A study on a management interface for VP protection switching

With advances in various ATM network services, the ATM network is expected to grow larger and larger. An ATM VP (virtual path) protection switching system and management system will be required to ensure high reliability of this large ATM network. Models of management interfaces are being studied based on a TMN (telecommunications management network). These interfaces are called managed objects. For example, there are some ITU-T recommendations for simple protection switching models such as various kinds of equipment and SDH paths. Although these models are well implemented, study has started on the VP protection model and associated scheme. This paper first lists requirements specific to this VP protection from the management point of view. It also explains why existing standard models do not meet the requirements. Our proposed new model not only solves these problems but is also easy to implement, based on our experience of ATM-network management prototype systems.