Seeing is believing - network management for competitive local exchange carriers - Technology Information

The right network management system garners critical advantages.

Selecting the best form of network management (NM) is a tough job for a competitive exchange carrier (CLEC). Many new entrants do not fully understand the pivotal role that NM plays in being a viable player in today's cutthroat marketplace. A bad choice can lead to noncompetitive costs for mature services, a low degree of network transparency, and the absence of a centralized point for gathering and assessing network status data.

"The only edge the CLEC has in today's marketplace is more services at a lower cost with a guaranteed quality of service (QoS) and better network performance to significantly improve customer satisfaction and retention," observes Louis Bender, a CLEC expert who recently managed operations at Miami-based Supra Telecom. "If they pay attention to this important factor, they have much more chance for success."

A management system that is tailored to the needs of a specific network--and those who use it--to communicate and obtain information can yield immediate advantages in three areas:

* Cost management--providing services at the lowest cost;

* Network availability--creating a transparent network; and

* Management visibility--focused status management.

A long-term benefit for the CLEC is the smoother provisioning of new services for its customers--an important element for new entrants as they strive to attract and retain subscribers from incumbent telcos.

"CLECs are not protected by rates like the ILECs, so they must have control over end-to-end service-quality management solutions," says Bender. "These incorporate all the components for monitoring QoS parameters, managing service-level agreements, traffic shaping, performance analysis, and reporting and communicating with provisioning and billing systems. Some do well at this, others not so well."

USER INTERFACE

Telecom providers now operate in an environment where computer operators expect access to high-level programs that display simple icons and provide straight-forward commands. To transpose this environment into the NM arena, the user interface to the system must adopt a similar approach. This ensures:

* The user is not burdened with a need to provide a high level of training to its existing support staff or to hire additional specialists to operate the system;

* The system is readily understandable, adaptable, and flexible--all essential ingredients that yield both immediate and long-term benefits; and

* The supplier can make changes and modifications to the system without the user purchasing expensive and complex hardware and firmware.

A key element is the provision of a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) as much like a PC as possible. A major problem for CLECs in the past has been the need to memorize an array of codes and commands to monitor and adjust network conditions. A user interface that provides access to detailed menus and data fields through point-and-click operations simplifies management of both the network and the operations center.

The interface should:

* Illustrate network trends and statistics graphically;

* Possess the ability to manage network devices remotely;

* Be supported by an expert system that responds automatically to alert messages generated by the devices;

* Enter data on all reported problems into a trouble tracking system; and

* Store problem history records for each end user.

For the provider to realize a true economic advantage, the selected NM system should be obsolescence-proof. It must co-exist and communicate with evolving systems. It should be upgradable without major hardware changes. It should adapt to and conform with future national and international network management standards, such as TMN (total network management).

DESIRABLE FEATURES

Some key features are required to allow the carrier to facilitate access to needed data quickly and to act upon these data in a nonintrusive manner. These include programs that perform functions to facilitate identification and control of NM operations:

* Expert system interfaces that enable the user to respond to alert messages, open trouble tickets, execute Unix scripts, issue SNMP commands, and automate notification procedures;

* Gateway applications that provision and configure network elements automatically by converting work orders into transactions for updating operational support systems (OSS), network elements, and databases;

* Client/server architectures that enable the CLEC to monitor its network using clients such as:

* X terminal;

* Windows NT; and

* Java-based Web browsers.

* Customized multivendor environments in the form of graphical representations called "scenes." The NM administrator should be able to combine these to create a hierarchial view of the network using:

* Scanned-in pix-maps to be used in scenes ranging from images of a multiplexer to an entire network;

* Motif widgets (text boxes, lists, scales, push buttons, and radio buttons) that can be added to the graphical display with readily customized call backs;

* Hot keys (motif buttons) that enable the user to navigate quickly to any scene within view. Each hot key button shows the highest severity alert for its subtree;

* Measurement reports that graphically depict service levels, outages, and network performance; and

* Detailed device information that can be stored in database tables and accessed by on-line users. NM modules that allow multivendor and multiprotocol components to be integrated into a single graphical display of the network, including:

* SNMP;

* TMNQ3-compliant agents;

* DACs, SONET, and ATM devices using TBOS, TABs, and TL1;

* Microwave radio systems;

* HP Openview; and

* SunNet manager.

* NM systems that embrace TMN architecture at the operations system, workstation, and mediation function blocks, as currently defined, and support the CMIP (common management information protocol); and

* "With the extreme pressure on cost, established CLECs demand more control and proactive support through automation," Bender says. "This new category of management system is referred to as service quality management (SQM). It allows CLECs to offer assured service levels to their customers and to integrate the management of QoS with existing business systems and processes, such as service provisioning and billing."

VENDOR'S ROLE

As the industry approaches standardized network management, typified by TMN, it is imperative that the system be constantly refined. This has several aims:

* It keeps the cost of NM at a level that the smaller competitive carriers can afford;

* It enables CLECs to maintain their edge over both incumbent and alternative carriers;

* It provides continued compatibility with other NM systems used by the carrier; and

* It enables the manufacturer to take advantage to the fullest extent possible of advances in microprocessors and programs that make NM even easier for the user.

AND THE MORAL TO THE STORY?

Competitive carriers come from many different backgrounds--independent telcos, cable companies, wireless providers, ISPs, corporate users, and, most recently, from well-financed entrepreneurs. They use a variety of networks and provide a variety of services across them. They serve both small and large users. Although it is often difficult to distinguish one from another, successful CLECs invariably have one thing in common--their networks are well run and managed.

For instance, the NM system used by 21st Century Telecom, a CLEC that serves a growing area of downtown Chicago with multimedia services, is fiber-based. "Most copper systems only monitor physical integrity," says Dennis Parker, manager of data networking. "Our system both cuts and detects overloading. It can be used to dynamically adjust traffic on the network to balance carriage during peak loads. No need to add trunks," he says, which is a big advantage --and a big plus in customer service.

The economic benefits to competitive network providers are obvious. Modern NM systems save money by reducing dependence on a large skilled workforce. Centralized monitoring reduces the need to locate staff remotely and to travel to remote locations. It enables CLECs to offer their customers a secure and reliable network. Last, but by no means least, they are better able to introduce the highspeed services needed to attract and retain new customers.

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One option

The introduction of new NM products forms a vital part of this philosophy. Harris Corp,, headquartered in Melbourne, Fla., recently introduced two powerful new applications for its HNM (Harris Network Management) platform. They are the Services Gateway Application (SGA) and the Performance Manager Application (PMA). These new software applications allow competitive carriers even more flexibility in making operational changes that affect their networks. This lets them improve efficiency, saving them time and money.

"This is a vitally important aspect for a growing competitive carrier," notes Harris' Jim Odum, vice president, network products and services. "These companies must offer value-added services on demand while, at the same time, providing the support that customers expect. These new applications support this process."

Stewart is president of Network Interface Corp., a consulting and lecturing company near Chicago, Ill.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Nelson Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group