Download our free Monitoring Fundamentals Tutorial.
An introduction to Monitoring Fundamentals strictly from the perspective of telecom network alarm management.
1-800-693-0351
Have a specific question? Ask our team of expert engineers and get a specific answer!
Sign up for the next DPS Factory Training!
Whether you're new to our equipment or you've used it for years, DPS factory training is the best way to get more from your monitoring.
Reserve Your Seat TodayWhen Utah independent telco UBTA-UBET bought three Qwest exchanges in 2001, the deal included some extras - Qwest's legacy E2A alarm shelves and former Qwest telemetry tech Rick Hofmann.
After 22 years with Qwest, Hofmann's new job presented him with a tough challenge. How was he going to adapt his RBOC alarm equipment to the operations of a much smaller company? Qwest routed all alarms to a central NOC in Colorado; the lightly-staffed UBTA-UBET needed a local system that would automate alarm monitoring as much as possible.
Hofmann needed more than a technical solution - he needed a whole new way to monitor alarms.
As part of the acquisition deal, Qwest continued to monitor the three exchanges for another year, and Hofmann saw first-hand that RBOC style centralized management didn't meet UBTAUBET's needs.
"Qwest monitoring wasn't really workable for us," said Hofmann, who is now plant manager for UBTA-UBET. "Alarms went to the Qwest NOC in Colorado, and they would generate a trouble ticket, decide whether the alarm needed action and then call us. They wanted one point of contact, so we'd have them call our dispatch center, and they would call the tech."
Hofmann's goal was an alarm system that would both support UBTA-UBET's existing equipment and provide tools for the company to effectively monitor alarms on its own.
Getting support for the E2A shelves was important, but simplifying and automating alarm handling was even more important. "Pager notification was my first objective. Support for legacy equipment was second," said Hofmann.
Hofmann listed his five objectives for the new alarm onitoring system:
