Chapter 4

Functional, Physical
and logical
Architecture
Author
Prof. Dr Abdul Qadir

5.1 What is TMN?

It is a set of international standards for managing
telecom networks
According to ITU-T recommendation M.3100
TMN is conceptually a separate network
that interfaces a telecommunication network
at several different points to send/receive
information to/from it and to control its
operation
This means the idea of TMN is to use an
independent
management network to manage a
telecommunication network by communicating via
well defined and standardized interfaces.

Cont

Why standards are required?

because telecom networks typically
consist
of network elements of different
technologies supplied by multiple
vendors
See Fig.5.1. It shows relationship
between
a TMN and the telecommunication
network it
manages

TMN consists of :
Operation systems
data communication networks
managed network elements
Operation system implements
managements
functions in coordination with portion of
network elements that fall in the TMN
domain (i.e. switches, transmission systems
etc. )

5.2

Managed networks

This includes any combination of

following technologies:
circuit switched or packet switched
networks
public switched telephone networks
Private enterprise networks
conventional PSTN or intelligent
network

Managed equipments

Equipments in managed network

may include:
transmission lines
digital switches
analog switches
software to be managed
services, these require service
management

5.3

TMN Architecture layers

A set of architectures that collectively

provide
a formal architectural foundation for
the
management of telecommunications
networks
that up until their introduction had
largely
been ad hoc practice
These include physical, functional,

Fig. 5.1

General relationship of TMN to a telecommunication networks

Operati
ng
system

Operatin
g
system

Operatin
g system

Operating
system

Data communication
network

switc
h

Transmissi
on system

Transmissi
on system

switc
h

Components of Telecommunication
System
Figure 5.2

5.3

MOTIVITATION FOR TMN

Some factors prompted the development of

TMN. Among them are:
Proprietary management systems
multivendor network operating
environments
lack of integrated management
lack of automation and consequently the
high operation cost
new requirements posed by new realities in
the telecommunication industry

Proprietary environment:
All telecom networks are proprietary. So
these are unable to interoperate with each
other. Hence management required
Multivendor environment:
There is no homogeneity among vendors
network.
Nowadays the network of service provider is
made of equipment from multiple vendors.
So difficult to operate
Hence efficient management required

Cont..
Lack of integration:
In conventional telecom networks a serious
problem was that service was often tightly coupled
with special resource
Hence management system is required to cater
to each service resource pair.
Nowadays integrated systems exist providing
comprehensive view of services and resources in
their network.
However, it is difficult to integrate under
multivendor and proprietary environment
Hence management of this scenario is taken care
of by TMN system

Cont..

Lack of automation:
Most network and service
management
processes are manual. This is because
of lack of
standardization of the process
themselves
Similarly when proprietary process
becomes
outdated with equipment update

Cont..
New reality of telecom industry:
As new technology is introduced, previous
practices are outdated
New requirements are created with
technological advance, e.g. GSM equipment
will not work for 3G. New set up have been laid
down
Another example is that of intelligent network.
In it service processing from call processing and
network resource functions. Traditional systems
worked such that call processing and service were
coupled

Cont
As the telecom networks are
becoming large and complicated,
management systems have to be
able to scale up accordingly
Network service evolves with more
rapid pace, so must the
management of new and modified
services be available at a more rapid
pace

5.4 Network and Service management requirements

There are many but the following

need special addressing
Support Automation
Increased complexity and
deregulated worldwide telecom
market, manual operation is too
expensive
Hence automation is needed which
must be via standard-based systems

TMN Recommendations

Interoperability support:
This is requirement by market, regulation and
technological advances
Interoperability between different services is
mandated by regulation such as Telecommunication
Act 1996 in USA
Convergence of multiple technologies (e.g. voice,
data, Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and
ATM,
wireless and wireline) and merging of markets (e.g.
Internet, PSTN, cable telephony business) make
interoperability between the diverse management
systems more important than ever

Support rapid technological

evolution:
Rapid technological advances, rapid
market evolution and global market
make it imperative for a network and
service management paradigm to be
able to adapt this rapid pace of
change

5.4

TMN Functional Architecture

Introduction:
It consists of a set of functional blocks, a set of
reference points and a set of functional components
Functional block is a logical entity that performs
a prescribed management function.
Reference point separates a pair of functional blocks,
and two functional blocks must communicate via a
reference point. See Fig.5.3
It is not necessary that all should be present in
each TMN configuration
Fig. 5.2 describes various types of network
configurations

Fig.5.2(a): Management System and its Interface

User
Access
computer

A
management
system

Complaint
agent
Network
element A

A different
agent

Proprietary
agent
Network
element B

Fig.5.2(b)Basic components of a Telecom network

Fig.5.2(c)Wide Area Network

Fig.5.2(d) Wide Area Network

Ontari
o
Norwa
y

Californi
a

WAN

British
Columb
ia

Japan

Dominica
n
Republic

Belgium

Pensylvani
a

Fig.5.2(e) Local Area Network

Fig.5.2(f) Other E-business networks

Fig.5.2(g) Client Server networking

Telecom Processors and Software's

Processors
Modems
Multiplexers
Internetwork
Processors

Switches
Routers
Hubs
Gateways

Fire walls

Software's
Network Operating
System
Telecommunications
Monitor
Middleware
Network Management
Software

Management systems manages two network

elements
Network element A has an agent with a
standards complaint interface, and the other
element is from a different vendor with an
agent that has a proprietary management
protocol
User can access the network management via
a remote access computer
The management system is connected to
another management system of yet another
management protocol.

5.5

TMN Functional Blocks

1. TMN is to manage a telecom network consisting

of diverse network elements from different
vendors. To accomplish this management goal, the
following components are involved:
A set of management functions to monitor,
control and coordinate the network
a set of managed network elements
the capability for the TMN user to access the
management operations and to get a
presentation of the operation results
2. In addition there shall be the capability to
convert management information in a
proprietary format into a standard TMN format
to achieve the interoperability.

There are five functional block to

accomplish the above described
management:
1. Operation System Function (OSF)
2. Network Element Function (NEF)
3. Workstation Function (WF)
4. Mediation Function (MF)
5. Q-adaptor Function (QF)

Fig. 5.3 Functional Blocks and Reference

Points

WS
F

f
q3

MF

f
q3

OSF

qx
q3
QAF

NEF

Functional blocks as copied from TMN Recommendations

OSF(operating system function)

It is manager
It provides bulk of management facility
It process management information for the purpose of monitoring, coordinating
and controlling telecom networks
Core services provided by OSF:
Application support in the areas of configuration, fault, performance,
accounting, and security management
Database functions to support network resources, configuration, topology,
control states and status
User terminal support to provide human machine interface capabilities
Analysis programs providing the analytical capability in fault and performance
analysis
Data formatting and reporting to support the communication between two
TMN functional entities or between a TMN function block and an outside entity
(e.g. a human user or another TMN)
Analysis and decision support to provide the decision-making capabilities to the
management applications
Its major communication is with network element function NEF (through reference
point q3).

Fig.5.4: OSF-NEF
Communication
OSF

Reference point
q3

NEF

NEF (Network Element Function)

It presents a view of the managed

network elements to the OSF and it
provides the network being managed with
telecom and support functions.
Primary responsibility is to handle traffic,
(see Fig.5.5)
OSF

NEF
Reference point q3

Fig.5.5

When observed closely, it can be

seen that:
QSF and OSF are drawn within box
labeled
TMN
This means these functional blocks
are completely specified by TMN
recommendations
WSF, NEF and QAF are drawn at the
edge of the box
This only parts of these functional

MF (Mediation Function)

It acts on information passing

between an OSF
and NEF.
It provides storage, adaptation,
filtering,
thresholding and condensing
operations on
the data received from the NEF
It also routes and acts on
information flowing
between a manager and an agent.

QAF (Q-Adaptor function)

Provides translation capability to

connect a
proprietary NEF or OSF to a TMN
It also provides capability to
connect a nonTMN element to TMN
It is a capability of TMN to given
that its
mission is to integrate existing
legacy

WSF(Workstation Function)
Provides functionality for interaction
between a human user and the OSFs.
It can be viewed as a mediation between a
human user and the OSF
It convert information coming out of a OSF
into a format that can be presented to a user
and vice versa.
It is not considered the full part of TMN and
hence is shown at the edge of TMN boundary
It communicates via g-reference point
(discussed
later)

5.6Reference points

Reference point:
The intention of reference points is to define service
boundaries between two management function blocks
also to identify the management information passing
between function blocks
Another way to define is that it is Conceptual point of
information exchange between non-overlapping
management
function blocks.
reference point is a logical entity, its
implementation is an interface

Classes of Reference points

1. q class: reference point between NEF and
OSF, QAF or MF. Within this class we have
qx : which is between NED and QAF, or MF and
between two MF
q3: between NEF and OSF, MF and OSF and OSF and
OSF
2. f class: it is for attachment to WSF
3. x class: It is between to OSFs belonging to different
TMNs
4. g point: between WSF and the operating personnel
5. m point: between QAF and non-TMN managed
entities (e.g. proprietary interfaces)

Can also be summarized as:

TMN reference points:
. q reference points
- q x:

Between NEF and MF, QAF and MF, MF and MF

- q 3:

Between NEF and OSF, QAF and OSF, MF and OSF, OSF and OSF

. f reference points

- Between WSF and OSF, WSF and MF

. x reference points

- Between the OSF function blocks in different TMNs

Non -TMN reference points:

g reference points

- Between human users and the WSF

m reference points

- Between QAF and non-TMN managed entities

Reference Points
Between Management Function Blocks
Fig.5.6

Implementation of a reference point is

an interface.
See Fig.5.7

Fig.5.7

TMN Functional Architecture Illustration

user
User
g
WSF

Access
computer

f
x

Managemen
t system

A different
management
system

OS
F

OSF

q
MF
complian
tq
agent

Proprietar
y agent

NEF

Proprietar
y NEF

q
NEF

QA
F

Proprietar
y NE

Fig.5.7 illustrates mapping of TMN

functional
architecture onto the network example
shown in Fig.5.2(a)
The management system maps to OSF, and
two network elements with an agent
map to two NEFs
access computer is WSF
In addition two more function blocks are
added: The mediation function and the
Q-adaptor