This is my first post but ive been reading (and finding useful tips for over 10 years)
My question is about Nokia PM files:
I received a MRBTS PM file recently (Element type = MRBTS), as sample to set up our 5G project. I find a lot of counters are missing, basic ones (a whole category like NCELA for NR cell utilization counters) but it actually has some other NR cell counters (i.e SRB3D for signaling RAB success/attempts) plus many other non RAN counters (IP, TX…)
I believe, since MRBTS is an umbrella of 4g + 5g, that there must be an additional file for the only 5g node (with fileSender ElementType = NRBTS) and maybe the split of counters amongst them follows similar logic on how 3gpp 5g separates between CU and DU in 5g. However we dont want to push the customer unless we are certain
However we dont want to push the customer, for additional sample file, unless we are certain
What do you think? Any experience with Nokia PM files??
You’re right that MRBTS (Multi-Radio Base Transceiver Station) is Nokia’s umbrella element type that represents the combined 4G/5G node. In a Nokia AirScale deployment, the PM data is typically split across multiple file types depending on how the network is configured:
MRBTS – the top-level node, covers common/shared counters, transport (IP, TX), and some cross-technology metrics
LNBTS / LNCEL – LTE-specific counters (the 4G layer)
NRBTS / NRCEL – NR-specific counters (the 5G layer, gNB level and cell level)
Your observation about missing NCELA counters is a strong indicator that those counters are being reported in a separate NRBTS-scoped PM file. Nokia’s 5G PM counter split does loosely follow the 3GPP CU/DU logical separation — cell utilization counters (like NR cell load, PRB utilization, etc.) tend to land at the NRCEL/NRBTS level, while some signaling counters (like SRB3) can appear at the MRBTS level depending on vendor implementation choices.
Bottom line: Yes, you almost certainly have a missing NRBTS PM file. The fact that you’re seeing some NR counters (SRB3D) in the MRBTS file but not the full NRCEL category is classic behavior for a split collection setup.
What I’d suggest before going back to the customer:
Check the measCollec or fileHeader XML attributes in your sample file — the measObjLdn values will show you which managed objects are in scope, and if you see no NRBTS-x/NRCEL-x distinguished names, that confirms a separate file exists
Ask your customer specifically for the NRBTS element type PM file — framing it as “we noticed the collection appears split, could you share the NRBTS-scoped file as well?” is perfectly reasonable and professional, not pushy