As product manager of an e-Learning authoring tool, I often get asked whether our tool supports SCORM 2.0. Or IMS LD. Or Q&TI. Or IEEE LOM. More often than not, this question is only asked by people that are selecting tools based on the feature list. Clearly, a tool that supports IMS LD is much more advanced than a tool that “only” supports SCORM 2004. Or is it? What feature in that standard is it you absolutely need? There is a reason why SCORM 1.2 is still the most widely supported e-learning standard.
 
In 2001 (yes, nine years ago!) a group of learning specialists got together and decided to start working on a set of standards for educational design that would get rid of all shortcomings of existing standards such as IMS Content Packaging, AICC and SCORM 1.2. In 2003, after two years debating, IMS Learning Design was released. Still it has not yet evolved from university playgrounds, leaving me happy from not having invested tons of hours in adapting this “standard” to our product, just to make the “box-tickers” happy.
 
“Where did they go wrong?”, Stephen Downes asks on his blog. Michael Feldstein sums it up quite nice: “The time to write a standard is when there are several good implementations of an idea that could benefit from harmonization and interoperability. This idea of building a spec first and then trying to figure out what it’s good for in practice is a terrible idea.”.
 
Following web 2.0 traditions, we see the e-Learning market slowly evolving from a classic top-down (push) mechanism, to a community based system, where instructional design leaves the learner free in the order of learning objects. SCORM 1.2 (or even HTML for that matter) is a good enough, and widely supported, standard for distributing well meta-dated learning objects. The market needs user friendly tools to create immersive e-learning content in the most Easy way as possible. Have complete freedom of course structure. Guiding the learner into a certain direction instead of forcing him. Embed custom Flash, Silver Light or Unity 3D plug-ins. And publish it following simple standards. Any LMS in the world supports SCORM 1.2 if you still think you need extensive control, tracking and tracing of all learning activities. And if you don’t, all webservers can host a HTML based course. Google will index it and your Web 2.0 learning solution is good to go.
 
For now, we see more future in e-Learning 2.0 and Web 2.0 than in SCORM 2.0.

The Answer Key is based on Set J of the SNAP 2009 question paper

IMS provides help to students, right from career counseling to preparation for important entrance examinations (CAT, GMAT, GRE, MCA etc.). IMS has now grown into a nationwide chain with over 100 branches.

It has been voted as the most trusted test prep brand in India and the 4th most trusted education brand in India as per the AC Neilsen and Brand Equity survey 2003.IMS Learning Resources has been at the forefront of education for more than 30 years and has steadily expanded with more than 50000 students every year and 125+ centers countrywide.

IMS is one of those really interesting technology enigmas. Everyone expects IP based mobile network infrastructure to eventually replace the circuit switched technology but for as long as IMS has been around most perceptions seem to be that it hasn’t quite ever delivered. I think there are several reasons for this, the main one being that Mobile Network Operators do not need to make the change. They would gain no real competitive advantage in doing so since conventional non IP services such as voice and SMS remain cost efficient, highly reliable and very profitable.

What IMS has suffered from is a lack of context in relation to real services. SIP based VoIP alone does not differentiate itself sufficiently from conventional voice to warrant the level of investment in infrastructure: IMS is a risk to operators rather than an opportunity. This lack of service context is something the main proponent of IMS, the GSMA, has recently addressed with a set of new specifications around Rich Communications Suite (RCS).

RCS is a set of IP services defined in the context of IMS and provide operators with a service based approach to deploying IMS and deliver enhanced communications services. These services are designed to be future oriented in the sense that they are defined by how communications has begun to evolve. For example, social networking, instant messaging, content and media sharing are all services that are now very familiar to everyone but they continue to remain outside the realm of conventional mobile communications since we use different machines, service providers and clients to run them. RCS seeks to marry all these services and provide the mobile network operator with the opportunity to start to develop them and most importantly, brand them. By branding services that manage social media and content sharing, operators have a clear basis to compete with Apple and Google in particular, which are starting to threaten the operators’ position as primary service providers of next generation services. This is known as the “dumb pipe” concept.

What RCS promises is a basis where conventional mobile services are enhanced and enriched. For example, the Enhanced Address Book (EAB) definition combines presence with conventional contacts management and can relay social media information such as status updates. With presence, Instant Messaging is enabled with content or media file sharing. All these services can be underpinned by conventional circuit-switched voice meaning the operator does not have to deploy RCS at the same time as SIP based VoIP so there is no dependency on operators to switch off their mainstay communications services.

So what does this mean for Symbian? Potentially it could be significant. RCS is currently being deployed using standalone clients and it seems there a few announcements being lined up for Mobile World Congress next February. Our contribution plan already includes MSRP which is a key enabler for RCS. Availability at source of the core enablers as part of the Symbian platform means service providers have an easier, more cost effective basis to deploy the services. Over the next few months I am going to be getting into more detail about where RCS is going and will be using this blog to share my thoughts. In the meantime please take a look at our roadmap and feel free to provide any comment below or email me at richardc[at]symbian[dot]org if you have a particular interest in making RCS happen.

By:  Bernardo Caceres Vegas – Network Coordinator

COP is everywhere: From conversations in the plane coming to Copenhagen, the pick ups waiting at the  airport,  the slogans in T-shirts, badges, adds on streets and public transportation… If everyone is that committed, why can’t we get a sustainable world?

The first hours you are lost in the huge Bella Center, where COP and parallel events take place. Several youth organizations are at the exhibit hall, side to side with NGOs and think tanks stands. All  schools in Denmark have dedicated the week to kids developing environmental projects. Surinamese KNN, Ten Minuten, got a crew here (Idi and Jurgen), and we all went to a Dane school to produce items, soon to be watched by the KNN audiences.

On my second day in Copenhagen, I attended two events, aside from the kids coverage: The opening of the Development & Climate Days Festival, where a NAPA (KNN Peru) item will be screened on Monday, and the IMS – Reporters without Borders – Internews press conference, to make public a press release on protection for environmental journalists, subscribed, among 24 NGOs and media organizations, also by Free Voice.

This is a direct hire job in Houston, TX.  This client has a turnover rate below 5% in their IT group and has made a commitment to the mainframe platform for the foreseeable future.  They also have annual bonuses and have a long term incentive plan that pays cash in addition to the annual bonus.  They pay dollar for dollar match on their 401(k) and have immediate vesting in the plan.  Their modified work week means you work nine hours Monday through Thursday and have a half day off every Friday.

JOB DESCRIPTION

A. Scope

Provide hands on supervisory and technical leadership to project teams for requirements gathering, schedule coordination and application development to support and develop applications. As a hands-on team participant, this position requires the ideal candidate to specialize in IBM z/OS Mainframe applications development, support and maintenance with additional experience in client-server and web based applications. The Applications Supervisor must be competent at the highest level of application development techniques, methodologies, and administration in leading multiple projects.

B. Responsibilities

• Functional and administrative team supervision including salary reviews, performance appraisals and assisting in hiring staff
• Daily responsibilities include mentoring developers, project initiation, planning, issue tracking, change management, presenting updates in status meetings and preparing status reports.
• Relationship responsibilities include working with mainframe outsourcing provider to stay abreast and engaged in all mainframe related change control requests.
• Work with developers and other Development Managers, Project Leaders/Supervisors, network administrators, data base administrators and Service Desk personnel to develop new systems and resolve problems with existing systems.
• Assists in the definition, development, and documentation of software’s business requirements, objectives, deliverables, and specifications on a project-by-project basis in collaboration with internal users and departments.
• Develops project plans, which include, but not limited to, defining scope, scheduling, and implementation.
• Conduct research on emerging application development software products, languages, and standards in support of procurement and development efforts.
• Responsible for all aspects of the SDLC for mainframe, client/server and web applications.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

A. Education and Training

• Bachelor degree in the field of computer science, information systems, or software engineering is preferred.

B. Technical and Other Position Requirements

• Proven track record of 10+ years of overall applications development experience including supervision of project teams
• Minimum of 7 years hands on experience in developing and supporting z/OS mainframe based applications using MVS JCL, IMS, CICS or DB2, COBOL II, PL/1 and Easytrieve Plus.
• Minimum of 2 – 3 years hands on experience using client server and web based applications
• Prior experience with supervising a staff of 4 or more employees
• Proficiency in a variety of programming languages
• Use of Microsoft Office is required
• Prior experience interviewing end-users for insight on functionality, interface, problems, and/or usability issues.
• Able to communicate effectively with non-technical staff and with members of interdisciplinary teams.
• Aptitudes to accept complex assignments, analyze problems and generate effective solutions, as well as possess and apply a comprehensive knowledge of application development to the completion of difficult assignments.
• Flexible and adaptable in regards to learning and understanding new technologies.
• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Highly self motivated and directed; requires minimal supervision
• Keen attention to detail.
• Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience working both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative environment.

C. Work Conditions

• On-call for assigned applications with other staff
• Overtime hours may be required to support production problems and meet project deadlines.
• Some travel may be required for gathering business requirements, training field users, project meetings, etc.

Relocation assistance is not available for this position.
Contact me if you are interested. Questions can be posed as a comment below or directly to me.

Is there any further intro necessary? Everyone understands the He Says, She Says debates and jokes regarding PMS. There’s nothing interesting we could possibly add. Or is there?

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She Says: Can I Get A PMS Pill Up In Here?

I once dated someone who frequently called me a b-i-t-c-h. And not in a joking way. It irritated me so much that after we broke up (thank God) and once I started dating my husband, I filled him in on my issues with referring to me as a b-i-t-c-h in any sense of the word. Thankfully, he understood and he has actually never called me one in the 8 years we’ve been together since I told him, even if I maybe possibly deserved it.

The truth is, however, that I can definitely exhibit b-i-t-c-h-like characteristics from time to time. And when I say time to time, I mean when I PMS. On the other hand, I can also exhibit utter craziness, extreme happiness, and uncalled for sympathy for myself or any sad story featured on Oprah during this time.

It’s not an excuse and I always take full responsibility for my pre-menstrual bi-polarity. I have even come to pay better attention to my moodiness during “that time of the month,” though I almost always fail miserably at getting through those days without an outburst of some sort.

Take for instance, today. I went to the podiatrist for an issue I’ve been having with my foot. On the way to the doctor, I convinced myself I needed a minor surgery to remedy the painful problem. I will say, my family practice doctor was the one who put the initial minor surgery idea in my head, so she gets some of the craziness credit.

Anywho, as I sat in my little sterile room on the little tissue covered seat waiting for the doctor, I prepped myself for a longer lunch hour than expected due to my forthcoming surgery. When Dr. Lowe arrived, however, he said my foot would heal just fine on its own if I gave it another 3-6 months, despite already living with my issue for 3 years.

In a matter of 5 minutes, I went from shocked, to angry, to downright depressed that everything I had anticipated happening to cure my problem was no longer going to occur. So I leave. And I hop in my car. And I quickly dial my poor husband in the middle of his work day and rant, trying as best I can to hold back tears.

“But the jerk wouldn’t even do anything! He just gave me a little round band aid!” I cried.

“Well, he’s a doctor. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. And if you don’t heal up, I’m sure you can go back in a few months and talk with him again. No big deal.” came my husband’s reply.

“But you don’t understand! I can’t LIVE LIKE THIS!” I wailed.

Silence.

“Hello?!?” I whine.

“I’m still here,” says my husband, “but I can’t seem say anything about it that won’t upset you so I’m just going to listen.” (Note, at this point I can hear the clicking of his keyboard as he returns to work while I continue to cry).

I hang up and feel sorry for myself. And then I start hating my job. And then I start hating Salt Lake and our house and think the world is coming to an end. I need a nap to quell my tantrum, but I head back to work for another 4 hours and stew.

Come 5 pm, I’m a new person, happy as a clam, on my way home to my husband who more than likely thinks, “Am I going to have to live like this forever?”

Once home, I pour myself a glass of wine and stare blankly at the TV playing reruns of The View and start to recall the events of my day. And I realize I’m a big baby. And that never in a million years if I wasn’t PMS-ing would I have left the doctor’s office crying like I’d just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. All that emotion over a 10 minute appointment that left me drained and my husband thinking he’d married a deranged Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde cloaked in the body of a smoking hot woman (c’mon, let me boost my own morale after my rough day).

So what am I trying to get at amongst all this rambling? To be honest, I don’t really know. I think this is more me venting than anything. Or perhaps it’s a confusing admission to the fact that I actually have to work very hard for one week out of every month to control my emotions so people don’t mistake me for a schizophrenic. In any event, the whole issue could be resolved if someone could come up with a simple remedy, a pill of some sort – preferably with Vicadin-like side affects – to put an end to the mixed emotions that seem to strike us women from time to time. Until then, I’ll stick with my Chardonnay, chocolate covered cherries, and husband who won’t call me a b-i-t-c-h even if I maybe possibly deserve it.

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He Says: Irritable Male Syndrome

Premenstrual Syndrome has been studied and written about extensively. I am not smart enough to add anything of worth to its discussion. PMS has also been the focus of countless jokes and alternative forms of entertainment. I am not dumb enough to throw my hat into the humor ring that is Aunt Flo’s casa. I do know, however, something about IMS. There is a recent movement advocating Irritable Male Syndrome, which is defined as involving hormonal, physiological and chemical changes in men. And when I say that I do know something about IMS, I in fact mean that I know absolutely nothing about it. That is, I know nothing about it outside of my own experience as a male and the experiences of males I know.

Now I am not trying to juxtapose PMS to this male counterpart. Again, I am neither smart enough nor dumb enough to be able to successfully make such a comparison. I am, however, advocating that a change of irritability and sensitivity in men may be caused by a chemical change in our bodies for which I have absolutely no scientific data to support. (But there are those much wiser than I that have done studies claiming scientific evidence of IMS). And for what reason, you ask, would I be advocating such a thing? Us men are supposed to be tough and brawny! We aren’t supposed to have feelings. And we certainly aren’t supposed to show them. Ever! Without exception! I get it. I get what it means to be tough and unwavering. (Just ask my wife, she’ll tell you exactly how much I can be a stubborn ass). No, really, I do get it. I have completed athletic competitions with a broken finger, a broken collarbone, a foot fracture, a broken nose, a wrist fracture, and separate concussions. I get what manly means to our culture.

The odd thing to me, though, is that despite all this, I have never met a man that doesn’t have feelings. Not once. I grew up with sports. In all my years watching, coaching and playing sports, I have yet to meet one single male that doesn’t have feelings. Isn’t that odd? Not a single one. In fact, one of my best buddies has a father who is the prototypical man’s man. My buddy’s old man is tall–at least 6’3”–and big–at least 240 and strong. He is the definition of a lumberjack. He built a log cabin on his farm just for the hell of it. He cut down the trees on his own land and built the damn cabin with his own two hands. The thing is a work of beauty. Like I said, he is a man’s man. But even he has feelings. I have had conversations with him about happiness he has experienced in his life and pains he has encountered. I gave him a big hug on the day he gave his daughter away and listened to him talk with a tear in his eye about how much he loved his daughter and his son. Every man has feelings. The secret is out. So I’d like to propose that we stop this charade that we men don’t have feelings. I have yet to meet a man who doesn’t.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want every male to start emoting everywhere. (And no, I am not saying that women emote everywhere. Many of the strongest people I know are women). If you’re a male and see me on the street, this is not an open invitation to begin engaging me in a conversation regarding the contents of your feelings. I have my own. What this is, however, is a call for men to stop pretending they don’t have them. Life is a beautiful thing that requires more than a hardened shell of a heart tolerating each day. I wish I could write the words to help you understand what I mean, but instead of causing you to suffer through my poorly written prose, I’ll offer a quote. Why re-invent the wheel, right? As the late Jim Valvano said less than two months before he lost a year-long bout against cancer,

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

Laugh. Think. And Cry. That’s a good day. Can we agree men? Can we all agree that being manly does not mean we don’t have feelings?

All right. Now that I have convinced you, it’s now time for me to lose you again. Women, us men have just agreed that we have feelings. What I now ask in return is that you understand that we have occurrences of chemical and physiological changes known as IMS. As long as us men recognize that we have feelings, we ask that you recognize that sometimes those feelings are caused by changes in our chemical makeup. There are days when I come home and kindly entreat my wife to be nice. “It was one of those days,” I say. “I’m just in one of those moods.” I recognize that I’m not quite right and I hope that my wife will respect that. After I am castigated a number of times and I react, you know what response I finally receive? “Oh stop being so sensitive.” Could you imagine the fecal storm I would receive if this incident was reversed. I shudder thinking about it.

This isn’t just me being a large minge either. I have a good friend who played high school football in Seattle for four years and then played four years of collegiate rugby. I’ve heard him grouse that women want him to show feelings, and then when he does they complain that he’s too sensitive. I have a buddy that has worked construction for years and wonders why his wife doesn’t understand that some days there are comments that hit home harder than other days. An Air Force pilot that says there are times when he needs to be quiet and keep to himself. A Police Officer that says some days he’s more depressed than others. A hunter that talks about unforeseen times when he has more anxiety and a higher stress level. A doctor that exhorts there are days when his mood swings quicker than Joe Mauer’s bat. (And no, I have not made up any of these individuals). These men aren’t referring to seemingly behavioral and emotional changes that occur because of a particularly sound reason. These men realize, as we inconsiderately say too often, that there are times when their moods and emotions swing irrationally.

Now I am not advocating the opportunity for us men to be angry, boorish, and imperceptive. I am not asking for allowances for men to be ferine. We do far too much of that as it is. (And by we I mainly refer to my own behavior). I am advocating, however, that there are hormonal, chemical, and physiological changes in men that cause us to have different moods. These changes may occur isochronously, but I believe them to be very real. So I propose as supposedly inimical genders that we all agree to this. Us men will admit that we have feelings. We will be more open to hear about them and maybe, just maybe, share them. While you women admit IMS is real. And if we both start to recognize these things, maybe we’ll all start to understand each other just a little bit better.

Introduction:

OA&M is a central requirement of mission critical telecommunication products.

3GPP defines a generic framework for realizing an OAM architecture. This architecture can be applied for the case of IMS, in order to manage the IMS core network entities. OAM frameworks are implemented as Element Management Systems (EMS) and Network Management Systems (NMS).

Architectural Overview:

The OAM architectural framework is based on Integration Reference Points (IRPs). Each IRP provides a set of requirements for that interface and completely defines the management interface. The IRP is fully described by a requirements specification, an Information Service (IS) specification and finally a Solution Set (SS).  The solution set realizes completely the requirements of the given IRP.

There are four possible solution sets that may be considered for implementation of the IRPs:

1. SNMP Solution Set.

2. CORBA Solution Set.

3. SOAP Solution Set.

4. XML Solution Set.

Of these solution sets, SNMP and CORBA have been around for a long time. SNMP has been considered as a de-facto standard for northbound integration and is generally preferred. CORBA has not seen widespread adoption as compared to SNMP.  SOAP and XML solution sets also present themselves as additional options for IRP realization.

The stress has been on making the IRPs technology independent. Hence multiple options have been provided.

Deployment Architecture:

Each network element that has to be managed, consists of a management client. This management client is called an IRP agent. The IRP agent interacts with the management server, also known as the IRP manager.  In the context of OAM, the management server is the Element Management System for that network element.  The IRP agent is part of the network element that is being managed. These element management systems further integrate with a central network management system.

The overall deployment architecture is shown in the figure below:

The figure above illustrates the following management interfaces:

1. Between the network element and the element manager.

2. Between the element manager and the network manager.

3. Between different element managers.

There can also be interfaces between the network manages of different service provider domains. Those interfaces are not shown in the figure above. The interface between the network element and the element manager implements one of the four proposed solution sets. SNMP is the most widespread protocol used at this interface.

Several element managers integrate to a centralized network management system. At the NMS, abstract functions such as topology management, service provider interface managements, point of interconnects, interfaces towards OSS and BSS systems can be managed and monitored.

Management information also flows between the network elements themselves. However, that interface is not shown as the information may not necessarily be used for monitoring purposes.

Integration Reference Point (IRP) applications:

Some practical IRP applications will be discussed in this section. All IRPs are not covered.

Some of the needed applications are those of FCAPS: (Fault, Configuration,Alarms,Performance and Security).

a) Alarm Management IRP (Fault Management):

Network elements may encounter certain operational faults. These faults have to be escalated in the form of alarms to the element management system. There are two types of faults that may need to be handled.

The first category is that of a ADAC (Automatically Detected and Cleared) fault. Such faults are raised by the network element and then cleared by the network element itself after a certain period of time. These are not critical faults and do not hinder the operational state of the system.

The second category of alarms are those of ADMC (Automatically Detected and Manually Cleared) faults. These faults require that the network element manager or administrator clears the alarms after taking corrective action.

Faults and alarms that are raised by network elements fall under the following basic categories:

1. Hardware faults:

These alarms signify faults in the physical hardware that hosts the application. Hardware failures can cause serious service interruption and need to be conveyed to the element management system. Hardware failures are usually ADMC faults.

2. Software faults:

These alarms signify faults that may occur in the internal modules of a software subsystem of the network element. Such faults may occur due to protocol level errors, exception handling conditions, database errors etc.

3. Functional faults:

These alarms signify that there is an issue with the functionality of the software module that may potentially impede service delivery and may cause potential loss of service.

4. Loss of NE capabilities:

These alarms signify that the network element has lost its capability to provide service due to congestion or overload conditions for example.

5. Communication link failures with other NEs.

These alarms signify that the network element has lost contact with some other network elements. As for example, the S-CSCF may lose its connection to the HSS or the Charging System. Database connectivity may be lost etc.

Fault recovery and corrective actions depends upon the nature of the fault and the process defined for its recovery by the carrier.

b) Configuration Management IRP and Trace Control:

Configuration management pertains to the manipulation of configurable parameters of the network element by the element manager.  This may include logging management, activation or deactivation of tracing on the network element, subscriber specific tracing, enabling or disabling of lawful interception for a certain subscriber etc.

It also includes configuring a high availability cluster of the network element, adding of new nodes, removal of faulty nodes for servicing, dumping of CDRs to an alternate location etc.

Configuration management is of two types:

1. Passive Configuration Management: Passive CM signifies that the management entity gets notified of configuration changes at the network element by virtue of alarms that are raised at the NE.

2. Active Configuration Management: Active CM signifies that the management entity actively participates in manipulating the configurable parameters of the network element.

There can be two approaches by which we may use configuration management. These are:

1. Basic Configuration Management: This involves the changing of a single configurable parameter. Basic CM operations are singular in nature and take place serially.

2. Bulk Configuration Management: This involves the execution of configuration actions by executing a batch file or by spawning a cron job. Such operations affect many configurable parameters parallely and are usually automated.

Configuration management is an important aspect of the product life cycle of a telecom product. In production grade systems, all changes to the network element are carried out using the configuration management reference point. Some of the configurable parameters may also need to be changed for improved performance of the product under certain conditions.

As for example: Database connection pool size manipulation, tracing level modifications and other product specific parameters.

c) Performance Management (Alarm IRP):

Performance of a network element is determined by examining performance counters. As per the architecture, performance management re-uses the Alarm integration reference point.

Performance counters may be of varying types. Network element vendors may also define some of their own proprietary performance counter categories.

However, there are some basic concepts of performance measurement that remain common to most network elements:

1. Traffic measurements and BHCA: This includes the examination of traffic counters pertaining to successfully handled calls and the current BHCA load on the system in production. This gives a fair idea of system performance.

2. Call failure rate: This pertains to the examination of the failed calls, failure reasons and the rate of failure as a percentage of total calls. This provides the administrator with valuable figures to ensure that the system provide carrier grade performance or not (5 nines).

3. Network evaluation: This pertains to the evaluation of the performance on of the system after certain configuration changes take effect on the production grade system. This helps the operator to evaluate whether the changes that took effect were of any benefit to the overall system performance or not.

4. Quality of Service: For media and data intensive applications, there may be performance measurements regarding QoS. This may include parameters such as packet loss and jitter. For more detailed information, please refer to ITU-T Recommendation E.880.

5. Resource consumption: This provides information regarding the resource consumption by the application at a given load. This includes memory footprint, threads, congestion levels, CPU utilization, response time etc.

Performance data may be written to a file and dumped to the filesystem. This file can later be parsed and presented to the administrator on the Graphical User Interface (GUI).

In certain cases, when the performance degrades below a certain level, alarms need to be raised to the network manager. Some examples of such conditions may be overload, congestion, resource exhaustion, call failure rate increase etc. Performance related alarms may be escalated depending upon which performance threshold has been crossed. As for example:

– A new alarm notification A1 (minor) is generated when Level 1 is crossed

–A changed alarm notification A1 (critical) is generated when Level 2 and 3 are crossed

–A changed alarm notification A1 (minor) is generated when Level 3 and 2 are crossed

–A cleared alarm notification A1 is generated when Level 1 is crossed. Alternatively, this alarm may be marked as a ADMC alarm, where the alarm is cleared manually by the administrator.

Alarm generation may happen periodically by a configured monitoring period. This process is illustrated below:

In this regard, performance management functions use the Alarm IRP to communicate with the element manager and raise alarms relating to performance of the network element.

d) Security Management IRP:

Security management has a special meaning when applied to OAM. For the OAM domain, security management refers to the protection of management traffic, operations, authentication of the administrator and role management of various managers that manipulate the network element. The basic goal is to prevent any intentional or accidental damage to the network elements in production.

Security management in OAM should also be accompanied by the generation of security related alarms by the system, in case there is a security breach. What action is taken upon servicing such alarms is based on the local policy of the operator.

Some of the security threats that have been identified by ITU-T in ITU-T Recommendation X.800 are as follows:

• Masquerade.
• Eavesdropping.
• Unauthorized access.
• Loss or corruption of information.
• Repudiation.
• Forgery.
• Denial of service.

ITU-T Recommendation X.800 also mandates that the following security services be provided in order to protect the network against these security risks:

• Peer entity authentication.
• Data origin authentication.
• Access control service.
• Connection confidentiality.
• Connectionless confidentiality.
• Selective field confidentiality.
• Traffic flow confidentiality.
• Connection Integrity with recovery.
• Connection integrity without recovery.
• Selective field connection integrity.
• Connectionless integrity.
• Selective field connectionless integrity.
• Non-repudiation Origin.
• Non-repudiation. Delivery.

For managing security, it is suggested that the IRP Agent authenticates with the IRP managing entity so as to establish a trusted relationship between the NE and the EMS. Authentication should be bidirectional. This means, that the IRP Agent should check whether the IRP manager is authorized to perform certain operations on the NE. On the other hand, the IRP manager should check whether the data/traffic is being received from a trusted IRP Agent.

If there is any bulk data transfer, then the integrity of the data should be examined. At all times, an activity trace log should be maintained of all the operations that have been performed between the IRP Agent and the IRP manager.

In case of any discrepancies,  the management entity should immediately raise security alarms towards the network management system.

Conclusion:

It is imperative that any IMS deployment is supported by a robust EMS and NMS infrastructure. Without a proper standardized management mechanism in place, network management and support is not possible.

In conclusion, the following are some of the salient features that should characterize a management system. This list is not exhaustive and may be extended as per the requirements of the operator.

The salient features of any management infrastructure (MI) are as follows:

1. The MI should be capable of managing nodes supplied by different vendors in addition to the management system itself.

2. It should support standardized interfaces such as SNMP, CORBA or SOAP as specified by the solution sets earlier.

3. It should provide fault management capabilities.

4. It should facilitate remote management operations towards the network elements.

5. Interoperability with other networks regarding the exchange of management information should be supported.

6. It should be secure.

7. It should be able to restore the operational state of the network element in case of failover or switchover scenarios.

8. It should be possible for installing new software releases into the managed network element.

9. It should be possible for managing and installing new instances of the network element into the network.

10. It should be possible for conducting tests against the new installation before commissioning into the live network.

11. Interfaces should be supported towards OSS and BSS subsystems.

12. External non-realtime interfaces towards CRMs should be supported.

There can be many more requirements. However, these ten requirements are an absolute must for any management infrastructure.

In case you found this post useful, please feel free to provide feedback by leaving comments. Thank you.

BHU

Admission Notice for MD/MS – 2010, BHU, Varanasi.

All India based entrance test will be held on 21st February, 2010 at Varanasi, (U.P.)

Eligibility : MBBS (Recognised by MCI) with one year rotating internship completed by 30-04-2010. Those who have passed MD/MS in any stream need not apply.

DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM HERE -BHU-MD/MS 2010 Application Form.

Last date of reciept of Application form : 09-01-2010. Applications received after this date shall not be entertained.

For further information CLICK HERE OR HERE

The task was to come up with an idea for cultural jamming and create the idea. Paul and I thought we would take a little stab at the World of Warcraft community (easy victims). Here is what we came up with:

Comments?

IMS has emerged as the industry’s leading architecture for next-generation networks. It has been adopted by the cable, wireline and wireless standards bodies as the reference architecture for all communications applications. Such unanimous accord is a first in the history of the industry.

The value of IMS is in providing a single network for any access supporting multiple services. Given the complexity of communications networks, it’s really the only way to successfully launch new applications and ensure low operating costs.

For BroadSoft and our customers, IMS provides defined interfaces that ensure interoperability in multi-vendor networks and across different service providers. We are seeing service providers using IMS for innovative services on new broadband access.

Where We Are and Where We’re Going

Today IMS is focused on basic services that mainly replicate PSTN services. Looking forward, the true value of IMS is enabling a richer set of services—which will include things like IPTV, messaging, presence and gaming—and driving new revenue streams.

We are already seeing service providers using IMS to deliver rich services, and expect this to become the norm, in the very near future. This will look something like this:

• Voice moves to rich media including high-definition voice, video, enhanced messaging, presence and content-sharing.
• Fixed broadband moves to fixed-and-mobile broadband—all access is IP, and the applications are access-independent.
• Basic service moves to a set of advanced, integrated services that offer a seamless user experience.
• All siloed networks move to a single core network for all access types.

IMS is quickly migrating to multimedia and multiservice applications with end users taking advantage of feature-rich, high-value services.

BroadSoft Tackles IMS’s Toughest Challenges

This evolution is putting some IMS design principles to the test. Specifically there are two key challenges: 1) service orchestration and 2) service data management.

Today’s standard service orchestration model is very basic and very limited—well suited for loose integration of some applications but ill suited for more complex blending of services. Most service orchestration issues aren’t apparent until integration—a point where it may be too late to address them.

We’re working closely with service providers and third-party application vendors to simplify service orchestration for common-use cases that we’ve experienced and those we expect to see in the future.

Service-data management also poses some tough challenges in multi-service offerings. If every application requires its own data and exposes a separate provisioning interface, the need to maintain multiple subscriber databases drives up operating costs.

Many service providers are now looking toward centralizing their subscriber provisioning and service data. In this scenario all user-centric application data is hosted on the home subscriber server (HSS).

We have a number of key customers who are designing network architectures in which all user profile and service data is stored in a central repository.

BroadSoft is the leading IMS application server vendor. By focusing on the hard problems and working closely with our customers, we will continue to lead the industry’s evolution.

BHU logo

MBBS – 84 Seats 

BDS – 38 Seats   

BAMS – 78 Seats  

B. Pharm. – (33 Seats)  

1. Admission to MBBS course will be in two stages : PMT-2010 SCREENING and PMT-2010 MAIN.

2. Admissin to BDS, B.Pharm. and BAMS courses will be in one stage : PMT-2010 SCREENING.

3. PMT-2010 SCREENING shall be held on Wednesday, 12th MAY, 2010 @ VARANASI, HYDERABAD, DELHI and KOLKATA centres. A merit list will be prepared on the basis of SCREENING TEST and candidates will get selected for BDS, BAMS and B.Pharm. courses through PMT-2010 SCREENING test only.

4. Selected Candidates from PMT-2010 SCREENING, applying for MBBS, need to appear in PMT-2010 MAIN to be held on Sunday, 13th June @ VARANASI centre only.

ELIGIBILITY :   

1. 10+2 or equivalent  with English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology(Botany+Zoology) as main subjects. Candidates appearing in qualifying exam in 2010, may also appear.
2. For MBBS/BDS/BAMS a minimum of 50% aggregrate marks are required in 10+2, for Genaral, OBC and respective PH Candidates and minimum 40% aggregrate marks required for SC/ST and respected PH candidates.
3. For B.Pharm. a minimum of 60% aggregrate is required for General, OBC and respective PH candidates while a minimum of 55% is a must for SC/ST and respective PH candidates.

Distribution of Seats :  

1. MBBS - 84 Seats : General 42, OBC 23, SC 13 and ST 6.
2. BDS – 38 Seats : General 19, OBC 10, SC 6 and ST 3.
3. BAMS – 78 Seats : General 36, OBC 21, SC 12, ST 6, Foreign National 3.
4. B.Pharm.-  33 Seats : General 17, OBC 9, SC 5, ST 2.
5. 3% Seats are reserved for PH candidates in all the categories of the above mentioned courses.

Age : 17-25 years. Candidates born after 1st January, 1994 and on or before 31st December, 1985, need not apply. 

SALE OF APPLICATION FORM STARTS ON MONDAY, 04.01.2010 FROM BANK OF BARODA BRANCHES TILL MONDAY 01.03.2010.

HOWEVER, FORMS CAN BE OBTAINED FRON BANK OF BARODA, BHU BRANCH, S.S. HOSPITAL ONLY TILL 4:00 PM, 05.03.2010, FRIDAY.

Bank of Baroda Branches :

• Varanasi :

1. S.S. Hospital branch, BHU
2. Ram Katora Branch.
3. Orderly Bazar Branch.

• Delhi

1. Parliament Street Branch
2. Chowk Shakti Nagar Branch
3. Nehru Place Branch

• Kolkata – College Street Branch
• Lucknow – Charbagh Branch
• Hyderabad – Main Branch, ABIDS circle.
• Jaipur – DCM Branch
• Nagpur – South Ambarzari Road Branch
• Bhopal – TT Nagar Branch
• Patna - Sri Krishnapuri Branch
• Mumbai – Shivaji Road Branch
• Chennai - Mount Road

Application FEE : Rs.1100/- cash payment for Genaral, OBC andRs. 700/- for SC/ST candidates. 

Application Form can be obtained by Postal Channel by sending a written request, onlyRegistered Post, alongwith a crossed DD/Bankers Cheque (MICR only) of Rs.1200 (Rs. 800 for SC/ST) of a nationalized bank, drawn in favour of “The Director, Institute of Medical Sciences BHU” , payable at varanasi.  Request for application form must include name and full address of the candidate and details of DD/BC. Write your name on back of DD. Two self addressed, preferably typed, white paper slips of 10 cm * 6 cm must also accompany it. The envelop containg request should be superscribed “Request for Application Form for PMT-2010, BHU”.  Last date for request of form by post is Friday, 19th February. Send your request to “Office of the Director (PMT Cell)”, Institue of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi – 221005. 

Seperate DD/BC for each application form is required.

MO/IPO/Cheques shall not be accepted.

NOTE : Last date for submission of application form through Registered Post is Tuesday, 9th March 2010, TILL 5:00 pm.

 Send application forms to THE DIRECTOR (PMT CELL), INSTITUTE  OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, BANARAS HINDU UNIVERSITY, VARANASI – 221005

Foreign National are not required to appear in the PMT Examination. They may seek admission through the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi, as per rules laid down for the purpose and their nominations must reach by Thursday, 15th July, 2010.

NIAID, NIH Bethesda, USA funded research project entitled “Visceral Leishmaniasis in Bihar States, India (P-36/10) Requires

1. Data Entry Operator – 01 Post 

•  Essential Qualification : BCA or equivalent
• Desirable : Speed and accuracy of data entry and verification
• Age no bar
• Remuneration per month : Rs.9000/- fixed

2. Research Assistant (JRF) – 01 post

• Essential : M.Sc. in Entomology  or related field
• Desirable : 1st class in PG, experience of working in a related field.
• Age no bar.
• Remuneration per month : Rs.12000/- (+ HRA as per bhu rules)

Applications are invited  on plain paper giving full bio-data with passport size attested photograph, attested  copies of marksheets, certificates  and other necessary documents.

 Appointment will be initially for six months renewable depending upon the requirement, performance of the candidate and/or the continuation of the project.

Suitable candidates from SC/ST/Physically handicapped/female will be considered as per Govt. of India rules. Appointment will be governed by BHU rules.

The application should reach Prof. Shyam Sundar, Department of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi-221005 within 12 days of this advertisement.

No TA/DA will be paid if called for interview.

internet advertising

Todos sabemos que a grande maioria dos games não são nada originais. Jogos de tiro na segunda guerra? Simuladores de corrida? RPGs japoneses? Chacrinha já dizia: Nada se cria, tudo se copia. É só uma novidade dar certo em algum jogo que os outros irão copiar a idéia. Certo, talvez eu esteja sendo muito rígido, mas na prática é mais ou menos isso. Quantos puzzles vocês conhecem em que o objetivo é apagar o maior número de blocos possível?

Bom, e com relação à trilha sonora dos jogos? O especial de hoje vai tratar exatamente disso. Claro que o que estará listado aqui é apenas uma pequena parte do talvez grande número de músicas parecidas e/ou copiadas na cara dura. Se você souber de algum exemplo que não estiver listado aqui, sinta-se livre para citá-lo nos comentários. Bom, vamos ao que interessa.

Primeiramente ouçam com atenção a essa música de Super Mario Kart, de 1992. Quem é que não conhece?

Agora vamos ouvir o comecinho de GONG, a abertura de Dai 3 Ji Super Robot Taisen Alpha, de 2005.

Percebeu o trecho do piano no começo da música? Vamos ao próximo exemplo. Aqui temos a BGM de Goonies, de 1986, mais precisamente da segunda fase.

E agora a música Do-Dai, de THE IDOLM@STER Live For You!, de 2008.

O comecinho, apenas o comecinho. Por falar em comecinho, aqui tem mais uma. Dessa vez pegamos Spartan X, de 1985…

E agora Wakugai!!, o encerramento do anime Maid Guy, de 2008.

Hmmm… um pouco diferente, mas o que vocês acham? Agora peguemos a abertura de Ys VI para PC, de 2003 (a partir dos 1:03 do video).

E agora a abertura do eroge Muvluv Alternative, de 2006… espera, o JAM Project de novo???

Uma pequena pausa para falar um pouco de Satoru Kousaki. Esse cara é um dos compositores mais badalados do meio otaku no Japão. Antigamente funcionário da Namco, saiu da empresa e começou a compor  músicas de anime. Simplesmente compôs algumas das mais famosas músicas de Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu e Lucky Star, dois animes que fizeram um estrondoso sucesso esses anos. Devido a esse succeso, claro que todo mundo vai pedir pro cara compor para um monte de anime por aí. Com tanto trabalho, não é de estranhar que ele faça umas músicas bem parecidas. Vou citar dois exemplos aqui:

Primeiro, Hibike! Taiko no Tatsujin, música original de Taiko no Tatsujin: Tobikkiri! Anime Special. Na parte da Mitsuko Horie  é mais fácil perceber (começa aos 0:39).

Agora Koi no Mikuru Densetsu, música de Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Aos 0:34 do video.

A abertura do anime Kannagi, com a música Motto Hade ni ne! (aos 0:23).

E do jogo Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- vem a Dear Cocoa Girls (aos 1:02).

Pra finalizar, 3 músicas de Super Robot Taisen que vêm causando muita polêmica por serem considerados plágio na cara dura.

Primeiro, a música Kono Hoshi no Asu no Tame ni, presente em toda a série Alpha e também nos Original Generation do GBA. Primeira aparição em 2000.

Agora a Jieitai March do filme do Godzilla de 1984.

Muito parecido. MUITO. Que tal algo mais absurdo? Vamos pegar Super Robot Taisen K.  O cara que trabalhou com os SRT de DS fez simplesmente uma lambança. Já até fizeram vídeos comparando as músicas. O primeiro é um vídeo comparando uma BGM com a tela título de Lufia II.

Já o segundo compara a BGM da última fase do jogo com… a música da batalha contra Magus, de Chrono Trigger!

Os últimos casos foram o cúmulo do absurdo, tanto é que a Bandai Namco Games, a Banpresto e o diabaquatro pediram desculpas publicamente. Claro que o cara que trabalhou nos jogos não vai mais fazer nenhum Super Robot Taisen, e depois dessa, duvido que arrume outro trampo.

Por enquanto é só, assim que achar mais alguma coisa dou um update aqui.

Nacional Records Sampler 2009 | The New Sounds Of Latin Music FREE

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – CJ
Aterciopelados – Bandera
Mexican Institute of Sound – Yo Digo Baila
Pacha Massive – If You Want It
Uproot Andy – Brooklyn Cumbia
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible – Shake It Up
Bomba Estereo – Cosita Rica
Latin Bitman – Help Me [Feat: Francisca Valenzuela]
King Coya – Trocintro [Extended Version]
Fidel Nadal – Puerta De Oro [con Pablo Loscano]
Todos Tus Muertos – Mate
The Pinker Tones – Happy Everywhere
Hello Seahorse! – Bestia [Julieta Venegas Remix]
Tonino Cartone – Amar Y Vivir
Senor Coconut – La Vida Es Llena De Cables
Monareta – Llama
Eric Bobo – Chicken Wing ft. The Demigodz [Explicit]
Gonzalo Yanez – Encadenado
Juana Molina – Insensible
Sara Valenzuela – Esta Vez [Album Version]
Manu Chao – Clandestino

Download it TODAY!

Vai ficar pra próxima. Desculpa, pessoal. Tenham um bom fim de semana!

Ah sim, novos DLC para THE IDOLM@STER SP. Mais um cascalho extra pra NBGI sem muito esforço. O que seria da Namco sem os otakus? Essa do lado é a Miki, vestida de noiva. Noiva de grande parte de fãs de IM@S. A minha noiva? É a Yukiho. Patroa não gosta muito quando eu falo disso, mas a noiva dela é a Iori, então estamos quites.

… sério, esse post foi o mais nojento até agora. Desculpem, eu faço algo que preste da próxima. Sério.

With a 10X increase in transmission speeds and a significantly lower cost per bit, Long-term Evolution (LTE) represents a tremendous opportunity for operators given the prospect of converting more than 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide to 4G or fourth-generation technology. The evolution in wireless communications is driving operators to change the way voice services are delivered.

Voice over LTE is an important topic for providers today. LTE is all about data so trafficking circuit-based voice services onto IP networks is a big issue. There are a number of technical and business challenges associated with Voice over LTE. While there are questions over when Voice over LTE will be deployed, one of the big technical impediments until recently was a unified standard.

A few weeks ago a consortium of service providers, equipment vendors and device manufacturers came together in support of a standard for delivering voice and SMS services on LTE networks, One Voice. The One Voice specification will use components of the existing IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) framework (which already defines how to provide data, voice and multimedia content over IP) to route voice calls between circuit switched and IP networks…meaning LTE mobile calls will become VoIP calls.

Prior to One Voice, a competing approach — the VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access) initiative — was put forth as an interim LTE voice solution using existing circuit-switched networks …instead of IMS. VoLGA supporters claim this would allow operators to get there sooner rather than later. While we understand the problems VoLGA attempted to address, we think they’re greatly exaggerated. Since the One Voice announcement, many in the industry are now questioning the livelihood of VoLGA.

In our opinion, VoLGA’s time has passed. Here’s why…

• T-Mobile is the only operator backing VoLGA. Now compare that to the list of heavy hitters behind One Voice…AT&T, Orange, Telefonica, TeliaSonera, Verizon, and Vodafone.
• The addressable market for VoLGA is minuscule compared to that of One Voice. Handset manufacturers and network equipment vendors follow the lead of service providers. Given the first point, it is obvious where the opportunity is.
• Given VoLGA is a temporary solution, vendors are not likely to invest in it — innovation will occur with One Voice though.
• IMS is MORE mature than what VoLGA proponents pushed. BroadSoft has more than 50 live IMS deployments worldwide and with an inside view of 450+ providers’ network roadmaps, we can validate this is real. Many carriers in the US and most European providers have already deployed IMS.

As providers continue to lose landline assets and look to collapse their networks into one, IMS is critical. Since IMS simultaneously serves broadband wireline and LTE wireless networks, this provides operators with a path to service convergence. Fixed-line providers have been moving in this direction for some, and now converged and mobile operators need to follow suit. This is huge opportunity for them.

BroadSoft believes One Voice is the best approach for delivering voice and SMS services on LTE networks and will help accelerate the process of moving to all-IP. Providers should not be sidetracked with an interim solution that doesn’t address the primary goal.

UPDATE – It’s really dead now – Ericsson leaves VoLGA Forum, from Unsprung: http://bit.ly/4nSnAI

Em mais um serviço de utilidade pública, o Gluc! desvenda mais um mistério que a humanidade queria saber desde o começo dos tempos: quem é a sombra que está usando o computador no Mafia Wars? Sim, aquele jogo do Facebook. Aproveitando a ocasião, quem jogar, me adiciona. Minha máfia tá pequena ainda.

Ahn, bem, voltando ao assunto, pois então, depois de décadas de muita pesquisa, o cara que tá no item Computer Set-Up é nada mais nada menos que Junichiro Takagi, o presidente da 765 Production! Que diacho é isso? É uma agência que vem cuidando de garotas para que elas possam ser famosas cantoras e chegar ao estrelato, no topo da fama no Japão. Tá, é coisa de THE IDOLM@STER, jogo do arcade, Xbox 360, PSP etc. Comparando as telas de Mafia Wars com THE IDOLM@STER…

Mafia Wars.

THE IDOLM@STER.

É, tá meio pequeno. Não dá pra ver direito, né? Vamos dar um zoom nessa coisa e…

BAM! There it is.

Caso encerrado.