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Information Systems Engineering
by Ting Kwok, Li & Ka Tat, Shing |
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Information Systems Engineering
by Ting Kwok, Li & Ka Tat, Shing |
To cope with the rapid development of the various kind of network services,
some network architectures are being introduced into the general telecommunication
network's infrastructure. One of them is the Intelligent Network (IN) approach.
Intelligent Network (IN) and Telecommunications Management Networks (TMN) are
widely endorsed. IN and TMN however cannot be treated separately.
Today's products and their underlying architectures are insufficient for the
growing world the operators and their suppliers are facing. Hence the need to
make good use of the latest technique in distributed computing and object-oriented
analysis, design, together with the latest remedy to overcome the challenges.
Thus improved interoperability, better reuse of software and flexible
placement of software on computing platforms can be achieved. TMN and IN are
integrated to form Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture
(TINA).
This article will give the general idea of TMN and IN. It will focus on the
ways of combining TMN and IN, and the product, TINA.
TMN provides an organised architecture for the interconnection between various
types of Operating Systems (OSs) and/or telecommunication equipment for the
exchange of management information using an agreed architecture with standardised
interfaces including messages and protocols.
TMN provides management functions for telecommunication networks and services
and offers communications between itself and the networks and services.
The aim of TMN is to provide a framework for telecommunication management.
By introducing the concept of generic network models for management, to perform
general management of diverse equipment using generic information models and
standard interfaces.
TMN can vary in complexity from a very simple connection to a complex network
interconnecting. It provides management functions and offers communication both
between an OSs themselves, and between OSs and the different parts of the
telecommunication network.
A telecommunication network contain many types of telecommunication equipmentand
associated support equipment.
TMN is a separate network that interfaces a telecommunication network to control
its operation. It may be use parts of the telecommunications network to
provide its communication. The following diagram show the relationship between
TMN and telecommunication network.
TMN architecture is concern with manage of individual system so as to have a
co-ordinated effect on the network. Within the general TMN architecture there
are four basic aspects of architecture which can be considered separately.
These four aspects are:
a, TMN Functional Architecture
b, TMN Information Architecture
c, TMN Physical Architecture
d, Logical layered Architecture
TMN Functional Architecture
The functional architecture describes the functionality within the TMN to
allow for the creation of function blocks from which a TMN of any complexity
can be implemented. The elements of the functional architecture are function
blocks and reference points.
* Network Element Function (NEF) block
Reference points represent the exchange of information between pairs of
management function blocks. The aim of reference points is to identify the
information passing between function blocks. There are five reference points,
first three classes are TMN reference points, other two are non-TMN reference
points. The following show the class and the definition of it.
TMN Information Architecture
The information architecture describes an object-oriented approach for
transaction-oriented information exchange within a TMN. This comprises a
management information modelling aspect and a management information exchange
aspect, both of which are adopted from the OSI standards.
b, Management information exchange
IN is an architecture designed to manage and control the services
of a telecommunications network. It provides services on a global
scale required the adaptation or even replace of a large number
of switches, typically on different types. IN architecture able
to respond more quickly to an ever more demanding market, it supports
a rapid increase of new services into the network, and also make
these services globally available without having a large base
of equipment.
The concept of IN is simply base on the idea of separating the
Services Control Functions from the Services Switching Functions.
So due to the separation of functions, it introduces new services
into the network without changes the functionality of switches
in the network. As a result, it provides new services more quickly
and that is the major requirement as a operators' survival in
the market with ever increasing competition.
There are three levels of IN functions as below:
1.INTRODUCTION
2.TMN
3.IN
4.COMPARISON OF TMN AND IN
5.OVERVIEW OF THE TINA ARCHITECIURE
6.THE BENEFITS OF TINA
A.APPENDIX
Introduction
Telecommunication Management Network (TMN)
The functional architecture describes the functionality within the TMN,
and also the definition of function blocks and reference points between function blocks.
The information architecture describes the application of Open System
Interconnection (OSI) system management, which is communicated between pairs
of function blocks or physical notes.
The physical architecture describes the realisable interfaces (physical nodes).
The Logical layered Architecture describes the relationship between layers
and the structure for management functionality to group in "logical layers".
Function blocks are conceptual entities that can be implemented in a variety
of physical configurations. It provide the TMN general function which enable
TMN to perform the TMN management function. The following are function blocks:
* Workstation Function (WSF) block
* Mediation Function (MF) block
* Q Adaptor Function (QAF) block
Class
Definition
q
Between OSF, QAF, MF and NEF
f
Attach to a WSF
x
Between OSFs of two TMNs or between the OSF of a TMN and
the another network with equivalent OSF-like functionality.
g
Between a WSF and users
m
Between a QAF and non-TMN manage entities.
a, Management information modelling
Management information modelling present an abstraction of the management
aspect of network resources and the related support management activities.
It determines the scope of information that can exchanged in a standardised
manner. This activity to support the information model takes place at the
application level and involves a variety of management application function.
Management information exchange involves the Data Communications Functions
(DCFs), and the Message Communications Functions (MCFs) allow specific
physical components to attach to the telecommunication network at a particular
interface.Intelligent Network (IN)
back to contents
In the architecture of certain European implementations of IN, a service management system (SMS) is used to support technical management. One of the SMS’ major functions is to supervise the network’s service control points (SCPs) at network level, whereas one or several service provision points (SPPs) can be connected to the SMS to perform specialised commercial management functions. Because of this type of IN architecture, let us compare the different between IN management and the TMN concept.
From the architectural viewpoint, it is a straightforward exercise to compare the roles of the SMS, SPP, and operations system (OS), respectively.
SMS, home for the service reference database, performs service technical data management ( such as downloading of service programs to the SCPs ) and network ( nodes ) technical management ( supervision of remote operation and maintenance of the SCP’s subnetwork ). As such, it performs OS functions and can be seen as a network OS and a network element OS. The updating of the reference database and the concentration and analysis of call statistics also are SMS functions that fully match OS functions, dealing with service management. For this reason, the SMS also can be considered as a service OS.
The SPP is a dedicated node devoted to the service provider or authorised service subscriber access, dealing with commercial management of IN services and customers. As such, it also performs OS functions, and can be seen as a commercial/business OS. Additionally, SPP can be seen as a service OS as it also is involved in management of technical data subscription, such as service configuration management and management of resources needed for the service.
Such implementation does not preclude other physical architectures where, for instance, SMS and SPP roles are hosted by a unique node. From a functional perspective, both architectural approaches are comparable because they both separate network provider activities from service provider activities. The other IN components actually are the equivalent of network elements (NE).
Therefore, the direct interface between SMS and SCP to exchange management information would be a Q3 interface. The interface between SPP and SMS would be either a Q3 or X interface. It would be a Q3 interface whenever the service provider’s role and the network operator’s role are handled by the same actor; an X interface whenever the service provider is in a competitive domain. In such a domain the service provider’s role is clearly isolated from the role of the technical network operator. Management of IN services may be compared to the TMN service management, residing in an OS. Special features for this management are dynamic service management, on-line modification, rapid introduction of a new service, and service deployment. They can be taken directly into account by the TMN. Accordingly, one could foresee introducing the service creation part of IN management into the TMN concept ( although no such plan is under study inside TMN today).
This TMN service management would need to cover all service-related aspects such as operational management of an already installed service, service creation, service introduction in the network and deployment.
1.The TINA computing architecture
Components in the service, network and management architectures are structured according to the principles defined in the computing architecture, thus consistently applying the same software techniques. The above diagram has summarised the relationship between four of them.
The computing architecture defines the modeling concepts that should be used to specify object-oriented software in TINA systems. It also defines a distributed processing environment (DPE) that provides a support system that allows objects to locate and interact with each other.
These concepts are based on the reference model for open distributed processing.
The TINA computational modeling concept defines that rules of how computational objects interact with one another. Computational objects are the units of programming and encapsulation. Objects interact with each other by sending and receiving information to and from interfaces. An object any provide many interfaces, of either the same or a different type. There are two forms of interface that an object may offer or use: an operational interface and a stream interface. An operational interface is one that has defined operations that allow functions of the offering (server) object to be invoked by other (client) objects. An operation may have arguments and may return results. A stream interface is one without operations, i.e. there is no notion of input/output parameters, requests, results, of notifications. The establishment of a stream between stream interfaces allows for the passing of other structured information, such as video of voice bit streams. Streams are established by interacting with service and network components.
The interfaces are specified independently of any programming language by means of a specification notation. As none of the currently existing and relevant notations cover all the features of the TINA computational model, extensions to the Object Management Group's interface definition language have been made. This notation is called the TINA object definition language (ODL).
Although the computational concepts are appropriate for describing how an application is structured into separate, logically distributed components, it is not appropriate for describing what this application is actually doing. This is the purpose of the information modeling concepts, from which an application designer can identify the information-bearing entities in the problem domain under study, show their relationships, and state the constraints directing their behavior. A computational object can interact with another computational object without knowing on which computer the other object resides. There is an assumption that all computational object without knowing on which computer the other object resides. There is an assumption that all computational objects reside on a platform, called a distributed processing environment (DPE). The DPE provides location and interaction mechanisms allowing computational objects to locate one another at execution time. Engineering modeling concepts define this DPE infrastructure.
From an application designer's standpoint, the DPE
can be considered as one homogeneous infrastructure hiding the
complexity and heterogeneity of the underlying network and computing
resources. However, in reality a DPE consists of 'kernels' implemented
on top of different heterogeneous computing environments. The
DPE kernels are interconnected by a specific logical network,
called the kernel transport network (KTN). The KTN facilitates
the exchange of messages between computational objects. The DPE
kernels are enhanced by additional generic software components,
called DPE services, dealing with distribution, security, quality
of service, operability, etc. An example is the trader, which
is a service that allows a computational object to locate interfaces
of other computational objects.
2. The TINA network architecture
The purpose of the network architecture is to provide a set of generic concepts that describe transport networks in a technology-independent way. The network architecture defines a set of abstractions that the resources layer can work with. At one end it provides a high-level view of network connections to services. At the other end it provides a generic description of elements which can be specialized to particular technologies and products.
The network architecture has been defined by taking into account the layering principles of ITU-T Recommendation. These principles separate the functions of a transport network into layers according to the characteristic information handled by the function. The network resource information model (NRIM) is an information specification of transmission and switch technologies in which the technology-dependent aspects have been extracted, e.g. differences between ATM and SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) switches are hidden. The model concerns how individual element s are related, topologically interconnected, and configured to provide and maintain end-to-end connectivity. The model therefore defines technology-independent concepts that can be used to derive technology-independent control and management functions. When designing and implementing a real network the technology-dependent aspects must be taken into account as specialization of the generic model. The concepts found in this model include layer network, sub-network connection(SNC), connection, topological link, and network termination points.
3. The TINA service architecture
The service architecture provides means to build services and a service support environment. The term 'service' in TINA is used in a wide sense. It includes telecommunication services, management services and end-user services. Thus the service architecture is applicable to a wide range of service types, including management services, information services, transport services, and access services.
From the information viewpoint, the TINA service architecture provides a framework for describing what services do ( their prime function), how they are managed, and how terminal and user mobility is achieved. Two main separation principles are defined in the service architecture: the separation of call and connection control, and the separation of user and terminal related issues. The separation of calls from connections allows a more flexible approach to the handling of services, whereby the negotiation and involvement of users and their activities can be separated from the negotiation and involvement of communication resources. The separation of terminal and user issues allows a flexible mobility model to be defined.
From the computational viewpoint, the TINA service architecture describes how a distributed service should be structured in order to provide its function to a user. The service architecture identifies the run-time software components that should serve as a foundation for all services and therefore constitute a library or reusable components. The most important of these components are user agents, terminal agent, service session, subscription manager, and the communication session manager.
A user agent represents the user in the network. It handles, on a user's behalf, incoming and outgoing service establishment, and maintains profiles of the user and any customized details associated with services. A terminal agent represents a terminal attached to a network. It provides a technology-independent view of the terminal to the network and manages terminal-specific information. The power of the user and the terminal agent concept is that users and terminals can be located by finding the related agent. This avoids having to build-in location knowledge and thus allows users and terminals to move around in the network.
A service session is an instance of an executing service. It maintains the state of a service and provides interfaces for the joining and leaving of users to and from a service session. Embodied within a service session is the service core, or service logic. In response to commands from users, or service logic, connections may need to be established, modified, or 'dropped'. Service sessions do this by constructing logical connection graphs and instructing a communication session manager to build the connections.
The subscription manager maintains information related
to customer and user subscriptions. It is used during the establishment
of a user's involvement in a service session to check access permission
with respect to a subscription.
4. The TINA management architecture
The TINA management architecture defines a set of principles for the management of the entities in a TINA system. There are two basic types of management in TINA systems: computing management and telecommunications management.
Computing management involves the management of the computers, of the platform and of the software ( in general terms) that runs on that platform. Management here does not concern itself with what applications are doing nor with application-specific management. The main concern is the deployment. Installation, and load balancing of software.
In TINA, the application software, residing on a DPE, relates to services, network resources and network elements. This set of software contains functions for the control and management of services, networks and network elements. This is called telecommunications management.
The above two types of management are very broad and therefore are divided into subtypes of management. Telecommunications management is broken down into service, network and element management, in much the sane was as in TMN systems. Computing management can be broken down into generic software management, such as deployment, configuration and instantiation of software, and management of the distributed processing and computer environments, The service, network an computing architectures therefore each contain management concepts and principles.
Even though different types of management have been
identified, TINA defines a set of generic management concepts
and principles. There are two basic sets of principles for generic
management. The first deals with functional separations. This
breaks down the problem of management into distinct areas of concern.
The second deals with modeling of management systems. This provides
principles for how to express management relationships and operations
in terms of the TINA object models ( information, computational
and engineering). Five functional separations have been taken
from OSI Systems Management, namely fault, configuration, accounting,
performance and security.
Customisation of services is a key TINA feature for users, whether they are domestic customers, or small or large multinational companies. The components specified in the service architecture are designed to support requirements for subscription management and personalising services for users.
Service provision that accommodates heterogeneity of terminals and delivery networks will be demanded by users, particularly to support personal mobility. TINA provides a framework to cope with this variety of access circumstances by separating adaptation from the core capabilities of each component. This aims to reduce duplication which is an economical and technical necessity.
Managing infrastructure upgrade and scaling has always been a problem in a large computer and telecommunications systems. TINS has adopted important constructs and methods to make this problem tractable; for example, the use of location transparency in the DPE and the very modular design of elements providing service resources.
| CCITT Recommendation M.3010. Principles for a Telecommunication Management Network (TMN) | ||
| CCITT Recommendation M.3200. TMN Management Services: Overview. | ||
| CCITT Recommendation M.3400. TMN Management Functions | ||
| CCITT Recommendation M.3020. TMN Interface Specification Methodology. | ||
| CCITT Recommendation M.3180. Catalogue Network Information Model | ||
| CCITT Recommendation M.3300. TMN Management Capabilities Presented At F Interface |
Journals:
| IEEE Communications Magazine, November 1995 | ||
| IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1995 | ||
| IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1993 | ||
| IEEE Communications Magazine, May 1993 | ||
| IEEE Communications Magazine, April 1993 | ||
| IEEE Communications Magazine, March 1996 | ||
| Electronic & Communication Engineering Journals, June 1996 | ||
| Electronic & Communication Engineering Journals, April 1993 |
Books:
| Network and distributed systems management / edited by Morris Sloman. 1994 | ||
| Management of telecommunication systems and services : modelling and implementing TMN-based multi-domain management / Jane Hall (Ed.). c1996 | ||
| Smith, R. C. The development of a digital telecommunications network for BR / by R.C. Smith, R.H. Apperley and M.J. Tyrell. 1990 Network intelligence / edited by I.G. Dufour. 1997 | ||
| Worldwide intelligent systems : approaches to telecommunications and network management / edited by Jay Liebowitz and David S. Prerau. 1995 |
Internet sites: TMN(1-4), TINA(5,6), IN(7)
Further Reading:
Managing information highways : the PRISM book: principles, ... / Kim Berquist, Andrew Berquist (Eds.). c1996
IFIP TC6/WG6.6 Symposium on Integrated Network Management, 2nd, 1991, Washington, D.C. Integrated network management, II. 1991
http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/telco/nwmgmt_bkgrounder.html
http://www.loria.fr/~festor/NM-index.html#Sites
http://www.tinac.com/market/swc/icccn/tutorial.txt (tutorial)
http://info.itu.ch/itudoc/itu-t/rec/m.html (summary of recommendation)
