A framework for TMN-CORBA interoperability

The Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) Architecture model is the de facto standard for the telecommunications industry; it plays an influential role in development of telecommunications-related systems. On the other hand, the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) model, aimed at the development and integration of distributed systems, has matured and gained importance over the past few years and thus will be influential in the development of general application systems. In this paper, we study the interoperability issues between systems based on these models because of their relevance to integrated telecommunications enterprises. For example, billing can require interactions between OSI-based systems supporting usage measurement and CORBA-based systems managing customer profiles and financial activities. We first introduce a framework for comparing different architectures. This framework identifies key characteristics of architectural models as well as areas where inter-model mappings may be required. We examine the TMN and CORBA models in the context of this framework, then explore some of the issues in providing interoperability between TMN-based and CORBA-based systems. This exploration is guided by the the framework comparison points. Finally, we conclude the paper with a discussion of future work