Architecture for integrated telecommunication management platforms

Telecommunication management network (TMN) systems represent diverse telecommunication domains with wideranging functionality which frequently employ different technologies and produce isolated solutions. Yet as telecommunications become more sophisticated, there is a growing need for telecommunication management integration and interoperability. The paper presents a general TMN computing-platform architecture which is flexible and powerful enough to support contrasting TMN management applications while facilitating integration. To validate the architecture, three diverse management applications were profiled based on components of the TMN platform architecture. Core infrastructure components, required by a broad range of TMN applications, are identified and examined and TMNspecific technology is highlighted.