Status of FCAPS model? Useful? Obsolete?

Thu Nov 11 01:02:44 UTC 2004

I agree that there's alot of interest in ITIL but I'm not so sure it offers 
a conceptual model that
  makes sense of network management.  ITIL is more generic that FCAPS so it 
would be
  like describing scientific method in terms of Aristotle's concepts of 
form and matter.  Bad analogy?

The usefulness that I see in the model is it's ability to present a big 
picture of the functional
  areas that must be addressed if an enterprise or sp is to manage a 
network well.  It's
  a communication device.  When you explain to someone who has never heard 
of it
  that well run networks have teams that manage network faults, network 
configuration, network accounting,
  performance and security....they tend to go, "oh yeah. I see."  The 
question I am
  asking is whether or not there are key activities that are outside FCAPS 
but nonetheless essential these days to
  running a network....with the overarching awareness that there are some 
activities that
  are so generic that they don't warrant being specifically part of the 
mission of network managers
....

At 02:59 PM 11/10/2004, Irwin Lazar wrote:

>We see a lot of interest among enterprises in ITIL for IT service
>management, which I'm guessing would overlap the FCAPS framework.  Is anyone
>investing it for the SP side?
>
>(what's ITIL?  - http://www.ogc.gov.uk/index.asp?id=2261)
>
>Irwin
>
>
> > From: Christian Kuhtz <christian.kuhtz at BELLSOUTH.COM>
> > Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2004 13:23:31 -0500
> > To: Sean Donelan <sean at donelan.com>, "Hannigan, Martin"
> > <hannigan at verisign.com>
> > Cc: <nanog at merit.edu>
> > Subject: Re: Status of FCAPS model? Useful? Obsolete?
> >
> >
> >
> > Seems the latest cluster of hype is around (e)TOM from the TMF, much more
> > than strict FCAPS etc.
> >
> >
> > On 11/9/04 1:13 AM, "Sean Donelan" <sean at donelan.com> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> On Mon, 8 Nov 2004, Hannigan, Martin wrote:
> >>>> Does the FCAPS model still hold currency among network
> >>>> managers/engineers
> >>>> today?
> >>>
> >>> What's FCAPS?
> >>
> >> I suppose that answers the question whether FCAPS holds currency
> >> among network managers/engineers.
> >>
> >>
> >> It is an ITU-T developed network management model composed of
> >> Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security (FCAPS).
> >>
> >> Some people think it is a mandatory specification for how to
> >> manage a network; other people think it is an antiquated view
> >> of telecom network management; and yet other people think it is
> >> as relevant as the ISO 7-layer network model.
> >>
> >
> >
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