Telecommunications Management Network software
The COACH project, funded through the EU's Fifth Framework Programme, employed an Open Source approach in the development of a system architecture appropriate for telecommunications management applications. The primary component is the Element Management System (EMS) application, which addresses the management elements themselves and their functionality. A subset of elements and tasks common to all applications is defined by the Element Management Framework (EMF). The EMF serves as the basic building block of the EMS, which is later expanded to satisfy additional requirements. Intracom S.A. a member of the COACH consortium, instilled another layer of universality by including a Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) Component Model. CORBA middleware automates a number of common networking activities and by its nature ensures a high degree of platform- and device-independent interconnectivity. Furthermore, standards and guidelines issued by the International Telecommunication Union's Telecommunication Standardisation Sector (ITU-T) were closely followed, particularly those related to the upper-bound interface. An EMS prototype was successfully created for Management Information Base (MIB) router configuration and monitoring. Potential for improvement was identified, namely introducing ITU object logic, adding complexity and benchmarking system performance. Currently Intracom S.A. is looking to transfer the know-how acquired during COACH to others through consulting services.