Organizational Unit Banja Luka

New RFTS System for Remote Control and Monitoring of Optical Cable Networks

RFTS equipment for monitoring and remote control of optical links was activated in mid-December last year after successfully passing technical certification.
Ibis Instruments, Belgrade, was contracted to perform all works on this system.
RFTS system for remote control and monitoring of optical cable networks, or ONMS (Optical Network Management System), is a combination of various hardware and software components which can be configured for different applications of optical networks monitoring. Configuration of the system that has been installed and integrated into telecommunication network of 'Telekom Srpske' is only one of many possible configurations, but still one the most often used.

Training courses were held in the training center of the equipment manufacturer, 'JDSU Acterna', St. Ettien, and attended by the workers of 'Telekom Srpske' who will work on the system. Three-day training for RFTS system administrators was successfully passed by three employees of the telecom company, while the two-day course for users of RFTS system, held in the premises of TKC in Banja Luka, was attended by ten workers. Aside from these courses, additional advanced training in OFM software utilization was organized free of charge at the proposal of the contractor.

The system is highly advantageous, allowing 'Telekom Srpske' to quickly and precisely identify problems in the field and significantly reduce MTTI/MTTR. Efficient isolation of difficulties substantially eliminates the number of errors in OT DR reports. Likewise, remote tests facilitate faster testing in comparison with manual testing, at the same time reducing the need for portable instruments.

Within the system implementation project, RTU units for remote control and monitoring of available fibers were installed in the stations Prijedor, M. Grad, Banja Luka, Doboj, Bijeljina, Zvornik, Pale, Visegrad, Srbinje and Trebinje.

Project manager and coordinator for the implementation of RFTS systems in 'Telekom Srpske' was Radoslav Boskic, head of the Department of Optical and Intercity Cables. "Implementation of this system in 'Telekom Srpske' took some four months. Installation of the system for remote control and monitoring of the optical network improves the process of detection and elimination of functional problems. Simply put, before the launch of this system, in the case of optical cable malfunction, one of the workers would go in the field with an instrument and perform measurement to identify the exact location of the malfunction and whether it was optics-related. With this system, errors are eliminated – we can pinpoint the precise location of the break in the optical cable. This information is sent via SMS or e-mail containing the location, i.e. the length of the cable where the problem was detected. Of course, this approach quite obviously greatly facilitates the process of detection and elimination of malfunctions", said Radoslav Boskic in an interview for 'TelekomInfo', adding that several problems have already been detected in the recent months. "Some time ago we had a malfunction in the line Doboj–Petrovo. Unlike the previous period, when we had to physically visit Doboj to locate the break, we identified the location immediately. The only thing left to do was to fix it", says Boskic. In his words, two servers – the main one and the backup – together with 10 RTU units for remote monitoring, allow detection of slightest deviations from the normal operational levels and immediately deliver information to system workers. Each of the units has an optical reflectometer which continuously measures the optical cable and compares the results. If deviations are detected, RTU units send alarm to the ONMS server. These units are connected to the server via ISDN lines and the corporate computer network. If a break occurs, units send information to the server, which forwards it in the form of SMS via GSM modem.

In the station Banja Luka, the main and backup servers together with ONMS and OFM software and Oracle database were installed, aside from an RTU unit. The corporate network of 'Telekom Srpske', as a main communication artery, connects all RTU units – except the RTU unit in Visegrad – with servers in Banja Luka, with ISDN modems as the backup communication channel.

The next steps in the development of RFTS systems might be increasing the number of monitored optical cables, acquisition of another client license with ONMS and OFM software for the organizational unit TT Bijeljina, and realization of a connection between TeleCADGIS base and OFM database. These actions would expedite the process of creation of optical links and help avoid creation of non-synchronized information.

S. Stanić