Tools, Measurements, and Accurate Reporting
I have a long list of of (mostly Android) based apps that will assist with the drive-testing exercises. I also have 2 phones with the 3 carriers. What is next?
Determining which metrics will be used will lead to the most accurate testing and is one of the next steps. This will go in parallel with finding the best apps and consolidating them. I want to narrow-down the list of tools so the process doesn’t become too cumbersome. Here are some requirements that I think fit my needs best.
Requirements
-App(s) need to run in background. I need to let the phone sit and forget since I need to concentrate on driving. I can do my analysis when I get home.
-For drive-testing purposes, the app needs the ability to log the data (either Excel or KPI format for now since I need to figure out what to do with the data). Alternatively, having an app that also has its own visualization tool would be great.
– The app(s) that will be used will need to log the basic signal criteria. The common things that will be monitored are metrics such as RSSI, RSRQ, RSRP, bandwidth, band/frequency, SNR, speed(s), and voice/sms reliability.
-Dual-SIM support for now since my OnePlus 8-T is the phone with Verizon and AT&T carriers. This requirement may not be needed shortly (if I decide to get a basic 5g phone).
-I would like to have the app(s) do a constant ping just to test for liveness every few seconds while I am driving. This uses small packets. Downloading large files continuously won’t be best since all of my data plans are not unlimited (this may change in the future). Stopping in-between or at my destination would work best for now for running the Speedtest and/or Nperf apps.
-A good visualization tool that takes the log files and shows the output on a map and/or report. Ideally, the report/map should allow me to change which metric is being displayed and color-code the values based on my location.
-I want to have the log file available to come up with my own calculations (IE: think spreadsheet).
-Ideally, the tool should be free but I’m ok with paying a one-time fee. One of the apps I am looking at (RantCell) has a monthly based plan. This is not the most ideal but, if it meets the requirements, I may stick with it. I actually think that the G-NetTrack suite of apps would be a good compromise. We’ll see.
My current thinking is that I will use a combination of tools on my test (a small-list). We’ll see if this method holds up over time.
Testing Tools to Start With (this will most likely change)
-Either RantCell or G-NetTrack suite
-CellMapper (always running in background to help map cell sites)
-Pingify (small packet pings to run for entire trip)
-Speedtester and/or NPerf at certain points during trip to include start, mid-point, and end-point. Mostly to be used in high-population areas.
What do you think?