Cramer Systems
Encyclopedia
Cramer Systems, founded in 1996 by Jon Craton and Don Gibson develop operations support systems OSS systems for the telecommunication
industry (telco companies such as Vodafone
, KPN Telecom
, BT. In August 2006 Amdocs
announced the completion of the acquisition of the company.
The products developed by Cramer are now an integral part of the Amdocs
product suite.
The potential customer base of their products is relative small: only the larger communication providers with large networks (cables and equipment) will consider implementing a system such as Cramer Systems have developed.
The latest product, now also known as Amdocs
OSS suite 6, Cramer 6, is a suite of applications built around the core application: the Resource Manager.
Further development will probably only be extensions of this version and not a complete redesign of the core. The steps made from version 4 to 6 are huge as the latest mentioned version is completely written from scratch in Java
.
With the Resource Manager telco's can administer all their assets related to their network. This includes equipment like switches, routers, SDH
and PDH
nodes, CPEs
etc, but also cables, buildings, rooms, cabinets etc.
Depending on the setup of the product (and requirements and wishes of the operator) the registration of the 'resources' can be detailed, very detailed or extremely detailed - depending on what the operator wishes to do with their suite. Originally the system was developed to administer telecom systems as SDH
and PDH
networks (circuit based networks). Via the resource manager operators could make a complete representation of their complete network up to the individual interfaces on the cards/modules in cabinets - located in rooms in buildings etc.
It is a very large operation to get all that information of an existing network in a (database
) system as Resource Manager. And as the requirements of each customer are different and the number of possible equipment and related assets are very large each installation of the system has to be different. The key feature of the product is that the applications are 'service aware': they do not only administer what equipment is installed, the system knows what each system, module, card, interface or cable can do, which circuits or connections are configured on the network and which services use these connections.
In the earlier versions only circuit based networks could be administered, but more recent versions can also handle connection-less networks as ATM
and IP
-based networks.
Options of the suite include applications as Route Finder: the user points out the endpoints and requirements of a connection and the system will find out how the connection can be created through the network based on its knowledge of all available equipment, their capacity and current (and planned) usage. Although complex, this functionality is quite straightforward in hierarchical network structures - but far more difficult in connectionless networks such as IP based networks.
Network operators using this software need to make strict guidelines to prevent mismatches between the information in the inventory system and the live network. Interfaces between the Cramer software and the (other) network management tools in use and create working processes where the system with the most complete information about all networks is always leading.
If data integrity is guaranteed systems like Cramer and comparable applications can streamline all processes and make efficient use of resources possible, but realizing that goal takes a lot of time, effort and money.
As said: the Cramer suite is built around the Resource Manager, which is really a set of databases and specialized user interface specialized for storing, retrieving and displaying information about networks. In most cases the RM uses a (often dedicated) Oracle database: not only the 'resources' are stored in databases (such as the equipment, modules, cards, interfaces, cables, cpe's etc) but also the data describing the features of equipment, data specifying business processes, rules to calculate capacity and usage, hierarchical dependencies between cables, equipment, circuits/connections and services and service data such as: what type of connection is needed for a specific service, if and what sort of protection is required to overcome problems in networks (eg. for a leased line configuring two routes through the network using different cables via different routes that is fully reserved for that one leased line, or leased lines with a -separately routed- back up route that might be used by others unless this leased line needs it when the main route is broken).
The latest two versions of the OSS suite uses Java as middleware platform for the GUI and some interfaces or adapters between the suite and external systems.
Although Cramer has been acquired by Amdocs in August 2006 the development of their products continues and is still based at their technology center in Bath, England
. They continue to exist, but now as the OSS department of the much larger BSS developer Amdocs
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
industry (telco companies such as Vodafone
Vodafone
Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...
, KPN Telecom
KPN
KPN is a Dutch landline and mobile telecommunications company, including both 2G and 3G mobile operations...
, BT. In August 2006 Amdocs
Amdocs
Amdocs Limited is a provider of software and services for billing, customer relationship management , operations support systems...
announced the completion of the acquisition of the company.
The products developed by Cramer are now an integral part of the Amdocs
Amdocs
Amdocs Limited is a provider of software and services for billing, customer relationship management , operations support systems...
product suite.
The potential customer base of their products is relative small: only the larger communication providers with large networks (cables and equipment) will consider implementing a system such as Cramer Systems have developed.
The latest product, now also known as Amdocs
Amdocs
Amdocs Limited is a provider of software and services for billing, customer relationship management , operations support systems...
OSS suite 6, Cramer 6, is a suite of applications built around the core application: the Resource Manager.
Further development will probably only be extensions of this version and not a complete redesign of the core. The steps made from version 4 to 6 are huge as the latest mentioned version is completely written from scratch in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
.
With the Resource Manager telco's can administer all their assets related to their network. This includes equipment like switches, routers, SDH
Synchronous optical networking
Synchronous Optical Networking and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy are standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes . At low transmission rates data can also be transferred via an...
and PDH
Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
The Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy is a technology used in telecommunications networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre optic and microwave radio systems...
nodes, CPEs
Customer-premises equipment
Customer-premises equipment or customer-provided equipment is any terminal and associated equipment located at a subscriber's premises and connected with a carrier's telecommunication channel at the demarcation point...
etc, but also cables, buildings, rooms, cabinets etc.
Depending on the setup of the product (and requirements and wishes of the operator) the registration of the 'resources' can be detailed, very detailed or extremely detailed - depending on what the operator wishes to do with their suite. Originally the system was developed to administer telecom systems as SDH
Synchronous optical networking
Synchronous Optical Networking and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy are standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using lasers or highly coherent light from light-emitting diodes . At low transmission rates data can also be transferred via an...
and PDH
Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
The Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy is a technology used in telecommunications networks to transport large quantities of data over digital transport equipment such as fibre optic and microwave radio systems...
networks (circuit based networks). Via the resource manager operators could make a complete representation of their complete network up to the individual interfaces on the cards/modules in cabinets - located in rooms in buildings etc.
It is a very large operation to get all that information of an existing network in a (database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
) system as Resource Manager. And as the requirements of each customer are different and the number of possible equipment and related assets are very large each installation of the system has to be different. The key feature of the product is that the applications are 'service aware': they do not only administer what equipment is installed, the system knows what each system, module, card, interface or cable can do, which circuits or connections are configured on the network and which services use these connections.
In the earlier versions only circuit based networks could be administered, but more recent versions can also handle connection-less networks as ATM
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Asynchronous Transfer Mode is a standard switching technique designed to unify telecommunication and computer networks. It uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing, and it encodes data into small, fixed-sized cells. This differs from approaches such as the Internet Protocol or Ethernet that...
and IP
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
-based networks.
Options of the suite include applications as Route Finder: the user points out the endpoints and requirements of a connection and the system will find out how the connection can be created through the network based on its knowledge of all available equipment, their capacity and current (and planned) usage. Although complex, this functionality is quite straightforward in hierarchical network structures - but far more difficult in connectionless networks such as IP based networks.
Network operators using this software need to make strict guidelines to prevent mismatches between the information in the inventory system and the live network. Interfaces between the Cramer software and the (other) network management tools in use and create working processes where the system with the most complete information about all networks is always leading.
If data integrity is guaranteed systems like Cramer and comparable applications can streamline all processes and make efficient use of resources possible, but realizing that goal takes a lot of time, effort and money.
As said: the Cramer suite is built around the Resource Manager, which is really a set of databases and specialized user interface specialized for storing, retrieving and displaying information about networks. In most cases the RM uses a (often dedicated) Oracle database: not only the 'resources' are stored in databases (such as the equipment, modules, cards, interfaces, cables, cpe's etc) but also the data describing the features of equipment, data specifying business processes, rules to calculate capacity and usage, hierarchical dependencies between cables, equipment, circuits/connections and services and service data such as: what type of connection is needed for a specific service, if and what sort of protection is required to overcome problems in networks (eg. for a leased line configuring two routes through the network using different cables via different routes that is fully reserved for that one leased line, or leased lines with a -separately routed- back up route that might be used by others unless this leased line needs it when the main route is broken).
The latest two versions of the OSS suite uses Java as middleware platform for the GUI and some interfaces or adapters between the suite and external systems.
Although Cramer has been acquired by Amdocs in August 2006 the development of their products continues and is still based at their technology center in Bath, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They continue to exist, but now as the OSS department of the much larger BSS developer Amdocs