Equipment and Collection Software
We have spoken enough of them. And what are the equipment and collection software recommended?
Well, that question is not easy. Let's make an analogy: What is the car that you will buy next year?
Got it? You'll have to check what your need, availability in the market, and the best cost benefit. You may even continue by walking.
And with the equipment and software to collect and post-processing of Drive Test is the same.
You should verify if it is compatible with your network, what are the differential costs and benefits, not least, support!
Remember that new tools and features are constantly emerging. Keep up to date on this subject.
Note: we could have listed here some equipment and software, for example, the one we use. But we prefer not to quote any of them, to avoid the risk of eventually being somewhat unfair.
But anyway, whatever the equipment, software and procedures used, the end result is always the same: reports and output files.
The vast majority of collection (or processing) software have in common some software which also makes analysis. These are called post-processing software. Each post-processing software has its specific analysis, and as data (measures) collected is huge, they can be of great help to solve very specific problems. These tools present the data in tables, maps and comparison charts that help in making decisions.
Regardless of what the post-processing software, all have the functionality to export data in tabular form, in text format or CSV.
This may be an attractive option, especially if you have own tools, developed specifically for your needs.
The following are examples of drive test data processed by Hunter GE Drive Test tool, created entirely in VBA.
One advantage of working with the data this way is that no matter how they were collected, but its content. So for example we can, even if a team has run half the route with a type of software, and another team of drive test shot the rest with another software, we can plot the data from our network on a single desktop. That's where for example the generic geo-referenced analyzing softwares enters, such as Mapinfo and Google Earth.
Another advantage is that the analysis available in Mapinfo and Google Earth has often a better use, since they are more familiar to most professionals, not just those who specific do/analyse Drive Test. This can be understood as not having to purchase multiple software licenses for post-processing: only one for cases of deeper analysis.
Conclusion
Today we had an overview of Drive Test, a common and efficient technique for evaluating the network.
Analyses made through the information of data collected in the field represent a true picture of network conditions, and can be used in decision making in several areas, from planning and design through optimization and maintenance of the system, always with the goal of maximizing Quality, Capacity and Coverage in the Network.
