Telecommunications management activities have mostly been supported by operators; however, machines are gradually playing more important roles in the management arena by utilizing computing technology. Additionally, management systems can now be networked by using standard interface specifications. The study of human and machine integration is thus essential for achieving the sophisticated management objectives of telecommunications. This paper proposes the principles for a telecommunications management integration network (TMIN), which integrates human and machine management networks, and proposes a source text description method for transferring management communication knowledge from human to machine. First, reference models are proposed for the management process and management communication. These models cover network management activities of both humans and machines. Second, the contents of the source text are clarified. Source text presents human management knowledge in a form suitable for machine-machine communication. Third, an efficient source text description method is proposed that reduces redundancy and proliferation. Finally, a means of harmonizing management information definitions with TMIN is suggested to facilitate human-machine cooperation.

A highly reliable, operated efficiently, and scalable switching node is required for multivendor system management networks. This paper presents techniques for applying the Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) concept to a distributed switching node. First, we select the TMN protocol structures so as to minimize the command response time. To ensure efficient operation and flexible design of the operation, administration and maintenance (OA & M) software, we propose a command-message handling function for mapping managed objects (MOs) to the OA & M software. We have designed MO classes for switching-system-specific devices with a redundant configuration that ensures highly reliable system operation. The feasibility of these techniques have been confirmed on a prototype system.

Multimedia services based on broadband ISDN (B-ISDN) technology need a network architecture that satisfies the requirements of users, carriers, and vendors. This paper describes a new network architecture for B-ISDN service control and management based on INA. We list general requirements, and present implementation issues of INA. A network architecture and main components, which resolve implementation issues, is then proposed. We also describe a video-on-demand service based on our proposed architecture.