Engineering Guide 2 Umts Network

Use pursuant to applicable agreements
Title page
Alcatel-Lucent
NPO Engineering Guide | M4
NPO Document
User Guide
Alcatel-Lucent Proprietary
npoengg
npoengg
3BK174465123PGZZA
Issue 1
March 2011

Legal notice
Legal notice
Alcatel, Lucent, Alcatel-Lucent and the Alcatel-Lucent logo are trademarks of Alcatel-Lucent. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
The information presented is subject to change without notice. Alcatel-Lucent assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies contained herein.
Copyright 2011 Alcatel-Lucent. All rights reserved.
Contains proprietary/trade secret information which is the property of Alcatel-Lucent and must not be made available to, or copied or used by anyone outside
Alcatel-Lucent without its written authorization.
Not to be used or disclosed except in accordance with applicable agreements.
Contents
Preface
Purpose
............................................................................................................................................................................................. xi
xi
Reason for revision
...................................................................................................................................................................... xi
xi
Document pertinence ................................................................................................................................................................... xi

xi
Audience
.......................................................................................................................................................................................... xi
xi
Assumed knowledge .................................................................................................................................................................... xi

xi
Product names
.............................................................................................................................................................................. xii
xii
How to comment
1
......................................................................................................................................................................... xii
xii
NPO Architecture
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 1-1
1-1
Presentation ................................................................................................................................................................................. 1-1
1-1
NPO hardware solutions

Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 2-1
2-1
NPO without WCT or PCMD option
NPO with WCT option
................................................................................................................................ 2-1
2-1
........................................................................................................................................................... 2-4
2-4
NPO with PCMD option ........................................................................................................................................................ 2-6

2-6
NPO with WCT and PCMD option .................................................................................................................................... 2-7
2-7
NPO X86 hardware description ........................................................................................................................................... 2-8
2-8
SPARC Servers
....................................................................................................................................................................... 2-10
2-10
Citrix server requirements ................................................................................................................................................... 2-13

2-13
Automatic Storage Management
...................................................................................................................................... 2-13
2-13
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
iii
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Contents
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Hardware availability
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3-1
3-1
Hardware redundancy strategy
............................................................................................................................................ 3-1
3-1
NPO nominal and recovery mode ....................................................................................................................................... 3-4

3-4
SAM redundancy support ...................................................................................................................................................... 3-5
3-5
NPO redundancy ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3-5
3-5
4
Capacity considerations
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4-1
4-1
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 4-1
4-1
Number of users
........................................................................................................................................................................ 4-2
4-2
2G dimensioning information
.............................................................................................................................................. 4-3
4-3
.............................................................................................................................................. 4-3
4-3
.............................................................................................................................................. 4-4
4-4
Multi-techno dimensioning
5
................................................................................................................................................... 4-4
4-4
Miscellaneous
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5-1
5-1
Discontinued hardware
........................................................................................................................................................... 5-1
5-1
Minimum throughput requirements
................................................................................................................................... 5-1
5-1
Interface information ............................................................................................................................................................... 5-2

5-2
Hardware partitioning
6
............................................................................................................................................................ 5-6
5-6
Migration paths and hardware upgrades

Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 6-1
6-1
Migration without hardware change .................................................................................................................................. 6-1
6-1
Migration with hardware change
........................................................................................................................................ 6-2
6-2
Hardware upgrades ................................................................................................................................................................... 6-3

6-3
7
Backup and restore solutions

Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 7-1
7-1
Scope
............................................................................................................................................................................................. 7-1
7-1
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
iv
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Contents
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Policy and scheduling .............................................................................................................................................................. 7-2

7-2
Backup/restore solution on Solaris ..................................................................................................................................... 7-2
7-2
Backup/restore solution on Linux ....................................................................................................................................... 7-3
7-3
8
Client
Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8-1
8-1
......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8-1
8-1
Network Time Synchronization

Overview ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 9-1
9-1
......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 9-1
9-1
About NTP functionality ........................................................................................................................................................ 9-2

9-2
Compatibility .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9-3
9-3
Time source selections ............................................................................................................................................................ 9-3
9-3
Redundancy and resiliency .................................................................................................................................................... 9-3
9-3
Default behavior of WMS or NPO main server under outage conditions ............................................................ 9-3
9-3
Recommended NTP architecture ......................................................................................................................................... 9-4
9-4
Using public time sources over internet
........................................................................................................................... 9-4
9-4
NTP accuracy and network design requirements .......................................................................................................... 9-5

9-5
NTP resource usage considerations .................................................................................................................................... 9-5
9-5
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
v
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Contents
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
vi
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
List of tables
2-1
Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new deployment) ..................................... 2-2
2-2
Configurations based on existing SPARC hardware M4000 and T5220
2-3
2-4
2-5
2-6
2-7
2-8
.............................................. 2-3
.............................................. 2-5
.............................................. 2-7
.............................................. 2-7
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
vii
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
List of tables
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
viii
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
List of figures
2-1
NPO without auxiliary server
............................................................................................................................... 2-2
2-2
NPO with auxiliary server
2-3
NPO with WCT support (48K configuration)
2-4
NPO with WCT support (1500 cells configuration)
2-5
NPO with PCMD support (48K configuration) .............................................................................................. 2-6
2-6
System controller connectivity
2-7
M4000 with System controller and ST2540 connectivity ........................................................................ 2-12
...................................................................................................................................... 2-2
................................................................................................. 2-4
..................................................................................... 2-5
........................................................................................................................... 2-11
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
ix
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
List of figures
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
x
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Preface
Preface
Purpose
This document provides detailed information about:
The engineering rules for the NPO Servers

OAM Server hardware/software requirements
Backup and restore
Remote access
Other OAM engineering information for the NPO.
Reason for revision
Refer to the following Editions for a list of technical and editorial updates to the current
guide.
In Edition 01
First official release of document for Release M4.1.

Document pertinence
This document applies to NPO M4.1.

Audience
This document is intended for:
Network engineers
Installation engineers
Network & System Administrators.
Assumed knowledge
You must be familiar with:
Oracle hardware
HP hardware
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
xi
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Preface
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Product names
The generic term NPO refers to all NPO types. When a case applies to a specific NPO,
the type of NPO is clearly indicated.
How to comment
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
xii
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
NPO Architecture
1
Overview
Purpose
This section provides an overview of the NPO architecture.

Contents
Presentation
1-1
Presentation
The NPO offers a full range of multi-standard QoS Monitoring and radio network
optimization facilities:
Powerful Graphical User Interface supporting all efficient use of the NPO functions
QoS analysis
QoS decrease cause diagnosis

Radio resource configuration tuning
Cartographic telecom management
Manage hardware inventory
Customizing
This product includes a powerful Oracle database containing performance measurements

and calculated indicators.
The NPO is an option that offers a full range of QoS Monitoring and radio network
optimization facilities. It requires a dedicated server in the LAN with access to
applications from a PC Client.
The NPO retrieves the counters files available in the Alcatel-Lucent OMC. The loading of
PM files is managed continuously according the availability of the files within the OMC
server. In addition, the Network configuration (topology) is uploaded from the WMS
server.
The NPO provides two options that impact the hardware configuration:
The NPO PCMD option (for LTE)
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
1-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
NPO Architecture
Presentation
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
This option is used for processing the PCMD data coming from the MME.
The NPO WCT option (for W-CDMA)
This option is used for processing the CTN/CFT call trace data coming from the RNC
(via the WMS).
The NPO runs on the:
Solaris SPARC server, based on Sun V490, T5220 and M4000.
HP X86 RedHat Linux server (starting from NPO 4.1), based on HP DL380 G7 and
DL580 G7.
The NPO supports OMCs managing:
GSM network (OMC-R)

W-CDMA network (WMS)
LTE network (SAM)
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
1-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011

2
Overview
Purpose
This chapter presents an overview of the hardware and is not intended to be directly used
for ordering. Refer to the Product Configuration List (PCL) for ordering information.
Contents
2-1
NPO with WCT option
2-4
NPO with PCMD option
2-6
NPO with WCT and PCMD option
2-7
NPO X86 hardware description
2-8
SPARC Servers
2-10
Citrix server requirements
2-13
2-13

This section applies to GSM, W-CDMA or LTE.
The NPO is composed of:
A main server
This server supports the oracle database and the reporting functions.
One optional QoS auxiliary server.
This server hosts the loading process that converts 3GPP PM files into a format that
can be directly loaded into NPO Oracle tables.
Only the main server stores data. The auxiliary servers only store files while they are
being loaded. The backup and restore procedure only applies to the main server.
The following figures show the NPO with and without an auxiliary server.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Figure 2-1 NPO without auxiliary server
Figure 2-2 NPO with auxiliary server
Refer to the following tables for specific information about the various configurations.
Table 2-1
Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new

deployment)
Configuration
Users
Main
server
Auxiliary Auxiliary Auxiliary Total

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
3000 cells, QoS only
15
1 HP
small
2U
850W
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Table 2-1

deployment) (continued)
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
45
1 HP
medium
1135W
4U
120
1 HP XL
1 HP aux
3169W
14U
Table 2-2
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
625W
2U
893W
8U
1007W
10U
T5220
27
1
M4000-2
38
1
M4000-4
Note: The following rules apply:
Cells can be a mix of 3G and 4G cells

Users refers to concurrent users using the analysis desktop. Use of the external
export interface is not considered when counting concurrent users.
The HP hardware is dimensioned to support more users than SPARC (for the same
number of cells).
The HP is dimensioned with extra disk space as compared to the SPARC, to
handle more future growth.
Assuming a standard rack of 42U, it is always possible to put two NPO systems in
the same rack.
If the SAM has an auxiliary server, the NPO retrieves PM from the SAM auxiliary
server and CM from the SAM main server.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
NPO with WCT option
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO with WCT option

Note: This section is applicable only to W-CDMA.
The W-CDMA Call Trace (WCT) option allows the NPO to upload CTN and CFT call
traces from the WMS and process them. When this option is activated, two additional
modules start on the NPO server:
The WCT Controller retrieves the list of CTN/CFT files to be uploaded from the
WMS
The WCT loader (referred to as LOLA) processes the CTN/CFT file.
For a 1500 cells configuration, the additional module runs on the same server.
Above 1500 cells, this WCT loader must run on a dedicated auxiliary server(s): one
auxiliary server per 24000 cells.
The following figures show the different types of WCT support.
Figure 2-3 NPO with WCT support (48K configuration)
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
NPO with WCT option
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Figure 2-4 NPO with WCT support (1500 cells configuration)
Table 2-3

deployment)
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
1500 cells, QoS +

WCT
1 HP
small
850W
2U
12000 cells, QoS +

WCT
45
1 HP
medium
1 HP aux
1985W
4U
48000 cells, QoS +

WCT
120
1 HP XL
1 HP aux
2 HP aux
4869W
14U
Table 2-4
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
9000 cells, QoS +

WCT
27
1 HP aux
1693W
10U
18000 cells, QoS +

WCT only
38
1 HP aux
1807W
12U
M4000-2
1
M4000-4
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-5
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Note: This section is applicable only to LTE.
Compared to the regular NPO, the NPO PCMD requires:
A connection to the MME (from both the NPO main server and the NPO auxiliary
servers)
For 12K cells and above, NPO auxiliary server(s) dedicated to PCMD.
The following figure shows the different types of PCMD support.

Figure 2-5 NPO with PCMD support (48K configuration)
Table 2-5

deployment)
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
1500 cells, QoS +

PCMD
1 HP
small
850W
2U
12000 cells, QoS +

PCMD
45
1 HP
medium
1 HP aux
1985W
6U
48000 cells, QoS +

WCT or PCMD
120
1 HP XL
1 HP aux
2 HP aux
4869W
18U
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-6
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Table 2-6
Configuration
Users
Main
server

power
server
server
server
PCMD
WCT
QoS
Total
height
9000 cells, QoS +

PCMD
27
1 HP aux
1693W
10U
18000 cells, QoS +

PCMD only
38
1 HP aux
1807W
12U
M4000-2
1
M4000-4

An auxiliary server must be dedicated to either PCMD or WCT.
Refer to the following tables for specific information about the supported configurations.
Table 2-7

deployment)
Configuration
Users
Main
server
Auxiliary
server
QoS
Auxiliary
server
WCT or
PCMD
Total
power
Total
height
1500 cells, QoS + WCT +

PCMD
1 HP small
850W
2U

PCMD
45
1 HP
medium
2 HP aux
1985W
10U
48000 cells, QoS + WCT
120
1 HP XL
3 HP aux
(assuming
24K LTE
cells and
24K
W-CDMA
cells)
4869W
18U
Table 2-8
Configuration
Users
Main
server
Auxiliary
server
QoS
Auxiliary
server
WCT or
PCMD
Total
power
Total
height

PCMD
1 HP small
850W
2U

PCMD
45
1 HP
medium
2 HP aux
1985W
10U
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-7
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Table 2-8

(continued)
Configuration
Users
Main
server
Auxiliary
server
QoS
Auxiliary
server
WCT or
PCMD
Total
power
Total
height
48000 cells, QoS + WCT
120
1 HP XL
3 HP aux
(assuming
24K LTE
cells and
24K
W-CDMA
cells)
4869W
18U

For a better performance, it is recommended to use the X86 servers which are based on
the new HP Generation 7 processor units.
HP DL 380
The DL380 G7 configuration consists of three base configurations:
DL 380 small configuration

Medium configuration and auxiliary configuration.
Auxiliary configuration.
The differences between the servers concerns the number of processors used, RAM
memory or the external disk array connection.
All of the DL380 G7 server are Intel based processor servers that are part of HP
Generation 7 servers.
DL 380 S
Base hardware
CPU
1 * 2.93 GHz Xeon X5670 Processors
RAM
36 GB
Hard disk
12 * 600GB 6G SAS 10K internal disk
Note: This hardware is the same as the HP auxiliary server but with only one CPU.
The server height is 2U. The power needed is 850W.
DL 380 M
Base hardware
CPU
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-8
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Base hardware
RAM
72 GB
Hard disk

2*120GB 3G SATA 2.5in internal disk SSD
HP 2600 Disk Enclosure, 12*600-GB
The server height is 4U (2U for the DL380 itself and 2U for the disk bay). The power
needed is 1135W (850W for DL380 itself, 285W for the disk bay).
DL 380 Aux
Base hardware
CPU
RAM
36 GB
Hard disk
HP DL 580
The DL580 server includes one XLarge configuration based on the Intel processor and
includes an external disk array.
The estimated database size for the Oracle database is 5 Tb for 48000 cells. The NPO also
requires additional disk space for various other files.
Base hardware
CPU
RAM
256 GB
Hard disk

6 * 120GB 3G SATA 2.5in internal disk SSD
HP 2600 Disk Enclosure, 48*600-GB
The server height is 12U (4U for the DL580 itself and 4 * 2U for the disk bays). The
power needed is 1179W for DL580 and 285W for each disk bay, therefore the total power
is 2319W.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-9
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
SPARC Servers
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
SPARC Servers
SUN SPARC ENTERPRISE T5220
The SPARC Enterprise T5220 configuration features one 8 Core 1.4GHz UltraSPARC T2
processor. If requested, the SPARC T5220 server can be equipped with an optional USB
LCD flat display option with keyboard.
Base hardware
CPU
1 * 1400 MHz UltraSPARC T2 8 core

Processors
RAM
16 GB
Hard disk
8 x 146 GB Internal Disk Drives
The server height is 2U and the power consumption is 624 W.

T5220 connectivity
In addition to its Quad Ethernet Interface Cards, the T5220 server uses its ILOM card to
manage and configure the system. Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) is system
management firmware that provides a browser-based web interface and a command-line
interface, as well as a Syslog interface, an SNMP user interface and an IPMI user
interface.
The T5220 SP-ILOM card has a 100-BASE-T Ethernet connection; 1 cable is required. It
requires one IP address and no redundancy is available in the XSCF controller card. (The
Serial link on the controller card can still be reached though a console server).
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-10
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
SPARC Servers
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Figure 2-6 System controller connectivity
SUN SPARC M4000
The SPARC M4000 configuration depends on the number of processors used or on the
amount of RAM memory. It is possible to attach an external disk array single or dual.
SUN SPARC M4000-2
Base hardware
CPU
2 * 2500 MHz quad core SPARC 64 VII

Processors
RAM
32 GB
Hard disk
2 * 300GB 10K-RPM 2.5 SAS internal disk

ST2540 Rack Ready external disk controller
tray, 12*300-GB
SUN SPARC M4000-4

Base hardware
CPU
2 * 2500 MHz quad core SPARC 64 VII

Processors
RAM
64 GB
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-11
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
SPARC Servers
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Base hardware
Hard disk
2 * 300GB 10K-RPM 2.5 SAS internal disk

ST2540 Rack Ready external disk controller
tray, 24*300-GB ST2501 SAS Expansion
Array
Prerequisites for M4000 installation
For Windows PCs:
A USB to serial adaptor must be used if a serial port is not available on the PC
The workstation must be installed in the same subnetwork as the server, when the
Ethernet port is connected
Configure the HyperTerminal.
For M4000 machines, reserve four IP addresses:
One for the M4000 ETH0 port
The IP network must be different from 192.168.128.x which is reserved for disk array
configuration and cannot be used for other purposes
One for the M4000 ETH1 M4000 port, to connect to Storage TEK 2540
One for the XSCF Ethernet port

One for the workstation Ethernet port.
M4000 connectivity
The M4000 can be connected to a ST2540 and it also uses its ILOM card to manage
and configure the system.
Figure 2-7 M4000 with System controller and ST2540 connectivity
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-12
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
SPARC Servers
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Citrix server requirements

The following table displays the minimum server requirements for the Citrix server.
Base hardware
CPU
2*2cores CPU for 6 users

2*4cores CPU for 12 users
RAM
8GB RAM for 6 users

16GB RAM for 12 users
Bandwidth requirements
> 256Kb/s
OS
Windows 2008 + RDS+ Citrix XenApp

Windows 2003 + TSE + Citrix Presentation
Server

Automatic Storage Management (ASM) is a new feature that was introduced in Oracle
10g to simplify the storage of Oracle data files, control files and log files.
ASM simplifies the administration of Oracle related files by allowing the administrator to
reference disk groups rather than individual disks and files which are managed by ASM.
The ASM functionality is an extension of the Oracle Managed Files (OMF). The new
ASM functionality can be used in combination with existing raw and cooked file systems,
along with OMF and manually managed files.
The ASM functionality is controlled by an ASM instance. This is not a full database
instance, just the memory structures and as such is very small and lightweight.
The main components of ASM are disk groups, each of which comprise several physical
disks that are controlled as a single unit. The physical disks are known as ASM disks,
while the files that reside on the disks are know as ASM files. The locations and names
for the files are controlled by ASM, but user-friendly aliases and directory structures can
be defined for ease of reference.
In summary, ASM provides the following functions:
Manages groups of disks, called disk groups.

Manages disk redundancy within a disk group.
Provides near-optimal I/O balancing without any manual tuning.

Enables management of database objects without specifying mount points and
filenames.
Supports large files.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-13
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The following table lists the hardware that has ASM and the hardware that does not.
With ASM
Without ASM
M4000 (4CPU and 24 disks) installed for 3G

and 4G only
All other SUN platforms
V490 Cluster
All HP Platforms
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
2-14
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
3
Overview
Purpose
This chapter describes the hardware availability used in the NPO.

Contents
3-1
NPO nominal and recovery mode
3-4
SAM redundancy support
3-5
NPO redundancy
3-5

SUN SPARC ENTERPRISE T5220
Sun Enterprise T5220 servers incorporate the following key features to increase RAS:
Redundancy and hot-swap components
Reduced parts count that contributes to better overall stability and reliability of the
platform
Processors thread and core off-lining and built-in RAID capabilities
Parity protection and error correction capabilities
Integrated Lights Out Management (ILOM) service processor to ease remote

management and provide considerable administrative flexibility
Superior energy efficiency
Robust virtualization technology
Comprehensive fault management.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Hot Plug-able Components and Dynamic Reconfiguration
Sun Enterprise T5220 servers support the hot-plug of chassis mounted hard drives, and
the hot-swap of redundant fan units and power supplies. For systems configured with
redundant components, administrators can utilize software commands to remove and
replace disks, power supplies, and fan units while the system continues to operate. T5220
also supports RAID capabilities.
Power Supply Redundancy
The system features two hot-swappable power supplies, either of which is capable of
handling the systems entire load. Thus, the system provides N+1 redundancy, allowing
the system to continue operating should one of the power supplies or its AC power source
fail.
Integrated Lights Out Management for Simplified Remote Serviceability
The Integrated Lights Out Management (ILOM) service processor is a system controller
built into all T5220 servers, facilitating remote system management, simplifying
administration, and speeding maintenance tasks.
The ILOM circuitry runs independent of the server, using the servers standby power.
Therefore, ILOM firmware and software continue to function when the server operating
system goes offline or when the server is powered off.
ILOM monitors the following T5220 server conditions:
CPU temperature conditions
Hard drive status

Enclosure thermal conditions
Fan speed and status
Power supply status

Voltage conditions
Solaris watchdog, boot time-outs and automatic server restart events.
ILOM provides administrators with the capability to monitor and control T5220 servers
over a dedicated Ethernet connection and supports secure shell (SSH), Web, and
Integrated Platform Management Interface (IPMI) access. ILOM functions can also be
accessed through a dedicated serial port for connection to a terminal or terminal server.
SUN SPARC M4000
To deliver reliability, availability and serviceability, the Sun Enterprise M4000 offers the
following features:
Supports redundant configurations and active replacement of power supplies and fans.
Periodically performs memory patrol to detect memory software errors and stuck-at
faults, (Memory patrol)
Supports redundant configurations, mirroring, and active replacement of disks
XSCF (detailed below) collection of fault information, and preventive maintenance
using different types of warnings
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Shortens the downtime by using automatic system reboot and time taken for system
startup
Status LEDs mounted on the main components and the operator panel to display
which active components need replacement
Centralized systematic monitoring, such as with SNMP.
The system features two (M4000) hot-swappable power supplies, either of which is
capable of handling the systems entire load. Thus, the system provides N+1 redundancy,
allowing the system to continue operating should one of the power supplies or its AC
power source fail.
eXtended System Control Facility Unit (XSCFU)
The eXtended System Control Facility Unit (XSCFU) is a service processor that operates
and administrates the M4000. The XSCFU diagnoses and starts the entire server,
configures domains, offers dynamic reconfiguration, as well as detects and notifies
various failures. The XSCFU enables standard control and monitoring function through
network. Using this function enables starts, settings, and operation managements of the
server from remote locations.
The XSCFU uses the eXtended System Control Facility (XSCF) firmware to provide the
following functions:
Controls and monitors the main unit hardware

Monitors the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS), power-on self-test (POST), and
the OpenBoot PROM
Controls and manages the interface for the system administrator (such as a terminal
console)
Administrators device information
Controls remote messaging of various events
The XSCF firmware provides the following system control and monitoring interfaces:
Serial port through which the command-line interface (XSCF shell) can be used
Two LAN ports.
These are:
XSCF shell
XSCF Web (browser-based user interface)
HP DL380
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) for provides simplified server setup, health monitoring
and recovery, power and thermal control, and lights-out remote administration.
The system features fully redundant hot plug fans.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
HP Integrated Lights-Out
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) simplifies server setup, health monitoring, power and
thermal control, and lights-out remote administration of the server. HP iLO functions
without additional software and can be accessed from any location via a web browser. HP
iLO works hand-in-hand with HP Systems Insight Manager, Insight Control and Insight
Dynamics for servers.
The system features two (DL380) hot-swappable power supplies, either of which is
capable of handling the systems entire load.
HP DL580
HP Integrated Lights-Out 3 (iLO3) technology allows remote administration from a

standard web browser without ever having to visit the server.
The level of redundancy will be reported during the system power on.
The system features 4 Hot Plug Redundant Fans Standard on all models.
HP Integrated Lights-Out
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) simplifies server setup, health monitoring, power and
thermal control, and lights-out remote administration of the server. HP iLO functions
without additional software and can be accessed from any location via a web browser. HP
iLO works hand-in-hand with HP Systems Insight Manager, Insight Control and Insight
Dynamics for servers.
The system features four (DL580) hot-swappable power supplies, either of which is
capable of handling the systems entire load.

The NPO can support different QoS granularity periods depending on NE capabilities to
provide raw data.
In the case of an exceptional outage or anomaly with the NPO (e.g.: link cut, server
unavailability) during a certain period, a large number of QoS files may be expected and
waiting for processing by the NPO at the next establishment of the system. In such
conditions, a period of recovery is observed to enable the NPO to reach its nominal mode.
The period of recovery depends of several conditions, including the period of outage, the
quantity of observation files (such as the number of network element and the granularity),
the type of the machines, etc... The recovery time also includes the normal recovery plus
the consolidation period.
In the recovery mode, the data recovered is from the current day but also if necessary
from the last day or the last two days.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
In the case of manual file management with the WMS (33282 - Manual collection and
mediation of counters files feature) due to missing periods observed in the NPO (e.g.: a
rare condition where the network element has not sent a file, or in the case of file
corruption, etc...), the files can be managed by the NPO within a maximum period of
three days in the past.
SAM redundancy support

The two IP addresses of SAM are declared as SAM data sources during NPO
commissioning. If one SAM is unavailable, the NPO automatically connects to the other
one.
NPO redundancy
Two (or more) NPO can be connected to the same SAM:
Both collect data from SAM active and stand by. NPO manage internally a list of
files already loaded , it use that to avoid loading the same file twice from SAM main
and space.
Both NPO are active and can be used at any given time. The operator can connect to
either one.
Both can use different versions and different hardware.
The following figure shows the potential configurations.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-5
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
NPO redundancy
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
3-6
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
4
Overview
Purpose
This chapter provides an overview of NPO dimensioning and capacity.

Contents
Overview
4-1
Number of users
4-2
4-3
4-3
4-4
4-4
Overview
The dimensioning of the NPO to the appropriate hardware mainly depends on the
network capacity in term of maximum reference cells:
The Total Number of Reference Cell to determine the right NPO model is as
follows:
[0.75* nb of 2G cells + 1 * nb of 3G cells + 1 * nb of 4G Cells]
The maximum of OMC server is limited to 5 for UMTS and LTE and 12 for GSM..
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
4-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Number of users
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Number of users
The following table shows the number of potential users for each configuration.
Configuration names
Users
Supported
features
Hardware
NPO HP-S
15
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
DL380 G7-1/Main
NPO HP-S/CT
15
ALL
DL380 G7-1/Main
NPO HP-M
45
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
DL380 G7-2/Main +
D2600
NPO HP-M/CT
45
ALL
DL380 G7-2/Main +
D2600 + DL380
G7-2/Aux
NPO HP-XL
160
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
DL580 G7-4/Main + 4
D2600 + DL380
G7-2/Aux
NPO HP-XL/CT
160
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
DL580 G7-4/Main + 4
D2600 + 3 DL380
G7-2/Aux
NPO T5220
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
T5220
NPO M4000-2
27
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
M4000-2-32Gb +
ST2540-12
NPO M4000-4
38
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
M4000-4 + ST2540-24
NPO M4000-2000-GSM
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
M4000-2-16Gb-NoHBA
NPO M4000-6000-GSM
18
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
M4000-2-16Gb-HBA +
ST2540-6
NPO M4000-24000-GSM
50
ALL, except
PCMD/WCT
M4000-4 + ST2540-12
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
4-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The following table provides an overview of 2G dimensioning information, including:
GP for 2G counter
Storage duration in 2G
Storage duration
Data type
Object type
Hourly
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
GSM
N7SL ,
BSC_MFS_
LAPD,
BEARERCHANNEL
GPU_
ECELL2G
16D
93D
13W
3M
ADJ, AIC
1D
93D
13W
3M
GROUP_
SPRMST,
GROUP_
SPRMS
0D
16D
1W
1M
All other
types
32D
400D
58W
25M
GP for 3G counter
Storage duration
Data type
Object type
Hourly
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
W-CDMA
All
21D
400D
58W
25M
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
4-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
GP for 4G counter
Granularity Period for eNodeB is 15 minutes.
Storage duration
Data type
Object type
Hourly
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
LTE
All
32D
400D
58W
25M
The following rules apply:
1 reference cell = 1 W-CDMA cell = 1 LTE cell = 1.33 GSM cells
Only two technologies are supported at the same time by NPO:

NPO 2G+3G or 3G+4G or 2G+4G but not NPO 2G+3G+4G.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
4-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
5
Overview
Purpose
This chapter provides information about:
Interface information
Contents
5-1
5-1
5-2
5-6
The maximum deadline for file availability in the NPO, including loading, must be in
general under one third of the configured General Permanent Observation (GPO) period.
This one third GPO is an absolute period within which file transfers occur continuously,
including regular pooling activity, file parsing, and the loading of data within the NPO
oracle database. With regard to the pure file transfer activity, the duration usually takes
10% of the one third GPO.
To guarantee the NPO's performance with regards to basic recovery scenarios (for
example, missing data, loss of connection that implies managing more data within a same
GPO), the quantity of data to be managed by the NPO has to be double accordingly.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
As a consequence, the General Minimum throughput requirement for a nominal NPO

usage is defined as follows:
General Minimum throughput requirements (in kbps) =
Srnc i = Size of the RNC i observation file (in kiloBytes) under a given configuration
(e.g.: 185 kiloBytes for each RNC with CP3 configured with 100 dNodeB2U BTS)
Nbrnc i = Number of RNC i Sbts i = Size of the BTS i observation file under a given
configuration (e.g.: 6 kiloBytes for each dNodeB2U BTS configured with about 3 cells)
Nbbts i = Number of BTS
GPO: The minimum general permanent observation period (in seconds) configured on the
BTS Network elements (e.g.: 900 seconds).
Note: The default gateway is always set on the OAM interface in both single and
multiple interface environments. Alcatel-Lucent provides the opportunity to configure
the IP and netmask for the NE and BR interfaces. The NPO installation procedure
does not customize additional routing specific to the customer network. This will be
configured by customer after installation.
Within NPO
The following figure provides an overview of the interfaces within the NPO.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The following table provides detailed information about each interface.

Interface
Between
Protocol
Bandwidth
(a) NPO client
NPO client<=>Main
server
CORBA, HTTP,
HTTPS
The Minimum
Throughput
Requirement per
NPO Client is 1
Mbps. For network
constraints in term of
bandwidth
capabilities, a SOC
(server of client, e.g.
Citrix) solution
should be considered.
To comply with the
throughput
requirement, every
client should be
connected to an
Ethernet switch
through a
100/1000Mbps
connection.
(b) toward aux server
NPO main
server<=>NPO aux
server
CORBA, HTTP,
HTTPS, SFTP
1Gb/s is needed
(c) Backup (optional)
NPO main
server<=>central
backup
Depend on backup
server.
10 Gb interface is
required for fast
backup.
Minimum 1Gb
interface for backup.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Between NPO, SAM and MME
The OAM servers, including the NPO, must be located within the same Ethernet LAN
that operates at Giga bits Ethernet and the 1000 Mbps capabilities must be extended to all
the Routing Switches. The files are compressed.
This requirement covers:
Communication between the NPO main server and auxiliary server
Communication between the NPO and the SAM.
The following figure provides an overview of the interfaces between the NPO, SAM and
MME.
The following table provides detailed information about each interface.

Interface
Protocol
Bandwidth
(a) SAM<=>NPO aux
SFTP, SSH
PM file: 180 kB/eNB (3

cells/eNB)
So 3.2 MB/s for 48K cells
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Interface
Protocol
Bandwidth
(b) MME<=>NPO aux
SCP, SSH
(Only when the PCMD option

is used)
PCMD file: 250 MB at BH
(per minute, per MME)
Bandwidth : 4MB/s/MME (at
BH)
NPO Server IP address requirements for DL580/DL380
These requirements apply to all servers (NPO main/NPO auxiliary).

Interface
Function
Eth0 OAM interface
Connects the server to OMC/XMS/SAM

Connects the server to the NPO client PC
Connects the NPO server to the AUX server
This interface is mandatory.
Eth1
B/R interface for backup operations on a

server located in the same network as the IP of
this interface
This interface is optional.
Eth2
NE interface is used to connect the server to

the MME
This interface is optional
ILO3
For remote connection on the server
The following table lists the four different NIC configuration possibilities according to
the configured network interfaces.
Configuration type
Network interfaces
NIC configuration I
Eth0 OAM interface

Eth1 B/R interface
Eth2 NE interface
NIC configuration II
Eth0 OAM interface and B/R interface

Eth2 NE interface
NIC configuration III
Eth0 OAM interface and NE interface

Eth1 B/R interface
NIC configuration IV
Eth0 OAM interface which is configured

and/or linked.
This server is also NR and B/R interface.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-5
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The ILO3 interface must be configured from the machine's BIOS.

NPO Server IP address requirements for M4000/T5220
Server
Address requirements
T5220
Non IPMP: 1 Ethernet interface used

With IPMP: 2 Ethernet interface used
M4000
ASM - IPMP: 2 Ethernet interfaces used

non IPMP: 1 Ethernet interface used
with ASM - PMP: 3 Ethernet interfaces used
non IPMP: 2 Ethernet interfaces used
Non SAN is out of the scope of this document.
Note: For a complete description of the configurations, refer to the Product
Configuration Level.
For Linux
Server
Redundancy
FS Type
Mount point / Data

Group
Partition
size (GB)
DL380
G7-1/Main
(NPO HP-S)
RAID 1
Ext3
25
Ext3
/boot
0.2
Ext3
/var
10
swap
20
Ext3
/alcatel
225
RAID 0
Ext3
/alcatel/backup
1043
RAID 1+ 0
Ext3
/alcatel/temp
200
ASM
DATA
582
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-6
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Server
Redundancy
FS Type
Mount point / Data

Group
Partition
size (GB)
DL380
G7-2/Main +
D2600 (NPO
HP-M)
RAID 1
Ext3
25
Ext3
./boot
0.2
Ext3
/var
10
swap
20
Ext3
/alcatel
225
RAID 0
Ext3
/alcatel/backup
1564
RAID 1 + 0
ASM
RECOVERY
521
RAID 1
Ext3
/alcatel/ssd
30
ASM
REDO
80
ASM
/alcatel/temp
200
Ext3
DATA
2929
Ext3
25
Ext3
/boot
0.2
Ext3
/var
10
swap
20
Ext3
/alcatel
245
Ext3
/alcatel/ssd
200
ASM
REDO
80
RAID 0
Ext3
/alcatel/backup
6258
RAID 1 + 0
ASM
RECOVERY
2086
RAID 1 + 0
ASM
DATA
6258
RAID 1 + 0
Ext3
/alcatel/temp
1043
RAID 1
Ext3
/boot
0.2
RAID 5
Ext3
/var
10
swap
20
Ext3
470
Ext3
/alcatel
2500
RAID 1+ 0
DL580
G7-4/Main + 4
D2600 (NPO
HP-XL)
RAID 1
RAID 1 + 0
DL380
G7-2/Aux
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-7
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
For Solaris
Server
Mount point / Data Group
Partition size
NPO T5220
20 GB mirror of two slices on

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr

internal disks
/var

internal disks
/alcatel

internal disks
/alcatel/oracle/oradata
420 GB mirror of two slices

on internal disks
/alcatel/temp

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr

internal disks
/var

internal disks
/alcatel

on internal disks
1.6 TB mirror on external

storage
/alcatel/temp
200 GB mirror on external

storage
NPO M4000-2
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-8
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Server
Partition size
NPO M4000-4

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr

internal disks
/var

internal disks
/alcatel

on internal disks

storage
/alcatel/temp

storage

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr
/var
/alcatel

internal disks

on internal disks
/alcatel/temp

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr

internal disks
/var

internal disks
/alcatel

on internal disks

storage
/alcatel/temp

storage
NPO M4000-2000-GSM
NPO M4000-6000-GSM
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-9
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Miscellaneous
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Server
Partition size
NPO M4000-24000-GSM

internal disks
swap

internal disks
/usr

internal disks
/var

internal disks
/alcatel

on internal disks

storage
/alcatel/temp

storage
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
5-10
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
6 igration paths and

M
hardware upgrades
Overview
Purpose
This chapter describes

Contents
Migration without hardware change
6-1
6-2
Hardware upgrades
6-3
Migration without hardware change

The following figure shows existing sites based on V490, T5220 or M4000 and upgraded
to M4.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
6-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The following figure shows a case of migration with hardware change in the M4 software
version.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
6-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Hardware upgrades
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Hardware upgrades
This section describes possible upgrades for CPU/memory/other by reconfiguring the
machine.
The upgrade hardware possibility offered is from M4000-2 to M4000-4.
Refer to the Product Configuration Level for more information.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
6-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Hardware upgrades
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
6-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
7 ackup and restore

B
solutions
Overview
Purpose
This chapter describes the available backup and restore solutions.

Contents
Scope
7-1
Policy and scheduling
7-2
Backup/restore solution on Solaris
7-2
Backup/restore solution on Linux
7-3
Scope
The NPO platform provides administration services for data backup and restore via tape
(or via the network drive).
There are two possible backup modes:
Manual (the backup executes immediately), and
Automatic (the backup is executed according to a planned schedule with automatic

repetitions (by day, week, month or year periodicity).
In both modes, the backup is done without NPO interruption.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
7-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A backup and restore policy consists of the production of the best NPO image in order to
restore the system in any type of disaster scenarios and in the best timing delay.
In the case of an Oracle database crash or anomaly, the restoration of the NPO essential
data is enough. In the case of a software crash, the complete NPO image (essential and
system) becomes useful to avoid the re-installation of the whole NPO application.
The backup time is 1H on 3K, 2H on 12K and 4H with 48K (to be confirmed with actual
measurement)
The restore time is approximately twice as long as the backup.

The NPO platform provides administration services for data backup and restore via tape
(or via the network drive).
This section describes the following backup/restore tasks performed for NPO data and
application backup:
NPO data backup on tape with Oracle Secure Backup (OSB), an additional software
delivered by Alcatel-Lucent
NPO data backup on local disk
NPO application backup.
NPO data backup/restore on tape
The proposed solution is based on the Oracle Secure Backup package.

This is supported for legacy SPARC systems only, and it is limited to the tape capacity
(800 Gb meaning 10000 cells maximum). NPO data backup is an online backup and can
be performed without stopping the application. Incremental backup is also supported.
NPO data backup/restore on local disk
The backup is written on the local disk of the NPO main server. There is a command line
script to do it. This script can be scheduled via the usual Unix scheduler (cron).
Then, it is possible to save it on any external remote server or external media, using the
preferred customer method.
Only local disks are supported; using NFS in particular is not supported because of the
high bandwidth needed and the wide variation in NFS performance. Incremental backup
is also supported.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
7-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO application backup/restore
The NPO data is not included in the application backup. The NPO data must be backed up
using a supported means of backup. The application backup of the NPO machine offers
an alternative to an installation from scratch in the case of a disaster. This procedure does
not cover the database.

The available Oracle database backup solutions are:
Application Backup
NPO data backup.
NPO application backup/restore
The NPO database is not included in the application backup. The NPO data must be
backed up using a supported means of backup. The application backup of the NPO
machine offers an alternative to an installation from scratch in the case of a disaster. This
procedure does not cover the database.
NPO data backup/restore
The NPO data backup and restore solution is complementary to the application
backup/restore solution.
The NPO data backup creates a backup set of the NPO database (Oracle) and the NPO
users (CSA) inside the /alcatel/backup/data directory on a local partition of the Linux
NPO machine. The contents of the /alcatel/backup/data directory should be backed up on
a separate backup server.
f
The available solutions for NPO data backup are:
Full backup, and

Incremental backup.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
7-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
7-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Client
8
Overview
Purpose
This chapter describes the Windows PC client hardware requirements for the NPO.
Contents
8-1
The following table lists the Windows PC requirements for the NPO application.
Base hardware
CPU
1 CPU Pentium 4, 2.8 GHz (512 KB cache) or

1 CPU core 2 duo or Core 2 Quad or higher
RAM
2 GB or higher
Hard disk
40 GB disk or higher
(At least 1 GB free minimum in C Partition)
Ethernet board
100/1000 Mb/sec Ethernet boards
Software
Operating System
Windows XP (English) Service Pack 2 or 4 or

Windows Vista Or Windows 7 (32 bit and 64
bit only for NPO 4.1)
Other Applications
Microsoft Office 2003 NPO M4.1 : Java JRE

and JDK 6.0 must also be installed
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
8-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Client
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
8-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
9 etwork Time
N
Synchronization
Overview
Purpose
This chapter describes the Network Time Synchronization (NTS) functions.

Contents
9-1
About NTP functionality
9-2
Compatibility
9-3
Time source selections
9-3
Redundancy and resiliency
9-3
Default behavior of WMS or NPO main server under outage conditions
9-3
Recommended NTP architecture
9-4
9-4
NTP accuracy and network design requirements
9-5
NTP resource usage considerations
9-5
Overview
Proper time synchronization is useful and should be considered mandatory in order to

adequately support the requirements for:
Accounting/billing CDRs
Network and fault management
Efficient troubleshooting and support

Security and audit logs
Performance counter correlation.
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is the main protocol used in the Alcatel-Lucent
Wireless OAM network to synchronize the time of day (TOD) on servers and the NEs
together. The same level of support is for WMS or NPO.
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-1
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The is composed of servers and clients that exchange information about their system time.
The NTP is based on client-server and master-slave architecture.
The WMS or NPO implementation of the NTP is in Unicast mode (more accurate and
secure than broadcast mode) where the NTP client actually initiates the time information
exchange. After a NTP client sends a request to the server, the server sends back a time
stamped response, along with information such as its accuracy and stratum (see below).
The NTP client receives the time response from a NTP server (or servers), and uses the
information to calibrate its clock. The NTP client determines how far its clock is off and
slowly adjusts its time to line up with that of the NTP servers. Adjustments are based on
many time exchanges, and involve filtering and weighting as defined in the protocol. In
order to increase accuracy, corrections are applied on the client side to eliminate skewing
cause by networking latency.
The NTP client estimates travelling time and remote processing time once it receives the
packet from the NTP server. NTP algorithms assume that the one-way travelling between
the NTP server and client is half of the total round trip delay (minus remote processing
time). Given that this assumption is not always 100% accurate, it is generally accepted
that as the travel time to and from the server increases, the probability of loss of accuracy
increases.
In the context of NTP, the stratum is the number of NTP server levels relative to a
reference clock that is considered as the most accurate time for a given network.
Stratum-1 is considered to be the most accurate level (for example, a GPS type
transceiver with an NTP interface). Clients which synchronize on stratum-1 servers are
considered stratum-2. Some nodes (such as the WMS or NPO servers which are based on
Solaris) can offer both the NTP client and server functionality.
Clients using stratum-2 servers become themselves stratum-3 and so on. The higher the
stratum number is, the less accurate the synchronization is considered to be. Note that
local time zone settings are outside of the scope of the NTP. These settings must be set
locally on each device.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-2
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Compatibility
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Compatibility
NTP version 3 must be deployed as part of the UMTS OAM solution. NTP V3 (RFC
1305) is the most popular version (and the default for most devices). Implementation of
NTP usage within the UMTS network is straightforward since support for the NTP
already exists on NEs and servers; this includes the RNC. All Solaris based OAM servers
also support the NTP, including the WMS or NPO main servers, client server and Unix
clients.
Time source selections

It is not within the scope of this document to propose recommended vendors or types of
Stratum 1 server; however, considering the accuracy requirements, GPS type time servers
meet the requirements and are simple to operate/maintain at acceptable cost levels.
Redundancy and resiliency

Redundancy is essential in the NTP configuration. The NTP clients (this includes
intermediary servers such as the WMS or NPO servers) must connect to at least two lower
stratum NTP servers (Primary Main Server or Secondary Main, stratum-1 GPS NTP if
available...), and this number can be increased to three or four.
The recommendation of having one GPS type NTP server co-located in each ROC (with a
minimum total of two available to the WMS or NPO main server) must be considered,
specifically when there is local legislation on the accuracy of the timestamps for billing.
Following the above recommendations will minimize brief connectivity outages.
Default behavior of WMS or NPO main server under outage

conditions
In the rare situation of outage of the main server time sources (NTS down, loss of
connectivity), the WMS Main Server will continue to distribute the time based on its own
internal clock which will still be corrected based on the trend (drift correction) that was
established when it was synchronized. This configuration ensures that all devices stay
synchronized amongst themselves for logging purposes (security and troubleshooting).
Some testing done shows that a Solaris server which was previously synchronized can
drift by typically 100 msec per day (with less typical values being around 400 msec/day).
This WMS or NPO main server default behavior needs to be weighed against time
accuracy requirements for billing. Should the time synchronization requirements for the
NEs involved in billing be tight (1 second or less from national standards), it could be
considered to change this behavior. Alternate behavior under this situation would be for
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-3
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
Default behavior of WMS or NPO main server under outage

conditions
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
the main server to stop distributing time when it has lost contact to lower level stratum
synchronization sources. Under this situation the NEs will generate alarms for loss of
time synchronization.
Recommended NTP architecture

It is recommended to use the WMS or NPO Main server as the central point for
distributing the time throughout the network. The main advantage of using the main
server is that it must have connectivity to all the NEs or EMSs managed by a ROC which
require time synchronization.
To ensure accurate distribution, the main server must get the time from all the time
sources available in the overall wireless network (up to three or four, if possible). This
limits the OAM traffic between different operating centres as well as simplifying firewall
rule management, since only the WMS or NPO main server would get the time of other
servers outside of the NOC.

There is no engineering requirement to have Internet connectivity from the OAM network
and this is something that would normally be avoided. Should an Internet public source
be used as a time reference, it is recommended to build an intermediary stratum server
somewhere off the OAM network (bastion NTP server).
Specific attention must be paid to the security of this server. As a minimum, this
intermediary server must have peering and remote configuration/monitoring disabled.
Standard NTP access control (ntp.conf file) restricts all NTP communications to the
servers involved in the configuration (i.e. the NTP servers on the Internet side and the
WMS or NPO main server if this server is the main time distribution point). The optional
key and encoding features of NTP could be considered to authenticate the source. NTP
time sources available on the Internet normally charge a monthly fee for such services but
would offer a guarantied level of accuracy. If guarantied accuracy servers are not used, it
would be recommended to use three or four sources off the Internet so that this
intermediary time server can take advantage of the rich NTP algorithms to determine if
some servers are inaccurate or incorrect.
Firewalls should also be used and if these also allow flow control, it should be assumed
that the maximum rate is one packet per minute. This may offer some protection from
denial of service attacks.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-4
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

A key driver for synchronization accuracy requirement is billing. Typical billing accuracy
requirements may vary from one country to another; but are typically of +-1 second from
national time standards.
It has been demonstrated that the upper bound of typical synchronization error achieved
using the NTP in unicast mode is around 50 msec (or 25% of average round trip time in
between servers/clients accumulated to stratum-1 source). Note that this is the accuracy of
the time at the System/OS level (there can actually be some extra internal delays on a
server or an NE in associating a time stamp on an event).
This estimate is based on the fact that the actual OAM network design follows two
standard engineering guidelines which ensure optimal NTP accuracy:
Symmetrical transport times in between the server and client
Avoid sustained congestion conditions.
With regard to time accuracy convergence, after initially starting the NTP processes, it
may take several minutes, or even up to an hour to adjust a system's time to the ultimate
degree of accuracy. To avoid long stabilization times, it is possible to perform an initial
manual adjustment to the local clock before starting the NTP processes.

Considering the flow of fault and performance information on the OAM network, NTP
communication is negligible. CPU resource consumption of NTP on Solaris servers is
also negligible.
Requirements on local time zone settings
Local time zone settings are outside of the scope of the NTP. The NTP only synchronizes
time at a lower level (similar to GMT or UTC). Regional time specificities such as time
zones and daylight savings time (DST) are normally set on each node, NE or server.
Wireless network nodes as well as the WMS or NPO components deal with time zone in
different manner, by sending different levels of information. Because of this, the
following recommendations and requirements are made in order to simplify network
management. Note that the network management function is normally facilitated when
time stamps related to events can easily be correlated together.
Preferred recommendations
The time settings on all NEs, OAM servers and clients must be identical (all set to UTC,
or all set to a single time zone).
Note that having the clients set to a different time zone than that of the OAM server can
be a source of unsupported issues relative to the accurate display of time in alarms and in
reports.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-5
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Alternative proposal
The following alternative proposal takes into account important considerations which are
required when NEs are already integrated into a billing system. In all cases, the CDR's
time information is always based on local NE time. Impacts on changing the time or time
zone on the NEs need to be adequately assessed. If the time or time zone is changed, this
could require corrective measures at the billing system level. In addition to the legal
aspects of time stamp accuracy requirements in billing, subscribers may require exact
time stamps if they are used to listing events on their bills.
Billing considerations may negatively impact following the recommendations in this
document. In such a situation, an alternative to the preferred recommendations would be
to keep some NEs set to their actual time zones (i.e. actual local times are set on NEs
spawning in multiple time zones). This alternative proposal is not the preferred one from
an operational point of view given that the correlation of time related information will be
more complex.
When no impacts are identified to billing, the preferred time zone recommendations (NEs
and OAM system set to a single time zone) must be followed.
The following recommendations and notes apply to this alternative:
UMTS Access networks do not generate billing CDRs. Therefore, they must follow
the preferred time zone recommendations (homogeneous single time zone setting).
Given that UMTS Access RNC and NODE B deal with time offsets in very different
manners, any deviation from this recommendation for UMTS access network will
create inconsistent time stamp information and will complicate network management.
The WMS or NPO Client must be set to the same time zone as the OAM servers.
The consequences of choosing this alternate strategy is that correlation of time
information of nodes in different time zones will be not be as straightforward as when
they are all in the same time zone.
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
NPO
9-6
npoengg M4
Issue 1 March 2011

Engineering Guide 2 Umts Network

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

Engineering Guide 2 Umts Network

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Use pursuant to applicable agreements

Use pursuant to applicable agreements

Reason for revision

Document pertinence ................................................................................................................................................................... xi

Assumed knowledge .................................................................................................................................................................... xi

NPO hardware solutions

NPO with PCMD option ........................................................................................................................................................ 2-6

Citrix server requirements ................................................................................................................................................... 2-13

NPO nominal and recovery mode ....................................................................................................................................... 3-4

Minimum throughput requirements

Interface information ............................................................................................................................................................... 5-2

Migration paths and hardware upgrades

Hardware upgrades ................................................................................................................................................................... 6-3

Backup and restore solutions

Policy and scheduling .............................................................................................................................................................. 7-2

Network Time Synchronization

About NTP functionality ........................................................................................................................................................ 9-2

NTP accuracy and network design requirements .......................................................................................................... 9-5

Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new deployment) ..................................... 2-2

Configurations based on existing SPARC hardware M4000 and T5220

Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new deployment) ..................................... 2-5

Configurations based on existing SPARC hardware M4000 and T5220

Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new deployment) ..................................... 2-6

Configurations based on existing SPARC hardware M4000 and T5220

Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new deployment) ..................................... 2-7

Configurations based on existing SPARC hardware M4000 and T5220

NPO without auxiliary server

NPO with auxiliary server

NPO with WCT support (48K configuration)

NPO with WCT support (1500 cells configuration)

NPO with PCMD support (48K configuration) .............................................................................................. 2-6

System controller connectivity

M4000 with System controller and ST2540 connectivity ........................................................................ 2-12

This document provides detailed information about:

The engineering rules for the NPO Servers

Other OAM engineering information for the NPO.

Reason for revision

First official release of document for Release M4.1.

This document applies to NPO M4.1.

This document is intended for:

You must be familiar with:

This section provides an overview of the NPO architecture.

QoS decrease cause diagnosis

This product includes a powerful Oracle database containing performance measurements

The NPO PCMD option (for LTE)

The NPO runs on the:

Solaris SPARC server, based on Sun V490, T5220 and M4000.

The NPO supports OMCs managing:

GSM network (OMC-R)

LTE network (SAM)

NPO hardware solutions

NPO with WCT option

NPO with PCMD option

NPO with WCT and PCMD option

NPO X86 hardware description

Citrix server requirements

Automatic Storage Management

NPO without WCT or PCMD option

NPO hardware solutions

NPO without WCT or PCMD option

Figure 2-1 NPO without auxiliary server

Figure 2-2 NPO with auxiliary server

Configurations based on HP hardware (recommended for new