*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* + + * TELCO INFO PART 1 * + + *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* INFORMATION SUPPLIED BY: THE RENEGADE HACKER! TRANSLATING ORDERS INTO ACTION ------------------------------ When computers have to talk to one another, correct translation is as important as it is at the United Nations. This is because each machine speaks a different language. For both people and computer programs, translation means taking instructions in one language or format and converting them to another. Putting instructions into a particular format is a primary activity in telephone companies. Changes in telephone services have to be put in a format that an electronic switch and its particular computer program can understand. This is done at the Recent Change Memory Administration Center (RCMAC). In these centers, translations are performed by personnel who process requests for changes in telephone services that come from the business offices in a variety of formats, and convert them into the languages used by the various types of electronic switches. As the number and type of switches continue to grow, too much personnel time is used up. Thousands of clerks are involved in hundreds of centers across the United States. To solve this problem, the regional companies asked Bell Communications Research (BELLCORE) for a solution: a computer program that could take most of the orders as they come in and translate them automatically into the form needed by each type of switch. The result of this request was the MIZAR system, formerly called the Memory Management System. As it is implemented by clients, it will help relieve the buildup of clerical staff and make labor- intensive operations less costly and more efficient to provide. Today's electronic switching systems, the result of specialized applications of computer technology, depend on software to preform functions like routing and completing calls. The MIZAR system has a template, essentially an order blank, for each order type for each switch and version of that switch. This is the basic dictionary for translation: a big matrix or array of possible messages in each of the languages or formats used by the switches. When a message is passed from the Facilities Assignment and Control System (FACS) it goes to the Work Manager, a dispatching system. The Work Manager provides both protocols and interfaces for the other systems, acting as a central communications point for the MIZAR, COSMOS (COmputer System for Mainframe OperationS) and FACS systems. It provides priority queueing and flow control, ensuring that the MIZAR system will not be flooded with more messages than it can handle at one time. The MIZAR system then searches its memory for the appropriate template for both the switch and the message type. It begins as a clerk would, by filling in blanks step-by-step, automatically skipping over blanks that aren't relevant to the particular change being processed. For example, one step may ask: "Is this order two-party?" In other words, does it involve a change affecting two phones? "If no, skip 20 lines and proceed to question 41." In this way, a template that may have 60 or 70 lines will be filled in with only six or seven entries in many cases. Using this process of elimination, the MIZAR system creates the proper translation for the service requested. Not all messages are translated by the MIZAR system. For the more complex ones, the system calls on COSMOS to generate an appropriate translated message. After these messages are generated, they can be called up on a screen, where a clerk can swiftly check through them, comparing them with the initial request and ensuring that they are complete and accurate. In some cases, COSMOS will be unable to generate all of the necessary information, but the operators can easily intercept those messages and correct them before they are sent to the switch. Once the orders are complete, they are sent off to a pending file together with their activation dates. The MIZAR system continuously scans this file, searching for messages that need to be activated. As it finds them, it sends them out to the appropriate switch. If the switch accepts the message and completes the change, the message is then sent to a history file for safekeeping. This feature has prevented the loss of essential change information when electronic switches have malfunctioned. If for any reason the switch rejects the order as incorrectly formatted or otherwise in error, the change is put into a file for a clerk to review and determine what went wrong. The MIZAR system automatically carries out the first two steps that previously were done manually. It checks to verify with the switch that the order is incorrect, and it coordinates information on the rejected change with that on related changes to see if there are any conflicts. All service orders (SERVORDS) are logged into the MIZAR system's switch log (located in /tmp/swXX.out, where XX is the numeric code assigned by the MIZAR system to that switch). That is, if it was entered on the MIZAR system. The MIZAR system has a number of significant benefits. It works with COSMOS, which reduces the amount of work that has to be done on the more complex orders. It also operates in four different modes: with or without COSMOS and with or without FACS so that the operating companies can choose what best suits their particular memory-administration needs. Two other MIZAR features are notable. All three systems, the Work Manager, COSMOS and the MIZAR system, run on the same type of computer. This allows fewer computers to be used for backup. In addition, administrative activities, such as editing messages and initializing switches, are made easier by flexible, user friendly MIZAR programs. The MIZAR system was first implemented in Pacific Bell's RCMAC in San Jose, California, in November 1985. This system relied solely on COSMOS for recent change messages. A second application, the first using FACS, occurred in Southwestern Bell's central RCMAC in St. Louis, Missouri, in February 1986. Today, close to a dozen clients are in the process of deploying the MIZAR software. The MIZAR system will not magically eliminate staff needs in the various RCMACS. People will still be needed for reviewing complex orders and in some cases completing orders that COSMOS can't handle. But the MIZAR system can help reduce the overall work load. The MIZAR system can help clients provide new services for customers. In many cases the customers can have "Instant Service," in which changes entered in the service-order processor terminals are processed automatically through FACS, COSMOS and the MIZAR system, implementing the changes at the switch almost as soon as the order-entry process is completed. Ultimately, new systems such as MIZAR system may help in making changes to the phone system as swift and automatic as dialing a phone number. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information obtained from Bell Communications Research EXCHANGE. (BELLCORE EXCHANGE) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------