An integrated model of the ATM switch for control and management purposes

The fast pace of technological innovation and the multiservice characteristics of the modern telecommunications scenario are bound to defeat any sectored approach to its technical problems, based on deep analyses of a partial view of a general problem. This methodology often leads to the development of different models within different environments constituting different views of the same object. An instance of this problem has been identified in the field of ATM switching, where three switch models are under consideration for the management, control and customer network management (CMN) points of view. None of the models can be considered as exhaustive nor representing the complete physical reality of the equipment. Each of them is presented in the paper with references, where applicable, to the current activity of standardisation bodies and interest groups. A more effective approach consists in facing the problem in an integrated manner, developing a model including at the same time aspects from the different views. This means the study of a single, consistent, complete model of the ATM switch at a suitable level of abstraction, and suggests an architecture where the different representations are mapped onto different views of the same data structure. A possible realization of this approach is sketched, together with an example of management, control and CNM interactions (based on CMIP, signalling and SNMP, respectively) and their impact on the common data structure.<>