Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery (RAN15.0 - 01)
Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery (RAN15.0 - 01)
Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery (RAN15.0 - 01)
Issue 01
Date 2013-06-30
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Contents
2 Overview.........................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................2
2.2 Benefits...........................................................................................................................................................................2
3 Technical Description...................................................................................................................3
3.1 UE Access Procedure.....................................................................................................................................................4
3.2 Detection Method...........................................................................................................................................................4
3.2.1 Differential Detection Algorithm................................................................................................................................5
3.2.2 Internal Fault Detection Algorithm.............................................................................................................................6
3.3 Sleeping Cell Recovery..................................................................................................................................................7
4 Related Features.............................................................................................................................9
5 Network Impact...........................................................................................................................10
6 Engineering Guidelines.............................................................................................................11
6.1 When to Use Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery...................................................................................................11
6.2 Required Information...................................................................................................................................................11
6.3 Network Planning.........................................................................................................................................................11
6.4 Feature Deployment.....................................................................................................................................................11
6.4.1 Feature Deployment..................................................................................................................................................12
6.4.2 Data Preparation........................................................................................................................................................12
6.4.3 Activation..................................................................................................................................................................13
6.4.4 Activation Observation..............................................................................................................................................14
6.4.5 Deactivation...............................................................................................................................................................14
6.5 Performance Monitoring...............................................................................................................................................16
6.6 Parameter Optimization................................................................................................................................................16
6.7 Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................................17
7 Parameters.....................................................................................................................................18
8 Counters........................................................................................................................................28
9 Glossary.........................................................................................................................................29
10 Reference Documents...............................................................................................................30
1.1 Scope
This document describes WRFD-150104 Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery, including its
technical principles, related features, network impact, and engineering guidelines.
l Feature change
Changes in features of a specific product version
l Editorial change
Changes in wording or addition of information that was not described in the earlier version
01 (2013-06-30)
This document is created for RAN15.0.
2 Overview
2.1 Introduction
A sleeping cell is a cell that cannot provide radio access services but is displayed as normal due
to inappropriate parameter settings, environmental changes, transmission device faults, and
hardware or software faults. For such a cell, no alarm is generated to inform customers that this
cell is abnormal. As a result, network maintenance personnel cannot detect a sleeping cell in
time, leaving the cell in the sleeping state for a long period. This affects user experience. To
improve network reliability and reduce operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, the Sleeping
Cell Detection and Recovery feature is introduced. After this feature is activated, a NodeB
automatically detects sleeping cells and attempts to restore services of sleeping cells.
2.2 Benefits
With the Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery feature, operators can detect sleeping cells and
restore services of sleeping cells, thereby reducing the impact of sleeping cells on networks and
improving O&M efficiency as well as user experience.
3 Technical Description
l Steps 1 through 3 belong to the cell setup phase. If a cell fails to be set up, the RNC reports
ALM-22202 UMTS Cell Unavailable. (Note that this operation is not performed by this
feature.) This alarm helps maintenance personnel handle this problem promptly.
l Steps 4 through 9 belong to the UE random access phase. When this feature is enabled, the
NodeB uses the differential detection and internal fault detection functions to determine
whether no UEs can access a cell. If so, this cell is identified as a sleeping cell and the
NodeB attempts to restore services of this sleeping cell.
Steps 10 through 18 belong to the phase during which the RNC decides whether to allow the
UE to access the network. If the UE fails to access the network, the RRC connection setup success
rate decreases (RRC connection setup success rate = VS.RRC.SuccConnEstab.ERACH/
VS.RRC.AttConnEstab.ERACH). This helps maintenance personnel handle this problem
promptly.
Using the differential detection algorithm, the NodeB determines whether a cell is a
sleeping cell by comparing the traffic models and current UE admission conditions of the
cell.
The NodeB periodically checks UE admission conditions of a cell through the number of
received Radio Link Setup Request messages (indicated by the VS.RadioLink.Recv.Mean
counter) in the cell. If the value of the VS.RadioLink.Recv.Mean counter is abnormal
compared with the traffic models, ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic is reported.
The differential detection algorithm can detect sleeping cells that are caused by issues like
inappropriate parameter settings, transmission device faults, and hardware or software
faults.
l Internal fault detection algorithm
Using the internal fault detection algorithm, the NodeB periodically detects the status of
functional units of the NodeB.
The NodeB uses the differential detection and internal fault detection algorithms simultaneously
to detect sleeping cells. A cell is a sleeping cell as long as either algorithm detects so. If a sleeping
cell is detected by both algorithms, the NodeB reports an alarm and restores the services of this
cell based on the detection results of the internal fault detection algorithm.
ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic is reported when no new UE accesses a cell and no UE is handed
over to this cell within the period specified by the NOUETIMER parameter. It is recommended
that the NOUETIMER parameter be set to 2. ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic is also reported when
no new UE accesses a cell within the period specified by the NOFSTRLTIMER parameter. It
is recommended that the NOFSTRLTIMER parameter be set to 2.
Using the differential detection algorithm, the NodeB determines whether a cell is a sleeping
cell by comparing the traffic models and current UE admission conditions of the cell.
l The current UE admission conditions of a cell: The NodeB determines whether a new UE
accesses a cell by checking the number of received Radio Link Setup Request messages in
the cell every 30 minutes.
If no UE accesses a cell or all UEs fail to access a cell, the RNC will not receive an RRC
Connection Request message in the cell and therefore will not send a Radio Link Setup
Request message to the NodeB. In this case, the NodeB will not receive any Radio Link
Setup Request messages.
l Traffic model: The NodeB obtains the number of received Radio Link Setup Request
messages in a cell in the latest three weeks. Based on these statistics, the NodeB creates
traffic models which reflect the traffic volume in each hour of each day in the past three
weeks. The traffic models are updated once a week.
If the NodeB does not receive any Radio Link Setup Request message in a cell within a period
specified by the NOUETIMER or NOFSTRLTIMER parameter and during this period there is
traffic in the traffic model of this cell, the NodeB determines that this cell is a sleeping cell and
reports ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic.
When the NodeB does not receive any Radio Link Setup Request messages in a cell within a
period specified by the NOUETIMER or NOFSTRLTIMER parameter
l If there is no traffic in the traffic models during this period, such as Sundays in the preceding
figure, the cell will not be identified as a sleeping cell and ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic
will not be reported.
l If there is traffic in the traffic models during this period, such as Mondays in the preceding
figure, the cell will be identified as a sleeping cell and ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic will be
reported.
During festivals such as Christmas, the traffic volume in areas such as schools or offices may
decrease to 0, which is inconsistent with the statistics in the traffic models. In this case, the cell
will be falsely identified as a sleeping cell. Therefore, it is recommended that this feature be
disabled during festivals.
The internal fault detection algorithm is intended to detect faults that can be identified and
rectified by the NodeB. The NodeB determines whether a cell is a sleeping cell by detecting
faults at the physical layer. The following figure shows the interaction between the UE and
NodeB during the UE random access phase.
Figure 3-3 Interaction between the UE and NodeB during UE random access
Using the internal fault detection algorithm, the NodeB detects a sleeping cell from many aspects.
A cell is identified as a sleeping cell by the NodeB if any of the following conditions is met:
l The NodeB periodically checks the transmit power of the PCPICH, BCH, and SCH. If they
are inconsistent with the settings of the PCPICHPower(BSC6900,BSC6910), BCHPower
(BSC6900,BSC6910), PSCHPower(BSC6900,BSC6910), and SSCHPower
(BSC6900,BSC6910) parameters on the RNC, the NodeB code resources are abnormal and
the cell is identified as a sleeping cell.
l The NodeB periodically checks the number of times the AICH messages are received or
rejected. If all the AICH messages are rejected within 10 minutes, the physical access
resources are abnormal and the cell is identified as a sleeping cell.
l The NodeB periodically checks the error rate of the PRACH messages. If the error rate is
100% within 2 hours, demodulation of PRACH messages fails and the cell is identified as
a sleeping cell.
The internal fault detection algorithm can also detect a sleeping cell from other aspects. However,
it cannot detect all the sleeping cells. Therefore, the internal fault detection algorithm is a
supplement to the differential detection algorithm.
Using the differential detection algorithm, the NodeB detects a sleeping cell by comparing the
traffic models and current UE admission conditions of a cell. In this case, the NodeB cannot
locate the fault or restore the services of a sleeping cell. Maintenance personnel need to manually
clear ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic.
The internal fault detection algorithm is intended to detect faults that can be identified and
rectified by the NodeB. The self-recovery function of the internal fault detection algorithm
enables the NodeB to rectify the fault in the following sequence: 1. Reestablishes the local
resources (LOCRESREBLD). 2. Reestablishes the cell (CELLRESTARTD). 3. Resets the
The last step of the troubleshooting procedure is specified by the AUTORCVRMTHD parameter
in the SET ULOCELLNOACCESSPARA command. For example, when the
AUTORCVRMTHD parameter is set to BBRESOURCERESET, the NodeB rectifies the fault
in the following sequence: 1. Reestablishes the local resources (LOCRESREBLD). 2.
Reestablishes the cell (CELLRESTARTD). 3. Resets the baseband board
(BBRESOURCERESET).
When the AUTORCVRMTHD parameter is set to SITERESET, all the steps in the
troubleshooting procedure can be performed. However, the self-reset function of the base station
is not supported currently. It is recommended that the base station be reset manually.
If a sleeping cell is caused by a fault in a baseband board or an RF unit, the baseband board or
RF unit will be repeatedly reset. To resolve this issue, the self-recovery function can be enabled
so that a baseband board or an RF unit is reset only once each day. If a cell becomes a sleeping
cell again after the corresponding baseband board or RF unit is reset, ALM-28209 Cell No Traffic
will be reported and the self-recovery function will not be performed.
Resetting a device that is shared by multiple modes, such as a baseband board or an RF unit,
will interrupt services of other modes for about 2 minutes.
4 Related Features
Prerequisite Features
None
Impacted Features
None
5 Network Impact
System Capacity
No impact.
Network Performance
During the sleeping cell self-recovery period:
l When the baseband board where the sleeping cell is carried resets, the services of other
cells carried on this baseband board will be interrupted for about 30s. If this baseband board
is shared by multiple modes, services of other involved modes will be interrupted.
l When the RF unit where the sleeping cell is carried resets, the services of other cells carried
on this RF unit will be interrupted for about 2 minutes. If this RF unit works in multiple
modes, services of cells of other involved modes will be interrupted for a short period.
6 Engineering Guidelines
Network Planning
None.
Hardware Planning
3800 series base stations do not support this feature.
To support this feature, 3900 series base stations must be configured with a WBBPb, WBBPd,
or WBBPf board. The WBBPa board does not support the internal fault detection algorithm.
Deployment Procedure
None
Requirements
l Operating environment and hardware
The DBS3900 WCDMA, BTS3902E WCDMA, and BTS3803E WCDMA series base
stations support this feature.
The WBBPa board does not support this feature.
l Licenses
None
Sleeping Cell sleeping To activate this feature, set this parameter Network
Detection CellDete to ON. Planning
Switch ctSw
6.4.3 Activation
//Using the following commands to enable the sleeping cell detection function and
disable the self-recovery function
SET NODEBALGPARA: SLEEPINGCELLDETECTSW=ON;
SET ULOCELLNOACCESSPARA: NOUETIMER=2, NOFSTRLTIMER=2, AUTORCVRMTHD=NONE;
When configuring the Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery feature on the CME, perform a single
configuration first, and then perform a batch modification if required. Configure the parameters of a single
object before a batch modification. Perform a batch modification before logging out of the parameter setting
interface.
Set parameters on the CME according to the operation sequence in Table 6-1. For
instructions on how to perform the CME single configuration, see CME Single
Configuration Operation Guide.
2. (Optional) Modify objects in batches on the CME. (CME batch modification center)
To modify objects in batches, click on the CME to start the batch modification wizard. For
instructions on how to perform a batch modification through the CME batch modification center,
press F1 on the wizard interface to obtain online help.
6.4.5 Deactivation
Step 2 To disable the differential detection function, run the NodeB MML command SET
ULOCELLNOACCESSPARA with Timer Length Of the Cell Without RL Setup and
Timer Length Of Cell Without RL Setup (First RLS) set to 0.
Step 3 To disable the sleeping cell detection function, run the NodeB MML command SET
NODEBALGPARA with Sleeping Cell Detection Switch set to OFF.
----End
When configuring the Sleeping Cell Detection and Recovery feature on the CME, perform a single
configuration first, and then perform a batch modification if required. Configure the parameters of a single
object before a batch modification. Perform a batch modification before logging out of the parameter setting
interface.
To modify objects in batches, click on the CME to start the batch modification wizard. For
instructions on how to perform a batch modification through the CME batch modification center,
press F1 on the wizard interface to obtain online help.
6.7 Troubleshooting
None
7 Parameters
Default
Value:NONE
(No Operation)
8 Counters
9 Glossary
10 Reference Documents
1. 3GPP TS 25.211, "Physical channels and mapping of transport channels onto physical
channels (FDD)"
2. 3GPP TS 25.214, "Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Physical layer
procedures (FDD)"