A Network Management Framework for Emerging Telecommunications Networks

Abstract

Current Network Management (NM) procedures are concerned primarily with monitoring aspects. The architectures are centralized and based on static managed objects. They do not provide real-time control capabilities. Within this framework, effective network management depends on the coordination of monitoring operations across various Element Management Systems. The coordination is handled for the most part, by engineers/operators through manual procedures at designated Network Operations Center (NOC). The Subject Matter Experts at the NOC also use intuition and heuristic data to occasionally fine-tune the network parameters in order to maintain the advertised service-level objectives and control the traffic flow.

Today’s industry procedures, such as SNMP and TNM frameworks, presenta number of limitations for the complex and heterogeneous emerging telecommunication networks.

The next generation networks are expected to inter-connect different access network technologies and architectures in a multi-vendor environment. The access technologies such as optical Ethernet, dark fiber, wireless LAN and fixed wireless access systems will provide better and more resilient alternatives for multimedia traffic than existing DSL and Cable access networks. The core networks serving metropolitan regions will similarly migrate to increasingly heterogeneous technologies and architectures across different software platforms .More efficient technologies, such as Resilient Packet Rings, possibly Terabit and Gigabit Routers, OXC switching nodes and multiple service protocol platforms will provide the framework for transporting heterogeneous multimedia traffic over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing core networks.

A more efficient framework to facilitate network management and control in next generation networks is proposed. This framework employs a distributed architecture of autonomous and heterogeneous sensor entities. Thearchitecture facilitates peer-to-peer networking under the supervision of a novel Integrated Network Management System (INMS). This approach provides automated decision making, rapid deployment of network management “service” functions; real-time monitoring of fault, configuration, accounting, performance and security management functions; real-time provisioning; and real-time NM control activation and removal. The novel framework provides an integrated view of end-to-end managed network entities