Information Systems Engineering
Department of Computing and
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering


Telecommunication Management Network - Management Function

an article by Ting Kwok, Li





CONTENTS

1.INTRODUCTION


A TMN management function is a cooperative interaction between application processes in managing and managed systems for the management of telecommunication resources in order to achieve a goal. It is the smallest functional part of the TMN-MS.


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2.TMN MANAGEMENT FUNCTION


The TMN management function is associated with management functionality in a managed system. It may be triggered by internal events of the managed system (for example, report alarm) or invoke by the managing system. They are usually grouped into five functional areas:

  1. Performance management
  2. Fault (Maintenance) management
  3. Configuration management
  4. Accounting management
  5. Security management

Performance management includes all activities necessary to maintain the short term customer view of quality of service. It gathers statistical data for monitoring and controlling the effectiveness and behaviours of the network, NE or equipment.

  1. Performance monitoring (PM)

    PM involves the collection of data relating the performance of the NE. It is designed to measure the overall quality using monitored parameters and also to detect characteristic pattern before the quality of signal drops below an acceptable level.

    1. The Common function
      NE sends current PM data to TMN on its request. It may be generated periodically by the NE and sent to TMN whenever it demands or by parameter threshold triggering. TMN directs the NE to start/stop the collection and to reset storage registers for PM data.

  2. Performance controlling (PC)

    1. The Common function
      TMN makes NE to set up a schedule for reporting of PM data, to send the PM data report schedule and to assign designated values to PM attributes. NE sends current PM attributes to TMN on its request. In addition, TMN directs NE to change or to set the PM parameter threshold, also to set up a schedule for the execution of QoS test calls and sends the current QoS call schedule to TMN. NE reports the result of QoS test calls to TMN whenever it demands or on a schedule basis. Beside that, TMN asks NE to change or to set the attributes of QoS test calls, to start/stop sending test calls and sends the current QoS test call attributes.


Fault (Maintenance) Management include all procedure necessary to handle system alarm, correct and test falling equipment, and respond intelligently to customers complaints.

  1. Alarm
    TMN is able to monitor NE failures in near real time. Indication is made by the NE when a failure occurs. TMN determines the nature and severity of the fault basing on the indication. It may determine the effect of the fault on the services supported by the fault equipment in two ways. The first one is that a data base within a TMN may interpret binary alarm indication from the NE, which requires little of the NE beyond self-monitoring capability. The second is that it may transmit self- explanatory messages to a TMN if the NE has sufficient intelligence, but requires additional support of message syntax for the description of fault condition from both NE and TMN.

  2. Correction
    Automatic restoration report from NE to TMN indicates a specific line, service, equipment or system that has been switched as part of NE's protection procedures.

    TMN requests NE to start/stop hot-standby procedures for system or service so as to let a redundant unit to take over with minimum disruption to traffic.

    Reload procedure involves a request from TMN to NE for reconstruction of a service or a system from a particular dump record. A reload report is the reporting of a reloaded service or system from a dump, from NE to TMN.

  3. Testing
    It can be done in two ways. The first way is that a TMN orders a NE to carry out analysis of circuit or equipment characteristics, which is done entirely within the NE. Results are reported to the TMN automatically and immediately or on a delayed basis. Another way is that the analysis is done within the TMN. It asks the NE to provide access to the circuit or equipment concerned and no more messages are exchanged with the NE.

Configuration Management covers activities such as installing equipment,provisioning equipment, behaviours of network and modifying parameter.
It provides functions for control over, identify, collect data from and provide data to NEs.

  1. Provisioning
    It consists of procedures need to bring an equipment into service, excluding installation. When the unit is in service, supporting programs will be initialised with the TMN. Status of the unit, for example, whether in service or not, may be controlled by provisioning functions.

    Use of provisioning functions differs in different NEs. Frequent use of these functions is required in digital switching and cross-connect equipment as circuits are put up and dropped. While only one usage is usually required in small transmission elements.

  2. Status and control of NE
    TMN provides monitoring and controlling over the NE on request. A status check is usually provided in conjunction with each control function so as to check that the resulting action has taken place. These functions are corrective when dealing with faulty conditions.

    Status and control functions form part of routine maintenance which is done on a periodic or automatic basis. TMN will stop the operation of a faulty equipment and may rearrange equipment or re-route traffic. It can also enable entering of proposed configuration to analyse the feasibility of the design before its implementation.


Accounting Management includes the measurement and control of costs and customers billing.
It provides a function set which enable the use of the network service to be measured and determine the cost of it. It also collects the accounting record and

  1. Billing
    Some NEs is used to determine charges to customer accounts and it will send to the OS within TMN if it requires these data. To enable the maintaining of the record of billing, this type of function needs highly efficient and redundant data transport. Processing must be carried out in near real time for large number of customers.

Security Management is responsible for controlling access to customers, network data and resources.
It is concerned not with the provision and use of encryption or authentication techniques themselves but rather with their management, including reports concerning attempts to breach system security. There are two important function, first one is managing the security and maintaining security audits. The other one is performing the network management task in a secure way.


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3.COMMON MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS


The common management functions are called system management functions. The following system management functions are still in the standardising process or have been completed:

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4.TMN MANAGEMENT FUNCTION SET


A TMN management function set is a group of TMN management functions that contextually belong together, they are related to a specific management capability. This is the smallest reusable item of functional specification.

Several information must be provided by telecommunication experts in order for the modelling experts to have a more clear understanding of the TMN management function set is. Any context information that will help better understanding of the management goal or concepts behind a set of TMN management functions must be provided. Description of the managed system functionality associated with the TMN management functions and of the management information of that flows between the systems for each TMN management function will also be necessary. Last but not least, identification of the resources and their relationships affected by the TMN management functions are essential.

These elements together describe the functional requirements to be satisfied by an information model. It must be possible to map a TMN management function to one or more messages supported by one or more objects of an information model that claims to support that TMN management function.

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5.RELATIONSHIP between TMN MANAGEMENT FUNCTION and TMN MANAGEMENT SERVICES


TMN management functions are the smallest functional parts of a TMN management service (TMN-MS). They are grouped into function sets in order to modelling information and these TMN management function can be used for one or more TMN management services.

Each of standardised TMN-MS contain a list of TMN management function sets. TMN management function sets would be grouped into TMN management function set groups depending on the need of the applications. So that the same TMN management function set can be appear in many TMN management function set groups. The same kind of relationship can be appeared between TMN management functions and TMN-MS.

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6.SUMMARY


TMN management functions provide the definition of TMN management function sets and a uniform approach to documenting telecommunication management functional requirements for TMN. TMN management functions is the smallest functional parts of TMN-MS. It represents an interaction between managed system and managing system in order to achieve a goal.

TMN management function is associated with management functionality in a managed system. It may be triggered by internal events of the managed system or invoke by the managing system.

Five types of management functional areas (MFAs) have been derived from the fields of use, which include performance management, fault management, configuration, accounting management and security management. The functional configuration of the TMN will change depending on the phases in the life cycle and the status of the particular equipment at that time.

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7.ABBREVIATIONS

MFA Management Functional Area
MS Management Service
NE Network Element
OAM Operation, Administration and Maintenance
OS Operation System
PC Performance Controlling
PM Performance Monitoring
QoS Quality of Service
TMN Telecommunication Management Network

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8.REFERENCES and FURTHER INFORMATION

Books and References

Web Site

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Any comments please mail to:Ting Kwok, Li