Supervisor: Dr. J. Barria

Contents:

1.Introduction
2.TMN Management Services
3.Organisational Stakeholders
4.Conclusion
5.Abbreviations
6.References

1.Introduction

A Telecommunication Management Network Management Services (TMN-MS) provides supports for the operation, administration and maintenance (OAM) of the network being managed. TMN-MSs are an integral part of TMN interface specifications. Each TMN-MS contains a specification of the TMN-MS in prose form, the components used by it and the TMN management functions which used by the components.

Management functions are usually grouped into five categories:

• Performance management
  Includes all the activities necessary to maintain the short term view of quality of services (QoS)
• Fault management
  Includes all procedures necessary to handle systems alarms, test and correct failing equipment, and respond intelligently to customer complaints.
• Configuration management
  Covers activities such as provisioning and installing equipment, modifying parameters and behaviours of network elements.
• Security management
  Responsible for controlling access to customers and network data and resources.
• Accounting Management
  Includes the measurements and control of costs and billing of customer.

  
  

2.TMN Management Services

B. Traffic management

This deals with the management of traffic associated with circuit switched networks, for example, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), and transmission networks.

The objective of traffic management is to enable as many calls as possible to be successfully completed. This is done by maximising the use of all available equipment and facilities in the traffic situation. It is also responsible to supervise the performance of a network, and has to take action to control the flow of the traffic and to optimise the utilisation of the network capacity.

It will initially concern itself with the Network Element (NE), a digital exchange network element, to ensure the specification of this service. It then collect traffic information from and send commands to the NE so as to modify its operation or reconfigure the network. The NE may send information periodically or on threshold triggering. The TMN-MS may change the threshold at which the NE sends the traffic data or the periodic reports. Those data may be processed within the TMN-MS via OSs.

Thus the Digital exchange NE has to perform several functions so as to achieve the above tasks. It has to collect traffic management information using an internal measurement sub-system, processes the information and converts it to a recognised set of traffic management indicators, then transfer it to the OSs. From the indicators, the OS should be able to obtain an overall view of the status of the Network. The NE will later receive control information from the OS and executes appropriate controls to change the traffic flow.

It is usual to take into account aspects of common channel signalling and traffic measurement during the specification and processing of the traffic management information.

C. Management of customer access

This includes all the equipment which associated with the customer access involving multiplex equipment, network terminating units etc, regardless of its bandwidth (narrow-band or broadband), analogue or digital.

Management describes quite a number of tasks, configuration, failure monitoring, security and network performance of any part or piece of equipment associated with the access. Separate requirements resulting from circuit-switched or packet-switched environments must also be taken into account.

Needs of management control facilities upon the customer access arises due to the complexity. Customer access may be regarded as consisting of copper wires or optical fibres with complex electronic equipment whose functions may need updating or altering by the network provider, instead of merely consisted of copper wires and network terminating equipment.

D. Common channel signalling system (CCSS) management

This covers all the aspects concerned with the management of CCSSs. During the process of managing a CCSS, several things outside of the sphere of the MS has to be considered as well. They are the events and information outside the MS, also planning is needed.

It is necessary to have a network wide view of the availability of the signalling network and the signalling traffic loading. The network wide view should at least contain a number of relevant information such as, the configuration on the signalling network, the availability of each signalling link set and its capacity, current loading of each link set, and indication of the initiation of internal flow control procedures.

Those information will be used as a statistical measurements. They will be gathered from both inside and outside of the signalling system concerned.

CCSS management also make use of the computer based tools which could contain information such as a map of the network with all signalling points and Signalling Transfer Points (STPs), signalling routes and their capacities, detection of the signalling link sets which requires additional capacity. Also they could contain interconnection with transmission planning information to ensure the required diversity of the transmission paths.

The management system should be able to manipulate signalling resources through a Human-Machine Interface (HMI). Some types of information could be accessed and changed, these include changing and adding routes, collecting statistics, controlling the signalling link states and reporting of failures.

E. Staff Work Scheduling

This management service has no direct influence on NEs. However the quality of telecommunication services depends very much on the network operator's staff, and that effective staff work scheduling helps to maintain the economic level of the staff effort. This is a management activity of the network operator which aims at getting the right staff member to carry out the work. This is valid for OAM of the NEs, maintenance and installation work to be done at the customers' premises, and also installation and repair work to be done in the field, such as installing cables.

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3.Organisational stakeholders

Cooperation between network operators usually work on a peer-to-peer basis and network services are offered to all service provider domains equally. From the customers' point of view, network operators act as the access providers as they provide access to regional, national and international communications networks.

ii. Services Providers

They are organisations which add specific value to the basic communications capabilities provided by the network operators.

Service providers offer a wide range of services. They include telecommunications services, such as virtual private network (VPN) services. Information services and end user services like multimedia teleservices and entertainment services are also provided.

Service providers rely on the bearer services (the basic communications capabilities) provided by the network operators. Each service provider may interact with several network operators, or with only one which offers one-stop shopping facilities.

As the market for new services expanding rapidly, service providers and network operators have to introduce new services more efficiently and quickly, with reducing costs and improved service quality. Thus network operators and service providers have to have more sophisticated procedures into their management of services so as to meet the demand of the customers.

iii. Customers

They are organisations subscribing to and paying for services. They can either belong to the customer domain or can be comprised part of a service that the customer offers as a service provider to other customers.

Technological changes and business trends have made the role of customers and users increasingly significant. Particularly those corporate customers whose responsive and efficient telecommunications capabilities are essential for their business. They are becoming more demanding and knowledgeable concerning the services they purchase. They are no longer willing to accept what is in the market but will choose the services which meet their specific requirements best and that the service is at the price which they are willing to pay for. Customers play an important role in driving the market trend.

Customers not only demand the concerns about delivery and use of services but also the facilities available for monitoring and controlling the services. They will want the access to information on the status, performance, fault and accounting statistics of the services. In addition, they also want more active control over their services, with access to management functionality, or changing the service parameters to ensure that they get the best out of them.

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4.Conclusion

A list of TMN-MS provide a check list for the standardisation process, for the functions, objects and messages, ensuring that all the functionality necessary to support the perceived usage of the management applications are supplied. The standardisation allows continuing automation of these services so as to improve the efficiency of the MS tools for human operators.

There are various TMN-MS in the TMN-MS check list, several have been chosen and discussed.

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5.Abbreviations

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6.References

1. Worldwide intelligent systems : approaches to telecommunications and network management / edited by Jay Liebowitz and David S. Prerau. 1995
2. Cooper, Edward. Broadband network technology : an overview for the data and telecommunications industries. 1986
3. Smith, R. C. The development of a digital telecommunications network for BR / by R.C. Smith, R.H. Apperley and M.J. Tyrell. 1990
4. Kitahara, Yasusada. Information network system : telecommunications in the twenty-first century. 1983
5. IFIP TC6/WG6.6 Symposium on Integrated Network Management, 2nd, 1991, Washington, D.C. Integrated network management, II. 1991
6. Management of telecommunication systems and services : modelling and implementing TMN-based multi-domain management / Jane Hall (Ed.). c1996
7. Network and distributed systems management / edited by Morris Sloman. 1994
8. CCITT Recommendation M.3010. Principles for a Telecommunication Management Network (TMN). Geneva, to be publish
9. CCITT Recommendation M.3020. TMN Interface Specification Methodology. Geneva, to be publish
10. CCITT Recommendation M.3200. TMN Management Services: Overview. Geneva, to be publish

Any comments please mail to:Ting Kwok, Li