A distributed data driven architecture for operations support systems

This paper proposes a distributed data driven architecture (D3A), devised for application to an operations support system (OSS). By applying this architecture to an OSS, it is possible to reduce OSS hardware and middleware costs, and to change OSS application programs rapidly and flexibly. To assure alarm reception processing performance at low cost, D3A is comprised of a lot of IA servers. With D3A, OSS application programs are divided into a lot of elements similar to UNIX processes. These elements are called processing elements (PEs). A PE is mounted on each IA server. Data that represents the execution sequence and execution condition of PEs is called processing configuration data (PCD). The PCD moves about among IA servers comprising an OSS. The PCD driver (PCDD) is a function to analyze the PCD, and determines the PE to be executed next and controls the route of the PCD. A commercial OSS is being developed by using D3A and will start running in June 2004.