Operation and maintenance requirements on next generation switches

It is pointed out that today´s O&M philosophy stems from current switches and network architecture. The challenges of the ever-increasing complexity and rapidly changing market have been met by overlaying a telecommunication management network onto the telecommunication network. The authors address this picture, focusing on the requirements currently placed on the switches´ interfaces. New architectures will become available for telecommunication systems; in particular, new software architectures may provide a higher level of flexibility. Additionally, high-speed links and high-capacity distributed databases will support the future networks. It is emphasized that O&M beyond the year 2000 is a present-day issue: their feasibility relies on the availability of appropriate architectures. These issues are examined in connection with research projects currently planned by the European Community