OSS - Operational Support Systems

Operations Support Systems (also called Operational Support Systems or OSS) are computer systems used by telecommunications service providers. The term OSS most frequently describes "network systems" dealing with the telecom network itself, supporting processes such as maintaining network inventory, provisioning services, configuring network components, and managing faults.

Operations Support System (OSS) performs management, inventory, engineering, planning, and repair functions for tele-communications service providers and their networks. For traditional telecom service providers, Operations Support Systems (OSSs) were mainframe-based systems designed to support telephone company staff members to automate their daily jobs such as order processing, line assignment, line testing and billing, etc.

Functions of an OSS solution may include the following components:

1: Order processing, accounting, billing and cost management
2: Network inventory, service provision, design and assign
3: Network discovery and reconciliation, trouble and fault management, capacity management
4: Network elements, asset and equipment management, field service management

A brief History of OSS Architecture:

A lot of the work on OSS has been centred on defining its architecture. Put simply, there are four key elements of OSS:
Processes : the sequence of events
Data : the information that is acted upon
Applications: the components that implement processes to manage data
Technology : how we implement the applications

During the 1990's, a 4-layer model of TMN was applicable within an OSS:

1: Business Management Level (BML)
2: Service Management Level (SML)
3: Network Management Level (NML)
4: Element Management Level (EML)

A fifth level is mentioned at times being the elements themselves, though the standards speak of only four levels.

To conclude, the OSS supports the traditional Resource and Resource Facing Service domains, whereas the BSS supports the more Customer Facing domains.