Operation and Maintenance Center

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An Operation and Maintenance Center (OMC) is an operation and maintenance center for telecommunications networks . The OMC has the task of ensuring the operation of the network. The focus is on traffic management .

One of the many tasks of an OMC is to recognize errors, avoid network failures and react to any type of event ( overload , failure of connections, etc.). Furthermore, an OMC implements planning specifications together with employees on site. This includes, for example, the remote configuration of network components and other remote maintenance activities, such as importing new operating software from a distance. An OMC also collects statistics on network traffic . These serve as the basis for future network planning . Last but not least, an OMC usually also operates fee collection systems .

In larger networks, hierarchical organizations are common in which several OMCs, each of which manages a part (often a geographical region) of a network, are subordinate to a Network Management Center (NMC). The NMC allows an overall view of the network and a higher-level management .

The tasks of an OMC are usually carried out by operating staff with computer assistance. Fully automated OMCs are rare, if not to say a utopia in many areas . Sub-tasks of an OMC can be automated and are often also automated, but nowadays humans and their expertise are still required when making decisions. Automatic systems must also be configured accordingly in order to be able to make decisions later. Due to the network configuration, which is usually constantly in motion, this requires constant maintenance of the automated systems.

The most important tool in an OMC are the so-called Operation Support Systems (OSS). These are computer systems for remote monitoring and control of network elements . Often an OMC uses several OSS. The main reason for this is that the network components from one manufacturer can often only be fully managed with the proprietary OSS from the same manufacturer. Capacity reasons are another reason for using multiple OSSs in one OMC.

OMCs are safety-critical areas. In modern networks, practically every active component is like an open book. OMCs are secured accordingly. Further security measures are also common within an OMC. Employees are assigned roles to which certain access rights - monitored by the OSS - are bound.

literature

  • Andres Keller: Broadband cables and access networks. Technical principles and standards, 2nd edition, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-642-17630-2 .
  • Volker Jung, Hans-Jürgen Warnecke (Hrsg.): Handbook for telecommunications. Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 1998, ISBN 978-3-642-97703-9 .
  • Michel Daoud Yacoub: Wireless Technology. Protocols - Standards - and Techniques, Boca Raton 2001, ISBN 978-1-4200-4115-6 .
  • Jörg Eberspächer, Hans-Joerg Vögel, Christian Bettstetter, Christian Hartmann: GSM - Architecture, Protocols and Services. 3rd edition, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-03070-7 .
  • Qiaohong Zu, Bo Hu, Atilla Elci (Eds.): Pervasive Computing and the Networked World. Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-37014-4 .