1

AMARI Callbox mini User guide

Version: 2019-07-30
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Table of Contents

1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Hardware setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1 Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.2 Sim card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.3 Wireless RF connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.4 Wired RF connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.4.1 RF connection for one cell 2x2 MIMO in FDD mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4.2 RF connection for one cell 2x2 MIMO in TDD mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.4.3 RF Antenna gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3 Connection to AMARI callbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3.1 Locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.2 Remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4 LTE service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1 Manage LTE automatic service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1.1 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1.2 Stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1.3 Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1.4 Disable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1.5 Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

5 eNodeB configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.1 Selection of eNodeB configuration file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.2 Customization of eNodeB parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.3 TX/RX gain setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.3.1 Wired test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5.3.2 Wireless test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

6 Core network configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

6.1 Selection of MME configuration file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.2 Customization of MME parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.2.1 PLMN ID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.2.2 Adding new SIM card to the database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6.2.3 Commercial SIM card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.2.4 APN configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6.3 VoLTE call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

7 UE configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.1 Internet setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
7.2 VoLTE setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
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8 Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1 Access to software monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1.1 Select component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
8.1.2 Exit screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8.2 Command line monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8.2.1 t command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
8.2.2 t spl command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8.2.3 t cpu command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.3 logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.4 Real time logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

9 Throughput tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
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1 Introduction
AMARI Callbox Mini is a 3GPP compliant eNodeB and EPC allowing functional and
performance testing of LTE, LTE-M and NB-IoT devices. It also includes an integrated IMS
server as well as an eMBMS gateway for VoLTE and eMBMs testing.

The callbox mini is a turnkey solution running on Fedora 28 operating system. It embeds one
SDR card and all software components and licenses required to emulate your LTE network.

This document describes the first steps to start and configure your Amarisoft LTE Callbox. For
advanced configurations and testing, please refer to the application notes and other documents
available under [Link] or under the /root/<components>/doc/ folders of your
callbox.
 2

2 Hardware setup

2.1 Power supply

Plug the external power adapter provided with the callbox in the DC-in Connector located in
the right corner of the rear panel and press the Power on button on the front panel to turn it
on.

Power adapter specifications:

Input: 100~240 V AC, 50~60 Hz, max. 2.5A
Output: Output: 19.5 V DC, max. 9.23 A, max. 180 W output wattage

2.2 Sim card

The callbox is delivered with a test sim card that is already provisioned in the EPC database.
No additional configuration is required for authenticating devices using this SIM card.

SIM card specifications:

• IMSI: 001010123456789
• K: 00112233445566778899aabbccddeeff
• sim algo: XOR
• Non programmable USIM card
• Support both 1.8V and 3V voltage.

It is possible to use and provision different SIM cards for your testing. In that case please
See [Provisioning of new SIM cards], page 9, for more details

2.3 Wireless RF connection

When running test over the air, connect the four LTE antennas provided with the callbox to
the SMA connectors (TX1, RX1, TX2, RX2) located on the rear panel of the callbox.

2.4 Wired RF connection

When running test in conducted mode, first thing to do is to connect the callbox correctly to
the device as described in the following sections.
Each SDR card has two RX and two TX SMA connectors plus one GPS connector.
• Rx1 is the main receive antenna port.
• Rx2 is the diversity receive antenna port.
Chapter 2: Hardware setup 3

• Tx1 is the main transmit antenna port.

• Tx2 is the diversity transmit antenna port.
• GPS is used for connecting an external GPS clock. See trx [Link] document for more
details.

2.4.1 RF connection for one cell 2x2 MIMO in FDD mode


Note: For SISO test, connection between DUT antenna2 and Callbox Tx2 is not required

2.4.2 RF connection for one cell 2x2 MIMO in TDD mode

Note: in TDD mode, as both TX and RX are sent on the same channel, only TX1 and TX2
ports are needed.
However, with Amarisoft SDR card, it’s possible to force the DL signal reception on RX port
and Uplink signal transmission on TX port when rx_antenna: "rx" is set in the RF driver
configuration file.
Chapter 2: Hardware setup 4

This improves the performance of the SDR card as we don’t have to switch the RF several times
per radio frame.

When rx_antenna: "rx" is set, RF connection is the same as for FDD.

2.4.3 RF Antenna gain

In conducted mode, TX and RX gains must be adjusted according to your setup. See [TX/RX
gain setting], page 8, for more details.
 5

3 Connection to AMARI callbox

3.1 Locally
You can connect locally to your callbox by connecting a monitor and a keyboard to the PC.
To login as root, please use root / toor as login / password.

There is also a user account with user/resu as login/password.

Note: The Amarisoft software suit is installed and executed under root account.

3.2 Remotely
The Ethernet interface of the callbox is configured with DHCP. If you know the IP address
allocated to your callbox, you can directly make a SSH connection in Linux by typing
ssh root@<IP address>
or by using PuTTY on Windows.

If you don’t know the IP address of the callbox, then you need to access the PC locally first (see
above) and type the following command to retrieve the IP address of the PC.
ifconfig
 6

4 LTE service
Callbox is configured to provide an automatic LTE service. At each reboot of the PC, LTE
network is turned on automatically.
The default config is : one cell, LTE band 7, 20 MHz bandwidth and MIMO 2x2.

4.1 Manage LTE automatic service

4.1.1 Status
You can check the LTE service status this way:
service lte status
The command will return "active (running)" status if service is running

4.1.2 Stop
You can stop all LTE components this way:
service lte stop

4.1.3 Start
You can start them again this way:
service lte start

4.1.4 Disable
You may also prevent them to start at boot time:
systemctl disable lte

NB: lte service remains enable until next reboot

NB2: this command is not available on Ubuntu version <= 14

4.1.5 Enable
You may enable service at boot time this way:
systemctl enable lte

NB: lte service remains disable until next reboot

NB2: this command is not available on Ubuntu version <= 14
 7

5 eNodeB configuration

5.1 Selection of eNodeB configuration file

The default file used by the lte automatic service for configuring the eNodeB component is
[Link] (available under /root/enb/config directory).
This file aims to set eNodeB parameters such as frequency, cell bandwidth, number of layer and
others.

Please note that this file is a symbolic link to real configuration file as depicted below

Some examples of configuration file (for nb-iot, cat-M1 or Carrier aggregation as instance)
are provided in Amarisoft releases as a starting point.
To change the eNodeb configuration and select one of these files, update the [Link] symbolic
link using the "ln -sfn <config file> [Link]" command

Default configuration eNodeb is one LTE Cell, 20MHz cell bandwidth, MIMO mode

5.2 Customization of eNodeB parameters

Once eNodeB configuration file has been selected (as a starting point), you can now edit it and
customize key parameters such as:
• Frequency : dl earfcn
• Cell bandwidth : n rb dl
• Number of layer : n antenna dl
• Others..

All parameters available are described in the [Link] document.

You will also find a generic [Link] file that can be easily tuned using the #defines in
the header
#define TDD 0 // Values: 0 (FDD), 1(TDD)
#define N_RB_DL 25 // Values: 6 (1.4 MHz), 15 (3MHz), 25 (5MHz), 50 (10MHz), 75
#define N_ANTENNA_DL 1 // Values: 1 (SISO), 2 (MIMO 2x2)
#define N_ANTENNA_UL 1 // Values: 1, 2
#define CHANNEL_SIM 0 // Values: 0 (channel simulator disabled), 1 (channel simulato

For example, to configure a 20mhz MIMO TDD cell, just set the #defines this way:
#define TDD 1
#define N_RB_DL 100
#define N_ANTENNA_DL 2
#define N_ANTENNA_UL 1
#define CHANNEL_SIM 0
Chapter 5: eNodeB configuration 8

5.3 TX/RX gain setting

TX and RX antenna gain values must be customized in order to avoid saturation when set too
high or Bler when set too low. Those two values actually depend on your setup:
• Conducted vs wireless conditions
• Physical RF attenuator used
• Combiner/divider used
TX and RX gain values are defined in RF configuration file located under
/root/enb/config/rf driver directory.
To know which files is used by LTE service, just look at [Link] file.
Example:
include "rf_driver/[Link]",

5.3.1 Wired test

When the device under test is connected through RF cable to the eNodeb, the recommended
RX and TX antenna gain values are :
tx_gain: 60.0, /* TX gain (in dB) */
rx_gain: 0.0, /* RX gain (in dB) */
If physical RF attenuators (or RF combiners) are used, additional gain must be added to
these default values equivalent to the path loss introduced

Note: max SDR input is -10 dBm, max SDR output is 5dBm (depending on the frequency).

5.3.2 Wireless test

In Wireless test conditions (i.e when LTE antenna are used), the recommended RX and TX
antenna gain values are :
tx_gain: 90.0, /* TX gain (in dB) */
rx_gain: 60.0, /* RX gain (in dB) */
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6 Core network configuration

LTEMME is a LTE MME (Mobility Management Entity) implementation. It has a built-in

SGW (Serving Gateway), PGW (Packet Data Network Gateway), PCRF (Policy and Charging
Rule Function), HSS (Home Subscriber Server) and EIR (Equipment Identity Register). It is
used with the Amarisoft LTE eNodeB to build a highly configurable LTE test network.

6.1 Selection of MME configuration file

The default file used by the lte automatic service for configuring the Core network is [Link]
(available under /root/mme/config directory).
This file aims to set parameters such as PLMN ID, network name, PDN list, APN name and
others.

Please note that this file is a symbolic link to real configuration file as depicted below

6.2 Customization of MME parameters

6.2.1 PLMN ID
Default PLMN ID of callbox is 001 01.

If the test sim card provided with the AMARI callbox is used, you can skip this section. No
customization is required

If your test SIM card has a different HPLMN, you can change the PLMN of the box.

in /root/mme/config/[Link] file, change plmn: "00101" value and replace 00101 by your
MCC/MNC code .

Note : Same modification must be done at eNodeB side:
In /root/enb/config/[Link] file, modify or add a new MCC/MNC value in the plmn_list
array.

6.2.2 Adding new SIM card to the database

If the test sim card provided with the AMARI callbox is used, you can skip this section. No
customization is required.
Same if you want to connect multiple UE using the same sim card model (and same IMSI by con-
sequence). The MME will allow each UE to attach with the same IMSI (001010123456789).UE
are distinguished with their IMEI in that case.
Chapter 6: Core network configuration 10

Otherwise, if other test SIM cards with different IMSI or secret key values are used, they must
be declared in the EPC database (HSS)
For that, open the /root/mme/config/ue_db-[Link] and add an entry for each sim card
in the ue_db array . Example :
{
sim algo: "milenage",
imsi: "001010000000001",
opc: "000102030405060708090A0B0C0D0E0F",
amf: 0x9001,
sqn: "000000000000",
K: "00112233445566778899AABBCCDDEEFF",
},

Note: Secret key parameters are mandatory as both UE and Network need to authenticate
each other .

6.2.3 Commercial SIM card

Any SIM card can be used with the AMARI callbox as long as it’s been declared in the UE
database as described in the section above.

However, it is very unlikely that you get the secret key parameters from the network operator
required for the authentication and the security mechanism.
In that case, the solution consists in disabling the authentication using one of the two methods
described below :
1) If the UE accepts the use of EIA0 (Null Integrity algorithm) in the NAS/RRC security
mode control procedures outside of an emergency call, then set the following option in your
MME configuration file:
authentication_mode: skip,
2) If you know the command at UE side to skip both the authentication and security mode
control procedures, then set the following options in your MME configuration file:
authentication_mode: skip,
skip_smc_proc: true,
and set the following option in your eNB configuration file (eNB configuration object, not
the cell configuration object)
skip_smc_proc: true,

6.2.4 APN configuration

MME is configured by default with four APN :
1. Default
2. Internet
3. IMS
4. SOS
For connecting your device to the callbox, one of these APN must be configured at UE side.
See [UE configuration], page 12, for more details.
Otherwise, if for any reason, the device under test must use a specific APN, the modification
can be done at MME side:
1. Open /root/mme/config/[Link] file.
Chapter 6: Core network configuration 11

2. Replace the preconfigured "internet" APN name as instance with the expected APN name
or create a new entry in the pdn list array.
3. Restart the system with "service lte restart" command

6.3 VoLTE call

AMARI Callbox embeds an IMS server that can be used for running basic IMS tests such as
VoLTE, ViLTE or SMS over IMS. For more information about the IMS functionality, please
refer to appnote [Link] document .
Also, See [VoLTE setting], page 12, for more details about UE configuration.
 12

7 UE configuration

7.1 Internet setting

For connecting your device to internet, APN setting must be configured at UE side to match
callbox setting.
As described in previous section, the callbox is preconfigured with four APN :
• "Default": This APN name is frequently used by the UE when no specific APN is set.
However, some UEs doesn’t expose an internet connection when this generic APN is used.
In that case, we recommend to create a "internet" apn as described below.
• "Internet": Second APN name preconfigured in order to route internet IP traffic.
• "IMS": APN for VoLTE call
• "SOS": APN for emergency services
AT UE side, go in setting menu to add a new APN:
Example on Samsung S5 device:
• Go to Settings/More networks/Mobile networks
• Turn on Data roaming
• Go back to Mobile network.
• Add the first APN with the following parameters:
• Name = Internet
• APN = internet
• APN type = internet,default
• Save it and select it.

7.2 VoLTE setting

If handset supports VoLTE, you just need to check VoLTE Call is ticked on your handset menu
as depicted in the picture below.
 13

However, most of the commercial devices are locked and behave differently. Some devices have
a white list of authorized PLMN, some require that "UE operation mode" byte is set to "type
approval operations" in USIM Elementary File Administrative Data(EFad). To overcome this
issue, a reference UE can be provided by Amarisoft . Please contact support team for more
details.
 14

8 Monitoring
Once all eNodeb and MME parameters have been configured, you can restart the lte service with
service lte restart command to reload the configuration files and connect your device(s).

To monitor your eNodeB/EPC or troubleshoot any issues, several tools and logs are available
as described in the following sections.

8.1 Access to software monitors

Once you are logged on your callbox, you can access software components (eNB, MME, IMS or
MBMSGW) using screen command:
screen -x lte
This will connect you to different component monitor.

Next sections show you basic methods. For more information please refer to screen docu-
mentation ([Link]

8.1.1 Select component

Each component monitor is inside a window. You can switch from a window to another with
the command:
ctrl+a <window index>
Where window index is:
• 0 MME
• 1 eNB
• 2 MBMSGW
• 3 IMS

Note: press simultaneously CTRL key and a key, release them, then press number key.

You can also switch to next window:

ctrl+a <space>
Chapter 8: Monitoring 15

Each component screen offers a list of commands that can be used either to get status
or trigger action. Each of them are documented in the component documentations (example
[Link]) or inline with the "help" command

8.1.2 Exit screen

ctrl+a d

8.2 Command line monitor

In eNB component, t command provides key logging information (See the list of parameter
using t help command.

8.2.1 t command
t command (without argument) provides key information about the Uplink and downlink trans-
fer
(enb) t
Press [return] to stop the trace
----DL----------------------- --UL------------------------------------------------
UE_ID CL RNTI C cqi ri mcs retx txok brate snr puc1 mcs rxko rxok brate turbo phr pl ta
3 001 003f 1 15 2 28.0 0 202 151M 15.6 11.9 20.0 0 1 8.40k 1/1.0/1 40 59 0.0
3 001 003f 1 15 2 28.0 0 4000 149M 15.7 12.8 20.0 0 25 10.5k 1/1.0/1 40 59 0.0
3 001 003f 1 15 2 28.0 0 4000 150M 14.7 13.0 20.0 0 25 10.5k 1/1.0/1 40 59 0.0
3 001 003f 1 15 2 28.0 0 4000 149M 16.1 11.2 20.0 0 25 10.5k 1/1.0/1 40 59 0.0
3 001 003f 1 15 2 28.0 0 4000 150M 15.5 11.0 20.0 0 25 10.5k 1/1.0/1 40 59 0.0

Where for downlink:

• UE ID is the identifier allocated by the eNodeb to each UE. Note: This value changes each
time RRC connection is released.
• CL is the number of aggregated DL cells
• RNTI is the (c) RNTI of each UE
• C is the number of carrier used by the UE
Chapter 8: Monitoring 16

• cqi is the Channel Quality Indicator reported by the UE, between 0 (bad) and 15 (very
good). If there are several aggregated DL cells, the minimum cqi is displayed.
• ri is the Rank Indicator (number of layers for MIMO). If there are several aggregated DL
cells, the minimum rank indicator is displayed.
• mcs (Modulation Coding Scheme) is the average MCS value used in downlink during the
measurement interval period. More details about MCS range are available in 3GPP TS
36.213
• retx (retransmission) is the number of retransmission sent by UE in Uplink or received by
eNodeB in downlink. This parameter gives indications about the channel quality.
• txok is the number of successfully transmitted transport blocks.
• brate is the average bitrate (at the MAC layer), in bits per second.
Where for uplink:
• snr is the measured Signal to Noise Ratio for the uplink from the PUSCH reference signals
and the SRS.
• puc1 is the measured Signal to Noise Ratio for the last PUCCH1.
• rxko is the number of received uplink transport blocks with CRC errors.
• rxok is the number of received uplink transport blocks without CRC error.
• turbo gives the minimum, average and maximum number of iterations of the turbo decoder.
• phr is the content of the last Power Headroom MAC control element sent by the UE. It is
expressed in dB. Negative values indicate that the UE could not transmit with the required
power.
• pl is the Uplink Path Loss in dB. It is measured from the reported PHR and the measured
uplink power level. It is meaningful only if the RF interface correctly reports the absolute
received power level.
• ta is the Average of the uplink timing advance measured for the UE in TA units.

8.2.2 t spl command

Once UE got attached to the cell, Uplink and Downlink signal levels have a direct impact on
decoding performances. In order to reach full throughput in both ways, TX and RX antenna
gain values must be set correctly (as described in section "TX/RX gain setting") in order to
avoid saturation when set too high or Bler when set too low. The command t spl under eNB
terminal helps to monitor the RX and TX signal power:

(enb) t spl
Press [return] to stop the trace
--TX 1----------- --TX 2----------- dBFS --RX 1----- --RX 2-----
RMS PAPR MAX RMS PAPR MAX SAT RMS MAX RMS MAX
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -8.3 0 -42.7 -30.4 -42.7 -30.4
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -8.4 0 -42.7 -30.5 -42.7 -29.7
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -7.9 0 -42.7 -30.2 -42.7 -29.8
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -8.4 0 -42.7 -30.4 -42.6 -29.7
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -8.4 0 -42.7 -30.8 -42.7 -30.2
-24.6 17.0 -7.7 -24.6 17.5 -8.4 0 -42.7 -30.4 -42.7 -30.5
-24.6 17.4 -7.2 -24.6 17.5 -8.3 0 -42.7 -30.7 -42.7 -30.5

TX columns provides information about transmitted signal power.

• TX RMS: stands for transmitted Root-Mean-Square. This is the mean value in dB FS (full
Scale)
Chapter 8: Monitoring 17

• TX PAPR: stands for Peak-to-Average Power Ratio. PAPR is the ratio of peak power to the
average power of a signal. It is expressed in the units of dB. In LTE system, OFDM signal
PAPR is approx. 12dB . If RMS + PAPR exceed the max power of the power amplifier,
saturation will happen
• TX MAX: stands for Maximum. Displays the maximum sample value during the measurement
interval period.
• TX SAT: stands for Saturation. Displays the number of saturation events during the mea-
surement interval. If SAT value is different of 0, it means that the transmitted signal in
Downlink is saturated. In this case, tx gain should be decreased until SAT is equal to 0.
RX columns provides information about received signal power.
• RX RMS: stands for Received Root-Mean-Square. This is the mean value in dB FS (full
Scale)
• RX MAX: stands for Maximum. Displays the maximum sample value during the measurement
interval period. If RX MAX value equals to 0, it means that the received signal in UL is
saturated. In this case, rx gain should be decreased until RX MAX is below 0.
In Wireless test conditions, the recommended values for PCIe SDR cards are :
tx_gain: 90.0, /* TX gain (in dB) */
rx_gain: 60.0, /* RX gain (in dB) */
In RF cables test conditions, the recommended values for PCIe SDR cards are :
tx_gain: 60.0, /* TX gain (in dB) */
rx_gain: 00.0, /* RX gain (in dB) */

Note : tx gain and rx gain commands can be used in eNB screen to decrease or increase the
TX gain and RX gain respectively

8.2.3 t cpu command

t cpu command provides key information about the CPU load .This is useful for verifying that
PC is not running out of CPU when expected KPI are not reached.
-Proc- ---RX-------- ---TX-------- ---- TX/RX diff (ms)
CPU MS/s CPU MS/s CPU min/avg/max sigma
51.8% 23.040 6.6% 23.040 1.6% 2.23/2.8/3.3 0.2
52.9% 23.040 6.6% 23.039 1.6% 1.97/2.8/3.3 0.2
52.3% 23.040 6.6% 23.041 1.5% 2.20/2.8/3.3 0.2
51.4% 23.040 6.6% 23.040 1.6% 2.20/2.8/3.3 0.2
50.8% 23.040 6.6% 23.039 1.6% 2.19/2.8/3.3 0.2
t cpu shows CPU consumption for the main LTE task (Proc), the reception chain (RX) or
transmission chain (TX). Units are MS/s (Million of sample per second)

On top of that, t cpu command provides information on TX-RX delay: The min, average and
max values are given in milliseconds.
In other words, in LTE FDD mode as instance, eNodeB receives data in Uplink and must
acknowledge (or nack) them 4ms later to the UE. eNodeB has by consequence 4ms to decode the
uplink samples and send the ack/nack answer in downlink. The RX/TX delay is the remaining
time before data are processed and time they must be sent in downlink.
If this value decreases to zero, this means that PC is too slow and physical layer is running out
of CPU to process the data within this period. The higher is the TX/RX value is , the better
it is.
Chapter 8: Monitoring 18

8.3 logging
eNodeB and MME generate log files under /tmp/ directory ([Link], [Link] and [Link])
that could be used for further analysis and debugging.
The verbosity if these logs can be customized by modifying the log_options field available in
the [Link] and [Link] configuration files (See [Link] or [Link] for more details).

Note: We recommend to activate physical layer debug traces by adding [Link]=debug in your
eNodeB config file.

8.4 Real time logging

The LTE web interface allows to analyze Amarisoft LTE software logs and get real time infor-
mation from the system.
For more details about the Graphical user interface please refer to [Link] document avail-
able under Extranet.
 19

9 Throughput tests
For testing data throughput and reach the maximum uplink and downlink bitrate, please refer
to the appnote [Link] document