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PM Data Collection Guide

Overview​

The PM Data Collection page allows you to manage which Performance Metrics (PM) counters are stored in InfluxDB. Nokia AirScale base stations report over 22,000 unique PM counters, but storing all of them is neither practical nor necessary for most use cases.

This guide explains how to select which counters to collect based on your monitoring requirements.

Quick Start​

Accessing the PM Data Collection Page​

  1. Navigate to the Control Panel: https://localhost:9443
  2. Click on Data Filters in the navigation menu
  3. View and manage PM counter collection settings

Understanding the Interface​

The page is divided into two main sections:

SectionDescription
Stored PM Data (Left)Counters currently being collected and stored in InfluxDB
Available Counters (Right)All 22,000+ counters available to add to your collection

Counter Categories​

PM counters are categorized by their code prefix, which indicates the technology and function:

CategoryCode PrefixCountDescription
LTEM8xxx~5,900LTE L1/L2/L3 counters (ERAB, RRC, handover, etc.)
WCDMAM5xxx~8853G WCDMA counters (MAC layer, CQI, HSDPA)
5G-NRM55xxx~14,5005G NR counters (massive MIMO, beamforming, etc.)
5G-MobilityM51xxx~5005G mobility and measurements
5G-CommonM40xxx~2505G common/shared counters

Default Counters​

On first startup, sensible defaults are loaded from priv/pm_counters.csv. These defaults include essential counters for:

  • Energy: Power consumption monitoring
  • Data Volume: Traffic volume metrics
  • Availability: Cell availability statistics
  • Accessibility: RRC connection success/failure
  • PRB: Physical Resource Block utilization
  • Throughput: UL/DL throughput metrics
  • RRC: RRC connection statistics
  • ERAB: E-RAB setup and release counters
  • PDCP: PDCP layer metrics
  • Handover: Inter-cell handover statistics
  • Interference: UL interference measurements

Managing Counters​

Adding Counters​

  1. Use the search box or category filter in the "Available Counters" section
  2. Click on rows to select counters (checkbox will appear checked)
  3. Use Select All to select all visible counters
  4. Click Add Selected to move them to the stored collection

Removing Counters​

  1. In the "Stored PM Data" section, select counters to remove
  2. Click Remove Selected to stop collecting those counters

Filtering and Searching​

Both sections support:

  • Text search: Filter by counter ID or description
  • Category filter: Show only counters from a specific category (LTE, 5G-NR, etc.)

Resetting to Defaults​

Click Reset to Defaults to restore the original counter list from priv/pm_counters.csv. This will remove any custom additions.

Persistence​

Changes to your PM counter selection are:

  1. Persisted to disk in priv/pm_filters.etf
  2. Survive application restarts
  3. Take effect immediately (no restart required)

The InfluxDB batch writer is notified of changes and immediately starts/stops collecting the affected counters.

Storage Considerations​

Why Not Collect Everything?​

Collecting all 22,000+ counters would result in:

ScenarioImpact
Storage~100-500 GB/month per site (depending on collection interval)
Write LoadSignificant InfluxDB write pressure
Query PerformanceSlower dashboard queries due to data volume
CostHigher storage and compute costs
  1. Start with defaults: The pre-configured counters cover most common monitoring needs
  2. Add as needed: When building new dashboards, add specific counters you need
  3. Review periodically: Remove counters no longer being used

Counter Reference​

Finding Counter Descriptions​

The "Available Counters" section shows Nokia's official description for each counter. Use the search function to find counters by:

  • Counter ID (e.g., M8012C23)
  • Description keywords (e.g., throughput, handover, RSRP)

Common Counter Examples​

CounterCategoryDescription
M8012C23LTEAverage UL Throughput per cell
M8012C26LTEAverage DL Throughput per cell
M8001C2LTEPDCP SDU Delay DL Mean
M8011C24LTEUL PRB Utilization
M8011C37LTEDL PRB Utilization
M8013C17LTERRC Connected Users
M8020C3LTEHandover Success
M40001C05GEnergy Consumption

Configuration Files​

pm_counters.csv​

Default counters loaded on first startup:

# Format: counter,category,description
M8012C23,Throughput,Average Uplink Throughput
M8012C26,Throughput,Average Downlink Throughput
M8001C2,Availability,Cell Availability
...

Location: priv/pm_counters.csv

pm_metrics.csv​

Complete reference of all available counters:

# Format: PM_Code,Category,Description
M8000C6,LTE,S1_SETUP_ATT
M8000C7,LTE,S1_SETUP_SUCC
...

Location: priv/pm_metrics.csv

Troubleshooting​

Counters Not Being Collected​

  1. Verify the counter is in "Stored PM Data" (left side)
  2. Check that the eNodeB is pushing PM data (see InfluxDB Status page)
  3. Verify the counter ID matches exactly (case-sensitive)

Changes Not Taking Effect​

  1. Filter changes are applied immediately to the batch writer
  2. New data only appears after the next PM push from the eNodeB (typically every 15 minutes)
  3. Check application logs for [PmFilterStore] errors
  4. Verify disk is writable for persistence file

Missing Counter Descriptions​

  1. Counter descriptions come from priv/pm_metrics.csv
  2. Ensure this file is present and properly formatted
  3. Check for UTF-8 encoding issues

Access Points​

  • PM Data Collection: https://localhost:9443/nokia/pm-filters
  • Data Retention: https://localhost:9443/nokia/retention
  • InfluxDB Status: https://localhost:9443/nokia/influx
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