ABSTRACT:
This Generic Requirements document (GR) presents the Telcordia Technologies view of proposed generic requirements (referred to hereinafter as "requirements") for Network Element (NE)-supported measurements and controls that help Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) personnel manage the network.

Network Traffic Management (NTM) is an operations function that provides near real-time surveillance and control of network traffic and supports the identification and resolution of NTM problems. The objective of NTM is to maintain the integrity of a network when it is taxed by network failures and traffic overloads and to maximize the effective use of network resources. This objective is achieved by monitoring a network in real time and applying controls when appropriate. These may be expansive controls that shift portions of the traffic to lightly loaded segments of a network. They may also be protective controls that throttle back the traffic to a level commensurate with the engineered design load of a network.

The NTM operations function provides Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) Network Management Center (NMC) personnel with the capability to detect and resolve a wide range of problems in a network. These problems may result from network congestion during peak periods, facility failures (e.g., a cable cut), media-stimulated mass calling events, natural or man-made disasters, or a variety of other abnormal events.

This document identifies the NTM capabilities required in Network Elements (NEs) (i.e., Stored Program Control Systems [SPCSs]) that serve as end-office curcuit switches. These switching systems may also have tandem capabilities. NTM requirements for SPCSs equipped as Service Switching Points (SSPs) are included in this document, as are additional NEs (e.g., Service Control Point [SCP], Signaling Transfer Points [STPs], and Packet Switches [PSs]).

Issue 4 of GR-477, Network Traffic Management, replaces Issue 3 and any revisions.

Issue 4 of GR-477 includes additional surveillance measurements for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) NE, and discusses the TDM/ATM Gateway.

GR-477 replaced TR-TSY-000477, TR-NWT-000477, and TR-TSY-000516.