Management system for a telecommunications switch

A management system for a telecommunications switch having a distributed computing infrastructure and a plurality of network interface cards and processor cards, the management system comprising:

• a protocol unit residing on a first processor card for receiving a management request;
• a first request unit residing on a second processor card for creating a first request object in response to the received management request;
• and
• a first action unit residing on a first network interface card for executing the received management request in response to an execute instruction from the first request object.

The management system of claim of 6, wherein the protocol unit comprises:

• a protocol agent for communicating with a network management system to receive the management request;
• and
• a protocol converter in communication with the protocol agent, the first resource broker, and the selected request unit;
• and being operable to convert the received management request into a generic switch resource access format and dispatch the converted management request to the selected request unit in response to a dispatch instruction from the first resource broker.

The management system of claim of 6, wherein the first action unit comprises:

• an action object;
• an action object factory in communication with the selected request unit;
• and
• a managed object in communication with the action object,
• wherein,
• the action object factory is operable to create the action object in response to a create action object instruction from the selected request unit;
• and
• the action object is operable to execute the received management request on the managed object.

The management system of claim of 6, wherein the first request unit comprises:

• a request object server in communication with the protocol unit;
• a first request object in communication with a selected action unit;
• and
• a resource model in communication with the first request object for storing information on attributes of the telecommunications switch,
• wherein,
• the request object server is operable to create the first request object in response to a create request object instruction from the protocol unit;
• and
• the request object is operable to instruct the selected action unit to create the action object in dependence upon the information stored in the resource model.

A method of managing a managed object in a telecommunications switch in response to a management request, the telecommunications switch having a protocol unit and a plurality of request units and action units, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) selecting a request unit in dependence upon information on utilization of the request units;
• b) creating a request object in the selected request unit in response to an instruction from the protocol unit;
• c) selecting an action unit in dependence upon information on utilization of the action units;
• d) creating an action object in the selected action unit in response to an instruction from the request unit;
• and
• e) executing, by the action object, the management request on the managed object.

A method of operating a management system for a telecommunications switch, the management system having a protocol unit and a plurality of request units and action units, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) receiving a management request from a request source;
• b) selecting a request unit in dependence upon information on utilization of the request units;
• c) creating a request object in the selected request unit in response to an instruction from the protocol unit;
• d) selecting an action unit in dependence upon information on utilization of the action units;
• e) creating an action object in the selected action unit in response to an instruction from the request unit;
• and
• f) executing, by the action object, the management request on a managed object of the telecommunications switch.