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Copyright 2008 AIRCOM International - All rights reserved. No part of this work, which is protected by copyright, may be reproducedin any form or by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or storage in an informationretrieval system without the written pe rmission of the copyright owner.

Technical Overview

OPTIMA Technical Overview

Release 6.0

Author: Neil DaviesDate: 22 January 2008

Ref: I-SM-SR-EM-OP-004Version: 2.0Status: Released

Sec. Class: Commercial in Confidence


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Commercial in Confidence

Author: Neil Davies OPTIMA Technical Overview Page 2 of 27Date: 22 January 2008 I-SM-SR-EM-OP-004 Copyright 2008 AIRCOM International

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Contents

1 Document Control ...............................................................................................................3 1.1 Revision History .................................................. .................................................. ......3 1.2 Reviewers ...................................................................................................................3

2 Introduction .................................................. .................................................. ......................4 3 Product Positioning .............................................................................................................5 4 Benefits of OPTIMA ............................................. .................................................. ..............7 5 Technical Solution ...............................................................................................................8

5.1 System Architecture ............................................ .................................................. ......8 5.1.1 Physical Architecture ..............................................................................................8 5.1.2 Central database server .........................................................................................9 5.1.3 Parsing/Loading Mediation Devices ......................................... ..............................9 5.1.4 Web Server (Optional) ......................................................................................... 10 5.1.5 OPTIMA Clients ................................................................................................... 10 5.1.6 OPTIMA Logical Architecture .............................................................................. 11

5.1.7 Architecture Key Features ................................................................................... 12 5.2 Vendor Interfaces .................................................................................................... 12 5.3 User Functions ............................................ .................................................. ........... 12

5.3.1 OPTIMA Inspector ............................................................................................... 13 5.3.2 Reporter ............................................................................................................... 15 5.3.3 OPTIMA Work Area ............................................................................................. 16 5.3.4 Database Explorer and Query Builder .............................................. ................... 17 5.3.5 Administration ...................................................................................................... 20 5.3.6 Summary and Busy Hour Calculations ............................................. ................... 20 5.3.7 Data Quality ......................................................................................................... 20 5.3.8 Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Mapping ....................................... ................... 21 5.3.9 Archiving .............................................................................................................. 21 5.3.10 Profiling ............................................................................................................ 21 5.3.11 Performance Alarm Management ......................................... ........................... 22

5.3.12 Performance Alarm Technical Implementation ............................................. ... 22 5.4 Server and Data Loading Platforms ........................................................................ 25 5.5 Client ........................................................................................................................ 25 5.6 Supported Data ........................................... .................................................. ........... 25 5.7 Data Storage ....................................... .................................................. ................... 26 5.8 Report Output Formats ....................................... .................................................. ... 26 5.9 Report Output Types ............................................................................................... 26 5.10 Report Scheduling ................................................................................................... 26 5.11 Graph Types ............................................................................................................ 26 5.12 Graph Output Formats ................................................ ............................................. 27


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1 Document Control

1.1 Revision HistoryRevisionNumber

Date Name Revision

1.0 18/09/2007 Neil Davies First Issue2.0 22/01/2008 Neil Davies Update based on comments Craig

Ledger

1.2 ReviewersReviewer Date FeedbackCraig Ledger 22/01/2008Steve Bowker 23/01/2008 OK for Release


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2 IntroductionOPTIMA is an advanced network performance monitoring tool, developed for operators ofmobile and fixed networks who require a fully integrated application with the ability to managedata from multi vendor, multi domain and multi technology networks. The OPTIMAperformance solution provides an integrated environment allowing an operator to proactivelyensure that customers receive good quality service over the networks. The solution supportsthe analysis and reporting requirements for all functions within the organisation including:

Day-to-day operational monitoring and problem identification. Network System Optimisation (network planning and development). Network benchmarking. Network Performance Management Reporting KPI and key data. Support of decision making activities. Performance data management and network correlation across different

network technologies and elements e.g. BSS, NSS, RAN, PS-CORE, VAS, IN Generation and management of performance related alarms.

The OPTIMA tool allows easy integration into northbound and southbound interfaces, such asfault management and inventory management.

OPTIMA has unprecedented flexibility, powerful functionality and an ease of use that make itthe ultimate tool for any operator looking to improve or enhance the performance of itsnetwork.

OPTIMA is perfectly suited to mobile and fixed network operators progressing to the nextgeneration of mobile and fixed technologies. OPTIMA fully supports 2G, 2.5G, 3G, includingHSPDA, 4G networks, including WiMAX, NGN and IP. The solutions open and configurablearchitecture means that it is readily configured for new technologies.

The success of an operators organisation depends on Quality of Service targets being met.OPTIMA provides the tool to ensure that this is done. It is a truly cost effective, valuableenhancement to an operators information system.


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3 Product PositioningOPTIMAs product position is represented on the Tele Management Forum(http://www.tmforum.org ), Telecoms Operations Map (TOM) model in the diagram below. Thegreen coloured portion shows where OPTIMA sits with typical outputs servicing wider

business functions indicated via the yellow arrows and orange boxes.

Figure 1: OPTIMA Positioning

In an increasingly competitive telecommunications market, it is vital that superior levels ofservice and quality are provided to end subscribers, thereby attracting new customers,reducing churn and simultaneously minimising costs. It is only possible to effectively manageand introduce change into the operational network if a complete understanding of the currentand past performance of your system is established.

OPTIMA monitors, logs and stores the network performance management information. Thisenables any employee, if granted with the relevant permissions, to gain a completeunderstanding of the current and past performance of the network.

For example, knowing the past three months dropped call statistics for a cluster of cell sites ina particular city can help benchmark engineering modifications. Daily and weekly droppedcall completion can be used after operational changes (for example change of frequencyplan) to the same cell sites to understand the improvements, or other, within the city.

By easily accessing and analysing invaluable performance data, it is possible to:

Identify poor network performance before this becomes customer affecting. Proactively resolve problems before customers become aware of them. Identify and respond quickly to change.


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Pinpoint accurately extra capacity requirements. Deploy network enhancements in a timely and cost effective manner. Predict future trends in the network or at any part of the network.

Some typical uses of OPTIMA for network operation and performance management are:

Daily reporting of network performance across all network elements including theradio and switching networks, transmission, IN, VAS and service platforms.

Daily reporting of any cluster of cell sites or network elements covering particularcities, roads or other geographical regions.

Drill down to determine root cause analysis for network degradation or performanceproblems.

Identification of performance anomalies across network regions. Overall monitoring of performance and generation of alarms when thresholds are

exceeded. Identification and strategic reporting of traffic hotspots and network locations

generating high traffic and revenues.

Not only can you access information across the whole network, but also regional staff canaccess all data appropriate to them and can monitor network elements within a region andfine tune localised performance.


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4 Benefits of OPTIMAKey Technical Features of OPTIMA include:

A powerful data warehouse which is able to maintain and retrieve network system

performance counter data and trends for the largest networks over many years. Robust and scaleable IT platform architecture with a choice of PC or UNIX servers to

suit IT policy and existing IT investments. Windows PC based client application requires minimal specialist user training. True client/server architecture with the ability to support thick client and thin (web

based) multi concurrent user access. Full Integration with AIRCOMs market leading PC-based ENTERPRISE tools suite

allowing performance data to be seamlessly integrated with design and configurationinformation.

Complete flexibility to mix counter and KPI information with coverage and planningdata, including geographical mapping.

Ability to query and retrieve PM statistics by selecting network elements on ageographical map.

Ability to combine configuration parameter values with performance data. Out of the box functionality with interfaces and report and module libraries available

for 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G networks and beyond. Ability to interface to a wide range of equipment types of different vendors and

technologies e.g. GERAN, CS-CORE, PS-CORE, VAS, IN, WiMAX, IP etc Highly configurable vendor interface architecture allows rapid configuration to specific

customer requirements. In-built KPI mapping across vendors allows quality on different vendor networks to be

compared easily. Complete flexibility for the user to create new KPIs, report templates and modules via

very flexible report and module designers. Ability to define and generate Performance Alarms. Alarm events can either be

forwarded to Fault management systems or engineers alerted via e-mail or SMSusing the Optima alarm handling module.

Full user security with the ability to manage which reports and modules users orgroups of users have the ability to access. Intuitive data explorer with the ability to define database queries via a user friendly

drag and drop interface.


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5 Technical Solution

5.1 System Architecture

5.1.1 Physical Architecture

Figure 2: Physical Architecture of an OPTIMA implementation

An overview of the typical physical architecture of an OPTIMA installation is shown in Figure2. Data is generally exported in a file format from the network Element Managers or OMCsand stored on a local server. When a new file is detected then this is transferred to anOPTIMA Mediation workstation where it is parsed and loaded into a central OPTIMA datawarehouse and is immediately available for end-user clients.

For some vendor systems, PM data may be available in a network or OMC database. In thiscase, a special OPTIMA database parser is deployed, which regularly accesses the networkdatabase to retrieve data. In this case there is no requirement to transfer files.

There may also be links configured from the OPTIMA data warehouse to other databases.This allows end users to access and combine data from multiple sources in reports. Thismechanism may also be used to enrich the PM data loaded for example a link to a planningor configuration database (as illustrated by ENTERPRISE in Figure 2) may be used toretrieve network topology or planning information.

There are a number of physical elements in the OPTIMA solution as described in thefollowing sections.


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5.1.2 Central database server

This is the critical component for the operation of OPTIMA as it has a direct impact on dataload, storage and retrieval performance of the system.

Any type of workstation that supports Oracle 9i or 10G can be used. AIRCOM provides a

number of recommended hardware solutions with both Windows and UNIX (HP and Sun)options supported depending on operator preference and the size of system required.Solutions are always proposed that provide cost effective upgrade options to accommodatefuture expansion of the system.

For large installations or where system availability is particularly critical, a clustered serversolution can be deployed.

The server would be dimensioned as part of the solution development depending on thenumber of network elements, data storage requirements and expected use of the system.Memory requirements for the server are calculated based on the number of users and dataloading processes that need to be supported, plus an overhead for the database applicationand the OS. Disk storage requirements will depend on the following factors:

Number and type of performance counters to be stored. Granularity of counter measurement. Size of network. Archiving requirements. Summary tables and Indexes.

AIRCOM provides tools that calculate database growth based on the actual database schemato provide specific and exact predictions for an individual customer on the disk spacerequirements. Generally RAID disk arrays or external SAN solutions are deployed to provideresilience in the case of hard disk failure.

5.1.3 Parsing/Loading Mediation Devices

Although it is technically possible to have the database loaders and parsers running on thecentral server, this is generally not recommended and within the typical OPTIMA architecture,these processes are run on separate loading/parsing machines (or mediation devices). Thisarchitecture has a number of important advantages:

Performance: separating the parsing and loading processing from the server ensuresthat these activities do not significantly impact the end user performance.

Scalability: if required low cost workstations can be used for the mediation devices.This provides a very cost effective scalable solution. For example the addition of newinterfaces can be added without significant server upgrade requirements.

Reliability: this architecture ensures that any problems that may occur when parsingor loading files do not impact the end user. Also additional mediation devices can beprovided for standby purposes. For example it is possible to split a particularinterface across two mediation devices. In the case of a hardware problem with onemachine then the other can continue to load (perhaps with reduced performance)whilst the failed device is repaired.

Flexibility: for example a temporary mediation device can be deployed to loadbacklogged data.

Maintenance: it is possible to perform maintenance and upgrade of the loadingprocesses and interface components without impacting the central server and henceend users.

Both Windows and UNIX (HP and SUN) workstations can be used for mediationdevices. Rack mounted units are recommended where space is a premium.


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The required specification and number of mediation devices will be determined duringcustomer specific solution design.

5.1.4 Web Server (Optional)

The web server provides the ability to support on-line access to OPTIMA. The recommendedsolution is to use Citrix TM that provides the full OPTIMA client functionality to end users withina standard Web browser.

AIRCOM also provides a full web based solution called WEBWIZARD, which allows access tokey data and reports on-line over the company intranet. This also allows the ability to displayperformance statistics geographically over a map.

All reports within OPTIMA can be scheduled to run at a future point or at regular intervals viaa customisable report scheduler. This may be run on any client, however for regular reportingwould tend to be hosted on a dedicated machine or the Web Server. Reports can beexported to HTML and automatically published via Web Wizard.

5.1.5 OPTIMA Clients

Three client options are available for OPTIMA:

Integrated with ENTERPRISE; The OPTIMA application appears as part of the toolbar withinthe ENTERPRISE tool suite. This option allows performance analysis to be integrated withplanning functions. For example, performance data can be replayed on the geographicalmap overlaying coverage information.

OPTIMA Standalone; The OPTIMA client can be run independently from the ENTERPRISEtool suite. For example this may be the preferred access method for Operational Engineerswho do not need the full planning integration.

OPTIMA online: This allows access to the application via a browser over the companyintranet (or internet if enabled). Two options are available:

Access to the full client application can be supported using CitrixTM. This is suitable

for users who require full access to all OPTIMA functionality. AIRCOMs WEBWIZARD application can be deployed to provide access to key dataand reports. This also allows the ability to display performance statisticsgeographically over a map. This is useful for more casual users who only needaccess to specific data or reports


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5.1.6 OPTIMA Logical Architecture

J O B S

C H E D U L A R

Figure 3: Logical Architecture of an OPTIMA implementation

The diagram above shows the logical architecture of an OPTIMA installation. The networkequipment or OMC is configured to output performance data at regular reporting intervals andthe parsers will automatically process this data when it is made available.

The typical process for loading data is illustrated in the figure above and is as follows:

1. The network logs PM data and regularly outputs data in a file into a defineddirectory on the OMC or network management device. For most networkequipment the file creation interval is user configurable and would typically bebetween 5 and 60 minutes. Each file may typically contain data for a numberof different network elements and different types of measurement classes.

2. An OPTIMA Transfer component will regularly poll the network managementdevice directory. When a new file is detected it will be automatically

transferred to the parser input directory on a mediation device. The originalfile may (optionally) be deleted.

3. An OPTIMA Parser component monitors the parser input directory and parsesany files that are detected. Specific parsers are developed to match the fileformat for a particular interface. The parser converts the PM data in the inputfile into a common OPTIMA file format; comma separated variable (csv).Where the input file contains a number of different measurement classes, acsv file may be produced for each class.


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4. If the input file is successfully parsed then it is (optionally) moved to an archivedirectory or deleted. If there is a problem in the file (for example it iscorrupted) then it is moved to an Error directory and the Error details logged.

5. For PM data, an OPTIMA Loader component monitors the parser outputdirectory. When a new csv file is detected this is loaded into the appropriatedatabase table. The Loader component may also combine or apply formulasto individual counters if required during the loading process.

6. If the csv file is successfully loaded then it is deleted or archived. Otherwise, itis moved to an Error directory and the Error details logged.

In order to effectively manage the volume of data in the OPTIMA database, there areprograms that regularly summarise and delete old data, calculate busy hours and performother database housekeeping activities. These are provided in an administrator configurablesummary subsystem. A Data Quality subsystem also regularly monitors the completeness ofdata loaded providing user friendly reports to system administrators. This also handles re-summarisation when data arrives late.

All OPTIMA data collection programs are scheduled and monitored by an OPTIMA schedulerprogram. This not only allows programs to be scheduled at regular intervals or overnight butalso monitors all services and restarts these if necessary in the case of a failure.

5.1.7 Architecture Key Features

The OPTIMA architecture and system components are designed to support the exactingsystem requirements for a PM data collection, storage and analysis system:

The system is designed to load data continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Data is loaded as soon as it is available in the network. Data is made available to all users as soon as it is in the database. The system is scalable to cost effectively accommodate increases in network size and

the introduction of new interfaces. The system is designed for very high reliability and is able to operate in an

unsupervised mode. A process monitor is deployed that monitors all components via

a heartbeat function and automatically restarts any failed process. The system is able to store very large volumes of data without degradation of loading

or end-user performance. The data loading architecture minimises overheads on the database server, ensuring

that the maximum resources are available for end-user queries and access. The system automatically handles late arriving and out of sequence data and

provides user friendly system reports on the completeness of data statistics from themonitored network elements.

5.2 Vendor InterfacesOPTIMA supports multi-vendor, multi-technology networks and AIRCOM can provideinterfaces for each vendor in an operators network. Depending on the operator set-up, the

data may either be made available from the network in data files or in an OMC database.AIRCOM can provide a vendor specific parser for either arrangement.

Each interface is provided with a comprehensive library of KPIs, reports and modules whichallows out of the box analysis and reporting functionality.

5.3 User FunctionsThe following figure illustrates the main components of the OPTIMA system. Raw PMcounters and configuration data is loaded from the network and stored within the data layer.


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From this data Summary Information and KPIs are derived within the Abstraction layer. Datafrom both of these layers is made available to the user within the Client and Administratorfunctions.

Figure 4: OPTIMA Software Architecture

The key user modules illustrated in the above Figure are described in the following sections.

5.3.1 OPTIMA Inspector

OPTIMA Inspector enables users to select data modules from a module library and combinethese, as required, to display specific information. Modules are used in the same way thatyou would use a template, to customise the information you want to display. Using this userfriendly method it is possible for users to build up complex specific analysis functions andeasily correlate data from different network elements.

With OPTIMA Inspector you can:

Manage modules and module combinations. Define your own modules and module combinations to display any network data.

Retrieve, filter and chart large volumes of data. Use filters to select data for specific network elements. For example define filters toshow only problem cells or select a set of cells geographically on a map.

Define counter thresholds, e.g. display all MSCs with processor load over 90%. Load data from other ENTERPRISE tools, e.g. ASSET, DATASAFE, RANOPT. Share data modules with other users or groups of users.


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Figure 5: A typical OPTIMA Module

The powerful functionality provided by OPTIMA Inspector within the modular approachensures that users can be confident in their ability to correctly display and view information ina way that will improve problem solving, which will ultimately enhance the performance of thenetwork.

Data can be displayed in both a data grid, or graphically on a number of user specified chart

types. Standard Excel-like features are provided for sorting, filtering, grouping andsummarising data. In addition you can link modules to provide powerful drill down functions.In this way for example you can click on a problem cell and immediately display the key KPIsfor that cell for the time period in question.

Figure 6: Example of Grid functions in Inspector


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5.3.2 Reporter

OPTIMA Reporter provides a flexible and user friendly environment for creating, organisingand managing the distribution of reports. User friendly wizards and templates are provided tosimplify ad-hoc report creation. Advanced features such as sub-reports and cross-tabsprovide the functions to accommodate even the most complex reporting requirements.

All report templates can be stored within the data warehouse for ease of distribution andaccess. Users can view or modify (if granted rights to do so) a report by selecting from anexplorer based folder structure.

Figure 7: OPTIMA Reporter

OPTIMA Report Designer allows users full flexibility to specify the network data to be includedin a report. With OPTIMA Reporter, users in an organisation have the ability to decide whatinformation will be viewed and in the desired format, a powerful tool for any organisation.

OPTIMA will allow the user to define run time parameters for a report which can be configuredusing filters and conditions. When the report is run the user is prompted for inputs for theseparameters ensuring only the desired data is generated. For full details on run timeparameters please refer to the data explorer section.

OPTIMA will also allow users to create Excel based reports where the output is stored in auser defined Excel template. Multiple queries can be created in OPTIMA and entered intouser defined positions in the Excel template. This option gives the user the ability to useExcels powerful analytical functionality on data generated directly from the database.

Users can always rely on having the latest relevant information, knowing that they are savingtime and money by automating the complex process of generating quality reports.

A key area of OPTIMA Reporter is the scheduling functionality, which allows for flexibleautomatic report distribution to any type of output device, e.g. PC, printer, e-mail, web site.


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Run time parameters that have been created within a report can be configured in a schedule,ensuring only the relevant information is selected for each recipient. Multiple schedules withdifferent configurations can be created for one report.

An advanced feature allows the user to provide a condition to the report generation. Forexample a condition could be set to generate a report which is triggered when, for example

Congestion by Cell on a particular BSC indicates dropped calls over 4%. The schedulerallows users to set up reports for their areas of interest, then to schedule these reports to runat a convenient time.

5.3.3 OPTIMA Work Area

The OPTIMA Work Area gives users the flexibility to organise their user environment to matchthe particular activity being undertaken. Inspector combinations, reports and even externalweb pages can be docked into a common working area and are available as tabbed pages.This means that all relevant information for a particular task can be quickly accessed andcorrelated greatly increasing working efficiency. Key modules and reports can also be addedto a favourites toolbar for instant access.

The OPTIMA Work Area can also be used to identify and display information about keyaspects of your network that are under performing. It can monitor the values of specifiedperformance counters, such as dropped call rates, call set-up failures, high congestion, etc.Options are provided to automatically update the information so that the latest recorded stateof the network is always displayed.

Figure 8: OPTIMA Work area.


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5.3.4 Database Explorer and Query Builder

The database explorer provides a user friendly overview of all data within the OPTIMA datawarehouse and allows both advanced and occasional users to quickly retrieve any set ofinformation. The module supports the following features:

The ability to browse all data in the database using a simple tree structure. Data isorganised into Raw Counters, KPIs, Configuration Information, System information orUser Defined categories all configurable by the system administrator. A searchfacility is provided to allow the user to quickly find a counter or KPI. Counter valuescan be displayed in a grid or exported to Excel etc.

The ability to define a database query via a user friendly drag and drop interfacewithout the need for SQL entry. This provides the following features:

Drag and drop tables from the Data Explorer. Define table joins by graphically linking fields. Define data fields to be extracted, filter criteria, functions and grouping via

user friendly input screens. Preview and edit SQL created. Preview data returned. Define filter fields for OPTIMA date-time selector and network selection filters.

The data explorer can be run standalone for ad-hoc data queries. It is also used to definemodules within Inspector.

Figure 9: Data Explorer

A drag and drop expression builder is provided to simplify the addition of complexexpressions in queries and to simplify the definition of custom counters or KPIs. Theexpression builder provides the following features:

Add counters from a context sensitive lists by dragging onto the design area. Select available functions from categorised lists.


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Prompts for function arguments. Simple entry of mathematical and date functions. Ability for administrators to add custom functions.

Figure 10: Expression Builder

It is possible to define run time parameters and filters in data explorer that will prompt the userfor inputs and apply these conditions on the query as it is executed.

Figure 11: Run Time Parameter Configuration


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These parameters and filters can be applied in the following ways:

Element filters can be configured on the elements in the query and applied atruntime using hierarchies or manual input.

Date filters can be configured on date fields and applied using user friendly date

and time input. Parameters Conditions can be configured on any combination of fields in the query

using expression editor. Inputs can then be entered at run time for these parameters.

Parameters are created in data explorer by first defining the field to apply them to using theexpression editor. Parameters enable the user to pinpoint the data they require rather thansift through a large set of data, without having to create multiple reports for each scenario.

At run time the user will be prompted for inputs for all the parameters defined, along with anydate and element filters. The option to override the parameter and show all is also available.

Figure 12: Run Time Parameter Application

For reports it is possible to configure these parameters in report scheduler for automaticallygenerated reports.


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5.3.5 Administration

Administration functions are provided in the tool to allow system administrators to configurethe application to match the specific customer requirements. The following functions aresupported:

Add and edit custom counters or KPIs that apply specific formula(s) to collectedperformance data.

Define common KPIs that map across different vendors. For example a commonuser KPI such as Call Drop can be defined that utilises different vendor counters foreach vendor within OPTIMA.

Define and edit thresholds for counters to enable performance data exceeding suchthresholds to be highlighted in OPTIMA or exported as an alarm event.

Specify country specific holidays. Add and administer users and groups of users. Configure which groups of users have access to which reports and modules through

a user friendly security system. Configure links to external databases.

5.3.6 Summary and Busy Hour Calculations

The data generated by the Network and parsed and loaded into the OPTIMA database islikely to be of a high granularity, i.e. short intervals between samples. OPTIMA is designed tostore this information for any period of time but this can lead to significant storagerequirements for the database. For this reason many operators choose to archive old dataand store a summary only. For example the operator may be interested in a granularity of 15minutes for data up to a month old but any data older, they would like to see summarised toan hour and any data older than a year they would like to see summarised to a day, week,month and so on.

OPTIMA provides a fully configurable summary program that achieves this and can bescheduled to run at user specified times. When the data has been summarised to a table witha lower time resolution it can then be archived from the higher resolution table. Processesare also provided that handle late arriving data updating summaries if required.

Network planning and performance engineers are usually mostly interested in the behaviourof the network when it is experiencing its greatest load. This is termed the busy hour andoperators will be interested in keeping a copy of the performance data during this hour longerthan the other hours of the day. Tables can also be generated that hold data for the busiesthours of the week, month and kept for longer periods than daily busy hour data. Multiple busyhours can also be defined.

5.3.7 Data Quality

OPTIMA includes a Data Quality program that monitors the quality of the data in the databasetables. It can be configured to produce different reports based on the type of informationrequested:

Availability the percentage of elements that are completely missing for the timeperiod.

Completeness the percentage of available data for the period loaded. Last Load Status the last data a table loaded, i.e. maximum date. Nullness the number of null entries in the table for the time period.

The Data Quality program can also be configured to re-summarise data stored in thesummary tables if the raw data changes. This is done by monitoring the completeness,availability and nullness. If changes are seen in this information then a re-summary processis launched.


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5.3.8 Key Performance Indicator (KPI) Mapping

OPTIMA stores all raw performance counters generated by the network. However forreporting purposes it may be more useful to aggregate the raw counters into higher levelKPIs, e.g. call drop, connection rate. OPTIMA provides flexible solutions that allow anadministrator to define KPIs that are then available for all users.

The performance counters and what they measure are different across different vendorstherefore the formula for a KPI for one network may look very different to that on another. Inaddition, a KPI formula may be composed of a very large number of counters and subcounters. It is for this reason that AIRCOM provide a KPI mapping facility between vendors.With this option users can use a single KPI (e.g. call drop) for all cells within a multi-vendornetwork. This can greatly simplify the creation of reports and modules.

5.3.9 Archiving

An operator may want to keep a copy of the data longer than they want to store it in theOPTIMA database. This could be for the purpose of re-investigating previous anomalousbehaviour on the network that has re-occurred. This may be achieved by writing the relevantdata files to a tape or separate disk.

5.3.10 ProfilingIt is important for an operator to efficiently dimension a network for current and forecast use.This enables cost effective deployment of expensive vendor equipment and helps to minimiselost revenue because of traffic rejected due to unavailable channels.

In order to predict the future traffic on network a forecasting algorithm is required that uses asinputs the current and historical trend values of offered traffic and the ErlangB formula. Inorder to achieve this AIRCOM have developed the Cell Profiler program. Using this programthe operator can forecast future traffic growth based on historical data and therefore identifywhich cells will possibly require upgrade in the near future.

The following shows a screen print of the Cell Profiler program. The interface enables theuser to choose the process parameters such as the number of past weeks used, minimumavailable data threshold, number of future weeks to be forecast and in this example a scalingfactor for the TCH and SDCCH channels of an operators GSM network.


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Figure 13: Illustrates a Cell Profiler screen

5.3.11 Performance Alarm Management

The OPTIMA Alarm module provides the ability to define thresholds and conditions onperformance data that can generate alarm events for internal reporting as well as feeding thedata into a fault management system. This provides significant user benefits:

It allows an operator to be pro-active rather than re-active to network alarms. Forexample an alarm can be generated based on a trend in average traffic before hardcapacity thresholds are triggered on a network element.

By immediately alerting engineers to problems it provides the opportunity for fasterresponse to potential service affecting performance issues, increasing network qualityand customer satisfaction.

It provides the ability to automatically monitor many performance KPIs for the wholenetwork and only respond to the critical issues. This can provide significant costsavings in optimisation and OSS engineers.

It allows an operator to have common procedures for performance related andnetwork related alerts, for example in out-of-hours support and trouble-ticketing,resulting in improved efficiency and cost reduction.

It gives the operator the ability to monitor abnormal behaviour in the network. Forexample alarms can be generated when the performance of a KPI on a cell changessignificantly from the normal behaviour even though the performance may remainwithin operational thresholds.

It provides the ability to correlate performance related alarms with network generatedalarms to aid in root cause analysis. For example if traffic increases on one cell thismay be due to a failure in a neighbouring cell.

Provides the operator with the potential to supplement the standard network alarmsthat a vendor supports and potentially overcomes any limitations in these.

5.3.12 Performance Alarm Technical Implementation

The implementation of the OPTIMA Alarm module is il lustrated in the following figure.


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Figure 14: Optima Alarm Module

A user friendly Alarm GUI allows an administrator to define and administer alarms. All alarmdefinitions are stored within the OPTIMA data warehouse. A separate alarm service polls thedatabase at user defined intervals and tests all active alarm definitions against data that hasbeen loaded from the network. All alarm set and clear events are stored in the OPTIMA datawarehouse and made available to FM systems via a defined interface.

Figure 15: Alarm Explorer

Key Features:

User friendly GUI for an administrator to specify and manage alarm definitions. Complete flexibility for an administrator to define trigger thresholds including:

Multiple thresholds per counter


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The ability to define thresholds on any raw counters, KPIs or combinations ofcounters including formulas.

Complex thresholds e.g. deviation from average. Threshold on summary data including busy hour. The ability to define different thresholds for different time periods e.g.

weekends, out-of-hours etc. The ability to define different thresholds for set and clear, allowing the ability to

provide hysteresis on alarm thresholds. The ability to define a ripple count for each alarm definition. This means that the

alarm is not triggered until the threshold has been crossed for the specified number ofsamples, or time period. The network element may remain alarmed until theperformance falls back inside user defined clear thresholds for a user defined periodof time.

Ability to set thresholds for any granularity of source data with a user defined polinginterval per alarm definition.

A fully scalable architecture with separation of the alarm definition from the alarmprocessing. For the most demanding requirements there is also the ability todistribute the alarm processing across multiple workstations.

A full audit log for alarm definition records all changes to alarm definitions, whenand by whom.

Full flexibility to define which network elements are monitored for each alarmdefinition the administrator can select all, groups, or individual network elements(e.g. cells) to be included.

Full flexibility to define the alarm description including user defined options for: Alarm severity Vendor description Element type Technology Type Alarm Description

An advanced feature is that the alarm description can also include any counter valueor formula. This allows dynamic messages to be created based on real countervalues derived when the alarm is triggered. This allows for very informative alarmmessages.

All alarm events are stored in the OPTIMA database for reporting and analysis. OPTIMA provides a configurable and flexible alarm handler that allows users orgroups of users to be alerted to specified alarms via e-mail or SMS.

Alternatively an interface can be provided to third party fault management systems.SNMP forwarding is often used for this, although other interfaces can be developedas required.


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5.4 Server and Data Loading Platforms Oracle 9i or 10g with Partitioning Option Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition UNIX: Sun Solaris 10 and HP-UX 11.23i

Citrix PS4.5 Full hardware and software redundancy options supported Support for RAID 0+1 & RAID 5. RAID 0+1 is the preferred option, RAID 5 will be

considered upon customer request.

5.5 Client Pentium III or higher Windows 2000, XP Pro Integrates with Microsoft Office 97 or higher

5.6 Supported DataAny counter type:

Peg Gauge Accumulator Scanner Discrete distributed measurements PDF measurements Custom

Generic Data interfaces:

ASCII CSV XML ASN.1 ODBC SNMP Direct Oracle Link Custom

Vendors Supported:

OPTIMA is highly configurable and can be integrated with any pre-defined interface. Vendorssupported include the following among many others:

Ericsson Nokia, Siemens and NSN Motorola Nortel Alcatel, Lucent and Alcatel-Lucent Huawei Interwave Cisco ZTE


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5.7 Data StorageData storage options support the following:

Unlimited raw counter storage (dependent only on disk allocation) Any data granularity supported

Administrator defined data storage and archiving periods Administrator defined summary options including daily, weekly, monthly, busy hour. Complete flexibility to define summary and rollup functions per counter including sum,

average, max, min, user defined User defined busy hours including multiple busy hours per element

5.8 Report Output FormatsReports can be outputted in the following formats:

Report Archiving Format (*.RAF) Comma Separated Values (*.CSV) Acrobat Reader File (*.PDF) XHML

Rich Text Format (*.RTF) Hyper Text Markup Format (*.HTML) Excel File (*.XLS) Bitmap File (*.BMP) JPEG File Interchange Format (*.JPEG) Tagged Image File Format (*.TIFF)

5.9 Report Output TypesReports can be outputted to the following locations or methods:

Printer File zipped-file e-mail

5.10 Report SchedulingReport scheduling provides the following functionality:

Ability to schedule any report by date and time All output options supported Conditional scheduling Run time parameters can be configured in the schedule

5.11 Graph TypesOver 100 standard chart types including:

Line Area Bar Point Pie Bubble Arrow Gantt


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Shape

5.12 Graph Output Formats Metafile Enhanced Metafile

Bitmap JPEG PNG GIF PCX

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