Cisco ONS 15327 User Documentation page 533

Glossary
Multiplex payload
Generates section and line overhead, and converts electrical/optical signals when the electrical/optical card is transmitting.
Multiplexing
Scheme that allows multiple logical signals to be transmitted simultaneously across a single physical channel. Compare with
Demultiplex.
N
NE
Network Element. In an Operations Support System (OSS), a single piece of telecommunications equipment used to perform
a function or service integral to the underlying network.
Network management
Generic term used to describe systems or actions that help maintain, characterize, or troubleshoot a network.
Network number
Part of an IP address that specifies the network where the host belongs.
NMS
Network Management System. System that executes applications that monitor and control managed devices. NMSs provide the
bulk of the processing and memory resources required for network management.
Node
Endpoint of a network connection or a junction common to two or more lines in a network. Nodes can be processors,
controllers, or workstations. Nodes, which vary in routing and other functional capabilities, can be interconnected by links, and
serve as control points in the network. Node is sometimes used generically to refer to any entity that can access a network. In
this manual the term "node" usually refers to an ONS 15327.
O
OAM&P
Operations, Administration, Maintenance, and Provisioning. Provides the facilities and personnel required to manage a
network.
OC
Optical Carrier. Series of physical protocols (OC-1, OC-2, OC-3, and so forth), defined for SONET optical signal
transmissions. OC signal levels put Synchronous Transport Signal (STS) frames onto fiber-optic lines at a variety of speeds.
Optical amplifier
A device that amplifies an optical signal without converting the signal from optical to electrical and back again to optical
energy.
Cisco ONS 15327 User Documentation, R3.3
GL-9
June 2002