Network Configuration Systems, NCS in short, enable networking equipment providers, operators, and OSS systems providers to build configuration management systems, enabling network operators to activate new and existing services faster and easier. Tail-f Systems (News - Alert) announced the first model-driven communications configuration management application for provisioning Carrier Ethernet services

NCS also helps streamline network operations with network-wide automated transaction management and synchronization. NCS applies configuration changes in lock-step across the entire network and automatically rolls them back if changes cannot be correctly applied while service providers can activate new and existing services faster and easier, networking equipment providers (NEPs), differentiate EMS applications with automated transaction, management, reducing time and the number of resources used.

Due to its modular architecture, NCS can be an embedded component in an overall management solution or act as a stand-alone application. 

NCS auto-renders management interfaces and APIs including NETCONF, CLI, Web UI, and Java APIs from a single data model, and allow developers to map service models to device-level configuration changes using a patent-pending mapping algorithm

“Communications service providers are expecting their networking equipment suppliers to deliver element management systems that activate services quickly and reliably,” said Glen Hunt, principal analyst of Carrier Transport and Routing for Current Analysis (News - Alert), adding that new approaches to automated network configuration management were needed to ensure that the deployment of Carrier Ethernet reached its full potential.

Hunt further added that NEPs are hence in a position to augment and build powerful, standards-based configuration management applications in a very short span of time and making CSPs more competitive by reducing the development time for provisioning systems. Customer delivery expectations are thus adequately met.

Carl Moberg, COO of Tail-f Systems, said that the lack of powerful tools didn't enable the provisioning of complex offerings, but with NCS, the whole process was simplified as it obviated the need for huge amounts of code, making the provisioning process very easy.

“We are implementing Tail-f Systems’ NCS with a mutual customer to build a powerful EMS application,” said Göran Edin, lead solutions architect of EMS/OSS Applications of Data Ductus, adding that NCS would accelerate customers’ time to market and reduce development cost and risks.

In a related news release, Tail-f Systems, announced that its customers include six of the top ten networking equipment providers.