nications network at several different points to send/receive information to/from it and to control its operations. A TMN may use parts of the telecommunications network to provide its communications. The objective of the TMN is to provide a framework for telecommunications man- agement. By introducing the concept of generic network models for management, it is possible to perform general management of diverse equipment, network and services using generic information models and standard interfaces. A TMN is intended to support a wide variety of management areas that cover the plan- ning, installation, operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning of telecom- munication networks and services. ITU-T Rec. M.3200 (Refs. 18, 19) describes the scope of management through the following two main concepts: Telecommunications managed areas and TMN management services. The former relates to the grouping of telecommu- nications resources being managed and the latter relates to the set of processes needed to achieve business objectives, namely, TMN Management Goals. The specification and development of the required range and functionality of appli- cations to support the above management areas is a local matter and is not considered within the scope of ITU-T Rec. M.3200 series. Some guidance, however, has been pro- vided by the ITU-T, which has categorized management into five broad management functional areas (Rec. X.700, Ref. 21). These functional areas support the management scope described by ITU-T Rec. M.3020 (Ref. 22). They provide a framework through which the appropriate management services support the public telecommunication oper- ators (PTOs) business processes. Five management functional areas identified to data are as follows: 21.9 TMN FUNCTIONAL ARCHITECTURE Performance management Fault management Configuration management Accounting management Security management The classification of the information exchange within the TMN is independent of the use that will be made of the information. The TMN needs