Open network architecture from an operational perspective

The authors address the operations, administration and maintenance (OA&M) aspects of open network architecture (ONA). First, the OA&M requests made by enhanced services providers (ESPs) in the ONA process are reviewed with regard to both for specific capabilities desired and general trends in the capabilities requested. Second, requested OA&M capabilities are discussed in terms of BOC (Bell operating company)/ESP information flow and specific OA&M systems. Finally, observations are made on the possibility for leveraging network management capabilities developed for large end users to usage by ESPs.<<ETX>>