Exception Manager |
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Executive summary:
The REWSStools® “Management by Exception” methodology is designed specifically to address the 1st requirement for lowering the MTTR which is to rapidly detect problems on the network. This is accomplished by targeting the most essential key performance indicators (KPI) and automatically monitoring these simultaneously for many network elements across a broad section of the network and clearly highlighting any underperforming elements that require the attention of technical personnel.
The exception manager is incorporated into REWSStools® in 2 ways:
- Through the web based GUI: In the web based GUI there are numerous pages where exceptions are presented graphically so the user can not only see which network elements are in breach but also see the values plotted graphically on dynamic charts
- Through a background alarming engine: The 2nd implementation is through an engine running in the background that will automatically issue alarms/alerts via SNMP, email and/or SMS to advice users when an exception is detected.
The value for the operator: Not another screen to watch
One key requirement of any such NBI application is that it should handle the resource intensive task of analyzing the call traffic data in real time and notify technical personnel whenever a potential fault is detected. This is a far more effective approach than requiring skilled and expensive technical staff to sit and watch GUI screens for many hours each day in search of issues. Technical personnel should spend their valuable time implementing fixes and maintaining the network … not searching through an endless string of screen shots.
How it works:
REWSStools® captures the latest (current) KPI values for all network elements and compares them against the “expected” values which are dynamically determined based upon recent historical data trends for each individual element. Although a certain degree of performance fluctuation is tolerable for each KPI, any network elements currently demonstrating sub-standard performance levels in excess of a user-defined threshold are highlighted for the users. All other elements currently demonstrating acceptable performance levels are excluded from view.
Filtering out the network elements that are demonstrating acceptable performance levels will quickly and easily draw the user’s attention to the other elements that are currently encountering performance problems and hence should be subjected to more rigorous inspection.
It should be noted though that some exceptions are detected in a more simple fashion by monitoring current data values against user-defined static thresholds. In this case it is not necessary to calculate an expected value through the evaluation of historical trends.
Return of Investment:
Rapid fault detection will lead to rapid fault resolution. By reducing the overall MTTR the operator can reduce the amount of downtime from network outages and thereby protect and maximize revenue streams.
Conclusion:
Employing the REWSS “Management by Exception” methodology through the implementation of the Exception Manager will greatly reduce the time it takes for network issues to be detected. This will in turn lower the overall MTTR for all issues on the network. The end result will be a higher uptime for the network and more stable services offered to subscribers. |
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