Performance Management Integration Reference Point

Description

The Performance Management Integration Reference Point (PMIRP) is a crucial component of the 3GPP Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) and Network Management (NM) architecture, defined in the 32.4xx series of specifications. It standardizes the interface and information model for performance management (PM) data exchange between a managed system (an agent) and a managing system (a manager). The managed system can be a Network Element (NE), an Element Manager (EM), or a Domain Manager (DM). The managing system is typically an Integration Reference Point (IRP) Manager, which could be part of a Network Manager (NM) or a higher-level Operations Support System (OSS). The PMIRP defines a set of Solution Sets (SS), each comprising a number of Information Object Classes (IOCs) and Notification Object Classes (NOCs) that model performance data. Key IOCs include Performance Measurement Jobs (PM-Jobs), which are scheduled tasks that define what to measure (e.g., counter or gauge), on which resources, and with what granularity (e.g., 15-minute, 24-hour). The results of these jobs are stored as Performance Measurement Results (PM-Results), which contain the collected counter values or gauge readings. The PMIRP interface allows the IRP Manager to create, suspend, resume, modify, and delete PM-Jobs in the managed system. It also provides operations to retrieve PM-Results and to subscribe to notifications for events like job state changes or threshold crossings. The communication is typically based on CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) or later web services (SOAP/XML), as specified in the protocol-neutral information model and its protocol bindings. The PMIRP enables automated, standardized collection of key performance indicators (KPIs) such as call setup success rates, handover success rates, throughput, latency, and resource utilization from all network elements, regardless of vendor. This collected data is fundamental for network performance monitoring, troubleshooting, capacity planning, and optimization.

Purpose & Motivation

The PMIRP was created to solve the problem of vendor-proprietary and disparate performance management interfaces in multi-vendor telecommunications networks. Before standardization, each network equipment vendor provided its own unique interface and data model for extracting performance measurements, forcing network operators to develop custom, costly, and fragile integrations for their OSS. The primary purpose of the PMIRP is to provide a unified, standardized interface for performance data collection and control, enabling multi-vendor interoperability and reducing integration costs. It forms part of 3GPP's broader IRP framework, which aims to standardize all major management areas (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security - FCAPS). By defining a common object model and set of operations for performance management, the PMIRP allows operators to deploy a single management system that can collect consistent performance data from all network elements, facilitating accurate network-wide KPI analysis and correlation. Its introduction, particularly from Release 8 onwards alongside the rollout of LTE/EPC, was critical for the automated operation of modern, complex, and software-driven mobile networks. It addresses the need for efficient, scalable, and reliable performance monitoring to ensure quality of service and proactive network maintenance.

Key Features

• Standardized information model for Performance Measurement Jobs (PM-Jobs) and Results (PM-Results)
• Defines operations for lifecycle management of PM-Jobs (create, modify, delete, suspend, resume)
• Supports retrieval of historical and current performance measurement data
• Provides notification mechanisms for job state changes and threshold alarms
• Enables definition of measurement granularities (e.g., 15-minute, 1-hour, 24-hour)
• Protocol-neutral design with bindings to technologies like CORBA and Web Services

Evolution Across Releases

Defining Specifications