Improve service
experience withtroubleshooting
and analytics
Ericsson Expert Analytics:
Advanced troubleshooting
September 2023

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Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

Executive overview
5G presents more opportunities, higher expectations, andenticing challenges for the industry to solve and manage.
To be cost-efficient, 5G requires a transformation of network
operations. Exponentially growing data volumes and diverse
datasets across the network must be captured and analyzed in
the most effective way. Managing diverse data requirements
demands new tactics. And identification of issues affecting
the service experience for different use cases needs to happen
faster. For these reasons, traditional troubleshooting andanalytics strategies are not sustainable long term.
To successfully manage this growing complexity, subscriber
centricity for data-driven networks is essential. Ericsson Expert
Analytics: Advanced troubleshooting capabilities support
Communications Service Providers (CSPs) as they strive tomeet customers’ expectations for a superior service experience.
This document describes Ericsson Expert Analytics (EEA) with
an emphasis on advanced troubleshooting capabilities.

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Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

Ericsson’s advanced troubleshooting provides real-time,customer-centric insights with actionable intelligencefor network and subscriber monitoring. This advanced
troubleshooting and analytics use machine learning and AI
to maximum effect.
EEA’s advanced troubleshooting capabilities provide key
visibility into all dimensions, including network functions,slices, cell/locations, devices, and customers. Dedicated andconfigurable dashboards cover many different use cases,
including Mobile Broadband (MBB), Enhanced Mobile
Broadband (eMBB), Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), Voice overLTE (VoLTE), Voice over New Radio (VoNR) and massive
Internet of Things (IoT).
Together, these EEA capabilities:• Collect and process only what is needed when it isneeded to optimize the cloud resource footprint.
• Provide different criteria for data collection, sampling
and filtering depending on the use case.
• Support on-demand data collection targeting specificissues detected or initiated by the customer / user or an
external application.
• Employ anomaly detection techniques based on
Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI),linking them to the most probable cause (for exaple,
core, backhaul, radio, billing and the internet).
• Prioritize capital investment using key customer
attributes, such as revenue, value, type (for exaple, VIPor enterprise) and impacted customers.
• Perform advanced troubleshooting with multi-interface
correlation between cause, status and response codes,
and detailed protocol decoding of each Information
Element (IE) and related hex-codes.

EEA collects and correlates data in real time directly fromthe Network Functions (NFs). EEA relies on NF events as
the primary source of information whenever possible tominimize compute resources.
EEA troubleshooting capabilities collect and process datafrom Ericsson’s IMS and dual-mode 5G Core networks
and might be extended to cover 4G and 5G Radio AccessNetworks (RANs) as well as 4G Evolved Packet Core
(EPC) networks.

Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

4Market insights 5G is here!
The advent of 5G and the new cloud-native architecture
introduces a paradigm shift in best practices for datacollection, analytics, and advanced troubleshooting.
It allows for proactive subscriber-centric analytics toquickly troubleshoot and resolve service experience issues
more accurately and efficiently.
5G customer expectations are ever increasing andevolving. And because of the diverse customer base, we
are also seeing greater diversity in services and devices.
Considering 5G’s more complex, advanced capabilities,

establishing accurate customer-centric visibility is more
important than ever for 5G’s success.
While tools and processes in each dimension areimportant, in the end its customer centricity thatcombines all aspects, eliminates siloed activities andstreamlines overall efforts.
Customer centricity connects the dots. It enables proactive personalization, exploration of new revenue
segments and innovative business models.

User diversity
Expectations

Devicediversity

Business
opportunities

Services

Capabilities

Complexity

Figure 1. Customer centricity connects the dots.

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Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

Trends impacting network
analytics market evolution
Traditional ways of probing - including troubleshooting- are no longer feasible due to the higher complexity of
5G interfaces, the need to do troubleshooting on the
Kubernetes layer of the architecture, and the greater“elasticity” of the 5G network, which requires morereal-time monitoring. As 5G continues its march towards
cloud-native, software-driven architectures, analytics
solutions must also be cloud-native to support more
dynamic, automated data collection, filtering, andcorrelation. Integrating software probes into 5G Core isresulting in a significant market shift.
The telecom analytics area is moving from operationalsilos to an integrated stack incorporating analytics,
mainly in pursuit of “extreme automation” across the
network, resulting in the need for integrated solutions,both “vertically” and “horizontally”.
Vertical integration (across different levels of theuse case stack) means that pure service experiencemanagement is increasingly uncommon as
troubleshooting associated with analytics solutions
becomes increasingly important to CSPs.
Horizontal integration (across network domains) meansthat a significant market shift is now visible – fromdomain-specific, siloed assurance to multi-domain, endto-end assurance – correlating both service and network
data to gain a holistic, end-to-end network view from thecustomer’s perspective.
As network complexity increases, demand forstandardization intensifies. For example, 3GPP has
introduced the Network Data Analytics Function(NWDAF) and Management Data Analytics Function(MDAF). These aim to drive alignment between thearchitecture and delivery of analytics and closed-loop
automation use cases. O-RAN has also introduced newinterfaces that enable QoE (Quality of Experience)
optimization and per user equipment traffic steering.

Ericsson’s approach
Ericsson Expert Analytics applies subscriber monitoring
to Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core network to support
granular and near real-time analysis of performance,
issue detection, troubleshooting and pro-active
resolution.

assist in problem management, provide information
to direct network planning and optimization, measureservice experience, empower visibility, and provide
analytics to allow marketing to target campaigns withimproved granularity.

The information provided by this approach will becorrelated in near real-time and the resulting output used
to monitor service levels, detect incidents in advance,

Since the intelligence built into Ericsson Expert Analytics
extends its advanced troubleshooting capabilities, it isespecially useful for deep troubleshooting as well.

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Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

Introducing Ericsson
Expert Analytics
EEA is a subscriber-centric analytics and troubleshooting
tool enabling CSPs to capitalize on network data.
EEA continuously measures the perceived subscriber
experience for all individual subscribers and their services
across the mobile network with exceptional accuracy.
This data aggregation provides a deeper understandingof network performance from location, device and service
provider perspectives.
It achieves this by collecting and measuring performancedata, event records and raw packets from the network. Itthen correlates the collected data, stores it in databases,
and translates it into correlated events and Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) that quantify the Qualityof Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE).
EEA also discerns incidents from the collected data, basedon site-configurable rules, and provides a range of datavisualizations. Using the different user views provided by
EEA, the data can then be analyzed to improve network
performance and service experience. Additionally, EEA

applies machine learning algorithms to detect anomalies,
checking billions of cross-related points based onsubscriber incident data.
EEA provides service experience and advanced
troubleshooting information in an open and horizontalarchitecture with intuitive data visualization. This lays thefoundation for an enhanced service experience throughbetter network performance while also contributing tolarge-scale, operational savings.
In summary, EEA collects data from different sources,
performs cross-domain, end-to-end correlation, anddetects problems and their probable causes, while
fully utilizing intelligence derived from Ericsson’s
telecommunications expertise. EEA provides both
network and subscriber views of this data in an intuitiveand efficient way that can be utilized by multiple business
functions and CSP stakeholders, including executive
management, network operations, network optimizationand planning, customer care and marketing.

Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

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Improve service experience withtroubleshooting and analytics
EEA brings a different approach to troubleshooting andanalytics. It is designed for proactive subscriber-centric
analytics that quickly troubleshoots and resolves service
experience issues more accurately and efficiently.

Smart datacollection

Embeddedintelligence

The four pillars of EEA address key challenges of 5G
analytics and troubleshooting.

Customer
centric

Holistic
troubleshooting

Data correlation providing
e2e understanding at anindividual subscriber level

Deep E2E troubleshootingof customer and network
issues using a
combination of vTAP andevent data

ExpertIntelligence
AI &ML

Employment of new dataacquisition techniques
reducing the amount andfrequency of data needed
for analysis

Data handling andactionable insight
generation with statisticalrules and AI/ML
techniques

Figure 2. Four pillars of Ericsson Expert Analytics
Smart data collection

Embedded intelligence

By employing smarter data acquisition techniques, EEA
reduces the amount and the frequency of data gathered
for analysis as it filters and processes mission-criticaltraffic. It is not necessary to monitor the entire network
continuously. Using different policies, it is possible toprocess and store only failures, or manage VIP customers
through whitelists. Dynamic behavior is also desirable
to increase data collection in troubled areas, or during
upgrades or special events.

Built-in domain knowledge helps automate workflows
and manage complexity. All incoming events for each
subscriber are continuously evaluated to accurately
detect service experience degradation. This automateddetection is executed in real time at the correlation
layer, thus accelerating the identification of potential
root causes for subscriber incidents. Machine learningtechniques are also applied to analyze 100 billion
combinations of dimensions to address network
complexity and detect issues early.

Customer centric by design
Real-time, end-to-end customer-centric correlation isfundamental to insight creation. EEA correlates datafrom different domains across control planes (CP), user
planes (UP), and Radio Access Networks (RANs). Data
records linking QoE degradation are further enrichedby correlating reference data from various sources.
This enables swifter identification of issues affecting
customers across a various use cases.

Holistic troubleshooting
Deep, end-to-end troubleshooting of customer andnetwork issues uses a combination of vTAP andevent data. EEA is providing TCO reduction throughintelligent and efficient data handling. Workflows are
dynamically generated to gather specific data needed fortroubleshooting issues.

Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

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Expert Analytics high-level architecture
The high-level EEA architecture is illustrated below.

Smart jumps

Subscriber
Insights

Automated
Insights

Expert Insights

ML Insights(Anomaly detection)
Troubleshooting Event Storage

Training

Analytics Datastores

Basic Insights(Metrics, Incidents)

Basic insights layer

Scoring

Objectstore

Data Export

Advanced insights
layer

Troubleshooting
application

MXE

Presentation andexposure layer

Aggregation

Correlation and enrichment
Event Correlation and Reference Data Enrichment

Bus layer

Common Message Bus

Data source layer
cProbe Frontend

Packet Core
Adapter

IMS Adapter

RAN Adapter(4G/5G)

Probe based sources
e.g. PCC vTAP

5GC CNF sources
e.g. PCC/PCG event reporting

IMS VNF sources
e.g. SBG/BGF EBM

eNodeB/gNodeBe.g. CTR events

Reference Data
Database

Figure 3. Expert Analytics and troubleshooting high-level architecture

The EEA architecture has five main layers, which aresupported by common operations, maintenance, andsecurity functions, including:• Data source layer• Bus layer• Basic insights layer• Advanced insights layer• Presentation and exposure layerWith its containerized, cloud-native implementation,
EEA is deployed on a Kubernetes cluster that resides
either on virtual machines or on bare metal
hardware environments.

It is particularly advantageous that the solution is preintegrated with Ericsson’s dual-mode 5G Core nodes
using built-in software probes. It uses the event datafrom the SGSN-MME, or from EPG, or from Packet Core
Controller (PCC) or Packet Core Gateway (PCG) nodes.
Data collected from NFs can be enriched with additionalreference data, including subscriber, network inventory
and topology, MNC-MCC mapping, OpenStreetMap, anddevice (IMEI TAC) data. This comprehensive visualizationof network conditions is the key to achieving a better
customer experience.
EEA is also pre-integrated with Ericsson’s IMS nodes and
RAN with event data and is available for analytics andtroubleshooting functions. EEA is available for multivendor environments, where its adaptation is done
during deployment.

Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

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Expert Analytics applications

EEA is packaged with a wide range of use cases stemming from the four applications
listed in the figure below., including newly introduced Advanced Troubleshooting.

ExpertInsights

Subscriber
Insights

Automated
Insights

AdvancedTroubleshooting

Focus on providing
insights to experts on
aggregates across various
dimensions (location,
nodes, devices, subscribergroups, applications,services, etc.)

Focus on providing
insights on individual
subscribers

Focus on providing
automated insights ataggregate level where theapplication provides
recommendation basedon AI/ML algorithm

Focus on deep E2E
troubleshooting (fromRAN to Core)
identification of customer
and network issues overmulti-technology
networks

Insights Exposure
Enable other systems to leverage on Expert Analytics intelligence

Figure 4. Expert Analytics applications
Expert Insights
Expert Insights is a business intelligence (BI) applicationthat enables monitoring and dashboarding of use cases.
Its pre-defined dashboards can be used for displaying
and analyzing data collected by EEA, and industrystandard tools enable systems integrators and otherswith deep telecom expertise to create customized
dashboards and reports.
Expert Insights retrieves, visualizes, analyzes, andreports data based upon the aggregated view of its
generated insights using an industry-standard BI stack toimplement functionality. The dashboards enable analysisof specific data segments, such as users, services,
network elements and locations. Slicing and dicing ofdata is possible using different filters and drilldowns
along a wide range of dimensions. It also allows datavisualization based up assorted criteria, including map
views, bar charts, stacked bar charts, pie charts, bubble
charts and time-series charts.

EEA is delivered with a set of system dashboards
that display metrics, incidents, and KPIs in a
structured, efficient, and flexible way, fostering abetter understanding of the mobile network’s overall
performance. Since the system dashboards are all basedon a common set of elements, EEA ensures usability
throughout by maintaining consistent functionality,interaction, and data presentation.
Subscriber Insights
Subscriber Insights encompasses use cases focusedon analyzing the experience of individual subscribers
or devices identified by a unique International Mobile
Subscriber Identity (IMSI) This application’s dashboards
support an array of use cases, including detailed analysis
and troubleshooting of individual data sessions, calls andsubscriber incidents.
Subscriber Insights applications can be accessed directly
for an individual IMSI or launched as part of the drill-

Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

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down analysis from specific Expert Insights or AutomatedInsights dashboards.
Automated Insights
Automated Insights applies machine learning-based
automation to detect anomalies that require the user’s
attention and action.
This application analyzes a huge customer dataset innear real-time to identify and pinpoint critical anomalies
emerging across the mobile network. These anomalies
include: which areas of the network have many

Devicecustomers showing problems, what key indicators are
deviating significantly from their typical measurements,
and which devices or locations are showing an
exceptional number of degradations.
Automated Insights uses sophisticated machine learningalgorithms to quickly spot problems as they occur. Since
users are spared the time-consuming exercise of sifting
through their own data, they can move quickly to resolve
the issues at hand. These algorithms have been tested
with real customer data to establish their effectiveness.

Technology

Location

ML

Service & OTT

Network

Customer Type

Figure 5. EEA automated anomaly detection

Advanced Troubleshooting
Advanced Troubleshooting is used for network andsubscriber troubleshooting to quickly resolve issues andoptimize service experience. This application provides
end-to-end network analysis, giving visibility across thewhole network from core to access.
Advanced Troubleshooting provides access to two
different types of troubleshooting sessions:• Historical sessions, where the user browses networkand subscriber activities that occurred over the pastfew days (Standard mode is provided by default).
• Live sessions, where the user browses network andsubscriber activities that are occurring in real-time(Optional mode).

Key features of the application include multi-interface
flowcharts, end-to-end call flow charts, protocol decoding
and data export.
Insights exposure
The EEA stream export function allows the export of data
to external systems, such as a service provider’s datalake. Different types of data can be exported, such as raw
correlated events, subscriber-level metrics and incidents,
and aggregated data. It also handles export functionality,
including configuration management, license handling,filtering, sampling, decryption, or token mapping backto real content, as well as format conversion and securecommunication to the external target.

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Ericsson | Improve service experience with troubleshooting and analytics

Conclusion
The new 5G era and cloud-native architecture introduce aparadigm shift in data collection, analytics, and advanced
troubleshooting. 5G Core architecture is a major gamechanger for analytics and troubleshooting.

(meaning less time to repair). It uses less computeresources at the data collection layer and Ericsson
Network Functions with typical 50-70-percent OPEX
savings.

Telecom analytics solutions typically measure network
performance but have goals for customer experience.
With its advanced network analytics, Ericsson Expert
Analytics allows for proactive subscriber-centric analytics
to accurately troubleshoot and resolve service experienceissues faster and more efficiently.

EEA’s smart data collection, which is based on real-time,
event-based network data processing, offers valuablevisibility of the service experience. It gives smarter, moresecure data handling from collection to insights (E2E
encryption) while leveraging the full functionality of
Ericsson software probes.

The customer-centric approach aims for a superior service
experience by identifying the most probable cause faster,
accelerating time to fault resolution by using proactive
correlation of subscriber insights, and using dynamicallygenerated workflows to collect relevant subsets of data.

With its holistic troubleshooting approach, EEA is
optimizing troubleshooting with a 55-80-percent CAPEX
saving (footprint and deployment). With real-timeanomaly detection (leveraging ML/AI) across multiple
dimensions, it addresses network complexity and detects
issues early so they can be resolved before the service
experience is affected.

Embedded intelligence offers a smarter approach withbuilt-in domain knowledge. It is processing events with
AI/ML, triggering workflows for smart data collection

Related links:
1. Telecom analytics: transform data into action - Ericsson
2. Expert Analytics - Ericsson
3. TPG Telecom uses Ericsson Expert Analytics: Advanced troubleshooting to improve service experience
4. Troubleshooting telecoms: A smarter way
5. Ericsson 5G Core
6. Securing 5G experience with software probes
7. OSS/BSS evolution for successful 5G monetization - Ericsson
8. Core commerce for superior telecom customer experience - Ericsson
9. Service orchestration for better service quality - Ericsson
10. 5G monetization to improve top line revenue capture - Ericsson

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