Communications protocols for operations administration and maintenance

Ways to meet the requirements of public carriers for communications protocols to support operations, administration and maintenance (OA&M) are investigated. General carrier requirements to achieve effective integration of equipment control and monitoring in a multivendor environment are identified. These requirements are examined in terms of their impact on the design, specification, and application of the protocols. Proposed approaches include precise application protocol specifications, object-oriented modeling of the telecommunications network, and organized management of specifications to ensure an effective system solution. These approaches are being pursued by means of standards participation and product evolution plans