As the demand for LTE networks keeps on increasing day by day the necessity to improve the service with the current available infrastructure is one of the key measures to be taken into consideration. The initial configuration set up, the performance of the system once installed and the rectification of faults all play a major role in this process. This paper discusses the configuration, performance and fault management of eNodeBs in the current LTE environments and then a NetSim simulation based study is presented on the concept of coverage optimization considering relays. The throughput and delay is analyzed for various scenarios. Using relays is an option for overcoming coverage hole issue as proved in the paper. © 2018 IEEE.