Fault Analysis

FAULT ANALYSIS

Table 1 Summary of Alarm Information

Category Alarm Name Level Possible Causes Solutions

Storage space for
Storage space for charging bills less
charging bills less than 3 Add additional hard disk space
than 200M
200M
Storage space for
Storage space for charging bills less
charging bills less than 2 Add additional hard disk space
than 100M
100M
Storage space for
Storage space for charging bills less
charging bills less than 1 Add additional hard disk space
than 50M
50M
Storage fault
Bill data disk write failed Bill data disk write failed in bill
1 Check the disk status and space.
in bill server server
Insufficient tape space of
2 Insufficient tape space of bill server Replace the tape.
bill server
Abnormal tape device in
2 Abnormal tape device in bill server Check the tape device.
bill server
Insufficient space in the Delete the old statistics data, or
Insufficient space in the performance
performance statistics 4 add additional space for the
statistics database
database database.
Trunk system Digital trunk control unit Board is not inserted or is powered Insert the board and power it
3
failure fault off. on.
Trunk system 1) Out of frame.
failure 2) Out of multi-frame.
3) Out of frame at the opposite end. This is the fault in transmission.
Digital trunk PCM alarm 4 4) Out of multi-frame at the opposite Check the transmission or
end. execute self-loop.
5) TS0 is of all 1s;
6) TS16 is of all 1s.
Digital transmission The transmission is interrupted or the Check the transmission or
3
alarm board is faulty. board.
Check whether it is deactivated
No.7 circuit non-service No.7 circuit is out-of-service
4 manually. Check whether the
alarm (deactivated).
related PCM is normal.
SCCP alarm 4 No.7 signaling SCCP is abnormal. Check whether the No.7 circuit
is normal.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 1

 Fault Analysis

Category Alarm Name Level Possible Causes Solutions

Signaling point Check whether the DT board
unreachable alarm where the link is located is
4 The signaling link is blocked.
normal. Check whether the
PCM is normal.
Fault of peripheral 4
Board is not inserted or is powered Insert the board and power it
environmental & power
off. on.
detection board (PEPD)
Sensor has detected smoke in the
Remove the cause of the
Smoke alarm 1 environment and the signal is sent to
smoke.
Environmental PEPD.
fault The environmental temperature is out
Temperature alarm 4 Adjust the temperature.
of range.
The environmental humidity is out of
Humidity Alarm 4 Adjust the humidity.
range.
Sensor has detected that someone
Infrared Alarm 1 Check the security measures.
entered the equipment room illegally.
The monitor cable is interrupted
between MON monitor board and
Check the monitor cable. Check
Power B alarm 2 Power B board, or Power B board is
whether the power supply is on.
not installed and the communication
is interrupted.
Power B switch shutoff The fault disappears when the
4 The switch is shut down in power B.
Power fault alarm switch is turned on.
The monitor cable is interrupted
between the monitor board and Power Check the monitor cable. Check
Power P fault alarm 4
P, or the power supply fails and the whether the power supply is on.
communication is interrupted.
Cooling system of power Something is wrong with the
4 Check whether the fan is faulty.
P alarm ventilated system of Power P
Over/under-voltage happens to the 5V
Power fault Voltage alarm 2 Replace Power B.
output of Power B.
Clock fault Loss of reference for over SYCK has lost the reference for over
4 Check the clock source.
10 minutes 10 minutes.
Loss of reference over 24 SYCK has lost the reference for over
3 Check the clock source.
hours 24 hours.
All SYCK references All the SYCK references are
3 Check the clock source.
faulty abnormal.
All CKI references faulty 3 All the CKI references are abnormal. Check the clock source.
Some CKI references 3 Some CKI references are abnormal. Check the clock source.
faulty

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 2

 Fault Analysis

Category Alarm Name Level Possible Causes Solutions

Clock synchronization The synchronization clock board Insert the board and power it
board alarm SYCK resets, or the board is not on.
3
installed and the communication is
interrupted.
Clock aging alarm of the 4 The clock board degrades after a Replace the SYCK board.
clock synchronization period of operation. The D/A
board conversion is out of range.
Clock drive board
2 The board is powered off. Power it on.
(CKDR) alarm
The clock interface board CKI runs Insert the board and power it
Clock interface board
2 abnormally. Or the board is not on. Check whether the clock
alarm
installed or is powered off. source is faulty.
The DT board that connects multi-
modules resets, or two MPMP Check whether the boards are
Inter-module
3 communication boards are unplugged, normal. Check whether DSN is
communication blocked
which leads to the communication normal.
interrupted among modules.
Communication
MPMP communication
fault 3 The board is powered off. Power it on.
board faulty
MPPP communication
3 The board is powered off. Power it on.
board fault
No.7 communication
3 The board is powered off. Power it on.
board failure
COMM board monitoring cable is not
connected or the board is unplugged,
causing interrupted communication: Check whether the monitor
1) Optical board 8MHz clock error cable, synchronization clock or
Optical interface board
3 2) Optical board 8kHz clock error optical fiber are connected
(OIB) alarm
Communication 3) Optical board link fault correctly. Check whether the
fault 4) Optical board no laser optical board is powered on.
5) FBI error rate > 10-6
6) FBI out-of-frame
Interruption of
Interruption of communication Check the network cable, alarm
communication between 1
between the alarm server and MP server and MP.
the alarm server and MP
Control system Startup alarm in The alarm will disappear after
2 The active MP is starting.
fault active/standby MP the startup.
Standby MP fault 2 The MP is powered off. Check whether the standby MP
The program of standby MP does not is normal.
start.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 3

 Fault Analysis

Category Alarm Name Level Possible Causes Solutions

Communication blocked 2 Check whether the active and
The communication is interrupted
between active and MPs are running normally.
between the active and standby MPs.
standby MPs Check the network cable.
Fault of insufficient MP The remaining space is less than Delete useless files to release
3
disk space 100M in the disk. the disk space.
Fault happens when MP charging bill
MP saving bill fault 2 Check the running status of MP.
is saved.
MP bus fault 2 The backplane is faulty. Replace the backplane.
Re-synchronize data after MP
MP data loading fault 3 MP resets, data synchronization error.
becomes normal.
MP backplane power Check Power B and the
1 MP backplane power supply fault
supply fault backplane.
Fault happens in the operation of
Check whether DSN is faulty. If
Switching network fault 3 active/standby DSN switching
so, replace it.
network.
Switching network board One board of the active and standby Insert the DSN boards and
4
fault DSNs is unplugged or is powered off. power them on.
Both active and standby DSN are
Switching network Insert the DSN boards and
1 unplugged and the communication is
double fault power them on.
interrupted.
The monitor cable to monitor board is
Check the monitor cable and
Network drive board not connected or the board is not
3 see if the board is installed and
Control system alarm inserted, which causes communication
powered.
fault interruption.
Shared memory board
3 The board is powered off. Power it on.
fault
Check the MON board, or
MON board is not installed or in fault,
MON board fault 3 check or replace the signal
and the communication is interrupted.
cable.
Resource fault DTMF overload alarm 4 DTMF overload. Add DTMF resource.
The dual-tone number-receiving SP is
DTMF control unit fault 3 Add or replace ASIG board.
running abnormally.
The dual-tone number-receiving board
DTMF board fault 4 Add or replace ASIG board.
is running abnormally.
All DTMF resources All the dual-tone number-receiving
1 Add or replace ASIG board.
faulty resources are faulty.
It is required to add additional
MFC overload alarm 4 MFC overload happens.
MFC resource.
MFC control unit faulty 3 The compelled multi-frequency SP is Add or replace ASIG board.
running abnormally.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 4

 Fault Analysis

Category Alarm Name Level Possible Causes Solutions

The compelled multi-frequency board
MFC board faulty 4 Add or replace ASIG board.
is running abnormally.
All the compelled multi-frequency
All MFC resources faulty 2 Add or replace ASIG board.
resources are faulty.
All the tone boards are faulty and the Check the running status of the
All tone resources faulty 1
communication is interrupted. tone board or replace it.
Tone board faulty 3 The tone board is running abnormally. Add or replace ASIG board.
Tone board sub-unit One tone unit in the tone board is
4 Add or replace ASIG board.
faulty abnormal.

Locating Hardware Faults

The hardware faults mean those faults caused by the board or other hardware
devices problems. We will begin from the fault symptom, analyze the possible
causes, locate the fault correctly and then solve the problems.
1. Fault 1:
Symptom: MP cannot work normally after power-on, and the running indicator
is flashing slowly abnormally.
Locating: The MP cannot get started properly after power-on possibly because
the MP software or hardware has problem.
(1) The hardware problem may be: Hard disk damage causing unidentifiable
hard disk, or RAM bar loose causing failed self-check.
(2) The software problem may be: DOS damage, incorrect setting of the batch
processing file, or incorrect system parameters.
When handling an MP fault, connect the video card, keyboard and monitor to
the MP, and then handle it by observing the start of the MP.
(1) If the self-check fails during the startup, it is mostly because of hardware
fault. Disconnect the power supply, unplug and plug the RAM bar again. Check
the cable connections. If necessary, compare it with a normal running MP
whether the cable connections are correct. If the problems cannot be solved yet,
replace it with a new MP.
(2) If the MP self-check passes and it indicates that the DOS boot fails, it means
that the DOS is lost. Connect the MP to a normal PC and reinstall the DOS6.22.
Then, install the real-time OS of the MP.
(3) If it cannot enter the real-time OD after the DOS booting, it means that the
OS is damaged. Connect a normal MP to a normal PC and copy its real-time OS

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 5

 Fault Analysis

wholly to the PC. Then, connect the abnormal MP to the PC and copy the real-
time OS from the PC. Modify the related configuration file.
(4) If the real-time OS starts up normally but the MP cannot start up normally,
it is possibly because the batch processing file or system parameter
configuration is incorrect. Check as follows: Whether the version file name is
correct in the batch processing file, whether parameter configuration of the
network card is correct, whether a repeated IP address is used, and whether the
old data are not emptied.
2. Fault 2:
Symptom: The communications between the active and standby MPs are
interrupted.
Locating: In normal operation, the active and standby MPs run at the same time.
The running indicators of both are flashing synchronously. When the
communications between the active and standby MPs are blocked, they cannot
communicate with each other normally. This will cause error in the
active/standby changeover and affect the normal operation of the system. The
fault cause may standby MP faulty, network cable or network faulty.
(1) Check whether the MP is powered on, that is, if the power indicator is on.
(2) Check whether the standby MP communication is normal on the O&M
console.
(3) Check the network through the O&M console whether the communication is
normal between the server and the active/standby MP.
(4) If you are not sure, please contact the local ZTE office for help.
3. Fault 3:
Symptom: The COMM board (MPMP, MPPP and STB) cannot run normally.
Locating: The power failure of the COMM board usually causes this alarm.
(1) Check whether the COMM board is inserted securely or in good contact.
Unplug and plug it again to verify that.
(2) Check whether the background configuration data are correct.
(3) Check whether the BE cable is correctly connected and whether the
connectors are secure. (The BE cable is the connection wire between the
COMM board and the DSNI board at the MP level).
(4) Check whether the cable itself has any problem. Try to replace it with a new
cable.
(5) If all the COMM boards cannot run normally, check whether the first pair of
DSNI boards in the third shelf is inserted securely or in good contact, and

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 6

 Fault Analysis

whether the X3 and X4 jumpers are set as the MP level.

(6) Try to replace the MP-level DSNI board.
4. Fault 4:
Symptom: A PP (DTI, ASIG or others) cannot run normally.
Locating:
(1) Check whether the board is inserted securely or in good contact. Try to
unplug and plug again the board.
(2) If the running indicator keeps flashing quickly, check whether the BOOT
chip program of the PP unit is correct. If not, try to burn the program again.
(3) Check whether the PP version program is correct. If not, reload it in the
background version management.
(4) Check whether the BD cable is correctly connected and whether the
connectors are secure. (The BD cable is the connection wire between the
DTI/ASIG board and the SP-level DSNI board).
(5) Check whether the cable itself has any problem. Try to replace it with a new
cable.
(6) Check whether the background configuration data are correct and whether
the HW line configuration are consistent with the practical connections.
(7) Replace the faulty board with a normal same type board. If it is ok, the
board might be damaged.
5. Fault 5:
Symptom: The board (DSN, DTI or others) is powered off.
Locating:
(1) The board power-off may be caused by inconsistent PP versions in the
active and standby MPs: In case of active/standby MP changeover, the MP
checks the PP versions of every board and finds the PP version is not consistent
with that of the MP. Then, the MP will request the version from the background
129 server. When the version is sent to the MP, the MP will load the PP
version. Now it will result in power-off due to the version reloading.
(2) The board power-off may be caused by the loss of system clock: If the
external clock source of the SYCK deteriorates seriously as a result of some
reason, such as grass causing the fast capture mode of SYCK, the clock
adjusting coefficient will increase. After the upper-level clock becomes stabile,
the SYCK clock adjusting coefficient cannot be resumed in a short time since it
is still large, so the board will keep the fast capture status for a long time, and it
is hard to enter the tracing status. Now, the loss of system clock will cause the

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 7

 Fault Analysis

power-off of the net board, DTI board and other boards.

6. Fault 6:
Symptom: The SYCK board cannot trace the external clock source for a long
time.

Locating:
(1) If the SYCK is in a free running state, first view whether there is a clock
reference on the background alarming diagram. If no, check whether the
connection wire of the clock input reference is incorrect.
(2) If there is a clock reference, check whether the SYCK is in the self-selected
running status. If not, set the SYCK as the self-selected running status.
(3) In addition, choose different input references for observation to exclude the
input of some poor quality reference.
(4) If the SYCK board is always in the fast capture status, check whether the
upper-level clock signal quality is relatively poor or there is any level-2 clock
tracing the level-3 clock.
7. Fault 7:
Symptom: Error code alarm frequently occurs on the FBI board.
Locating:
(1) Change over the FBI boards. If the status resumes normal, it means that the
original FBI board has problems and should be replaced.
(2) Check whether the hardware jumper “Balance out/in” switch on the FBI
board is set correctly.
(3) Check whether the slot that of the FBI board located and the connector,
including optical fiber, have any damage or are loose.
(4) Check whether the active SYCK board on the module is in the tracing
status. If the active SYCK board is in the fast capture status but the standby
board is in the tracing status, the fault will disappear after the changeover of the
SYCK board. The normal operation of the FBI board requires excellent
synchronous clock. If the SYCK board is not in the tracing status, its clock
output might be in an unstable status, resulting in the FBI board clock unstable
and error codes. If the FBI board is connected with two modules with clocks
asynchronous, this alarm may also occur.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 8

 Fault Analysis

8. Fault 8:
Symptom: All alarm indicators in the alarm box are on, while there is no alarm
displayed in the fault management.
Locating:
(1) Check whether the ALARM.EXE process is running on the 129 server.
(2) If the alarm box is directly connected to the 129 server through a network
card, check if the net network works properly, and observe whether the
indicators on the network card are on, and whether they are flashing when there
are data transmitting (the network wire should be a crossover cable.)
(3) If the alarm box is connected to LAN through a HUB, check if there are
multiple 129 servers working simultaneously in the whole ZXG10 LAN, or
node 254 is occupied by another device (because node 254 is assigned to the
alarm box by default.)

Locating Signaling Faults

9. Fault 1:
Symptom: A signaling link is established with the peer office, but it can never
enter the service status.
Locating: To successfully establish requires several conditions in addition to the
normal hardware configuration of the STB board and trunk circuit boards.
(1) The signaling link codes (SLC) of the local office and the peer office are
consistent.
(2) The trunk circuit timeslot (TS) for the signaling link is consistent.
(3) The signaling point codes (SPC) assigned to the local office and the
opposite office should be correct.
There are several common used tools for judging whether a signaling link to an
associated office direction is in service state:
(1) Observe the STB board status: If the running indicator keeps flashing
rapidly and the link with the office direction is assigned in the first channel of
the STB board, the link is in the service status.
(2) MTP3 self-loop under the dynamic management: After making self loop
request, transfer data to the foreground, and use a self-loop line to self loop the
PCM of the link.
(3) Probe: Check the STATUS field in the foreground R_OFFICE table. If it is
0, it means that the office direction is through. If there is only one link with the
office direction, it means that the link is in the service status.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 9

 Fault Analysis

Troubleshooting:
1. Check at the local office whether the signaling point codes, signaling link
codes, and trunk time slots of both parties are matched. If correct, proceed to
the next step.
2. Observe whether the indicator of the trunk with the link is flashing rapidly. If
it is always on, check if the trunk line is reversely connected. If it is flashing
rapidly, proceed to the next step.
3. Self-loop the trunk circuits of this link, and self-loop the link in the dynamic
management. Then, transfer the data. Observe the link status. If it is in the
service status, it means that the local office has no problem.
4. Self-loop this trunk at the opposite office. If it is still in the service status, it
means that there is no problem with the transmission. If the problem is not
solved yet, contact the opposite office to check whether the data are configured
correctly.
10. Fault 2:
Symptom: The signaling links of some or all office directions are interrupted
suddenly.
Locating:
1. Find out the physical location of the disconnected links, and check if the
boards at the location (DTI, DTEC) have any transmission alarm. If such alarms
as “Loss of Frame”, “TS0 all 1” or “Loss of frame at opposite end” arises,
check the transmission system immediately. Check whether the 2M line of DDF
rack has been improperly modified. If there is no transmission alarm, no DTI
board power failure indication is seen in the fault management system and the
diagnosis test of the board is normal, please proceed to the next step.
2. Check whether the No. 7 MTP data of local office are correct at the O&M
console. Check the O&M log whether the No. 7 data have been modified. If the
modification has an error, please correct it at once; otherwise, please proceed to
the next step.
3. Check whether No. 7 MTP data of each foreground module are normal. Try
to check the related MTP data table through probe. If an abnormality is
detected, rename the abnormal data and save them in the foreground. Then,
synchronize the data between the foreground and the background on the basis
of the correctness of background data. If it cannot be recovered after the
synchronization, please proceed to the next step.
4. Contact the opposite office at once for assistant checks. If no problem is

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 10

 Fault Analysis

found at the opposite office, please proceed to the next step.

5. Connect an SS7 analyzer to the DDF rack to record the MTP layer signaling.
Perform the SS7 self-loop test in the original location, to check whether it is
normal and whether the link is stable in case of MTP3 self-loop. If the link
works properly, it can be basically determined that the local office has no fault.
For the fewer link disconnection in some office directions, if the
communication is not affected, the above handling procedure is applicable. For
the interruption of all links in vital office directions, start the following
emergency recovery procedures:
Emergency recovery procedure:
1. When the links in important office directions are interrupted, contact the
maintenance persons of ZTE for an emergency recovery scheme.
2. If the SS7 interruption is caused by other offices, be sure to request the
related offices for handling. If it is not sure that is opposite office has problem
and the fault cannot be located at once, start the following emergency solution
to handle the fault:
Emergency recovery solutions:
Perform the active/standby changeover for the boards such as DTI, DDSN and
DSNI to ensure the boards are communicating normally with the MP. Check the
communication links between modules to ensure the communication between
the modules is normal. If the link cannot be recovered yet, perform maintenance
changeover for MPs (No. 1, No. 2 and related peripheral modules) while
ensuring the active and standby MP data are normal. If the problem still cannot
be solved, perform hard reset for the NO.7 STB (by pressing the RESET key).
If the problem cannot be removed yet, perform the power-on restart for MPs
No. 1 and 2 and the related peripheral modules.

Issued by BRBRAITT Jabalpur in DEC09 11