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Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM): Are You InGeNeOS?
I love a good acronym! InGeNeOS™ is an acronym built from Intelligent General Next Operations Systems. It’s the name of a CableLabs working group that solves Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) issues for the cable industry, and it might be for you.
What’s So InGeNeOS about PNM?
The InGeNeOS group focuses on discussing, inventing, building and sharing network operations tools and techniques from the data made available from DOCSIS® systems, including the CM, CMTS and test devices. Other CableLabs working groups focus on DOCSIS specifications, and the SCTE Network Operations Subcommittee Working Group 7 focuses on network operations training material. The InGeNeOS group connects these two worlds and turns the network information into capabilities that engineers and technicians can use to maintain services. We turn DOCSIS system information into solutions that identify, diagnose and sometimes automatically correct network problems—often before the customer notices. When these tools get good enough, they can become proactive. Thus, we often refer to this group as the PNM Working Group (WG). See why we put it into an acronym?
Don’t Just Think—Do!
This group doesn’t merely ponder PNM solutions; it is very active in several ways:
- Developing best practices for PNM solutions—We just started an effort to document PNM best practices in a DOCSIS 3.1 environment.
- Guiding specifications development for emerging technologies—For example, although Full Duplex (FDX) DOCSIS technology is not yet deployed, we know it must be fully ready when it is, and that includes being operationally supportable.
- Sharing experiences, both problems and solutions—Many working group participants work maintenance problems at operator companies, or for operators, so they bring problems to the working group to get ideas for causes and resolutions.
- Testing theories in the lab—Once we develop theories about the causes of problems in the field, we reproduce the theorized conditions in the lab to confirm the cause. We can also calibrate measurements, test methods for detection and develop new PNM tools and methods based on these tests.
This developing, defining, knowledge sharing and testing help operators reduce costs and improve service reliability by improving their network maintenance operations. All these are just examples of what we do. If you have ideas that might fit within this framework, keep reading.
So You Think You’re InGeNeOS?
Operators in—and vendors supporting—the cable industry can easily benefit from joining the InGeNeOS group:
- If you are a cable operator and a CableLabs member, consider this your invitation to join.
- If you are a cable operator but not a member, this is a very good reason to become a member.
- If you are a vendor, all you need to do is sign the NDA and IPR.
In any case, contact Jason Rupe to join the InGeNeOS group.
