Understanding RSSI Values in RDS

Deployments

DESCRIPTION

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Copyright

© Ericsson AB 2015 - 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this document may
be reproduced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Disclaimer

The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to
continued progress in methodology, design and manufacturing. Ericsson shall
have no liability for any error or damage of any kind resulting from the use
of this document.

Trademark List

Ericsson Ericsson is the trademark or registered trademark of

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson. All other product or
service names mentioned in this manual are trademarks
of their respective companies.

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 Contents

Contents

1 About This Guide 1

1.1 Intended Audience 1
1.2 How This Guide Is Organized 1
1.3 Conventions Used in This Guide 2
1.4 Comments About the Documentation 3

2 Overview of High UL RSSI in RDS 5

3 Noise 7
3.1 RDS Noise Insertion Points 7
3.2 Noise Power 8
3.3 Internal Noise 8
3.4 Thermal Noise 9
3.5 Noise Figure 9
3.6 Noise Floor 10
3.7 Uplink RSSI 10
3.8 Uneven Noise from the RD DC-DC Converter 11
3.9 RX Noise Floor Multi-Carrier 12
3.10 Poor Installation Source of Noise 12

4 Interference and Blocking 15

4.1 RDS Interference Example 16
4.2 Interference Sources 16
4.3 Mitigating Interference 18

5 Balancing Small Cell and Macro Networks 19

6 Understanding Network Imbalance 21

6.1 Integrated Small Cell Coverage 21

7 Imbalance and Mobility 23

7.1 Desense 23
7.2 Network Imbalance for WCDMA 23

8 WCDMA Uplink Configuration 27

8.1 Target Noise Figure 27

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Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

8.2 Noise Figure Algorithm 27

8.3 Activating or Deactivating Desense 27
8.4 NoiseFigureOutOfRange Alarm 28
8.5 WCDMA Noise Floor 29
8.6 Observing WCDMA Noise Floor Using Counters 29
8.7 Observing the WCDMA Uplink RSSI 30

9 LTE Uplink Configuration 33

9.1 LTE pZero Settings and Imbalance 33
9.2 LTE pZero Optimization 34
9.3 LTE Link Imbalance 34

10 LTE Measured Noise Floor 35

10.1 Observing the LTE Measured Noise Floor 35
10.2 Abnormal High Noise Floor 35

11 Terminology 37

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 About This Guide

1 About This Guide

This document explains why Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values
are typically high in Radio Dot System (RDS) deployments.

1.1 Intended Audience

This document is intended for system administrators and other users assigned
to install and commission the Radio Dot System environment.

Personnel working on Ericsson products or systems must have training and

competence required to perform their work correctly.

Note: System operation and maintenance (O&M) is only to be performed

by authorized personnel.

1.1.1 Prerequisite Knowledge

It is required that the user of this document meets the following prerequisites:

• Good understanding of the Radio Dot System.

• Good knowledge of O&M of the Operations Support Systems Radio and

Core (OSS-RC) System. For a high-level overview of OSS-RC, refer to
documents Introduction to OSS-RC, 1555-AOM 901 110 and OSS-RC
System Administration, 1543-AOM 901 133.

• Necessary access and authorization to the OSS-RC and Network Elements

(NEs). For information on O&M security access, refer to Security for O&M
Node Access, 1551-CXA 110 3235 and Overall Security Administration
in OSS-RC, 3/1543-APR 901 911.

• Verified the IP address for remote O&M access to the node. If there is no
remote O&M access, refer to Recovering a Node on Site, 58/1543-LZA 701
6004/1 (LTE), or 43/1543-LZA 701 6008 (WCDMA).

1.2 How This Guide Is Organized

The Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments is organized into the
following sections:

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

Table 1 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments Topics

Section Description
About This Guide This section introduces the guide. It describes the
structure of the guide, conventions used, and related
documentation.
Overview of High This section provides an overview of high UL RSSI
UL RSSI in RDS values in the RDS.
Noise This section describes noise in the RDS, the sources
of noise, and how it is calculated.
Interference and This section provides an overview of interference and
Blocking blocking in the RDS, the sources of interference, and
how to mitigate interference.
Balancing Small This section describes how to balance small cell and
Cell and Macro macro networks for a better user experience.
Networks
Understanding This section describes network imbalance, dominance,
Network Imbalance and RD density.
Imbalance and This section describes network imbalance and mobility
Mobility in the WCDMA network. It also describes the Desense
feature.
WCDMA Uplink This section describes WCDMA uplink configuration.
Configuration This includes target NF and Desense settings.
LTE Uplink This section describes LTE uplink configuration. This
Configuration includes pZero settings and pZero optimization.
LTE Measured This section describes the counters used to measure
Noise Floor the Noise Floor in LTE and causes for excess noise.
Terminology This section provides definitions for terms used in this
document.

1.3 Conventions Used in This Guide

Table 2 provides a list of typographic conventions that may be encountered
in this document:

Table 2 Typographic Conventions

Convention Description Example
Code Examples Code examples stat char* months[]
={"Jan","Feb"}
Command Variables Command variables, <home_directory>
the values of which
you must supply

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 About This Guide

Convention Description Example

Document Names References to For more information, refer
document titles to the System Administrator
or sections in a Guide.
document
GUI Objects GUI objects, such On the File menu, click Exit.
as menus, fields,
and buttons, dialog
boxes, and options
Key Combinations Key combinations Press Ctrl+X to delete the
(1)
selected value.
Output Information Text displayed by the System awaiting
system input
System Elements Command and The files are located in
parameter names, E:\Test.
program names,
path names, URLs, The files are located in
directory names, and etc/opt/ericsson/bin.
(2)
file names
User Input A command that cd $HOME
you must enter in
a Command Line
Interface (CLI)
exactly as written
Line Break The arrow symbol >cd /opt/msmw-cds-⇒
(⇒) can be cxp-<version>
used when an
inappropriate
line break has
been made. An
inappropriate line
break occurs when
the code lines are
too long to fit on the
page, and there is no
appropriate place for
a line break.
(1) The plus sign (+) indicates that you must press the keys simultaneously.
(2) The use of the forward slash (/) is for UNIX systems; PC systems use the backslash (\).

1.4 Comments About the Documentation

Ericsson encourages you to provide feedback, comments or suggestions so
that we can improve the documentation to better meet your needs. With your
comments provide the following:

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

• Document title

• Document number and revision

• Page number or section number

Please send your comments to your local Ericsson Support.

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 Overview of High UL RSSI in RDS

2 Overview of High UL RSSI in RDS

This document explains why RSSI values are typically higher in RDS
deployments than in Macro systems. High Uplink (UL) RSSI is one of the first
observations that concerns service providers of the small cell RDS. One of
the components of the RSSI equation is noise. Service providers have been
exposed primarily to products with a low Noise Figure (NF), but, by design,
the RDS comes with a high NF. The NF is generally 13 dB to 26 dB higher
in an RDS cell than in a Macro cell. A high NF is a requirement in small cell
design and is necessary to maintain cellular network balance. Another benefit
of the elevated NF in the small cell is the blocking ability of the receiver from
interfering sources. The high NF in the RDS receiver contributes to the high UL
RSSI. The receiver band of operation adds more noise as UEs must connect
at higher levels above the noise floor. Other UEs that are not connected, and
if large enough, can add to this value. This higher NF is acceptable in small
cell dynamics. It provides network balance and receiver blocking to ensure
seamless mobility and improved overall network performance between all cells.

WCDMA and LTE use different methods to control balance between Macro cell
and RDS small cell. WCDMA is equipped with an autonomous feature called
Desense, which adds noise to augment the target NF to control and fine tune
the Macro to RDS imbalance level. In LTE, the RDS pZeroNominal settings
are set to a single midpoint value to maintain the same link balance and let the
adaptive nature of UL schedulers absorb the NF tolerance variation.

Regardless of the Radio Access Technology (RAT), the NF is about 20 dB

higher in RDS deployments than in Macro systems. Since the RDS NF is
about 13 dB to 26 dB higher in the UL and a Macro cell is 20 dB to 26 dB
more powerful in the Downlink (DL), a network balance between 0 and 6 dB
is easy to achieve. The UL RSSI can be in the -90s dBmfor LTE and in the
-80s dBm for WCDMA.

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 Noise

3 Noise

3.1 RDS Noise Insertion Points

The RDS is a small cell cellular radio that inserts a CAT6A cable between
the IRU and the RD. The cable does not carry Ethernet but transports analog
signals for UL and DL data, synchronization, Automatic Gain Control (AGC),
control signals, and PoE. As shown in Figure 1, noise is introduced in the
receiver UL at three points:

• NF1: Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) in the front end of the Radio Dot RX.

• NF2: Long CAT cables have insertion loss that the IF power amp must
overcome with gain through the 40 MHz IF band-pass filters.

• NF3: Active combining in the IRU of up to 8 ports.

Figure 1 Noise Insertion Points

The noise insertion points combine to produce a total noise figure in the IRU
which is the product of all noise sources NF1, NF2, and NF3. The Radio Dot
(RD) itself adds noise as it amplifies the received RF signals and diplexes the
upstream to the IF filter for analog transmission with compensated gain in the
RDI. The CAT cable loss is measured by the system and the RD and IRU gain
are adjusted based on the cable loss for optimal performance.

All RD signals are analog and combined in the IRU with provisions for eight UL
instances (one per port) across the sector. The resultant NF is proportional to
the number of IRU ports and DOTs in use with the largest impact coming from
the length of standard LAN cabling. Therefore, the largest length of cable in the
IRU sector has the largest impact on the NF in the sector receiver. The initial
NF for the system is in accordance with Table 3:

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

Table 3 Maximum NF (dB) By Cable Length and Number of RDs

Number of RDs 20 m 100 m 200 m
1 13.0-15.5 13.5-17.0 14.0-20.0
4 15.0-17.0 15.0-18.0 17.0-23.6
8 17.0-18.5 17.0-19.5 19.5-26.0

3.2 Noise Power

Noise is unwanted RF power in the receiver pass band. Unwanted noise power
is also present, external to the receiver, and contributes to the challenges of
wanted signal reception.

Noise is generated from the following sources:

• Internal: Every receiver generates noise; some more than others.

• External In-Band: Cellular sources of noise power come from correlated

and uncorrelated in-band cells.

Note: Correlated cells have the same controlled core.

• External Out-of-Band (OOB): The OOB sources can affect the UL SINR
and even block the receiver if it has too much power.

3.3 Internal Noise

The Noise Floor, not to be mistaken with the Noise Figure, is the Thermal Noise
(kTB) plus the Noise Figure (NF).

The kTB, or thermal noise level, is the minimum amount of noise possible in the
receiver and depends on temperature and bandwidth.

The NF is the added energy in the in-band signal that gets added because
of active RF components in the receiver. A low NF is required for a receiver
to process weak signals. The Noise Floor at the receiver demodulator is the
total of the thermal noise (kTB) plus the Noise Figure (NF), as shown in the
following figure:

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 Noise

Figure 2 Internal Noise

3.4 Thermal Noise

Thermal noise (kTB) is a random fluctuation in voltage caused by the random
motion of charge carriers in any circuit. Thermal noise is a factor of the
Boltzmann constant, the temperature in Kelvin and the bandwidth in Hertz.

• k = Boltzmann constant (1.38 x 10 -23 Joules/Kelvin)

• T = temperature in Kelvin (290 degrees at room temperature)

• B = Bandwidth (Hz)

Thermal Noise Power = -174 dBm @ 1 Hz

OR

Thermal Noise Power = -174 dBm + 10 Log (BW)

The following is an example calculation of the thermal noise for WCDMA and
LTE:

For WCMDA:
kTB = -174 dBm + 10 Log (3.84 x 10^6) = -108.1 dBm
For LTE:
kTB = -174 dBm + 10 Log (180 x 10^3) = -121.4 dBm
Example 1 Thermal Noise Calculation Example

3.5 Noise Figure

The RDS NF depends on cable length and the number of RDs. As a result, the
RDS NF can vary from 13 dB to 26 dB, depending on each installation. The
high NF affects the Noise Floor which also becomes high and variable due to
the added external noise sources. The physical NF in the RDS sector is the
same for WCDMA or LTE since the hardware is the same. In WCDMA, a target
NF is set to maintain heterogeneous cell imbalance which can be different than

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

the installed physical NF. The installed physical NF is the same for WCDMA
and LTE.

3.6 Noise Floor

To address the Noise Floor with no UE connections involved, the calculation of
the Noise Floor is generically:

Noise Floor = kTB + NF + any external noise source

Since the thermal noise depends on the bandwidth used, the noise floor is
different for WCDMA and LTE. For WCDMA, the noise floor is considered for
the full 3.84 MHz bandwidth. For LTE, the noise floor is considered per Physical
Resource Block (PRB) (12 x 15 KHz sub-carriers = 180 kHz bandwidth).

The Noise Floor calculation must be made for the maximum and the minimum
cases. The minimum case has 1 cable of 20 m (if only 1 RD) and the maximum
case has 8 cables (if there are 8 RDs) of 200 m each. Refer to Table 1 for NF
values based on cable length and the number of RDs.

WCDMA and LTE minimum and maximum noise floor calculations are shown in
the following examples:

WCDMA:
Max: -174 dBm + 10 Log (3.84 MHz) + 26 dBm = -82.2 dBm
Min: -174 dBm + 10 Log (3.84 MHz) + 13 dBm = -95.2 dBm
LTE:
Max: -174 dBm + 10 Log (180 kHz) + 26 dBm = -95.4 dBm
Min: -174 dBm + 10 Log (180 kHz) + 13 dBm = -108.4 dBm
Example 2 Noise Floor Calculation Examples

3.7 Uplink RSSI

The Uplink RSSI is the power value sum of all noise, thermal, NF, external
noise, and the power of all the connected UEs and all the other noise that those
UEs bring with their signals.

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 Noise

Figure 3 Total Noise Floor

The following table and graph shows the noise floor range for both WCDMA
and LTE dependant of the cable length and the number of Radio Dots.

Figure 4 Noise Floor Table

3.8 Uneven Noise from the RD DC-DC Converter

In the Radio Dot, the RF is received, amplified, mixed into its IF components,
and then conducted as an analog signal towards the IRU inside a 40 MHz
UL pass-band. The onboard DC-DC converter circuit conducts noise into
the 10 MHz of the UL which makes the noise uneven. This uneven noise

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

passes specification although it has been flagged as a customer concern and

observation in a multi-carrier configuration. Performance is not impacted as the
RD passes the 3GPP specifications for local area base stations.

3.9 RX Noise Floor Multi-Carrier

When spaced apart, the NF slope can change the UL RSSI on the two carriers
by 2-–3 dB. It is better to have two carriers back-to-back to have both carriers
look the same (see Figure 5). This does not have an impact on performance.
Focus on KPI impacts and not the observations that have no impact on
performance.

Figure 5 RX Noise Floor Multi-Carrier

3.10 Poor Installation Source of Noise

A shielded Radio Dot Interface (RDI) feeder cable is terminated with shielded
RJ45 connectors on both ends. It is important to properly ground the patch
panel near the IRU to mitigate noise ingress into the RDI. Dots must respect

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 Noise

minimum mounting distances to other antennas or RF emitting sources. CAT

cables, if bundled, must be bundled with their respective IRU to minimize cross
talk from other IRUs in the same rack.

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 Interference and Blocking

4 Interference and Blocking

By definition, interference is RF energy in the pass band that is not a wanted

signal. For the purpose of this document, the focus is only on the RDS sector
UL Interference. Interference adds to the noise power and raises the sector
noise floor and hence lowering the Signal Interference Noise Ratio (SINR) .
Interfering sources can be either in-band or out-of-band. In-band interference
is mainly from correlated network UEs from other RBS radios. Correlated UE
interference can be managed between sectors and RBS DUs.

Figure 6 Signal Interference Noise Ratio

Where:

• SINR is a ratio of the signal to Interference plus noise power at the receiver.

• Signal is RF in the BW of the wanted transmission.

• Noise is from the kTB thermal for the BW of operation and the NF from the
DOT ports through the RDI.

• Interference is from other in-band and out-of-band sources.

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

4.1 RDS Interference Example

The following example shows handovers to outdoor Macros and other indoor
DAS systems. When deploying the RDS, the RD density must allow for the
Cell DL reference or pilot signal to be 3–10 dB greater for the RDS than any
other network DL. This way, the network schedulers are able to manage the
SINR and network mobility.

Figure 7 Poor Handovers, Interference Not Well Managed

Figure 8 Good Handovers, Interference Well Managed

4.2 Interference Sources

Interference can come from different sources, as shown in the following figure:

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 Interference and Blocking

Figure 9 Interference Sources

In Channel Correlated source: In Channel sources are a service providers

own signals from other cells that bleed into the coverage area of the wanted
cell. These correlated UEs are under control of the network and therefore
use DU schedulers and selectivity techniques to mitigate interference. An
example of an in channel correlated source is an indoor UE near a window
that is connected to an outdoor Macro while transmitting close to an RD. See
Section 6.1 on page 21 for details on dominance.

Adjacent channel sources: Adjacent channel sources are from in-band

sources that are not correlated or under control of the service provider. The
RDS has no control over this interferer. For example, a UE that is on the cell
edge of an another provider that has the UE transmitting at high power. If it is in
the coverage area of the small cell and close to an RD, it can block the receiver
and impact performance. The impact is mitigated by the schedulers and the
increased selectivity and blocking performance of the RDS receiver.

Receiver Blocking: This blocking occurs when an interfering signal power

level is so high that it drives the receiver into compression and degrades the
performance. Blocking sources can be either in-band or out-of-band. Blocking
sources can be uncorrelated cellular signals or spurious emissions.

Blockers can interfere in the following ways:

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

• Raising the noise floor and reducing SNR.

• Compressing the receiver into non-linear operation.

• Adding intermodulation products affecting the quality of the wanted signal

reception.

Out of Bounds (OOB) Blockers: Some of the noise comes from outside the
band of operation. This is not expected to be from other cellular systems. Radio
sources must comply with regulatory requirements for out-of-band power limits.
However, close proximity to some radios, power cables, or unknown radiators,
can induce OOB blocking noise that reduces the performance of the receiver.
Avoid mounting dots close to potential unknown emitters of EMI, such as
elevator motors, heavy duty equipment, or unknown radio sources.

4.3 Mitigating Interference

Plan the RDS for dominance where RSRP (LTE) or RSCP (WCDMA) is 3–10
dB greater than the received Macro or DAS levels. For RDS deployments in
areas of high Macro or DAS levels, ensure that enough RDs are deployed. An
in-band blocker from another service providers UE can potentially block the
RDS receiver at a 2–3 m distance. Mount the RDs high enough as practical.
Avoid mounting dots close to building walls or windows to take advantage of
the coverage diameter while providing isolation from the outdoor network.

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 Balancing Small Cell and Macro Networks

5 Balancing Small Cell and Macro Networks

A small cell network can be deployed with the intentions of off-loading outdoor
high-power Macro cells to improve user experience in terms of coverage,
capacity, and throughput. The overall network can be greatly improved by the
RDS where indoor coverage is poorly served by the outdoor Macro. Setting
a network balance at the building perimeter is ideal as outdoor users prefer
outdoor cells and indoor users prefer indoor cells. Ensure that the network
boundaries are balanced for handover and that the RDS is the dominant
network indoors and the Macro is the dominant network outdoors.

To achieve a robust outdoor and indoor off-load solution, a deployed RDS

network is expected to dominate indoor UEs by 3–10 dB. This can be
implemented using RDS deployment practices. The greater the dominance, the
more robust the network is at the cost of greater RD density. The transmitted
power from the RDS-connected UE must be high enough to overcome
interference from Macro-connected UEs and adjacent leakage from other
indoor uncorrelated UEs. An RDS deployment using the adhered-to installation
practices must ensure a solid indoor network that seamlessly transitions a
subscribing UE between the indoor and outdoor network at the building exits
and entrances.

The indoor RDS network has a high RDS NF by design. A high RDS NF
is introduced primarily by the high insertion loss in the CAT cabling that
aggregates (1 to 8) DOTs in the IRU. The resulting high NF increases the
blocking performance through desensitization for interferers while also setting
the network imbalance to 6 dB or less. A desensitized RDS receiver is
required to receive UEs at good data rates while blocking interferers. A high
NF is therefore built-in as design intent. This is to keep UEs connected and
performing indoors while blocking outdoor UEs and other indoor UEs in an
adjacent band.

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

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 Understanding Network Imbalance

6 Understanding Network Imbalance

The term imbalance refers to a situation when the UL and DL cell borders are
not coinciding. Imbalance is defined by the difference between two cell TX
power deltas and two cell NF deltas. Two sectors, with equal TX power levels
and antenna gains, tend to naturally balance at the half way point. Sectors with
unequal TX powers are heterogeneous and tend towards imbalance as the DL
cell boarder is biased towards the small cell with the lower TX power. The
UE TX power is the same for the Macro cell and the small cell. For the UL to
balance with the DL at the same location, the UL noise figure must be higher in
the small cell by roughly the same amount as the TX power differential.

Imbalance can occur in any network, but small cells like the RDS, are
low-power products that make the network more heterogeneous and more
imbalanced. Imbalance alone is never a problem unless it becomes too large.
An imbalance of 6 dB or smaller is never a problem. If the imbalance is higher,
then reducing it to 6 dB or less ensures graceful UE handovers with optimal
network performance.

Network imbalance is dealt with differently for WCDMA and LTE radio.

6.1 Integrated Small Cell Coverage

Small indoor cells like RDS are designed to off-load busy, outdoor cellular
systems while greatly increasing user experience indoors. Superior user
experience is achieved when the indoor networks dominate indoors and the
outdoor networks dominate outdoors. There is no need to try to gain indoor
dominance indoors where the Macro RBS has good SINR/SIR. In correlated
networks, the handover will occur somewhere within the building as seen in the
following figure.

The goal of the deployment is to cover the area where the Macro has a poor
SINR/SIR. Indoor RDS density remains at standard density (~25 m spacing),
where the Macro RBS SINR/SIR is poor to let the Macro handle the coverage
for the area where the SINR/SIR of the Macro is good.

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

Figure 10 Macro bleeding into the building

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 Imbalance and Mobility

7 Imbalance and Mobility

Networks require balance for seamless mobility. In a heterogeneous network,

cells have different Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP). A Macro cell
and a small RDS cell have signals that define large and small radii. Since a
Macro cell has a large radii, the Macro must have a low NF by design. Since
a small cell has a small radii, a low NF is not the first priority, and the NF is
higher for three main reasons:

• To achieve Macro imbalance of 6 dB or less for mobility.

• To focus receiver design on selectivity for small cell noisy environment.

• To focus on receiver blocking performance.

The Macro to RDS TX power delta is about 30 dB:

• Macro: 50 W

• RDS: 50 mW

This is a difference of about 30 dB, or 1000 times the power. The NF of the
RDS would need to be about 30 dB greater than the Macro for the imbalance to
be neutral. A heterogeneous network must have an imbalance of 6 dB or less
to reduce UL noise from Macro connected UEs. An imbalance less than 6dB
is never a problem. In most cases, a target NF of 22 dB will accommodate all
imbalance scenarios between Macro and RDS cells.

7.1 Desense
Desense is a WCDMA feature that is used to assist small cell systems achieve
a target NF for successful mobility. RDS supports an NF range from 13 dB to
26 dB. By setting the target NF to 22 dB, the adaptive nature of UL schedulers
can quickly adjust to ensure successful HO between cells. If the RDS installed
NF is less than 22 dB because of shorter IF cable runs, the Desense feature
autonomously engages to inject. Target NF is the value configured in the cell.
The actual NF is the deployed value and depends on dot count per cell and
maximum cable length used.

LTE does not have the Desense feature as it relies on pZero settings and the
adaptive nature of UL schedulers for smooth HOs between Macro and RDS.

7.2 Network Imbalance for WCDMA

WCDMA mobile power regulation is fully autonomous. The NF is inherently
high because of the RDI design. However, when the NF is not sufficient to
provide at least 6 dB or better, the Desense feature is activated in the IRU. This

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

adds noise in the IRU receiver to bring the Macro/RDS networks back into
the normal imbalance range.

In WCDMA, there are two things that affect the degree of imbalance between
two cells: the primary CPICH power and the noise figure of the two cells. The
RD count and the cable lengths can account for 13 dB to 26 dB of NF, depending
on the system. The imbalance calculation allows for the implementation of the
Noise Figure parameter [Nf_RDS] to be set into the calculation to ensure that
the imbalance is 6 dB or less. If necessary, the Desense function adds more
noise to maintain this NF level autonomously without operator intervention.
This control system is used in the RDS for WDCMA systems only and not LTE.

Note: The configured NF is not the actual NF, but is the target NF. If the actual
NF is less than the configured noise floor, Desense adds the extra noise
autonomously. If the actual NF is greater than the target or configured
NF, Desense does not add noise to an already too noisy receiver.

7.2.1 WCDMA Example

In the following example, there is an imbalance of 10 dB which is greater than
I = 6 dB. An extra 4 dB of noise (NF small cell) must be added to the system
to achieve proper imbalance levels between the Macro and the RDS equal or
better than 6 dB.

Figure 11 Example WCDMA Calculation

Where:

PCPICH_macro is the CPICH signal strength (dBm) of the macro cell.

PCPICH_small_cell is the CPICH signal strength of the small cell (RDS).

Nf_small is the noise figure of the small Cell (RDS).

Nf_small is the noise figure of the macroCell (RBS).

In a coverage area that is affected by more than one MACRO or DAS, use the
worst case NF (most positive) value to ensure effective handovers.

In WCDMA, the noise figure can be set in the RDS to achieve a good level of
imbalance to facilitate smooth, soft handovers between Macro and RDS. This
is achieved by setting the noiseFigure parameter to 48, since it is in unit
0.5 dB. Also, in the RDS, the noise floor can be observed by counters. The
counter pmNoiseFloor shows the noise floor in an RDS cell. To acquire an
accurate level, the noise floor must converge in at least 24 hours. A noise floor
around -90 dBm is common for the RDS for WCDMA typical installation. As a
consequence, the UL RSSI is expected to show higher values for small cells
than for macro cells.

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 Imbalance and Mobility

7.2.2 Adjusting Imbalance For an RDS Near a Macro Border

CPICH power differences between Macro and RDS will yield a more positive
Imbalance and place the DL Cell border closer to the RDS cell.

NF desensitization differences between Macro and RDS can be adjusted to set

the UL cell boarder to the required =< 6 dB Imbalance value.

Increasing the NF of the RDS pulls the UL cell boarder towards the RDS and
making the Imbalance value smaller.

Figure 12 Imbalance Adjustment

In the above heterogeneous network the DL cell boarder will be set by CPICH
differences somewhere closer the RDS.

The UL Cell border can then be adjusted if necessary to move the UL Cell
border towards the DL Cell border and RDS by adding RDS NF desensitization.

An Imbalance of 6 dB or less will prevent high UL interference from UEs that

would negatively impact the UL noise floor and UL RSSI.

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 WCDMA Uplink Configuration

8 WCDMA Uplink Configuration

8.1 Target Noise Figure

The MO attribute Sector::noiseFigure indicates the operator-configured
noise figure for the uplink receiver chain. This is the target NF. The actual NF
is the measured NF. This is the required UL NF per antenna branch, with the
same value for both branches. This means that the target noise figure applies
to all carriers within the whole sector. This attribute is set to achieve good
mobility performance with adjacent macro cells.

8.2 Noise Figure Algorithm

A noise figure tuning algorithm estimates the noise floor based on a comparison
of the current noise floor and the target noise figure (Sector::noiseFigure). A
desensitizing noise generator in the IRU then turns on artificial noise to reach
the target noise floor. Continuous adjustment of artificial noise strength is
required to keep the noise floor at the targeted noise figure.

8.3 Activating or Deactivating Desense

For RDS and Macro mobility, ensure Desense is ON and the target NF is set
to 22 dB.

Verify the NF value with the imbalance equation. The imbalance must be 6 dB
or less for mobility to work.

Note: Be aware that there is no need to activate the desense feature

manually. The system will automatically enable the desense
functionality if needed.

1. Do any of the following steps:

a. To check the status of the Desense feature, verify the

rfNoiseGeneratorEnable attribute by typing the following
command:

lh ru sw g rxNoiseGeneratorEnable

For example:
OTDUW5502> lh ru sw g rxNoiseGeneratorEnable

160203-16:30:50 [Link] 16.0a RBS_NODE_MODEL_U_4_95_COMPLETE stopfile=/tmp/8852

=====================================================================================
$ lhsh 000100/port_0_dev_8 sw g rxNoiseGeneratorEnable
0001p0d8: off
$

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

b. To activate the Desense option manually, use the

rfNoiseGeneratorEnable attribute by typing the following
command:

lh ru sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable on

For example:

OTDUW5502> lh ru sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable on

160203-16:31:17 [Link] 16.0a RBS_NODE_MODEL_U_4_95_COMPLETE stopfile=/tmp/8852

=====================================================================================
$ lhsh 000100/port_0_dev_8 sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable on
$

c. To deactivate the Desense option, use the rfNoiseGeneratorEnab

le attribute by typing the following command:

lh ru sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable off

For example:

OTDUW5502> lh ru sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable off

160203-16:40:31 [Link] 16.0a RBS_NODE_MODEL_U_4_95_COMPLETE stopfile=/tmp/8975

=====================================================================================
$ lhsh 000100/port_0_dev_8 sw s rxNoiseGeneratorEnable off
$

d. To read the noiseFigure value on Branch A/B, type the following

command:

lh ru rxm desense A read nf

For example:

OTDUW5502> lh ru rxm desense A read nf

160203-16:33:49 [Link] 16.0a RBS_NODE_MODEL_U_4_95_COMPLETE stopfile=/tmp/8852
=====================================================================================
$ lhsh 000100/port_0_dev_8 rxm desense A read nf
0001p0d8: Branch A: NoiseFigure = 202(0.1dB)
$

OTDUW5502> lh ru rxm desense B read nf

160203-16:34:06 [Link] 16.0a RBS_NODE_MODEL_U_4_95_COMPLETE stopfile=/tmp/8852

=====================================================================================
$ lhsh 000100/port_0_dev_8 rxm desense B read nf
0001p0d8: Branch B: NoiseFigure = 245(0.1dB)
$

8.4 NoiseFigureOutOfRange Alarm

The following figure shows scenarios where the actual NF is out of range.

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 WCDMA Uplink Configuration

Figure 13 NoiseFigureOutOfRange Alarm

The NoiseFigureOutOfRange is raised if the difference between the actual

noise floor and the target noise figure exceeds 3 dB. The alarm is generated if
the target NF is too high or too low.

Note: If the noiseFigure can be reached, the parameter change takes

effect in 15–30 min. If noiseFigure cannot be reached, the alarm
NoiseFigureOutOfRange is issued.

8.5 WCDMA Noise Floor

In RDS, it is possible to observe the noise floor by counters. The counter
pmNoiseFloorHighRes shows the noise floor in an RDS cell.

A noise floor of about -86 dBm is expected to be common for RDS. As a

consequence, the UL RSSI is expected to show higher values for small cells
than for macro cells.

8.6 Observing WCDMA Noise Floor Using Counters

To observe the Noise Floor using counters, perform the following command:

1. Enter the following command:

pmom pmNoiseFloorHighRes

The following is an example output for the pmom pmNoiseFloorHighRes

command:

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

Figure 14 pmom pmNoiseFloorHighRes Command Output Example

Note: For a 20 m cable with 1 DOT, expect noise samples near -95 dBm:

• -174 + 10Log(3.84x10^6)+13= -95 dBm

Note: For a 200 m cable with 8 DOTS, expect noise samples near -82 dBm:

• -174 + 10Log(3.84x10^6)+26= -82 dBm

8.7 Observing the WCDMA Uplink RSSI

An operator can check the WCDMA Uplink RSSI by using the
pmAverageRssiHigh counter.

To observe the WCDMA Uplink RSSI, perform the following:

1. Enter the following command:

pmom pmAverageRssiHigh

The following is an example output of the pmom pmAverageRssiHigh

command:

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 WCDMA Uplink Configuration

Figure 15 pmom pmAverageRssiHigh Command Response Example

The RSSI value can also be observed using the cabx command. To use the
cabx command, perform the following:

1. Enter the following command:

cabx

The following is an example output of the cabx command:

Figure 16 cabx Command Output Example

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 LTE Uplink Configuration

9 LTE Uplink Configuration

9.1 LTE pZero Settings and Imbalance

RDS NF is high and variable depending on the specific site configuration. Pzero
settings are used to overcome high NF in the RDS, while providing network
balance and receiver blocking. The Pzero settings for PRACH, PUCCH, and
PUSCH are the requested power levels that the LTE receiver is expecting from
a UE in its cell. The pZero values are configurable and are used to inform the
UE what power level to use when transmitting.

The UE is continually searching for better cells to connect with to maintain

the best network performance. The pZero values are used to allow the UE
to attach quickly. This provides the UE with a "starting value" to be used on
top of the UE calculated path loss. When responding to RACH, the eNodeB
provides a power offset to be used on PUSCH and PUCCH based on the
received power on the RACH. The range is from -6 dB to +8 dB. If pZero values
are set too high, they can immediately be adjusted on access. Also, each DL
grant contains a further power adjustment (for example, (+3, +1, -1dB steps).
UE power ramping takes time, so the initial imbalance can cause a significant
delay in the UE successfully attaching. Setting the pZero so that the UE backs
off instead of ramping ensures a faster connection, efficient handovers, and a
better mobile network.

The default levels are meant for the Macro RBS, and are more than 20 dB
lower than the RDS requirement. The pZero settings are set to single midpoint
power levels for a UE to connect and pass UL control and user data optimum
data rates. The adaptive nature of UL schedulers provides some tolerance for
NF variation. In order to achieve the targeted SINR, throughput and normal
UE behavior in RDS, the pZero settings are set to a single mid-point value
for link balance. In LTE, only the pZero parameter must be defined for RDS
deployments.

The following table contains the values that work for most RDS installations:

Figure 17 pZero Settings in LTE

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

On cell commissioning, the UL RSSI is the thermal noise floor for the given
bandwidth plus the NF for the RD/RDI/IRU combination of about 20 dB. The
adjusted noise floor of the receiver increases for UL RSSI when the first UE
connections are made and traffic starts to flow. The receiver blocking minimizes
UL interference.

9.2 LTE pZero Optimization

If necessary, pZero can be optimized by balancing SINR between RDS
and Macro. Pre-defined custom parameters per RDS deployment are not
required. It is more efficient to check UL statistics after launching with standard
parameters. If necessary, perform the following corrective action after
observing RDS response to live traffic:

1. If SINR on RDS UL is too low (< 5 dB), then raise the pZero by the shortfall.

2. If the RSSI increases on Macro as RDS live traffic is too high, and SINR on
RDS is high (> 15 dB), then reduce pZero.

Figure 18 pZero Optimization

9.3 LTE Link Imbalance

Extra noise injection is not required for LTE. The RDS Noise Figure (NF)
depends on cable length and the number of RDs. The RDS NF can vary from
13 dB to 26 dB, depending on the installation. A midpoint RDS NF is used as a
target value for the pZero compensation.

Note: pZero is used for LTE only.

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 LTE Measured Noise Floor

10 LTE Measured Noise Floor

The measured noise floor in LTE can be obtained through the

pmRadioRecInterferencePwr counter. This gives the measured noise
and interference power at the receiver.

The pmRadioRecInterferencePwrPrb1 reflects the accumulated

interference power for PRB1. The accumulated interference power can be
obtained for PRB1 to PRB100.

10.1 Observing the LTE Measured Noise Floor

To observe the LTE measured noise floor, do the following:

1. Enter the following command:

pmRadioRecInterferencePwrPrbx

Where the x at the end of the command represents the Physical Resource
Block (PRB) to be viewed (1 to 100).

10.2 Abnormal High Noise Floor

The greatest cause for excess noise is the failure to terminate a CAT6A
correctly. Comprehensive cable testing is recommended to ensure that the
cable terminations are solid and properly shielded to minimize interference and
signal leakage. Feeder cable rack mount grounding is also necessary and
causes excessive noise in the receiver. Ensure active RF devices that can
transmit excessive out-of-band levels are outside of the specified installation
limits.

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 Terminology

11 Terminology

RSSI The Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) is the

total power from both signal and interfering RF sources
imparted on the receiver pass band. This is known as
the signal to (noise + interference) ratio.

RSSI = S/(N + I)

where,

S = Intended UL carriers signal; dBm

N = Noise; dB

I = Unintended RF that is not the UL Signal; dB

Noise Noise is unwanted signal in a communication system,

also known as interference. Noise occurs in all active
electronic communication devices. Noise sources,
within the circuit, produce an internal thermal noise
power. This thermal noise is based on the irregular
movement of the charge carriers in the conductive
material. Noise sources can also be extraterrestrial
and terrestrial background RF scatter but can also
come from unwanted reception of other transmitters
operating in the same receiver bandwidth. The noise
source can also be from poor out-of-band filtering of
other transmission equipment, if it has greater power
than the noise floor.

NF (Noise Figure)
Noise Figure (NF) is the logarithmic expression of
the Noise Factor (Fn). It is a measurement of the
degradation of the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), cause
by components in the RF signal chain, for a given
bandwidth.

NF = 10 Log (Fn); dB

The Noise Factor (Fn), of a device specifies how much

additional noise the device contributes to the noise
already from the source.

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 Understanding RSSI Values in RDS Deployments

Fn (Noise Factor)
Fn = (available output noise power)/(available output
noise because of source); dimensionless ratio.

Since the receiver uses electrical current to amplify

and process the input signal and noise, the output
noise power in a practical receiver becomes greater by
some factor Fn. The noise factor can be expressed in
Decibels and referred to as the Noise Figure.

Noise Floor The noise in a receiver is statistical and random across

the bandwidth of operation. The noise power itself
comes from external sources and internal sources. The
resulting noise floor can be thought of as an elevated
power level because of the receiver physical design
constraints. In the RDS, the IF cables are extended
(20–200 m) between the IRU receiver and the physical
DOTS and the insertion loss (IL) is therefore included in
the NF. The RDS receiver noise floor is the total noise in
the received channel without any interferers present. It
consists of thermal noise and the receivers Noise Figure
(NF). This means that the noise floor is high before the
interferers become present and reflects a high RSSI.

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