"They want [converged telecom network monitoring], but it's just so, so difficult because those [legacy] systems are so ingrained. I think they're all heading in that direction, but you can't stop what's in motion because all of your revenue is sitting on those services," he said. "It's difficult and it's complex … so many operators are moving slowly -- step by step, as they add new services and add new equipment -- in that direction."
Telecom network monitoring has also become more complicated as carriers move from time-division multiplexing (TDM) to IP, according to consultant Tom Nolle, president of CIMI Corp.
"As you start to move into packet networking, you very quickly reach a point where you can't monitor something without affecting service for a lot of people," Nolle said.
Carriers have been eager to adopt "remote monitoring" systems for diagnostic and remediation processes to collect performance metrics from a probe built into the equipment or wired into the circuit, he said. This has enabled engineers to monitor devices from a network operations center (NOC) instead of sending a technician out into the field with a packet analyzer.
"The market is voting in favor of standardizing on RMON [remote network monitoring]," he said, "and [it's] moving away from proprietary probes, mostly for cost reasons."
This article originally appeared on SearchTelecom.com