OSS ( Operation Support System ) for Telecom ( osstelecom | 21 hours )

There are no specific requirements needed to attend this course.

Introduction:

OSS/BSS is at the heart of operation of any Telecom operator. Given growth of Big Data in recent time,
area of OSS/BSS has undergone disruptive changes specially with virtualization of the OSS/BSS and given
the fact, many of the new OTT ( Over the top) services are newly developed web/mobile based services
that do not fit into legacy OSS. In this current course, which consists of 4 days, first 3 days are spent
extensively to develop background in legacy OSS/BSS, while last 5 modules, are dedicated to explain
emerging Big Data analytics application in OSS/BSS layer

Target Audience:

• Telecom/Cellular Operation People
• Telecom Sales professionals
• Telecom Operation vendors/contractors
• CXO, VP, Director level managers in TELECOM

Module -1: Introduction to legacy OSS, Journey to new virtualized OSS

• Elements of OSS, Voice/Video/Data/Enterprise
• Plan and Build, Provision & Maintain
• Cable, DSL, Broadband, Wireless, Backbone
• FCAPS
• Different types of management: Process, Fault, Performance, Capacity, Traffic, Workforce, Activation/Deactivation, Service fulfillment, Configuration
• Big Data in OSS/BOSS: Real Time Analytic and decision making/ Precise MARKETING: Value upgrade targeting, churn reduction / Operational efficiency -Preemptive customer care/ Subscriber centric traffic off-load

Module-2: Introduction to different types of legacy networking services

• What is a Network?
• Connection Oriented (Circuit Switching)
• Connectionless (Packet/Cell switching)
• Quality of Service (QoS): Throughput, delay, jitter, Rings and Rerouting
• Technologies to support high reliability: Rings, additional hardware, Rerouting, additional intelligence
• Network Element (switch/router, Transmission Media ): Twisted pair, Coax, Fiber Optics, Air
• Technologies: Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), SONET, (PDH), Architecture: Rings and Lines
• Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay (F/R)
• Integrated support for QoS: Applicable for Voice, Data, Video
• Connection oriented (PVC, SVC), Architecture: Hierarchical, Internet Protocol (IP) Very High Speed – up to 10GB
• Connectionless: Architecture: Directed Acyclic Graph
• Multi-layer Service

Module-3: Network Management System (NMS)-1: Protocols, Faults, Configuration

• Use of Manager and Agents: Protocols such as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), TL1 (Translation Language 1), MMI, Q3, CORBA: SNMP - Simple Network Management Protocol
• Use of TCP/IP stack (SNMP over UDP over IP):
• Use of Management Information Base (MIBs): Standard (over 2000) Experimental, Enterprise specific, Manufactures define and publish proprietary MIBs, Standard for IP networks and becoming the de-facto management protocol ,Can be used for Fault, Performance,
• Configuration: SNMPv3 was to include greater capabilities, Drawbacks with respect to scalability and security, Billing Mediation via bulk transfer of AMA or CDR, Security to be addressed in SNMPv3
• Fault: Detection, isolation and correction of abnormal operation
• Configuration: Change the configuration, Collect information about the current condition, Announcements of significant changes in the condition
• Accounting: Keeping track of service usage by customers
• Performance: Gather statistical information
• Thresholding: Maintain and examine logs of system state histories
• Security: Creation, notification, deletion and control of security services and events
• Fault management – (in depth ): Alarm Surveillance, Alarm reporting and  summary, Fault Filtering and Localization, Use of thresholds, Fault Anticipation, Alarm Correlation, Handle Event Storms, Determine Underlying Fault, Automate Corrective Actions, Fault Correction, Forward alarms (X.733), Trouble tickets (X.790), Service test, circuit, test, loop backs
• Configuration Management: Inventory Management, Current status of each entity – What is available, what is in use, what is planned, Keeping track of device settings and how they function, Provisioning, Define configuration information, Set and modify attribute values, Provision resources upon request – Design and Assign – Automatic path finding, Define and modify relationships Initiate and terminate network operations
• Distribute software, Set clock
• Trail Manager

Module-4:: Network Management System (NMS)-2: Accounting, Performance, Security (More details)

• Accounting: Keeping track of service usage by customers, Produce usage records - resources include Requirements / Sender / Receiver – Number of packets/time (rate base versus time based usage) – QoS tracking, Service, Communication facilities Computer hardware
• Performance management: Performance Monitoring – sample various metrics, Traffic distribution, Percentage of packet types, Distribution of packet sizes,Delay distribution, Collisions, CRC errors, Dropped packets, Channel Utilization,Performance Management Control, Alarm Thresholds, Traffic control, Performance Analysis,Record statistics for further analysis - network trends. Effect of traffic load, Define a stable network
• Security: User management - Access Security, Identification, Authentication, and Authorization, Scoping, Functionality, Audit Trail, Tracking security events and producing alarms, Data Encryption: public key, private key, session key, Identifying attack attempts and blocking them, Blocking malicious contents (viruses, worms, etc), Intrusion Recovery

Module-5: MIB Support & OSS, Inventory Management System

• RFC1155 Structure of Management Information RFC1157/ Simple Network Management Protocol /RFC1212 Concise MIB Definitions /RFC1213 Management Information Base II (MIB II) /RFC1354 SNMP IP Forwarding Table /MIB RFC1447 Party MIB for Version 2 of the SNMPv2 RFC1450 MIB for SNMPv2 RFC1471/ MIB for the Link Control Protocol of the PPP RFC1472 /MIB for the Security Protocols of the PPP RFC1473/ MIB for the IP Network Control Protocol of PPP RFC1474/ MIB for the Bridge Network Control Protocol PPP RFC1493 Definitions of Managed Objects for Bridges /RFC1512 FDDI Management Information Base/ RFC1643 Ethernet-like Interface Type MIB
• Model Service and Network Inventory used by all OSS processes: Planning - Information on current and planned capacity usage
• Fulfillment - Service and Resource provisioning, Assurance - Topology based correlation
• Support: All technologies > All services > All vendors > Auto-discovery > Service Providers always have multiple inventory systems
• Physical and logical inventory
• Service Inventory

Module-6: ETOM & OSS

New Generation Operations Systems and Software (NGOSS) vs Legacy - A walk through

ETOM14 to NGOSS

• Loosely coupled distributed systems
• Application components/re-use
• A technology-neutral system framework with technology specific implementations
• Interoperability to service provider data/processes
• Allows more re-use of business components across multiple business scenarios
• Workflow automation

Legacy

• The traditional operator systems architecture consists of four layers,
• Business Support System (BSS) layer, with focus toward customers and business
• partners. Manages order, subscriber, pricing, rating, and billing information.
• Operations Support System (OSS) layer, built around product, service, and resource inventories.
• Networks layer – consists of Network elements and 3rd Party Systems.
• Integration Layer – to maximize application communication and overall solution flexibility.
• Strategy, Infrastructure, and Product (SIP) covering planning and lifecycle management
• Operations covering the core of day-to- day operational management
• Enterprise Management covering corporate or business support management
• Market, Product, and Customer: High-level view of the market and the enterprise’s offerings
• Service: Product components developed by the enterprise
• Resource (Application, Computing, and Network): Consumed in the production of the Service
• Supplier/Partner: Providing products and services to the enterprise for the production of the Service
• Level 0: Business Activities that distinguish operational customer-oriented processes from management and strategic processes
• Level 1: Process Groupings including business functions and standard end-to- end processes
• Level 2: Core Processes that combine together to deliver service streams and other end-to- end processes
• Level 3: Tasks and associated detailed “success model” business process flows
• Level 4: Steps and associated detailed operational process flows with error conditions and product and geographical variants (where required)
• Level 5: Further decomposition into operations and associated operational process flows where required

Module-7: Process Management

• Process example: ORDER FULFILLMENT > Order includes, Delivery date, Combination of service types,Location
• Process Designer
• Customer Experience – QoSMoS
• Data Management
• Demand Management Services
• Testing Services
• Social CRM (new areas)

Module-8: Capacity Management

• Forward Looking Capacity Planning: Long-/medium- term oriented,Top-down oriented approach, Typical use case: - Forward looking capacity plan - What-if analysis - Changes to network structure
• Proactive Capacity Management: Medium-/short- term oriented, Ongoing utilization monitoring, Adaptive capacity augmentation, Typical use cases: - Analyze capacity trends -“Just- in-time” capacity adjustment - Dynamic thresholding
• Thresholds severity levels facilitate problem reporting: User configurable severity levels aid prioritization, Rapid pinpointing of capacity issues, Port, VLAN, bearer, Power, etc. Can be used against current or trended data

Module-9: Trend, Site & Frequency Management

• Ensuring that the network is sized correctly: Understand what’s out there and how it’s being used, Identify under-utilized network, See what new demand is coming ,Determine what and when to build
• Allowing the operator to Create the “Service Ready Network” > Reduce capacity shortfalls and order fallout/delay
• Site Management: Model the usable space in a site i.e. the perimeter and layout of an equipment room
• Power and HVAC: Model power supplies, generators, airconditioning units and their capabilities
• Zone Management: Represent the relationships between a supply (e.g. power) and the parts of the site that it serves
• Device Placement: Ensure equipment is installed in a suitable location with sufficient power and cooling
• Google Map Integration

Module- 10: Service fulfillment

• Allocate and activate resources to support new customer services e.g. Quad playoffering for $100 per month, Broadband – e.g. 10 MB/sec per weekday and 20 MB/sec on weekend, Voice – 1000 domestic minutes plus international calls at 10c per minute > Wireless – 1000 SMS, 500 domestic voice minutes, and 1GB of data. If exceeded, costs are 1c per SMS or voice minute or MB > TV – 50 basic channels s and 4 sports channels
• Order Capture: Offer customer different combination of services > Voice > Data > TV > Wireless, With various price plans, Voice minutes, Data speed, Data volume, TV Channels, Number of SMSs, Support multiple order actions, Provide, change, cancel, suspend, amend

Module-11: Activation and workforce management

• Work Oder Assignment: Work Orders Assignment, Type/category, Location and driving time, Importance
• Skills: SLAs, Commitment times, Work instruction
• Activation: Use of activation systems to execute the tasks determined by the inventory systems using the API of the corresponding element management system, Use of the Configuration capability of FCAPS, Used for automatic actions

Module-12: Recent trends in OSS/BSS Integration, Big Data & IoT in Telecom

• Virtualization of OSS/BSS
• Advanced analytic and Big data
• Real Time Analytic and decision making
• Precise MARKETING: Value upgrade targeting, churn reduction
• Operational efficiency -Preemptive customer care
• Subscriber centric traffic off-load
• Cell Site Optimization
• Dynamic profiling
• Click Stream analysis

Optional 4 th day in Big Data Analytics in OSS

Target Marketing/ Customer/Subscriber acquisitions

• To identify highest velocity clients
• To identify clients for a given products
• To identify right set of products for a client ( Recommendation Engine)
• Market segmentation technique
• Cross-Sale and upsale techniques
• Client segmentation technique
• Sales revenue forecasting technique

Churn Management and reduction

• 3 Types of Churn: Active/Deliberate, Rotational/Incidental, Passive Involuntary
• 3 classification of churned customers: Total, Hidden, Partial
• Understanding CRM variables for churn
• Customer behavior data collection
• Customer perception data collection
• Customer demographics data collection
• Cleaning CRM Data
• Unstructured CRM data ( customer call, tickets, emails) and their conversion to structured data for Churn analysis
• Social Media CRM-new way to extract customer satisfaction index
• Case Study-1: T-Mobile USA: Churn Reduction by 50%

Network Operation Analytics

Network Operation analytic- root cause analysis of network failures, service interruption from
meta data, IPDR and CRM:

• CPU Usage
• Memory Usage
• QoS Queue Usage
• Device Temperature
• Interface Error
• IoS versions
• Routing Events
• Latency variations
• Syslog analytics
• Packet Loss
• Performance Threshold
• Device Traps
• IPDR ( IP detailed record) collection and processing
• Use of IPDR data for Subscriber Bandwidth consumption, Network interface utilization, modem status and diagnostic
• HFC information

Big Data OSS/BSS vendor/Platform- A comparative study

• IBM & COMVERSE OSS/BSS
• Open source Flexera OSS solution
• ETI Software
• Ericsson
• Huawei
• Nokia
• Oracle
• Subex
• Amdoc
• Ascom