Operator Interface
Xenon operator interface is implemented using SNMP (Simple Network Management
Protocol). Interactions between the operator and the system can be broadly
classified into the following categories:
| Commands |
Operator uses commands to configure and change the system
configuration. The system executes the operator command and responds back
with a report. Examples of a few Xenon commands are:
- Create a V5.2 interface
- Change the state of a XEN card to Under-Maintenance.
- Run periodic diagnostics on the system
- Create a V5.2 Subscriber
- Obtain current system statistics
|
| Alarms |
Alarms are generated when an abnormal condition is detected
by the system and might need operator intervention to alleviate the
problem. The alarms are classified as critical, major and minor to signify
the urgency of the alarm. The alarms are cleared when the system reaches a
normal state. A few examples are:
- A critical alarm is raised if a XEN card fails
- A major alarm is generated if a digital trunk failure is detected.
- A minor alarm is raised when high digital trunk error rate is
detected.
- A critical alarm is generated when the CPU utilization on the XEN
card exceeds 70%.
|
| Events |
Events are generated to notify the operator of routine occurrences
in the system. Unlike alarms, events do not need to be cleared. A few
events generated by Xenon are:
- Billing information for the week has been sent to the billing
system.
- Routine diagnostics have been completed
- Subscriber line has entered line lockout state due to the subscriber
leaving the phone offhook.
- A call record is generated for a call, giving complete information
about the duration, calling and called phone numbers
|
Operator
Interface Architecture
As
mentioned earlier, the operator interface is implemented using SNMP. The OMC
runs the SNMP manager which manages all the objects in the system. These objects
are referred to as managed objects. Basically every entity in the system is
considered to be a managed object. A few examples are, a XEN card, V5.2
subscriber, a digital trunk.
Operator
commands about managed objects are sent by the OMC in a MIB (Management
Information Base). The MIB is received by the SNMP agents running on CAS and XEN
cards.
SNMP
Operations
The
commands, alarms and events are implemented in terms of the the following SNMP
primitives:
-
SNMP
Get: This command allows the SNMP Manager running on the OMC to
obtain information from the SNMP agents running on XEN and CAS. SNMP Get is
used to implement statistics and query commands.
-
SNMP
Set: This command allows the SNMP Manger to set values for the
managed object. SNMP Set is used to implement creation and modification
commands.
-
SNMP
Trap: This command is used by the SNMP Agent to notify the SNMP
manager about various events. SNMP trap is used to implement alarms and
events.
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