Downlink Frequency-Selective

Scheduling

Feature Description

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Copyright

© Ericsson AB 2016-2018. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be

reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Disclaimer

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continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall
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 Contents

Contents

1 Overview 1

2 Dependencies 3

3 Feature Operation 5
3.1 Feature Operation Details 5
3.2 Process Steps for Downlink Scheduling 8

4 Network Impact 10

5 Parameters 11

6 Performance 12

7 Activate 14

8 Deactivate 15

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Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

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1 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling
Overview

Scheduling is a main function in the management of radio resources. The

Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature enables the allocation of
spectrum parts to a user. This can result in improved cell capacity and coverage.
Access Type: LTE
Feature Identity: FAJ 121 2053
Value Package Name: LTE Base Package
Value Package Identity: FAJ 801 0400
Node Type: Baseband Radio Node
DU Radio Node
Licensing: Licensed feature. One license is
required for each node.

Summary
The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature enables allocating a
certain part of the spectrum to a user, based on several criteria.

In a wideband transmission as in LTE, the radio link quality varies over time, and
also varies within the frequencies of the transmission bandwidth. Figure 1
illustrates an example that shows the realization of the variations. The
frequency-dependent variations can improve cell capacity and coverage when
performing downlink scheduling for a transmission to a UE.

Cell capacity and coverage can be improved by selectively scheduling the active
UEs in different parts of the band where their channel qualities are better. At a
schedule time instance, the Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature
relies on multi-user diversity in the frequency domain to provide cell edge and
average cell throughput improvements.

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

Channel realization

30
Gain-to-Interference ratio (dB)

25

20

15

10

0
100
90
80
70 600
60 500
50
400
40
30 300
Frequency (MHz) 20 200
10 100 Time (ms)
0 0

L0000645A

Figure 1 Channel Realization Example

When possible, the Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature provides

each user with time-frequency resources that are better than the average
channel quality.

Additional Information
More information about this feature and related topics can be found in the
following documentation:

— Scheduler

— 3GPP TS 36.331, TS 36.211, TS 36.212 and TS 36.213

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2 Dependencies of Downlink Frequency-
Selective Scheduling

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature requires the QoS - Aware

Scheduler feature and is related to ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation.

Table 1 Feature Dependencies

Feature Relationship Description
QoS-Aware Scheduler Prerequisite The QoS-Aware Scheduler feature must be active
prior to introducing the Downlink Frequency-
Selective Scheduling feature.
ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation Related If the ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation
feature is activated by setting the ICIC -
Autonomous Resource Allocation
EUtranCellFDD.dlInterferenceManagementActiv
e or
EUtranCellTDD.dlInterferenceManagementActiv
e MO attribute to TRUE. The randomly selected
starting location of the physical resource block for
resource allocation is ignored. However, the
proportion of the downlink bandwidth to be used by
the downlink scheduler specified by the
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProporti
on or
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProporti
on MO attribute is still respected.
If the ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation
feature is disabled, the manually specified starting
location of the physical resource block using the
EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart
or
EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart
MO attribute for resource allocation is ignored.
However, the proportion of the downlink bandwidth
to be used by the downlink scheduler specified by
the
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProporti
on or
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProporti
on parameter is still respected.
Scheduler Related The scheduler considers frequency-selective
channel quality information when allocating
resources for data. The data is associated with a
QCI configured to use the Frequency Selective
resource allocation strategy.

Hardware
No special hardware requirement is expected for this feature.

Limitations
The performance of the Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature can be
affected by the accuracy of the measurement of UE on downlink channel. The
reported sub-band channel quality values still represent the actual channel
condition at the time of the downlink data transmissions.

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

The effectiveness of the feature is also limited by the quantization on the sub-
band channel quality report as described in 3GPP TS36.213, Section 7.2.1.

Network Requirements
This is a licensed feature. This means that for the feature to be operational, a
valid license key must be installed and the feature must be explicitly activated by
setting a MOM attribute.

The following must be fulfilled at feature activation:

— The QoS-Aware Scheduler feature license must be activated.

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3 Feature Operation of Downlink Frequency-
Selective Scheduling

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature modifies the default

Scheduler to all resources based on frequency-selective channel quality
information.

Operation Process
The process steps of the scheduling algorithm are based on the default scheduler,
but the following parameters cannot be used:
— EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart

— EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart

If the EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart or the

EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart MO attribute must be used,
the Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature has to be deactivated.

3.1 Feature Operation Details

Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling means that the spectrum allocation
decisions for PDSCH transmissions are based on frequency-dependent channel
knowledge. The frequency awareness, introduced in the Downlink Frequency-
Selective Scheduling feature, allows the scheduler to prioritize which users
should be scheduled during a certain time interval. It also allows the scheduler to
decide which spectrum resources should be allocated to each of the users. Both
time and frequency dimensions are taken into account when resource allocation
decisions are made.

The A-periodic CQI that reports from the UE on its measurement of the downlink
channel is the fundamental information used to facilitate Downlink Frequency-
Selective Scheduling. See Figure 3. An A-periodic CQI report is sent on the PUSCH
when requested by the eNodeB. The report is requested when the UE has
downlink data to be scheduled and it contains both wideband and sub-band
channel quality values.

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

UE performs downlink channel measurement on the Reference symbols for CQI

report.

Re
fer
e nc
es
ym
bo
(PD CQ ls
CC I re
Ho po
rt
rP
Re US
so CH
urc )
e
(PD alloc
CC ati
H) on

Da
ta

eNodeB
with DL scheduler UE
L0000646A

Figure 3 CQI Reporting

By performing Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling, the downlink scheduler

attempts to maximize the spectral efficiency by scheduling each UE into a part of
the spectrum where the channel quality is better, based on the CQI report.

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature uses DCI message Format

1 for the following transmission modes:
— Downlink transmission mode 1

— Downlink transmission mode 2

— Downlink transmission mode 7

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature uses DCI Format 2A, 2

and 2B for the following transmission modes:
— Downlink transmission mode 3

— Downlink transmission mode 4

— Downlink transmission mode 8

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 Example 1 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling Feature Operation
Figure 3 shows a possible approach in scheduling three UEs.

Scheduling starts from the highest priority UE to the lowest priority UE and
resource allocation is limited to the UE sub-bands where the channel quality
measurement is higher. Sub-bands S5 and S6 have been allocated to UE2, so
UE3 can only get allocation for sub-bands S0 and S2.

To ensure allocation effectiveness because of the overlap of UE sub-bands of

higher quality, it is recommended to have a larger number of UEs scheduled at
one time.

User 3 User 1 User 2

allocation allocation allocation

S0 S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6

User 1
UE Scheduling Priority

User 2

User 3

Frequency (Hz)
L0000647A

Figure 4 UE Allocation Based on Frequency Selective Channel Quality

Measurements

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

3.2 Process Steps for Downlink Scheduling

1. At the beginning of each TTI, the Downlink Scheduler receives the following
information:

• List of available PRBs

• Available downlink power in the cell

• PDCCH resources

• Logical channels with data to transmit

• Estimate of current radio conditions (channel quality)

• Number of OFDM symbols for user data

2. If resources are available, the Scheduler checks the Baseband capacity.

3. A UE to be scheduled is validated to ensure that it is available for receiving

data and it is synchronized.

4. A UE to be scheduled is chosen based on the priority and scheduling weight

of its radio bearers. As the Downlink Scheduler has full observability over all
radio bearers (logical channels), it can determine the exact radio bearers that
transmit data in one subframe.

5. If the Low Energy Scheduler Solution feature is activated and predefined

conditions are satisfied, remaining scheduling procedures can be skipped on
that TTI. For more information, see Low Energy Scheduler Solution.

6. If a UE is validated, the Scheduler assigns an appropriate number of PRBs to

the UE. PRBs are allocated from lower frequencies to higher, that is from left
to right.

The proportion of the downlink bandwidth used by the downlink Scheduler

can be configured using MOM attribute
EUtranCellFDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion or
EUtranCellTDD.dlFrequencyAllocationProportion. The allocation can
start anywhere within the available range, and wraps around if reaching the
end of the range.

When ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation is enabled in downlink, using

MOM attribute EUtranCellFDD.dlInterferenceManagementActive or
EUtranCellTDD.dlInterferenceManagementActive, the starting location
of the PRB for resource allocation is selected randomly.

When ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation is disabled in downlink, the

start frequency offset for the allocation can be specified as a percentage
using MOM attribute EUtranCellFDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart or
EUtranCellTDD.dlConfigurableFrequencyStart.

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 Note: Using only a fraction of downlink bandwidth can affect downlink
peak throughput and capacity negatively.

For more information, see ICIC - Autonomous Resource Allocation.

7. The downlink Scheduler receives reports on CQI as feedback on channel

quality. The CQI is sent in uplink on PUCCH or PUSCH. PUSCH provides
reports with high frequency for each sub-band when there is data to
transmit. PUCCH gives wide band average reports with low frequency to
track pathloss when there is no data to transmit to the UE.

The number of CQI resources available on the PUCCH can be configured with
MO attribute EUtranCellFDD.noOfPucchCqiUsers or
EUtranCellTDD.noOfPucchCqiUsers.

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

4 Network Impact of Downlink Frequency-

Selective Scheduling

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature is allocating parts of a

spectrum to a user, which can have a positive impact on capacity and coverage.
The allocation process enables a more efficient distribution of network resources.

Capacity and Performance

The frequency awareness, introduced in the Downlink Frequency-Selective
Scheduling feature, allows the scheduler to prioritize which users need to be
scheduled during a certain time interval. The feature also allows the scheduler to
decide which spectrum resources need to be allocated to each of the users. Both
time and frequency dimensions are considered when resource allocation
decisions are made. The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature
provides coverage improvement with transmitting on sub-bands that have better
quality when serving cell edge users.

Interfaces
No impact.

Other Network Elements

No impact is expected from this feature.

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5 Parameters of Downlink Frequency-Selective
Scheduling

The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature introduces new MOM

parameters for configuration and affects already existing attributes.
Parameter Type Description
QciProfileOperatorDe Introduced See MOM description.
fined.dlResourceAllo
cationStrategy
QciProfilePredefined Introduced See MOM description.
.dlResourceAllocatio
nStrategy
EUtranCellFDD.dlInte Affected Specifies if the downlink
rferenceManagementAc interference
tive management is enabled
or disabled.
EUtranCellTDD.dlInte Affected Specifies if the downlink
rferenceManagementAc interference
tive management is enabled
or disabled.
EUtranCellFDD.dlConf Affected This parameter specifies
igurableFrequencySta the start frequency
rt offset for resources
allocation when the
downlink interference
management is disabled.
The parameter is
indicated as a
percentage of the
configured bandwidth,
EUtranCellTDD.dlConf Affected This parameter specifies
igurableFrequencySta the start frequency
rt offset for resources
allocation when the
downlink interference
management is disabled.
The parameter is
indicated as a
percentage of the
configured bandwidth,

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

6 Performance of Downlink Frequency-

Selective Scheduling

MOs connected to node functions contain attributes that are used to configure
the Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling feature

KPIs
The table lists the main KPIs associated with the feature, and the expected
impact.

Table 2 Key Performance Indicators

KPI Description
Downlink Throughput The Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling
feature can provide cell edge and average cell
throughput improvements.

Counters

— pmRadioUeRepCqiSubband0Sum to

pmRadioUeRepCqiSubband12Sum

— pmRadioUeRepCqiSubbandSamp

— pmRadioUeRepCqi2Subband0Sum to pmRadioUeRepCqi2Subband12Sum

— pmRadioUeRepCqi2SubbandSamp

Events

Table 3 Events
Event Event Parameter Description
INTERNAL_PER_RADIO_CELL_ — EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI_SUBBAN Event and event parameters to
CQI_SUBBAND D[0..12] provide the data to obtain the
average CQI value of each sub-band
— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI2_SUBBA reported by UEs in the cell within the
ND[0..12] measurement period.

— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI_SUBBAN
D_SAMP

— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI2_SUBBA
ND_SAMP
INTERNAL_PER_UETR_RADIO_ — EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI_SUBBAN
CELL_CQI_SUBBAND D[0..12]
— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI2_SUBBA
ND[0..12]
Event and event parameters to
provide the data to obtain the
average CQI value of each sub-band
reported by UEs in the cell within the
measurement period.

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 Event Event Parameter Description
— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI_SUBBAN
D_SAMP

— EVENT_PARAM_PER_UE_CQI2_SUBBA
ND_SAMP

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 Downlink Frequency-Selective Scheduling

7 Activate Downlink Frequency-Selective

Scheduling

To use the feature, it must be activated following the usual feature activation
procedure.

Prerequisites

— The license key is installed in the node.

— Continuous Cell Trace Recording (CCTR) is activated since at least one week.
This ensures there is troubleshooting data available if something goes
wrong.

Steps

1. Set the attribute FeatureState.featureState to ACTIVATED in the

applicable MO instance, depending on node type:

Node Type License Control MO

DU Radio Node OptionalFeatureLicense=DlFss
Baseband-based Node FeatureState=CXC4011255

After This Task

Let the CCTR be active for one week, for continued collection of troubleshooting
data.

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8 Deactivate Downlink Frequency-Selective
Scheduling

If the feature is no longer needed, it can be deactivated following the usual

feature deactivation procedure. It must also be deactivated before the activation
of any conflicting feature.

Prerequisites
Continuous Cell Trace Recording (CCTR) is activated since at least one week. This
ensures there is troubleshooting data available if something goes wrong.

Steps

1. Set the attribute FeatureState.featureState to DEACTIVATED in the

applicable MO instance, depending on node type:

Node Type License Control MO

DU Radio Node OptionalFeatureLicense=DlFss
Baseband-based FeatureState=CXC4011255

After This Task

Let the CCTR be active for one week, for continued collection of troubleshooting
data.

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