CMIP-BASED OPS-WS INTERFACE SUPPORTING GRAPHICAL USER-INTERFACE

This paper proposes a method for constructing an interface between an operations system and a workstation (OpS-WS interface) in a telecommun ications management system based on TMN. To construct this interface, an appropriate communication protocol must be selected to perform mana gement through efficient message exchange. The human machine interface provided by the WS should specify the managed objects. The interface also needs to be implemented so as to minimize the software revisions needed when the computer or its associated window system, or both, are changed. The proposed method addresses all these requirements. GUI co mponents for realizing the HMI function are defined as Managed Objects as are communication network resources. Therefore, the communication protocol in TMN is defined as unique and it is possible to separate th e HMI Interface from the OpS. CMIP is employed as the communication pr otocol to provide efficient message exchange. Software components that realize the human machine interface are selected so as to satisfy fun ctional requirements specific to telecommunications management. The ma naged objects (MOs) and their relationships are investigated in order to represent these components appropriately. In the proposed method, t he CMIP-based OpS-WS interface allows the OpS to take the manager role and the WS take the agent role. An implementation technique for MOs i s also presented. The technique enables the software that implements M O behaviour to be coded easily. A prototype is built to confirm the co rrect operation of the proposed OpS-WS interface, and it is shown that CMIP requires fewer message exchanges to indicate alarms on the WS th an other protocols. The proposed method is also advantageous because o f its flexibility. That is, the WS software can be updated with little effort when the computer or its associated window system, or both, ar e changed.