A Q3 interface for managing a national telecommunications network: Motivation and implementation

A practical implementation of a telecommunication management network (TMN) Q3 interface for the management of telecommunications switches is described. The interface consists of a full seven-layer open systems interconnection (OSI) protocol stack and the following three application service areas: 1) alarm surveillance, 2) command interface and 3) file handling. Seven regional operations and maintenance (O&M) centers are based on telecommunications management and operation support (TMOS), Ericsson´s TMN platform. TMOS is reviewed briefly. The centers are connected to a nationwide O&M network to support the management of the entire Norwegian telecommunications network. This represents an early, and fairly large-scale introduction of an operational TMN network