5G RAN V100R016C10 Capacity Management Guide Issue 01 Date 2020-04-07 HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written consent of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Trademarks and Permissions and other Huawei trademarks are trademarks of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. All other trademarks and trade names mentioned in this document are the property of their respective holders. Notice The purchased products, services and features are stipulated by the contract made between Huawei and the customer. All or part of the products, services and features described in this document may not be within the purchase scope or the usage scope. 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Address: Huawei Industrial Base Bantian, Longgang Shenzhen 518129 People's Republic of China Website: https://www.huawei.com Email: support@huawei.com Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. i 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Contents Contents 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide............................................................................... 1 1.1 Changes in 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide..................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Capacity Management Architecture and Process.........................................................................................................2 1.2.1 Capacity Management Architecture.............................................................................................................................. 2 1.2.2 Capacity Management Process....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Capacity Management Stage.............................................................................................................................................. 4 1.3.1 eMBB Capacity Planning................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.1.1 Overview.............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.3.1.2 Basic Capacity Planning................................................................................................................................................. 6 1.3.1.3 xMbps Planning.................................................................................................................................................................8 1.3.1.4 Service KPIs...................................................................................................................................................................... 11 1.3.2 Dimensioning...................................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.3 Product Configuration......................................................................................................................................................13 1.3.4 Capacity Monitoring......................................................................................................................................................... 13 1.3.5 Capacity Optimization..................................................................................................................................................... 13 1.3.6 eMBB Network Capacity Expansion............................................................................................................................ 13 1.3.6.1 Air Interface Capacity Expansion.............................................................................................................................. 14 1.3.6.2 Device Capacity Expansion......................................................................................................................................... 18 Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ii 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Overview Capacity is an important issue throughout the network life cycle, which covers capacity planning, network dimensioning, and product configuration during new network construction, and capacity monitoring, optimization, and expansion during existing network operation. This document describes 5G network capacity management in each stage. It specifies the service range and key work at each stage and presents the interfacing relationships among different stages. In addition, this document introduces the basic principles of network construction benchmarks (including basic capacity, xMbps, and service experience) and based on these benchmarks, provides theoretical analysis of capacity expansion benchmarks. Product Version The following table lists the product versions related to this document. Product Name Solution Version Product Version BTS3900/BTS5900 ● 5G RAN3.1 V100R016C10 BTS3900A/BTS5900A ● SRAN16.1 BTS3900L/BTS5900L BTS3900AL DBS3900/DBS5900 DBS3900 LampSite/ DBS5900 LampSite Intended Audience This document is intended for: ● Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Field engineers Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide ● 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Network planning engineers 1.1 Changes in 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide This section describes changes in each version of this document. 1.2 Capacity Management Architecture and Process This section describes the capacity management architecture and process. 1.3 Capacity Management Stage This section describes capacity expansion solutions for newly deployed and existing networks. Since 5G network deployment is still in the initial stage, this section provides only a brief introduction to the capacity expansion solution for existing networks and will detail the solution when existing 5G networks are available. Both solutions aim to meet network capacity required by traffic demands, thereby improving end user experience. 1.1 Changes in 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide This section describes changes in each version of this document. 01 (2020-04-07) This is the first commercial release. Compared with Draft A (2020-01-20), this issue does not include any new topics or changes, or exclude any topics. Draft A (2020-01-20) This is a draft. Compared with Issue 01 (2019-06-06) of V100R015C10, this issue does not include any new topics or changes, or exclude any topics. 1.2 Capacity Management Architecture and Process This section describes the capacity management architecture and process. 1.2.1 Capacity Management Architecture This section describes the service range and supporting documents at each stage of capacity management. Capacity management is involved in the new network construction stage and existing network operation stage. These two stages are not independent of each other. Network dimensioning and product configuration are required for network capacity expansion to meet service requirements at the existing network operation stage. The following figure shows the key services and supporting documents at each network stage. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 2 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-1 Capacity management 1.2.2 Capacity Management Process This section describes the capacity management process. The capacity management process consists of the following six stages: capacity planning, dimensioning, product configuration, capacity monitoring, capacity optimization, and network capacity expansion. All stages are interdependent. The outputs of the previous stage are the inputs of the next stage, as shown in the following figure. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 3 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-2 Capacity management process 1.3 Capacity Management Stage This section describes capacity expansion solutions for newly deployed and existing networks. Since 5G network deployment is still in the initial stage, this section provides only a brief introduction to the capacity expansion solution for existing networks and will detail the solution when existing 5G networks are available. Both solutions aim to meet network capacity required by traffic demands, thereby improving end user experience. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 4 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1.3.1 eMBB Capacity Planning Using LTE network capacity planning as a reference, Huawei puts forward a series of network capacity planning solutions to better plan, build, and maintain an Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) network featured by large bandwidth, including basic capacity planning, xMbps planning, and service KPI planning. 1.3.1.1 Overview To meet users' traffic demands and satisfy user experience on the network, the network capacity needs to be planned based on operators' original requirements (especially traffic requirements and user experience) and Huawei's recommended solutions. The following figure shows inputs and outputs at the capacity planning stage. Figure 1-3 Inputs and outputs at the capacity planning stage Huawei puts forward the following capacity planning solutions: ● Basic capacity planning The network capacity is planned based on the live network loads and future capacity demands to ensure basic network KPIs (such as KPIs related to accessibility and service drops). This solution does not consider user-perceived rate and service experience. ● xMbps and service KPI planning Web page browsing and video experience cannot be evaluated based on service KPIs. The network grid capability needs to be evaluated based on xMbps and service KPIs to generate advice on capacity planning. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 5 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-4 Network capacity planning solutions 1.3.1.2 Basic Capacity Planning Basic capacity is a common criterion for evaluating and planning network capacity. Live network congestion can be eliminated by analyzing the network capacity bottleneck. Future capacity demands can be planned based on the network capacity prediction. The following figure shows the procedure for basic capacity planning. Figure 1-5 Procedure for basic capacity planning ● Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Perform the following steps to plan basic capacity at the network construction stage: a. Understand operators' network construction requirements, including traffic demands and user experience assurance solutions. b. Plan network construction objectives. Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 6 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide c. ● 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Reach an agreement with operators in terms of network construction objectives and service demands. Perform the following steps to plan basic capacity at the network operation stage: a. Evaluate the device and air interface loads on the live network to decide the current capacity status and bottleneck. Check whether the network is overloaded based on a certain criterion. The criterion can be resource type-specific capacity expansion thresholds or be defined based on the capacity load or congestion inflection curve of the live network. For details, see 5G RAN Capacity Monitoring Guide. b. If the usage of a type of resource exceeds the corresponding capacity expansion threshold, perform capacity expansion for this type of resource and decrease the target load to 10% less than the capacity expansion threshold. For example, if the capacity expansion threshold of the main control board or baseband processing board is 60%, the target load should be 50% or less. Predict the future capacity demands based on the future traffic model and resource load growth factor. c. If the usage of a type of resource does not exceed the corresponding capacity expansion threshold, predict the future capacity demands based on the current traffic model and service load. There are various factors causing an increase in resource load. The following parameters are defined for predicting future capacity demands: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ SubscriberFactor indicates the increase multiples of online users on the 5G network during peak hours. PSSigFactor indicates the increase multiples of a single user on the PS control plane in 5G NSA networking. TrafficFactor indicates the increase multiples of traffic on the 5G network during peak hours. DlSigUserThrp indicates the downlink single-user-perceived data rate expected by operators. The rate must be determined by operators based on actual network service demands. The default data rate is 10 Mbit/s, which can meet most 5G service demands. Determine the access rate for WTTx users based on operators' requirements. When predicting future capacity demands, you can specify several load subitems for each resource type based on consumption factors, and then sum up all load subitems after each of them is multiplied by the corresponding growth factor to calculate the total load. You can decide the quantities of required boards and carriers based on the target load and board configurations on the live network. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 7 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-6 Capacity prediction steps 1.3.1.3 xMbps Planning xMbps planning aims to meet the data rate required by end users. It evaluates the data rates supported by the air interface on a grid level to decide the difference between the current and target data rates, and then provides advice on carrier capacity expansion and site planning by means of simulation. The access data rates can be configured for WTTx users as required by operators to serve as the planning target. Mobile networks have entered the eMBB era from the voice era. In the eMBB era, media streaming services are the leading services, and the next-stage high definition (HD) and ultra high definition video services are taking the place of the currently leading low definition (LD) and standard definition (SD) video services. eMBB service user experience greatly depends on the bearer rate over the air interface, and a high bearer rate can ensure good user experience. xMbps Meaning The xMbps bearer rate determines upper-layer user experience. Therefore, xMbps should be customized during eMBB network construction based on user experience of the target service. The customized xMbps is the minimum bearer capability for the target service on the eMBB network and the minimum rate guaranteed for users. xMbps for different types of services The bearer rate varies according to the service type. eMBB services can be classified into web, video, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), social networking, instant message, cloud services, email, file transfer, gaming, and machine-tomachine (M2M) services. xMbps for different types of services to ensure good user experience is shown in the following figure. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 8 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-7 xMbps for different types of services User experience of a type of services needs to be evaluated in multiple dimensions. The bearer rates to ensure good user experience may also vary depending on the specific dimension. The highest bearer rate is selected as the bearer rate for a type of services. For example, the bearer rate must exceed 0.8 Mbit/s to ensure smooth video experience for LD (360p) video services. However, at least 1 Mbit/s is required for a short startup time at the beginning of playing a video. Therefore, 1 Mbit/s is used as the bearer rate of LD video services. Similarly, the bearer rates of SD video services (480p), HD video services (720p), and ultra HD video services (1080p) are 3 Mbit/s, 5 Mbit/s, and 10 Mbit/s, respectively, as listed in the following table. Table 1-1 Bearer rates for different types of services Format Resolution Code Bit Rate (Mbit/s) User Experience Bearer Rate (Mbit/s) Required Rate (Mbit/s) 360p 480x360 H.264 0.5–0.8 Startup Time < 4s 1 1 Interruptio n-free Share > 95% 0.8 Startup Time < 4s 3 Interruptio n-free Share > 95% 2.3 Startup Time < 4s 5 480p 720p 640x480 1280x720 Issue 01 (2020-04-07) H.264 H.264 1.2–2.3 2.1–3.8 Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 3 5 9 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Format 1080p Resolution 1920x1080 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Code H.264 Bit Rate (Mbit/s) 5–7.7 User Experience Bearer Rate (Mbit/s) Interruptio n-free Share > 95% 3.8 Startup Time < 4s 10 Interruptio n-free Share > 95% 7.7 Required Rate (Mbit/s) 10 The bit rates of different videos vary greatly according to video resolution. The bit rates of videos of the same video resolution also vary greatly with the proportion of dynamic pictures, video encoding level (profile and level), and other factors. Data in the preceding table is a reference to the statistics of a mainstream video website. xMbps in different areas The distribution of eMBB services is unbalanced. High data rate services account for a large proportion in urban areas while low data rate services are the majority in rural areas. Therefore, high xMbps on the entire network is unnecessary. During network construction, the values of xMbps for different areas should be specified separately based on the mainstream services and the xMbps baseline required for good user experience in each area. For example, areas can be classified into major areas and common areas based on traffic and distribution of service demands and users. During network construction, 3 Mbit/s is used as the target bearer rate in common areas where web services and LD video services are mainstream services and 5 Mbit/s or 10 Mbit/s is used as the target bearer rate in major areas where HD or ultra HD video services are mainstream services. Based on the distribution of WTTx customer premise equipment (CPE), target xMbps is determined according to operators' requirements. Area-oriented xMbps setting saves costs and balances experience and investment, thereby achieving maximum return on investment. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 10 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-8 xMbps in different areas xMbps engineering planning A specific xMbps anywhere and anytime is not an absolute requirement. It can be defined as follows from the perspective of engineering planning: The xMbps is reached in a specified percentage (typical value: 95%) of places within a specified percentage (typical value: 90%) of time to ensure user experience of a good level or above. xMbps Planning Procedure The xMbps planning procedure is as follows: 1. Deciding the target rate: A proper target rate is calculated based on the typical rate required by services by analyzing service types and the ratio of each type of service. 10 Mbit/s can meet 90% of service requirements on networks with non-video services. Therefore, 10 Mbit/s is used as the target rate during xMbps planning. 2. Evaluating grid-level rate capability: To evaluate the grid-level rate capability, calculate the theoretical rate of each grid based on the channel quality indicator (CQI), number of users, and available power in this grid, and then geographically display the rates in the grids. 3. Providing advice on planning: You can provide reasonable advice on carrier capacity expansion and site planning through simulation and positioning based on the difference between the current grid-level rate capability and the target rate. This method is also applicable to multi-sector planning. 1.3.1.4 Service KPIs Service KPI planning aims to meet video service demands. The key point for the planning is a unified evaluation standard for video service quality, reflecting user experience. Therefore, Huawei puts forward the vMOS standard. According to the vMOS standard, user experience of video services is scored based on a number of factors including video source quality, initial buffering delay, and video freeze rate. The following table lists the MOSs of the vMOS standard. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 11 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Table 1-2 vMOS standard MOS Performance Impairment 5 Excellent Imperceptible 4 Good Perceptible but not annoying 3 Fair Slightly annoying 2 Poor Annoying 1 Bad Very annoying vMOS is determined by the scores of sQuality, sLoading, and sStalling. sQuality, sLoading, and sStalling indicate the video source quality, initial buffering latency, and video freeze rate, respectively. sQuality determines the upper limit of vMOSs, and the scores of sLoading and sStalling are related to the length of video watching time. The longer the time is, the smaller the impact of the initial buffering latency. Figure 1-9 vMOS scoring standard 1.3.2 Dimensioning At the dimensioning stage, the iterative service demands of capacity planning are used to predict the demands of critical resources (such as air interface resources) for network construction. These resources required at the dimensioning stage are abstract and irrelevant to the network topology and hardware type. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 12 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Figure 1-10 Dimensioning For details, contact Huawei technical support engineers. 1.3.3 Product Configuration At the product configuration stage, the abstract resource demands output from dimensioning are used as inputs for the configuration of base stations, cells, boards, and transport equipment based on product specifications, capability, and other related parameters. Figure 1-11 Product configuration stage 1.3.4 Capacity Monitoring Major resources affecting network capacity must be monitored when a network is running steadily. This allows for learning real-time network status and enables the network to keep in the optimal status. The resources to be monitored can be classified into device and air interface resources: ● If device resources are found to be insufficient, add devices. ● If air interface resources are found to be insufficient, check whether capacity optimization can relieve the congestion. Then, perform capacity expansion if the congestion persists. For details about resources and methods for capacity monitoring, see 5G RAN Capacity Monitoring Guide. 1.3.5 Capacity Optimization Capacity optimization in this section indicates capacity optimization over the air interface. If network capacity needs to be improved to meet increasing service demands, you are advised to perform network optimization by preference. For details about network optimization, contact Huawei engineers. 1.3.6 eMBB Network Capacity Expansion eMBB networks are similar to LTE networks. This section describes the eMBB network capacity expansion method by referring to the LTE network capacity expansion method. Network capacity needs to be expanded when it cannot meet the capacity standard for network construction. In general, the air interface capacity needs to meet traffic demands and the device capability needs to meet Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 13 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide the air interface capacity requirement. Capacity expansion involves the air interface and devices. On existing networks, traffic demands are affected by network capacity. That is, the traffic demands may be not fully reflected due to network capacity restriction. Therefore, it is required to decide whether the traffic demands are restrained before performing network capacity expansion. 1.3.6.1 Air Interface Capacity Expansion This section describes the standards for air interface capacity expansion and related solutions. Capacity Expansion Standards The following figure shows the relationships between the number of users and system capacity demand, system capacity capability, actual system capacity, as well as minimum system capacity demand in typical eMBB traffic scenarios. ● In statistical sense, the traffic demand of each user is steady, but the capacity demand increases with the number of users. ● 5G cells experience interference from neighboring cells. The interference increases with the number of users covered by 5G cells, decreasing the actual system capacity. The actual system capacity first increases with the number of users and then begins to decrease after the number of users reaches the maximum limit allowed by the system capacity. Figure 1-12 Relationships between the system capacity and the number of users a: point at which the actual system capacity begins to decrease b: target minimum system capacity demand designed by the operator The following figure shows the relationships between the number of users and required throughput, perceived throughput, as well as xMbps in typical eMBB traffic scenarios. ● Issue 01 (2020-04-07) In statistical sense, the required throughput is basically steady in specified traffic scenarios (relevant to user types, service types, and charging policies). The capacity demand is not affected by the number of users. Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 14 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide ● 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide The perceived throughput is first steady and then begins to decrease after the number of users reaches the maximum limit allowed by the system capacity. Figure 1-13 Relationships between the throughput and the number of users c: change point at which the target xMbps may or may not be reached in an area where the network is constructed based on xMbps Capacity expansion focuses on system capacity and user throughput. The capacity expansion standard for the air interface is listed in the following table. Dimension Standard System capacity The actual system capacity has reached the point at which the capacity starts to decrease (point a in Figure 1-12). The actual system capacity has dropped below the target minimum system capacity demand (indicated by point b in Figure 1-12). User throughput Target xMbps (point c in Figure 1-13) Capacity Expansion Solutions Adding carriers Operators usually deploy only one carrier during initial network construction. As the number of users increases, the capacity of a single carrier will gradually become limited. In densely populated urban areas, traffic on networks is heavy and it is likely that the capacity of hotspot cells becomes limited. Adding carriers is the most desirable method for capacity expansion because this method does not affect live networks and almost requires no additional equipment. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 15 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide This capacity expansion method is applicable when the number of users reaches the allowed maximum or the throughput is limited due to capacity insufficiency. Add carriers when the following conditions are met: ● A second carrier is available. ● The signaling load is light. For detailed operations, see 5G RAN Reconfiguration Guide. ● After carriers are added, new cells and their neighboring cells (existing cells) are working in different frequencies. Therefore, inter-frequency handover parameters must be properly configured to ensure successful inter-frequency handovers. In this way, adding carriers will not cause handover performance to deteriorate. ● For example, you can enable inter-frequency load balancing to ensure even load distribution on multiple carriers. ● The inter-frequency handover policies and related parameter settings are complicated. For details, see Mobility Management Feature Parameter Description. Adding gNodeBs You can add intra-frequency and inter-frequency gNodeBs for small-scale capacity expansion. Adding intra-frequency gNodeBs is more common due to carrier and networking restrictions. ● Adding intra-frequency gNodeBs In some hotspot areas, adding intra-frequency gNodeBs improves the capacity in these areas, but it also causes interference, which affects the coverage of existing cells. Therefore, you need to optimize RF and network parameters after adding intra-frequency gNodeBs so that the addition has less negative impact on the live networks. This capacity expansion method is applicable when coverage holes exist, the number of users reaches the maximum limit, or the throughput is limited due to capacity insufficiency. Add intra-frequency gNodeBs when the following conditions are met: ● A second carrier is unavailable but a new site can be acquired. ● The interference from newly added intra-frequency gNodeBs is controllable and has little impact on live networks. ● Emergency communications are required at places where the traffic volume surges, for example, railway stations during holidays and stadiums with major events. There is a rare scenario where intra-frequency gNodeBs are added at the existing site to serve some cells of the existing gNodeB. This solution can only be used when the high load on the existing gNodeB cannot be relieved after a main control board of higher specifications is installed in the existing gNodeB. For example, if an existing gNodeB serves cell 0, cell 1 and cell 2 and the number of users in cell 0 is the largest among the three cells, a new gNodeB can be added. You can connect the main control board in the existing gNodeB to the RF module of cell 0 and connect the main control board of the new gNodeB to the RF modules of cell 1 and cell 2. This method does not require cell addition or RF parameter optimization. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 16 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide ● 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide Adding inter-frequency gNodeBs Adding inter-frequency gNodeBs is preferred for capacity expansion if carriers are sufficient. Unlike capacity expansion through adding intra-frequency gNodeBs, adding inter-frequency gNodeBs does not cause intra-frequency interference. Theoretically, adding inter-frequency gNodeBs doubles cell capacity. This capacity expansion method is applicable when the number of users reaches the maximum or the throughput is limited due to capacity insufficiency. Add interfrequency gNodeBs when the following conditions are met: ● A second carrier is available. ● New sites can be acquired. In this case, inter-frequency gNodeBs can be added at different coverage areas. ● The signaling overheads and the number of users in the existing gNodeB have reached the upper limits, and capacity expansion cannot be achieved by adding inter-frequency cells. Both adding inter-frequency gNodeBs at different coverage areas and adding inter-frequency co-coverage gNodeBs are supported. Since inter-frequency handovers will occur between the added inter-frequency cells and their neighboring cells, you need to optimize RF and handover parameters. For details, see Mobility Management Feature Parameter Description. For details on data configuration for new base stations, see 3900 & 5900 Series Base Station Initial Configuration Guide. For details on hardware installation for new gNodeBs, see related installation guides. Splitting sectors In sector splitting, sectors with narrow beam antennas are added to shrink the coverage areas of individual sectors. Currently, sector splitting can be implemented either by splitting an omnidirectional sector into three sectors or splitting three sectors into six sectors. The total capacity of an gNodeB increases with the number of sectors. However, the increase is not linear for the following reasons: There is a certain amount of radiation beyond the lobe width, which causes interference to adjacent sectors. Adjacent sectors also have coverage overlaps. The larger the number of sectors, the larger the number of handover areas. As a result, handover overheads increase and channel quality in handover areas decreases, causing the throughput in individual sectors to decrease. To control inter-cell interference, ensure that the following requirements are met: ● Antennas should not directly face each other to decrease interference between neighboring cells. ● The reference signal power should be decreased to avoid overshoot coverage because areas covered by cells are reduced after the splitting. This capacity expansion method is applicable when the number of users reaches the allowed maximum or the throughput is limited due to capacity insufficiency. Split sectors when the following conditions are met: ● Issue 01 (2020-04-07) New carriers are unavailable. Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 17 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide ● 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide New sites cannot be obtained. Sector splitting involves installing antennas and adding cells. For details, see related installation guides and 5G RAN Reconfiguration Guide. 1.3.6.2 Device Capacity Expansion Device capacity expansion must match the demands for air interface capacity. Theoretically, if the system resource usage is measured on an extremely small percentage (such as 1%) basis, capacity expansion can be performed based on network tolerance levels for the resource insufficiency ratio. For example, capacity expansion is recommended for networks requiring a low device resource insufficiency ratio when the probability of resource usage higher than 90% exceeds a certain percentage (such as 5%). Capacity expansion is recommended for networks tolerant of a high device resource insufficiency ratio when the probability of resource usage higher than 99% exceeds a certain percentage (such as 5%). The actual granularity for measuring resource usage cannot be as small as the theoretical granularity. Only the average resource usage and maximum resource usage on the live network are available for determining whether to expand the system capacity. Considering the fluctuation in actual service demands, the measurement granularity is selected based on the statistical data obtained during peak hours. The peak-to-average ratio should also be considered to decrease the probability that device resources are insufficient. For the capacity expansion thresholds for device resources, see 5G RAN Capacity Monitoring Guide. The thresholds are the recommended values provided by Huawei based on empirical network data and may be adjusted according to related experience and information. Capacity Expansion Solutions Device capability includes hardware, which must be considered when device capacity expansion is performed as required by air interface capacity expansion. Board specifications include items such as user number and signaling processing capability. If an item reaches the specified threshold, replace existing boards or add new boards to expand capacity. Device capacity expansion methods vary with scenarios as follows: ● Replace the board when a new board with better performance is available. ● Add a baseband processing board when the main control board can bear additional load but the load on the existing baseband processing board reaches the threshold. The board to be replaced can either be a main control board or a baseband processing board. If radio resources are sufficient after a baseband processing board is added, the cell with heaviest load on the original baseband processing board is established on the new baseband processing board, and the rest cells remain on the original baseband processing board. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 18 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide 1 5G RAN Capacity Management Guide If a gNodeB has been configured with multiple baseband processing boards and one of the baseband processing boards is overloaded, cells on this baseband processing board are reestablished on lightly loaded baseband processing boards. Issue 01 (2020-04-07) Copyright © Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. 19