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Operations Support of Data Services
OSS solutions must be able to support increasingly complex requirements as service providers add new and emerging service technologies to their product offerings. Technologies such as IP, frame relay, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and DSL are becoming increasingly prevalent network technologies. While service providers have been managing Frame relay and ATM for several years, the demand for more feature-rich services has necessitated next-generation OSS solutions that support the complexities of service level agreement (SLA) management, usage-based billing, and flexible quality of service (QoS) parameters.
IP, the technology that drives the Internet, is developing into a carrier-grade technology that will enable a more advanced and widely available mix of voice and data services. Like frame relay and ATM, IP services demand support to ensure high QoS. Two major hurdles must be overcome to ensure QoS. First, service providers must adopt QoS that can map to both connection-oriented and connectionless protocols. Second, they must address the integration of an IP address management system.

Data Service Provisioning
For broadband data service offerings, a service provider must address the bandwidth between two locations as well as quality of service and/or service category parameters as they relate to the particular permanent virtual circuit (PVC), such as the ATM virtual circuit (VC) in the example below. After provisioning the equipment, the provider defines a virtual layout for the field to use for the actual mapping of the VC to the equipment.

Data Service Activation
To support end-to-end automation, the service provider must be able to pass virtual layout information to the network management layer (NML) for activation purposes. This involves using an NML manager to activate the appropriate equipment. Understanding the service provider’s network is key to this process because service providers cannot activate a PVC for an endpoint that is not under their control. State-of-the-art OSS solutions enable service providers to achieve real-time activation and provide tight coupling between the service management layer (SML) and NML.

Advent of Broadband Access
Broadband access technologies also are having a huge impact on a service provider’s OSS. DSLs and cable modems are currently the leading data access technologies being deployed in the United States.
The DSL technologies that enable existing local loops (the copper wires that connect end users to the public network) to carry higher-capacity data streams come in several flavours. They also permit simultaneous voice and data streams to travel over the same wire pair. To support DSL technologies successfully, incumbent service providers must have an accurate, up-to-date view of their copper infrastructure, such as loading coils and bridge taps. Internet service providers (ISPs) and CLECs also have major concerns about getting access to unbundled loops and a clear view of the communication path to the incumbent provider.

A central office (CO) must incorporate two components to enable DSL technologies: a splitter and a DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM). The splitter distributes the voice traffic to the POTS network and the data traffic to the DSLAM. It is possible that the splitter will become obsolete as the demand for an all-in-one box increase. The DSLAM communicates with a DSL modem installed at the end-user location and aggregates multiple DSL streams into a switch for transport on high-capacity circuits using various multiplexing schemes. DSLAMs are managed and maintained much like other end-office equipment, but many OSSs do not yet fully support DSL technology. DSL modules must be added to older OSS systems to enable automatic provisioning and management of DSL services.
DSL technology has several core functions that the OSS needs to support. For example, the DSLAM and splitter, while specific to DSL technologies, are very similar to existing equipment, such as routers and switches, in terms of equipment inventory. Supporting customer premises equipment (CPE), on the other hand, may be a new challenge for the service provider. However, providers with a managed service offering may find they also can handle the CPE network aspects.
DSL technology has several core functions that the OSS needs to support. For example, the DSLAM and splitter, while specific to DSL technologies, are very similar to existing equipment, such as routers and switches, in terms of equipment inventory. Supporting customer premises equipment (CPE), on the other hand, may be a new challenge for the service provider. However, providers with a managed service offering may find they also can handle the CPE network aspects.


More complex broadband access scenarios involve incorporating VCs along with voice services. Traditional OSSs have not viewed DSL as capable of providing this type of service. One approach is to handle the cable pair as a channelized T-1 circuit capable of handling both voice and data circuits. The scenarios typically encountered range from offering DSL on the cable pair with no voice service, to offering a small office with multiple users a DSL solution involving voice channels as well as several VCs that each have differing levels of service (such as an analog phone, a PVC for Internet access, a PVC to corporate headquarters, and an Internet phone connection).
One of the challenges with DSL technologies is that they are susceptible to a number of network pitfalls. For example, local loops that are equipped with special noise filters or load coils will filter out the frequencies at which DSLs operate, rendering them ineffective. Additionally, some services can create interference on DSL lines. If a DSL loop rides in the same bundle as a loop delivering one of these services, the DSL service can be disturbed. Also, some older copper wires, installed years ago, are simply insufficient to support DSL service. Some RBOC regions lack detailed line records that can alert service providers to potential problems; this may be due to line records being kept on spreadsheets or even by hand. As a result, detailed line records may be not only lacking but also not up to date and accurate where they do exist. A strong, next-generation network inventory system is thus critical to the effective deployment of DSL services.