Managing telecommunications networks using TMN interface standards

The article presents the scope of TMN standards, identifies the role and importance of interface standards, and describes the key elements of a TMN interface. TMN activities within the ITU-T, from an organizational perspective, are summarized and a more detailed description of the ITU-T specifications, organized primarily by interface element categories is given. The author examines the availability of TMN standards in support of synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) management. (In North America, SDH is known as the synchronous optical network, or SONET.) The role of regional and national standards bodies in TMN is covered. Efforts to speed the availability of TMN implementations are briefly noted and the author describes major TMN challenges and new directions driving its evolution