LTE optimization

Call Drop Analysis

LTE Optimisation Principles for Nokia internals [FL19]

© Nokia 2019
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2 applicable laws. © Nokia 2019
 Module Objectives

• After completing this module, you will be able

to:
• Describe related network KPIs
• Give an overview about call drop causes
• Distinguish UE and eNB initiated drops
• Summarize call drop counters and trigger points
• Discuss call drops during handover procedures
• Analyse drop examples via means of field
mesurement and UE trace

4 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

5 © Nokia 2019
 3GPP KPI definitions

• 3GPP defines basic KPIs in TS 32.450 and TS 32.451 in a vendor-independent way.

6 © Nokia 2019
 3GPP KPI definitions – Retainability

• Retainability KPI, TS 32.450 Sec 6.2

• A measurement that shows how often an end-user abnormally looses an E-RAB during the time the E-RAB is used.
• Number of E-RABs with data in a buffer that was abnormally released, normalized with number of data session time units.
• Defined per QCI
• Unit: drops per minute, or minutes per drop
• Only drops of active E-RABs are counted

 ERAB.RelActNbr.  QCI 
R 2  QCI
ERAB.SessionTimeUE

7 © Nokia 2019
 Top Level KPIs – Category: Retainability

LTE_5025g E-UTRAN E-RAB Drop Ratio, RAN View

• Formula: (Logical)
E-RAB DR RAN = (abnormal E-RAB releases from RAN point of view / all E-RAB releases) * 100%

• Formula: (NetAct names)

100*sum([ERAB_REL_HO_PART] + [ERAB_REL_ENB] - [ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_INA] - [ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_RED] -
[ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_RRNA] - [ERAB_REL_TEMP_QCI1]) / sum([ERAB_REL_ENB] + [ERAB_REL_HO_PART] +
[EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_NORM] + [EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_DETACH] +
[EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_RNL] + [EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_OTH] + [ERAB_REL_EPC_PATH_SWITCH] -
[ERAB_REL_TEMP_QCI1])

• Description:
This KPI describes the ratio of abnormally released (dropped) E-RABs from RANpoint of view.

8 © Nokia 2019
 Top Level KPIs – Category: Retainability

LTE_5143a E-UTRAN Total E-UTRAN RRC Connection Re-establishment Success Ratio

• Formula: (Logical)
RRC REEST SSR=(RRC connection re-establishment completions / RRC connection re-establishment attempts)*100%

• Formula: (NetAct names)

100*sum([RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_SUCC]) / sum([RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_ATT])

• Description:
The KPI shows the setup success ratio for the RRC connection re-establishment procedure. The procedure is used in case
of a failure situation (such as a radio or handover failure) to keep the UE in an LTE RRC_CONNECTED state and continue
the RRC connection without going to an RRC_IDLE state.

9 © Nokia 2019
 Top Level KPIs – Category: Retainability

LTE_5581b E-UTRAN E-RAB Retainability Rate, RAN View, RNL Failure with UE Lost

• Formula: (Logical)
E-RAB RetainR (RNL UE Los)= (Active ERAB Rel QCI1 + Active ERAB Rel QCI2 + Active ERAB Rel QCI3 + Active ERAB Rel QCI4 +
Active ERAB Rel non GBR)/ (ERAB Active Time QCI1 + ERAB Active Time QCI2 + ERAB Active Time QCI3 + ERAB Active Time QCI4 +
ERAB Active Time nonGBR)

• Formula: (NetAct names)

sum([ERAB_REL_ENB_ACT_QCI1] + [ERAB_REL_ENB_ACT_QCI2] + [ERAB_REL_ENB_ACT_QCI3] + [ERAB_REL_ENB_ACT_QCI4] +
[ERAB_REL_ENB_ACT_NON_GBR]) / (sum([ERAB_IN_SESSION_TIME_QCI1] + [ERAB_IN_SESSION_TIME_QCI2] +
[ERAB_IN_SESSION_TIME_QCI3] + [ERAB_IN_SESSION_TIME_QCI4] + [ERAB_IN_SESSION_TIME_NON_GBR]) / (60 * 60))

• Description:
This KPI indicates E-RAB retainablity ratio. It is given as the ratio of active E-RAB releases due to the "RNL failure with UE lost" cause to
the E-RAB active time.

10 © Nokia 2019
 Example of E-RAB Drop Ratio based on active and inactive drops
Comparing different drop rates:
• LTE_5570f E-UTRAN E-RAB active drop ratio with data in the buffer due to RNL Radio Connection with UE Lost
• LTE_5025g E-UTRAN E-RAB Drop Ratio, RAN View (active + inactive)
• LTE_5090e E-UTRAN E-RAB Drop Ratio per Cause RNL

11 © Nokia 2019
 Field KPIs - drop analysis

Post processing challenges (with Actix or Nemo Analyzer):

• How to detect abnormal RRC Release by eNodeB (RRC release cause ‘other’ used for normal and abnormal releases)
• TAU, RACH SR or PDDCH Order could be misinterpreted as a drop.

12 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

13 © Nokia 2019
 KPI Reference Values

Example values only!!

Network average from different networks (A, B, C,…)

KPI A B C …. X Y Z

eRAB Drop Ratio [%]

0.03 0.05 0.07 .… 1.4 1.66 4.27
(LTE_5025d)

eRAB Drops per

PDCP Vol. [#/GB] 0.04 0.17 0.26 …. 87.08 301.31 820.28
(LTE_5812a)

14 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

15 © Nokia 2019
 RRC Connection Re-Establishment Trigger Causes

- When UE is in RRC_CONNECTED and RRC security is active, it can trigger RRC Connection Re-
establishment
1. upon T310 expiry Cause:
2. upon non-HO related random access problem Other
3. upon reaching the maximum number of UL RLC retransmissionsCause:
4. upon handover failure (T304 expiry) HOF
Cause: Reconfig.
5. upon RRC Reconfiguration Failure Failure

- If successful, RRC Conn Re-Establishment

• reconfigures SRB1 to resume data transfer of RRC msgs
• re-activates RRC security without changing algorithms
• NOTE: DRB should be re-configured after SRB1

- NOTE: if UE is in RRC_CONNECTED while RRC security is not active, UE goes to RRC_IDLE,

performs cell reselection and TAU

16 © Nokia 2019
 1. RLF due to T310 Expiry at UE
T310 Expires
T311 Starts

T310
Starts Cell reselection and
Tracking Area Update if
n310 consecutive n311 consecutive in-sync RRC connection re- RRC Re-Establishment
out-of-sync indications during t310  establishment attempted fails
indications OK during t311

– For UE “normal operation” in the figure above means :UE not waiting for RRC Connection Setup/Reject (T300 not
running)
• UE not waiting for RRC Re-establishment Establishment/Reject (T301 not running)
• handover not ongoing (T304 not running)
• No RLF recovery ongoing (T311 not running)
– NOTE: the terms in-sync and out-of-sync refer to L1 problems, not to timing alignment
17 © Nokia 2019
 1. In-Sync and Out-Of-Sync Definition Without DRX
Window to estimate if BLER > out-sync threshold is 200ms
• Hence: out of last 200 TTIs at least 20 PDCCH have been received in error
Window to estimate if BLER < in-sync threshold is 100ms
• Hence: out of last 100 TTIs at most 2 PDCCH have been received in error

>10ms

Reference PDCCH and PCFICH configuration used in the BLER estimation is defined by 3GPP

18 © Nokia 2019
 2. RLF due to Maximum UL RLC Re-Tx Reached

RLC retransmissions until

RRC connection re- Cell reselection and Tracking
max RLC retx threshold is establishment attempted during Area Update if RRC Re-
reached t311 Establishment fails

from RRC Connection Reconfiguration:

drb-ToAddModListdrb-ToAddModList value 1
drb-Identity :1
rlc-Config
am
ul-AM-RLC
t-PollRetransmit : ms40
pollPDU : p32
pollByte : kB25
maxRetxThreshold : t16
19 © Nokia 2019
 3. RLF Due to Non-HO Random Access Failure

Example: Random Access Cell reselection and

RRC connection re-
triggered due to missing UE attempting random Tracking Area Update if
establishment attempted to
PUCCH SR resources, or access to serving cell. RRC Re-Establishment
RACH serving cell during t311
PDCCH order fails
failure

“Non-HO random access” means

• PDCCH order -triggered RA
• Random Access Scheduling Request

20 © Nokia 2019
 4. RLF due to HO Failure

HO failure

RRC Conn ReConf with RRC connection re-

T304 running while UE Cell reselection and
establishment attempted to
MobilityInfo (”HO attempting access to target
source or target cell during
Tracking Area Update if
command”) cell. T304 RRC Re-Establishment fails
t311
expires

from RRC Connection Reconfiguration:

mobilityControlInfo
targetPhysCellId : 33
t304 : ms1000
newUE-Identity
21 Bin : 14 EB (= 5355)
© Nokia 2019
 5. Re-Establishment Cause in RRC Conn Re-Est Msg

Source: 3GPP TS 36.331

- UE sets the reestablishmentCause as follows:
- if the re-establishment procedure was initiated due to RRC reconfiguration
failure (i.e., the UE is unable to comply with the reconfiguration), UE sets the
reestablishmentCause to the value 'reconfigurationFailure'
- if the re-establishment procedure was initiated due to intra-LTE handover
failure or inter-RAT mobility from EUTRA failure, UE sets the
reestablishmentCause to the value 'handoverFailure'
- Otherwise UE sets the reestablishmentCause to the value 'otherFailure‘.
NOTE: This includes T310 RLF failure.
- There are counters for RRC re-establishment causes received

22 © Nokia 2019
 Default Values for Timers/Constants
– Source: 3GPP TS 36.331
– RLF timers signaled in BCCH SIB2
• In 3GPP Rel9 optionally in RRC Conn Reconfig
• If not signaled to UE, default values are assumed:

Name Value
t310 ms1000
n310 n1
t311 ms1000
n311 n1

– Nokia default values:

Name Value
t310 ms2000
n310 n10
t311 ms3000
n311 n1

23 © Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Successful

RRC Re-Est triggered. UE makes cell reselection and sends Re-Est.

• According to 3GPP, RRC Conn Re-Est can only succeed in a cell that has:
– short MAC-I of the source cell
– PCI of the source cell
– C-RNTI in the source cell

24 © Nokia 2019
 Example: RRC Connection Reestablishment Request
RRC SIGNALING MESSAGE

Time: 9:38:13.165

RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest (3GPP TS 36.331 ver 8.7.0 Rel 8)

UL-CCCH-Message
message
c1
rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest
criticalExtensions
rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest-r8
ue-Identity
This is the PCI of the cell
c-RNTI where UE was last succesfully
Bin : 4C F0 (= 19696) connected to. In HO case it’s
physCellId : 30 the source cell.
shortMAC-I
Bin : AB 7D (= 43901)
reestablishmentCause : otherFailure
spare
Bin : 0 (2 bits)

Data (hex):
25 09 9E 01 EA B7 D8 © Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Successful
• RRC Re-Establishment message sets up SRB1 again
RRC SIGNALING MESSAGE
Time: 16:49:06.085
RRCConnectionReestablishment (3GPP TS 36.331 ver 8.7.0 Rel 8)
DL-CCCH-Message
message
c1
rrcConnectionReestablishment
rrc-TransactionIdentifier :2
criticalExtensions
c1
rrcConnectionReestablishment-r8 SRB1 re-establishment in RRC
radioResourceConfigDedicated
Conn Re-establishment message.
srb-ToAddModList
srb-ToAddModList value 1
srb-Identity :1
mac-MainConfig
explicitValue
ul-SCH-Config
maxHARQ-Tx : n5
periodicBSR-Timer : infinity
retxBSR-Timer : sf2560
-----------------KLIP-----------------------

26 © Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Unsuccessful
• If re-establishment is not possible eNB responds with reject, the UE performs cell
reselection + TAU
• LTE1617 RLF triggered handover feature makes UE context available in the
neighbouring eNB and reduces Re-establishment rejections

UE EUTRAN

RRC Re-Est triggered. UE makes cell reselection and sends Re-Est.

RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest

RRCConnectionReestablishmentReject
Cell reselection (maybe to another cell) + TAU Req
RRC Conn Setup Complete
(NAS: Tracking Area Update Request)

27 © Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Unsuccessful
• Nemo log of reject case
EventId Time Subchannel Direction Message
RRCSM 09:38:13.165 CCCH Uplink RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest
RRCSM 09:38:13.244 CCCH Downlink RRCConnectionReestablishmentReject
RRCSM 09:38:13.969 BCCH-BCH Downlink MasterInformationBlock
RRCSM 09:38:14.014 BCCH-SCH Downlink SystemInformationBlockType1
L3SM 09:38:14.014 Uplink TRACKING_AREA_UPDATE_REQUEST

• RRC Conn Re-est

RRC SIGNALING MESSAGE Time: 9:38:13.165
RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest (3GPP TS 36.331 ver 8.7.0 Rel 8)
UL-CCCH-Message
rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest
criticalExtensions
rrcConnectionReestablishmentRequest-r8 Re-establishment cause can be:
ue-Identity • Other Failure (UE radio link failure)
c-RNTI • Handover Failure (T304 HO timer
Bin: 4C F0 (= 19696) expiry)
physCellId : 30 • Reconfiguration Failure
shortMAC-I
Bin: AB 7D (= 43901)
reestablishmentCause : otherFailure
spare
Bin : 0 (2 bits)
28 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• PUSCH RLF
• CQI RLF
• Ack/Nack RLF
• PDCCH Order failure
• SRS RLF
• TA timer expiry
• Maximum RLC retransmissions exceeded
• GTP-U failure
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

29 © Nokia 2019
 eNB Initiated Call Drops: Overview

• eNB can drop the call due to following triggers

• eNB-detected radio link problems
- PUSCH RLF
- CQI RLF
- Ack/Nack RLF
- PDCCH Order failure
- SRS RLF
• TA timer expiry
• Maximum RLC retransmissions exceeded
• GTP-U failure

30
© Nokia 2019
 Radio Link Problem Detection at eNB
Link monitors for Radio Link Problems detected by eNB

Link monitors are defined to detect a radio link problem in the eNB
Usage of the link monitors is specified by 3GPP
• For radio link problems detected by eNB there are following link monitors:
1. Uplink PUSCH DTX detection for scheduled uplink data
Not configurable (values are hardcoded)
2. Uplink Ack/Nack DTX detection for transmitted downlink data
3. PDCCH Order RLF (RACH msg 1 or msg 3 DTX)
4. CQI DTX detection of periodic CQI reports in PUCCH and PUSCH
5. SRS DTX detection
• If any situation above is detected, eNB may start T_RLF / T_RLC to expect a recovery, and try to release the UE upon
timer expiry. (In the 3rd situation there is another possibility. See later.)

31
© Nokia 2019
 1. PUSCH RLF: RlsCause_PuschRlf_ON
- When UE is scheduled for PUSCH transmission, eNB expects to receive UL
- transmission on the scheduled PRBs
- If signal from UE cannot be detected at all, PUSCH DTX is declared
• NOTE: The case where UL TBS is received but it fails CRC check is not DTX (it’s a NACK)
- DTX PUSCH indication is provided by the UL physical layer.
- The result is received by LTE MAC in reliableULtransmissionFlag parameter.
- Both counter-based and timer-based RLF detection is supported. If RLF detected, T_RLF will start.
• Timer-based PUSCH RLF detection:
- If “DTX“ is received on the PUSCH for a configurable period of time (rlpDetMaxTimeUl), PUSCH RLF is set on
• Counter-based PUSCH RLF detection:
• If “DTX“ is received on the PUSCH for a consecutive number of times (rlpDetMaxNoUl), PUSCH RLF is set on
- The recovery of the radio link is indicated when rlpDetEndNoUl consecutive UL resource assignments data is detected
on PUSCH (ACK or NACK received) before T_RLF expires.
- If no recovery occurs until T_RLF expires, the eNB will try to release the UE and counter M8013C110
DETECTED_RLF_UL_PUSCH_HARQ will increase by 1.

32
© Nokia 2019
 33
uplink

downlink

UL
grant
relia
ble U L tr
Detection Example

a ns
miss
relia io nFla
ble g

T_RLF = T310 + T311

ULtr =TR
a UE

UL UL
nsm

grant grant
issio

© Nokia 2019
relia nF lag=
bl eUL TRU
tran E

UL
smis
relia si onF
bleU lag=
Ltra FAL
nsm SE

UL
issio
relia nFla
bleU g=T
Ltra RUE
nsm

UL
issio
relia nFla
bleU g=F
Ltra A LS
nsm E
UL
issio
relia n Flag
bleU =FA
Ltra LSE
nsm
issio
relia nFla
bleU g= F
Ltra ALS
E
UL UL

nsm
grant grant grant grant grant grant

issio
relia n F lag=
bleU FAL
Ltra
nsm SE
UL

relia is s ionF
ON

bleU lag=
Ltra TRU
nsm E
UL

issio
PUSCH_RLF
T_RLF timer running

relia nFla
bleU g= F
Ltra ALS
nsm E
UL

issio
relia
bleU n Flag
Ltra =TR
nsm UE
UL

issio
grant grant grant grant

relia nFla
bleU g=T
<p name="rlpDetEndNUl">2</p>
<p name="rlpDetMaxNUl">3</p>

Ltra RUE
nsm
issio
vendor-file parameters in this example:

nFla
1. PUSCH RLF: RlsCause_PuschRlf, Counter-based RLF

g=T
RUE
time

OFF
PUSCH_RLF
 2. Ack/Nack RLF: RlsCause_AckNackRlf_ON
• After DL scheduled data, eNB expects HARQ
ACK or NACK on PUCCH or PUSCH at known
UL TTI.

• If RLF detected, T_RLF will start.

- Timer-based ACK/NACK RLF detection: If

ACK/NACK “DTX“ is received for a
configurable period of time
rlpDetMaxTimeDl, .If the counter for the
UE reaches rlpDetMaxTDl value, eNB
indicates RLF to higher layers rlpDetMaxN
oDl
- Counter-based ACK/NACK RLF detection: If
ACK/NACK “DTX“ is received for a
consecutive number of times
(rlpDetMaxNoDl), ACK/NACK RLF is set
on
• The recovery of the RLF is indicated when for
rlpDetEndNoDl contiguous ACK/NACK Vendor specific parameters
opportunities ACK or NACK is detected on rlpDetMaxTimeDl
PUSCH or PUCCH (no DTX). rlpDetMaxTDl
rlpDetMaxNoDl
• If no recovery occurs until T_RLF expires, the rlpDetEndNoDl
eNB will try to release the UE and counter
M8013C110
34 DETECTED_RLF_UL_PUSCH_HARQ will
© Nokia 2019
3. PDCCH Order RLF

• If there is DL data in eNB buffer and UE is out-of-sync, UE must be brought back to

in-sync (time aligned) with a RA procedure before DL data can be sent.
• Signaling of dedicated RA preamble via PDCCH (so-called PDCCH order) is done
using DCI format 1A.
• In case that PDCCH order fails for a UE (i.e., no transmission of assigned dedicated
preamble detected by eNodeB, or no msg3 transmission) the PDCCH order shall be
repeated 10 times , again using the selected preamble and considering DRX status
of the UE accordingly.
• Final failure of the PDCCH order process shall be indicated as radio link problem to
higher layers with cause “PDCCH order failure” => T_RLF started (eNB is waiting
possible RRC re-establishment from UE side).
• When T_RLF expires, the eNB will try to release the UE and counter M8013C111
DETECTED_RLF_UL_OTHER will increase by 1.
• If inactivity timer for the UE has expired then there is no T_RLF timer involved  S1
and RRC released immediately (UE put to idle state).
35
© Nokia 2019
 4. Periodic CQI RLF: RlsCause_CqiRlf_ON
CQI RLF link monitor detection and recovery (LTE2206: Extended RLF handling)

• CQI RLF detection counts periodic missed CQI transmissions from PUCCH or PUSCH
• When eNB receives CQI DTX exactly LNBTS:nCqiDtx times, it triggers RLF indication (T_RLF starts.)
• When eNB receives correct CQIs for LNBTS:nCqiRec times before T_RLF expires, eNB cancels the RLF state

T_RLF = LNCEL:t310 +
Periodic CQI detected LNCEL:t311 + tDeltaRLF
CQI missed T-RLF T-RLF
started T_RLF stopped

nCQIDtx=10 nCQIRec=2
Recovery from RLF state

LNBTS:nCqiRec LNBTS:nCqiDtx
Radio problem indication based on CQI DTX Radio problem indication based on CQI DTX
1..8 0..250
Default:2 Default:100

If no recovery occurs until T_RLF expires, the eNB will try to release the UE and counter M8013C111
DETECTED_RLF_UL_OTHER will increase by 1.

36
© Nokia 2019
 5. SRS RLF

- The eNB supports SRS DTX detection for radio link problem detection
- If MAC layer receives nSrsDtx consecutive reports from UL PHY, the MAC declares SRS
RLF. (T_RLF starts.)
- If nSrsRec consecutive SRS transmissions are succesfully detected before T_RLF expires,
the MAC sets SRS RLF OFF. (T_RLF stops.)
• Hence the SRS RLF has similar mechanism as CQI DTX RLF
- The parameters nSrsDtx and nSrsRec are operator-configurable
• nSrsDtx – default 50
• nSrsRec – default 2

If no recovery occurs until T_RLF expires, the eNB will try to release the UE and counter
M8013C111 DETECTED_RLF_UL_OTHER will increase by 1.

37
© Nokia 2019
 When is Drop (= RRC + S1 release) triggered by eNB?

- 3GPP does not specify eNB radio link failures, but Nokia eNB mimics
the behavior of the UE RLF specified in 3GPP.
- When a radio link problem is detected, an eNB-internal timer (T_RLF)
is started. The timer T_RLF is stopped when in case of radio link
failure recovery.
- When the timer T_RLF expires, the UE is released from the eNB using
eNB initiated S1 release + RRC connection release –> call drop
- T_RLF :
- In case of CQI RLF : T_RLF = T310 + T311 + tDeltaRLF (hardcoded
to 2.2s)
- Other RLF cases : T_RLF = T310 + T311

38 © Nokia 2019
 RLF Triggering by eNB, Signaling

Cause: Radio Connection

with UE lost

• Only L2 Ack needed for successful RRC Conn Release.

• If L2 Ack not received after timer tL2AckRrcRel expires (def=800ms), RRC is released anyway.
• NOTE: No RLC Ack needed for RRC Connection Release. No reTx for RRC Connection Release

39 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• PUSCH RLF
• CQI RLF
• Ack/Nack RLF
• PDCCH Order failure
• SRS RLF
• TA timer expiry
• Maximum RLC retransmissions exceeded
• GTP-U failure
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

40 © Nokia 2019
 In-Sync and Out-Of-Sync States: Overview

Uplink RA SR
or downlink
PDCCH order
to bring UE
back in-sync

41 © Nokia 2019
 TA Timer Expiry at UE
– As UE detects Out-of-Sync status using a Timing Alignment Timer, the timer shall be started or
restarted whenever an initial TA or a TA update command is received (see [3GPP-36.321], section
5.2). If the timer expires, the UE detects out-of-sync status.
– 3GPP TS 36.321: When timeAlignmentTimer expires at UE, UE MAC layer shall:
- flush all HARQ buffers;
- notify RRC layer to release PUCCH/SRS;
- clear any configured downlink assignments and uplink grants
– 3GPP TS 36.331: Upon receiving a PUCCH/ SRS release request from MAC layer, the UE RRC shall:
• release periodic CQI reporting config, ie it stops CQI reporting on PUCCH
• release Scheduling Request Config

LNCEL:applyOutOfSyncState • extendedDrxOnly: only UEs being configured with extended settings for the long DRX cycle are not
Apply UL out-of-sync state dropped if TA timer expires (default)
extendedDrxOnly (0), allDrx (1),
allUEs (2) • allDrx: all UEs being configured for DRX provided that applied DRX profile allows are not dropped if
Default: 0 TA timer expires

If DRX is not used at all, then setting • allUEs: all UEs independently of DRX configuration provided that bearer combination allows are
‘allUEs’ should be used to prevent kept RRC Connected even if TA timer expires.
eNB drops due to TA timer expiry

42 © Nokia 2019
 Out-Of-Sync
To
In-Sync :
Normal Case

43 © Nokia 2019
 User
Inactivity
Detection
During Out-
Of-Sync
Case 1 : UE goes
to idle after
inactivity detection

Case 2 : UE stays
connected after
inactivity detection

44 © Nokia 2019
 RRC + S1 Release after TA Timer Expiry at eNB When Out-Of-Sync Handling
Not Used for UE
NOTE: TA out-of-sync
causes immediate release
(no T_RLF involved)

45 © Nokia 2019
 TA Timer Expiry at eNB, User-Configurable Parameters

eNB sends to UE TA command either periodically (taTimer) or after detection of TA shift (taMaxOffset)

46 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• PUSCH RLF
• CQI RLF
• Ack/Nack RLF
• PDCCH Order failure
• SRS RLF
• TA timer expiry
• Maximum RLC retransmissions exceeded
• GTP-U failure
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

47 © Nokia 2019
 RLC Layer ARQ Mechanism

– RLC transmitter will retransmit all data that is nacked in the STATUS PDU
– Maximum number of UL and DL RLC retransmissions is defined by vendor parameter
drbAmMxRtxTh (default=16)

Status request ACK/NACK

48 © Nokia 2019
 Release due to Maximum Number of Downlink RLC SRB parameters
Retransmissions (eNB-triggered) message
c1
rrcConnectionSetup
rrc-TransactionIdentifier :2
- Vendor parameter drbAmMxRtxTh (default=16) criticalExtensions
c1
rrcConnectionSetup-r8
radioResourceConfigDedicated
- SRB1 or SRB2: after max RLC retransmissions has srb-ToAddModList
srb-ToAddModList value 1
been reached srb-Identity : 1
rlc-Config
- eNB releases the UE immediately (S1 + RRC explicitValue
am
release). ul-AM-RLC
t-PollRetransmit : ms100
pollPDU : pInfinity
pollByte : kBinfinity
- DRB: after max RLC retransmissions has been maxRetxThreshold : t16
dl-AM-RLC
reached
- eNB starts a timer T_RLC (T311+200ms) to wait drb-Identity :4
pdcp-Config
for an UE triggered RRC Connection discardTimer : ms750
rlc-AM
Reestablishment. If the timer expires: eNB statusReportRequired : true
releases the UE. headerCompression : notUsed
rlc-Config
- Otherwise: UE has triggered a RRC Connection am
ul-AM-RLC
Reestablishment procedure and eNB performs t-PollRetransmit : ms120
pollPDU : p64
the RRC Connection Reestablishment procedure pollByte : kB500
(as for a RLF). maxRetxThreshold : t16

DRB parameters
49 - Then, counter M8013C109
© Nokia 2019
 Release due to Maximum Number of RLC Retransmissions (eNB-triggered)

Time applied for

DRBs only.

50 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• PUSCH RLF
• CQI RLF
• Ack/Nack RLF
• PDCCH Order failure
• SRS RLF
• TA timer expiry
• Maximum RLC retransmissions exceeded
• GTP-U failure
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

51 © Nokia 2019
 Release due to GTP-U Error Indication from S-GW (eNB-triggered)

– Handling of Event "GTP-U Error Indication"

– eNB may receive a “GTP-U Error Indication” on an active (single) S1 bearer (S-GW has rejected the
reception of uplink data packets). In that case eNB shall send the S1AP message UE CONTEXT
RELEASE REQUEST with cause “TNL Cause Transport Resource Unavailable” to MME.

– Example: This failure cause happens S-GW relocation attempt is not successful in X2 handover.S-
GW relocation with X2 connection is supported from release FL16 (LTE439).

52 © Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

53 © Nokia 2019
 Who Initiates Drops, UE, MME or eNB?

UE can ”initiate a drop” by starting RRC Connection Re-establishment

• Note: besides RLF also other causes can trigger RRC Conn Re-Establishment
eNB can initiate abnormal S1 + RRC release due to
• Radio network layer problem (TA timer, RLF, PDCCH Order failure)
• Transport network layer problem (GTP-U error, Treloc expiry, Path Switch problem)
• Other abnormal cause
MME can initiate abnormal S1 + RRC release due
• Radio network layer problem
• Other abnormal cause

54
© Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Successful

RRC Re-Est triggered. UE makes cell reselection and sends Re-Est.

M8008C4 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_ATT
M8008C6 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_ATT_HO_FAIL
M8008C8 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_ATT_OTHER

M8008C5 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_SUCC
RRC Conn Re-Est can only succeed in a cell that has: M8008C7 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_SUCC_HO_FAIL
• short MAC-I of the target cell M8008C9 RRC_CON_RE_ESTAB_SUCC_OTHER
• PCI of the source cell
• C-RNTI in the source cell

55
© Nokia 2019
 RRC Re-Establishment Procedure, Unsuccesful

- Re-establishment fails if target cell has not been prepared , eNB responds
with reject  UE performs cell reselection + TAU

UE EUTRAN

RRC Re-Est triggered. UE makes cell reselection and sends Re-Est.

RRCConnectionReestablishmentRequest

RRCConnectionReestablishmentReject
Cell reselection + TAU Req M8008C0 REJ_RRC_CONN_RE_ESTAB

RRC Conn Setup Complete

(NAS: Tracking Area Update Request)

56
© Nokia 2019
 • M8006C0 EPS_BEARER_SETUP_ATTEMPTS
eNB Initiated • M8013C45 UE_CTX_SETUP_ATT
• M8013C46 UE_CTX_SETUP_ATT_CSFB
Release eN
ECM_CONNECTED
MME • M8013C49 UE_CTX_SETUP_FAIL_RADIO_INT
Counters B
• M8006C1 EPS_BEARER_SETUP_COMPLETIONS
S1AP:Initial Context Setup Request • M8013C47 UE_CTX_SETUP_SUCC ;
• S1 Release • M8013C47 UE_CTX_SETUP_SUCC_REL11H_UE
Signaling: ECM S1AP:Initial Context Setup • M8013C48 UE_CTX_SETUP_SUCC_CSFB
Response
Connected to
ECM Idle • M8006254 : ERAB_REL_ENB
• M8006C255 : ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_INA
• M8006C256 : ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_UEL
• M8006C257 : ERAB_REL_ENB_TNL_TRU
• M8006C258: ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_RED
S1AP: • M8006C259 : ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_EUGR
UEContextReleaseRequest • M8006C269 : ERAB_REL_ENB_RNL_RRNA
Missing CQI report based
releases can be monitored • M8013C13: ENB_INIT_TO_IDLE_NORM_REL
with: M8013C72 CQI DTX S1AP: UEContextRelease • M8013C16: ENB_INIT_TO_IDLE_OTHER
RLF_TRIGGER_CQI_DTX Value:UEContextReleaseComma • M8013C54: UE_CTX_REL_ENB
• Number of UEs nd • M8013C55: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_USER_INA
released due to radio
• M8013C56: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_CONN_LOSS
link failure with root
S1AP: UEContextRelease • M8013C57: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_RADIO_INT
cause CQI DTX
Value:UEContextReleaseComple • M8013C58: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_EUTRAN_REAS
te • M8013C59: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_NO_RADIO_RES
• M8013C60: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_RNL_UNSPEC
• M8013C61: UE_CTX_REL_ENB_TIMER_HO
ECM_IDLE

57
© Nokia 2019
 MME Initiated Abnormal Release Counters

ECM_CONNECTED
ECM_CONNECTED
eNB MME
MME initiated EPS bearer release
Abnormal (abnormal)
release
M8006C8 EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_RNL
M8006C9 EPC_EPS_BEARER_REL_REQ_OTH
S1AP: UEContextReleaseCommand M8006C277 ERAB_REL_EPC_PATH_SWITCH
With cause
MME initiated UE Context Release
(abnormal)
S1AP: UEContextReleaseComplete
M8013C11 EPC_INIT_TO_IDLE_RNL
M8013C12 EPC_INIT_TO_IDLE_OTHER

ECM_IDLE
ECM_IDLE Cause value
mapping should be
checked from MME
M8006 EPS Bearer Measurements: cell level
M8007 Radio Bearer Measurements: cell level
M8013 UE State Measurements: cell level

58
© Nokia 2019
 Index

• Network KPIs
• KPI Reference Values
• Drop Call Causes, Theory
• UE initiated drop
• eNB initiated drop
• Drop call counters
• Project Example

59 © Nokia 2019
 Case example: HO failures due to frequency synch issues
Poor frequency sych (eNB transport) causing RA and HO failures
• When sync recovered msg2 succ rate and outgoing HO succ rate
normalized

Issue rectified
60
© Nokia 2019
 Case example: HO failures due to frequency synch issues
Frequency sync analysis • Sync quality analysis (oscillator) cannot be done
from OSS KPIs
• Frequency sync history file required, included in
BTS snapshots
• Freq sync history file shows
• Frequency difference (ppm) between
consecutive samples. Sampling interval is
20min
• Oscillator DAC word, healthy value is 2000
plus-minus 200. DAC word range is 0…4095
• Target quality from 3GPP is 50ppb = 0.05ppm

• For reference, an example of normal

frequency synchronization behavior.
• After BTS start the clock frequency stabilizes
• Some peaks seen so the synch quality for
this site is not very good either!!

61 © Nokia 2019
 UE Log: Handover to Target Cell (PCI:29)

• UE received RrcConnection-
Reconfiguration (handover
command) for target cell:
PCI 29.
• UE completed the
contention-free random
access to the target cell
(preamble id = 45) by
receiving Random Access
Response (RACH RSP) from
eNB and sent RrcConnection
ReconfigurationComplete
message to eNB.

62 © Nokia 2019
 Case Study: Call Drop due to Handover
Failure – Tx2RelocOverall Timer Expiry

63 © Nokia 2019
 UE Log: Radio Conditions

64 © Nokia 2019
 Cell trace: Source Cell (PCI=135)

HO trigger

HO preparation

tx2relocoverall timer= 5.35s

Data Forwarding

Data Forwarding
Failure

Call Release

• RLC layer detected issue on DL data acknowledgements and triggered RLC retransmissions until
maximum number of retransmissions (16) were reached.
– The UE context release was initiated by eNB on a source cell with cause: tx2relocoverall-expiry
– (tx2relocoverall=T304max+T311+T301+ tx2relocoverallDelta = 5350ms).
65 © Nokia 2019
 Cell trace: Target Cell (PCI=29)

• The UE receives successfully random access response from a target cell (C-RNTI=22729) but
RrcConnectionReconfigurationComplete message (Msg3) was never received for some reason (e.g.
interference or poor uplink coverage) by a target cell and thus, the handover was not further proceeded.

66 © Nokia 2019
 Inter-eNB X2
Handover –
Message Flow

Handover command for

target cell: PCI 29

No RRC reconfiguration
MaxRlcRetransExceeded in a complete message received
source cell in a target cell.

Tx2RelocOverall timer
expires

67 © Nokia 2019
 UE Log: Random Access for UL Data Arrival

• The eNB had already

released RRC connection and
stopped scheduling the UE.
• However, UE never received
RrcConnectionRelease
message and thus, the
random access procedure
was initiated due to UL data
arrival.
• The UE does not receive eNB
answer and keeps sending
the requests until max.
preamble retransmissions (10)
reached.

68 © Nokia 2019
 UE Log: RRC Connection Re-establishment

• After the failed random access

procedure with source cell, RRC
connection re-establishment was
initiated by UE to the target cell.
• However, RRC connection re-
establishment was rejected by the
target cell because the UE context
was earlier released due to
incomplete handover.

69 © Nokia 2019
 Radio Link Failure

Random Access triggered

due to UL data arrival & no
PUCCH. UE attempting random RRC connection re-establishment
access to serving cell. attempted to serving cell during t311
but eventually eNB rejected the RRC
re-establishment

RACH failure

70 © Nokia 2019
 Exercises

71 © Nokia 2019
 Call drop analysis exercise
Files:
• KPI report: KPI_Report_LTE-2
• Nemo log 7.1.nmf
Nemo log: Nemo log 7.1.nmf

1. Check the KPI report:

• What’s the call drop rate in KPI stats?
• What’s the handover drop rate in KPI stats?
• Is there difference between DRB Drop Ratio and E-RAB Drop Ratio?

2. Check the Nemo log:

• Can you find any call drop or handover drops in the drive test log?
• Are the drops caused by bad RF conditions or something else?

72 © Nokia 2019