actix cellopt afp release notes 3.14

Version 3.14.9

AFP Release Notes

Actix Cellopt AFP Release Notes for Version 3.14.9

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1 New features

1.1 What ‟s new in Cel lopt AFP 3.14.9

1.1.1 New format for export of pl ans

Plans of GSM projects can now be exported to the RANX 3 format.

1.1.2 Support for operat ing systems added

Windows 7 64-bit with Service Pack 1 is now supported.

Windows Server 2008 R2 (used as Citrix server) is now supported.

1.2 What ‟s new in Cel lopt AFP 3.14.8 & 3.14.7

There are no new features available in these versions.


1.3.1 New technology (TETRA) added

TETRA networks can now be modelled by AFP. TETRA is similar to LMR in that it is a technology wherein intermodulation products can be calculated and included in the analysis, optimisation and manual retune of networks. It differs significantly in that uplink and downlink frequencies cannot be modelled separately, but rather one channel number corresponds to two frequencies (Tx and Rx) which are separated by a fixed distance.

In order to meet TETRA requirements, intermodulation products can now be calculated as high as the 11th order.

1.3.2 Export of layer-based forbidden frequencies to the Asset planning tool i s now opt ional (SF50236)

The exporting of forbidden frequencies attached to layers was causing issues with some versions of Asset when the plan exported from AFP was reimported into Asset. As the frequencies were not required in Asset, an option has been included in the plan export to allow them to be omitted from the Asset export.


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1.4.1 Warning when import ing project f i le (SF52102)

A new warning has been added when a user attempts to import a Cellopt3 format project file when a project is already open in AFP. This will help prevent the inadvertent overwriting of data.

1.4.2 Removed al l references to Color Code for LMR (SF52100)

As LMR technology does not use color codes, all references to color code are hidden when LMR technology is selected.


1.5.1 Better support for Rx/Tx band spl i t in LMR technology (SF52101)

It is now possible to specify a minimum Tx and a maximum Rx frequency for the

available spectrum on the spectrum page to create a Tx/Rx band split. When these settings are applied, Cellopt AFP automatically applies an appropriate range of forbidden frequencies to the category Radio Use and Tx/Rx Layers.

1.5.2 Flexible opt ion for imput ing Adj ru les (SF53080)

The dropdown menu for selecting Adj rules has been changed to an edit box in order to allow users to be able to enter desired values for creating Adj rules.


1.6.1 Opt ion to change database password (SF50847)

When AFP is installed, a MySql database is created with default passwords. A new

option has been added to the Control Panel Options screen so that the password can be changed if desired.


There are no new features available in this version.


1.8.1 Frequency opt imisat i on for LMR networks (SF51822)

Cellopt AFP has been extended to support frequency optimisation and reduce intermodulation interference for LMR (Land Mobile Radio) networks. A new LMR

technology support has been added to the list of available (GSM, iDEN, TDMA & PDC) technologies for projects.


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LMR networks have two sectors each site and transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) radio channels on separate sectors. This can be modelled in AFP by assigning these radios to a new LMR-specific system category (Radio Use). During optimisation intermodulation products can be calculated and used in frequency analysis, optimisation and retune to reduce overall intermodulation interference in the network. Separate penalties can be set up for 3rd, 5th and 7th-order products, and for Co and Adj rules within the same order.

As well as feeding in automatically to the frequency optimisation and retune to enable the plan to avoid channels with intermodulation products, a detailed report is available showing how the products are calculated and identifying the offending Tx channels.


1.9.1 New warning for MCRB radio ass ignments (SF45971)

A new project warning has been added when MCRBs are assigned more than six radios. This reflects the actual limit in the field. If more than six radios are assigned to MCRBs when performing analysis or optimization a warning would be displayed that this is not supported and radios would be treated as normal radios.

1.9.2 Conf igurable Path for database Locat ion (SF49170)

A new dialog has been added in setup process to allow user to choose db location during installation process. User would be allowed to choose a new database

location only for new installations. During upgrade database location cannot be changed.

1.10 What ‟s new in Cel lopt AFP 3.12.8 & 3.12.9

There are no new features – these releases are dedicated to resolving issues found in the product. See Issues resolved in 3.12.8 & 3.12.9.


1.11.1 „Enable al l Radios ‟ button (SF43866)

A new feature has been added that would allow a user to enable multiple radios

with a single click. A button has been added at the bottom of the Network page to enable all radios in the network.

Icons have been added to the Site and Sector Property pages to allow a user to enable all radios for a site and sector, displayed in the Property page.


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To avoid radios becoming inadvertently enabled, a dialog is presented to the user to confirm the action.


1.12.1 Citr ix support (SF47764, 47779, 47819)

It is now possible to install and run Cellopt AFP on a Citrix server.


1.13.1 Use exist ing database when instal l ing maintenance releases (SF47021)

When installing maintenance releases, the Cellopt installer has been configured to use the existing database.

1.13.2 Select radios in the edi t or f rom the warn ing (SF46219)

A new feature has been added to allow the user to select the radios that are contributing to a warning.


1.14.1 System category „OLD COLOR CODE ‟

A new system category has been added which can be applied to radios. The user can now update the „Old Color Code‟ column in the Radio Editor, and these values will be saved in the database.

1.14.2 Spectrum warning

A new warning has been added for situations when all sets break available separation rules for particular radios. This would help in explaining when the optimizer and analyzer scores are significantly different.


1.15.1 Increased channel separat i on l imi t

Additional channel separation for Adj-120 and Adj-240 has been provided in addition to current settings of Adj-1 to Adj-21.


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1.16.1 GRFU feature development

A new feature has been developed to support GRFU channels (GSM Radio Frequency Unit). It is an extension to the existing support for GSM maximum separation groups.

1.16.2 Sector-based tab-del imi ted export data from the Radio Edi tor

A new feature has been developed to allow Radio Editor data to be exported in

sector-based tab-delimited format. This complements the tab-delimited file format feature developed for AFP 3.12 to create a new project or modify an existing project.

1.16.3 Defaul t report dest inat ion

A new option has been added to set an analysis report‟s default destination to be a file rather than the screen. The default directory location is stored in Options.

1.16.4 Layer sort ing

Layers defined by the user will appear in alphanumeric order; however, system layers will maintain their current, logical order.


1.17.1 Tab del imi ted import improvement

Tab delimited file import has been improved to allow the enabling/disabling of radios by specifying values for a whole sector or a single radio.

1.17.2 Warnings i f unusable plan is created

If Cellopt AFP encounters a problem when updating radios with the results of a frequency optimization, a warning is now produced about the unassigned radios, allowing the user to take remedial action.

1.18 What ‟s new in Cel lopt AFP 3.12

1.18.1 Enhanced sort ing in Radio Edi tor

Sorting in Radio Editor and in all other reports has been improved to sort numbers, embedded in names, in numerical order instead of alphabetical order.

1.18.2 Tab del imi ted format import

Using this format, a new project can be created or an existing project can be modified. Values are defined per sector, per line, and can be used to create/modify

various elements in the project, e.g. sectors, radios, categories, layers. It can also be used to create neighbor relations.


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For more information about this format and how to create it, please refer to the Cellopt AFP User Guide.

1.18.3 Move sectors between s i tes

Sectors can easily be moved between sites from the network tree. The sector will keep its entire configuration, including the attached radios.

1.18.4 Java 6 .0 support

Support for Java 6.0 was added in order to become compliant with Aero on Windows Vista. The Aero GUI does not support the older Java 5.0.

1.18.5 Common Act ix l i censing

The licensing system has changed. The new system will be common within all Actix software. Currently Actix Analyzer and Cellopt AFP/MDA and Actix Switch Adapter use the same licensing.

For older versions of Cellopt, the old licensing system will still be supported.


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2 Resolved issues

2.1 Issues resolved in 3.14.8

2.1.1 Problem with saving f requency plan to the database after the opt imizat i on (SF57918)

When saving frequency plans, AFP was sometimes failing to add MALs to the database. This is now fixed.

2.1.1 Opt imizer progress window shows huge green penal t ies (SF57918)

AFP was incorrectly reporting plans, as better plans, which resulted in huge interference penalty scores in order to reduce important penalty scores. Though the total score was less than the previous result, it wasn‟t a better plan because of the huge rise in the interference score. The AFP code has been modified to discard such plans.


2.2.1 Cel lopt unstable (SF57280)

This problem was caused by rapid progress bar messages sent by the server to the

client. Showing the progress bar is now configurable through the settings.xml file. Client side logging level can also be configured in the settings.xml file.

2.2.2 Dif f i cu l ty enabl ing disabled radios (SF56963)

If all radios are disabled in an AFP project, then in the Network page the "Enable all" button was missing. Now the "Show Disabled", "Add Site" and "Enable All" buttons show when the network contains disabled radios even when none of the

radios are enabled.

2.2.3 Intermod pr ior i t ies sort ing incorrect ly on Pr i or i t ies page (SF56997)

For the TETRA and LMR technology, the intermod rules are now sorted correctly on the Priorities page. The sort order is 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and then 11th order. Also, on the right side of the page, in the "Add new Priorities" section, the order of the intermod rules is now 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and then 11th order.

2.2.4 Right c l i ck pop-up menu doesn't work for some s i tes and sectors in network t ree (SF55151)

Apostrophes in site-sector names caused the Network page right click functionality to fail. It has now been fixed.


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2.2.5 Loading t ime of AFP Templates too l ong (SF55256)

The problem, now fixed, was that MALs were being saved as part of the project template.

2.2.6 Export/Import of project removes distance l i st penal t ies (SF57381)

For the TETRA technology, this release fixes a problem which was due to the wrong list type being set when exporting/importing a distance list. Now new lists have the type set correctly.

2.2.7 Radio Edi tor Export of sectors fai l s f or TETRA technology (SF58059)

Added support for tab delimited Import/export for TETRA technology.

2.2.8 Fixed import of HSN (SF58656)

When importing data or creating a project using Cellopt 3 format, AFP was treating the HSN value „0‟ as a null value. This is now fixed.

2.2.9 Fixed locale problem

When adding a new site in Dutch OS, AFP was not interpreting lat-long values correctly. This is now fixed.


2.3.1 FAS data import (SF54824)

AFP was failing to import FAS data in UTF-16 format. The software has now been modified to automatically detect and import data in UTF-8 or UTF-16 format.

Ericsson FAS data import has been modified to import floating point values. Note that these are rounded to integers after import.


2.4.1 Tab del imi ted import (SF53854)

AFP failed to import Tab delimited data correctly when it contained Chinese characters. This is now fixed.

2.4.2 Project template export

It was failing to export template when project didn‟t contain bandmap frequencies. It is now fixed.


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2.5.1 Creat ing new project f rom template (SF52873)

It was not possible to create new project using a template containing empty lists. This has now been fixed.


2.6.1 Except ion caused by event Export Template (SF50658)

When a project template was exported from a project which contained no technology and had all lists deleted, AFP threw an exception. This has now been fixed.


2.7.1 Rules disappear on restart ing of AFP (SF52104)

Adj rules were not getting saved when new category was created before saving the rules. Hence these rules were disappearing when AFP restarted. This problem has now been fixed.

2.7.2 Corrected Adj -120 and Adj -240 ru les (SF52103)

Adj rules have been changed to Adj-120 and Adj-240 to Adj-119 and Adj-239. This would allow user to achieve separation of 1.25 MHz and 3.0 MHz as required for LMR technology.

2.8 When Issues resolved in 3.12.10

2.8.1 Improved Tab del imi ted import (SF50666)

When a tab-delimited file is imported to update a project, it does not update all the radios when the number of radios in the file is lower than the number of radios in the project for the given sector. A warning has been added to warn the user when such cases are detected.

2.8.2 Baseband radio import f rom Asset (SF50781)

Baseband radios when imported from Asset were incorrectly being applied MAL. This was fixed in AFP3.11.2 RC and wasn‟t merged to AFP3.12. It has now been merged to fix the issue.

2.8.3 Large h istogram import problem (SF50997)

When large histograms were imported and packet size was larger than 1MB, mysql was throwing max_packet_allowed exception as default value is 1MB. It has now

been fixed by breaking down histogram size before storing into database.


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2.9.1 Improved Er icsson FAS data import (SF50367)

Cellopt AFP was failing to import Ericsson FAS data from Maxis switches due to changes in the file header. This has now been fixed.


2.10.1 Modi f ied Cel lopt2 format data import (SF49760)

In previous releases, Cellopt2 format data had to contain all fields for import to be successful. Now, iSITE, iSECT and iCONC messages can be imported without Lat/Long, traffic and sep_type value respectively. These changes will be rolled back once the equivalent issue is resolved in the Radioplan platform.

2.10.2 Opt imizat ion er ror (SF50181)

AFP was failing to optimize when the project contained One Set and Adhoc, and

MCRB radios. It has now been fixed.


2.11.1 Warning for dupl icate s i tes dur ing Cel l opt3 project import

Projects created by importing a Cellopt3 format project file containing duplicate site definitions caused the histogram import to fail. This has now been fixed by preventing the import of duplicated site definitions. If duplicate site definitions are found, only the first definition is processed and a warning is produced for all other site definitions having the same name.


2.12.1 Opt ion to inc lude user -def ined layer (SF47606)

To prevent confusion, this option has been disabled for file-based summary reports.

2.12.2 Browse button for send to f i le opt i on

It was possible to click on the Analyze > Send to File > Browse button even when it was grayed out. This has now been fixed for all relevant locations in the user interface.


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2.13.1 Vers ion number in emai l (SF48535)

An incomplete version number was being used in the email automatically generated by Cellopt. This has been changed to include the patch number to correctly identify the product from which the error report email is being sent.


2.14.1 MCRB feature

The MCRBs separation rule could not be applied in AFP3.12.2 and AFP3.12.3. This feature was broken due to GRFU development work and has now been fixed.

2.14.2 Changing avai lable f requency

When changing available frequencies on the Spectrum page, new frequency ranges could not applied. This has now been fixed.


2.15.1 Removed disabled radios f rom warning

Disabled quads with either one or more than four radios were generating project level warnings. These warnings have now been suppressed. This would help in identifying enabled radios with a broken quad/widen rule. These warnings would also be suppressed when running optimizer/analyzer.

2.15.2 Al ias maps import problem using Cel lopt 3 format

When importing data using Cellopt 3 format Alias maps were not being created. This is now fixed.

2.15.3 Co and Adj import problem using tab del imi ted format

When using sector-based tab delimited format to import relations, Cellopt AFP did not import Co and Adj values specified with relations. This is now fixed.

2.15.4 Opt imizat ion problem when radio is member of mul t iple max- separat ion groups

The optimizer was sometimes failing to find a solution when the project contained hopping separation groups that required a radio to be member of multiple max-separation groups. The software is now changed to produce optimization results. This problem was related to a newly developed GRFU feature.


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2.16.1 Licensing problem when using the Local Act ivat ion server

We have integrated the fix for Local Activation that required the product to be reactivated after it had been offline. This has now been fixed to allow offline use of the product when using the Local Activation server.

2.16.2 Progress bar update

Sometimes there was a delay between the progress bar showing completion and the actual opening of a Microsoft Excel file. It has now been fixed so the progress bar now correctly displays progress when exporting radio editor data to Excel.


2.17.1 iDEN set pl anning co-sector i ssue

When using set planning in iDEN, a few sectors with co-sector violations were not being recognized by the optimizer, and were therefore not being resolved. The violations could easily be detected in the frequency analysis report. This is now fixed.

2.17.2 iDEN set pl anning unassigned sector i s sue

Another issue fixed with set planning was that some sets were not recognized

correctly, and as a result, some radios become unassigned.

2.17.3 Server shutdown problem after h istogram import

The server was not shutting down properly while exiting Cellopt AFP after histograms created by ASA were imported. This is now fixed.

2.17.4 Problem act ivat ing l i cense when Analyzer also instal led

There was a problem reactivating a license using Activation wizard if Actix Analyzer was also installed with legacy licensing (i.e. not Activation). This is now fixed.

2.18 Issues resolved in 3.12

2.18.1 Quad-X warning

Using the iDEN technology, there is a project warning when a QUAD combiner contains only one radio.

Previously this only turned off for the 1st QUAD configuration; all other 2nd to 7th QUADs were still reporting the same warning.

With AFP 3.12, this no longer happens; turning off the QUAD warning applies for all QUAD configurations.


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2.18.2 Add BR too fast , hangs

When adding radios too quickly in the network tree, sometimes the application would hang. Measures have been taken to minimize this possibility in 3.12.

2.18.3 Change iDEN set st rategy in network t ree

In earlier versions of Cellopt AFP, it was not possible to change the important “Set Strategy” category from the Network tree. The option was simply not available. Instead, everything had to be done from the Radio Editor.

2.18.4 Import Cel lOpt3 project f rom ASA not ass ign ing old plan

When importing a Cellopt3 project created from ASA, the project did not have the old frequency plan assigned as before, only the current plan. It is now fixed.

2.18.5 Asset import of baseband frequency and HSN

Baseband frequency, HSN and MAIO were not imported correctly when read from an Asset xml project. This has been partly fixed, in that the frequency and HSN are now imported correctly. However, some problems still remain when importing the

MAIO parameter in baseband.


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3 Known Issues

3.1.1 Export ing a Project Template wi thout f i rst c los ing AFP causes a crash

After creating a Project Template, you must close Cellopt AFP before exporting the template. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in the next release.

3.1.2 Sector-based tab-del imi ted import / export of radi os and sets

The sector-based tab-delimited (import / export) feature is not designed to work with set planning. It is not possible to specify that a radio is assigned a frequency from a set.

3.1.3 Project scalabi l i ty i ssue

It is a known issue that the amount of memory that Cellopt AFP can use is limited by the 32-bit Java virtual machine.

Some configurations will increase the available memory for Cellopt. This is done with the “xmx” flag inside the <installation directory>\conf\settings.xml file.

The default value is set to 800Mb as seen in the picture (indicated by “Xmx800M”). The value can be increased to around 1400Mb, depending on the local computer


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configuration. Much higher values than this are currently not allowed by 32-bit Java.

With this configuration change, the maximum number of radios can be around 25000, and even up to 50000.

3.1.4 Large reports issue

There is an issue with large reports in the frequency analysis when displaying this on screen. When a very large report is displayed with thousands of lines, it might cause the client and server to disconnect and hang the application.

3.1.5 Unicode Fonts

Exporting reports to PDF format renders all non-Western characters as hashes. There is an issue with applying fonts correctly in this format.

3.1.6 The User Databases (Projects) are not remove d when uninstal l ing Cel lopt AFP

The Cellopt AFP uninstaller does not remove the databases (projects) from the

directory. To free up hard drive space, these can be removed manually. The location for the database is now in the All Users\Application Data:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Actix\Cellopt AFP\3.X or 3.12

3.1.7 Uninstal l may take longer on some sys tems

3.1.8 Copy Project f rom AFP Control Panel does not work

Using Copy Project from Control Panel > Project Management > Copy project produces a crash with an error message similar to this:

Model with id 15 does not exist

The workaround for this issue is to export the project to file and copy the AFP3 XML

file using Windows Explorer.

3.1.9 Creat ing a project us ing a t emplate does not work in al l instances

When creating a new project from a project template that includes Interference Lists, and then importing an afp3 XML project that does not include an Interference List, the project creation fails.

The workaround for this issue is to close the newly created blank project before importing the afp3 project. This forces the DB to update, then you can open the blank project and import the afp3 project file without errors.

3.1.10 React ivat i on of l i censes afte r upgrading to AFP 3.14 .9

If a local license activation server is used, the information for the activation server

has to be entered again after upgrading to version 3.14.9.


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After launching Cellopt AFP, this dialog will be displayed:

Confirming with Yes leads to this dialog:

Clicking Next now would cause a communication error due to missing information about the license activation server – this information was erased during the upgrade.

Instead, click Back.


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In the next dialog, click the Advanced button:

This opens the dialog where license activation server information can be entered:

From here on, proceed as described in the User Guide.


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4 Release History

Date Version New

Features

Resolved

Issues

User Guide

Update

Apr-2010 AFP3.14.0 √ X √

May-2010 AFP3.14.1 X √ X

June-2010 AFP3.14.2 √ √ √

July-2010 AFP3.14.3 √ X √

Aug-2010 AFP3.14.4 √ √ X

Sep-2010 AFP3.14.5 X √ X

Nov-2010 AFP3.14.6 √ √ √

May-2011 AFP3.14.7 X √ √

June-2011 AFP3.14.8 X √ X

Aug-2011 AFP3.14.9 √ X √


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Import of 3.8 plans

actix cellopt afp release notes 3.14

Documents

installing maintenance releases

actix analyzer

imp ort

xml file

progress bar

intermodulation products

frequency analysis

cellopt afp