A Management Automation Framework for Mobile Networks

A Management Automation Framework for Mobile Networks

Future operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) of mobile networks will be characterized by complex tasks and workflows, whereas requiring a huge amount of human operators causing high operational expenditures (OPEX). Thus, the idea of shifting more and more of these complex tasks from the human operators to the mobile networks and their network elements (NEs) respectively becomes always more important for every mobile network operator (MNO) in order to reduce its OPEX. The final stage of this shifting process may yield completely selfmanaging mobile networks, an idea and vision originally stemming from the computing industry. However, transferring this idea to mobile networks and achieving it is very complex, as – beneath the general research challenges for such selfmanaging mobile networks – there exist a couple of domain specific constraints compared to computing systems. Moreover, there also exist certain human challenges, which additionally have to be considered, as they complicate the successful integration of management automation technologies and solutions for mobile networks evermore.

Thus, immense efforts are spent by the telecommunication industry within research communities, initiatives, and forums in any directions to converge to this vision, which result in a widely scattered landscape of management automation technologies and solutions. This paper therefore aims to provide a management automation framework that, on the one hand, allows the classification of any management automation technologies or solutions as well as enables the identification of their contribution to the overall vision, and on the other hand, shows a strategic way to cope with the human challenges constraining their operational integration.

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• A Management Automation Framework for Mobile Networks - (2006_WWRF_Meeting17_Kasinger.pdf, 443 KB)