TMN architecture issues
Editor: George Pavlou
Authors: George Pavlou, David Griffin, Eric Scharf
This chapter discusses issues related to the TMN architecture. The ICM project’s work exercised TMN architectural concepts in depth while stretching some of their aspects to the limit. As a result, a clear understanding has been gained on the exact meaning and real-world applicability of those concepts. In addition, extensions and modifications to the TMN architecture have been necessary, most of which have been, implicitly or explicitly, fed-back to the ITU-T Study Group 4. It is these clarifications, modifications and extensions to the architecture that constitute the main focus of this chapter.
An introduction to the TMN architecture is followed by a discussion on the TMN logical layering aspects; the use of the directory to support dynamic discovery and shared management knowledge facilities; a discussion on the nature of adaptation/mediation and the classification of different types of mediation functions; a discussion on workstation functions and the f reference point; and a presentation of the relationship between functional blocks and constituting functional components with the example decomposition of the operation systems function. The revised TMN architecture is finally presented while the chapter closes with a discussion on various related issues.