computer science

Operations, administration, and management

Operations, administration, and management is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Operations, administration, and management rather than just read about it. In short: Operations, administration, and management or operations, administration, and maintenance (OA&M or OAM) are the processes, activities, tools, and standards involved with operating, administering, managing and maintaining any system. This commonly applies to telecommunication, computer networks, and computer hardware.

Key takeaways

Operations, administration, and management belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Operations, administration, and management to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Operations, administration, and management from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Operations, administration, and management or operations, administration, and maintenance (OA&M or OAM) are the processes, activities, tools, and standards involved with operating, administering, managing and maintaining any system. This commonly applies to telecommunication, computer networks, and computer hardware. In particular, Ethernet operations, administration and maintenance (EOAM) is the protocol for installing, monitoring and troubleshooting Ethernet metropolitan area network (MANs) and Ethernet WANs. The OAM features covered by this protocol are discovery, link monitoring, remote fault detection and remote loopback.

Standards Fault management and performance monitoring (ITU-T Y.1731) - Defines performance monitoring measurements such as frame loss ratio, frame delay and frame delay variation to assist with SLA assurance and capacity planning. For fault management the standard defines continuity checks, loopbacks, link trace, and alarm suppression (AIS, RDI) for effective fault detection, verification, isolation, and notification in carrier networks. Connectivity fault management (IEEE 802.1ag) - Defines standardized continuity checks, loopbacks and link trace for fault management capabilities in enterprise and carrier networks. This standard also partitions the network into 8 hierarchical administrative domains. Link layer discovery (IEEE 802.1AB) - Defines discovery for all provider edges (PEs) supporting a common service instance and/or discovery for all edge devices and P routers) common to a single network domain. Ethernet in the first mile defined in IEEE 802.3ah mechanisms for monitoring and troubleshooting Ethernet access links. Specifically, it defines tools for discovery, remote failure indication, remote and local loopbacks, and status and performance monitoring. Ethernet protection switching (ITU G.8031) - Brings SONET APS / SDH MSP-like protection switching to Ethernet trunks.

OAMP OAMP, traditionally OAM&P, stands for operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning. The addition of T in recent years stands for troubleshooting, and reflects its use in network operations environments. The term is used to describe the collection of disciplines generally, as well as whatever specific software package(s) or functionality a given company uses to track these things. Though the term, and the concept, originated in the wired telephony world, the discipline (if not the term) has expanded to other spheres in which the same sorts of work are done, including cable television and many aspects of Internet services and network operations. 'Ethernet OAM' is another recent concept in which the terminology is used. Operations encompass automatic monitoring of the environment, detecting and determining faults, and alerting admins. Administration typically involves collecting performance stats, accounting data for the purpose of billing, capacity planning using usage data, and maintaining system reliability. It can also involve maintaining the service databases which are used to determine periodic billing. Maintenance involves upgrades, fixes, new feature enablement, backing up and restoring data, and monitoring the media health. The major task is Diagnostics and troubleshooting. Provisioning is the setting up of the user accounts, devices, and services. Although they both target the same set of markets, OAMP covers much more than the five specific areas targeted by FCAPS (See FCAPS for more details; it is a terminology that has been more popular than OAMP in non-telecom environs in the past). In NOC environments, OAMP and OAMPT are used to describe the problem management life cycle more and more - and especially with the dawn of Carrier-Grade Ethernet, telco terminology is becoming more and more embedded in traditionally IP termed worlds.

Procedures

Operation Basically, these are the procedures you use during normal network operations. They are day-to-day organisational procedures: handover, escalation, major issue management, call out, support procedures, regular updates including emails and meetings. In this section group, you will find things like Daily Checklists, On-call and Shift rotas, Call response and ticket opening procedures, Manufacturer documentation like technical specifications and operator handbooks, OOB Procedures

Administration These are support procedures that are necessary for day-to-day operations - things like common passwords, equipment and tools access, organisational forms and timesheets, meeting minutes and agendas, and customer Service Reports. This is not necessarily 'network admin', but also 'network operations admin'.

Maintenance Tasks that if not done will affect service or system operation, but are not necessarily as a result of a failure. Configuration and hardware changes that are a response to system deterioration. These involve scheduling provider maintenance, standard network equipment configuration changes as a result of policy or design, routine equipment checks, hardware changes, and software/firmware upgrades. Maintenance tasks can also involve the removal of administrative privileges as a security policy.

Provisioning Introducing a new service, creating new circuits and setting up new equipment, installing new hardware. Provisioning processes will normally include 'how to' guides and checklists that need to be strictly adhered to and signed off. They can also involve integration and commissioning process which will involve sign-off to other parts of the business life cycle.

Troubleshooting Troubleshooting is carried out as a result of a fault or failure, may result in maintenance procedures, or emergency workarounds until such time as a maintenance procedure can be carried out. Troubleshooting procedures will involve knowledge databases, guides, and processes to cover the role of network operations engineers from initial diagnostics to advanced troubleshooting. This stage often involves problem simulation and is the traditional interface to design.

See also Carrier Ethernet FCAPS IEEE 802.1 International Telecommunication Union Metro Ethernet Forum NComm Operations support system Provider Backbone Transport

References

External links RFC 3429, 7276 Ethernet Operations, Administration, and Maintenance from Cisco Operational Efficiency in ERP and CMMS with integration of AI "EFM OAM Tutorial" presentation by Kevin Daines, IEEE

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Operations, administration, and management

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Operations, administration, and management claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Operations, administration, and management before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Operations, administration, and management ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Operations, administration, and management

In research: Operations, administration, and management appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Operations, administration, and management in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Operations, administration, and management is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ethernet, Network management, System administration, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Operations, administration, and management outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Operations, administration, and management in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Operations, administration, and management means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Operations, administration, and management out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Operations, administration, and management in simple terms?

Why does Operations, administration, and management matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Operations, administration, and management?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Operations, administration, and management.