RACH Optimization (ERAN3.0 01)

RACH Optimization
eRAN3.0
Feature Parameter Description
Issue
01
Date
2012-03-30
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2012. All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
written consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
Trademarks and Permissions

and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
All other trademarks and trade names mentioned in this document are the property of their respective
holders.
Notice
The purchased products, services and features are stipulated by the contract made between Huawei and
the customer. All or part of the products, services and features described in this document may not be
within the purchase scope or the usage scope. Unless otherwise specified in the contract, all statements,
information, and recommendations in this document are provided "AS IS" without warranties, guarantees or
representations of any kind, either express or implied.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made in the
preparation of this document to ensure accuracy of the contents, but all statements, information, and
recommendations in this document do not constitute the warranty of any kind, express or implied.
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Address:
Huawei Industrial Base

Bantian, Longgang
Shenzhen 518129
People's Republic of China
Website:
http://www.huawei.com
Email:
support@huawei.com
eRAN
RACH Optimization
Contents
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................1-1
1.1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................ 1-1
1.2 Intended Audience......................................................................................................................... 1-1
1.3 Change History.............................................................................................................................. 1-1
2 Overview of RACH Optimization ...........................................................................................2-1

3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization ..............................................................................3-1
3.1 RACH Resource Adjustment ......................................................................................................... 3-1
3.2 Adaptive Backoff ............................................................................................................................ 3-3
4 Related Features .......................................................................................................................4-1

4.1 Required Features......................................................................................................................... 4-1
4.2 Mutually Exclusive Features ......................................................................................................... 4-1
4.3 Affected Features .......................................................................................................................... 4-1
5 Impact on the Network.............................................................................................................5-1

5.1 Impact on System Capacity........................................................................................................... 5-1
5.2 Impact on Network Performance................................................................................................... 5-1
6 Engineering Guidelines...........................................................................................................6-1
6.1 When to Use RACH Optimization ................................................................................................. 6-1
6.2 Information to be Collected ........................................................................................................... 6-1
6.3 Network Planning .......................................................................................................................... 6-1
6.4 Overall Deployment Procedure ..................................................................................................... 6-1
6.5 Deploying RACH Optimization ...................................................................................................... 6-1
6.5.1 Deployment Procedure ......................................................................................................... 6-1
6.5.2 Deployment Requirements ................................................................................................... 6-1
6.5.3 Data Preparation................................................................................................................... 6-1
6.5.4 Activation .............................................................................................................................. 6-2
6.5.5 Commissioning ..................................................................................................................... 6-3
6.5.6 Activation Observation .......................................................................................................... 6-3
6.5.7 Reconfiguration .................................................................................................................... 6-4
6.5.8 Deactivation .......................................................................................................................... 6-4
6.6 Optimization .................................................................................................................................. 6-4
6.7 Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................. 6-4
7 Parameters..................................................................................................................................7-1
8 Counters ......................................................................................................................................8-1
9 Glossary ......................................................................................................................................9-1
10 Reference Documents .........................................................................................................10-1
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)
Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.
eRAN
RACH Optimization
1 Introduction
1 Introduction
1.1 Scope
This document describes the key techniques and engineering guidelines for random access channel
(RACH) optimization.
Any managed objects (MOs), parameters, alarms, or counters described in this document correspond to
the software release delivered with this document. In the event of updates, the updates will be described
in the product documentation delivered with the latest software release.
1.2 Intended Audience

This document is intended for:
Personnel who need to understand RACH optimization
Personnel who work with Huawei LTE products
1.3 Change History

This section provides information on changes in different document versions. There are two types of
changes, which are defined as follows:
Feature change: refers to a change in the RACH optimization feature of a specific product version.
Editorial change: refers to a change in wording or the addition of information that was not described in
the earlier version.
Document Issues
The document issues are as follows:
01 (2012-03-30)
Draft A (2012-01-10)
01 (2012-03-30)
This is the first official release.
Compared with draft A (2012-01-10) of eRAN3.0, issue 01 (2012-03-30) of eRAN3.0 includes the
following changes.
Change Type
Change Description
Parameter Change
Feature change
None
None
Editorial change
Revised chapter 6 "Engineering Guidelines."
None
Draft A (2012-01-10)
This is the draft.
Compared with issue 02 (2011-11-30) of eRAN2.2, draft A (2012-01-10) of eRAN3.0 includes the
following changes.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

1-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
1 Introduction
Change Type
Change Description
Parameter Change
Feature change
None
None
Editorial change
Added chapter 4 "Related Features" and chapter 5

"Impact on the Network."
None
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

1-2
eRAN
RACH Optimization
2 Overview of RACH Optimization
2 Overview of RACH Optimization

This feature provides two functions: RACH resource adjustment and adaptive backoff.
RACH resource adjustment

RACH resource adjustment optimizes preamble groups and physical random access channel (PRACH)
configurations.
As defined in 3GPP specifications, RACH resources for a cell consist of preambles and PRACH
resources. Preambles are further classified as dedicated preambles and random access preambles,
which are used for non-contention-based random access and contention-based random access,
respectively. RACH resources are configured in semi-persistent mode. Therefore, a change in the
traffic model may lead to an insufficiency of RACH resources to meet load requirements. For example,
an increased number of handover attempts may cause an insufficiency of dedicated preambles and a
longer handover delay. An increased number of random access attempts may cause an insufficiency
of random access preambles and PRACH resources and a higher probability of preamble collisions.
This further lowers the rate of successful one-time access on the PRACH and prolongs access delays.
With the two RACH optimization mechanisms, preamble groups and PRACH configurations, the
number of preambles in each group and the number of PRACHs allocated each second smoothly
adapt to the dynamic change in the traffic model. This increases RACH resource utilization efficiency
and decreases the access delay for heavy RACH loads.
Adaptive backoff
If multiple UEs use the same preamble to quickly initiate contention-based random access, continual
preamble collisions may occur. After a preamble collision occurs, only one UE can access the network
as usual, and the remaining UEs that use the same preamble must initiate random access again on
the same PRACH, which may lead to another preamble collision. Continual preamble collisions cause
extra access delays for UEs. UE is short for user equipment.
To solve this problem, 3GPP specifications introduce the adaptive backoff function. A backoff time is
specified for each UE that has experienced a preamble collision and failed the random access
procedure. A UE can initiate random access again using the same preamble at a random time point
within the specified backoff period. Adaptive backoff enables the eNodeB to specify the backoff period
for UEs based on the contention-based random access load. This function reduces both the
probability of continual preamble collisions and the access delays for UEs.
This document describes the optional feature LOFD-002015 RACH Optimization. For details about
random access procedures and basic concepts related to random access preambles, see the
Connection Management Feature Parameter Description.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

2-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization

3.1 RACH Resource Adjustment
Preambles of a cell are generated based on root Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequences. UEs initiate random
access by transmitting preambles over the PRACH.
As defined in 3GPP specifications, each cell can be configured with 64 preambles. The 64 preambles
are classified as random access preamble group A, random access preamble group B, and a dedicated
preamble group, as shown in Figure 3-1. UEs use dedicated preambles to initiate non-contention-based
random access. For contention-based random access, when the path loss of a UE is less than a
particular protocol-defined threshold and the msg3 length is greater than the value of
MessageSizeGroupA, the UE selects random access preambles from group B to initiate
contention-based random access. Otherwise, the UE selects random access preambles from group A to
initiate contention-based random access.
Figure 3-1 Preamble groups
PRACH configurations depend on PRACH configuration indexes stipulated in 3GPP specifications.

Setting the PRACH configuration index determines the number of PRACH opportunities and the
subframe numbers at which a random access preamble is transmitted. For details about PRACH
configuration indexes, see reference document [1]. Table 3-1 lists the frame structure type 1 random
access configuration for preamble formats 0 to 3.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

3-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
Table 3-1 Frame structure type 1 random access configuration for preamble formats 0-3
As listed in Table 3-1, the Subframe Number column specifies PRACH opportunities reserved for the
subframes of a radio frame in each PRACH configuration. For example, PRACH configuration index 7
specifies that random access preambles are transmitted at subframes 2 and 7 of each radio frame, and
PRACH configuration index 3 specifies that random access preambles are transmitted only at subframe
1 of each radio frame.
Based on the allocation of dedicated preambles, detection of random access preambles, and load on the
physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), RACH optimization adaptively groups preambles and adjusts
PRACH configurations as follows:
Decreases the number of PRACH opportunities within each radio frame if the eNodeB receives a
small number of random access preambles and the PUSCH load is high. It will impact the uplink traffic
volume if
Increases the number of PRACH opportunities within each radio frame if the eNodeB receives a large
number of random access preambles and the PUSCH load is not high.
Decreases the number of dedicated preambles if there are sufficient dedicated preambles and the
eNodeB receives a large number of random access preambles.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

3-2
eRAN
RACH Optimization
Increases the number of dedicated preambles if dedicated preambles are insufficient.
If preamble groups or PRACH configurations change, the eNodeB sends the new PRACH configuration
to the UE through system information block type 2 (SIB2). Then, the UE uses the new PRACH
configuration to optimize random access performance.
RachAdjSwitch under the RachAlgoSwitch parameter controls RACH resource adjustment.
3.2 Adaptive Backoff

The eNodeB sends a backoff index in an MAC control element (MCE) to a UE to prevent the UE from
retransmitting a random access preamble immediately. This reduces the probability of preamble
collisions and reduces the processing loads of the eNodeB.
The UE queries the backoff time corresponding to the backoff index received from the eNodeB against
Table 3-2. Then, the UE retransmits the random access preamble within the backoff time. For details,
see reference document [2].
Table 3-2 Backoff parameter values
Adaptive backoff enables the eNodeB to measure the average number of random access preambles.
The policies are as follows:
If the number is large, the eNodeB increases the backoff time.
If the number is small, the eNodeB decreases the backoff time.
If the number changes slightly, the eNodeB does not change the backoff time.
BackOffSwitch under the RachAlgoSwitch parameter controls adaptive backoff.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

3-3
eRAN
RACH Optimization
4 Related Features
4 Related Features
4.1 Required Features
None
4.2 Mutually Exclusive Features

None
4.3 Affected Features

None
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

4-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
5 Impact on the Network
5 Impact on the Network

5.1 Impact on System Capacity
This feature has no impact on system capacity. For example, this feature does not affect the number of
online users or throughput.
5.2 Impact on Network Performance

This feature dynamically adjusts the preamble configuration and therefore reduces the probability of
preamble collision. As a result, this feature can reduce access delays and handover delays.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

5-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
6 Engineering Guidelines
6.1 When to Use RACH Optimization
RACH optimization is recommended if operators require improvements in random access performance
in terms of the one-time random access success rate and access delay.
6.2 Information to be Collected

None
6.3 Network Planning

N/A
6.4 Overall Deployment Procedure

N/A
6.5 Deploying RACH Optimization

6.5.1 Deployment Procedure
None
6.5.2 Deployment Requirements

Requirements for the Operating Environment
None
Requirements for Transmission Networking

None
Requirements for Licenses

Operators must purchase and activate the following license.
Feature
License Control Item Name
License Control Item ID
LOFD-002015 RACH Optimization
RACH Optimization(FDD)
LLT1RAOP01
Other Requirements
Before deploying this feature, trace the SIB2 message over the Uu interface and record the values of the
IEs prach-ConfigIndex and preamblesGroupAConfig. For details about how to trace the message and
obtain the IE values, see section 6.5.6 "Activation Observation."
6.5.3 Data Preparation

This section describes generic data and scenario-specific data to be collected. Generic data is
necessary for all scenarios and must always be collected. Scenario-specific data is collected only when
necessary for a specific scenario.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

6-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
There are three types of data sources:
Network plan (negotiation required): Parameters are planned by operators and negotiated with the
EPC or peer transmission equipment.
Network plan (negotiation not required): Parameters are planned and set by operators.
User-defined: Parameters are set as required by users.
Generic Data
None
Scenario-specific Data
The following table describes the parameters that must be set in the CellAlgoSwitch managed object
(MO) to configure RACH resource adjustment and adaptive backoff.
Parameter
Name
Parameter ID
Source
Setting Description
Local cell
ID
CellAlgoSwit
ch.LocalCellI
d
Network plan
(negotiation not
required)
This parameter specifies the local ID of the cell. It

uniquely identifies a cell within an eNodeB.
RACH
algorithm
switch
RachAlgoSwi
tch
Network plan
(negotiation not
required)
The following switches in this parameter are related

to RACH optimization:
RachAdjSwitch: specifies the switch for RACH

resource adjustment. If this switch is turned on,
the RACH resource adjustment function
adaptively adjusts the RACH resources in the cell
based on the random access type and the
number of random access times. If this switch is
turned off, RACH resource adjustment is
disabled.
BackOffSwitch: specifies the switch for adaptive

backoff. If the switch is turned on, adaptive
backoff is enabled. If this switch is turned off,
adaptive backoff is disabled.
Select the RachAdjSwitch and BackOffSwitch

check boxes.
6.5.4 Activation
Configuring a Single eNodeB Using the GUI
Configure a single eNodeB in the general configuration window on the Configuration Management
Express (CME) based on the MO and parameters as described in section 6.5.3 "Data Preparation."
See the M2000 Help for more information about operations in the general configuration window. Press
F1 to launch M2000 Help. Navigate to Introduction to the LTE General Configuration Window and refer
to the generic procedure for setting parameters using the CME graphical user interface (GUI).
To find MOs in the planned area, use either of the following methods:
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

6-2
eRAN
RACH Optimization
In the Object Group pane, find MOs in the navigation tree. This method applies to users who are
familiar with the navigation tree.
In the Search pane, search an MO. This method applies to users who are unfamiliar with the
navigation tree.
Configuring eNodeBs in Batches

To configure eNodeBs in batches, perform the following steps:
Step 1 On the GUI, set the parameters listed in the following table for a specific scenario in this section,
and save the parameter settings as a user-defined template.
The parameters are the same as those described in section 6.5.3 "Data Preparation."
Step 2 Fill in the summary data file with the name of the user-defined template.
The parameter settings in the user-defined template will be applied to the eNodeBs after you import
the summary data file into the CME.
----End
For descriptions of the user-defined template and summary data file and also the detailed procedure for
configuring eNodeBs in batches, see eNodeB Initial Configuration Guide.
MO
Parameter Group Name
Parameter
CellAlgoSwit
ch
CellAlgoSwitch
Local cell ID, RACH algorithm switch
Configuring a Single eNodeB Using MML Commands

To activate RACH resource adjustment and adaptive backoff, run the MOD CELLALGOSWITCH
command with the RachAdjSwitch and BackOffSwitch check boxes selected under the
RachAlgoSwitch parameter.
6.5.5 Commissioning
N/A
6.5.6 Activation Observation

To verify whether RACH resource adjustment is successfully activated, perform the following steps:
Step 1 On the M2000 client, start a Uu interface tracing task.
Step 2 After a UE accesses the network, trace the SIB2 message and observe the values of the IEs
prach-ConfigIndex and preamblesGroupAConfig, as shown in Figure 6-1.
If the values of both IEs change after the RACH resource adjustment function is used, RACH resource
adjustment has been successfully activated.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

6-3
eRAN
RACH Optimization
Figure 6-1 SIB2
---End
6.5.7 Reconfiguration
None
6.5.8 Deactivation
To deactivate RACH resource adjustment and adaptive backoff, run the MOD CELLALGOSWITCH
command with the RachAdjSwitch and BackOffSwitch check boxes cleared under the
RachAlgoSwitch parameter.
6.6 Optimization
None
6.7 Troubleshooting
None
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

6-4
eRAN
RACH Optimization
7 Parameters
7 Parameters
Table 7-1 Parameter description
MO
Parameter ID
CellAlgoSwitch LocalCellId
MML Command Feature ID
Feature Name
Description
None
LST
CELLALGOSWI
TCH
None
Meaning:Indicat
es the local ID of
the cell. It
uniquely
identifies a cell
within a BS.
MOD
CELLALGOSWI
TCH
GUI Value
Range:0~17
Unit:None
Actual Value
Range:0~17
Default
Value:None
CellAlgoSwitch RachAlgoSwitch MOD
LBFD-001001 / 3GPP R8
CELLALGOSWI TDLBFD-001001 Specifications
TCH
LBFD-002010 / Random Access
LST
TDLBFD-002010 Procedure
CELLALGOSWI
LOFD-002015 / RACH
TCH
TDLOFD-00201 Optimization
5
Meaning:RachA
djSwitch:
Indicates the
switch used to
enable or disable
random access
channel (RACH)
resource
adjustment,
which adaptively
adjusts the
RACH resources
in the cell based
on the access
type and the
number of
accesses. If the
switch is turned
off, RACH
resource
adjustment is
disabled.
HoRaSwitch:
Indicates the
switch used to
control the
random access
mode applied
during
handovers.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

7-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
MO
Parameter ID
7 Parameters
Feature Name
Description
If the switch is
turned on, the
eNodeB instructs
UEs to use the
non-contention-b
ased random
access mode
during
handovers.
If the switch is
turned off, the
eNodeB instructs
UEs to use the
contention-base
d random access
mode during
handovers.
UnsyncRaSwitch
: Indicates the
switch used to
control the
random access
mode applied
when UEs are
out of
synchronization
in the uplink.
If the switch is
turned on, the
eNodeB instructs
UEs to use the
non-contention-b
ased random
access mode
upon DL data
arrivals in the
case of
out-of-synchroni
zation.
If the switch is
turned off, the
eNodeB instructs
UEs to use the
contention-base
d random access
mode upon DL
data arrivals in
the case of
out-of-synchroni
zation.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

7-2
eRAN
RACH Optimization
MO
Parameter ID
7 Parameters
Feature Name
Description
MaksIdxSwitch:
Indicates the
switch used to
control reuse of
dedicated
preambles
between UEs.
If the switch is
turned on, the
eNodeB enables
reuse of
dedicated
preambles
among UEs
based on the
MaskIndex
parameter.
If the switch is
turned off, the
eNodeB
allocates a
dedicated
preamble to only
one UE at a
time.
BackOffSwitch:
Indicates the
switch for
backoff control.
If the switch is
turned on,
backoff control is
enabled.
If the switch is
turned off,
backoff control is
disabled.
GUI Value
Range:RachAdj
Switch(RachAdj
Switch),
HoRaSwitch(Ho
RaSwitch),
UnsyncRaSwitch
(UnsyncRaSwitc
h),
MaksIdxSwitch(
MaksIdxSwitch),
BackOffSwitch(B
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

7-3
eRAN
RACH Optimization
MO
Parameter ID
7 Parameters
Feature Name
Description
ackOffSwitch)
Unit:None
Actual Value
Range:RachAdj
Switch,
HoRaSwitch,
UnsyncRaSwitch
, MaksIdxSwitch,
BackOffSwitch
Default
Value:RachAdjS
witch:Off,
HoRaSwitch:On,
UnsyncRaSwitch
:On,
MaksIdxSwitch:
Off,
BackOffSwitch:O
ff
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

7-4
eRAN
RACH Optimization
8 Counters
8 Counters
There are no specific counters associated with this feature.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

8-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
9 Glossary
9 Glossary
For acronyms, abbreviations, terms, and definitions, see the Glossary.
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

9-1
eRAN
RACH Optimization
10 Reference Documents
10 Reference Documents
This chapter lists the reference documents related to RACH optimization.
[1] 3GPP 36.211 "Physical channels and modulation"
[2] 3GPP 36.321 "Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification"
[3] eNodeB Performance Counter Reference
[4] eNodeB MO Reference
[5] Connection Management Feature Parameter Description
[6] eNodeB Initial Configuration Guide
Issue 01 (2012-03-30)

10-1

RACH Optimization (ERAN3.0 01)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

RACH Optimization (ERAN3.0 01)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RACH Optimization

Feature Parameter Description

HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.

Copyright Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2012. All rights reserved.

Trademarks and Permissions

Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Huawei Industrial Base

2 Overview of RACH Optimization ...........................................................................................2-1

4 Related Features .......................................................................................................................4-1

5 Impact on the Network.............................................................................................................5-1

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

1.2 Intended Audience

Personnel who need to understand RACH optimization

Personnel who work with Huawei LTE products

1.3 Change History

Revised chapter 6 "Engineering Guidelines."

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

Added chapter 4 "Related Features" and chapter 5

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

2 Overview of RACH Optimization

2 Overview of RACH Optimization

RACH resource adjustment

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization

3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization

PRACH configurations depend on PRACH configuration indexes stipulated in 3GPP specifications.

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

3 Key Techniques of RACH Optimization

Increases the number of dedicated preambles if dedicated preambles are insufficient.

3.2 Adaptive Backoff

If the number is large, the eNodeB increases the backoff time.

If the number is small, the eNodeB decreases the backoff time.

BackOffSwitch under the RachAlgoSwitch parameter controls adaptive backoff.

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

4.2 Mutually Exclusive Features

4.3 Affected Features

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

5 Impact on the Network

5 Impact on the Network

5.2 Impact on Network Performance

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

6.2 Information to be Collected

6.3 Network Planning

6.4 Overall Deployment Procedure

6.5 Deploying RACH Optimization

6.5.2 Deployment Requirements

Requirements for Transmission Networking

Requirements for Licenses

License Control Item Name

License Control Item ID

LOFD-002015 RACH Optimization

6.5.3 Data Preparation

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential

There are three types of data sources:

User-defined: Parameters are set as required by users.

This parameter specifies the local ID of the cell. It

The following switches in this parameter are related

RachAdjSwitch: specifies the switch for RACH

BackOffSwitch: specifies the switch for adaptive

Select the RachAdjSwitch and BackOffSwitch

Huawei Proprietary and Confidential