In this article, we will walk you through the process of setting up Link Master's Plan Settings for a Voice Call.

Launching the Plan Settings

To get to the Plan Settings, click on its icon in the Link Master toolbar (alternately, you can find it by going to Control > Plan Setting in the primary toolbar).

By default, you'll be showing the plan settings for voice calls when the settings wizard launches.

At the top, you'll tell LM what type of call you're initiating using Call Type:

• Call by Call (Normal): used where the call is initiated by dialing a phone number
• Call by Call (Periodic): similar to a normal call, but if your call drops in the middle of the test, LM will automatically redial at the beginning of the next call cycle (instead of redialing immediately)
• Continuous: LM will dial a number and keep the call going for a specified period of time
• Pair call with other CH: typically used for voice quality testing and tells LM to call an alternate channel

Call Pattern: whether you want the calls to be originating, terminating, or some combination of both (for example, you might provide OOTTOO, which is two original calls, followed by two terminating calls and two more originating calls).

Dial Number: the number to be dialed. You can use the MIN dropdown to change the number shown in this field to reflect the numbers you provided in the Channels area of your Plan Settings screen. 

Service Option: Also known as, "how do you want the software to control the dialing operation of the mobile phone?" You'll probably use options 103, 104, and 105 the most often. If you use option 105, be sure to set the Release call with and Accept call with options.

Target Service: allows LML to look for the call processing in the correct location.

Detect UE-UE Conversation: most of the time, you'll have this option to detect checked so that LM starts logging when the call is answered

Pair channel plan for <Sync. call with other UE>

If you're setting up a paired call, you'll configure the details in this section. You'll want to start with a checkbox in CH1 and none next to CH2.

Pair channel: The channel with which you want paired with the number you're using. You can confirm pairings in the Channels panel.

Service option: This setting is identical to the one shown in the Basic section above, but in this case, you'll be setting it for the paired phone number

Service type: This setting is identical to the one shown in the Basic section above, but in this case, you'll be setting it for the paired phone number

Generally speaking, the Service option and Service type in both sections should be identical.

Call count & time

At this time, you'll configure your calls by setting the following:

Call count: how many calls you want run during the test

Setup timeout (sec): how much time must elapse before the call is considered to be blocked

Traffic time (sec): how long you want the call to be active

Idle time (sec): how much time should elapse before the end of one call and the beginning of the next

QoE Measurement

Check the box next to Voice Quality to run the voice quality test. Once the box is checked, you can go into the Config screen.

Your config options are as follows.

Measurement Count Control

Secure measurement count: the maximum number of measurements being transmitted - if unchecked, MOS readings for the entire duration of the test are returned

Measurement Method

Standard: the standard to run for your test

Rx Speech and Tx Speech: the reference speech to use - make sure that these are paired appropriately

Wave File Save Condition

In this section, you'll set the parameters by which you want the wave file saved. You can set the lower bound of or the average MOS required, as well as whether the call record is saved at all

BQ & CBQ Condition

BQ & CBQ (Bad Quality and Continuous Bad Quality) parameters are set to determine what actually constitutes a bad quality and what constitutes a continuous bad quality call

Misc

In this section, set the following for the length of your intervals and your wait time

When you're done, click OK to save and proceed.

Other Plan Settings Tabs

The Plan Settings area offers other tabs in addition to the one for voice calls:

• Idle: this is useful if you want to control the application layer manually instead of leaving it to Link Master
• Data Call: allows you to configure settings for sessions involving HTTP, PING, and so on
• SMS Call: allows you to configure tests involving SMS messages

Saving Your Plan Settings

Once you have made all of your desired changes to the Plan Setting tab, click OK to save and proceed. You're now ready to begin running your tests.

Run Your Tests

Click on All Channel in the left-hand navigation pane.

Then click on Voice Call Monitor. 

You'll see two windows pop open that provides you with some information about your call.

Then, go to Information > Voice Quality Monitor to bring up your MOS scores, along with areas for your test results. 

Start your measurement.