involves automating many engineering processes and eliminating data reentry to increase engineering productivity. 46. Network performance monitoring: These applications collect performance data from the network elements. The performance records facilitate effective network management. Performance records give information about histori- cal behavior and utilization trends. This can be used for capacity manage- ment and planning of resources. Problem identification and testing can also be performed using the records collected by performance monitoring systems. Network monitoring systems provide inputs to resource problem man- agement, capacity planning, and forecasting applications. A set of key per- formance indicators and key quality indicators are monitored to identify a shift in network performance from a predefined threshold. As historical records need to be maintained for performance analysis, it is common to have a dedicated repository for archival of performance records. The network performance monitoring application will access the repository for storage and analysis of data. 47. Network planning: These applications deal with all types of planning associ- ated with different technology layers in the network. Engineering works and meeting unpredicted demands cannot be performed without proper plan- ning. There would be considerable network rearrangement and relocation of network capability that needs to be planned to meet operational scenarios. Use of network planning applications brings in considerable cost benefit to the telecom company. Management Applications Network planning is required in fulfillment and assurance functions. As part of fulfillment, network planning ensures that sufficient resources are available to meet the capacity requirements for individual services. Network planning applications support assurance process by doing fault planning for network repairs. It also does performance planning for traffic engineering. 48. Network problem management: These applications has the capability to re