A stated plan for ongoing operations of an IPT network ensures maximum availability and quick problem resolution. This section is a preliminary check and covers the presence and foundation that built (or will build) the operations plan.
This section reviews the existing network management systems (NMSs) and procedures used to manage the current network in the customer organization by asking the questions listed in Notes/Comments" section to specify whether you would like to use the same NMS products to manage the IPT network or have some other requirement. 4 If you have multiple NMS products, do they integrate with any other system or product to provide a single view of the complete network?
Product:
Version: 5 What kind of reports would you like the IPT system to generate? Use the "Notes/Comments" section to provide details of the reports, sample formats, and how often the reports are to be generated. 6 Do you want the IPT system to generate billing records?
The following are examples of some management and operational reports: Device utilization Trunk utilization System availability reports Call-processing server availability
Voice-mail system availability
Application server availability
IP phone availability
Branch availability Summary of critical outages Summary of critical events generated Summary of problems reported and resolution times
Many customers are opting for Remote Network Monitoring/Management (RNM) service, which is provided by third-party vendors to remotely monitor various network devices 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. RNM service generates alerts to customer personnel when critical events occur and instructs them in which proactive corrective measures to take. RNM service allows customers to offload their internal staff from monitoring the network status, thus saving money. Use the questions listed in Table C-12 to understand your customers current network management provider and plans with the deployment of IPT.
No.
Question
Answer
1 Does the organization have a monitoring system in place?
The information that you collect in this section helps you understand whether the customer already uses an RNM service provider to monitor the existing network. Also, if the customers requirement is to outsource the monitoring of the IPT network to the RNM service provider, you need to understand how the current RNM service provider accesses the network, polls the device status information, etc. You also need to engage the RNM service provider from the beginning of the IPT project, so that it can plan for the monitoring equipment and staff to manage the new IPT network. Some of the tasks that an RNM vendor can provide to a customer are as follows: Manage IPT call-processing servers and other application servers. Provide proactive and reactive support of QoS on the IPT network (LAN and WAN). Perform logical (soft) moves, adds, and configuration changes. Provide a single point of contact in response to trouble calls and tickets. Generate web-based reports and ticket notification. Remotely perform software upgrades and patches. Follow up with product vendors for replacement of defective hardware components. Perform routine backup operations. Ticket, track, and escalate carrier outages to the service provider. Coordinate with telephone service providers.
This section analyzes the current maintenance and support model in the organization. Use the questions listed in Table C-13 to gather this information for your customer.
No.
Question
Answer
1 Does the organization have a support contract with an external vendor to provide day 2 support for the existing data and voice network, or is it self managed?
Vendor Details: 2 Does the organization have plans to outsource the day 2 support of the IPT network to external vendors?
New Branch Provisioning:
Installing New Trunks:
Voice-Mail Change:
Other: 7 What are the organizations plans for training the administrators who support the proposed IPT network? 8 What are the organizations expectations in providing training to end users?
Use the information obtained through