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2
Selected UMTS KeyPerformance
Parameters
There are three major challenges in
performance measurement:1. Defining
performance measurements and
KPIs.2.Verifying measurement
results.3. Explaining measurement
results.This chapter deals with these
challenges and offers solutions based on
measurement scenariosand case studies.
It explains how data is captured, filtered
and computed, which statements canbe
derived from measurement analysis
and which limitations apply.
Furthermore, thenecessary protocol
knowledge to verify measurement
results is presented. Once again, thisis
neither a perfect nor a complete
overview, but a guided walkthrough. It is
not a ready-to-useimplementation guide,
but a path to individual measurement
definition and analysis.
2.1 BLOCK ERROR RATE (BLER)
MEASUREMENTS
Block error rate (BLER) is an analysis of
transmission errors on the radio
interface. Usingformal definitions
BLER is a KPI, because it is a
formula. It is based on analysis of
cyclicredundancy check (CRC) results
for radio link control (RLC) transport
blocks and computedby defining the
relation between the numbers of RLC
transport blocks with CRC error indi-
cation and the total number of
transmitted transport blocks as
expressed in Equation (2.1).Block Error
Rate
ð
BLER
Þ¼
P
RLC TransportBlocks with CRCError
P
RLC TransportBlocks
Â
100
%
ð
2
:
1
Þ
BLER is measured separately on the
uplink and downlink direction, which is
mandatory,because in UTRAN
frequency division duplex (FDD)
mode uplink and downlink data
istransmitted using different frequency
bands.There are several options for
BLER filtering and computing, which
will be explained inthe following two
sections.
UMTS Performance Measurement: A
Practical Guide to KPIs for the UTRAN
Environment

2.1.1 UPLINK BLOCK ERROR RATE (UL

BLER)
There is no measurement report in
UTRAN that contains uplink BLER
values although ULBLER is an
important criterion for the radio
network controller (RNC) to make
handoverd ec is i o n s b a s e d o n up li nk
t ra ns mi s s io n q u a l it y. Du e to t he
f a c t t ha t U L BL E R is o nl y computed
and used in the RNC internally it also is
only available inside RNC software
andas a rule is not shown in any
performance measurement statistics.
Therefore, it is a typicale xa mp le fo r
p er fo rm a n c e me a s ur em e n t b a s ed
o n p ro to c o l a na ly s is . Th e U L BL E R
i s especially a very critical parameter
to measure user perceived quality of
services usingRLC transparent mode.
While AMR voice calls can compensate
an UL BLER of up to 1%using AMR-
specific error concealment algorithms
the quality of CS videotelephony will
beheavily impacted, because each
block error will directly result in pixel
errors in video and/orbackground noise
in audio information. Hence, for these
services UL BLER gives a
correctimpression of the user’
s perceived quality of service.

2.1.1.1 Uplink Transport Channel BLER

Usually UL BLER as well as DL BLER
are computed per transport channel.
This meansthat, e.g. for a voice call,
four transport channels are used
simultaneously: one
dedicatedchannel (DCH) for the
dedicated control channel (DCCH)
(radio resource control (RRC)signalling)
and three DCHs for voice packets (one
DCH for each adaptive multi rate
(AMR)A, B and C bits). This
specificfiltering is not mentioned in the
general formula, but in 3GPP25.215:
‘
The BLER estimation shall be based on
evaluating the CRC of each transport
block associated with the measured
transport channel
...
’
.3 GP P s ta nd a r d s o n ly d es c ri b e
B L E R m ea s u re me n t o n th e
d o w nl in k, b u t it mu s t b e assumed
that the same rules apply for UL BLER
computing, which is performed by the
RNCinternally and also computed by
the performance measurement
software. Therefore, for avoice call
there will not be only one UL BLER, but
four different UL BLER
measurements.However, as explained
in the next paragraphs UL BLER may
appear in many differentv e r s i o n s ,
but it may also be noted from
above that the quote from 3GPP
2 5 . 2 1 5 i s incomplete. The remainder
of the quoted sentence is as follows:
‘
...
after RL combination
’
.This points to another important
requirement: it is necessary to take
macro-diversitycombining into
account if the call is in a soft
handover situation. A typical
measurementscenario may then look
as shown in Figure 2.1.The user
equipment (UE) sends UL data on three
different radio links. Since each
radiolink is provided by a cell
belonging to a different Node B, the UE
is in soft handover. Thesame transport
blocks may be sent on three
different radio links, and because of
the threedifferent Node Bs involved in
this scenario, also on three different
lub physical transportbearers (AAL2
SVCs). Due to high synchronisation in
UTRAN all uplink transport blockswill
arrive nearly simultaneously on the
serving RNC (SRNC). The usual time
differencebetween identical blocks is
approximately 1 ms. Due to the fact
that in a voice call transportchannels
carrying AMR speech information
belong together, they are set up as
coordinateddedicated transport channels
(DCHs). Hence, transport blocks from all
three AMR DCHs arefound in the same
UL frame protocol (FP) data frame. If
the cells belong to three
differentNodeBs that are involved in soft
handover scenario as shown in Figure 2.1,
the same FP dataframe is sent on each
Iub interface that is involved. Following
this three identical FP frames,as
presented in message example 2.1, are
received by SRNC.
62
UMTS Performance Measurement

The Iub FP data frames in uplink

contain some radio-related
measurement results knownas the
quality estimate (QE). This represents
the estimated bit error rate (BER)
measured byNode B on the uplink radio
link of a single cell. Since three cells
are involved on each Iubthe reported QE
may be different. Following the rule
explained in Chapter 1 of this book
thato nl y th e U L F P d a t a fr a m e w i th
t he b es t Q E is a c c e p t ed b y S R N C ,
a l l o th er f ra me s a re discarded.
Although this rule is introduced to
eliminate as many blok errors as
possible. Oneerroneous transport block
(#1) in the example passes the SRNC
to be forwarded via IuCSand possibly
core network interfaces to the B-party
of the call.
Note 1: if UE is located in cell border
areas CRC errors occur more often than
usual.However, in cell border areas soft
handover procedures are triggered, too.
To measure UL BLER correctly in such
situations it is first necessary to see
the first uplink data frametransmitted
on the new Iub interface as a trigger for
the start of macro-diversity combiningof
uplink frames. It is also useful to correlate
BLER measurements with the active set
size of calls to find out which specific
impact softer and soft handover
situations have on
radiotransmissionquality.Note 2: some
network equipment manufacturers do not
use QE for the macro-
diversitycombiningalgorithm. Insteadthey
select the best frame using another uplink
radio quality para-meter associated with the
receiving radio link, e.g. uplink signal-to-
interference ratio (SIR).
The size and type of each transport
block is indicated by the transport
format index,a value that
corresponds with the settings of the
transport format set as seen in Node
Bapplicationpart (NBAP) radio link
setup or radio link recon
fi
guration preparation proce-dures. If
the transport block is erroneous or
not is indicated by a so-called CRC
indicatorassociated with each
transport block. This CRC indicator is a
parameter in an FP trailer, anappendix
transmitted on Iub in the uplink direction
only. It indicates the result of a CRC after
Figure 2.1
UL transport blocks for UL BLER
calculationSelected UMTS Key
Performance Parameters
63

transmission of the transport block

on the radio interface. However, not
every transportchannel is protected
by CRC. If CRC is activated or not and
how many bits are used in thecheck
sequence is indicated in NBAP Radio
Link Setup or Radio Link Recon
fi
gurationRequest messages. In
downlink there is no BLER
measurement on channels that are
notCRC protected, but for uplink data
frames, the FP entity of Node B
considers blocks as
Message example 2.1
UL FP data frame including transport
blocks and CRC indicators| TS 25.322
(RLC) / 25.321 (MAC) / 25.435, 25.427
(FP) - V3.13.0 (RLC/MAC) FP DATA DCH (
¼
FPD a t a
F r a m e
D C H )
| | F P
D a t a
F r a m e
D C H | |
F P :
V P I / V C I / C I D
|
" 1 8 8 / 6 5 / 2 3 4
" | || F P : R a d i o
M o d e | F D D
( F r e q u e n c y
D i v i s i o n D u p l e x ) | |
F P :
D i r e c t i o
n |
U p l i n k
| | F P : T r a n s p o r t
C h a n n e l T y p e | D C H
( D e d i c a t e d C h a n n e l )
| | 1
F P :
H e a d
e r | |
1 . 1 F P :
H e a d e r C R C
|
‘
35
’
H || 1 . 2
F P : F r a m e
T y p e |
D a t a | |
1 . 3 F P :
C o n n e c t i o n
F r a m e N u m b e r
| 2 2 0 | |
1 . 4
F P :
S p a r e
| 0 | |
1 . 5 F P :
T r a n s p o r t
F o r m a t I n d e x
| 2 | |
1 . 6
F P :
S p a r e
| 0 | |
1 . 7 F P :
T r a n s p o r t
F o r m a t I n d e x
| 1 | |
1 . 8
F P :
S p a r e
| 0 | |
1 . 9 F P :
T r a n s p o r t
F o r m a t I n d e x
| 1 | | 2
T r a n s p o r t
B l o c k S e t
D C H | |
2 . 1 F P :
D C H
I n d e x |
0 | | 2 . 2
F P :
T r a n s p o r
t B l o c k
| | 2.2.1 MAC: Target Channel
Type | DTCH (Dedicated Traf
fi
c C h a n n e l ) | |
2 . 2 . 2 M A C : R L C
M o d e |
T r a n s p a r e n t
M o d e | | 2 . 2 . 3
R L C : W h o l e D a t a |
‘
101000110101000100101101100111001
’
B|| 3
T r a n s p o r t
B l o c k S e t
D C H | |
3 . 1 F P :
D C H
I n d e x |
1 | | 3 . 2
F P :
T r a n s p o r
t B l o c k
| | 3.2.1 MAC: Target Channel
Type | DTCH (Dedicated Traf
fi
c C h a n n e l ) | |
3 . 2 . 2 M A C : R L C
M o d e |
T r a n s p a r e n t
M o d e | | 3 . 2 . 3
R L C : W h o l e D a t a |
‘
010100100000111011100111010101110
’
B || 4
T r a n s p o r t
B l o c k S e t
D C H | |
4 . 1 F P :
D C H
I n d e x |
2 | | 4 . 2
F P :
T r a n s p o r
t B l o c k
| | 4.2.1 MAC: Target Channel
Type | DTCH (Dedicated Traf
fi
c C h a n n e l ) | |
4 . 2 . 2 M A C : R L C
M o d e |
T r a n s p a r e n t
M o d e | | 4 . 2 . 3
R L C : W h o l e D a t a |
‘
010001001101000000110010100110001
’
B || 5
F P :
T r a i l
e r | |
5 . 1 F P :
Q u a l i t y
E s t i m a t e |
1 3 2 | | 5 . 2 F P :
C R C I n d i c a t o r
( T r a n s p o r t B l o c k ) |
N o t C o r r e c t | | 5 . 3
F P : C R C I n d i c a t o r
( T r a n s p o r t B l o c k )
| C o r r e c t | | 5 . 4
F P : C R C I n d i c a t o r
( T r a n s p o r t B l o c k )
| C o r r e c t | |
5 . 5 F P :
P a d d i n g
| 0 0 |
64
UMTS Performance Measurement
transmitted correctly if no CRC is
executed. If the target is to measure
UL BLER withhighest precision, the BLER
measurement application must check if
CRC is de
fi
ned for eacht ra ns p o rt c h a n ne l s e t
u p b y N BA P . Ot he rw is e C R C
i nd i c a t o r v a l ue s r ep o r te d f o r
t hi s transport channel in frame protocol
will be ignored for UL BLER
measurement.
Note: UL transport channel BLER is
usually not measured on the random
access channel(RACH) although it is
theoretically possible. This is to be
aligned with 3GPP 25.215 that says:
‘
The measurement
Transport channel BLER
does not apply to transport
channelsm a p p e d o n a P - C C P C H
and a S-CCPCH
’
. Transport channels mapped on
mentioned common physical channels
are the broadcast channel (BCH) and
forward access channels(FACHs). If
BLER is not measured on FACHs
(downlink) a corresponding measurement
onRACHs (uplink) does not seem to
make much sense.
2.1.1.2 UL BLER per Call
UL BLER can also be used to estimate
the uplink transmission quality of a
call. In this caseit is not necessary to
differentiate between transport
channels that carry user plane
andcontrol plane information. Merely
count transport blocks and their CRC
indicators accordingto the standard
formula given at the beginning of this
chapter, no matter to which
transportchannel single transport
blocks belong.
2.1.1.3 UL BLER per Call Type
Another possibility is to map UL BLER
to the type of call: voice, packet
switched (PS) data,video-telephony,
multi-RAB, signalling. Depending on
differentiation based on higher
layerinformation more types of call
may be de
fi
ned according to end-user services.
However,de
fi
nitions should be considered carefully.
Transmitting a short message in uplink
directiononly requires a few transport
blocks. In addition it must be
considered that quality of end-user
services like speech can only be
measured on user plane transport
channels. Especiallyfor voice calls it is
further necessary to de
fi
ne
fi
lter functions or special algorithms if
there isno CRC on transport channels
that carry AMR B and C class bits.
2.1.2 DOWNLINK BLOCK ERROR RATE
(DL BLER)
C o mp a re d to u p l in k b lo c k e rr o r
r a t e DL BL E R d o es n o t n ee d to b e
c o mp ut ed b y a ny performance
measurement equipment based on
transport block counters. Neither it
ismeaningful to compute it on lub,
because transmission errors will
appear on Uu
–
after
data has been sent to the cell via Iub
in downlink.The job to compute and
report DL BLER is assigned to UE using
the RRC measurementcontrol message
(message example 2.2).The
measurement can be reported
periodically or if a prede
fi
ned threshold of CRC errorson downlink
transport channels is exceeded. For a
threshold event triggered reporting
usingevent 5A will be monitored. From
the performance monitoring point of
view the disadvan-tage of event-
triggered reporting is that one can no
longer follow a certain measurement
overa long period of time. Instead
only single peak values (exceptions)
are reported while allnormal values
are hidden to lower load on SRNC
caused by measurement tasks. In the
caseof DL BLER measurements
presented in Figure 2.2 only the
extreme values shown on theright side
of the histogram have a chance of
being reported.
Selected UMTS Key Performance
Parameters
65
Message example 2.2
RRC measurement control to set up
periodical DL BLER reporting|
I D N a m e |
C o m m e n t
o r V a l u e
| | TS 25.331 DCCH-DL - V5.9.0
(RRC_DCCH_DL) measurementControl (
¼
measurementControl)||
d L -
D C C H -
M e s s a g
e | |
2
m e s s
a g e
| | 2 . 1
m e a s u r e m
e n t C o n t r o
l | |
2 . 1
. 1
r 3
| |
2 . 1 . 1 . 1
m e a s u r e m e n t
C o n t r o l - r 3
| | 2.1.1.1.1 rrc-TransactionIdenti
fi
e r
| 0
| |
2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 2
m e a s u r e m e n t I
d e n t i t y | 1 6
| | 2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 3
m e a s u r e m e n t
C o m m a n d | |
2.1.1.1.3.1 setup
||
2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 3 . 1 . 1
q u a l i t y M e a s u
r e m e n t | |
2.1.1.1.3.1.1.1 qualityReportingQuantity
||
2.1.1.1.3.1.1.1.1 dl-TransChBLER
|
true
|| 2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 . 1 . 1
reportingAmount |ra-In
fi
n i t y
| |
2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 3 . 1 . 1 . 2 .
1 . 2
r e p o r t i n g I n t e r v a
l | r i l 1 | |
2 . 1 . 1 . 1 . 4
m e a s u r e m e n t R e
p o r t i n g M o d e | |
2.1.1.1.4.1
measurementReportTransfer
Mode |
acknowledgedModeRLC ||
2.1.1.1.4.2
periodicalOrEventTrigger
|
periodical
|
Figure 2.2
Distribution of DL BLER measurement
reports monitored during a single call
66
UMTS Performance Measurement
Chapter 2_Selected UMTS Key Performance
Parameters
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