The magic of centralized intelligence - remote testing solutions - Industry Trend or Event

Communications News, Feb, 1999 by Doyle Mills

A modern Network Operations Center can remotely test and troubleshoot network problems.

It's a remote control world. Have you noticed how people today will spend 20 minutes looking for their television remote control rather just walking up to the television to change the channel? Are people just lazy? Maybe. But it may also be that our operating environment has changed. Twenty years ago most of us had three television channels to choose from; today 100 is more likely. The television viewer of 20 years ago knew very clearly what his three channels were and when his favorite shows were on.

There is also the factor of time. Along with everything else, the value of time seems to have skyrocketed. Time is money, so the cliche goes. Many of us work longer hours at our jobs. We certainly have many more available options to fill our limited spare time.

So there are at least two factors that make remote control a good choice for the home:

(1) Increased complexity; and

(2) The value of time.

Strangely enough, these same factors apply to the telecommunications industry. Let's look at item number one--increased complexity. Over the years telephone networks have gone from very simple to very complex. Now a central office is filled to the rafters with switches, multiplexers, digital cross connects, test equipment, and more--from a multitude of vendors. It is mathematically impossible for a central office technician to have enough time to become fully trained on all the different equipment for which he is responsible. Even if the technician could find time to do it, today's competitive companies cannot always justify providing extensive training.

"Just get hired at the phone company and you' 11 be set for life." That was good advice, given by fathers and guidance counselors to new college graduates, in 1963. For many, many years the "telephone company," affectionately known as "Ma Bell," was regarded as one of the most stable careers available. You started, you worked 40 years or so, and you retired comfortably. You were expected to show up on time, work hard, and be loyal to the company. In exchange, Ma Bell paid you a decent wage and provided benefits and full training.

But this is 1999. Times have changed. Today's competitive providers (remember Ma Bell didn't have to be competitive) are very careful where they invest their dollars. It is usually not a good investment to extensively train technicians who may stay with the company six months before migrating to the competition. This means that a lot of the technicians on the street do not have sufficient training to install, test, and troubleshoot today's networks.

Should a corporation train each of its technicians and equip them with test equipment? Or should it train two or three technical personnel and invest in remote testing solutions? This is where the term "centralized intelligence" comes in.

Remote testing solutions consist of test devices, informally called "test heads," and management software. These test devices are permanently installed and connected to the network. Management software is installed on PCs or workstations in the Network Operations Center (NOC). Connection for control/data gathering between the test devices and the NOC are usually Ethernet or X.25. Other options are often available, including the use of dial-up modems.

Many remote instruments feature DS1, DS3, E1, and SONET test interfaces. They quite often can look at ATM cells or other protocols carried within these signals. All testing is done remotely by the NOC technicians operating one or multiple remote devices to accomplish the testing of new circuits or trouble-shooting of network problems.

The term "centralized intelligence" also means that all the data concerning a new circuit or a troubleshooting process is contained in one place. The NOC technician commands that the test be started, then gathers his data while the test is running or after a timed interval is complete. Therefore, he has all the data immediately at hand. This greatly simplifies the operation of the network, resulting in increased productivity and reliability.

Now, let's examine item two--the value of time.

Telecommunications today is not a luxury for most of us. Businesses, governments, and individuals absolutely depend on the reliable transfer of data every day. Vital messages are sent via e-mail. Many businesses depend on the Internet to promote their wares to potential customers. Millions of dollars in credit card transactions happen every day. Engineers working in multiple locations together do complex design work.

In this environment, downtime in net-works is very, very expensive. Each optical fiber can be carrying several thousand telephone calls or Internet customers. An OC-48, for example, can be carrying just over 32,000 telephone calls or the equivalent amount of data. If a problem exists, someone somewhere had better find the problem and eliminate it! Remote testing helps in these situations. Rather than dispatch a technician to drive to a site, connect test equipment, and troubleshoot, the modem NOC can run many tests throughout the network and pinpoint the trouble very quickly.