Telecommunications Management Network

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The Telecommunications Management Network is a protocol model defined by ITU-T for managing open systems in a communications network.

TMN provides frame work for achieving interconnectivity and communication across heterogenious operations system and telecommunication networks.

TMN defines a set of interface points for elements which perform the actual communications processing (such as a call processing switch) to be accessed by elements, such as management workstations, to monitor and control them. The standard interface allows elements from different manufacturers to be incorporated into a network under a single management control.

TMN uses CMIP (Common Management Information Protocol) for communication between Operations Systems and NEs or Mediation devices when it uses Q3 interface.

TMN can be used in the management of ISDN, B-ISDN, ATM, and GSM networks. It is not as commonly used for purely packet-switched data networks.

TMN is defined in ITU-T Recommendation series M.3000, and is based on the OSI management specifications in ITU-T Recommendation series X.700.

The TMN framework identifies four functional layers of network management:

Business Management - handling items including billing, account management and administration. This layer relies on inputs from both the Service and Element Management layers for input
Service Management
Network Management - provides oversight services to aid in managing major sections of the network
Element Management - provides oversight and coordination of the services provided by groups of network elements

A Network Element provides agent services, mapping the physical aspects of the equipment into the TMN framework.

The TMN M.3000 series includes the following recommendations: