 7
Placing sites automatically

Using the Automatic Site Placement Tool (ASPT), you can place sites in a defined area quickly and easily. There are two modes that you can use with the ASPT:
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Basicthe tool generates hexagons based on the criteria you define and places a site at the center of each hexagon using either the default site configuration or the site template you specify. If you are using a clutter file, you can exclude clutter classes such that no sites will be placed within them. Advanced the tool generates complex shapes based on the planning strategy you choose and the criteria you define (including clutter-specific criteria) and places a site at the center of the shape using the site template you specify. Each site is given a level of priority that determines whether it becomes a possible site candidate. In Advanced mode, you can use a traffic map in order to generate more accurate shapes. In addition, you can use existing and candidate sites in the site placement process.
Determining site placement in the Basic mode

Step 1 The ASPT divides the selected polygon into a series of hexagons based on the hexagon radius or the number of hexagons you define in the generation options. A proposed site is placed at the center of each hexagon using the site template that you specify.
Step 2
Step 3
When you create sites, sites are added to the Sites node in the Project Explorer and placed on the map.
Determining site placement in the Advanced mode

Step 1 The ASPT divides the selected polygon into a series of shapes based on the planning strategy you define. There are two types of planning strategies:
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Greenfield, where there are no existing sites in the network Expansion, where there are existing sites
Step 2
Depending on the settings you define, the ASPT displays possible site locations on the map. In Advanced mode, there are three types of sites identified during the automatic site placement process:
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Existing Sitessites you have placed in the network at existing locations. Candidate Sitessites you have placed in the network at possible site locations. New Sitessites that will be placed by the ASPT automatically based on the defined criteria to fill in any gaps.
You can specify when to place a site in individual clutter classes and which site template you use. You can also define propagation model parameters including the site radius, the minimum and maximum site radius, the Okumura class as well as the frequency band (whether network-defined or user-defined).
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Step 3
A possible site is placed at the center of each shape using the site template that you specify. If the planning strategy you choose is "Expansion" with existing sites, then existing sites are considered first in the planning process, candidate sites are considered next, and new sites are placed to fill in any gaps. In the illustration that follows, the blue sites are existing sites, the green sites are candidate sites, and the purple sites are new sites. Candidate sites are considered in order of priority (defined in the Site Editor). When you create sites, candidate sites become permenant sites and are added to the Sites node in the Project Explorer. New sites are placed in gap areas, added to the Project Explorer and placed on the map. A new local group is also created that contains the newly created sites.
Step 4
To place sites in Basic mode 1

To specify the boundaries of the area within which you want to place sites, do one of the following:
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Make the cosmetic layer editable, draw a polygon using the tools on the Drawing toolbar, and then select it. Create an area grid. Automatic Site Placement.
Choose Optimization
The Automatic Site Placement dialog box opens.
Chapter 7
3 4
In the Mode section, choose the Basic option. In the Region section, choose one of the following options:
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Polygonto identify the region within which you want to place sites using a polygon. When you use this option, you must create a polygon on the cosmetic layer using the tools on the Drawing toolbar. Areato identify the region within which you want to place sites using an area grid. When you use this option, you must first have created an area grid.
5 6
Click the Settings tab and define how to place sites. Click Generate.
To place sites in Advanced mode 1

To specify the boundaries of the area within which you want to place sites, do one of the following:
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Make the cosmetic layer editable, draw a polygon using the tools on the Drawing toolbar, and then select it Create an area grid. Automatic Site Placement.
Choose Optimization
The Automatic Site Placement dialog box opens.
In the Mode section, choose the Advanced option.
Define the required parameters on each of the following tabs:

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Generalincludes network planning strategy (i.e., greenfield or expansion), existing and candidate site selection, and region definition.
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Site Templatesincludes site template for each class, ability to adjust antenna heights, minimum and maximum antenna heights as well as minimum and maximum traffic loads. Propagation Modelincludes Okumura class, site radius as well as minimum and maximum site radius.
Click Generate. Cells are placed across the region.
Defining link configurations

Link configurations track the gains and losses that occur as a signal travels. In other words, a link configuration calculates the radiated power for a sector based on the power output of the sectors power amplifier (PA) plus or minus system gains and losses. In Mentum Planet , you define link configurations in the Link Configuration Editor. You can define several link configurations for a project. When link configurations are assigned to sectors, the link configuration icon is blue as shown in Figure 7.4.
Figure 7.4: Assigned link configuration identified with a blue icon.
Losses and gains

For both the downlink and uplink, a default antenna gain value is added based on the antenna type assigned to the sector. You cannot modify this value. Initially, the value is 0 but will be updated once the link configuration is assigned to a sector. A default Feeder value on both the downlink and the uplink is added to account for cable and connector losses and a main feeder loss is calculated by multiplying the cable length defined on the Link tab and the main feeder loss per meter defined in the associated link configuration. The main feeder value is always included in the link configuration calculations. A default BTS Noise Figure is assigned to the uplink to account for base station receiver noise gain. You should modify the BTS Noise Figure according to the manufacturer's hardware specifications. You can add additional losses and gains as required. Because the Friis noise formula (see Equation 7.1) is used to calculate the Uplink Noise Figure, the order of the items in the Link Configuration Editor must match the hierarchy of
Chapter 7
the sector hardware (see Figure 7.5). By default, the BTS Noise Figure is always the last item in the list.
Figure 7.5: Example sector hardware configuration The Reverse Composite Noise Figure (Composite System Noise Figure (NFs)) is calculated as follows, using the Friis noise formula:
Equation 7.1 Friis noise formula
When you assign a link configuration to a sector, you can view the impact it has in the Information section of the Link tab.
Figure 7.6: Information section on the Link tab in the Site Editor. If you are using an Excel spreadsheet to import link configuration settings, you must use the Index column to specify the order of the items in the Losses and Gains list. For more information, see Importing and exporting project data in Working With Network and Project Data, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
Chapter 7
To define link configurations 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click Link Configurations and choose New. The Link Configuration Editor opens.
2 3
In the Name box, type a name to identify the link configuration. Click the Uplink/Reverse tab and define link configuration parameters.
To view or hide unassigned link configurations

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In the Project Explorer, in the Project Data category, right-click Link Configurations and choose one of the following commands:
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Show Unassigned Link Configurationsdisplays in the Project Explorer those link configurations that have not been assigned to a sector. Hide Unassigned Link Configurationshides in the Project Explorer those link configurations that have not been assigned to a sector.
Creating and editing sites

Once you have defined site and sector parameters, you can create a site template based on these settings and use this template to add similar sites to the network. See Using site templates. Once a site has been placed, you can change any of the settings that have been defined. If you have acquired GPS readings for all your sites and you want to update the position of a sector, you can edit the site location manually. For more information on general site, base station, and sector properties, see Working with Sites and Sectors, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
CAUTION: By default, site updates are saved in the site set. To update the site table (.tab) file, you must right-click the Sites node and choose Update Site File. Site updates are not automatically added to the site table.
To create a new site 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, do one of the following:
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To use a specific site template, expand the Site Templates node, expand the Local or Shared node, and right-click the template upon which you want to base the site, then choose New Site. To use the active site template, right-click the Sites node and choose New Site. The active site template is identified with a green arrow.
Click in the Map window at the location where you want to place the site.
Chapter 7
To edit site parameters 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, expand the Sites node, right-click the site you want to edit, and choose Edit.
2 3
Modify site parameters as required. To change the antenna systems available for this site, do one of the following:
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In the tree view, right-click the Antennas node, and choose Add. Click the Add Antenna System button at the top of the dialog box.
A default antenna system is added.
Choose the newly-added antenna system and modify antenna parameters as required.
TIP: To define parameters for all sectors at the site, click the Tabular Edit button.
TIP: You can also edit sites by clicking the Edit Site button on the Site toolbar, and then clicking in the Map window to select the sector.
TIP: To move a site, open the Site Editor, change the x and y coordinates, and click Apply. To get the coordinates from the map, click the Get Coordinates from Map button, click in the Map window at the desired location, and click Apply.
To create a new site based on an existing site 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the site that you want to copy and choose Place Copy . In the Map window, click once on a location to place the site. The created site is displayed in the Map window and a site having the name Copy of <site name> is added to the Sites category in the Project Explorer.
3 4
In the Project Explorer, right-click the newly copied site and choose Edit. In the Site Editor, adjust site parameters as required.
CHAPTER 8 Adding Repeaters

In order to increase network coverage, you can add repeaters to your network. Repeaters are electronic devices that receive a signal, amplify it, and then retransmit it at a higher power. This chapter describes how to add repeaters to your project. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding repeaters Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors Adding repeaters to sectors Locating repeaters in a Map window
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Understanding repeaters
Repeaters are used to retransmit signals received from donor sectors to locations that have insufficient coverage. For example, repeaters can be used to extend coverage or fill in shadow areas caused by hills, large buildings, and other structures that obstruct signals. A repeater receives a signal from the donor antenna of a donor sector, and then amplifies and retransmits the signal through its service antenna. Repeaters are primarily used to reduce path loss without providing an increase in network capacity. Generally, repeaters add noise and amplify noise in the uplink, which can limit their effectiveness; however, a well placed repeater can reduce noise levels within a network and enhance the overall capacity. Implementing repeaters can be an efficient and cost-effective method of increasing the received signal strength for mobiles in an area without having to place additional sites. A repeaters power is defined by its Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP). EIRP measures the maximum radiated power in the direction of the maximum gain relative to an isotropic antenna (typically in the direction the antenna is pointing). The EIRP of repeaters is based on the power of the first active carrier, and is calculated as shown in Equation 8.1.
Equation 8.1 Repeater EIRP
Adding Repeaters
Types of repeater implementations

There are several different ways to implement repeaters in a network. For example, in areas where
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there are a lot of buildings, you could implement split sectors where several directional antennas are used to transmit the same signal. See Using split sectors. you want to extend indoor coverage, you could implement a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). See Using distributed antenna systems.
Using split sectors

When split sectors are used in the network, sectors use several directional antennas to transmit the same signal. In Mentum Planet , you define split
Chapter 8
sectors in the Site Editor by adding additional antennas on the Link tab for the sector you want to use.
Using distributed antenna systems

When distributed antenna systems are used in the network, the transmitted power is divided between several elements in the network and consists of split sectors and repeaters depending on the maximum distance between antennas.
Repeaters and predictions

When you generate predictions for a sector that has one or more repeaters assigned to it, signal strength grid (.grd) files are generated for the sector and for each repeater. The analyses use the separate predictions for the donor sectors and repeaters. A combined signal strength file is also generated, which merges the separate sector and repeater signal strength files. Combined signal strength predictions are used when the full coverage area of a sector is required, such as when you generate a traffic map or interference matrix, or analyze the interference between two sectors. After you have generated predictions for a sector, you can choose to view a prediction for the donor sector or individual repeaters. You can also view a combined prediction that displays the combined signal strengths of the donor sector and all of its repeaters. For information on generating and viewing predictions, see Chapter 8: Generating Predictions in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
Adding Repeaters
Workflow for adding repeaters to sectors

Step 1 Step 2 Configure and place sites. Add repeaters to sectors with insufficient coverage.
Chapter 8
Adding repeaters to sectors

When you add a repeater to a sector, you define general settings, such as the donor sector for which the repeater will retransmit a signal, and the location of the repeater. You must also define settings for service and donor antennas, predictions, repeater links, implementation criteria (such as filters and quality limits), as well as configuration settings. The gain of a repeater in Mentum Planet is maintained at a constant level. Any changes to the donor sector and repeater system that affect the power received by the repeater will result in a similar change in the EIRP of the repeater. For example, a change in the masked pathloss between the donor sector and the repeater, the donor sectors pilot power, or the antenna system at the donor sector which results in a change to the EIRP of the sector, will result in a similar change in the EIRP of the repeater. The EIRP value at the repeater will also change in line with a change in either of the repeaters antenna systems. As such, it is important to review repeater settings following any changes of this nature. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To add repeaters to sectors 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the sector to which you want to add a repeater, and choose Add Repeater. Click in the Map window in the location where you want to add the repeater. A repeater is added to the Map window and, in the Project Explorer, a repeater node is added beneath the associated sector. In addition, a new site is added to the Sites node. This new site contains only the repeater location and repeater parameters. For example, if you add a repeater to Site 2, sector 2, an additional site is added.
Adding Repeaters
To view the repeater settings, in the Project Explorer, doubleclick the repeater node.
Define repeater parameters as required.
Chapter 8
TIP: You can change the status of a repeater by right-clicking a repeater node in the Project Explorer and choosing Active. A check mark indicates that the repeater is online.
TIP: For maximum accuracy, enter a measured value of pathloss in the Masked Path Loss From Donor box. The measured pathloss can be determined by measuring the signal strength with a known EIRP from the donor sector. If you choose to calculate the masked path loss, ensure you specify an appropriate model. The most appropriate propagation model will depend on the specifics of the environment between donor sector and the repeater donor antenna. If you suspect obstruction at the repeater location, choose a deterministic model with the correct receiver height. You may need to create a model specifically for repeater installations. Mentum Planet will not update the stored masked pathloss automatically, even if the current value is generated using the Calculate Masked Pathloss dialog box. If there are changes to the network that would impact the pathloss between the donor sector and the repeater, you must apply a new value to the repeater, either by manually entering a new value in the Repeater Settings dialog box or re-calculating the value using the Calculate Masked Pathloss dialog box.
Site Editor Configuration Carriers

Statusenable the check box next to those carriers you want the repeater to support. Carrier Namedisplays the carrier name. The carrier name is defined in the network settings.
Equipment
Total EIRPdisplays the total EIRP. Repeater Gaintype in this box the system gain experienced by the repeater. The value in the Power EIRP box is updated based on the value you enter.
Adding Repeaters
System Lossestype in this box the system losses experienced by the repeater. The value in the Power EIRP box is updated based on the value you enter. Downlink Maximum Power Per Carriertype in this box the maximum power output per carrier.
Site Editor Donor

Use the Donor tab to define the parameters of the relationship between the repeater and its donor sector, including the donor antenna (i.e., the repeater antenna that receives the signal from the donor sector on the downlink and transmits the amplified signal to the donor sector on the uplink) for RF repeaters.
Type
RF enable this option to indicate that the donor antenna receives the signal from a conventional RF signal. Fiberenable this option to indicate that the donor antenna receives the signal from a fiber-optic cable. When the Fiber option is enabled, the Donor Antenna parameters are not available.
Donor Antennadisplays the name of the donor antenna. Editclick this button to change the antenna parameters and location. Link Configurationchoose from this list the link budget you want to associate with the repeater. Viewclick this button to open the link configuration dialog box. Values are read-only. Cable Lengthtype in this box the length of the feeder cable. This value is included in the main feeder loss calculated in the associated link budget.
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Modelchoose from this list the propagation model with which to calculate the masked path loss. Editclick this button to open the Propagation Model Editor where you can change the settings defined for the model. Masked Pathlossclick in the box to define a masked pathloss value for the donor. Calculateclick this button to automatically calculate the masked pathloss for the donor using the selected propagation model. NOTE: For maximum accuracy, enter a measured value of pathloss in the Masked Pathloss box. The measured pathloss can be determined by measuring the signal strength with a known EIRP from the donor sector. To calculate the masked pathloss, ensure you specify an appropriate model. The most appropriate propagation model will depend on the specifics of the environment between the donor sector and the repeater donor antenna. If you suspect obstruction at the repeater location, choose a deterministic model with the correct receiver height. You may need to create a model specifically for repeater installations.
Site Editor Link Service

Antennachoose from this list the antenna pattern that the service antenna will use to retransmit the signal received from the donor sector. Power Splittype in this box how the power is to be divided between the service antennas. This field is only available if there is more than one service antenna. Editclick this button to open the Antenna - General tab where you can change the antenna parameters. Removeclick this button to remove the antenna. Link Configurationchoose from this list the link budget you want to associate with the service antenna.
Adding Repeaters
Cable Lengthtype in this box the length of the feeder cable. This value is included in the main feeder loss calculated in the associated link budget. Viewclick this button to open the link configuration dialog box. Values are read-only. Addclick this button to add additional service antennas to the link. When you click add, a new Antenna section is added on the tab.
Prediction
Modelchoose from this list the prediction model for the repeater. Editclick this button to open the Propagation Model Editor where you can modify propagation model settings. Distancetype in this field the maximum distance from the repeater to calculate signal strength. Number of Radialstype in this field the number of radials originating from a site along which to calculate predictions. More radials produce a more accurate but slower calculation.
Isolation
Additional Isolationtype in this box a value in dB that will be added to the total isolation calculated. Isolationdisplays the calculated isolation based on the masked pathloss (i.e., free space propagation including antenna gains) between the donor and service antenna as well as the additional isolation value you define. The Isolation box is not available if there is no defined donor sector (i.e., this is an orphaned repeater) or if the donor type is fiber. If you are using split sectors, the isolation calculation is based on the first service antenna.
Chapter 8
Site Editor Implementation Filters

Use this section to open an existing filter loss (.flt) file or create a new one. A .flt file instructs Mentum Planet how adjacent channels contribute to the interference level. You can define a filter loss that increases as frequencies move further from the center frequency, which results in frequencies further from the desired frequency being filtered out more effectively than frequencies close to the desired frequency. Transmit Maskdisplays the filter loss file to be applied to the repeater on the downlink. Browseclick this button to open a filter loss (.flt) file. New/Editclick this button to define or edit the values in a filter loss (.flt) file. Removeclick this button to remove this filter from the repeater. Removing the filter does not delete the .flt file. When no transmit mask is specified, the interference caused by the excessive energy transmitted outside the channel bandwidth is not accounted for. Receive Filterdisplays the filter loss file to be applied to the repeater on the uplink. Browseclick this button to open a filter loss (.flt) file. New/Editclick this button to define or edit the values in a filter loss (.flt) file. Removeclick this button to remove this filter from the repeater. Removing the filter does not delete the .flt file. When no receive mask is specified, athe interference caused by the excessive energy transmitted outside the channel bandwidth is not accounted for.
Quality
Limit Best Server Coveragetype in this box the distance from the repeater that defines the outer limit of the best server coverage. Beyond this distance, the server
Adding Repeaters
cannot be considered as the Best Server.
Chapter 8
Locating repeaters in a Map window

You can use the Project Explorer to locate repeaters in a Map window.
To locate repeaters in a Map window

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In the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the repeater and choose Locate.
The repeater is selected in the Map window.
CHAPTER 9 Defining Subscribers

Subscribers are categorized into types, which are used when you generate an analysis of your network. Creating subscriber types that account for the possible variations of subscribers enables you to generate reliable and comprehensive analyses of your network. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding subscribers Workflow for creating subscriber types Defining subscriber equipment types Defining subscriber services Defining subscriber types Defining environment settings Creating a fixed subscriber database
160 161 162 164 165 168 172
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Understanding subscribers
The nodes within the Subscriber Settings dialog box represent building blocks for subscriber types:
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Equipment Typesinclude the types of mobile equipment and antennas that are available in your network as well as the bearers available on each type of equipment. Servicesrelate to the applications that a subscriber uses and the level of service required. This includes the activity factors used to calculate the effective amount of time that a subscriber uses a service. This also includes the quality of service requirements. Subscriber Typesconsolidate the information from the other nodes in the Subscriber Settings dialog box into various combinations to represent the mix of subscribers in your network.
When you define subscribers, you begin at the top of the tree view by defining equipment types. You then define services and finally, you define subscriber types. For each subscriber type, you must choose an equipment type and traffic map. You can define multiple usage types, each of which comprises weightings to spread subscribers within the four different environments. You also define a service type. For a detailed example of how to define a subscriber type, see Defining subscriber types. This example shows you how to define usages, explains the effect of weighting, and describes how the settings that you specify for the subscriber type translate into a real-world scenario.
Defining Subscribers
Workflow for creating subscriber types

Step 1 Generate traffic maps for the services and area that you want to analyze. For information on creating traffic maps, see Managing Traffic, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Define equipment types including hardware and bearers. Define services including the load and quality of service parameters. Create subscriber types and define the subscriber configuration including priority, equipment type, and usages. Define environment settings.
Step 2 Step 3 Step 4
Step 5
Chapter 9
Defining subscriber equipment types

A mobile equipment type is a detailed definition of the equipment used by a particular type of subscriber in the network. Each type of equipment has its own particularities in terms of the technology it supports, the hardware specification it has, and the bearers it can use. Subscriber equipment types you define are added to the Equipment Types node in the Subscriber Editor tree view.
LTE bearers
Bearers represent the traffic channels in terms of their service data rate. You first define the modulations used by the bearers in the Network Settings dialog box. Standard LTE bearers are configured with a direction (uplink or downlink). Bearers are displayed on the Bearers tab associated with each equipment type. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To define subscriber equipment types 1

Choose Edit Subscriber Settings.
The Subscriber Settings dialog box opens.
In the tree view, right-click Equipment Types, and choose Add. A new subnode is added to the Equipment Types node.
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In the tree view, choose the equipment type you just added. Define equipment type parameters as required.
Chapter 9
Defining subscriber services

Service types are the applications that your subscribers are using. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To define subscriber services 1

In the tree view, right-click Services, and choose Add. A new subnode is added to the Services node.
3 4
In the tree view, choose the service you just added. Define service parameters as required.
Defining subscriber types

Subscriber types are defined by:
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the subscriber equipment used the traffic map on which the subscriber type is based the different kinds of services that a subscriber uses and the quality that applies to each service the environments where the usage takes place
The information contained in a subscriber type is used when you generate Monte Carlo simulations or analysis layers. The environment weightings defined for each subscriber type reflects the probability that a particular subscriber type will use a specific service in a specific environment. For example, if a LTE Subscriber using a VoIP service is more likely to be using this service indoors rather than while in a vehicle than you could set the Indoor Weight to 2 and the Vehicular Weight to 1. The total number of subscribers is defined by the traffic map and scaling, not by the number of usage types or environments. The total number of subscribers for each subscriber type is spread across the usage types and environments defined for the subscriber type.
Example
You might create a subscriber type called Advanced Business that represents subscribers who use mobiles as their primary business tools. The subscribers represented by this type use their mobiles for everything from downloading email to placing cellular calls. After you create the usage types, you can assign a ratio to determine the proportion of the traffic that is in each of the available environments. In addition, you can set the service type and quality type for each usage type. For example, if you set up four usage types for the Advanced Business subscriber type, you could assign the weightings, service types, and quality types shown in "Example usage type settings" on next page.
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Table 1 Example usage type settings Usage type 1 2 3 4 Deep Indoor 5 2 2 2 Service type Voice Video WWW Email
Indoor 5 1 2 2
Outdoor Vehicular 5 1 4 4 5 0 0 0
In this example, the total weighting value calculated across all usage types is 40. Therefore, the Advanced Business subscriber type uses Usage 1 50% of the time, Usage 2 10% of the time, Usage 3 20% of the time, and Usage 4 20% of the time. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To define subscriber types 1

In the tree view, right-click Subscriber Types, and choose Add. A new subnode is added to the Subscriber Types node.
3 4 5
In the tree view, choose the subscriber type you just added. Click the Description tab, define a name and specify any additional comments required. Click the Configuration tab and define the subscriber type configuration as required.
Chapter 9
Defining environment settings

During a Monte Carlo simulation, subscribers are spread across the analysis area based on the traffic map and then sorted according to:
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the subscriber type priority (defined on the Configuration tab for each subscriber type) the service priority (defined on the Load tab for each service) the QoS class priority (defined on the Quality of Service tab)
Mentum Planet then determines in which clutter class a subscriber is located and assesses the impact of environmental traits on the signal and service using the environment settings you define as well as the usage weightings specified for each subscriber type. For each usage type, you can define a weighting indicating the amount of time that usage type occurs in each environment (for example, you could define a business subscriber who uses voice service in an outdoor environment 10% of the time). For all of the environments, you can define the penetration loss and the required fast fading margin. For each clutter type, you can define the characteristics of the environments within that clutter type. The available environments are:
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Outdooropen air environments Vehicularmoving vehicles Indoorbuildings or structures (normally representing areas where single wall penetration is required) Deep Indoorin-building areas where two-wall penetration is required, or dense buildings where higher than normal penetration losses are experienced
You can enable one or more of the environments for a clutter type. For each clutter class, you indicate which environments you want to account for and then specify the following parameters:
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Downlink Orthogonality this value represents the signals orthogonality factor in the environment of the clutter. Slow Fading Standard Deviationthis value is used to model the shadowing from obstacles that cannot be handled by a propagation model. Slightly higher values (approximately 8dB) may be
appropriate for high density urban areas, lower values (approximately 6.5dB) for open areas.
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Outdoor Fast Fading Marginthis value represents the extra margin required for fast power control to overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Outdoor environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches). Outdoor Penetration Lossthis value represents the penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals in the Outdoor environment for a specific clutter type. Vehicular Fast Fading Marginthis value represents the transmit power headroom required for fast power control to occur and overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Vehicular environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches). Vehicular Penetration Lossthis value represents the penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals in the Vehicular environment for a specific clutter type. Vehicular Speedthis value represents the typical moving speed of a mobile subscriber in a vehicular environment for a specific clutter type. Indoor Fast Fading Marginthis value represents the extra margin required for fast power control to occur and overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Indoor environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches). Indoor Penetration Lossthis value represents the penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals in the Indoor environment for a specific clutter type Deep Indoor Fast Fading Marginthis value represents the extra margin required for fast power control to take place and overcome Rayleigh (fast) fading in the Deep Indoor environment of this clutter type. Rayleigh fading is a variation of spatial path loss that occurs on the scale of a few
Chapter 9
wavelengths; the wavelength of a 2 000 MHz carrier is about 15 cm (6 inches).

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Deep Indoor Penetration Lossthis value represents the penetration loss to apply on received and transmitted signals in the Deep Indoor environment for a specific clutter type
When you generate the analysis, you specify the subscriber environment you want to model (i.e., Outdoor, Indoor, Deep Indoor, Vehicular). When you generate a Monte Carlo simulation, if an environment does not apply to a particular type of clutter (for example, if the deep indoor environment does not apply to the Urban Commercial clutter type, the simulation will not place any subscribers in that type of clutter in that environment.
To define environment settings 1

Choose Edit Environments.
The Environment Editor opens.
For each clutter class, do any of the following:

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Double-click in a table cell and type a new value. Click the down arrow in a table cell and choose a new value. Enable or clear the check box for the chosen setting.
Click the down arrow next to a table heading to display all the data or a particular subset. Right-click in a table cell to copy and paste data.
Use the buttons on the tool strip to change the display and access additional tools such as the Show Graph window as well as the Generate Statistics and Generate Labels features. Press the F1 key for more information on the Environment Editor.
Chapter 9
Creating a fixed subscriber database

Before generating a fixed subscriber analysis, you must place subscribers on the map and create a fixed subscriber database (i.e., fixed subscriber table). For example, you can create a fixed subscriber table to address the specific requirements of the IEEE802.16d standard. When you define the subscriber settings, you will need to associate a directive antenna with the equipment type.
To create a fixed subscriber table 1

In the Project Explorer, in the FixedSubscribers category, rightclick the technology node for which you want to create a fixed subscriber table, and choose New. A table is added to the Fixed Subscriber Tables node.
2 3 4 5
To change the default table name, right-click Table 1, choose Rename and type a meaning subscriber table name. To add subscribers to the table, right-click the fixed subscribers table and choose Add Subscriber. Click in the Map window at the location of the subscriber. Repeat Step 4 until you have placed all the subscribers.
CHAPTER 10 Generating Network Analyses

LTE analyses contain the information you require to determine the coverage of your network. This chapter describes how to generate LTE analyses and view results. It also explains how to create statistics that you can use to validate your network design. For information on how to generate detailed subscriber information or cell loads, see Generating Monte Carlo Simulations. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding network analyses Workflow for generating an analysis Defining default analysis layers Defining default analysis settings Creating and generating a network analysis Generating an existing analysis Viewing analysis layers Generating multiple analyses Deleting analyses Recoloring best serving sector layers Examining layer statistics
174 175 176 188 189 195 196 197 198 199 200
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Understanding network analyses

In Mentum Planet 5.x, you can generate an analysis with nothing more than the equipment type and, for cdma2000 or WCDMA, a service defined in the subscriber settings. This decreases the time required to prepare for network analysis and results in less time being required to generate the analysis layers; however, this type of analysis does not generate detailed subscriber information. The analysis runs only once and generates analysis layers automatically.
Prediction view files

Prediction view files contain predicted signal strength values for all potential servers at each bin and are created when you generate an analysis. Using prediction view files results in faster analyses because Mentum Planet only reads one file to access information about signal strength for all potential servers. Prediction view files work at a single resolution. If you are analyzing a large area with mostly low resolution data and small amounts of higher resolution data, the disk space requirements can be significantly higher than the combined disk space requirements of the prediction data if the analysis is carried out at the higher resolution. This is because the prediction view files will be created at the higher resolution over the entire area. Also, separate prediction views are created for each of the required analysis resolutions, which can further add to disk space requirements. For example, an area that is 100 km x 100 km with a 10-meter resolution and an average of 10 overlapping predictions requires approximately 2 GB of disk space for prediction view files, whereas an area that is 200 km x 200 km with a 5-meter resolution and an average of 10 overlapping predictions requires approximately 32 GB of disk space for prediction view files.
Generating Network Analyses
Workflow for generating an analysis
Step 1
If you want to use the same settings for a number of analyses, define default analysis settings. If you want to generate the same layers for a number of analyses, define default layers settings. Create and generate a new analysis. View analysis layers. Generate layer statistics for analysis layers.
Step 2
Step 3 Step 4 Step 5
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Defining default analysis layers

By default, all of the available analysis layers are generated. To avoid lengthy generation times when working with a large project, you can exclude layers from the analysis generation that you do not need. The analysis layer filter enables you to define a default list of analysis layers that is available for all of the analyses that you create for the current project.
To define default analysis layers 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, rightclick LTE Analyses and choose Default Layers. In the LTE Analysis Layers dialog box, enable the check box next to those layers you want to generate by default, and click OK.
Common LTE Analysis Layers

LTE Analysis layers are grouped into common layers and carrier-specific layers. The Common layers represent the performance of sectors on the best carrier or the composite plots of multiple channels (e.g., downlink best carrier layer). Table 1 details the common layers. Table 1: Common Layers Layer Best Server Description This layer displays the best server on the downlink for the best carrier. This layer is based on the downlink reference signal power values. This layer is the same as the best server layer, except that for sectors with repeaters, the repeater and its donor are treated as one combined sector. This layer displays the best server signal strength for the best carrier on the downlink at each bin. This layer is based on the downlink PA power values. This layer displays the best server reference signal strength for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the best server Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) for the best carrier at each bin.
Composite Best Server
Best Server Signal Strength
Best Server Reference Signal Strength RSRP
Layer
Description
Handover Status
This layer displays whether the handover is possible ("Yes") or not. The status is determined using the A3 handover threshold defined on the Configuration tab in the Site Editor. This layer displays the number of sectors that have a signal strength within the number of dB defined for the A3 handover threshold. This layer displays the sector that has the strongest signal strength (ignoring the best server) and that has a signal strength within the number of dB defined for the A3 Handover Threshold parameter. This layer displays the best server received synchronization signal power for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the Nth best server on the downlink for the best carrier. This layer is based on the downlink reference power values. This layer displays the Nth best server reference signal strength for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the best carrier on which the reference signal strength or reference C/(N+I) is the greatest. This layer displays the name of the carrier where the downlink C/(N+I) is the greatest. This layer displays the name of the carrier where the uplink C/(N+I) is the greatest. This layer displays the synchronization signal C/(N+I) for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the reference signal C/(N+I) for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value for the best carrier at each bin.
Number of Potential Handover Sectors
Handover Sector Priority
Best Synchronization Signal Strength <Nth> Best Server
<Nth> Best Server Reference Signal Strength Best Server Carrier
Downlink Best Carrier Uplink Best Carrier Synchronization Signal C/(N+I) Reference C(N+I) RSRQ
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Layer Reference Coverage Probability
Description This layer displays the probability of coverage for the signal for the best carrier at each bin. It depends on the Reference Signal C/(N+I), as well as on the slow fading standard deviation value. This layer displays whether there is reference signal coverage for the best carrier. It depends on the Reference Signal Coverage probability and the cell edge coverage probability target. The layer displays the type of MIMO technique used at each bin, for the best carrier. Three classes are defined:
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Reference Coverage
MIMO Type
None Diversity MIMO (Spatial Multiplexing)
Diversity Gain
This layer displays the downlink diversity gain at each bin, for the best carrier. It depends on the antenna systems of best server and CPE, and on the antenna algorithm selected by the best server. This layer displays the downlink spatial multiplexing gain at each bin, for the best carrier. It depends on the antenna systems of best server and CPE, on the antenna algorithm selected by the best server and on the downlink C/(N+I) level at the bin. This layer displays the interference coordination status at each bin, for the best carrier:
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Spatial Multiplexing Gain
Interference Coordination
Inner cell Outer cell
Downlink C/I Downlink C/(N+I)
This layer displays the C/I ratio of the downlink traffic data for the best carrier. This layer displays the C/(N+I) ratio of the downlink traffic data for the best carrier.
Layer Downlink Overall Maximum Achievable Data Rate Downlink Overall Average Data Rate Downlink Coverage
Description This layer displays the total downlink maximum achievable data rate, combining all carriers in the frequency band. This layer displays the overall average data rate on the downlink, accounting for all available carriers. This layer displays whether there is traffic coverage on the downlink (if at least one downlink modulation and coding scheme is available) for the best carrier. This layer displays the maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved on the downlink. The maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved depends on radio conditions. Subscribers (i.e., locations) that have a high signal-to-interference ratio can achieve higher spectral efficiency than subscribers/locations that have a poor signal-to-interference ratio. This layer displays the best downlink modulation and coding scheme available at the bin, for the best carrier. It is the best downlink modulation and coding scheme whose coverage probability is above the cell edge coverage probability target. This layer displays the difference between the actual downlink C/(N+I) and the required C/(N+I) by the best available modulation, expressed in dB. Diversity gain and fade margins are also included. The Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) layer displays the CQI value that corresponds with the downlink maximum spectral efficiency value (in useful bits/symbol) at each pixel. This layer contains channel feedback information sent by the user equipment to the eNodeB. These layers display the service coverage probability for the downlink modulation. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the highest data rate that meets coverage probability requirements. It depends on the best available modulation and coding scheme. Spatial multiplexing gains are also included.
Downlink Maximum Achievable Spectral Efficiency
Downlink Best Available Modulation
Downlink Margin
CQI
Downlink Coverage Probability Downlink Maximum Achievable Data Rate
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Layer Downlink Average Data Rate
Description This layer displays the average data rate on the downlink, for the best carrier. It is calculated by averaging all possible data rates with their coverage probabilities. It depends on the coverage probability of all downlink modulation and coding schemes. This layer displays the overall maximum achievable data rate, accounting for all available carriers, on the uplink based on the number of resource blocks per user. This layer displays the overall average data rate, accounting for all available carriers, on the uplink based on the number of resource blocks per user. This layer displays the C/I ratio of the uplink traffic data for the best carrier. This layer displays the C/(N+I) ratio of the uplink traffic data for the best carrier. This layer displays whether there is traffic coverage on the uplink (if at least one uplink modulation and coding scheme is available) for the best carrier. This layer displays the best uplink modulation and coding scheme available at the bin, for the best carrier. It is the best uplink modulation and coding scheme whose coverage probability is above the cell edge coverage probability target. This layer displays the maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved on the uplink. The maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved depends on radio conditions. Subscribers (i.e., locations) that have a high signal-to-interference ratio can achieve higher spectral efficiency than subscribers/locations that have a poor signal-to-interference ratio. This layer displays the difference between the actual uplink C/(N+I) and the required C/(N+I) by the best available modulation, expressed in dB. Diversity gain and fade margins are also included.
Uplink Overall Maximum Achievable Data Rate
Uplink Overall Average Data Rate Uplink C/I Uplink C(N+I) Uplink Coverage
Uplink Best Available Modulation
Uplink Maximum Achievable Spectral Efficiency
Uplink Margin
Layer Uplink Coverage Probability
Description This layer displays the service coverage probability for the uplink modulation. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the maximum achievable data rate for the best carrier on the uplink based on the number of resource blocks per user. It depends on the best available uplink modulation and coding scheme. Spatial multiplexing gains are also included. This layer displays the average data rate for the best carrier on the uplink based on the number of resource blocks per user. It depends on the coverage probability of all uplink modulation and coding schemes. This layer displays the required transmit power on the uplink at each bin. This layer displays the coverage status for the best carrier. Four classes are defined:
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Uplink Maximum Achievable Data Rate
Uplink Average Data Rate
Uplink Transmit Power Composite Coverage
both downlink and uplink (i.e. there is coverage) downlink only (coverage is therefore uplink limited) uplink only (coverage is therefore downlink limited) none (no coverage)
Worst Margin Worst Co-channel Interfering Sector
This layer displays the lowest margin on the downlink and the uplink for the best carrier expressed in dB. This layer displays the name of the sector that creates the highest level of co-carrier interference on the best carrier.
Chapter 10
Carrier-Specific LTE Analysis Layers

LTE Analysis layers are grouped into common layers and carrier-specific layers. The carrier-specific layers represent the performance of one carrier. Table 1 details the carrier-specific layers. Table 1: Carrier-Specific Layers Layer Best Server Description This layer displays the best server on the downlink. This layer is based on the downlink reference signal power values. This layer is the same as the best server layer, except that for sectors with repeaters, the repeater and its donor are treated as one combined sector. This layer displays the best server signal strength on the downlink at each bin. This layer is based on the downlink PA power values. This layer displays the best server reference signal strength at each bin. This layer displays the best server Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) for the best carrier at each bin. This layer displays the best synchronization signal strength at each bin.
Composite Best Server
Best Server Signal Strength Best Server Reference Signal Strength RSRP Best Synchronization Signal Strength
Layer <Nth> Best Server
Description This layer displays the Nth best server on the downlink. This layer is based on the downlink reference power values. This layer displays the Nth best server reference signal strength at each bin. This layer displays the synchronization signal C/(N+I) at each bin. This layer displays the reference signal C/(N+I) at each bin. This layer displays the Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) value at each bin. This layer displays whether the handover is possible ("Yes") or not. The status is determined using the A3 handover threshold defined on the Configuration tab in the Site Editor. This layer displays the number of sectors that have a signal strength within the number of dB defined for the A3 handover threshold. This layer displays the sector that has the strongest signal strength (ignoring the best server) and that has a signal strength within the number of dB defined for the A3 Handover Threshold parameter. This layer displays the probability of coverage for the signal at each bin. It depends on the Reference Signal C/(N+I), as well as on the slow fading standard deviation value. This layer displays whether there is reference signal coverage. It depends on the Reference Signal Coverage probability and the cell edge coverage probability target. The layer displays the type of MIMO technique used at each bin. Three classes are defined:
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<Nth> Best Server Reference Signal Strength Synchronization Signal C/(N+I) Reference C(N+I) RSRQ Handover Status
Number of Potential Handover Sectors
Handover Sector Priority
Reference Coverage Probability
Reference Coverage
MIMO Type
None
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Layer
Description
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Diversity MIMO (Spatial Multiplexing)
Diversity Gain
This layer displays the downlink diversity gain at each bin. It depends on the antenna systems of best server and CPE, and on the antenna algorithm selected by the best server. This layer displays the downlink spatial multiplexing gain at each bin. It depends on the antenna systems of best server and CPE, on the antenna algorithm selected by the best server and on the downlink C/(N+I) level at the bin. This layer displays the interference coordination status at each bin:
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Spatial Multiplexing Gain
Interference Coordination
Inner cell Outer cell
Downlink C/I Downlink C/(N+I) Downlink Coverage
This layer displays the C/I ratio of the downlink traffic data. This layer displays the C/(N+I) ratio of the downlink traffic data. This layer displays whether there is traffic coverage on the downlink (if at least one downlink modulation and coding scheme is available). This layer displays the best downlink modulation and coding scheme available at the bin. It is the best downlink modulation and coding scheme whose coverage probability is above the cell edge coverage probability target. This layer displays the best downlink modulation and coding scheme available at the bin, for the best carrier. It is the best downlink modulation and coding scheme whose coverage probability is above the cell edge coverage probability target.
Layer Downlink Maximum Spectral Efficiency
Description This layer displays the maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved on the downlink. The maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved depends on radio conditions. Subscribers (i.e., locations) that have a high signal-to-interference ratio can achieve higher spectral efficiency than subscribers/locations that have a poor signal-to-interference ratio. This layer displays the difference between the actual downlink C/(N+I) and the required C/(N+I) by the best available modulation, expressed in dB. Diversity gain and fade margins are also included. This layer displays the CQI value that corresponds with the downlink maximum spectral efficiency value (in useful bits/symbol) at each pixel. These layers display the service coverage probability for the downlink modulation. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the service coverage probability for the best available downlink modulation and coding scheme. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the maximum achievable data rate on the downlink. It depends on the best available modulation and coding scheme. Spatial multiplexing gains are also included. This layer displays the average data rate on the downlink. It depends on the coverage probability of all downlink modulation and coding schemes. This layer displays the C/I ratio of the uplink traffic data. This layer displays the C/(N+I) ratio of the uplink traffic data. This layer displays whether there is traffic coverage on the uplink (if at least one uplink modulation and coding scheme is available). This layer displays the best uplink modulation and
Downlink Margin
CQI
Downlink Coverage Probability Downlink Probability
Downlink Maximum Achievable Data Rate
Downlink Average Data Rate Uplink C/I Uplink C(N+I) Uplink Coverage
Uplink Best Available Modulation
Chapter 10
Layer
Description coding scheme available at the bin. It is the best uplink modulation and coding scheme whose coverage probability is above the cell edge coverage probability target.
Uplink Maximum Spectral Efficiency
This layer displays the maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved on the uplink. The maximum spectral efficiency that can be achieved depends on radio conditions. Subscribers (i.e., locations) that have a high signal-to-interference ratio can achieve higher spectral efficiency than subscribers/locations that have a poor signal-to-interference ratio. This layer displays the difference between the actual uplink C/(N+I) and the required C/(N+I) by the best available modulation, expressed in dB. Diversity gain and fade margins are also included. These layers display the service coverage probability for the uplink modulation. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the service coverage probability for the best available uplink modulation and coding scheme. It depends on the slow fading standard deviation. This layer displays the maximum achievable data rate on the uplink. It depends on the best available uplink modulation and coding scheme. Spatial multiplexing gains are also included. This layer displays the average data rate on the uplink based on the number of resource blocks per user. It depends on the coverage probability of all uplink modulation and coding schemes.
Uplink Margin
Uplink Coverage Probability Uplink Probability
Uplink Maximum Data Rate
Uplink Average Data Rate
Layer Uplink Transmit Power Composite Coverage
Description This layer displays the required transmit power on the uplink at each bin. This layer displays the coverage status. Four classes are defined:
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both downlink and uplink (i.e., there is coverage) downlink only (coverage is therefore uplink limited) uplink only (coverage is therefore downlink limited) none (no coverage)
Worst Margin Worst Co-Channel Interfering Sector
This layer displays the lowest margin on the downlink and the uplink expressed in dB. This layer displays the name of the sector that creates the highest level of co-carrier interference.
Chapter 10
Defining default analysis settings

If you want to use the same settings for a number of analyses, you can define default settings. When you create a new analysis, these defaults are automatically used.
To define default analysis settings 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analysescategory, rightclick LTE Analyses and choose Default Analyses Settings. The LTE Analysis Settings dialog box opens.
Define the default settings that you want to use, and click OK.
Creating and generating a network analysis

When you create a new analysis, it is displayed in the Project Explorer in the Network Analyses category under the LTE Analyses node. You can create any number of analyses for a project. When you finish creating a network analysis, you can generate it immediately or save the analysis settings without generating it. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To create and generate a network analysis 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, right-click LTE Analyses and choose New. The Network Analysis Wizard opens.
2 3
On each page of the Wizard, provide the required information and clickNext. On the System page, provide the required information and click Next.
Chapter 10
On the Analysis page, provide the required information, and click Next.
On the last page of the Wizard, complete the final step and click Finish.
Network Analysis Wizard

The Network Analysis Wizard steps you through the process of generating a network analysis (i.e., a nominal analysis). A nominal analysis enables you to perform a preliminary analysis of your network and is quicker than a Monte Carlo simulation because it does not use multiple runs to distribute subscribers. Instead, this analysis method uses traffic power and noise rise values to determine coverage and transmitted signal strengths.
Analysis Best Server

RSRP Thresholdtype in this box the Reference Signal Received Power threshold above which a server can be considered the best server. Nth Best Serverchoose from this list the number of the Nth Best Server for which to generate a grid. For example, if you want to produce grids of the fourth best server at all locations, choose 4. Selection Based Onchoose how you want the best server determined by selecting one of the following options:
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RSRPchoose this option if you want the simulation to select the best server according to the reference signal strength. RSRQchoose this option if you want the simulation to select the best server according to the reference signal receive quality.
Reference Coverage Probability Based On

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RSRPchoose this option if you want the simulation to calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRP threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based on the calculated RSRP and the defined threshold. RSRQchoose this option if you want the simulation to calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRQ threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based on the calculated RSRQ and the defined threshold.
Chapter 10
Number Of Handover Candidateschoose from this list the number of handover candidates to consider in the network analysis. Interference Coordination Schedulingchoose from this list the type of scheduler to use in order to efficiently coordinate interference. This box is not available if the selected frequency band does not support interference coordination. The following options are available:
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Basicoptimizes resource allocations through minimal interaction between eNodeBs. Advancedoptimizes resource allocations through fast and comprehensive communication between eNodeBs. As a result, the Advanced scheduler reduces more efficiently the amount of downlink interference.
Reference Signal Receive Quality (RSRQ)type in this box the reference signal strength receive quality threshold used to determine the reference signal coverage. Mobile Speed (km/h)choose from this list the mobile speed for which you want to create an analysis. The mobile speeds that are listed are those you defined in the network settings. Probability of Collision Curvedisplays the name of the mapping curve to use for the probability of collision. Browseclick this button to open a .cls file. Editclick this button to open the Curve Editor.
Number of Uplink Resource Blocks per User

All Available Resource Blockschoose this option to specify that all resource blocks are used by each subscriber on the uplink. User-Defined Number of Resource Blockschoose this option to specify the number of resource blocks used by each subscriber on the uplink. If you input a number that is greater than the total number of resource blocks, the analysis will automatically use all resource blocks.
Uplink Power Control

Fullchoose this option to use full power control on the uplink.
Fractionalchoose this option to use uplink fractional power control. You must specify a power control value in dBm and define a pathloss compensation factor. When you choose this option, the transmitted power used for the mobile equipment is impacted and, hence, so is the uplink CNIR value.
Other System Interference

Interference Griddisplays the interference grid that will be used during the analysis. If you use an interference grid, the downlink other system interference value defined in the LTE sector settings will be ignored by the analysis. At each bin, the value will be replaced by the value provided in the grid. Browseclick this button to open a .grd file containing interference values to use in place of the sector-based downlink interference values. Remove click this button if you do not want to use an interference grid.
Center Frequency (MHz)type in this box the center frequency of the interference source. Bandwidth (MHz)type in this box the bandwidth of the interfering signal.
Network Analysis Wizard

The Network Analysis Wizard steps you through the process of generating a network analysis (i.e., a nominal analysis). A nominal analysis enables you to perform a preliminary analysis of your network and is quicker than a Monte Carlo simulation because it does not use multiple runs to distribute subscribers. Instead, this analysis method uses traffic power and noise rise values to determine coverage and transmitted signal strengths.
System
Frequency Bandchoose from this list the frequency band of the network you want to analyze. You define frequency bands in the Network Settings.
Chapter 10
Subscriber
Equipment Typechoose from this list the equipment type for which you want to generate an analysis. The equipment type is defined in the Subscriber Settings. Environmentchoose from this list the environment for which you want to generate an analysis. You define environment settings (e.g., slow fading standard deviation, penetration loss, fast fading margin, etc.) in the Environment Editor. Cell Edge Coverage Probabilitytype in this box the target probability of coverage at the cell edge when determining the quality of service.
Generating an existing analysis

You can generate an analysis after it has been created in the wizard. You can generate an existing analysis as many times as required. If you edit a sector in the Site Editor, your sector updates are used in subsequent analysis runs.
To generate an existing analysis

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In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, right-click the analysis node for which you want to generate analysis layers and choose Generate.
Chapter 10
Viewing analysis layers

Once you have generated your analysis, you can view the analysis layers that it contains.
To view analysis layers 1 2

In the Project Explorer, choose the Network Analyses category. Right-click an analysis layer under the Analysis node and choose View. The analysis layer is displayed in the Map window. TIP: To remove an analysis layer from the Map window, in the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, under the LTEAnalyses node, right-click an analysis layer, and choose Remove.
Generating multiple analyses

You can use the Analysis Generator to select multiple analyses to generate sequentially. Using this method you can, for example, select a series of analyses to generate overnight. You can update sector information that impacts a selected analysis, however the analysis only uses the updated information if it has not yet started to generate.
To generate multiple analyses 1 2

Choose Tools Analysis Generator.
In the Analysis Generator, specify which analyses you want to generate and click Start. Analyses are generated in the order displayed in the Analysis Generator. Sector information for each analysis listed is collected when the analysis starts. If you change sector parameters and the analysis has not yet started, changes will be included in the results.
TIP: To reorder entries in the Analysis Generator, click the column title.
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Deleting analyses
Files generated from a network analysis can take up a lot of hard disk space. You can delete analyses that are no longer required.
To delete analyses 1
In the Project Explorer, in the NetworkAnalyses category, do any of the following:
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Choose one or more analyses, right-click and choose Delete. Expand an analysis node, choose one or more analysis layers, rightclick and choose Delete.
In the Mentum Planet dialog box, click Yes. The analyses or analysis layers you chose are removed from the Project Explorer and the files are deleted from the project folder.
Recoloring best serving sector layers

The Best Serving Sector Recolor tool enables you to change the color scheme used to display best serving sector analysis layers (classified grid files). You can use the colors defined in a sector display scheme or choose from the default color schemes used to display best serving sector analysis layers. Sector display schemes enable you to display analysis layers based on sector properties, such as the downlink load. When you use a sector display scheme with the Best Serving Sector Recolor tool, only the colors that have been defined for the scheme are used; other sector display scheme settings, such as symbol and size, are ignored. For information about defining sector display schemes, see Customizing sector symbols for multiple sites in Working With Sites and Sectors, in the Mentum Planet User Guide.
To recolor best serving sector layers 1

Choose Tools Best Serving Sector Recolor.
The Best Serving Sector Recolor dialog box opens.
Click Browse, navigate to the <technology>_Analyses folder with the project folder, choose the best serving sector layer (.grc) file that you want to recolor, and click Open. In the Apply Scheme section, choose a color scheme and click Apply . The best serving sector layers are displayed in the Map window using the new color scheme.
NOTE: You can modify an existing sector display scheme from within in the Best Serving Sector Recolor dialog box by right-clicking a scheme and choosing Edit.
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Examining layer statistics

You can calculate statistics on the individual analysis layers that you have generated, including preamble plan analysis layers. You can calculate statistics based on the entire numeric grid (.grd) file, an area grid, or a selection in the Map window. You can further customize the statistics based on a clutter grid file, traffic map, or a user-defined filter. After you calculate statistics, you can export statistics to Excel or to .csv files. In Excel, you can display statistics in a myriad of different ways as shown in Figure 10.1 .
Figure 10.1: Example of layer statistics displayed in Excel. For information on how to generate layer statistics, see To calculate layer statistics.
CHAPTER 11 Generating Monte Carlo Simulations

A Monte Carlo simulation generates information about sectors, channels, and subscribers in your network. Using the information gathered through a Monte Carlo analysis, you can establish cell loads and determine the operating points of the base stations. This chapter describes how to generate a Monte Carlo simulation and view results. Because of the detail in Monte Carlo simulations, they can take some time to generate. For quicker, but less detailed, analyses you can generate a analysis. See CHAPTER 10 Generating network analyses on page 173. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding Monte Carlo simulations Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation Viewing simulation layers Deleting simulation layers Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results Examining layer statistics Creating reports
202 205 209 211 212 213 221 222 223 224 225 230
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Understanding Monte Carlo simulations

A Monte Carlo simulation is a static analysis method that uses Monte Carlo simulation techniques to determine the characteristics of your network over repeated runs. A run consists of the distribution of random numbers of subscribers throughout the analysis area in a random pattern, and an analysis of the uplink and downlink. On the last run, operating points and discrete subscriber information are generated. Once the runs are complete, you can view simulation layers and, if required, use the cell load information for further analysis. Statistically, individual runs are of little value. However, over many Monte Carlo runs, the average result provides a realistic representation of network performance. The results are averaged to create the operating points that are used when you generate simulation layers. From a network analysis point of view, the ultimate goal of a Monte Carlo simulation is to obtain loading values on both the downlink and uplink for all sectors and carriers included in the simulation. These loading values are used to produce coverage and interference layers, which provide you with a visual representation of network performance. The following sections describe the phases of a Monte Carlo run and explain the methods for determining how many runs are required.
The phases of a Monte Carlo simulation

There are four general phases in a Monte Carlo simulation. They involve:
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placing subscribers in a random pattern sorting subscribers based on their assigned priorities analyzing the downlink and the uplink generating operating points and subscriber information
Once convergence is reached, if there are any remaining network resources available and you choose to use a Scheduler, the Scheduler will allocate them based on subscriber priorities.
Generating Monte Carlo Simulations
Placing subscribers in a random pattern

Each run begins with the placement of subscribers in a random pattern throughout the simulation area. This pattern is created using input values from the channels defined for the band and the subscribers defined in the Subscriber Settings. The random distribution pattern corresponds to the traffic map, and is an efficient method for establishing transmission patterns when the exact location of each subscriber cannot be established.
Sorting subscribers by priority

On each run, subscribers are served based on their assigned priorities. The highest priority in each case is 1 while the lowest priority is 100. For each subscriber type, you define the following priorities:
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a subscriber type prioritydefined on the Configuration tab for each subscriber type. a service prioritydefined on the Load tab for each subscriber service a Quality of Service prioritydefined on the Quality of Service tab and organized around QoS classes
Analyzing the downlink and uplink

The goal of the uplink and downlinkf analysis phase is to determine the subscribers who can be served, taking into account the impact of each served subscriber on the network. The analysis begins by considering the subscribers in the simulation, then the serving sectors for each subscriber. The uplink analysis
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determines the best uplink server that is also the best downlink server calculates the received signal-to-noise ratio C/(N+I) and checks that the required coverage probability is achieved
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calculates the noise rise and checks that the limit is not exceeded on all sectors checks that the cell radius and speed limit are not exceeded
The downlink analysis

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determines whether the reference signal strength and reference signal C/(N+I) are above the targets if interference coordination is supported, assigns the subscriber to either the inner cell or the outer cell calculates the received signal-to-noise ratio C/(N+I) and checks that the required coverage probability is achieved checks that the user limit, downlink load and throughput limit are not exceeded
The simulation also checks the quality thresholds defined for each sector.
Generating operating points and subscriber information

On the last run, operating points and subscriber information are generated. Operating points provide detailed information about each sector, carrerl, and subscriber type in the simulation. The operating points are averaged and stored. You can examine detailed operating point data by viewing the generated layers. Subscriber information provides details on the coverage status of subscribers (also known as discrete subscribers). Snapshots of each subscribers status are compiled on each run of the simulation. When the simulation is complete, you can view the subscriber spreading layer as well as the service status of each subscriber. You can also view reports on the statistics collected. See Creating reports.
Defining the number of Monte Carlo runs

Before you generate a Monte Carlo simulation, you must define the convergence criteria that determines when the simulation stops. If you generate too few runs, the results will not accurately reflect the distribution of subscribers within the network. If you generate too many runs, the processing time can be high unnecessarily. In order to avoid either of these extremes, you define the level of convergence, which considers the number of subscribers blocked during a single run. If this number is stable over several runs, the simulation ends.
Convergence method
The distribution of subscribers is affected by the traffic density. When there is greater traffic density, fewer runs are required. Using this approach, the runs continue until the level of convergence target is reached. After each run, the tool calculates the level of convergence value (see Level of Convergence calculation). When the level of convergence is within the specified range (e.g., by default, within 5% of the target values), the simulation ends. To achieve results that are statistically valid, you must determine an appropriate level of convergence. If you specify a low value (for example, 1%), more runs will be required for the solution to converge. A low level of convergence generally requires a higher resolution digital terrain model (DTM) to ensure accurate results. If the DTM has a low resolution, small variations in the interference calculations between runs might cause significant differences in the coverage area for a particular site. The required level of convergence option requires a minimum of five runs to complete.
Level of Convergence calculation

The following calculations are used to determine the level of convergence during a run. First, the number of blocked users is calculated using Equation 11.1.
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Equation 11.1 Mean number of blocked users Where: is the mean number of blocked users for a particular run is the number of simulation runs The divergence of consecutive values is continually calculated using the mean value. For example:
Equation 11.2 Divergence of consecutive values
The value and the Equation 11.2divergence value from Equation 11.1 are then used to determine the level of convergence value, as shown in Equation 11.3.
Equation 11.3 Level of convergence calculation
If the analysis does not achieve what you consider to be an accurate model of the network using the number of runs that you specified, you can generate additional runs.
Factors affecting the required number of runs

The number of runs required to achieve a given level of accuracy can vary dramatically based on several factors including:
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the number of bins in the simulation, which is directly proportional to the simulation area and resolution. The number of bins in the simulation has an impact as it will provide the number of potential points for subscribers. The more potential points for subscribers, the greater the likelihood of variation. the number of subscribers to be spread. This, coupled with the type of subscriber (for example, high data rate subscribers) and the traffic map, has potentially the greatest impact on the number of runs required. If you spread very few subscribers over a large area, then you need many runs to get a good statistical representation. If these subscribers are spread in a limited area, then fewer runs are likely required. the impact of each individual subscriber on the simulation. Higher data rate subscribers create a bigger load and have a bigger impact in all respects. the potential variation in the locations of the subscribers in the simulation according to the assigned traffic maps. A flat traffic map will likely require more runs than a map where all of the subscribers are concentrated. the number of sectors in the simulation. A greater number of servers, coupled with the potential for overlapping coverage areas, and gaps in coverage, results in a higher potential for different sectors providing service, and more runs being required.
In general, the greater potential variability then the greater the number of runs required to ensure a reasonable level of accuracy. It is often useful to do a single run first, especially for large simulation areas. A single run can identify obvious errors quickly, for example, incorrect PA power settings for a sector.
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TIP: To help determine whether additional runs are required, you can view the subscriber spreading layer and use the Grid Info tool to see how many subscribers are spread across a bin. You can also view the service status layer to see the served status of a subscriber. You can also examine pre-defined reports to view the operating points. For more information on reports, see Creating reports.
Understanding Monte Carlo simulation layers

Two types of layers are generated after the final Monte Carlo run:
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the subscriber spreading layerdisplays how many subscribers are spread across a bin. This is the average value over all runs. the service status layer (for each subscriber type)displays the served status of each subscriber using the colors shown in Table1 Subscriber status color map Subscriber Status Served Displays When.. the subscriber is served and all simulation conditions are met. The sectors' signal strength is below the signal strength threshold defined in the analysis settings. The user limit has been reached. There are no downlink modulation coding schemes that can be achieved. The uplink power limit has been reached. There are no downlink resources (i.e., resource blocks) left to serve a particular subscriber. There are no uplink resources (i.e., resource blocks) left to serve a given subscriber. Serving a given subscriber leads to an uplink noise rise on any sector to be greater than the maximum uplink
Table 1 Color
Blocked (reference signal coverage) Blocked (number of users)
Blocked (downlink power)
Blocked (uplink power)
Blocked (downlink resources)
Blocked (uplink resources)
Blocked (uplink noise rise)
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Color
Subscriber Status
Displays When.. noise rise value defined in the Site Editor. Serving a given subscriber leads to a site pooled throughput that is greater than the maximum pooled throughput value defined in the Site Editor. The subscriber is outside the limit best server coverage value defined in the Site Editor.
Blocked (maximum pooled throughput)
Blocked (coverage distance limit)
The subscriber spreading layer and the service status layer are saved in the <technology>MC_Simulations folder of your project. To ensure that these layers are always generated during a Monte Carlo simulation, enable the Generate Layers for 4G Monte Carlo Simulations check box on the Miscellaneous panel in the User Preferences dialog box.
Workflow for generating a Monte Carlo simulation

Step 1 Ensure that you have defined a traffic map for the subscriber types that covers the same area as your Monte Carlo simulation. If you want to use the same settings for a number of simulations, define default simulations settings. Create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation. View simulation layers. If required, generate additional runs. Generate statistical reports for simulation layers. Create reports for discrete subscriber information and operating points. Optionally, generate a network analysis.
Step 2
Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7
Step 8
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Defining default Monte Carlo simulation settings

If you want to use the same settings for a number of Monte Carlo simulations, you can define default settings. When you create a new simulation, these defaults are automatically used.
To define default Monte Carlo simulation settings 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click LTE Simulations and choose Default Simulation Settings. The Monte Carlo Simulation dialog box opens.
Define the default settings that you want to use, and click OK.
Creating and generating a Monte Carlo simulation

When you create a new simulation, it is displayed in the Project Explorer in the Monte Carlo Simulations category under the <Technology> Simulations node. You can create any number of simulations for a project. When you finish creating a Monte Carlo simulation, you can generate it immediately or save the simulation settings without generating it. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To create and generate a new Monte Carlo simulation 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click LTEFDD Simulations and choose New. The Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard opens.
Chapter 11
On the System page, provide the following information and click Next.
On the Analysis page, provide the following information and click Next.
On the Monte Carlo page, provide the following information and click Next.
On the last page of the Wizard, complete the final step and click Finish. A new simulation node is created in the Project Explorer.
TIP: To view the settings of a simulation, in the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click the simulation and choose View Settings.
TIP: To view which sectors are part of a simulation, in the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click the simulation and choose View Selected Sectors.
Chapter 11
Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard

A Monte Carlo simulation takes all subscriber parameters into account when generating simulation layers. To do this, at each Monte Carlo run, Mentum Planet:
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Creates a random pattern of subscribers. The simulation places the subscribers at random locations using the traffic map densities, and determines the subscriber types from the definitions in the Subscriber Editor. Generates downlink and uplink analyses. This uses the random subscriber pattern to determine the number of subscribers that can be served, while taking into account the impact of each served subscriber on the network. On the last run of the simulation, the simulation tool also generates two additional types of data:
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Operating points These are the results of the simulation divided by sector, carrier, and subscriber type. Mentum Planet averages these and uses them to create reports. Discrete subscriber informationMentum Planet compiles snapshots of each subscribers status on each run of the simulation. When the simulation finishes, the coverage status of each subscriber is stored in a MapInfo table (*.tab).
System
Frequency Bandchoose from this list the frequency band you want to simulate. You define frequency bands in the Network Settings.
Subscriber Types
Use this section to specify the subscriber criteria to focus on when generating the simulation. Enable the check boxes next to those subscriber types you want to include in the simulation. Subscriber Typedisplays the name of the subscriber type. The subscriber type is defined in the Subscriber Editor. CPE Typedisplays the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) type associated with the subscriber.
Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard Analysis Best Server

RSRP Thresholdtype in this box the Reference Signal Received Power threshold above which a server can be considered the best server. Selection Based Onchoose how you want the best server determined by selecting one of the following options:
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RSRPchoose this option if you want the simulation to select the best server according to the reference signal strength. RSRQchoose this option if you want the simulation to select the best server according to the reference signal receive quality.
Reference Coverage Probability Based On

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RSRPchoose this option if you want the simulation to calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRP threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based on the calculated RSRP and the defined threshold. RSRQchoose this option if you want the simulation to calculate the reference coverage probability using the RSRQ threshold. The Reference Coverage Probability layer is based on the calculated RSRQ and the defined threshold.
Interference Coordination Schedulingchoose from this list the type of scheduler to use in order to efficiently coordinate interference. This box is not available if the selected frequency band does not support interference coordination. The following options are available:
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Basicoptimizes resource allocations through minimal interaction between eNodeBs. Advancedoptimizes resource allocations through fast and comprehensive communication between eNodeBs. As a result,
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the Advanced scheduler reduces more efficiently the amount of downlink interference. Probability of Collision Curvedisplays the name of the mapping curve to use for the probability of collision. Browseclick this button to open a .cls file. Editclick this button to open the Curve Editor.
Uplink Power Control

Fullchoose this option to use full power control on the uplink. Fractionalchoose this option to use uplink fractional power control. You must specify a power control value in dBm as well as a pathloss compensation factor. When you choose this option, the transmitted power used for the mobile equipment is impacted and, hence, so is the uplink CNIR value.
Other System Interference

Use Interference Gridenable this check box to specify an interference grid to use during the analysis. If you use an interference grid, the downlink other system interference value defined in the LTE sector settings will be ignored by the analysis. At each bin, the value will be replaced by the value provided in the grid. Browseclick this button to open a .grd file containing interference values to use in place of the sector-based downlink interference values. Removeclick this button if you do not want to use an interference grid. Center Frequency click in this box to define the center frequency of the interference source. Bandwidthclick in this box to define the bandwidth of the interference signal.
Monte Carlo Simulation Wizard Monte Carlo

Minimum Number of Runstype in this box to define the minimum number of runs in the Monte-Carlo simulation.
Maximum Number of Runstype in this box to define the maximum number of runs in the Monte-Carlo simulation. Required Level of Convergencetype in this box to define the required level of convergence in order to end the Monte-Carlo simulation. Schedulerchoose from this list the type of Scheduler you want to use. The following options are available: Noneresources that remain once subscribers have been served with their minimum data rate are not allocated. Priority resources that remain once subscribers have been served with their minimum data rate are allocated to subscribers based on the priority defined in the subscriber settings. Proportional Fairresources that remain once subscribers have been served at their minimum data rates are allocated equally to all subscribers such that subscribers in better conditions have better data rates. Proportional Demandresources that remain once subscribers have been served at their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers. Subscribers with low data rates are given more resources. Maximum Capacity resources that remain once subscribers have been served at their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers. Subscribers with high data rates are given more resources. User-Definedresources that remain once subscribers have been served at their minimum data rates are allocated to served subscribers according to the following weight: The larger the weight, the more resources are assigned to the subscriber. Use the User-Defined Scheduler when you require a compromise between fairness (as in the proportional demand scheduler) and capacity (as in the maximum capacity scheduler). Automatically Update Cell Loadsenable this check box to update cell load values automatically at the end of the simulation. Display Subscribers at Each Runenable this check box to display the subscriber status in the Map window on each simulation run.
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Display Convergence Graphenable this check box to display a graph illustrating the convergence process.
Generating an existing Monte Carlo simulation

You can generate a simulation after it has been created in the wizard and can generate an existing simulation as many times as required. After viewing the simulation report and discrete subscriber information, you may determine that additional runs are required to achieve greater accuracy. The additional simulation runs are based on the operating points obtained from the existing simulation. The new results are generated using the statistics collected from all simulation runs. NOTE: If you edit a sector in the Site Editor, your updates are used in subsequent simulation runs.
To generate an existing simulation

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In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click the simulation node for which you want to generate layers and choose Generate.
Chapter 11
Viewing simulation layers

Once you have generated a simulation, you can view the simulation layers that it contains.
To view simulation layers 1 2

In the Project Explorer, choose the Monte Carlo Simulations category. Right-click a simulation layer under the LTEFDDSimulations node and choose View. The simulation layer is displayed in the Map window. NOTE: If you rename a simulation in the Project Explorer, any layers currently open or displayed in the Map window will be closed.
Deleting simulation layers

Files generated from a simulation can take up a lot of hard disk space. You can delete simulations that are no longer required.
To delete simulation layers 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, do any of the following:
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Choose one or more simulation layers, right-click and choose Delete. Expand a simulation node, choose one or more simulation layers, right-click and choose Delete.
In the Mentum Planet dialog box, click Yes. The simulation layers you chose are removed from the Project Explorer and the files are deleted from the project folder.
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Updating analysis cell loads with Monte Carlo results

Once you have generated a Monte Carlo simulation, you have the option of using the results of the simulation to update the target values for the uplink noise rise and downlink for each sector. These values are used in network analyses.
To update analysis cell loads 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulation category, right-click a Monte Carlo simulation and do one of the following:
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To Update The Target Values For All Sectors In The Chosen Group, Choose Apply Cell Loads. To update the target values for selected sectors within the group, choose Apply Cell Loads to Selected Sectors, specify the sectors to which you want to apply changes, and click OK.
In the confirmation dialog box, click OK. The values displayed in the Channels table on the Configuration tab are updated. This includes the Downlink Loading (%), the Uplink Loading (%), the Uplink Noise Rise (%), the Segment Zone Usage (dB), and the AAS Usage (%).
Examining layer statistics

You can calculate statistics on the individual analysis layers that you have generated, including preamble plan analysis layers. You can calculate statistics based on the entire numeric grid (.grd) file, an area grid, or a selection in the Map window. You can further customize the statistics based on a clutter grid file, traffic map, or a user-defined filter. To evaluate how using different types of antenna systems impacts network performance:
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Create layer statistics for the Downlink Maximum Achievable Data Rate layer. In the Layer Statistics Analysis dialog box, use the best server classified grid to calculate statistics. In the Report Preview, filter on a given range and choose the Percentage Sub Area column. Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button and define a sector display scheme to apply to the map.
After you calculate statistics, you can export statistics to Excel or to .csv files. In Excel, you can display statistics in a myriad of different ways as shown in Figure 11.1
Figure 11.1: Example of graph displays in Excel.
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To calculate layer statistics 1

In the Project Explorer, in the Network Analyses category, choose the simulation layers that you want to add to the report, right-click and choose Statistics.
2 3 4 5
To manually add additional simulation layers to the list, click Add Layer, navigate to the file that you want to add, and click Open. In the tree view, choose Analysis Settings. On the Analysis Settings panel, define the analysis area. Do any of the following:
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To remove bins with null values from the analysis layer calculations, enable the Exclude Null Values check box. To generate additional statistics, broken down by a classification, enable the Use Classified Grid check box, click Browse to navigate to the file, choose the file and click OK. Any classified grid can be used to perform different kinds of
statistical analysis. For example, to produce a statistical breakdown for each sector, use a best server layer as the classification grid. This breaks the statistics down by best server area.
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To generate traffic statistics, enable the Use Traffic Map check box and choose a traffic map from the Traffic Map list. To generate additional statistics, broken down by a classification, enable the Use Classified Grid check box, click Browse to navigate to the file, choose the file and click OK. Any classified grid can be used to perform different kinds of statistical analysis. For example, to produce a statistical breakdown for each sector, use a best server layer as the classification grid. This breaks the statistics down by best server area.
To generate traffic statistics, enable the Use Traffic Map check box and choose a traffic map from the Traffic Map list. To generate additional statistics, broken down by a numeric classification, enable the Use Numeric Grid check box, click Browse to navigate to the file, choose the file and click OK.
To filter the analysis area based on a grid file, enable the Apply Area Filter check box. The area filter is applied globally to all layers.
7 8
If you want to define individual area filters for each layer, enable the Set Area Filter By Layer check box. If you are applying area filters globally to all layers, do the following:
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To define the area raster, click Browse, navigate to the grid file, and click OK. To define the condition for the filter, type an expression in the Condition box. For example, choosing the SignalStrength.grd file and defining the expression would only consider pixels within the analysis area that have a signal strength greater than 100.
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To discard statistical results that only contain zero values, enable the Discard Result That Only Contains Zero Statistics check box. With this check box enabled, records where all columns contain zero values will be removed from the statistical report.
10 In the tree view, expand the Layers node and choose the analysis
layer for which you want to obtain statistics.
11 If you want to define classification settings for the analysis layer, define
any of the available settings in the Classifications Settings section.
12 If you want to define area filters for individual layers and have enabled
the Set Area Filter By Layer check box on the Analysis Settings panel, click the Area Filters button. Area filter settings are saved in LayerStatistics.set file located in the Settings/Layer Statistics folders within the project folder.
13 Click Calculate Statistics.

The Report Preview dialog box opens
14 Change the Report Preview display as required using the available

toolbar buttons
15 To view statistics on column data, choose one or more data

columns and click the Generate Statistics button. The Generate Statistics dialog box opens where you can view the mean value, the minimum value, the maximum value, the median value, the root mean square, and the standard deviation for each column.
16 If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can
create a sector display scheme to apply to report data by doing the following:
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Choose the column of data for which you want to create a sector display scheme. Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button.
17 Define the sector display scheme name and ,in the Sector
Display Scheme dialog box, define the parameters upon which you want the scheme to be based.
18 To view the layer statistics upon which the scheme is based, click
the Data button.
19 Review the data and click Close. 20 In the Sector Display Scheme dialog box, save or apply the
sector display scheme as required.
21 If the report includes site and sector data, you can display labels
in the Map window based on a selected data column by doing the following:
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Choose the column of data that you want to use as the basis for the site labels. Click the Generate Labels button.
22 To export the data to Excel, in the Report Preview dialog box,

click the Export Data To A File button and define export settings as required.
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Creating reports
After generating a Monte Carlo simulation, you can view details of the simulation in the Report Preview dialog box and export the reports to Excel for further analysis.
To create reports 1
In the Project Explorer, in the Monte Carlo Simulations category, right-click a simulation and choose Generate Reports and then choose one of the following options:
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Sector/Channelcontains analysis information sorted by sector and channel including PA power, preamble power, downlink load, uplink noise rise, etc. Subscriberscontains the reasons subscribers were blocked on either a global or per sector/channel basis. Throughputcontains throughput information sorted by subscriber type, service, and environment on either a global or per subscriber basis. All Run Sector/Channelcontains analysis information for each run performed in the simulation sorted by sector and channel.
In the Report Preview dialog box, do any of the following:

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To change the columns displayed in the dialog box, click the Change Options button. To sort the data in ascending order, click the Sort In Ascending Order button. To sort the data in descending order, click the Sort In Descending Order button.
To view statistics on a particular column in the report, choose a data column and click the Generate Statistics button. The Generate Statistics window opens where you can view the mean value, the minimum value, the maximum value, the median value, the root mean square, and the standard deviation.
If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can create a sector display scheme to apply to report data by doing the following:
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Choose the column of data for which you want to create a sector display scheme. Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button and define the sector display scheme settings you want to use.
If the report statistics include the site and sector data, you can display labels in the Map window based on a selected data column by doing the following:
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Choose the column of data that you want to use as the basis for the site labels. Click the Generate Labels button.
To export the data to Excel, in the Report Preview dialog box, click the Export Data To A File button. The Export Options dialog box opens.
In the Select Export format section, choose one of the following options:
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Excelto export statistics to an Excel (.xls) file. CSVto export statistics to Comma Separated Values (.csv) file.
If you are exporting to Excel, do the following:

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To open the file once the export is complete, enable the Open File Or Folder Upon Export check box. In the Export Settings section, click Browse to define a file name. To use a template, enable the Use A Template check box and click Browse to specify the template file. If the template uses macros, enable the Use Macros check box.
If you are exporting to .csv files, do the following:

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In the Export Settings section, enable the Export Header Row if you want to include a header in the exported files. Click Browse to define a folder for the exported output.
10 Click OK.
CHAPTER 12 Generating Fixed Subscriber Analyses

There could be many reasons for generating a fixed subscriber analysis. It depends on the environment you are modeling and the resources at hand. You could, for example, be modeling a fixed network. Or, due to capacity requirements, you could be modeling a hybrid network with support for both mobile users and fixed subscribers. By generating a Mentum Planet fixed subscriber analysis, you can evaluate and analyze network performance at discrete subscriber locations with a variety of equipment configurations. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding fixed subscriber analyses Editing fixed subscribers Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis Analyzing a single fixed subscriber
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Understanding fixed subscriber analyses

An unprecedented demand for wireless data and many advances in mobile communication technologies are behind the need to move third generation (3G) networks to forth generation (4G) wireless solutions. Two popular 4G technologies, LTE and WiMAX, not only enable true mobile broadband capabilities but also the convergence of fixed and mobile services. The all-IP based packet core network architecture and the high-efficient flexible air interface of 4G networks offers operators great opportunities and capabilities to deploy integrated applications that provide high-speed mobility services, as well as fixed broadband wireless access services. In addition to the nature of fixed locations, the services and applications used by fixed subscribers, quality of service requirement, can be very different from the ones that are typically used by mobile subscribers. The behaviors and usage patterns of two types of subscribers can also be very different. Therefore, when planning or optimizing a 4G-based system that provides hybrid mobility and fixed access services, you need to ensure that the network not only meets the performance requirement imposed by mobile subscribers, but also supports and delivers the robust quality of service to fixed subscribers. Mentum Planet fixed subscriber analyses provide you with the tools you need to evaluate and analyze network performance at discrete subscriber locations with variety of CPE configurations.
Before you generate an analysis

The first step in creating a fixed subscriber analysis is to create a fixed subscriber table. You then place subscribers on the map. Subscriber information along with the equipment configuration is saved in a subscriber table as a comma separated value file and stored in the Fixed Subscriber Tables folder within the project. You can edit subscriber information using the Subscriber Editor or by editing the subscriber table directly. You can set the subscriber prediction type to be either ground level or equipment antenna height. This enables you to model different types of fixed terminal equipment. The equipment antenna height type of prediction is particularly useful when an external antenna is used on the Customer Premise Equipment (e.g., when the equipment is mounted on top of a building). For these types of predictions, pointto-point predictions are generated on-the-fly from all the neighboring sectors to the
Generating Fixed Subscriber Analyses
terminal equipment. Neighbors are those sectors with a prediction distance that is greater than the distance between the sector and the terminal equipment location. TIP: You can import an existing fixed subscriber database or you can define subscribers in the Tabular Editor or Excel worksheet.
How the analysis is performed

Instead of analyzing every bin in a area for a particular type of subscriber equipment, service, and environment, and then generating a set of analysis layers in a mobile network analysis, the fixed subscriber analysis analyzes network performance at discrete subscriber locations defined in the fixed subscriber table. If required, for each subscriber, you can define a unique configuration (e.g., locations, CPE with integrated antenna, or CPE with directional antenna mounted at roof top). For example, at the same location, you may have multiple subscribers but each subscriber is at a different height. This is a configuration that would be required if subscribers, for example, in the same apartment building are located on a different floor (i.e., at a different level). For every subscribers, the analysis predicts the signal strengths at the location, and determine the best parent server and the potential second best server. The downlink and uplink performance, in terms of best available modulation, maximum achievable data rate, coverage probability, margins, etc. are then analyzed. The analysis results of each subscriber are stored in the fixed subscriber table.
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Editing fixed subscribers

Before you can accurately analyze fixed subscribers, you need to ensure that the subscriber configuration mirrors the real-world characteristics of the users. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
TIP: To edit subscriber information for many subscribers, right-click the subscriber table and choose one of the following commands:
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Edit to modify information in the Tabular Editor Open in Excel to modify information in Excel
To edit fixed subscribers using the Subscriber Editor 1 2

In the Map window, right-click a subscriber and choose Edit Fixed Subscriber. In the Subscriber Editor, define subscriber parameters as required and click OK.
Generating and viewing a fixed subscriber analysis

When you create a new fixed subscriber analysis, it is displayed in the Project Explorer in the Fixed Subscribers category. You can create any number of analyses for a project. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To generate a fixed subscriber analysis 1 2 3 4

In the Project Explorer, right-click the subscribers table and choose Analyze. In the Sector Selection dialog box, specify those sectors you want to analyze and click Next. On each page of the Wizard, provide the required information and clickNext. On the Analysis page, provide the required information.
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Click Finish.
To view analysis results

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Right-click the subscriber table and choose Open In Excel.
Analyzing a single fixed subscriber

In order to evaluate the impact of a subscriber, you can generate an analysis of a single subscriber. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To analyze a single subscriber 1 2

In the Map window, right-click a subscriber, and choose Edit Fixed Subscriber. In the Subscriber Editor, click the Analyze tab, and specify the frequency band, sector selection as well as the prediction parameter, and then click Analyze. The Values column is updated with data from the analysis.
CHAPTER 13 Generating Frequency And Physical Cell ID Plans Automatically

This chapter explains how to create a frequency plan and physical cell ID plan using the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool. This chapter covers the following topics:
Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID planning Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning constraints and costs Addressing frequency planning requirements Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning Creating a frequency plan
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242 243 245 246
Setting up general frequency and physical cell ID planning parameters 254 Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID plan Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors
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Understanding automatic frequency and physical cell ID planning

With the goal of increasing network capacity, the frequencies and physical cell IDs used in a LTE network need to be reused efficiently.
Frequency planning
Building a frequency plan manually is a labor intensive, error-prone process. Using the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you can generate a frequency or cell ID plan automatically.
Cell ID planning
In an LTE network, reference signal symbols inserted on the downlink, are used for channel estimation and signal demodulation. They are combined with a pseudorandom sequence and a orthogonal sequence in order to enable cell searches. It is during cell searches that the primary synchronization signal provides the cell identity (i.e., 0, 1, or 2) and the secondary synchronization signal determines the cell identity group. In order to minimize interference, cells belonging to the same site are assigned cell identities from the same cell identity group. TIP: To achieve an equitable balance, you should plan frequencies and cell IDs at the same time.
Generating Frequency And Physical Cell ID Plans Automatically
Understanding frequency and physical cell ID planning constraints and costs

Constraints and costs play a pivotal role in frequency and physical cell ID planning.
Frequency, preamble, and perm base planning constraints

The constraints considered by the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool include the settings in the Interference Threshold section and the carrier separations (i.e., the spacing required to separate each carrier at the site and sector level) defined on the Frequency tab.
Frequency and physical cell ID planning violation costs

Violation costs are the cost factors that are incurred whenever a frequency or physical cell ID planning constraint is not respected. Frequency or physical cell ID planning constraints are defined in the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box. The violation cost values you enter in the Interference threshold section for either co-channel or adjacent channel interference is multiplied by the interference defined in the interference matrix. Each cost contributes to the overall cost associated with the assignment of a specific channel to a sector.
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Addressing frequency planning requirements

Various planning scenarios exist, each having specific requirements in terms of frequency or physical cell ID planning. Using Mentum Planet and the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you can overcome the challenges of frequency and physical cell ID planning in each specific case. You can choose to allocate frequencies or physical cell IDs to new sectors only. In this case, the assignments for existing sectors are not changed; however, they are considered in the new plan. NOTE: The Automatic Frequency and Cell ID Planning tool does not support single channel, non-segmented frames or multiple channel, segmented frames.
Single-channel PUSC subchannel group planning

In an OFDMA network, subcarriers are grouped into subchannels. Subchannels are shared by multiple users in different time slots. Subcarriers are assigned to subchannels using various permutation schemes including the Partial Usage of Subchannels (PUSC) permutation scheme where subchannels are divided into six groups. There is no interference between sectors using different subchannel groups when the same permutation scheme is used to form the subchannel groups and there is perfect orthogonality amongst the subcarriers. Using a PUSC scheme reduces interferences at the cost of sector throughput. To counter the loss of throughput, you can use Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR) where users close to the base station operate on all available subchannels while users at the edge operate on a fraction of all available subchannels. Assigning frequencies in this scenario in such a manner as to minimize the possible interference between sectors using the same subchannel groups presents challenges, which you can overcome using the AFPP Planning tool. NOTE: In single channel scenarios, only segmented frames are supported.
Multi-channel frequency planning

One of the ways to reduce co-channel interference is to use make multiple channels available across the network. The challenge of doing so is then to plan and assign frequencies using the most optimal configuration; one where both the co-channel
and adjacent channel interference is minimized. Using the AFPP Planning tool, you can achieve this goal. NOTE: In multi-channel scenarios, only non-segmented frames are supported.
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Workflow for automatic frequency and cell ID planning
Step 1
Create a group of sites that you will use for your interference matrix, neighbor list, and frequency or physical cell ID planning. See Chapter 1, Working with Sites and Sectors, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Create an interference matrix and a neighbor list using the same group of sites. See Chapter 7, Working with Interference Matrices, and Chapter 8, Working with Neighbor Lists, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. Define settings and create a frequency or physical cell ID plan. See Creating a frequency or physical cell ID plan. Apply the frequency or physical cell ID plan to the sectors in your network. See Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors.
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Creating a frequency plan

To create a frequency or physical cell ID plan with the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool, you must first choose a group of sites, and an interference matrix, and a neighbor list. The Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool looks at the weightings contained in the interference matrix to determine the co-channel and adjacent channel interference. It then assigns a violation cost when the thresholds you have defined are breached. You can save the current frequency or physical cell ID assignments for your sectors as a plan, and make the plan available under the LTE Frequency and Physical Cell ID Plans node in the Project Explorer. For more information on how to create a group of sites, see Chapter 1, Working with Sites and Sectors, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. For more information on interference matrices, see Chapter 7, Working with Interference Matrices, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. For more information on neighbor lists, see Chapter 8, Working with Neighbor Lists, in the Mentum Planet User Guide. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
To create a frequency plan 1

In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click the LTE FDD node and choose New. The LTE FDD Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box opens.
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Click any of the following tabs and define the required parameters:
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Generalallows you to define the name, frequency band and group to plan for. You can also specify the neighbor list and interference matrix you want to use. Frequency allows you to define the interference thresholds, the carrier allocation costs as well as solution criteria. This tab is only available when you choose the Frequency Plan or Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan option on the General tab. Physical Cell IDallows you to define the additional constraints for physical cell ID planning. This tab is only available when you choose the Physical Cell ID Plan or the Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Plan option on the General tab. Progressallows you to view the progress and messages that occur during the creation of the plan. You can also see the cost associated with the initial plan as well as the cost associated with the plan generated at each iteration. This is useful because you can
see whether the tool has completed sufficient iterations to create a plan that meets your requirements.
Click one of the following buttons:

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To save the frequency or physical cell ID plan, click Save. To create a frequency plan or physical cell ID plan, click Generate. This button is not available when there are no interference matrices in the project. To close the dialog box without saving a frequency or physical cell ID plan, click Cancel.
TIP: You can copy an existing frequency or physical cell ID plan using the Save Copy As command available by right-clicking an existing frequency or physical cell ID plan and choosing Save Plan As. This can be useful if you want to experiment with different scenarios.
To save current frequency and physical cell ID assignments 1

In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click LTE Frequency and Physical Cell ID Plans and choose Save Current. In the Save Current Network As dialog box, do the following:
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In the Plan Name box, type a name for the plan. From the Frequency Band list, choose the frequency for which you want to create a plan.
Click OK. The frequency and physical cell ID plan is added to the LTE Frequency and Physical Cell ID Plans node.
Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning

Use the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box to define the settings you want to use to create a frequency plan. Automatic frequency
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planning uses the settings that you define to create a plan automatically with the lowest cost that violates the fewest constraints. An optimal frequency plan efficiently reuses frequencies while minimizing the total interference experienced in a network. You can also create a physical cell ID plan. LTE supports 504 different physical cell IDs ranging from 0 to 503. The generation of a frequency or physical cell ID plan is realized through a series of iterations. Each iteration creates a plan.
General
Plan Nametype in this box a name for the frequency and physical Cell ID plan. This box is unavailable when you are viewing the properties of an existing plan. Group to Planchoose from this list the sector group for which you want to plan frequencies and/or physical cell IDs. To plan for all sectors, choose All Sectors. This box is unavailable when you are viewing the properties of an existing plan. Generally, the group to consider will encompass a larger area then the group to plan but will include the area covered by the sectors for which you are planning frequencies. Frequency Bandchoose from this list the frequency band for which to create the frequency plan.
Interference Matrix
Namechoose from this list the interference matrix you want to use in the planning process. Absolute Costchoose this option to use the affected area or the affected traffic from the interference matrix as displayed. Using this option results in a more optimal distribution of CNIR (weighted by area or traffic) Relative Costchoose this option to use the affected area or the affected traffic from the interference matrix as a percentage.
Plan Generation Option

Frequency Planchoose this option to generate a frequency plan only.
Physical Cell ID Planchoose this option to generate a physical cell ID plan only. Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Planchoose this option to generate both a frequency plan and a physical cell ID plan.
Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning Frequency

Use this tab to define interference thresholds and carrier allocation costs to be used by the frequency planning algorithm. The carrier spacing between any two carriers is calculated according to their center frequencies. A constraint is violated if the separation between two carriers assigned to the same sector or site is less than the predefined minimum separation. This tab is not visible when you choose the Physical Cell ID option on the General tab.
Interference Threshold
Use this section to define interference thresholds and associated violation costs to be used by the frequency planning algorithm. These settings represent the amount of interference between any two sectors in terms of cochannel and adjacent channel interference. By default, the relative affected area or relative affected traffic value is used to evaluate the level of interference between a pair of sectors. If the plan you are creating is encompasses more than a single carrier, the Adjacent Channel row is not available. Threshold (%)click in this field to define the maximum amount of interference allowed before a violation cost is incurred. Violation Costclick in this field to define the cost incurred when the threshold is surpassed.
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Carrier Allocation Cost

Same Sectortype in this box the violation cost incurred when the associated carrier separation is violated on the same sector. This setting represents the minimum separation between carriers that are assigned to the same sector. The separation unit is a carrier bandwidth (i.e., a separation of 2 equals two carrier bandwidths). The minimum same sector carrier separation is 1. If a sector needs more than one carrier , the minimum separation between carriers is 1 x carrier bandwidth. The same carrier will not be used twice by the same sector. Same Sitetype in this box the violation cost incurred when the associated carrier separation is violated on the same site. This setting represents the minimum separation between carriers that are assigned to the same site. The separation unit is a carrier bandwidth (i.e., a separation of 2 equals two carrier bandwidths). Addclick this button to add a row to the Carrier Allocation Cost table. Removeclick this button to remove the Carrier Allocation Cost table. Keep Existing Carrier Assignmentsenable this check box if you want to keep the existing carrier assignments.
Algorithm Ending
Manualchoose this option to stop the planning process by clicking Stop or when the maximum number of runs has been reached. Convergencechoose this option to stop the planning process using the convergence criteria you define. The algorithm will stop when one of the three defined criteria is met. Minimum Number of Runstype in this box the minimum number of iterations you want to generate. Maximum Number of Runstype in this box the maximum number of iterations you want to generate whether convergence is reached or not. Required Convergence Leveltype in this box the required level of convergence in order to end the planning process.
Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning Physical Cell ID Planning Optimization
Use Same Cell Identity Group for Co-Site Sectorsenable this check box to assign the same cell identity group to co-site sectors. Avoid Same Physical Cell ID for Neighbor Sectorsenable this check box to eliminate or minimize instances where the same physical cell ID is assigned to neighboring sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost is incurred in the frequency planning process. Different Downlink Reference Signal Sequencesenable this check box to use different reference signal sequences on the downlink. When you choose this option, the algorithm assigns physical cell IDs so that different downlink reference signal sequences will be used by interfering sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost is incurred in the frequency planning process. Different Uplink Reference Signal Sequencesenable this check box to use different reference signal sequences on the uplink. When you choose this option, the algorithm assigns physical cell IDs so that different uplink reference signal sequences will be used by interfering sectors. When this constraint is violated, a cost is incurred in the frequency planning process. Neighbor Planchoose from this list the neighbor plan you want to use in the frequency and physical cell ID planning process. Carrierchoose from this list the carrier you want to use in the frequency and physical cell ID planning process. Keep Existing Physical Cell ID Assignmentsenable this check box if you want to retain existing Physical Cell ID assignments. By keeping existing Physical Cell ID assignments, you may preserve PCIDs that are reserved if you apply reserved values to all assignments. Reserve Physical Cell IDtype in this box the Physical Cell ID numbers you want to exclude from the planning process and then choose how you want the reserved PCIDs applied. You can type reserved physical cell ID numbers separated by a comma (e.g., 5,6,7) or you can enter a range (e.g., 5-7).
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All Assignmentschoose this option to reserve the specified PCIDs when assigning PCID values to any sector (whether it is a sector currently assigned a PCID or it is a sector without an assigned PCID). New Assignments Only choose this option to reserve the specified PCIDs when assigning PCID values to sectors that do not currently have PCIDs assigned. The reserved PCIDs will not be respected when assigning PCIDs to sectors with existing PCIDs.
Algorithm Ending
Manualchoose this option if you want to click Stop to end the planning process. As the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning tool works to generate a solution, the Generate button changes to a Stop button. Clicking this button will end the planning process. Convergencechoose this option to define the end point of the planning process and define the convergence criteria. Minimum Number of Runstype in this box the minimum number of iterations you want to generate. Maximum Number of Runstype in this box the maximum number of iterations you want to generate whether convergence is reached or not. Required Convergence Leveltype in this box the required level of convergence in order to end the planning process.
Setting up general frequency and physical cell ID planning parameters

Before generating a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you must define general planning settings such as the plan name, specify the group to plan for, as well as the neighbor list and interference matrix to use in the planning process.
To set up general frequency and physical cell ID parameters 1 2 3

In the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box, click the General tab. In the Plan Name box, define a name for the plan. From the Groups To Plan list, choose the group for which you want to plan or, to plan for all sectors in the project, choose All Sectors. From the Frequency Band list, choose the band for which you want to generate a plan. In the Interference Matrix section, from the Name list, choose the interference matrix that you want to use in the planning process. In the Interference Matrix section, choose one of the following options:
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Absolute Costuses the affected area from the interference matrix (in kilometers squared) and results in a more optimal distribution of CNIR (weighted by area or traffic) Relative Costuses the affected area from the interference matrix (as a percentage).
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To use a neighbor list, enable the Neighbor List check box and, from the associated list, choose the neighbor list you want to use. In the Plan Generation Option section, choose one of the following options:
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Frequency Planto generate only a frequency plan Physical Cell ID Planto generate only a physical cell ID plan Frequency Plan and Physical Cell ID Planto generate both a frequency plan and a physical cell ID plan
Generating and viewing a frequency or physical cell ID plan

Once you have generated a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you can define display options, choose which reports to view, save a report, and apply the plan to a project.
To generate a frequency or physical cell ID plan 1

In the Automatic Frequency and Physical Cell ID Planning dialog box, click Generate. The Generate button is unavailable if there are no interference matrices in the project.
2 3
To manually stop plan generation, click the Stop button. When the frequency or physical cell ID plan has stopped, click Save to save the frequency plan and Close to close the dialog box. In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click the frequency plan you just generated, and choose one of the following commands:
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View in Map Windowto view a display of carrier, physical cell IDs, physical cell ID groups, or physical layer identities associated with each sector in the Map window.This is useful when you want to determine co-PCI sectors. Display Reportto view the report in the Report Preview dialog box.
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Applying a frequency or physical cell ID plan to sectors

After you create a frequency or physical cell ID plan, you can apply it to the sectors in the group that you used to create the frequency or physical cell ID plan. You can also remove any existing carrier assignments from the sectors in the group.
To apply a frequency plan to sectors 1 2

In the Project Explorer, in the RF Tools category, right-click the frequency plan you just generated, and choose Apply . In the Information dialog box, click Yes.
TIP: To view the settings used to generate the frequency plan, right-click the frequency or physical cell ID plan and choose Properties.
CHAPTER 14 Working With The Tabular Editor

A key stage of network planning revolves around the analysis of network data and the subsequent updates to network and site parameters that eventually produce a network model with which you are satisfied. The Tabular Editor is a powerful tool that you can use to globally edit project parameters. This chapter covers the following topics:
Working with the Tabular Editor
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Working with the Tabular Editor

Using the Tabular Editor, you can quickly and easily modify project data. By freezing panes, you can compare values and analyze results. Information is organized on separate worksheets (see Figure 14.1). The worksheets and columns that the Tabular Editor displays depends on how you open the dialog box. For example, you can open the Tabular Editor from the Sites node in the Project Data category and view all site, sector, and antenna information. Or, you can open it from the Link Configuration node to view only the link configurations contained in your project. If custom data columns have been created by the Data Manager Administrator, these columns will be available on the Sites and/or Sectors worksheets in the Tabular Editor after you have connected to Data Manager Server. You can add values or edit existing custom column data using the Tabular Editor.
Figure 14.1: Tabular Editor displaying project worksheets NOTE: If you want to globally edit network settings, you must use the Import/Export Wizard. Network settings are not visible in the Tabular Editor.
To edit sites, flags, or link configurations 1

In the Project Explorer, do any of the following:
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To edit site parameters, in the Sites category, right-click the Sites node and choose Tabular Edit.
Working With The Tabular Editor
To edit Flags, in the Sites category, right-click the Sites node and choose Tabular Edit. To edit link configurations, in the Project Data category, right-click Link Configurations and choose Tabular Edit.
To modify data, in the Tabular Editor, do any of the following:

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Double-click in a table cell and type a new value. Click the down arrow in a table cell and choose a new value. Enable or clear the check box for the chosen setting. Right-click in a table cell to copy and paste data. Click the down arrow next to a table heading to display all the data or a particular subset. When a filter has been applied, the down arrow changes to the filter icon.
To change the Tabular Editor display, do any of the following:

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Click the Change Options button to specify which worksheets and columns to display in the Tabular Editor. Click the Sort Ascending button to reorder the rows based on the data in the selected column. Click the Sort Descending button to reorder the rows based on the data in the selected column. Place the pointer between column headings to increase or decrease the size of the column. Enable the Freeze Panes check box to lock rows and columns in one area so that they remain visible when you scroll. This is useful, for example, if you want to freeze a particular column and then scroll through subsequent columns comparing the values.
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To copy data to the clipboard, click the Copy To Clipboard button. To paste from the clipboard, click the Paste From Clipboard button.
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To view statistics on column data, choose one or more data columns and click the Generate Statistics button. The Generated Statistics dialog box opens where you can view statistical information for each column you chose.
To display labels in the Map window based on column data, click a tab in the Tabular Editor that contains site or sector columns, choose a data column, and click the Generate Labels button. Labels are displayed in the Map window at each site.
When you have finished modifying or examining the data, click Close.
NOTE: There are some columns that you cannot edit in the Tabular Editor. These columns are grayed out.
TIP: To quickly copy a value across all rows in a column in the Tabular Editor, type the new value in the first cell of the column, click the column header to select the column, and press CTRL+D. Then, click outside the column to make the updates. Click Apply to save your changes.
TIP: To update displayed information with current data, click the Refresh button. This update may be longer than when you click Apply because all data is recomputed.
CHAPTER 15 Importing And Exporting Data

You can import and export project data using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls or .xlsx) or comma separated value (.csv) files. This is useful when you want to analyze data and, based on your analysis, edit site, sector, and network parameters. This chapter covers the following topics:
Importing, replacing, and exporting project data Importing network data into Mentum Planet projects
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Importing, replacing, and exporting project data

Using the Import/Export Wizard, you can view project data in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (.xls or .xlsx) or comma separated value (.csv) files. When you export data from your project to a spreadsheet, individual worksheets are created in the .xls file or .xlsx for each category of project data. When you export project data to .csv files, a folder is created containing individual .csv files for each project data category. You can choose the types of project data that you want to import or export. For example, you could import or export only site and sector location data, but not the detailed sector settings. You can also import or export project data only for specific sectors. You can use the Import/Export command-line utility (iecon.exe) to export Mentum Planet data to an .xls file, .xlsx, .csv file, or database. You can then make changes to the data and use iecon.exe again to import the data back into Mentum Planet or Data Manager. The iecon.exe utility is useful if you want to automate the import and export of data using scripts (e.g., if you want to make Mentum Planet data accessible to other systems via a database or import updates to projects from another source). See Appendix A: Import/Export Command-Line Utility in the Data Manager Server Administrator Guide. When you use the iecon utility to import sites and sectors, you must always include the Summary.csv file in the data import. Preferences. In TIP: To specify the Import/Export Excel file format, choose Edit the User Preferences dialog box, in the tree view, choose Miscellaneous. In the Import Export Settings section, choose the default Excel file extension (i.e., the Excel 2007-2003 format (.xls) or the new Excel Workbook format (.xlsx)).
CAUTION: If your project is stored in Data Manager, and you export it and reimport it using the Import/Export tool, Data Manager will treat it as a new project if you use the Replace All Data option. In this case, if you want to continue using the existing project, you must merge the new project into the existing project. See Chapter 2, Using Data Manager in the Data Manager User Guide.
Importing data
You can use .xls, .xlsx or .cvs files to add or remove sites, edit project settings, and then import the new or updated data. Each worksheet in an .xls file, .xlsx or each .csv file you use to import project data must contain the required and mandatory columns, and must be formatted correctly for the type of data in a column (i.e., text or numeric). Unless you specifically request that data be replaced on import, data is
Importing And Exporting Data
never removed from a project when you use the Import Wizard. For example, if the worksheet or .csv file from which you are importing does not contain all of the sectors currently in your project, only the sectors listed in the worksheet or .csv file are updated in the project. The other sectors in your project are not affected by the Import Wizard. If you are working with a large project and only want to update specific project data, you can import individual worksheets or .csv files, and include only the sites or sectors that require updating or are being added. For descriptions of worksheets or .csv files and the columns they contain, valid values and ranges, and an indication of required and mandatory columns, see the Import Export Table Parameters folder in the Mentum Planet Help folder. TIP: To ensure the proper worksheet or .csv file format when importing, use previously exported .xls, .xlsx or .csv files to edit or update project data.
Replacing data
When you import data, you can choose to replace specific data. This can be useful, for example, if:
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you want to delete sites from your project. When you delete a site, however, you must delete the site from all dependent worksheets. you want to change the prefix used in the site IDs (e.g., from Site to Ott). When you change site IDs, however, you must change the site ID on all dependent worksheets. you want to share and merge project data.
Exporting data
When you export data to a spread sheet, individual worksheets are created in the .xls or .xlsx file for each category of project data. When you export data to a .csv file, a folder is created containing individual .csv files for each category of project data. In addition, a Summary worksheet or .csv file is also created for the exported project. For descriptions of the data types that can be exported, and the corresponding location (dialog box) of the field in the Mentum Planet graphical user interface, see the Import Export Table Parameters folder in the Mentum Planet Help folder.
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By default, when you export data, the site coordinates are saved in the Longitude/Latitude (WGS 84) projection and the sector coordinates are saved in the projection specified when you originally created the project. If you import an exported .xls file, .xlsx or .csv files, only the site and sector coordinate systems are imported from the Summary worksheet or .csv file.
To export project data 1

Do any of the following:
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If you want to export project data for all sites and sectors, choose Data Export. If you want to export project data for individual sites, sectors, or groups, in the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, choose one or more groups, sites, or sectors, right-click and choose Export. If you want to export repeater data, in the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the Repeaters node, and choose Export. If you want to export project data based on enabled flag conditions, in the Project Explorer, in the Sites category, right-click the Flags node, and choose Export.
The Export Wizard opens.
On the Data Selection page, in the Tables list, enable the check boxes for each of the tables that you want to export. Each selected table is exported to an individual worksheet in an Excel file or a single comma separated value file. For example, if you enable only Sites and Sectors, then only the basic site and sector information will be exported. When you enable the Sectors check box in the Tables box, by default, the Bin File Name, the Bin Hash Code, the Signal Strength File Name, and the Signal Strength Hash Code columns are not enabled (i.e., they are cleared).
In the Columns list, for each of the tables that you chose in Step 2, enable the check boxes for each of the columns that you want to export. Click Next. On each page of the Wizard define the required parameters. On the last page of the Wizard, clickFinish.
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To import project data

When you import data, the coordinate systems (along with the distance and height units) are imported from the Summary worksheet or .csv file and, if required, sites and sectors are reprojected automatically. A list of supported projections is contained in the mapinfo.prj file located in the <Mentum Planet installation folder>\mapinfo folder. Additional information about projections can be found in Appendix B, Elements of a Coordinate System in the MapInfo Professional User Guide. CAUTION: All values in the Excel file from which you are importing must use the default units indicated in the worksheet column names, and the file must contain required and mandatory columns.
If you want to import general site, sector and project data, choose Data Import Project Data. The Import Wizard opens.
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On the File Location page, do one of the following:

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If you want to import project data from an .xls or .xlsx file, choose the Microsoft Excel option. If you want to import project data from a folder of .csv files, choose the Comma Separated Values Text Files option.
Click Browse, and do one of the following:

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If you chose the Microsoft Excel option in Step 2, navigate to the .xls or .xlsx file containing the data you want to import, and click Open. If you chose the Comma Separated Values Text Files option in Step 2, navigate to the folder containing the .csv files you want to import, and click OK.
Click Next. The Data Selection page lists the tables available to import and options for replacing project data on import.
On the Data Selection page, enable the check boxes for each of the tables that you want to import. You can click Select All or Clear All to speed up the selection process.
If you want to overwrite existing data or remove data from a project, enable any of the following check boxes.
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All Datareplaces data in all categories listed in the Replace section. Groupsreplaces data listed in the Groups category. Flagsreplaces data listed in the Flags category. Site Datareplaces site data including data in the following categories: HSN Exceptions, Carrier Exceptions, Color Code Exceptions, Carrier Assignments, and Neighbor Relationships are also overwritten. Link Configurationsreplaces data listed on the link budget worksheet. Network Settingsreplaces network setting parameters. Environment Settingsreplaces all the parameters defined in the Environment Editor. Custom Definitionsreplaces all custom user data definitions defined in the project settings.
Before you replace data, click Compare Data to verify that the data being replaced is what is expected. When you replace data, the selected data is first deleted from the project and the new data is then imported into the project. Once data has been replaced, the original data cannot be recovered.
Click Finish. The project data you chose will be updated or added to your project. The Log dialog box displays the status of the import operation.
NOTE: Status messages are displayed cumulatively in the Log dialog box. Click the Export button to save the log messages to a text file. Click the Clear button to remove all messages from the Log dialog box.
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Importing network data into Mentum Planet projects

Network data is data collected from wireless network switching equipment. It contains information about network configuration and performance. You use the Network Data Import Wizard to bind network data to Mentum Planet data. The bound network data can then be used in Mentum Planet in traffic maps, interference matrices, neighbor lists, technology-specific features such as Automatic Frequency Preamble and Perm Base Planning tool, and for display purposes. Your network data must be in an Excel spreadsheet or tab-delimited text file. NOTE: Descriptions of relevant parameters are listed after the procedure or, if you are using the software, press F1 for the online Help.
Binding network data

Binding network data means mapping columns in the network data to Mentum Planet data columns. In the Network Data Import Wizard, you only need to specify whether you want to bind data based both the site ID and the sector ID or only on a sector property that contains unique values for each sector.
Viewing the results of data binding

Once you have mapped the network data to the Mentum Planet data, you can review it in the Report Preview dialog box. You can then create a sector display scheme for statistical data in order to view network data graphically on a map of your networks coverage area. Any numeric metric, for example, dropped calls or carried Erlangs, can be displayed.
To import network data 1

In the Project Explorer, in the OperationalData category, rightclick Network Data and choose New.
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Read the introduction and click Next. On the Choose How You Want The Data Bound page, choose one of the following options:
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Bind To Site ID/Sector IDbinds the SiteID and the Sector ID to columns in the network data file. Bind To Unique Sector Property binds a sector property when it contain unique values for each sector
Click in the header row and, from the list, choose the Mentum Planet data to which to bind the network data. A valid selection displays a green indicator.
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Once the data has been successfuly bound, click Finish. The Report Preview dialog box opens. The Mapping Status column indicates whether the data is mapped or not in the project.
In the Report Preview dialog box, modify the report display as required using the available toolbar buttons.
If you mapped network data to a sector property, you can create a sector display scheme to apply to network data by doing the following:
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Choose the sector property for which you want to create a sector display scheme. Click the Generate Sector Display Scheme button.
Define a name for the sector display scheme and, in the Sector Display Scheme dialog box, define the parameters upon which you want the scheme to be based. To view the network data upon which the scheme is based, click the Data button. Network data is added to the Operational Data category in the Project Explorer.
CHAPTER 16 Establishing Height Benchmarks

Mentum Planet includes tools you can use to verify if sites or sectors in the network comply with FCC regulations. This chapter covers the following topics:
Establishing height benchmarks Interpreting results
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Establishing height benchmarks

The height benchmarking tools in Mentum Planet determine if sites or sectors in the network comply with FCC regulation 27.1221 for interference protection. The regulation defines the rules for the allowable site height based on the proximity of a site to regulatory boundaries as well as HAAT calculations. Details of the height benchmarking are contained in the height benchmarking tables (i.e., All_Radials.tab, Failing_Radials_Summary.tab, and the Site_Summary.tab). See Interpreting results. Two methods of height benchmarking are available:
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Closest pointusing this method you can establish the height benchmarks from a sector or group of sectors to the nearest edge of the selected polygon. The height benchmarking report details which sites and sectors are non-compliant and lists the reasons why. See To establish height benchmarks for the closest point. Multi-radialusing this method you are able to analyze compliance specifics of a given site and account for exclusion zones such as water or political boundaries. This can be useful, for example, in all areas where inland water or geo-political boundaries comprise the boundary of the GSA service boundary. The height benchmarking report details which individual radials from sites and sectors are non compliant and lists the reasons why. See To establish height benchmarks along multiple radials.
To establish height benchmarks for the closest point 1

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Draw a polygon that covers the area where you want benchmarks calculated, double-clicking on the end point. Open a table that contains a polygon that depicts the service area.
On the Main toolbar, click the Select button and click the polygon.
Establishing Height Benchmarks
Choose Tools Point.
FCCHeightBenchmarking
Closest
The FCC_HeightBenchmark table opens in a Browser window.
To establish height benchmarks along multiple radials

Sectors must be within the service area. Radial calculations will stop at the service area boundary.

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To generate height benchmarks for selected sites, in the Map window, select one or more sites. To generate height benchmarks for a sector group, choose Tools FCCHeightBenchmarking Multi Radial.
In the Sector Selection dialog box, choose the sectors for which you want to establish height benchmarks and click OK.
In the HBM Analysis Settings dialog box, define required parameters and click OK.
New NOTE: To view height benchmarking details, choose Window Browser Window and open the All_Radials, Failing_Radials, or Site_Summary tables.
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TIP: In order to ensure that the exclusion area polygon has the identical polyline construction as the target area, you can use MapInfo editing tools to modify the polyline construction accordingly.
Interpreting results
The Mentum Planet multi-radial height benchmarking tool produces the following tables. Tables are saved in the HBM Multi-Radial Analysis folder within the project folder. A user-defined prefix is appended to the table name.
All_Radials.tab
This table provides a list of all radials in the calculation and related data. The output radial lines are colored based on the field Delta. A positive delta indicates the site is compliant along this radial. A negative Delta indicates the amount (in meters) the site would need to be lowered to become compliant. The color of the lines is provided to indicate the degree of noncompliance. See How to interpret radial color. This table includes the following information:
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Site IDthe site identification Sector IDthe sector identification Longitude Latitude Radial_Incradial increments Elevation_m the elevation (m) at the sector Antenna_Heightthe height of the antenna Boundary_Distance_km the minimum distance from the sector to the boundary of the polygon Height_Benchmarkthe height benchmark is calculated as where the boundary distance is in kilometers. HAAT_m the height above average terrain (HAAT) in meters. Deltathe difference between the HATT and the height benchmark value. Failing_Radialsindication whether a radial from a site or sector is non-compliant (T/F).
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Exclusion_Zoneindication whether a radial from a site or sector is part of an exclusion zone.
Failing_Radials_Summary.tab
This table provides a list of non-compliant radials in the calculation and related data. It includes all the information contained in the All_Radials.tab but includes only those sites and sectors that are non-compliant.
Site_Summary
This table provides details on the site status (passed/failed). It includes the following columns:
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Site IDthe site identification Sector IDthe sector identification Longitude Latitude Num_Radialsthe number of radials used in calculations. Failing_Radialsthe number of radials that are non-compliant. Passedidentifies those sites that are compliant and those that are not.
How to interpret radial color

Height benchmarking results are color coded. The color of a radial indicates the degree of infraction as shown in Table 1. Elongated dashed lines indicate that the radial has crossed an exclusion zone. An example is shown in Figure 16.1.
Figure 16.1: Example illustrating radial color-coding. Table 1 Color codes for radials generated by the height benchmarking tools Color Code Green Yellow Light Orange Orange Light Red Red Degree of Infraction (Value of the Delta) Greater than 0 -5 to -10 -10 to -15 -15 to -20 -10 to -25 -25 or less
TIP: MapInfo data can be visualized, queried and edited using standard MapInfo GIS tools
Appendix A Mentum Planet File Types

When you design a wireless network using Mentum Planet, you will encounter the file types described in this appendix. This appendix covers the following topics:
Understanding project folders and files
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Appendix A
Understanding project folders and files

When you design a wireless network using Mentum Planet, you will encounter the file types described in the tables below.
Project files
File .algr .curve .flt Description An antenna algorithm file saved, by default, in the Antenna Algorithm folder with the project folder. A file created in the Curve Editor and stored in the Curves folder within the project folder. A binary file containing the filter loss and frequency offset for each sector and each equipment type as defined in the Filter Loss dialog box. A frequency plan file. A Planet Antenna Format file saved in the Antennas folder within the project folder. A compressed file that contains at a minimum an .xml file with the necessary instructions and structure. A binary file containing the filter loss and frequency offset for each sector and each equipment type as defined in the Filter Loss dialog box.
.fpp .paf .pex .flt
Mentum Planet File Types
Output files
File .grd /.tab Description A numeric grid file that is always accompanied by an associated .tab file. The .grd file contains the raw grid and color information. The .tab file is required by MapInfo Professional to open and register the grid image. The .tab file also contains metadata of the grid data. A grid file that contains integer (not numeric) data. It is also referred to as a classified grid. The .tab file is required by MapInfo to open and register the grid image. The .tab file also contains metadata on the settings of the grid data. An interference matrix file. A neighbor list file. A contour color profile with specific break points (ranges) that are applied when you convert a grid to a vector contour map. A text file containing point-to-point profile settings (including data files), antenna pattern and azimuth, sector, and receiver values.
.grc /.tab
.imx .nl .pfc .pfr
MapInfo files
File .map .id .dat .tda .tin .tma Description Map file for objects associated with .tab files (see Output files). ID of objects associated with .tab file. Data file associated with .tab or .xml file. Intermediate file generated by MapInfo when edits have not been saved. Serves as an intermediate save. Handled only by MapInfo. Intermediate file generated by MapInfo when edits have not been saved. Serves as an intermediate save. Handled only by MapInfo. Intermediate file generated by MapInfo when edits have not been saved. Serves as an intermediate save. Handled only by MapInfo.

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Features of Mentum Planet Using this documentation Contacting Mentum

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Features of Mentum Planet

Traffic Map Generator

Interference Matrix Generator

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Neighbor Plan Generator

Network Data Import Wizard

Survey Data tool

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Automatic Cell Planning tool

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Using this documentation

User documentation updates

help on all dialog boxes procedures for using the software

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an extensive Mentum Planet documentation library in PDF format

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Whats This? Help

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Name box, type Elevation.grd.

bright blue text

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Getting technical support

Figure 1.1: Abbreviated list of support options

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Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Asia Pacific (excluding Japan)

Send us your comments

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CHAPTER 2 Overview Of Mentum Planet Planning

Network planning modeling best practices

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Network planning modeling best practices

balancing coverage, quality, and capacity minimizing costs and complexity

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Forecasting Network Traffic

Forecasting network traffic

Predicting the traffic of a target market

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Traffic model outputs

Transforming census information into a traffic map

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Forecasting Network Traffic

Difficult to use with standard models

Difficult to use with standard models