T Telecom Management

7/24/2019 T Telecom Management

1/26

10-1

Telecom Management

The pictures in this chapter marked with For the teacher are not meant to be

shown for the students. The students dont even have these pictures in their

material. It is an extra information for the teacher to get a deeper understandingof the subjects, and in case of questions from the students to be able to answer

them. There is not enough lesson time to use this information.

Exercises are marked as a picture Exercise.


2/26

10-2

Objectives: Telecom Management

After this part, you will be able to:

realise the importance of telecom management in a competitiveenvironment

state the most important standards within the area

describe the historical evolution of telecom management systems

state the application areas of telecom management


3/26

10-3

Reference model

Network intelligence

Access

Transport

Network management

Access

Figure A.8.1


4/26

10-4

Chapter contents

Telecom management standards

Telecom management systems

Telecom management application areas


5/26

10-5

Telecom Management, an introduction

PSTN

PLMN

Internet

Most operators work in a deregulated market with aggressive competitors,

demanding customers and many different networks and technologies (PSTN,

PLMN, ATM and IP switches/routers as well as thousands of access and transportnetwork elements). This is a very tricky situation, and IT support is vital.

Incumbent operators have in many cases in-house developed telecom

management systems (Telia, for example, had some 120 different systems in

1998) which makes it more difficult for them to change services. Intruder

operators have more flexible and modern systems.

In a competitive market, an operator must position himself compared to his

competitors. An operator who is perceived as giving the best customer care has a

valuable position, and to achieve this he must have well working management

systems (and probably a good call center solution connected to this).

Example with Swedish mobile operators:

Telia - best coverage

Comviq - cheapest

Europolitan - best customer care


6/26

10-6

The operators wish

Fault-free network => high quality of services

High call-completion rate => high revenue

Happy and faithful customers => low churn rate

Low costs for operation and maintenance

Information at your finger tip => you know what is goingon; quality, customer habits, popularity of different services

Common management systems for all types of service

mobile

fixed

data

Network management affects the result both on the cost and revenue side.

Operators requirements for a management system

Towards the network: (cost side)

cheap

easy to use

little operating staff

save network costs

Towards the end-user: (revenue side)

retain the customer

connecting new customers

add new revenue-generating services


7/26

10-7

Centralized O&M

OSS

Sales Billing

SCP

SSP

BSC

MSC

DXC

DXC

LT R

IN

PDH

Mobile

SDH

NE

+ less employees+ gathered competence+ broadcast

new

new

new

11

10

12

MUX13

10

10

5

3

8

7

46

4

1

9

2

6

Talk shortly of of how an operator can cut costs for operation and maintenance

with OSSs (Operation Support Systems), see fig. A.8.3-A.8.7 and the text below.

Some typical cost related figures are: O&M 15 %, billing 12% and customer care15% of the total expenses (except for taxes etc).

Overview of the development:

1. Dedicated staff in each exchange has been the case in more than 100 years.

2. With thousands of exchanges operation and maintenance will be very

expensive if this staffing is retained.

3. With the introduction of centralized O&M there is a lot to gain. OSS

(Operation Support System) is the general name for a system used for centralized

O&M.

4. The exchanges can now be operated and maintained from the OSS, and do nothave to be manned any more.

5. Less employees are needed, the competence is gathered in one place and

software can be updated as broadcast.

6. Except exchanges there is also transmission equipment in the network.

Traditional equipment is PDH including e.g. multiplexers, line terminals and

repeaters. There is an important difference between the exchanges and the PDH

transmission equipment. Exchanges has their own intelligence and can report to

the OSS when they are faulty. A repeater has no intelligence and can not report

any faults, it has to be tested from the OSS.


8/26

10-8

7. PSTN/ISDN exchanges and the PDH transmission equipment are all by now

traditional equipment in the network, but new equipment have come the last

years. SDH transmission equipment with e.g. DXC is quite new in the network.

8. Mobile equipment is also quite new in the network, as well as IN equipment.

9. In the Next generation network IP and possibly ATM equipment will be

abundant.

10. All this new equipment has to be taken care of by the OSS.

11. There is a wish to connect the computer of the sales department to the OSS so

that it will be possible to register the subscriber just once. The right exchange will

be automatically updated.

12. There is also a wish to connect the billing department to the OSS. The bills

could be collected centralized in the billing computer.

13. Any equipment in the network that is supervised from the OSS is called a

Network Element.


9/26

10-9

Centralised Operation and Maintenance

Reduce costs with OMC, Operation and Maintenance Centre

Create overview with NMC, Network Management Centre

NMC

OMCOMCOMC

OSS

OSS OSS OSS

DXC

PSTN PLMN

Transportnetwork

Figure A.8.25

Networkmanagement

Elementmanagement

OSS OperationSupportSystem

This is what the operator can do to cut costs. Fig. A.8.17-A.8.25.

Daily operation is handled locally. This staff works normal working hours.

Network planning issues and alarms outside office hours are handled more

centrally.

Advantages with centralized O&M:

A lot of functions will effectively be handled from a few points in the network.

It leads to a reduced personal staff, and is therefor cheaper for the operator.

A big number of functions can be automated.


10/26

10-10

TMN

Networkelement

Networkelement

Networkelement

Networkelement

Networkelement

Telecommunications network

Data communication network

Q3

TMN Telecommunications Management network

OSSOSS OSSOSS

Figure A.8.11

The TMN standard was introduced as a model for operation and maintenance of

telecommunication networks for two important purposes:

-Functionality in a multi-vendor environment

-Optimization of network functionality

Networks with different types of network elements, made in different versions

and by different manufacturers, need:

-standardized interfaces in order to cooperate, defined management functions and

routines/processes


11/26

10-11

Standards related to Telecom Management

TMN, telecommunications management network

OSS, operations support system

NE, network elements

Q3 interface

MO, managed objects

MIT, management information tree

CMIP, common management information protocol

FTAM, file transfer, access and management

Internet standards

SNMP, simple network management protocol

Web technology with HTTP and HTML

Standards from IT industry

CORBA, common object request broker architecture

EDI, electronic data interchange

TMN has not become what it was intended to be (it has never been fully

implemented). However, NE and Q3 are commonly used concepts. The element

management level with OMCs is the most real application. Show fig. A.8.8and A.8.11 from the book with notes, or write on the white board. (Figure A.8.12-

A.8.14 can also be studied)

CORBA is important for the new management systems, since it is well suited for

distributed systems running on different platforms (even written in different

languages). CORBA can be seen as a software bus used by clients and servers.

All CORBA objects are described in an interface specification enabling other

objects to communicate with them. A special language is used, Interface

Definition Language, giving input to a database with metadata of each interface.

CORBA is a standard for different software programs for the OSS-componentsregarding traffic measurements, charging etc.


12/26

10-12

Evolution of management systems

AOM 101

an example of a large monolithic system

1977 => -86

TMOS

UNIX-based system on an Ericsson platform

1987 => -96

Standard IT systems

1997 =>

Extensive sourcing

Third-party suppliers specialised in one area (e.g. fault

management) Pre-integration made by Ericsson

The telephone network used to be built on one proprietary platform, such as

AXE, and the best management solution was a proprietary system connected to

this platform.Since then, much has changed. The network contains a mixture of systems from

many different vendors. At the same time the management area has become much

more standardized.

This means we (Ericsson) can (and must) source out much of the development

and concentrate on the integration that creates a total solution - both when

building networks and when building management systems.

The IT industry is increasingly entering the telecommunications area. Pure IT

companies are entering, like the German company SAP working with economy

systems.


13/26

10-13

Telecom Management Application Areas

IT & systemmanagementIT & systemIT & system

managementmanagement

Telephony/ISDN Access

Transmission

Customernetwork

management

CustomerCustomernetworknetwork

managementmanagement

NetworkoperationNetworkNetwork

operationoperation

Serviceprovisioning

ServiceServiceprovisioningprovisioning

Datawarehousing

DataDatawarehousingwarehousing

Customer managementCustomer managementCustomer management

Data/IP

The various parts of the network will have their element management systems

(OMCs). We then need to integrate functionality in a number of areas, supporting

the sales office, billing office, large enterprise customers and, last but not least,the O&M staff.

(Of course there are also functions for the IT-support who install and maintain the

management system itself, as shown in the right-most area.)

Network operation: Here we have the NMC. Sweden uses one NMC for each

network. In California they use two NMCs for all networks.

Each network (the clouds): Different element management systems with OMCs.


14/26

10-14

Network operation

Network traffic management

Multi-vendor and multi-service networks (voice, IP, ATM)

Monitor, supervise and control traffic in real time

Network fault management

Detect, manage and resolve disturbances

One system for faults = better customer service

Network performance management

Present trends and statistics

Find points of expansion/reduction

Multi-vendor, multi-technology (the PSTN and the Internet e.g.) and technical

convergence has made this area more difficult. For example, a router and an AXE

switch reacts differently to faults. This creates competence problems. Telecomoperators know the PSTN, and the Internet operators know the routers, but now

the telephone network and routers should be handled by the same staff.

The O&M staff are supported with the following functions:

Network Traffic Management -traffic analyses and supervision

A system for viewing, tracking and managing voice and data

communications across multi-vendor, multi-technology networks.

Network Fault Management:

Network Surveillance- fault localization

Presents and analyses network alarms (switching, transmission systems

and load conditions reported by the switches e.g. overload alarms).

Trouble Manager- fault correction

Supports the problem-resolution process. Fault management has become

more difficult as different network element behave differently (e.g. a

faulty router behaves differently from a faulty AXE exchange).


15/26

10-15

Network Performance Management -measurement for statistics

Stores, analyses and presents historical data from the network. Used for

service and maintenance planning.

(The network Fault Management is presented in more detail further ahead)


16/26

10-16

Customer management

Billing and call charges (e.g. discounts)

Payment management (credit card, prepaid etc.)

Inter-operator accounting

Customer order and work management

Help desk

Here we will find the Sales office and the Billing office.

Customer management is becoming more and more important in a competitive

market. Ordinary people find it difficult to differentiate and compare the servicesoffered by different networks. However, if you have to wait 30 minutes in the

Customer Care Center, it is easy to say something about the operator. Some

people claim that one dissatisfied customer conveys bad will to a large number

of other customers or potential customers in the ratio of 1 to 8 (the bad will

conveyed by one dissatisfied customer is equal to the goodwill created by eight

satisfied customers).


17/26

10-17

Service provisioning

Service activation

One system for all types of service, if possible

Automatic, if possible

Real-time, if possible

By the customer, if possible (e.g. via Internet)

Service provisioning will be more and more important if many different services

are offered by the network (e.g. POTS, ISDN and ADSL).

NI service handling is included in this area (Service Management System)


18/26

10-18

Local Exchange

On white board

Groupswitch

Subscriberswitch

LIC

ADSL

Connection changemade by an intelligentcross connector

An intelligent cross connector can be used by the operator to connect a subscriber

to a new line interface for e.g. ADSL or ISDN. In this way the subscriber gets his

new service faster. In the old way the operator had to shift the cables manually.This is one way of provide services for the customers in a shorter time (TTC).

.


19/26

10-19

Service provisioning, example

OrderManual

Automatic

Manual work Service in operation

Serviceprovisioning

- $ + $

Order Service in operation

+ $

It is quite complicated to connect one subscriber to a network or a new service if

this involves setting up data in a number of systems (e.g. the access network,

local switch, billing database, IN-node, etc.).Being able to do this from one point creates a shorter TTC (faster Time-To-

Revenue) and a happier customer.


20/26

10-20

Data warehousing

Fraud detection

Customer calling analysis

Monitoring of Quality of Service

Churn management

The term data warehousing means that lots of data is stored and post-processed to

find many particulars about the subscribers and the network. Usually, most of the

data originates from the Call Detail Record (CDR) used for charging. CDRanalysis can show many different things, such as fraud and many other

unsatisfactory conditions.

A lot is won if the operator can discover and act upon problems before the

customers or competing operators discover them.

This type of information, just as the customer data base (Customer management),

is business critical. Therefore it is normally not outsourced, but handled by the

operators themselves.


21/26

10-21

Customer network management

Management of customers network

Centrex

Virtual private network

Real-time billing

Outsourcing of network management

Bandwidth management

Customer network management is used to support large business customers. For

example, Telia takes care of Ericssons ECN network, which requires efficient

tools. IT support is a key success factor for the company.Many large enterprises want to divide the management. For natural reasons

(competition between the end users, in this case the enterprises) they want to take

care of the business critical areas themselves. What areas that are business critical

depend on the enterprise, but it might include streamlining the connections,

managing a call center, monitoring things like the QoS or the call-completion

rate, etc.


22/26

10-22

IT and systems management

Manages the support system

Supports distributed systems

should also support evolution from monolithicsystems to distributed systems

management of interfaces between systems

User-authorisation profiles

Upgrading of applications

Monitoring of computer resources

Just like in any other network environment there are also functions for managing

the management systems themselves.

Users can be defined and authorized to a certain user level, HW and SWinterfaces can be set up and the management applications can be installed and

maintained. This means there is an administrator user (super user) who has the

widest authorities and who can perform all these tasks.

The Telecom management system is built up by LAN, servers, disk systems and

executive systems like UNIX or Windows NT. For large operators much work

goes into supervising and updating all these entities.


23/26

10-23

Example: Network fault management

NFM should minimise service downtime

Faults in a multi-vendor and multi-technology network isdifficult to handle

NFM should

detect faults

manage the fault resolution process

correct the fault

NFM consists of three main parts

Network surveillance: presents network alarms

Trouble manager: supports the problem-resolution process and

notifies other systems (e.g. customer management system)

Performance manager: stores, analyses and presents historicaldata (could be used for service planning)

The Network surveillance handles alarms and localizes faults.

The Trouble manager handles trouble ticketing, work orders and fault correction.

The Performance manager is used for preventive actions.


24/26

10-24

Example: Network fault management

X.25 or TCP/IP

Data links

Alarm listAlarm log

Topologydatabase

Troublemanager

Networksurveillance

Performancemanager

Customermanagement

Notify

1. Xxx xxx2. Xxx xxx3. Xxx xxxStop

OSS

Q3interface

NE

The various network elements (switches, routers, multiplexers, etc.) send their

alarms and status records over data links to the NFM system. Also existing non-

standard protocols can be handled in this communication. The NFM system thenstores all this information in a unified way in its database and presents it to the

operator (who gets one interface independent of the differences in the network

elements way to convey their information).

Network Surveillance presents network status on maps (could be large screens)

and indicates alarms graphically. All alarms from network elements are stored in

the database (alarm list).

Trouble Manager helps the operator to fix the fault. For example, a flow chart can

be presented on the screen, and access to O&M documents from the supplier is

provided.

Performance Manager presents statistics valuable for service planning.

All this is notified to the customer management system. This makes it possible

for the Help Desk to indicate what caused the disturbance. See the left arrow in

the picture.


25/26

10-25

Example: Customer management/Billing

Billing of

Fixed and mobile networks

Business subscribers (e.g. Centrex, VPN and leased lines)

Broadband services

Data communication (e.g Internet)

Cable-TV network

Accounting (against other operators)

Multi-vendor and multi-technology support

Examples of new demands:

Hot billing One customer - one bill (for different network subscriptions)

There are many functions in Customer management. Well focus on the billing

function.

Towards the large enterprise customers (who have traditionally catered for a largeportion of the operators profit), a clear billing has been a demand for some time

already. This is now spreading also to small companies and households.

For the operators themselves a fast and efficient handling of the billing gives a

very strong impact on their result. The handling cost of one bill might well be in

the range 10-20 USD, so being able to send a single bill to each customer instead

of maybe 3-4 bills (fixed telephone, mobile phone, cable TV, Internet

connection) saves money.

Multi-vendor and multi-technology gives the operator opportunities to sellservices for different kind of networks, and disadvantages in the coordination of

different equipment and networks.


26/26

Example: Customer management/Billing

CDRs

Billing mediation platform

Call rating &billing

Paymentmanagement

Customer ordermanagement

Tariff planmanagement

Inter-operatoraccounting

Data warehouse- Fraud detection

- Calling analysis- etc.

Otheroperators

Customerorders

Front helpdesk

Customertrouble

ticketing

Information fromnetwork faultmanagement

Hot billing

The Call Detail Records (CDR) are sent to the Billing Mediation Platform for re-

formatting (required if different vendors have different formats of the CDRs).

CDRs are also sent to Data Warehousing for analysis. Call rating and Billinggenerates the actual bills, but can also send out information directly to the

customer for a specific call e.g. e-mail to a hotel or a car rental company. This is

called Hot billing. Billing information is also used by the accounting function

regulating the flow of money between operators.

(If a Swedish subscriber calls a friend in the UK, the Swedish operator sends the

bill and gets the full income. But the call has passed the English operators

network too, and maybe even been transiting through other operators networks,

so some of the income must be shared with these operators. This is called

accounting, and how the money is shared is strictly defined by interconnection

agreements.)

T Telecom Management

Documents