OAM&P:

• OAM&P stands for Operations, Administration, Maintenance & Provisioning.
• Using synchronous network technology has several benefits, it has more bandwidth available by using optical fibers, but SONET and SDH have been designed with extensive maintenance and error control features, these features are referred to as OAM&P.
• OAM&P allows the service providers to detetct, collect and correct network error conditions.
• The frames of both SONET and SDH provide a lot of bandwidth forerror detection and communication channels between equipments. This facilities the ability to manage the network from a central location. A good portion of the overhead assignments in each STS or STL level is used for the OAM&P functions.
• OAM refers to managing and maintaining a network device. The Provisioning has been added for the telecommunications industry as a term for setting up services creating the acronym OAM&P.
• Its components allow Service Providers and Enterprises alike to manage, maintain and provision their services and network devices from a centralized browser based environment.
• OAM&P handle the important daily tasks that leads to a successful deployment and effectively aids decision making teams in assessing key performance indicators to make the most accurate businesses decisions.
• In addition to providing the right information to decision makers, the requirement for a powerful OAM&P component is to also provide service managers with a powerful and easy to use Service Creation Environment for developing and deploying applications.
• The OAM&P Module functionality is broken down into the following key areas Configuration Management, Network Management, Service Creation, Fault Management and Performance Management.

Documentation:

Create a network documentation policy:

• A network documentation policy should detail what aspects of a network need to be documented, especially each server. A documentation policy also communicates to each administrator exactly what is expected of them regarding the documentation process.

Create a network topology diagram:

• The map of the network's topology should include each network segment, the routers connecting the various segments, and the servers, gateways and other major pieces of networking hardware that are connected to each segment.
• For larger networks, you may have to create a general segment map and make more specific maps of each individual segment.

Document server names, roles and IP addresses:

• The information should include details for each server. For each server, list the server's name, its IP address and the role that the server is performing (DNS, DHCP, mail server, etc.).
• Keep in mind that a server may be assigned multiple IP addresses or have multiple NICs, so you should document that information too.

Create a change log for each server:

• When a server fails, the failure can often be traced to a recent change. As a part of the network documentation, consider making a log book for each server for documenting changes such as patch and application installations and modified security settings.
• Not only will the log help you troubleshoot future problems, it can help you rebuild the server in the event of a catastrophic failure.

Document software versions and proof of licenses:

• Document the applications and their versions running on each server. You might also include a copy of the software license or a receipt within this documentation just in case your customer becomes involved in a software audit.

Document hardware components:

• The documentation should include information such as, how is the device connected to the network, How is the device configured, does a backup of the configuration exist.
• What firmware revision is the device running, Is the device configured to use a password?

Document the Active Directory:

• The following should be documented: The names of the domains in the forest, the Active Directory site structure, various servers exist within the Active Directory hierarchy.
• The location and contents of each group policy and any external trusts that may exist.

Document your backup procedures:

• Backup is your customer's best defense against a catastrophe. Be sure to document the backup software used and its version (very important).
• You will also want to document the tape rotation scheme, a general description of what's included in each backup job and where the backup tapes are stored.

Evaluate your documentation:

• The last step in the documentation process is to evaluate your network documentation to make sure that it's sufficient for you and your customer's needs.
• The network documentation is a critical part of your disaster recovery strategy.