ed part of any telecommunications network is the cost of OAM&P. Part of this issue drills down to the management sys- tem. Dependable and easily accessible network management services can increasingly become a distinguishing characteristic of high-performance, high-capacity systems. Well-designed DWDM systems include integrated, network management programs that are designed to work in conjunction with other operations support systems (OSSs) and are compliant with the standards the ITU has established for the telecommunications manage- ment network (TMN). Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) capabilities may also be useful, particularly for new carriers that are more data focused and may evaluate a DWDM in contrast with GbE, 10 GbE, or Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) systems developed by the "Ethernet people" that will support SNMP. Systems can utilize an optical service channel that is independent of the working channels of the DWDM product to create a standards-based data communications network that enables service providers to remotely monitor and control system performance and use. This network manager communicates with each node in the system and also provides dual-homing access and self-healing routing information in the event of a network disruption. Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) Systems 5.4 Example of Optimized Edge Equipment This section describes an example of what kind of edge technology may be of practical interest to prospective metro-focused carriers. The key point is that DWDM plays some role, but a multivalued optimized footprint/ price-point for edge equipment is critical. Hence, a blind formula that states "deploy DWDM for metro applications" leads to severe financial distortion for prospective carriers and is a major difficulty in deploying a sustainable, short-EBITDA-positive enterprise. Successful carriers realize that they need a multiarchitecture, multitechnology, multiservice, multi-QoS, multi- media, secure, reliable, and affordable service-delivery platform. These types o