Towards technology independent and automated service activation and provisioning

Many telecommunication service providers (telcos) currently face new challenges of service provisioning and service activation in a multi-technology environment. The time required to develop management systems for a specific technology is always a bottleneck for the fast deployment of that technology. To be competitive in this new multi-technology environment, telcos need a flexible management system, which is technology independent and can be deployed quickly. The generic network model (GNM) (see "Generic Network Model Series", Astracon White Paper, 1998; Chen, G. and Kong, Q., "Integrated Telecommunication Management Solutions", IEEE Press, 1999) is designed to allow telecommunication networks to be modeled independently from their underlying technologies. Its purpose is to provide a vehicle for developing management applications for end-to-end connection services, across multiple technology domains. The GNM also provides a platform for better integration between different TMN (telecommunications management network) management layers, and between different management technologies. This paper presents the key components of a practical GNM based solution. It also gives a simple example of applying this solution for IP VPN services management.