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iQ·link
Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL

What operating systems does iQ·link^® support?

iQ·link uses Sun Solaris as a central server either with Sun workstation clients or with PC clients. Please see System Requirements for complete specifications.

What database does iQ·link support?

iQ·link uses an Oracle (8.1.7 or higher) database.

Can iQ·link support multiple sites with a central database?

Yes. Depending on the network connection and available bandwidth, additional copies of iQ·link can be used in regional offices connected to a central database.

Can iQ·link import existing link from other products?

Yes. There are several formats supported including Excel, MSAccess, Comma Delimited files and directly from an Oracle database.

Can iQ·link import site data?

Yes. There is an Import Utility for sites that is part of the product.

What is the price of the product?

Prices vary depending on the number of users, the number of locations, and the size of the network, for example. All prices are quoted based on the configuration relevant to the company.

What level of product support is available?

Dedicated experienced product support engineers are available to provide support ranging from installation, database, equipment and microwave engineering issues.

What courses are offered for this product?

There are several courses including microwave planning and using and administrating iQ·link.

How long have you been in business?

Comsearch has been in business for three decades. Please see About Comsearch for more information.

What platform does iQ·link run on?

Currently, iQ·link runs on a UNIX-based SUN workstation or equivalent. The software can be accessed from a PC that is connected to the same network using X-emulation software. New platforms are being considered for future offerings of our microwave design software.

How often should I backup my data?

We recommend at least once a week, preferably once a day.

MAIN ENGINEERING

Can Point to Point and Point to Multipoint networks be designed?

Yes. iQ·link also allows these two types of networks to coexists.

Is there a feature in iQ·link to help determine optimal diversity antenna heights?

Yes. The Anti Correlation feature in the Main Engineering ... Profile window is designed specifically for determining optimal diversity antenna heights.

What Coordinate systems are supported by iQ·link?

iQ·link uses Latitude and Longitude as the primary coordinate system. Secondary coordinate systems that are supported include Gauss-Krueger, UTM, NGC, and Lambert.

PROFILE

Editing

Does iQ·link allow terrain/clutter points to be added and modified?

Yes. The profile function of iQ·link provides the ability to easily add, delete, or modify terrain points, including both ground elevations and clutter data (buildings, vegetation, etc). When clutter data is added, this information is stored in a database layer so that the information can be recalled for subsequent path analysis.

Engineering

Does the software perform antenna centerline optimization?

Yes. iQ·link performs antenna centerline optimization in 2 ways: 1) the software will calculate the optimal antenna centerlines based on the user-specified clearance criteria or 2) the software will determine the centerline of one site when the other site has a user-specified fixed centerline.

Can the software show the effects of earth curvature (K-factor) and Fresnel Zones on the design path?

Yes. The profile function of iQ·link can calculate and display up to 3 K-factor and Fresnel Zone clearance criteria simultaneously. The user can select one of the criteria for calculation of path clearance and antenna centerline optimization.

Saving

Does iQ·link allow terrain points to be added and modified?

Yes. The profile function of iQ·link provides the ability to easily add, delete, or modify terrain points, including both ground elevations and clutter data (buildings, vegetation, etc). When clutter data is added, this information is stored in a database layer so that the information can be recalled for subsequent path analysis.

General

What terrain sources are used by iQ·link?

iQ·link uses a variety of terrain sources for raster data which provide an exact representation of the actual terrain contours. The software is capable of using any resolution of raster data such as 3 arc second, 12.5, 25, 50, or 100 meter.

What other features does the software perform in the Path Profile Analysis?

iQ·link also performs a reflection point analysis of the design path, as well as an anti- correlation analysis which calculates the received signal level over a user-specified range of K values due to multipath conditions. The anti-correlation analysis will consider up to 4 simultaneous receive antenna heights.

DESIGN

What Objective models are supported?

iQ·link allows the user to select G.821, G.826 based objectives as well as a generic display of unavailability and performance calculations. The G.821 and G.826 objective calucltions are based on the relevant ITU-R F series for Fixed Wireless Links.

Will the software calculate both space diversity and/or frequency diversity improvements?

Yes. iQ·link calculates both space diversity and/or frequency diversity improvement factors in the multipath calculations in accordance to ITU-R P.530 (revisions 6 through to 10) and Vigants.

What propagation models does the software use for multipath, rain, and obstruction fading?

Multipath - ITU-R P.530 (revisions 6 through to 10) Vigants and Glauner
Rain - ITU-R P.530 (revisions 6 through to 10), Vigants and Glauner (rain rate calculations can be performed using ITU, Crane or user defined data)
Obstruction Fading - diffraction per TN 101.

Can 10-3 (vice 10-6) BER receiver threshold be used for reliability calculations?

Yes. You can select either 10-3 or 10-6 BER receiver threshold via a toggle button in the Design window. All calculations are immediately updated upon changing the receiver threshold selection.

INTERFERENCE

Does the software have any automation features?

Yes. iQ·link has an Automatic Frequency Planning feature allowing the ability to efficiently and quickly plan a microwave network based on various selection criteria. The module also automatically resolves hi/low conflicts within the network.

Can correlated fading be considered during interference analysis?

Yes. Correlated fading is supported allowing the user to determine what links to correlate and what attenuation to apply.

Is ATPC supported?

Yes. For both Point to Point and Point to Multipoint planning.

Can a design path be analyzed for full and/or partial band, and vertical and/or horizontal polarization?

Yes. In the Interference Culling Parameters window, you have the option to calculate interference on selected frequencies only or on full band, and also on either vertical or horizontal polarization or both.

How does the software determine the appropriate interference criteria to use between a design path and the environment paths?

iQ·link uses the interference criteria values as specified by the radio vendors for the design link radio into the existing link radio. These values are given for co-channel operation and for standard frequency separations for the specified band of operation. The interference objective criteria used by iQ·link is created in the database interface of the software. Where no appropriate values are contained in the interference objective matrix, the software calculates the interference based on a user-specified default objective.

How are potential interference conflicts shown?

The results of the interference analysis are initially displayed in a "Channel Summary" which show the number of interference cases and the number of interference paths effecting each channel. For each channel, the Detailed Interference Analysis window provides a detailed numerical output of the interference conflict, including all values which comprise the conflict, along with a graphical representation of the design link, environment link, and the interference path.

Will the software calculate over-the-horizon (OH) losses on the interfering paths?

Yes. iQ·link will calculate the OH losses on the interfering paths when this option is specified in the Interference Culling Parameter window. The calculations are based on the Longley-Rice model which is commonly referred to as National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Tech Note 101 - revised.

Does the software only evaluate direct interference sources?

No. In addition to direct interference conflicts, iQ·link also has the capability to perform a "Scatter" interference analysis. This analysis calculates interfering signal levels due to the crossing of the desired and undesired paths (common volume) and determines the likelihood of interference occurring due to this "Scatter" mechanism. Scatter analysis is typically only evaluated for lower frequency (less than 10 GHz), long-haul, high capacity microwave systems. The algorithms used in the Scatter analysis are based on ITU-R documentation.

NETWORK VIEW

What terrain sources are used by iQ·link?

iQ·link uses a variety of terrain sources including raster, geotiff, arcinfo and img data which provide an exact representation of the actual terrain contours. The software is capable of using any resolution of raster data such as 3 arc second, 1, 5, 25, 50, 100 meter etc.

What features does the software have for system-wide analysis and documentation?

The Network View module in iQ·link provides the ability to visualize and plot any components of the system. Network View can display any combination of sites, links (shown by frequency and capacity), non-microwave connectivity, 3D terrain representation, and map data (roads, water features, boundary data, etc.) The information visualized in Network View can be filtered and plotted according to the user's requirements. Network View also includes engineering functionality such as: 1) quick profiling links, 2) drop and drag rapid profiling between any two locations, 3) line-of-sight analysis to show path clearance from a given location to a radius, 4) the ability to create and display clusters (any sub-part of the network), and 5) ability to determine end-to-end reliability for multiple links.

DATABASE

What report features are included with iQ·link?

iQ·link includes a number of standard internal reports for documenting the microwave system at both the site and link level. For external reports, the software has been customized to provide reports such as license applications. In addition, a report generator has been incorporated which allows the user to develop custom reports using the data from iQ·link.

What export features are included with iQ·link?

Link data can be exported from the NetworkView module in a Comma Delimited format ready for importing into applications such as Excel and MSAccess.

Can MSAccess, Excel be used to access the database?

Yes, using an Oracle ODBC driver to connect to the database.

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