Cisco® Active Network Abstraction (ANA) is a flexible and powerful vendor-neutral device management system that doubles as an enabling platform for value-added network and service management applications in a multitechnology, multiservice network environment.
Through unique virtual network technology, Cisco ANA provides:
• Multivendor device management: Cisco ANA has a broad set of device management features, including device configuration and fault management.
• Vendor-neutral management platform: Designed for deployment in service provider networks, Cisco ANA is an enabling platform for value-added applications, integrating with applications such as IBM Tivoli NetCool, and Cramer6 OSS Suite.
• Standards-based access to near real-time device and network information: Through a near real-time virtual network model, Cisco ANA provides value-added applications from Cisco and its partners with open, standards-based mediation access to detailed multivendor device and network information through a single API set.
Table 1 lists the primary features of Cisco ANA.
Table 1. Cisco Active Network Abstraction Features
Feature
Description
Vendor-neutral device management
• Complete device inventory views covering both physical and logical inventory for supported devices.
• Automatic discovery of device relationships (topology) using Cisco Discovery Protocol and Border Gateway Protocol (BGP).
• Captures and forwards device-level alarms to OSS/BSS systems for monitoring at the network operations center (NOC) or data center.
• Integration with Cisco Assurance Management System, Cisco Information Center, and IBM Tivoli/NetCool.
• Command Builder tool helps enable network operators to automate frequently used operational tasks, reduce errors, and improve network operations.
• Soft Properties tool helps enable network operators to customize device event and alarms to proactively monitor device health.
• Work Flow Client tool helps enable network operators to customize service activation flow and network operations management.
• Cisco ANA provides a generic view of multivendor devices and allows network operators to perform automated operational tasks using a GUI that reduces network operator training time.
Platform for value-added network and service management applications
• Using its OSS-to-network mediation and distributed management platform features, Cisco ANA facilitates a series of optional, value-added management applications from both Cisco and its partners. These applications include Cisco Service Fault Isolation, IBM Tivoli NetCool, and Cramer6 OSS Suite.
Standards-based access to real-time device and network information
• Provides real-time mediation to device/network inventory and discovery data providing key added value to offline inventory applications.
• Provides real-time, distributed alarm surveillance and enabling technology for domain-specific root-cause analysis within optional value-added fault management applications.
• Provides real-time, work-flow-enabled service activation and network configuration engine for value-added provisioning applications and processes to push activation commands to network devices.
• Standard northbound interface (XML) provides a single device mediation platform for all supported devices.
• Standard northbound interface reduces OSS/BSS integration complexity.
Availability
Cisco ANA is targeted to the service provider marketplace. For more information, please contact ask-ana@cisco.com.
For More Information
For more information about Cisco ANA, visit http://www.cisco.com/go/ana, contact your local account representative, or send an e-mail to the Cisco ANA product management team at ask-ana@cisco.com.
