The RF Planning component is part of the Parameter Optimization Module. It helps you optimize the parameters of the Sectors and Radios in your network.

Installing the Parameter Optimization Module

The Parameter Optimization Module can be installed by clicking the Install button on the Parameter Optimization product page. Once installed, you will need to restart Overture to use this module's features.

Accessing the RF Planning Component

The parameter optimization module adds several new buttons to the Toolbar:

Clicking the RF Planning button () will display its properties in the Properties Window:

You can also access the RF planning component from the Optimization > Sector Parameters menu option.

The Parameter Optimization module comes with several process pages to help you use its various functions. You can access the page for the RF planning component from the Start Page, by first clicking on Optimization, then on Parameter Optimization, and finally on RF Planning:

The functions of this page are described here.

The RF Planning Process

A simplified version of Overture's RF planning algorithm is given below:

        Repeat
            For each selected site
                Try all values of the optimizable parameters on that site
                If any parameter setting improves the objective, keep it  
        Until the termination criteria is satisfied, or until no improvements were found
                
        When complete, report the total improvement and the parameter changes made
    

All parameter settings suggested by the algorithm are taken from the parameter range of the appropriate Sectors and Radios on the affected site. Any Constraints that apply to the site are also obeyed.

Note the algorithm implemented by the RF Planning component incorporates many proprietary speed-ups and enhancements. This enables it to process many thousands of candidate sites in reasonable time scales.

Properties

The RF planning component has the following properties:

• Objective. This is the Objective that will be used to choose candidates at each stage of the site planning process.
• Parameters. This is a collection of parameter names that will be explored during the optimization process. You can choose one or more of the following:
  • Active. The radio will be turned on or off.
  • Antenna Model. The antenna model of the Sector will be explored, using values from the sector's Antenna Model Range property.
  • Azimuth. The azimuth of the Sector will be explored, using values from the sector's Azimuth Range property.
  • Channel. The channel setting of the Radio will be explored, using values from the radio's Channel Range property.
  • Downtilt. The downtilt setting of the Sector will be explored, using values from the sector's Downtilt Range property.
  • Electrical Downtilt. The electrical downtilt setting of the Sector will be explored, using values from the sector's Electrical Downtilt Range property.
  • Height Above Ground. The height of the Sector will be explored, using values from the sector's Height Above Ground Range property.
  • PA Power. The PA power setting of the Radio will be explored, using values from the radio's PA Power Range property.
• Site Search Strategy. This controls how the possible parameter values are applied to a site. It can take one of the following settings:
  • Single Pass. Every value of all optimizable parameters will be tried once. The algorithm will then move onto the next site.
  • Multi Pass. Every value of all optimizable parameters will be tried repeatedly until no single change results in an improvement. The algorithm will then move on to the next site.
• Termination Criteria. This specifies how long or how deeply the optimization process should run for. You can specify Maximum Runtime in the "Hours:Minutes:Seconds" format, or you can specify a Pass Limit. Both fields are optional: the process will stop as soon as either is achieved, and if no termination criteria is specified the process will run until no single move improves the network.

Actions

The RF planning component provides the following actions:

• Start. This starts the optimization process on the selected sites.
• Stop. This will stop the current run. When it completes, a table showing the improvement will be generated, along with a list of all the changes applied.
• Edit Optimizable Parameters. This launches an editor to let you choose which parameters should be explored during optimization.