NetGuard - Central monitoring for multi-vendor Telecom equipments

1 System Introduction

1.1 System Description

By the extension of transmission network scale, telecom operators have many equipment vendor products and many transmission standards. Equipments from different vendors have their own EMS/NMS system with various management functionalities and interfaces, which would make it more difficult for telecom operators to centrally monitor transmission network, manage and maintain and daily schedule and the consistency of entire transmission network is hard to be achieved.

Developed by CCSSOFT, established upon various vendors’ EMS/NMS, NetGuard provides central monitoring for all transmission network elements at network element management layer. Through the establishment of a connection across various vendor's EMS/NMS, telecom operators is capable of implementing central and unified management and maintenance of transmission network on a single network management platform.

NetGuard provides multi-vendor equipments central monitoring on a single platform and the system collects all kinds of alarm information and performance data on the basis of operating of EMS/NMS northbound interfaces, handling alarms and performance change form transmission network in time and notifying to operator in a unified manner. By building the relationship between alarms and customer circuit, the operators can be notified to quickly process high level service affected customer circuit in time. Besides, the system also provides management of various work tickets in fault handing flow to track and control the maintenance work.

1.2 Principles of system design

1.2.1 Opening

NetGuard has considerate thought and solution in the system structure, division of the function module and the implement technology to satisfy various operators’ needs.

System chooses the hardware and software platform and designs the software system both based on the general- and openings standard. System adopts the Object-Oriented methods into the analysis, design, development and test, to ensure the software quality in maximum. The developing language is JAVA, which is independent on the types of platforms. Support open Application Programming Interface, which allows both interactive and programming mode .The server platform and database management systems also follow the industry criteria.

1.2.2 Compatibility

Nowadays,CCSSOFT has developed interfaces from the networks system to major transport equipment vendors, including Lucent, Nortel, SIEMENSE, ECI, NEC, Fujitsu, Alcatel, HUAWEI, DATANG, ZTE, FENGHUO and so on, and also created the new information interface according to the special transport equipment vendors’ need. CCSSOFT holds various interface standards which are used universally in the world. For instance, it follows TMF, ITU-T, ETSI, BELLCORE interface standards. CCSSOFT accumulates a lot of experience in developing interface and establishes the standards.

1.2.3 Sophistication

NetGuard uses the internationally advanced, mature software and hardware product and developing tools The software uses the module-structure, in the process of the system design It assimilates international latest ideas and experience to ensure the system be progressive. The whole system structure comply ITU-T Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) Recommendation M.3010 or Tele-management Forum (TMF) Recommendations Enhanced Telecom Operations Map (e-TOM)

1.2.4 Security

NetGuard uses the advanced software technology and the safety protection technology to ensure itself run safely and provide the corresponding logs, which can be used to record and analyze the users’ operation.

Systems are based on the multi-application system structure. The core software technology has become mature and reliable. In order to satisfy the users who need the high reliable system, the systems can adopt the cluster or hot-backup.
Systems also provide tools for users to backup and restore the whole system and databases.

1.2.5 Expansibility

The maximum capacity of this system can be increased by enlarging the hardware and by updating the software. The system uses the expertise to implement the enlarging process step by step without interruption to the business.

This system uses the multi-application structure. The modules in the system can be distributed into the network according to the practical needs, and this will improve the flexibility and expansibility of the systems.

The system structure is based on the JAVA RMI standard that supports the development of the telecom company operation pattern and the expansion of the management business. By adding the new distributed management modules, the new management function domain will be smoothly and safely accommodated. NetGuard provides the whole interface that can make convenient the connection among the network management systems.

According to the user’s requirement, NetGuard is able to open a set of API (Application Programming Interface) to them. By using it, the user can expand the function and capability of the system.

1.2.6 Facility

NetGuard provides abundant and friendly graph user interface(GUI). The user interface uses the Java tools as the developing tools, and has the similar style as the windows 98/2000. In addition to the usual operating functions, the GUI tool bars are provided to simplify the users’ operating interface and accelerate the operating speed.

1.3 System architecture

To accord with those design principles (opening, compatibility, expansibility and facility), the system architecture of NetGuard is composed of there layers: Adapting and Collecting Layer, Data Management Layer and Application Layer.

The Application Layer provides all functions of operation, monitoring and maintenance on the transmission network. The functions include inventory management, topology map management, alarm/fault management, performance and SLA management, report management, security management and system management.

The basic architecture of NetGuard is client-server architecture. If needed, some functions, such as report, can also be implemented by browser-server architecture.

NetGuard is great helpful for TOT users to manage transmission network faults by connection with EMS. Adapting and Collecting Layer has been designed to contain different MDs for different northbound interface of EMS. The MD is responsible to build connection with EMS, collect and map information upward by interface.

1.4 Flow Chat

1.4.1 System Flow Chat

System Setup Flow Chat

1.4.2 Data Flow Chat

Inventory

Alarm

Performance & SLA

Report