7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.
Preface i Document scope This document is aimed for people familiarizing themselves with 7signal Sapphire measurements and the use of 7signal Sapphire Loupe. Case studies are included to introduce typical analysis paths of wlan network quality shortcomings. This document does not describe how the software operates or how to configure testing. The actual use of various 7signal Sapphire applications is explained in detail in 7signal Sapphire Carat User Guide.
Table of Contents ii 1 Loupe.................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Loupe login ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Loupe at a first-glance ................................................................................................ 1 2 Using Loupe ...........................................................................
Table of Contents iii 13.3 Indicator Content Type ............................................................................................22 13.4 Service level content type, SLA ................................................................................23 13.5 Alarm Content Type ................................................................................................25 14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe ....................................................................................
1 Loupe 1 Sapphire Loupe is a browser application for viewing test results and saving the test results. Open Loupe in a browser. Type the Loupe server’s IP address into the Address field. Loupe uses the same user database as Sapphire Carat. An encrypted connection is used to transmit the username and password. 1.1 Loupe login Login and authentication is similar to the management GUI, 7signal Sapphire Carat.
1 Loupe 2 The main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are grouped in tabs as well as other relevant report information such as visual tests and events. The tabs are following: Summary TP/SNR Client Spectrum Alarm SLA Network Data rates TOP 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
2 Using Loupe Sapphire Carat gathers and aggregates into a database the results obtained from running the chosen test profiles. Loupe enables you to view the results and make comparisons between different devices, tests, and time spans. The charts displayed on startup give a simplified view to the status of the networks. Loupe offers many features for getting more detailed views. Building a Result View: 1. Decide which group of indicators you want to view, for example Network 2.
2 Using Loupe 4 Area NW AP APEye APEyeAnt Eye EyeAnt Dest DestAP ChEye ChEyeAnt QoSAP Link All Description Network level Access point level One single managed access point of a single monitoring station One single managed access point of a single monitoring station in particular antenna direction Single Eye An individual antenna in a chosen Eye The Sonar to be tested The access point to be tested with relation to Sonars An individual channel in a chosen Eye An individual antenna and channel in a chosen
2 Using Loupe 5 For the convenience of the user, the channels are separated by the IEEE 802.11 standards. The support is for IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11a and IEEE 802.11n. The channel list is dynamic is based on the monitoring station country code setting. For example, one monitoring station located in Finland would show channel 13 while a monitoring station in the same organization but located in USA would not show that channel. 2.
2 Using Loupe 6 3. Display method of charts a. Single KPI chart – Each KPI displayed as a separate chart b. Single Area chart – All chosen KPIs in a single chart Note! A “single area chart” should only contain measurements that have the same unit of measurement, such as millisecond. 4. Moving average a. Period count – the number of previous values to include into the calculation of a moving average. F.ex.
3 Tabs 7 Below the time selectors there are numerous tabs. The tabs divide KPIs by category and to some extent follow the principle that the more abstract, derived or calculated high-level indicators are on the left and the detailed, accurate and raw-level indicators are on the right. As the amount of information is enormous and the displays may be limited, many of the elements in the user interface may be expanded / collapsed. 3.
4 Summary 8 SLA Compliance KPI To summarize the health of the network element, Loupe analyses multiple KPIs and based on that computes one single value that is called the ‘SLA Compliance KPI’. The network element may be either an access point or a link. There has to be a SLA group defined and bound to the network element. The measurement value averages all the KPIs in the SLA group.
4 Summary The Summary tab contains also pie charts on some elementary KPIs. By default, they are now visible but the pie charts are available by selecting the wlan network name. When expanded, Loupe displays a chart showing the general status of the monitored network from the last 7 days.
5 Service Level Agreement, SLA 10 The service level agreement (SLA) view contains KPIs that display network functionality and availability as traffic lights. The default limits are set by 7signal, and the values are based on real-life situations. You can modify the values to conform to the service level agreement currently being used. The values can be modified in the Sapphire Carat’s management interface.
5 Service Level Agreement, SLA 11 5.2 SLA table active cells To better understand the resulting color-code the cells in the table are active. By clicking a cell one gets immediate information on data that lead to the cell color. In case further analysis is needed, the link “Related KPIs” pop additional KPI charts up. The charts show a set of KPIs on time-interval that has shown on SLA table row expanded with one unit earlier and later.
6 TP/SNR 12 This view has a single chart, which displays the relationship between the measured throughput speed and the signal to noise ratio of a given access point. Measurements usually take into account only the theoretical maximum throughput speed. Since the measurements vary by network and hardware, the view instructs the user to modify the parameters. Modify the parameters directly in the view. The picture below is an example on how to interpret the TP /SNR chart.
7 Network Performance Indicatros 13 The KPIs in the Network tab are divided into four groups: Accessibility, Availability, Quality, Volume and Active test failures. Apply time intervals – You can limit the time of day, from which the measurements are included. F.ex. set time interval to 7:00 - 18:00 to ignore the results from night time. Scale Y-axis – You can set the minimum and maximum values of the y-axis to be the same in all of the charts.
7 Network Performance Indicatros “Expand all” is there to show all KPIs at once. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 The Network tab contains the highest number of KPIs of all tabs. Therefore check-boxes are added to enable control of visibility. Both top-horizontal and vertical check-boxes control the same set of KPIs.
8 Client Indicators The Client tab contains charts that indicate network functionality and the network quality as experienced by the user. You can view the results by user (i.e. by client) by choosing the Client level from the Topology view. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
9 Codec Indicators 16 This view displays the distribution of codecs used during the active tests. The codec used indicates the data transfer rate (Mbps). The use of small codecs is a sign of functionality problems in the network. In a properly functioning network, the maximum data transfer rate is used almost continuously. When the Active test measurement type is used, the picture displays the codecs of each access point selected in the Topology view.
10 Spectrum 17 The spectrum analysis is an interactive troubleshooting tool in Sapphire, and is most useful when used in Carat. Loupe displays the spectrum analysis results from the chosen time span to assist you in continuous monitoring. In all of the spectrum charts, the swept frequency band lays on the x-axis. The band constitutes of the 256 WLAN subcarrier channels that are mapped to frequencies and WLAN channels, as described in below table: Subcarrier Frequency 36 2.412 51 2.417 66 2.422 81 2.
11 Top 18 This view displays the extremes – the highest or lowest KPI values. The current value extremes of a KPI can be seen in this view even when they are far from the alarm limits. This enables you to react to worrying developments and trends before they cause actual problems. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
12 Alarms This view lists the alarms activated by Sapphire. Alarms are handled in Sapphire Carat. Loupe simply offers an alternative view and reporting functionality. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 20 Loupe is an interactive tool for studying network phenomena of interest and for in-depth investigation of problems. Reports in standard, easy-to-interpret formats are available to support routine monitoring. The reports take almost the same form as the indicator view of Loupe, and subscribing for a report is similar to using Loupe. Subscription must, however, be done via the Carat management interface.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 21 In the “Report items” area: 8. Configure the items to be included in the report by selecting “Add” a. this starts content-dependent workflows, instructions below 9. Specify the send time a. recurrence is weekly or monthly i. Field “When to send” is dynamic and let’s one choose either numerous week days or a day in month b. circadian time has 30 minutes resolution in a drop-down menu 10. “Generate preview” creates a report and opens it is a viewer tool 11.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 13.3 Indicator Content Type 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Select the desired KPI by left-clicking it in the right-hand pane Right-click and select “Add KPI” in the submenu Repeat steps 2–3 until all desired KPIs are in the left pane Select the Chart type Select the method for displaying the measurement series in Chart content Select the display method a. Data Table, Aggregation Chart 7.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 23 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 8. Select the method of aggregation in Area aggreation a. Note that maybe not all Loupe aggregations are available in the report 9. From the hierarchical tree presented, select the access points or networks to be included in the report by ticking the check-boxes 10. Click “Next” to continue to “Report item time configuration” 11. Select the time interval for the report a.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 24 The following sequence happens in “Report item topology configuration” pane. It open after choosing SLA type of report item in the previous dialog. 1. Choose the appropriate aggregation in the drop-down box. 2. 3. Select the elements in the topology tree 4. Select the SLA group to be applied. Available SLA groups are in a drop-down menu on the right of the topology element name. 5. Repeat steps 2-3 until all desired elements are bound to SLA groups. 6.
13 Continuos And Automated Reporting 1. Select the desired alarm by left-clicking it in the right-hand pane 2. Right-click the alarm and select “Add alarm” in the submenu a. One may remind oneself about the alarm by selecting “Description” 3. Repeat steps 2–3 until all of the desired alarms are in the left pane 4. Select “Next” to continue to “Report item topology configuration” (pictured above) 5. Select the method of aggregation in Area aggregation a.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 26 14.1 Typical pattern A typical troubleshooting workflow is as follows: 1. When logging in, you discover that there is an unusually large amount of failed wireless connection availability tests (AC001). 2. Go to the SLA tab and choose the access point or network where the problem has occurred. From the pull-down menu, choose the last 7 days as the time span and set the averaging period to 1 hour. These settings bring out the times of the failed tests in more detail. 3.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 27 Check also these KPIs: KPI ID AV001 Name AP beacon availability QURS002 AP signal level at Eye QURS003 AP SNR at Eye AV010 AP Channel information QURS004 AP retransmission rate TR003 QURS001 Client count per AP Channel noise level at Eye and Spectrum-view Description The beacon availability presents if AP has been active and achievable The measured AP signal level and SNR presents the radio environment variations The measured AP signal level and SNR presen
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 28 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 The SNR declines dramatically during the night-time Wireless problem; Location and source ? The signal levels of neighbor APs (QURS002) The measured AP signal level and SNR indicate variations in the radio environment Channel noise level / Antenna (QURS001) The channel noise level together with Spectrum-view indicates possible interference issues and locations.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 29 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 Channel noise level / Antenna 6, channels 1-6 (QURS001) The channel noise level together with Spectrum-view indicates possible interference issues and locations. Spectrum-view / Antenna 6 (QURS001) The channel noise level together with Spectrum-view indicates possible interference issues and locations. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 30 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 Case 1 summary The attach success rate declination is also visible in other test results. Attach times increase, the IP retrieval success rate declines, the FTP and VoIP test success rate declines etc. The strong SNR declination and noise level increase indicates wireless problems. The problem is caused by strong interference which is active during the night-times.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 31 The network SLA table shows the performance situation of all the APs The table presents downlink performance problems during the working days.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe Data rates Client detailed statistics DL codec distribution TR003 Client count per AP the radio environment variations E.g.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 33 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 34 The network SLA table shows the performance situation of the 5 APs. The table presents downlink & uplink performance problems during the measurement period.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe VoIP MOS downlink (listen) & VoIP MOS uplink (talk) QUAP015 VoIP MOS packet loss QUAP001 & QUAP002 FTP DL throughput & FTP UL throughput QUIP005 & QUIP006 FTP DL packet size & FTP UL packet size QURS002 & QURS003 Client AP signal level at Eye & AP SNR at Eye Client detailed statistics Data rates DL & UL codec distribution TR003 Client count per AP The VoIP MOS KPI presents detailed information about VoIP MOS variation in the network.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 36 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 AP Channel information (AV010) 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe QUIP005 - FTP DL packet size The FTP DL packet size is changing between 100 and1500 bytes. FTP UL packet size (QUIP006) The FTP DL packet size is changing between 80 and 1500 bytes. 7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, +358 40 777 7611, info@7signal.com, www.7signal.com 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.
14 How To Troubleshoot Using Loupe 38 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 Client detailed statistics (Client) E.g. Client retransmission rate and client packet size presents also the end-user performance. Summary The end-user downlink performance problems are caused by other Wi-Fi APs. All the APs are changing radio channel automatically, trying to avoid interference caused by using the same channels. The uplink performance problems are caused by high AP interference.
15 KPI Glossary 39 KPI ID Name Availability Description Unit Access point beacon availability Measures beacon signal transmission from each monitored AP. The KPI is the relative amount of received and expected beacons. % AV002 Internet connection availability Measures internet connection availability between a predefined server (Sonar) and an Eye. The Eye pings (32B) the target server three times. If all pings are successful, internet is available. Otherwise internet service is not available.
15 KPI Glossary 40 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 VoIP upload test success rate Measures VoIP (MOS) upload completion rate. % QUAP001 FTP downlink throughput Measures downlink throughput in an FTP file transfer. Measures downlink throughput in an FTP file transfer. Mbit/s QUAP002 FTP uplink throughput Measures uplink throughput in an FTP file transfer. Measures uplink throughput in an FTP file transfer.
15 KPI Glossary 41 7signal Sapphire Loupe User Guide Release 3.0 QUIP005 Packet size, FTP downlink Packet size distribution in FTP downlink transfer test. Packet size distribution in FTP downlink transfer test. byte(s) QUIP006 Packet size, FTP uplink Packet size distribution in FTP uplink transfer test. byte(s) QUIP013 Packet size, HTTP downlink Packet size distribution in FTP uplink transfer test. Packet size distribution in FTP uplink transfer test.
15 KPI Glossary 42 Measures the average channel noise on the channel where the FTP upload test is done. Calculated as Signal level minus SNR. dBm QURT004 32B active RTT Measures the round trip time between Eye and Sonar server. The test uses a serie of pings to ping server 20 times with zero wait time between the pings. The calculation is done internally in Eye and the output of the test is average, 95% percentile, max and min values of RTT.
15 KPI Glossary 43 The average of all the used QoS-categories during AP traffic monitoring. QURS005 Client signal level at Eye Measures the signal power level of clients from the Eye point of view. Measures the signal power level of clients from the Eye point of view. dBm QURS006 Client signal to noise ratio (SNR) at Eye Measures the signal to noise ratio of clients from the Eye point of view. Measures the signal to noise ratio of clients from the Eye point of view.