Improving operation and maintenance for switching network

Concepts and techniques for updating switching network O&M (operation and maintenance) through dynamic management and expert systems are proposed. An overview of a network O&M center (NOMC) being developed to integrate these two concepts is given. Dynamic network management, which consists of network supervision and analysis of subsystems, controls dynamic status of the entire network. The diagnostics expert system gives the NOMC the designer´s diagnostic ability, based on hypothetical reasoning and knowledge-base management. The NOMC enables the field O&M technician to maintain the knowledge base, and it is the first step toward an O&M expert system. The NOMC is implemented in an efficient distributed system and uses a standardized interface