Alarm Flow Management

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 Module Objectives
After completing this module the participant will be able to:

Describe how alarm events are sent from the network element to the
management system
Identify when there is a problem in the management connection between
NetAct and the network elements (alarms not arriving)
Explain how alarm data inconsistencies can occur and what applications
are available to correct them
Explain how the alarm flow can be modified both at the network element
and through the management system
Understand how alarm flow can be reduced using OSS tools (alarm flow:
informing delay, correlation, reclassification, filtering)
Understand how alarm flow can be reduced using MML or Element
Managers (informing delay, reclassification, blocking)
Use Maintenance Mode to support planned works

Note: these topics are covered in greater depth in a

separate OSS Alarm Reduction Workshop – please ask you
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4 trainer
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What is Alarm Flow Management?

Network Only alarms which

Operator
are useful for
identifying faults

Redundant
alarms

Transitory

Alarm
fow
alarms

Notifications

Network
Elements
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 Example: Usability of Alarm Flow Management
2900 Incoming Signal Missing
2902 PCM Line Remote End Alarm
2909 AIS Received
2910 Framing Error
2912 Bit Error Rate Over Limit
2915 Fault Rate Monitoring
2923 CRC Bit Error Rate Over Limit

One fault – many alarms!

2567 BCCH Missing
7704 PCM Failure
7705 LAPD Link Failure
7706 BTS O&M Link Failure

8099 Bit Error Rate (BER) > 10e-3 2567 BCCH Missing
8101 Receives Bit Error Ratio (BER) >10e-5
7538 Signalling Error in Abis Interface
8182 Fault in Far-End receiving 7704 PCM Failure
7705 LAPD Link Failure
7706 BTS O&M Link Failure
8050 Loss of incoming 2M Signal
8066 Alarm Indication Signal (Ais) received
8081 Loss of Frame alignment
8099 Bit Error Rate (Ber) > 10e-3
8112 Frequency error
8179 Far-End alarm
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 Benefits
In practice,of Alarm of
techniques Flow
AlarmManagement
Flow Management assist you in the
following ways:
• You can sort out the genuine faults that need focused
attention and immediate user action.
• You can exclude from online network monitoring the
unimportant alarms, for example alarms due to maintenance
work.
• You can identify the types of alarms which you can let NetAct
handle automatically.
• You can create associations and correlations between alarms
to reduce the number of alarms per fault.
The end result is that monitoring personnel can concentrate on
solving genuine problems. This, in turn, has the following benefits:
• Quality of service is improved as faults affecting the
performance of the network are investigated more quickly.
• Information overload is avoided.
• Staff turnover is reduced. Skilled staff can concentrate on
solving network. problems instead of the routines of network
monitoring or system maintenance.
• Operational costs are reduced as less people are required in
network monitoring.
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 Areas and Tools for Alarm Flow Management

Alarm Monitor
100% 100%
Alarms Alarm pipe
Maintenance Region
from NE's in NetAct
Views
… globally in OSS:
Settings of Alarm
Monitoring Tools

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Correlation's
… globally in OSS:
Alarm Reduction Tools
Informing Delay
& Filtering & …
These topics are covered
… globally in OSS: in great depth in separate
Alarm Reduction Tools
Blocking & Informing Delay OSS Alarm Reduction
Workshop – please ask
you trainer for further
… locally in Network Element details
OS8335EN51GLA0
Alarm Cancellation & Acknowledgement

User action:
Alarm is acknowledged
Active &
Acknowledged
Alarm System (or User):!
Alarm is cancelled

Active & Alarm is

Unacknowledged Cancelled &
Alarm Acknowledged

RNC, WBTS, ...

System (or User): User action:

Alarm is
Alarm is cancelled Cancelled &
Alarmis acknowledged
Unacknowledged

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 Alarm Flow in Alarm Pipes

Alarm
Buffer Buffer Pipe
Forward
to E-mail

Confirmation
Alarm
Alarm Alarm
Alarm Alarm
Alarm
WARDS THE NETWORK ELEMENTS
Collector
Collector Processor
Processor Forwarder
Forwarder
Alarm

ificaing &
Alarm
ti on
Viewer
r
Rec Filte

MO
MO State
State
Server
lass

Server
rm
Ala

Alarm Monitor
& Remote Al.
Browser

Alarm
Database
Top-level
User Interface

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 Alarm Life Cycle
5
Alarm Correlation
1
Alarm
9
Alarm Pipe 4 6
2
(Collector, Processor,
Forwarder)
10
Alarm Handling Application
3
Alarm Monitor
10 8
DB

ALARM 7
DB Cleanup 11 AC
ACK
CAKNC
CANCEL EL
9
Trash

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NetAct management connection and alarm
inconsistencies
NetAct alarm database should automatically “mirror” alarms in the network:
• New alarms are sent by network elements and inserted into the NetAct
database
• Cancellations are sent from the elements when faults are cleared in the
network
Alarm inconsistencies could be caused by faults in the NetAct management
connection – for example failure in DCN between NetAct and network element:
• To indicate that management connection is working elements send
“heartbeat” alarms to NetAct
• If “heartbeat” alarms do not arrive in specified timeframe an alarm is
generated in NetAct: “alarms not arriving from network element”
Users can also create inconsistencies by cancelling alarms in NetAct (not
recommended):
• If the fault still exists in the network, the element will resend the original
alarms anyway!

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 Alarm Database Upload
In case of suspected
inconsistencies between NetAct
and network element alarm
databases, a manual upload
can be performed.
Right click on the object and
select “Alarm Database Upload”

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 o f using
Alarm Parameter Mgmt. on OSS Level tag e s
Advan r Alarm
OSS fo ter Managem
e nt :
e
Param
s i s te n cy
Co n
Speed
Nokia NetAct (OSS) y
Visibilit
Filtering
• FM Rule Editor - from user interfaces or from database
• Maintenance Mode – activated from TLUI
Reclassification
• FM Rule Editor
Informing delay
• FM Rule Editor – with Unix process and configuration file
Correlation
• Alarm Correlation Rule Editor
OSS
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Alarm Filtering and Reclassification

The user can control alarm fow

from network to database or
alarm handling application by
rule sets
Filtering: alarms are filtered
from the alarm handling
applications or totally omitted
from the database
Alarm Reclassification: alarm
classes can be changed
Auto-ack: generates an
automatic acknowledgement
for the alarms covered in the
rule
Ack with cancel: generates an
automatic acknowledgement
for the cancelled alarms

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Alarm Correlation The user can create correlation
rules so that only the most
informative alarms are shown in
the Alarm Monitor application

Compression: an alarm is shown

only once, even if there have been
several occurrences of the alarm
active at the same time
Suppression: lower priority alarms
are not shown when there is an
active alarm of higher priority
Count: a new alarm is generated
whenever a predefined number of
defined alarms have been received
within a certain time

Informing delay: if the alarm is cancelled

within the specified informing delay time, it
will not be shown in the alarm monitoring
applications

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 Alarm Parameter Mgmt. on Network Element
Level
Base Station Controller (BSC)
Alarm Parameters Handling BCF Maintenance Mode Handling
(MML: ZAP) (MML: ZEM)
• Alarm Output – Block BCF Alarm Handling
• Informing Delay – Modify Maintenance Mode
• Alive Time Parameters
Blocked Alarms Handling BTS Alarm Handling
(MML: ZAB) (MML: ZEO)
• Alarm Blocking – Block BTS Alarms
– Output BTS Alarm Parameters
Alarm Printing Handling
(MML: ZAT)
• Block Alarm Class Printing
• Alarm Printing
– To Printer 2G
– To Q3 Alarm System

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 Alarm Parameter Mgmt. on Network Element
Level

Radio Network Controller (RNC) Alarm Parameters Handling

RNC Element Manager, (MML: ZAP)
Fault Management Tool • Alarm Class
• Blocking • Alarm Output
• Reclassification • Delay
• Indication Prevention Alarm Flow Handling
(MML: ZAF)
• Alarm Blocking
Alarm Printing Handling
(MML: ZAT)
• Disable Alarm Class
Printing

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3G
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Maintenance Mode

User can block unnecessary alarms from a

network element (NE) and reduce the
number of alarms shown in the monitoring
applications (for example during planned
works)
By default, in maintenance mode, no alarms
from the NE are received (configurable)
When returning to the normal mode, the
NetAct database is synchronised with the NE
Maintenance mode can be activated for one
NE or a NE and its subnetwork
A workstation alarm is sent for each NE in
maintenance mode, which enables separate
monitoring of NEs in maintenance mode
Maintenance Mode is activated and
deactivated from Top-level User Interface
NEs in maintenance mode are shown in blue

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