Unified Fault, Resource Management and Control in ATM-based IBCN

In this paper we present the initial specification of a system that covers both the control and management planes of network operation, with emphasis on fault, performance, and configuration management. The system incorporates rapid and reliable ATM network layer selfhealing mechanisms, intelligent load balancing, dynamic routing and resource management functions all interworking together with the overall goal to ensure cost-effective network performance and availability under normal and fault situations. Restoration mechanisms in the ATM network layer are integrated with the control and management plane functionality, aiming at providing an integral and network-wide treatment to the problem of fault recovery. The system is designed and is being implemented adopting the emerging TINA framework and using a CORBA-based distributed processing environment. The validity and effectiveness of the system are assessed and demonstrated through international ATM field trials.