Realizing a TMN

A functional partitioning of a TMN in terms of management functional areas and functional layers is proposed. This new method for classifying TMN functions is used to suggest logical expansions of the function decomposition in ITU-T Recommendation M. 3400. The method is also shown to be a useful tool for graphically comparing the functionality of Operations Systems that are already deployed, showing how they are positioned within a real TMN. Further, the new classification scheme is applied to the representation, in tabular form, of the functions of a particular example of a deployed OS.Industry standard open interfaces using the Common Management Information Service Element (CMISE) in the context of Open Systems Interconnections (OSI) protocols and the Generic Network Information Model are also being implemented. An example of a Q3 interface (between Operations Systems and Network Elements) and an example of an X interface (between different administrative jurisdictions) are discussed.Progress is being made on infrastructure software components that will ease implementations of TMN functions in a distributed processing environment. Future directions, such as the use of evolving Open Distributed Processing (ODP) specifications in distributed network management, are discussed.