Network operation center

1. Network Operation Center
A network operations center (NOC, pronounced like the word knock), also known as a "network
management center", is one or more locations from which network monitoring and control, or network
management, is exercised over a computer, telecommunication orsatellite network.
NOCs are implemented by business organizations, public utilities, universities, and government
agencies that oversee complex networking environments that require high availability. NOC personnel are
responsible for monitoring one or many networks for certain conditions that may require special attention
to avoid degraded service. Organizations may operate more than one NOC, either to manage different
networks or to provide geographic redundancy in the event of one site becoming unavailable.
In addition to monitoring internal and external networks of related infrastructure, NOCs can monitor social
networks to get a head-start on disruptive events.
NOCs analyze problems, perform troubleshooting, communicate with site technicians and other NOCs,
and track problems through resolution. When necessary, NOCs escalate problems to the appropriate
stakeholders. For severe conditions that are impossible to anticipate, such as a power failure or a
cut optical fiber cable, NOCs have procedures in place to immediately contact technicians to remedy the
problem.
Primary responsibilities of NOC personnel may include:
 Network monitoring
 Incident response
 Communications management
 Reporting
NOCs often escalate issues in a hierarchic manner, so if an issue is not resolved in a specific time frame,
the next level is informed to speed up problem remediation. NOCs sometimes have multiple tiers of
personnel, which define how experienced and/or skilled a NOC technician is. A newly hired NOC
technician might be considered a "tier 1", whereas a technician that has several years of experience may
be considered "tier 3" or "tier 4". As such, some problems are escalated within a NOC before a site
technician or other network engineer is contacted.
NOC personnel may perform extra duties; a network with equipment in public areas (such as a mobile
network Base Transceiver Station) may be required to have a telephone number attached to the
equipment for emergencies; as the NOC may be the only continuously staffed part of the business, these
calls will often be answered there.
A Network Operations Center rests at the heart of every telecom network or major data center, a place to
keep an eye on everything.
Some of these NOCs are really “dressed to impress”, while others have taken a more mundane
approach.
So, for inspiration, here is a set of pictures of different NOCs from telecom companies and data centers
(and one content delivery network) that we here at Pingdom have collected from around the internet.
Dressed to impress

2. These NOCs are obviously designed to impress visitors on top of being useful. Also NOC constitutes the
best Technical Experts of Networks as it acts as a heart for the network operations to run and to make
human life more comfortable.
See the glimpse of some world's best NOC across world!
Airtel Network Experience Center,Gurgaon,India
Reliance Communications’ NOC in India

3. AT&T’s Global NOC in Bedminster, New Jersey

4. Lucent’s Network Reliability Center in Aurora, Colorado (1998-99)
Conexim’s NOC in Australia

5. Akamai’s NOC in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Slightly more discreet
While still impressive on a smaller scale, these NOCs have taken a slightly more conventional approach.
We noticed a divide here. Data centers tend to have more scaled-back NOCs while telecom companies
often fall in the “dressed to impress” category, perhaps partly due to having more infrastructure to monitor
than the average data center (and shareholders).
Easy CGI’s NOC in Pearl River, New York
Ensynch’s NOC in Tempe, Arizona

6. TWAREN’s NOC (Taiwan Advanced Research & Education Network)
The Planet’s NOC in Houston, Texas

7. KDL’s NOC in Evansville, Indiana
And the not-flashy-in-the-least award goes to…
Some of the small NOC's could be seen as

8. Image sources:
AT&T NOC from AT&T, Reliance NOC from Suraj, Lucent NOC from Evans Consoles, Conexim
NOC from Conexim, Akamai NOC from Akamai via Bert Boerland’s blog, Easy CGI NOC from Easy CGI,
Ensynch NOC from Ensynch, TWAREN NOC from TWAREN, The Planet NOC from The Planet’s blog,
Rackspace NOC from Naveenium, KDL NOC from Kentucky Data Link.
http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/05/21/gallery-of-network-operations-centers/