Recommendation Z.336

               TRAFFIC MEASUREMENT ADMINISTRATION


1.     General

       This Recommendation has been developed in accordance to  the  methodology
defined in Recommendations Z.332 and Z.333.

       The main part of this Recommendation deals  with  the  model  of  Traffic
Measurement Administration and a glossary of the terms used is also included.

       The list of operator jobs and the list of system functions to be controlled 
are contained in Annex A.

       For each system function to be controlled by means of MML, one or more MML 
functions can be derived and each of them can be described using the metalanguage 
defined in Recommendation Z.333, in order to  detail  the  relevant  information
structure.

       Annex B contains a list of MML functions and information structure diagrams 
associated to each of them to be used as guidelines.

2.     Introduction

       Traffic measurement administration functions are related to data production, 
collection and output.

       These data are achieved by means of  periodic  and  non-periodic  traffic
measurements carried out in the telecommunications systems and are output by the 
systems in a suitable form.

       The traffic measurement result outputs  should  contain  the  measurement
results and general information about the measurement itself and about the system 
which performed the measurement, in order to ease the results analysis. Moreover, 
they should contain information summarizing the production of output blocks  for
checking purposes.

       The traffic measurement model in section 4 is based upon a  more  general
measuremnt model given in section 3.

3.     General measurement model

       A measurement is identified by  three  basic  elements:  time,  entities,
objects.

       Time includes all the necessary information  to  define  the  start,  the
duration and periodicity of a certain measurement.

       Entities describe the quantities for which data collection must be performed 
with a certain measurement, e.g. traffic flow, number of call attempts, congestion 
time.

       Objects are intended as individual items within each object type on which 
the measurements are performed. Examples of object types are  subscriber  lines,
circuits, circuit groups, elements of switching networks, geographical areas with 
their corresponding dialled code. The definition of measurements is based on  an
abstract model which contains the definition of a measurement matrix (see Figure 











1/Z.336) in which each row represents one uniquely definable entity, e.g. number of 
call attempts, and each column represents a uniquely definable object type, e.g. 
incoming junction group (see Figure 2/Z.336).

       A certain combination of entities and object types corresponds to certain 
entries in the measurement matrix and forms a measurement type. It is recognized 
that part of these measurement types may be standardized while the rest of them seem 
to be system and/or administration dependent. It should be noted that some of the 
entries in the measurement matrix could be impossible (e.g. call congestion on an 
incoming trunk) and some others could be more or less meaningless. A single object 
is defined by its type and/or its individual object identity. In some measurement 
types, the number of objects is fixed. In other types, one can choose for the actual 
measurement some or all of the allowed objects by means of MML commands. The chosen 
(selected) objects form an object list.

       The structure of the division of object types and entities is open- ended, 
in such a way that any new object type or entity may be added.