I worked in Nortel's network management organization, initially based in Richmond, British Columbia, and later in Richardson, Texas. The role combined systems engineering, software deployment, customer support, and extensive international field work implementing large-scale network management systems for telecommunications carriers and private networks around the world.
Much of my time was spent at customer sites, typically on assignments lasting three to eight weeks. Projects took me throughout North America, Europe, Mexico, Australia, and the Middle East, working directly with customer engineering and operations teams to install, integrate, test, and commission production network management systems.
Network management systems
The systems were distributed Unix environments built primarily on HP 9000 servers and workstations running HP-UX. The application stack included HP RTAP, Informix relational databases, and Nortel network management software that eventually became part of the Preside product family. The primary product I deployed was Preside Switch View, used to provide centralized monitoring and management of telecommunications switching networks.
A typical installation involved configuring multiple Unix systems, storage, and LAN infrastructure; installing and administering Informix; installing RTAP and Nortel application software; integrating the system with the customer's telecommunications network; and taking the complete environment through system and customer acceptance testing.
Because these were production telecommunications systems, the work routinely crossed technical boundaries. Troubleshooting could involve HP-UX, TCP/IP networking, RAID storage, Informix and SQL, RTAP, Nortel software, or the interfaces to the underlying switching network. I also used Unix shell scripting and Perl for system administration, integration, and automation.
The field role extended beyond installation. I provided onsite system administration and troubleshooting, worked with customer and Nortel engineering teams during integration, trained customer administrators and users, conducted acceptance testing, and provided consultation during the transition into production operation.
Tim SwortzelTSTim SwortzelCybersecurity architect at Oracle, working on security operations, automation, and AI-assisted security platforms. A colleague from the Nortel network management field work.LinkedIn ↗ and Joseph UjfalusiJUJoseph UjfalusiA colleague from the Nortel network management field work.LinkedIn ↗ were colleagues on this work.
Selected international projects
Avantel — Monterrey, Mexico. Implemented network management systems for Avantel's rapidly expanding Mexican telecommunications network. Avantel was building a national fiber and switching infrastructure during this period, with Monterrey serving as one of its major network centers.
Jazztel — Madrid, Spain. Worked on the network management environment for Jazztel as it built a new national telecommunications network in Spain. The Madrid facility included a major Nortel switching supernode and centralized Network Operations Center responsible for monitoring the national network.
PowerTel — Sydney, Australia. Supported deployment of network management for PowerTel's new Australian carrier network. PowerTel was deploying Nortel DMS-100 switching in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane along with a centralized Network Operations Center in Sydney.
Saudi Aramco — Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Implemented network management within Saudi Aramco's extensive private telecommunications infrastructure. Aramco operated a geographically distributed network supporting facilities throughout Saudi Arabia, including substantial Nortel switching and transmission infrastructure.
Intermedia Communications — Tampa/Brandon, Florida. Worked with network management systems supporting Intermedia's Florida telecommunications infrastructure, which included Nortel DMS switching and SS7/STP systems.
MCI WorldCom — Frankfurt, Germany. Worked on network management systems supporting MCI WorldCom's telecommunications infrastructure in Frankfurt. During this period, Frankfurt was a significant MCI WorldCom network center, supporting the company's German fiber, metropolitan, and customer-access networks. The Frankfurt Network Operations Center used Nortel Preside as part of its network-management environment.
From Richmond to a global organization
I joined the organization in Richmond during a period of considerable change at Nortel. The network management technology had originated with Prism Systems and evolved through several generations and product identities before becoming part of Nortel's broader Preside network management portfolio.
The organization became increasingly global during my time there. I moved from British Columbia to Richardson, Texas, reporting to management in the United Kingdom, and spent most of the time at customer sites.
I was responsible for the whole distributed production environment: Unix hardware and operating systems, databases and networking, the network-management application and its interfaces to the telecommunications infrastructure.
Technologies
HP-UX · HP 9000 · HP RTAP · Informix · SQL · Nortel Preside Switch View · distributed systems · TCP/IP · LAN integration · RAID storage · Xyplex terminal servers · Unix shell scripting · Perl · telecommunications network management · Nortel DMS switching · system integration · acceptance testing · customer training and support