Interview-Questions

If I were Interviewer, the followings are questions:

1. What is LTE?
2. What's the difference between 3G & LTE?
3. What's the benefit of LTE?
4. What's technology applied in LTE? (both in UL and DL)
5. What's the max. throughput we can achieve from LTE?
6. In the market, which type/categ. of UE are available now?
7. Do you have any experience in LTE dimensioning/planning and
drivetesting?
If so, please kindly answer the following questions?
1. what is main frequency band for LTE?
2. In coverage planning, what are the most influence factors?
3. In 3G, RSCP and Ec/Io are used to determined in coverage planning. How's
about in LTE? And why?
4. What are the range of SINR, RSRP, RSRQ, MCS and CQI values?
5. What is the typical cell range of LTE?
6. How do you understand RB and how does RB impact on Throughput?
7. What is the typical value of latency?
6. What are the type of HO? If so, pls. explain me a bit of best cell HO
and coverage HO?
7. For HO, pls. explain me the difference between HO via X2 and S1?
8. Do we still need Scraming code planning in LTE? If not, why?
9. Please explain me about eNodeB, MME and core network layout.
10. For capacity planning, do we still need Channel element
(CE) dimensioning? If not, why?
11. Have you experience in Atoll and Momentun?
12. Have you expereince in XCAL and Agilent NiXT?
13. Please explain me about QoS and Scheduling in LTE?
14. Pls. explain me about MIMO, SIMO and TxDiV configuration?
15. How's about those configuration and expected throughput?
If you can answer above questions, you will be in short list

NSN LTE Parameters

Tayal's way to learn LTE

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PHICH
Random Access Procedure (RACH)
14
Resource Allocation Types
7
All about PDCCH and CCE allocation
11
LTE ( Long Term Evolution )
4

All about PDCCH and CCE allocation

PDCCH ( Physical downlink Control

Channel ) :- This channel carries the control information about the data being
transmitted on the current subframe and the information about the resources which UE
need to use for the uplink data. That means it is mandatory for the UE to decode it
successfully if it wants to send some data or receive something.
After knowing PDCCH, I personally feel that it is the heart of LTE . So we should try to
understand it completely that:What information it carries?
Where it carries the information?
And for whom it carries the information?
PDCCH carries a message called DCI ( Downlink Control Information ) which includes
resource assignments for a UE or group of UE's. EnodeB can transmit many DCI's or
PDCCH's in a subframe. Actually enodeB need to send a lot of parameters to the UE for
its operation but there may be the cases that some information is not required for a
particular UE.
For Example:- Some UE does not support MIMO ( Multiple Input Multiple Output ), so
for that UE there is no need to send the MIMO related parameters because they will
increase the signalling overhead.
There comes in the picture the different formats for sending the information which are
called DCI formats. Even we would not like to have so many formats because they will
increase the complexity. So to cover the most useful cases we have following DCI

formats:DCI format 0 is used for uplink allocation, all other formats are used for allocating the
resources in downlink.

Format 0 for transmission of resources to UE for sending their uplink data

Format 1 for downlink allocation of resources for Single Input Multiple Output
(SIMO)case

Format 1A for downlink allocation of resources for SIMO operation or allocating

a dedicated preample signature to a UE for random access

Format 1B for transmission control information of Multiple Input Multiple Output

(MIMO) rank 1 based compact resource assignment

Format 1C for very compact transmission of PDSCH assignment

Format 1D same as format1B with additional information of power offset

Format 2 and Format2A for transmission of DL-SCH allocation for closed and
open loop MIMO operation, respectively

Format 3 and format3A for transmission of TPC command for an uplink

channel
We will explain the structure of each format later with their sizes and thorough
explanation of their specific use.
Allocation of resources happens in terms of CCE ( Control Channel Elements ).
1 CCE = 9 continuous REG's ( Resource element Group )
1 REG = 4 RE ( Resource Element )

CCE allocation for PDCCH :-

PDCCH uses the resources present in first n OFDM symbols where

n - Value present in PCFICH ( Number of OFDM symbols )
So the number of CCE's present to transmit the control information will be variable
depending on the

PCFICH value

Bandwidth of the system from 1.4 Mhz to 20 Mhz.

Number of antenna ports present which in turn will effect the reference signals
present.

Lets take an example for the number of CCE available calculation:Step -1 :- We need to find the total number of RE's available in first n OFDM symbols
where n is coming from the value of PCFICH.
Suppose n = 3

Total RE's = n * x * y
n - PCFICH value
x - number of subcarriers in 1 RB
y - total number of RB's considering 10 Mhz bandwidth
Total RE's = 3 * 12 * 50 = 1800 RE's
RE's for PDCCH = Total RE's Number of RE's used for reference signals Number of RE's used in PHICH Number of RE's used in PCFICH
CCE's available for PDCCH = RE's for PDCCH /36
as 1 CCE = 36 RE's.
eNodeB uses the PDCCH for sending the control information for a particular UE or a
group of UE's. It means eNodeB uses the PDCCH for some broadcast information also
which is common for all the UE's. So to make that process easier eNodeB divided its
CCE's into two parts which we call them as search space:
1.
Common search space :- It consists of CCE's which are used for sending the
control information which is common for all the UE's .Maximum number of CCE
present in common search space is 16. For Example:- Common search space CCE's
are used by eNodeB for sending the control information of SIB's which is common for
all UE's.
2.
UE specific search space :- CCE's belonging to UE specific space are used for
sending the control information for a particular UE only. That means information
present on UE specific CCE's can only be decoded by a specific UE.
eNodeB can also send the control information for a specific UE on the common search
space.
Lets suppose there are total 100 CCE's eNodeB has for sending the control information
combining both common space and UE specific search space.
Suppose enodeB has used 85th CCE number for a UE named ravan for sending his
control information.
Now how the Ravan will come to know which CCE he needs to decode for getting his
information. Either he needs to scan all 100 CCE's one by one and try to find the
information. This procedure will consume a lot of battery power for the UE. So to
simplify this process,
eNodeB has fixed some indexes for a particulat UE based on the rnti and the subframe,
so now ravan needs to find his control information only on those specific CCE indexes.

How eNodeB calculate those CCE indexes for

a UE:

First we should be familiar with some terms used in this procedure:Aggregation Level :- It is defined as number of CCE's used for sending a
control information. Its values can be 1,2,4 and 8. Suppose for UE named ravan
eNodeB is using some DCI format whose size comes out to be 90 bits after applying
the code rate.
Code rate:- It is mainly a physical layer funda for sending the information in a
redundant way such that chances of UE successfully decoding it gets increased.
As we know that :1 CCE = 36 RE's
1 RE = 2 bits ( For QPSK modulation)
4 bits( For 16 QAM )
6 bits ( For 64 QAM)
And eNodeB uses QPSK modulation technique for PDCCH ,
Number of bits in 1 CCE = 36 * 2 = 72 bits.
In the example for UE ravan eNodeb needs to send 90 bits , so it need to use
atleast 2 CCE's for the control information on PDCCH. It means it will send the control
information with aggregation level 2.

It is also possible that enodeB uses a higher aggregation level( more number of
CCE's) even if the bits transmitted on PDCCH are less. This happens when channel
conditions are bad , so to provide more redundant information to UE such that it can
decode the PDCCH.

PDCCH candidates :- Number of CCE indexes serached by a UE in a subframe

for a particular search space. These values are fixed by spec 36213 as mentioned in
table :-

Search space
Type
UE-specific

Common

Number of PDCCH candidates

Aggregation level
Size [in CCEs]
1
6
2
12
4
8
8
16
4
16
8
16

6
6
2
2
4
2

PDCCH Format :- There are four PDCCH formats available as shown below

The set of indexes searched by a UE depends on a formula given by spec as:where Yk is defined as

L - Aggregation level
A PDCCH consisting of n consecutive CCE's may only start on a CCE index fulfilling
i mod n = 0
where i = CCE number
For Example:eNodeB wants to allocate PDCCH for some UE or group of UE's on aggregation level 4
( Means 4 CCE's are required), Then it can only allocate CCE's starting with indexes
which satisfies
(CCE index) mod 4 = 0

How to find CCE indexes on common search

space:As shown in table eNodeB uses only aggregation level 4 and 8 for the allocation in
common search space .
Maximum number of CCE's present in common search space is fixed as 16. If the total
number of CCE's available in the system are less than 16 for any bandwidth then all the
CCE's will be present in common search space.
The position of Common search space CCE's is always fixed starting from the first CCE
index.
For example:We have 100 CCE's belonging to PDCCH as shown above from CCE index 0 to 99.
As we know that starting CCE's are common search space CCE's , so in the diagram
green color CCE's are common search space CCE's from index 0 to 15.
Suppose eNodeB wants to allocate CCE's for SIB on common search space for
aggregation level 4
And we know that it should satisfy the formula
1. (CCE Index ) mod 4 = 0,
2. And from the table above , the number of PDCCH candidates ( starting CCE indexes)
for aggregation level 4 in common space can be 4.

By meeting the above two conditions 4 indexes will be supported by aggregation level 4
in common space as
CCE
CCE
CCE
CCE

index
index
index
index

0 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 0 to 3

4 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 4 to 7
8 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 8 - 11
12 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 12 -15

Similarly if eNodeB wants to allocate with aggregation level 8, then possible indexes
meeting the two conditions will be
CCE index 0 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 0 to 7
CCE index 8 - will contain consecutive CCE's from 8 to 15
As we know that UE does the blind PDCCH decoding , means it does not have any idea
about the aggregation level or DCI format used by the eNodeB. So a UE in common
space needs to make
(4 try in aggregation level 4 + 2 try in aggregation level 8 ) * DCI format supported for
common space
only small sizes DCI formats are supported in common search space as 0/1A/3/3A/ and
1C
so if enodeB supports 1A and 1C DCI formats, so UE needs to do 12 tries maximum to
decode its PDCCH information.

How to find the CCE indexes in UE specific

search space in a subframe:According to the formulas in spec 36213 as:The set of indexes searched by a UE in a subframe is:where Yk is defined as
if k =0 , Y-1 = RNTI value for that UE ( As given in spec 36213 sec 9.1.1 )
A = 39827
D = 65537
Lets take an example:Subframe number = 0
Aggregation level = 1
We know from the table above that for aggregation level 1, number of PDCCH

canditates ( CCE indexes) can be 6.

Yk = (A * Yk-1 ) mod D
k = subframe number
As k = 0
Yk-1 = RNTI value for that UE, lets suppose its 100.
Yk = (39827 * 100) mod 65537
= 50480
CCE index =
L = aggregation level
i = 0 to (Aggregation Level - 1)
Ncce = Number of CCE's available for PDCCH ( suppose 100)
m' = 0 to ( Number of PDCCH canditates -1 )
CCE index = 1 { (50480 + 0 ) mod (100/1)} + 0
= 80
So first CCE index for aggregation level 1 for this UE in subframe 0 will be 80.
Lets calculate next CCE index for the same UE in the same subframe.
Yk value changes with the subframe only so withion the subframe same value will be
used.
CCE index = 1 { ( 50480 + 1 ) mod ( 100 /1 )} + 0
= 81
Similarly you can calculate the remaining CCE indices for this UE in the current
subframe
Lets try to find the CCE indices for subframe 1 now with aggregation level 2:As we know that Yk value changes with subframe
Yk = (A * Yk-1) mod D
= (39827 * 50480) mod 65537
= 53948
Yk-1 will be the value calculated for subframe 0
For aggregation level two also
m' will be 0 to 5 as number of PDCCH candidates are 6 for aggregation level 2
CCE index = 2 {(53948 + 0) mod (100/2)} + 0
=96
As in Aggregation level 2, two CCE's will be allocated for the same PDCCh candidate
Second CCE will be = 2{(53948 +0)mod (100/2)} + 1
= 97
So first CCE index for this UE in subframe 1 for aggregation level 2 will be 96. This
PDCCH candidate will contain 2 CCE's with indexes 96 and 97.

In similar ways UE can find the CCE indexes available in all subframes for the different
aggregation levels.

CCE Allocation Examples:-

If terminal A is using the CCE's 16 to 23 then terminal B cannot be addressed on

Aggregation level 4 as the CCE's are already blocked by terminal A.
We can also notice that, CCE's 24- 31 belongs to both of the UE's PDCCH
candidate set for aggregation level 8. That means overlap can also happen but
eNodeB can actually use it for one terminal either A or B.

For point 1 like case, common search space CCE's can be used to resolve the
contention. This is also another inportant use of common search space.

It is also clear that first 16 CCE's are used for common search space in both
aggregation level 4 and 8.

How EnodeB decides which DCI Format to

use:-

It is decided by enodeB on the basis of transmission mode and the RNTI type used for
that particular PDCCH.

RNTI types:SI- RNTI :- Used for transmission of system information messages.

RA-RNTI :- Used for PRACH responses.

P-RNTI :- Used for the paging messages

C-RNTI :- Used for the transmission to a specific UE after RACH.

T-CRNTI :- Mainly used during Rach.

There are tables present in spec 36213 in sec 7.1 which describes which format to use.
I am consolidating that information from spec in a easy way to understand.
Usually all the common information gets scheduled in common search space with the
CRC scrambled with all RNTI's except CRNTI. We use DCI format 1A or 1C irrespective
of Transmission mode.
Please find the table for the mapping :-

PDCCH order is also transmitted with DCI format 1A.

How EnodeB decides the Aggregation Level to

use :It is decided on the basis of size of DCI and the CQI ( channel quality indicator ) value
received in uplink. The size of different DCI formats is defined in spec. After selecting
the DCI format we know the number of bits needs to send on PDCCH after applying the
code rate.
As we know that in 1 CCE 72 bits can be transmitted as QPSK modulation is used in
PDCCH. After considering the DCI size and the CQI value, eNodeB decides the
aggregation level to use or the number of CCE's required for the control information for
this particulat DCI.

Blind Decoding of PDCCH by UE :UE does the blind decoding because:

UE does not have idea about the CCE's used by PDCCH

UE does not know the aggregation level used by eNodeB

UE do not have idea about the DCI format used by eNodeB

Steps followed by UE for the blind decoding of PDCCH:After each blind detection UE checks the CRC with the corresponding RNTI. If CRC is
decoded successfully with that RNTI, UE can find the DCI format from the payload size
and the RNTI in that PDCCH .

Important points about PDCCH :

ULSCH PDCCH or DCI format 0 which is used for uplink grant is scrambled with
Antenna selection mask . It is done to intimidate the UE about the antenna port it
needs to use for its transmission.
PDCCH shall be transmitted on the same set of antenna ports as PBCH.
PDCCH is transmitted in starting OFDM symbols to save battery at UE.

In one subframe or 1 ms , multiple DCI's needs to be send by eNodeB for

sending the data to different UE's.

For 1 UE, eNodeB can send multiple DCI's if it needs to send data and give
uplink grant in the same tick.

UE needs to keep on decoding CCE's if it is expecting more than one DCI's.

KeyEVDORFParameterWhileDriveTest(DT)
RX:

It is the total signal level received within the bandwidth, including the serving carrier signal (C)
and interfering signal (I).Those signals which are carried by other carrier are called interfering
signals. The high value Rx does not necessarily come with strong carrier while low value Rx
comes necessarily with weak carrier signals. It is mainly used for analysis of coverage area
(weak coverage and strong coverage area).

C/I:

It is the Key parameter in EVDO drive test which helps to determine terminal data rate request
forward rate. Where C shows the signal strength of serving sector and I shows the signal
strength of the other available sectors .C/I and Ec/Io indicate the signal to noise ratio.
The relationship between C/I and Ec/Io is Ec/Io=C/C+I

Mapping Table:

DRC
Index

Slots

Modulation

Preamble
Chips

Payload Bits Raw kb/s C/I db

0x0

n/a

QPSK

n/a

Null rate

n/a

0x1

16

QPSK

1024

1024

38.4

-11.5

0x2

QPSK

512

1024

76.8

-9.2

0x3

QPSK

256

1024

153.6

-6.5

0x4

QPSK

128

1024

307.2

- 3.5

0x5

QPSK

128

2048

307.2

- 3.5

0x6

QPSK

64

1024

614.4

- 0.6

0x7

QPSK

64

2048

614.4

- 0.5

0x8

QPSK

64

3072

921.6

+ 2.2

0x9

QPSK

64

2048

1228.8

+ 3.9

0xa

16 QAM

64

4096

1228.8

+ 4.0

0xb

8PSK

64

3072

1843.3

+ 8.0

0xc

16QAM

64

4096

2457.6

+ 10.3

0xd

16QAM

64

5120

1536.0

In Rev A

0xe

16QAM

64

5120

3072.0

In Rev A

If a place where sector overlap exists, the C/I will not be necessarily high if with high value of
Rx. So C/I value in sector overlap area is low. Pilot pollution have greater effect on C/I value in
EVDO network because an AT demodulates signals from only one sector at a time where as an
MS can demodulate signals from three or more sectors in 1X network.

PER:

PER is similar to FER in 1X network .It affects the forward data rate as in C/I .It includes both
Forward PER(EV_RX_PER) and Reverse PER (EV_TX_PER).The high value of PER means
the lower RLP throughput because of the repeated transmission in the RLP layer. In reverse link
it is proportional to the C/I.

DRC Value:

It is related to C/I as shown in above table and PER. It depends up on the quality of air
interface.

EV_RX_RLP_Throughput_Instant:

It is related to DRC value and number of active users.

Reverse Rate:

It is similar to CDMA 2001X data service.

Coverage Counter:

Forward: RXAGC, Total C/I

Reverse : Tx Power
Quality Counter:

Application Layer:

FTP Download
FTP Upload

RLP layer:

EV_RX_RLP_Thr
EV_TX_RLP_Thr
Physical Layer:
EV_Rx_packet_Thr
EV_Rx_Pkt_Thr_Instant
EV_TX_Pkt_Thr

QOS:

EV_Rx_PER
EV_Tx_PER

Posted by Subin Bhatta at 1:47 AM No comments:

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

ReasonsforCallDropsinCDMASystem
The following can be reason for the dropped call in CDMA:

In the Forward Link:

1) Improper setting for the overhead channel power level and the traffic channel power
thresholds.
2) Improper hand off parameter setting.
3) Removing the pilot from the active set by the candidate set before the replacement.
4) Pilot is too weak to lock the code tracking loop.
5) Distortion of the forward signal by the power amplifier.
6) Improper control of the forward channel power.
7) High Frame Error Rate (FER), poor pilot, or poor RSSI.
In the Reverse Link:

1) Improper setting of the access parameters, improper setting of the open loop power control,
or improper setting of the reverse link Eb/No threshold value.

2) A number of signaling conditions cause the system to revert to the system determination state
of the initiated system setting.

3) Maximized handset power and poor link quality.

4) Unsuitable pilot during the hand off operation.

5) Poor performance of the forward link power control channel.

6) Link imbalance.

7) High FER, frequent change in the transmit gain, and high transmit power.

Possible Software Problems Causing the Call Drop/Failure:

1) An updated neighbor list was not received. After a successful inter-MSC hard hand off, a
message carrying an updated neighbor list of the target cell must be receivedif the list is not
received, a call drop occurs. In accordance with the present embodiment, this problem is solved
by applying a supplementary package to the BTS software (i.e., updating the software) to
prevent call drops due to this condition.

2) The guard timer is not properly working. After a successful forward channel inter-MSC hard
hand off, the time until the associated reverse channel inter-MSC hard hand off occurs is
restricted in order to prevent the ping pong phenomena. In accordance with the present
embodiment, when analyzing the message, if the above-noted time is shorter than a preset
value (e.g., 5 seconds), a supplementary package is applied.

3) An improper message is received while performing the hard hand off. For example, after
receiving the mobile station reject order, the call is dropped. In accordance with the present
embodiment, an improper message of this sort is indicative of a mobile station problem or a
software problem, whereupon appropriate corrective measures are taken.

4) After performing the hard hand off, the call is not audible and then the call is dropped. In
accordance with the present embodiment, this condition is determined to be a mobile station
problem, whereupon corrective action is effectuated.

Environmental Problem Causing Call Drop/Failure

The cause of the call drop/failure may be an RF environmental problem, e.g., excessive path
loss or delay spread, which results in low signal strength in the inter-MSC hand off area. When
performing hard hand off under the condition of a prior signal from the serving cell, the serving
cell signal gradually worsens because the mobile station is moving towards the target cell. In
this situation, if the mobile station fails to receive the signal provided by the serving cell BTS, the
hard hand off towards the target cell cannot be performed, and because the FER increases, the
call is dropped. In accordance with the embodiment, this condition can be remedied by adjusting
the transmit power of the BTS, the antenna direction, and/or the antenna tilt. The optimized
signal strength (Ec/Io) in the service cell of the inter-MSC hard hand off is -10-7 dB.

Posted by Subin Bhatta at 1:37 AM No comments:

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Saturday, February 2, 2013

SlotCycleIndex(SCI)inCDMA
In The CDMA System, Paging Channel ( the shared channel that all MS listen the paging channel
for system info like SID, NID, Zone, Time, PRL, PN etc), time is divided into "slots". To conserve power,
phones that are currently idle only "wake up" and listen for messages on the Paging Channel during their
assigned slots. The slot cycle index determines how often the phone's slot comes around. If the slot
cycle index is 0, the phone wakes up every 1.28 seconds. If it's one, it wakes up every 2.56 seconds. If
it's two, it's every 5.12 seconds, and so on.
The larger the setting of SCI, the more power is conserved, but the longer it takes to page the phone for
an incoming call. You can imagine that if it were set to 10.24 seconds, few callers would hang on the line
long enough for you to answer your phone.
There are two settings that govern this. One is the "preferred slot cycle index" in the phone, and can be
set via service programming. The other is the "maximum slot cycle index" set in the base station and
broadcast in overhead messages on the Paging Channel. The phone has to use whichever
number is smaller.
In Conclusion,

If this parameter is set to an excessively low value, the delay in call setup decreases, but the
MS consumes more power and its standby time is shortened. If this parameter is set to an
excessively high value, the delay in call setup increases, but the MS consumes less power.

Its value rage is 0~7.

The general default value is set to 1

Formula for SCI

Time period for MS to read its paging channel=16* 2 power SCI *80 ms.
Here 1 cycle = 16 slot = 1.28 sec
1 slot= 80 ms
If SCI =0
T=16 * 2 power 0 * 80 ms
= 1.28 sec
If SCI =1
T=16* 2 power 1*80 ms
=16*2*80 ms
=2560 ms
=2.56 sec.
Similarly ,
If SCI=2
T=5.12 Sec.