ABSTRACT: GR-2958 is an initial effort to identify a uniform data format in order to facilitate the portability of data between vendor fiber management software systems and the Operations Systems (OS's) deployed in Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCS). Such a uniform data format could support:

1)Single Network Interface for all compatible systems, 2) Data Portability between vendor and RBOC software systems and databases, 3) Data Warehousing of and corporate data in a single repository that will be available to all systems that need this data.

In simplified terms, the goal of this GR is to provide a foundation for a "Plug-n-Play" environment between vendor-supplied fiber management systems and the RBOC OS's.