How To Set Up

AutoDesign
This How To document shows you
how to build a pico network in a
collection of detailed steps.

The design is roughly following the

requirements set out in this sample
RFP from Verizon:
Sample Verizon RFP for Reston, VA

1. Start a New Project

Create a Standard Overture
Training Project from the New
Project panel.

2a. Set the Analysis

Target
Go to the region you want to
AutoDesign.
For the purpose of this tutorial we
will design the Reston area in
Virginia, US.
Open the Search Maps tab (see
right side of the Map) and type
Reston. This will display several
options. Double click on the one
highlighted on the image, this will
take you to the area of interest.

2b. Set the Analysis

Target
During this AutoDesign process we
will use the Process Shortcut
toolbar docked to the left side of
Overture.
This Process Shortcut toolbar
contains the most used features of
Overture arranged in a logical
design sequence from top to
bottom.

2c. Set the Analysis

Target
The Analysis Target defines the
specific areas of interest where
Overture is going to focus the
design efforts. For example,
candidates will only be generated
within this area.
To set the Analysis Target, select
the Set or Add to Analysis Target
button in the Process Shortcut
toolbar.
Several methods can be used but
for the purpose of this tutorial
choose Set Analysis Target > By
Drawing a Polygon
Overture switches to draw mode.

2d. Set the Analysis

Target
Click on the map to drop the
vertices of the segments that will
define the sides of the polygon.
These vertices will be identified as
green circles so you can edit the
shape of the polygon by selecting a
particular point with the mouse and
moving it to your desired location.
Once you are happy with your
polygon, select Finish Drawing

2e. Set the Analysis

Target
Note that once you click Finish
Drawing you can no longer edit
the shape of the polygon.

Name the new Analysis Target

polygon. For example, this is going
to be called Reston.

2f. Set the Analysis

Target
Once the polygon has been named,
Overture will display a table with
the coordinates of the vertices for
each segment in the polygon and
the total area of the polygon.

3. Set the Analysis

Border
The Analysis Border is the extended
region around the Analysis Target
(shown as the magenta outline in
the screenshot) and should be set
such that it is large enough to fully
encompass the area.
Select Region > Set Analysis Border
> 1.00 km

The dashed line in the screenshot

shows the Analysis Region, which is
Analysis Border (+ 1.00 km) around
the extent of the Analysis Target.
Overture builds clutter and other
analyses within this Analysis Region.

4. Import Antennas
At this stage you may want to
import any antennas that you will
use with your pico.

We will use those already included,

but, if necessary, import any
additional antennas by selecting
Network > Antennas > Import
Antennas
Browse and select all the relevant
antennas and the particular
importer format.

5a. Add Access

Technologies
Add the access technologies by
using Overtures spectrum feature.
From the Process Shortcut toolbar
select Build Access Technologies
from Spectrum.
Choose United States (FCC) >
Verizon Wireless > Build LTE-FDD
Access Technologies
Overture will query the FCC
spectrum database for this region
for licensee Verizon Wireless. The
results are shown in a table.

5b. Add Access

Technologies
We are going to build dual-band
sites, so:

Select the 700 Upper C block.

Select the AWS B+C block.

Press the Build button once ready;

Overture will add two LTE-FDD
access technology layers with the
relevant frequencies (750.00 MHz
and 2127.50 MHz) and channel
bandwidth (10 MHz and 15 MHz).

6a. Add a Pico Site

Template
Next we add information about
how the access technologies are to
be used. For this tutorial we will
AutoDesign a dual-band, twosectored pico network, so we will
add a Pico Site template.
Select on the Process Shortcut
toolbar the Build Site Templates
and Analyzers option.
Select Build Pico Sites

6b. Add a Pico Site

Template
The Site Template Builder dialog is
shown. This helps in the creation of
a site template with the relevant
access technology and most entries
can be left unchanged.
This tutorial builds a two-sectored
pico site, so set Number of Sectors
to 2.

6c. Add a Pico Site

Template
Next, we are going to define this
pico site as dual-band so we have to
define how it uses the access
technologies.
Select Access Technologies (0) >
Edit Access Technologies

6d. Add a Pico Site

Template
When creating any site template we
define the band and access
technology structure of the site.

In this case we are adding a dual

band using LTE-FDD technology.
Do this via the Add button, which
allows you to select any access
technology.
Select first the access technology
called LTE-FDD: 5220, 750.00 MHz.

6e. Add a Pico Site

Template
Select the appropriate Antenna
Model for the network
configuration. For the purpose of
this tutorial, it will be the
directional antenna closest to the
center frequency of the selected
band.
Select the Antenna Model called
Pico (Directional) Kathrein 840
10515 [746.00 MHz]

6f. Add a Pico Site

Template
Next we have to define the
Propagation Model that matches
the selected band.

Select the Propagation Model called

General Pico Model with Buildings
[750 MHz].

6g. Add a Pico Site

Template
To finish defining this pico site as a
dual band we have to select the
second access technology.

Do this via the Add button, which

allows you to select any remaining
access technology.
Select the access technology called
LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50 MHz.

6h. Add a Pico Site

Template
Select the Antenna Model called
Pico(Directional) Kathrein 840
10515 [2120.00 MHz]

Select the Propagation Model called

General Pico Model with Buildings
[2100 MHz].
Click OK to continue.

6i. Add a Pico Site

Template
Now all the access technologies,
antennas and propagation models
have been defined for our dualband pico site.
Click Build to generate this pico site
template configuration.

Automation

Manual

The project now has all the necessary data to proceed to AutoDesign the network. From this point
we can continue manually or we can run an automation sequence. Automation is recommended
especially for time consuming procedures and repetitive tasks.

Automation: Stages 7 through to Stages 8.

Manual: Stages 9 through to Stages 13.

7a. Run Automation

For standard processes such as
AutoDesign, by running an
Automation sequence, you can
queue each task to run sequentially
in the background.
The following will perform all the
manual tasks described in
subsequent slides: generate
candidates, select and activate
candidates (ASP), optimize the
network resulting from the selected
candidates (ACP), and run network
statistics.
To see the list of tasks that will be
run you can select the particular
automation sequence under
Automation > Edit Automation
Collection

7b. Run Automation

For the purpose of this tutorial we
will build a pico network for
capacity and our design driver will
be given by the highest frequency
(smaller cell radius).
To start, select Automation from
the Process Shortcut toolbar.
Then select the AutoDesign driver,
in this case: AutoDesign Pico [LTEFDD: 2125, 2127.50 MHz] Network.

8a. Results
When finished, Overture displays all
the generated candidates.
All the AutoDesign partial and final
results will be shown in the set of
tables. For example, the Site Plan
table contains information about
the selected candidates and their
performance based on the
objectives of the design.

8b. Results
To only visualize the selected sites
on the map, link the Select and
View boxes by clicking on the icon
between them.
To select only the active sites select
All Active on the drop down Select
box.
Additional selection options, such
as invert selection or selection
within Analysis Region and Analysis
Target, can be accessed from the
button bar.

8c. Results
Out of 197 original candidates
generated by Overture, 25 dualband pico sites of two sectors have
been selected.
Through the Automation process,
these selected sites have also been
optimized to Maximize Pops with
RSRP+SINR Satisfied [LTE-FDD:
2125, 2127.50 MHz, Pico]
A set of statistics have also been
generated as part of the automated
process. See for example the tab
CSE per Radio with RSRP+SINR
Satisfied [LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50
MHz, Pico]

9a. Generate Candidates

(Manual Process)
(The next few slides show how to manually
perform each step of the AutoDesign process
run as an automated set of tasks on the
previous sections, Stages 7 to 8)

Select on the Process Shortcut

toolbar the Site Candidate
Generators option
Select Pico > Generate Dual-band
Pico Candidates

9b. Generate Candidates

(Manual Process)
For this particular tutorial we will
use the default candidate name.
Each one of the generated
candidates will be named as:
Candidate Name Prefix + Number
Once you click OK Overture will
download and calculate all the
necessary information to identify
the volume and location of
candidates to generate according to
the pico design objectives.

9c. Generate Candidates

(Manual Process)
Once Overture finishes, you will be
able to see all the generated
candidates on the map

Notice Overture has generated 197

two-sectored pico sites

10a. Categorize
Candidates (Manual Process)
Next, we will categorize those sites
by Analysis Target
Select on the Process Shortcut
toolbar the Site Categorizes option
Select Categorize Selected Sites by
Analysis Target
Categorize works on selected sites
so (for this particular tutorial) make
sure all the candidates are selected

10b. Categorize
Candidates (Manual Process)
At the end of the categorization,
Overture will produce a table with
information per site and
categorization criteria
This particular tutorial contains an
unique Analysis Target, but this can
be a useful feature when the whole
analysis is run on multiple polygons

11a. Site Planer (ASP)

(Manual Process)
The Site Planer works on selected
sites so (for this particular tutorial)
make sure all the candidates are
selected
Select on the Process Shortcut
toolbar the Automatic Site Planers
option
Select Pico > Pops > LTE-FDD: 2125,
2127.50 MHz > Start Selecting Sites
by Pops with RSRP+ SINR Satisfied

11b. Site Planer: Results

(Manual Process)
Overture will display two tables:

The Impact Analysis table will

show the individual
performance of each site when
no other candidates are active

The Site Plan table will show the

ASP result. These are the sites
selected by Overture based on
the network design objective (in
this case: Pops with RSRP+SINR
Satisfied).

11c. Site Planer: Results

(Manual Process)
As a result of the ASP, the selected
candidate sites will be active
For this particular example, only 25
out of 197 initial candidates are
required to meet the design
objective. These are now active
sites
You can directly select and visualize
them from the button bar

12a. Cell Planer (ACP)

(Manual Process)
The Cell Planer works on selected
sites so (for this particular tutorial)
make sure all the active sites are
selected
Select on the Process Shortcut
toolbar the Automatic Cell Planers
option
Select Start Optimizing Pico Sites
[LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50 MHz, Pico]

12b. Cell Planer: Results

(Manual Process)
Overture will display two tables:

The RF Parameter Changes table

will show the list of changes
performed by the optimizer.
Each row will display the old and
new value of the optimized
parameter (in this case, it is
azimuth)

The RF Parameter Performance

table will show the % Change on
the design objective after
optimization

13. Statistics (Manual Process)

Select on the Process Shortcut
toolbar the Statistics option
Select LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50 MHz
> Pico > Calculate CSE per Radio
with RSRP+ SINR Satisfied

14a. Display RSRP:

AWS B+C Band (2127.50
MHz)
Browse the All Maps list and find
RSRP [LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50
MHz].
Right-click and select Display Map.
Overture will generate the RSRP
layer and display on the map.

14b. Display RSRP:

AWS B+C Band (2127.50
MHz)
The RSRP [LTE-FDD: 2125, 2127.50
MHz] is shown.

14c. Display RSRP:

700 Upper C Band (750.00
MHz)
Browse the All Maps list and find
RSRP [LTE-FDD: 5220, 750.00 MHz]

Right-click and select Display Map

Overture will generate the RSRP
layer and display on the map

14d. Display RSRP:

700 Upper C Band (750.00
MHz)
The RSRP [LTE-FDD: 5220, 750.00
MHz] is shown.