What is a Drive Test?
Drive Test, as already mentioned, is the procedure to perform a test while driving. The vehicle does not really matter, you can do a drive test using a motorcycle or bicycle. What matters is the hardware and software used in the test.
- A notebook - or other similar device (1)
- with collecting Software installed (2),
- a Security Key - Dongle - common to these types of software (3),
- at least one Mobile Phone (4),
- one GPS (5),
- and a Scanner – optional (6).
The following is a schematic of the standard connections.
The main goal is to collect test data, but they can be viewed / analyzed in real time (Live) during the test, allowing a view of network performance on the field. Data from all units are grouped by collection software and stored in one or more output files (1).
- GPS: collecting the data of latitude and longitude of each point / measurement data, time, speed, etc.. It is also useful as a guide for following the correct routes.
- MS: mobile data collection, such as signal strength, best server, etc ...
- SCANNER: collecting data throughout the network, since the mobile radio is a limited and does not handle all the necessary data for a more complete analysis.
The minimum required to conduct a drive test, simplifying, is a mobile device with a software to coleect data and a GPS. Currently, there are already cell phones that do everything. They have a GPS, as well as a collection of specific software. They are very practical, but are still quite expensive.
