Enhanced functionality in TEMS™ LinkPlanner 6.6

The latest release of TEMS LinkPlanner, Ericsson’s PC tool for microwave network planning, contains a number of advances that significantly improve usability and add new performance elements.

With the set of configuration templates introduced in TEMS LinkPlanner 6.6, transmission engineers can now define complex microwave networks in a new way. Until this release, TEMS LinkPlanner has modeled networks with one channel per path, but with the new configuration templates, several frequencies can be assigned to a single link. The far-end interference analysis has been updated to support the complex configurations and the interference result is presented in detail per link and channel. As in earlier releases, combined far-end Interference analysis is supported for both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint networks.

Path Profile functionality has been extended in several areas. Advanced reflex analysis of the Path Profile determines optimum antenna spacing, with calculations based on the ground, second Fresnel zone, and air layers. The Path Profile window shows path clearance analysis results. In addition, the antenna heights can be automatically optimized based on user-defined path clearance targets. Users can choose to optimize the antenna height for one antenna or for both antennas at the same time.

Network Diagnostics is a new method of network evaluation, analyzing configurations and showing both system and user-defined warnings in an information- rich window, with problem notifications shown at high, medium, or low severities. System warnings indicate the absence of essential equipment, and user-defined warnings can be set at minimum and maximum limits to reveal information regarding such parameters as coordinates, path lengths, antenna heights, output power, and
antenna gain.

Using a GIS designed by Ericsson especially for radio network planning, TEMS LinkPlanner 6.6 presents continuous
customized maps combining elevation, clutter, buildings, object areas, map text, vectors, rasters, and traffic data. In accordance with the tool’s constant refinement of mapping methodology, the new release allows map text to be used as a search option, increasing speed and ease of use. When, for example, the name of a village or other geographic feature is selected, that feature appears at the center of the map window being displayed. Map text is also shown in the Path Profile window and in the status bar of the map windows.