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- BT Network Administation Support System Development
- SYSTEM X and OMC network operations..
- BT PhoneBone tekniq By hybrid <hybrid@dtmf.org>
- NOT TO BE SHOWN OUTSIDE BT. GBH internal awarez. [ _\|/_ ]
- | GBH |
- : :
- . .
-
- PART I (Introduction to BT managment on the PSTN)
-
- Introduction
-
- The technology within the network has advanced through digitalisation of
- both transmission and switching, and the introduction of computer contolled
- network elements. The greater reliability of this technology and the ability
- to manage and configure the elements remotely has created new opportunities
- for efficiant managment of the network.
-
- These opotunitys have been translated into a vision for the future operation
- and managment of the network, initially through the Network Administration
- Task Force (NATF) and subseqent refinements in terms of architecture (Network
- Managment Architecture), and process (Strategic Systems Plan (SSP)).
-
- THE VISI0N
-
- The vision can be summerised as:
-
- -+ end-to-end network managment
- -+ functioncal coverage of the whole network life cycle
- -+ fully integrated functionality
- -+ high levels of automation/decision support
- -+ conformant to architectual objectives:
- a) network managment hierarchy
- b) co-operative network architecture
- c) open systems platform
-
- End-to-End managment
-
- It is essential to be able to manage networks made up of elements from
- different vendors and different generations of equipment in a consistant
- manner, so that the network can be viewed as a complete entity which provides
- a managed service platform.
-
- Whole Life Cycle
-
- Networks and services must be managhed from 'cradle to grave' (figure 1),
- covering:
-
- -+ forecasting
- -+ requirments analysis
- -+ detailed dimensioning and project planning
- -+ data building
- -+ installation and commisioning
- -+ maintenance/billing/traffic managment
- -+ repair
- -+ performance
- -+ enhancment/withdrawal
-
-
- future service | pre-service
- |
- |
- requirments | data building
- O
- forceasting / \ installing
- / \
- performance / \ commissioning
- /\ \/
- / \
- FIGURE 1 / \ NETWORK AND
- / \ SERVICE LIFE
- O---------------<---------------O CYCLE
- / \
- / \
- / statistics billing maintenance \
-
- traffic managment repair
-
-
- Hands free operation
-
- It is essensial to give network managers a high level of automation in order
- to eneable them to cope with the levels of complexity involved, vast amounts
- of data, apparently random nature of problems, and the need for speed,
- accuracy and consistancy in decision making. This requires:
-
- -+ incidents to be analyised automatically with the manager's concurance
- being sought to the solution offered;
-
- -+ automatic restoration of service to be achived whenever possible;
-
- -+ jobs depached to the workforce based on an optimum approach to jeopardy,
- costs, tactics and company image.
-
- -+ customers notification of service affected generated automaticaly to the
- approproate customer-facing unit; and
-
- -+ performanace statistics kept and analysed on all key proccesses.
-
-
- Development challenges
-
- The challenge for the system developers is to be responsive and meet new
- requirments quickly, while producing enduring systems which fit within an
- integrated set-the jigsaw-- the whole evolving towards the Network
- Administration Implementation Program (NAIP) and SSP vision in a cost
- effective manner.
-
- The developers have to move from a possision of well over 200 systems, most
- of which do not interwork, and many of which no longer offer all the
- essensial fucnctions, to a set of around 40 fully integrated high
- functionality key systems.
-
- Functions must be brought into line with the required buisness proccesses and
- must evolve to match the demands of new network technologys, for instance,
- planning rules for fibre systems must be continually reviwed to encompass
- increasing capacities and repeaterless operation.
-
- Systems must also take account of the changing operational organaisations
- and procedures, framework which can evolve without damaging the software
- investment already made. Solutions have to be achived within four planes of
- change as illustrated in figure 2.
-
-
- -+ linked planes of change
-
- +--------+ +------------------------------------------+
- | | | | -+ people
- | | | | -+ groups/duties
- | N O-><-O-- | -+ skillz
- | | | USER ORGANISATION | -+ procedures
- | E | +-------------------o----------------------+
- | | |
- | T | +-------------------|----------------------+
- | | | | | -+ maintainence
- | W | | : | -+ planning
- | O-><-O-- | -+ repair control
- | 0 | | NETWORK MANAGMENT FUNCTIONS | -+ traffic/control
- | | +-------------------o----------------------+ -+ data building
- | R | |
- | | +-------------------|----------------------+
- | K | | | | -+ computers
- | | | : | -+ terminals
- | O-><-O-- | -+ database
- | | | COMPUTING AND HOST ARCHITECTURE | -+ etc.
- +--------+ +------------------------------------------+
-
-
- PART II (Adminstration of BT Network layers) ohday.
-
- -+ Interface Architecture
-
- The interface architecture provides the means to link all the pieces of the
- jigsaw together. By a mix of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) products and
- pragmatic proprietry products, (for example, SNA, DECNET), a communications
- infastructure will be deployed to connect users to systems, systems to other
- systems for information sharing, and systems to the network elements they are
- managing. Key standards for these interfaces are being defined in the Co-
- Operative Networking Architecture (CNA-M) prgramme.
-
- -+ Data Architecture
-
- Data architecture offers the ability to standardise what the processes need
- to talk about. Defining the structure and format of the key information
- items provides a common currency which may be shared by the complete family
- of support systems. The object orientated style of the CNA-Managment
- communications protocols will ofrce the standardisation of objects as well
- as simple data structures in the CNA-M programme and external standards
- bodies like ISO, CCITT and the OSI Network Managment Forum.
-
- -+ System (Computing) Architecture
-
- The system architecture defines how a particular system is constructed,
- rather than the fucntional role it plays within the jigsaw. This deals with
- the following main conponments.
-
- -+ computer hardware
- -+ operating system
- -+ database managment system
- -+ transaction proccessing
- -+ communications drivers
- -+ man -- machine interfacing (MMI), and
- -+ application programming interface (API).
-
- There is a drive by the computing industry to create standard open interfaces
- to these elements, based on UNIX/POSIX and X Open standards to produce the
- open platform. The system developers are also driving towards reusable sub-
- functions and utilities. These two initiiatives are being bought together
- in the Generic Systems Architecture (GSA).
-
- -+ Integration and evolution
-
- SSP, ONA-M, Generic Systems Architecture and the Network Control Architecture
- Board (NCAB) 5 year vision for support systems evolution have all
- contibuted to creating a clear picture of how support systems will look in
- the future. It is important, however, that a very pragmatic approach is taken
- to realising this vision.
-
- -+ SWITCH MANAGMENT
-
- BT switch managment is carried out by the OMC (Operations Maintanace
- Center) for local exchanges and the operations and maintanance unit support
- system (OMUSS) (an OMC derivative) for trunk exchanges. This system has
- clocked up over 3000 system months of reliable service sinse its introduction
- n 1984. As the first majour network managment system, it has paved the way
- for the NACC/NOU structure.
-
-
-
- +-------------+ +---------+ +-----------+
- | |<-----------------. | NMW2 | | |
- | CSS |<---------. | +---------+ | DCSS |
- +-------------+ | : | |
- | +--:-------------+ +-----------+
- | | |
- | | NOMS 2 |-------------------.
- : | | |
- : +-/--------/--|--+ +-----:-----+
- .- - - - - : - -/- -. / | | |
- | : / | / | | NOMS 1 |
- :/ :/ :/ : | |
- +------+ +---/--+ +--/---+ +---:--+ +-----------+
- | | | | | | | | | | | |
- | FAS | | OMC | | TMS | | OMUSS| : : : :
- +------+ +------+ +------+ +------+ ALARMS
- :\ :\ :\ :\
- | | | |
- | : | :
- | .----------. | .----------. .----------.
- .--------. | | | | | | | |
- | | : | | : | | | INTER- |
- | HOUSE O=========O LOCAL O=========O TRUNK O=========O NATIONAL O===
- |________| | | | | | |
- |____:_____| |____:_____| |__________|
- : \ / : ______
- : \ / : | |
- : x : |______|
- : / \ :
- .----:-----./ \.----:-----.
- | | | |
- | | | |
- | DDC |-------->| DESS |
- | | | |
- |__________| |__________|
-
-
- -+ CSS : Customer Service System
- -+ NMW2 : Network Managment Workstation
- -+ DCSS : District Control Support System
- -+ NOMS : Network Operations Managment System
- -+ FAS : Fibre Access System
- -+ OMC : Operations and Maintanance Center
- -+ TMS : Transmission Monitoring System
- -+ DDC : District Data Collector
- -+ DESS : Digital Exchange Support System
- -+ OMUSS : Operations and Maintenance Unit Support System
-
-
- There are over 60 systems in field serivce, with over 10,000 registered
- users, covering all trunk and local System X and AXE switches. Enhancment
- continues to run at a considerable pace, working its way into the field
- through two major realeses per year.
-
-
- +------------+ +--------+ +------------+
- | EXCHANGE A |<----------| |<------------| EXCHANGE Z |
- | |---------->| |------------>| |
- +------|-----+ +----|---+ ^ +------|-----+
- | | | |
- ==============|======================|=========|==============|=============
- : : : :
- +------:-----+ +---------:---------:---+
- | ALARMS HAN | | | +---
- | DELING SYS |<-----| O M S |----->| O-O
- +------:-----+ | | +---
- : | |
- | | | +---
- | | SRS LECS |----->| |_\
- | | | +---
- +----:----+ | |
- |TERMINAL | | USER FACLITYS/DUTIES | +---
- |DISPLAY | | DEC VAX H/W |----->| ( )
- +---------+ +-----:---:---:---:-----+ +---
- | | | |
- | | | |
- A) ADMINISTRATION USERS / / \ \
- B) MAINTANENCE USERS | | | |
- C) REMOTE USERS ^ ^ ^ ^
- D) OTHER SYSTEMS A B C D
-
-
- -+ OMS : Operational Maintanence System
- -+ SRS : Subscribers Record System
- -+ LECS : Local Equipment Computer System
-
-
- The system is based on a VAX/VMS platform with Oracle relational database,
- its pwn basic forms/menus man --machine interface and X.25/V.24
- communications drivers. The Exchange interfaces are conrolled through
- flexable data-driven translators and the basic structure of the system is
- highly modular. The priority evolution steps for OMC are:
-
- -+ interoperability with CSS, the transmission network survailance (TNS)
- system and workforce managment (NOMS2)
- -+ additional exchange interfaces for advanced services unit (ASU) etc.,
- -+ adoption of advanced workstation (NMW2) man --machine interfacing
- -+ donation of functions to Generic Event Managment (GEMS).
-
-
- -+ Transmission Managment
-
- The transmission monitoring system (TMS) provides a comprehensive survailence
- system for the transmission aspects of the network. While the OMC manages a
- smaller set of complex network elements, the TMS faces the challenge of
- collecting, collating and displaying information from a vast array of
- physically dispersed conponments. After field-trial stages and recent
- product trials in London, the TMS is now being rolled out into the three
- pilot NOU catchment areas. The major TNS functions are:
-
- -+ alarm reception, display, filing, retrival and archiving
- -+ alarm association and comparason;
- -+ performance data proccessing and display
- -+ access to other systems (for example, the junction network system (JNS)
- database)).
-
-
- -+ Local Access Managment
-
- The flexible access system (FAS) is a system which has been developed to
- manage fibre in the local loop. Systems have been installed for the City
- Fibre Network and Docklands. The support system, the service access control
- center (SACC), once more shares a common lineage and technology platform with
- OMC combined with the ICENI database produced by NMD, and used as an
- element in the service desk and facilies managment systems. FAS was the first
- system to attempt to adopt the network managment hierarchy, with well
- defined interfaces between the service access control center (SACC) (network
- level controller) and element managers developed by equipment supplyers. It
- also adopted the network managment workstation (NMW1) to remove a multitude
- of various terminals.
-
- Until the future of the FAS is fully determined, the SACC will not be
- enhanced and evolved. However, the structure of future advanced local access
- managment is being considered based on experience of FAS, LLOFT (the local
- loop optical fibre trial) and cable TV managment.
-
-
- -+ Data managment and performance analysis
-
- The digital exchange support system (DESS) consists of many applications
- which are grouped together under a single code name. Some of the functions
- these appications perform are:
-
- -+ data build for new exchanges and major upgrades
- -+ generic network performance statistics by analysiing the large volume of
- data generated bt switches
- -+ providing national reference source for charging information, and
- associated validation tools to ensure charging integrety
- -+ provding a database and tracking mechanism for all exchange insident
- reports; and
- -+ a register of the hardware and software build levels for all exchanges in
- the network.
-
- DESS is a major system which runs on the largest VAX cluster configurations
- in the world. It supports a population of 2000 users, 140 of which may be
- similtaniously logged into the system. A typical daily workload for DESS
- would be analysing 1-4 Gigs of exchange generated data, producing 35
- thousand pages of printout, and writing or reading 1500 exchange cartridges.
-
- COMMING SOON... NOMS INTERNAL NETWORKING OPER4TIONS.
-
- .
- .
- :
- |
- +----+ GBH -+o
- |
- +----> psyclone -+o +[ 4 HORSEMAN OF THE PSTN NINJ4 APPOCALIPZ ]+--
- +----> hybrid -+o +[ GWAHN BURN'IN H4X0RZ ]+--
- +----> gr1p -+o
- +----> kp -+o-----+[ _\|/_ ]
- | |
- : :
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