# About 

**Cloud-RF** is a user-friendly service for modelling radio propagation.

This intuitive tool has interfaces that have been built and shaped from the user feedback since its inception as an Android app in 2011.

We built Cloud-RF as an **easy interface** especially for small businesses which required the RF planning tool, but they either could not justify the huge expense for their premium packages or did not have the expertise required to use those tools.

At Cloud-RF, we pride ourselves in **innovation** and have transformed the way people conduct radio coverage modelling, disrupting what was a very expensive, and thereby exclusive, windows desktop market.

## Benefits

- **No Installation required** - There is nothing to install but you get to access the premium features.
- **Plug and play tool** - Pay for a plan and you are ready to use it in seconds on your browser.
- **No heavy downloading required** – No more downloading gigabytes of terrain data, antenna patterns, or preparing clutter layers are required - **we have it all installed and ready to go and add more regularly by request**.
- **Empirical and deterministic models** - Most of the wireless technologies and the cross-platform interfaces in the models are easy-to-use; specially designed for the novices, while the advanced features including bit error rate are devised for professional engineers.
- **Covers the entire above-HF RF spectrum** - With generous height ceilings and distances for aircraft, large power limits for long-range broadcasters, meshes for WISP and IoT networks, cellular propagation models for mobile networks, and environmental variables to accommodate suburban, rural & mountain planners alike.
- ***n-threaded* SLEIPNIR™ propagation engine** - It has been designed for use with precision **LiDAR** surface models and **3D buildings**. It is up to ten times faster than open-source engines.
- **One-click support** - There is no need to attend long and expensive training to use this tool. In case of queries, **Online Help** is just a click away.

## Our Mission

Our mission is to make radio planning **simple** and **accessible**.

**Radio modelling** is complicated that usually needs an enormous number of resources and preparation to do it accurately. We want it to be affordable, accurate, and user-friendly.

## Innovation Roadmap

![Innovation Roadmap](Images/Introduction/Roadmap.png)

## Supported Technologies

- Anything that uses radio from **20-100,000MHz**.
- The tool can be used to support specific standards like **LTE / 4G / 5G** but won’t have advanced protocol specific parameters. 	
	- It will however show you the path loss for an eNodeB at 15m above ground level on 800MHz with LiDAR accuracy.

## Platforms

The following platforms are supported:

- **Android**, **Linux**, **Mac/OSX** and **Windows** are supported.
- Our unique Google earth plugin **Keyhole Radio™** lets you run the software directly from within the application.
- Our **3D interface** will adjust to any device from old iPhones to desktop computers.
- **Google Chrome** or **Firefox** is recommended for best performance.

## CloudRF.com (public API)

### Account Registration

To **Register your Account** on the Cloud-RF:

- On the **Cloud-RF website** ([https://cloudrf.com/](https://cloudrf.com/)):
	- Click on **My Account** tab.
	- The **My Accounts** screen will appear.

	![Cloud-RF My Account](Images/Introduction/Registration_1.png)

- Under the **Register** section,
	- In the **Username** field, enter the username as desired.
	- In the **Email Address** field, enter your email address.
	- In the **Quiz** field, enter your answer to the respective question.

	![Cloud-RF Registration Fields](Images/Introduction/Registration_2.png)

	- _This is to make sure that the user is a **human**. If you do not know the answer, you can always **Google** it!_
	- Click on **Register** button.

- A **Verification link** will be sent to your registered email id.
- Open your registered **email id**.

_If you have not received the email, please check you registered email **SPAM** folder. You may set Cloud-RF email as **Not Spam** in your email to receive the emails directly in your inbox._

- Click on the **Verification link**.

![Cloud-RF Registration Email](Images/Introduction/Registration_3.png)

- The **Success Message** pop-up will appear, and you will be **logged in** into your account.

![Cloud-RF Successful Registration](Images/Introduction/Registration_4.png)

- The **Cloud-RF Tool Home Page** will be displayed.

### Login

To **Log in into your Account** on the Cloud-RF:

- On the **Cloud-RF website** ([https://cloudrf.com/](https://cloudrf.com/)):
	- Click on **My Account** tab.
	- The **My Accounts** screen will appear.

	![Cloud-RF My Account](Images/Introduction/Registration_1.png)

	- Under the **Login** section:
		- In the **Username or email address** field, enter your username or email address.
		- In the **Password** field, enter your password.
		- You may select the **Remember me** checkbox to save the credentials on your device.
		- Click on **Log in** button.

### Lost Your password?

If you have lost your password, you can reset it through your **registered email id**.

To do so:

- Click on **Lost your Password?** link.

![Cloud-RF Lost Password Link](Images/Introduction/Lostpassword_1.png)

- The **Lost Password** screen will appear.

![Cloud-RF Lost Password Form](Images/Introduction/Lostpassword_2.png)

- Enter the **New Password** as desired.

- **Re-enter new password** to confirm.

- Click on **Save** button.

![Cloud-RF Lost Password Save Button](Images/Introduction/Lostpassword3.png)

- The **Success message** pop-up will appear.

![Cloud-RF Lost Password Success](Images/Introduction/Lostpassword4.png)

### The Home Page

After you login into your Cloud-RF account, the **Home Page** will be displayed.

![Cloud-RF Home Page](Images/Introduction/Homepage_01.png)

- You can access the **Web Interface**, **Google Earth**, **API**, **My archive** and **My antennas** by clicking on the respective button on the Home Page.

	![Cloud-RF Buttons](Images/Introduction/Homepage_10.png)

- Click on **Web Interface** button to know how you will access the Cloud-RF Modeling tool  itself right in your web browser.

	![Cloud-RF Web Interface](Images/Introduction/Homepage_11.png)

- You can select the **High Performance** or **Low Performance** option by clicking on the respective button.
	- Click on **OK** button.

- Click on **Google Earth™**  button to access the Google Earth.

	![Cloud-RF Google Earth Button](Images/Introduction/Homepage_12.png)

	- The _Keyhole Radio.kml_ file for Google Earth will be downloaded.

		- **Keyhole Radio** is a unique and powerful radio planning plugin for *Google Earth™*.  
		- The software is entirely server based, so you only need to open the Keyhole Markup Language (KML) overlay in Google Earth to use it.  
		- It’s ideal for organisations already using Google Earth as it can be deployed rapidly to users as a URL and the KML output is visualised along with 3D terrain and existing data layers, for example network infrastructure.  
		- The system’s terrain data, radio templates, antenna patterns and ground clutter are all managed from server side.

	- To open the downloaded Google Earth KML, you may either launch the KML File or add a *network link* within Google Earth with the URL: **[https://cloudrf.com/ui/kml](https://cloudrf.com/ui/kml)**
	
- Click on **API**  button to access the API.	
	- You can see your API key and your current subscription plan as well.
	- The **Cloud-RF API** for radio planning lets you model radio coverage for any RF system between *20 and 100,000MHz*. 
	- A **Cloud-RF account** and **active plan** are required to use the API.
	
- Click on **Buy a Plan** button to purchase a plan.
	- Moreover, it lets you upgrade your account as well to access all the available features.

	![Cloud-RF Buy a Plan](Images/Introduction/Homepage_13.png)

	- You can add the desired plan(s)/subscription(s) to your cart by clicking on the **Add to Cart** / **Sign up now** button.
	- You can select the **currency type** as per your requirement.
	- To view all the **available plans/subscriptions** and compare them, you may scroll down to view the following screen.

	![Cloud-RF Available Plans/Subscriptions](Images/Introduction/Homepage_14.png)

	- You may also scroll down to view the **FAQs** section.

- The **Right Navigation Menu** with the following menu options will be displayed. You can click on the:
	- ![](Images/Dashboard_01.png){title="Dashboard" style="width:30px"} **Dashboard** - for accessing the Home Page.

	- ![](Images/Orders.png){title="Orders" style="width:30px"} **Orders** - to view all your orders.
	
		![Cloud-RF Account Orders](Images/Introduction/Homepage_03.png)

		- If no orders have been made, you may click on *Browse products* button to browse the available products.
		
	- ![](Images/Subscriptions.png){title="Subscriptions" style="width:30px"} **Subscriptions** - to view all your subscriptions.

		![Cloud-RF Account Subscriptions](Images/Introduction/Homepage_04.png)

		- If you have no active subscriptions , you may click on *Browse products* button to browse the available subscriptions.
	
	- ![](Images/Downloads.png){title="Downloads" style="width:30px"} **Downloads** - to view all the downloaded files.
	
		![Cloud-RF Account Downloads](Images/Introduction/Homepage_05.png)
	
		- You may click on *Browse products* button to browse the available products.
		
	- ![](Images/Addresses.png){title="Addresses" style="width:30px"} **Addresses** - to view the shipping and billing addresses added to your account.

		![Cloud-RF Account Addresses](Images/Introduction/Homepage_06.png)
	
	- ![](Images/PaymentMethods.png){title="Payment Methods" style="width:30px"} **Payment methods** - to view the payment methods added to buy your orders or subscriptions.

		![Cloud-RF Account Payment Methods](Images/Introduction/Homepage_07.png)

		- You may also add a payment method by clicking on the *Add Payment Method* button.
	
	- ![](Images/AccountDetails.png){title="Account Details" style="width:30px"} **Account details** - for accessing your account details and edit them if required. 
		- You can change your **password**, **contact preference**, and **time zone settings** from here.
	
		![Cloud-RF Account Details](Images/Introduction/Homepage_15.png)

		- Click on **Save Changes** button after making the required changes.
	
	- ![](Images/Logout.png){title="Logout" style="width:30px"} **Logout** - if you wish to logout from your account.
		-  The *Login/Register* screen will be displayed.
		
	- ![](Images/SupportTickets.png){title="Support Tickets" style="width:30px"} **Support Tickets** - to view all the support tickets that have been raised.
		- Whenever you need **assistance** from our support team, you should submit a support ticket from here.

### Support Tickets

To raise a support ticket you should click on **Support Tickets** in the right navigation menu of **My Account**.

![Cloud-RF Support Tickets Home](Images/Introduction/Homepage_09.png)

- To raise a ticket, you can click on *New Ticket* button on this screen.
- The **API credentials** of your account - *UID* and *KEY* will be displayed.
- To copy the **API Key**, you can click on the *copy* ![](Images/APIkey.png){title="Copy API Icon" style="width:30px"} icon.

![Copy API Key](Images/Introduction/Homepage_02.png)

- Under **My usage** section:
	- The **API Calls details** and the **Storage used** will be displayed.
	- You may click on the **Delete My Data** button to delete the data of your usage.

- Under **My Plans** section:
	- Your **Plan details** (*Time, Product and Expiry*) will be displayed. 
	- You can click on **Missing your orders** link as per your requirement.

- Under **My Networks** section:
	- Your **Network details** (*Network and Calculations*) will be displayed.  

### Ordering a Plan

You can order a plan or a subscription by adding the desired product in your cart and then paying for the same.

To order a plan or a subscription:

- Under **My Accounts** tab, you can click on the **Buy a plan** button.

*OR*

- Click on **Plans** tab.

*OR*

- Under **My Accounts** tab:
	- Click on **Orders**, **Subscriptions** or **Downloads**.
	- Click on **Browse Products** button.

- The **Plans** screen will be displayed.

![Ordering a Plan](Images/Introduction/Ordering_a_Plan_1.png)

- You can add the desired plans or subscriptions by clicking on the **Add to cart** or **Sign up now** button respectively.
	- You can also upgrade your account from here to access all the available features.

## Choosing an Interface

In Cloud-RF tool, there are **four major Interfaces** available:

- **3D Interface**
- **Mobile Interface**
- **Keyhole Radio for Google Earth**
- **Cloud-RF API**

The following is the description and the steps of loading of each interface:

1. **3D Interface**
	- The **3D interface** is the primary user interface for Cloud-RF that works on desktops, tablets and mobiles.
	- To load the **3D Interface**:
		- Under *My Accounts* tab, click on **Web Interface** button.
		- The 3D Interface will be displayed.
	
2. **Mobile Interface**
	- The **Mobile interface** is the 3D Interface when the Cloud-RF is accessed from your mobile.
	- To load the **Mobile Interface** in your mobile,
		- Under *My Accounts* tab, click on **Web Interface** button.
		- The 3D Interface will be displayed.
	
3. **Keyhole Radio for Google Earth**
	- **Keyhole Radio™** is a unique and powerful RF planning interface, accessed by loading a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) overlay in Google Earth™. It’s ideal for busy organisations already using Google Earth as existing data can be overlaid with your RF overlays and the software with supporting terrain data is ready to go so long as a client has Google Earth and a network connection.
	- A **Cloud-RF user account** is required to use the service. Registration is free.
	- To load the **Keyhole Radio™ interface for Google Earth**,
		- Under *My Accounts* tab, click on **Google Earth** button.
		- The *Keyhole Radio.kml* file for Google Earth will get downloaded.
		- To open it, you may either launch the KML File or add a *network link* within Google Earth with the URL: **[https://cloudrf.com/ui/kml](https://cloudrf.com/ui/kml)**
	
4. **Cloud-RF API**
	- The **Cloud-RF API** is a *public scripting interface* which allows the developers to pull upon the power and data of Cloud-RF with just a few lines of code (in a language of your choice). 
		- Moreover, with this, you can integrate radio planning into your application or website without worrying about the heavy CPU, memory or disk resources required to do RF planning.  
		- It’s up all year round, 24 hours a day!
		
	- To load the **Cloud-RF API**:
		- Under *My Accounts* tab, click on **API** button.		
		- You can access your API and view your API key & your current subscription plan.
	- The **Cloud-RF API** for radio planning lets you model radio coverage for any RF system between *20 and 100,000MHz*. 
	- A **Cloud-RF account** and **active plan** are required to use the API.

### Performance Tips 

Following are the tips and tricks that can help you in scaling the overall performance to new heights:

- If you do not have a **graphics card** in your desktop, reduce your desktop's resolution.
- Change your window size to match with your monitor using the  **Ctrl -** and **Ctrl +** shortcut keys.