The use of advanced information processing techniques in maintenance systems for integrated broadband networks

There is a growing trend to use advanced information processing (AIP) techniques as a means to contain and manage the complexity of telecommunication networks. The RACE project AIM is concerned with the application of such techniques to maintenance of the integrated broadband communication network (IBCN). A prototype of a Generic Maintenance System Builder (GMSB) is currently being developed, which implements a representative set of AIP techniques. The purpose of the system is to demonstrate how some generic concepts can be applied to a great variety of situations, and how they can be tailored to vendor, carrier or network specific problems. Within the context of the project, these concepts will be applied to two specific telecommunication systems: the DSSS (Digital Subscriber Switching Subsystem) of System X, and the Berkom network (B-ISDN). The paper describes the GMSB knowledge based system and some representative AIP techniques that are considered in the AIM project, highlighting their relevance to network maintenance tasks. These techniques are: object oriented modelling and inference and control mechanisms