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==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Two, Issue 19, Phile #5 of 8
Facility Assignment and Control System
Written by Phantom Phreaker
INTRODUCTION
------------
The Facility Assignment and Control System (FACS) is an integrated
network component system that most phreaks and hackers know of from an old
file named 'FACS FACTS' written by Sharp Razor. While this file provides an
accurate description of the FACS system, it is lacking in detail and length.
This file will provide accurate information about the FACS system and is
intended for the true telecom enthusiast (i.e. this article is not for people
who use codes and call it 'phreaking' or for people who think that phreaking
is just 'making free phone calls'). Hopefully the phreaks and hackers of the
world who want to know how things work in the telephone network will benefit
from this information. Any malicious use of this information is strictly
prohibited. The contents of this file are for informational and educational
purposes only.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
-------------------
FACS can be described as a full-featured outside plant and central office
facilities assignment system. For the people who are unfamiliar with these
terms, the outside plant is the portion of the telephone network that runs
from a telco office (such as a class five end office (EO)) to the subscriber,
including manholes and distribution/access points such as Serving Area
Interfaces (SAI) which are large, double-door outdoor equipment cabinets which
allow the repair craft to repair, test, and access a multitude of service
lines in that area.
FACS is made up of five component systems, or sub-systems, and some of
these are also used as stand-alone systems (i.e. in an area that does not use
FACS, COSMOS can be thought of as a stand-alone system).
The component systems are:
PREMIS - PREmise Information System
SOAC - Service Order Analysis & Control
LFACS - Loop Facility Assignment and Control System
COSMOS - COmputer System for Main Frame OperationS
WM - Work Manager
FACS is used by many departments and work centers in the BOC network. A
general example of telco interaction will be included later in the article.
PREMIS
------
PREMIS supports the customer negotiation (i.e. while a customer talks with
a BOC service rep, PREMIS is the computer system the rep has access to) and
service order (SO) preparation process (a SO is basically a request for
service). PREMIS is a computer-based information storage and retrieval system
designed to support the Residence/Residential Service Center (RSC), and in
some cases, the Business Service Center (BSC). The RSC is the center that
residence customers deal with, and the BSC is the center that business
customers deal with.
PREMIS provides fast easy access to customer address verification for
numbered and unnumbered addresses (information is stored by telephone number
not address), telephone service status at an address (whether the phone is in
service, disconnected, pending connect, pending disconnect, disconnected due
to non-payment, etc.), telephone number assignment for customers (PREMIS can
generate a list of available telephone numbers in a given exchange and the
available TNs come from COSMOS) and facility assignment data for outward
orders.
The following PREMIS features are available to the service reps and have
special significance to the LAC:
Customer Negotiation:
Provides customer service address check against a mechanized Street
Address Guide (SAG).
Provides customer status check to a mechanized facility address file
which identifies potential Interfering Station (IS) conditions.
Provides new telephone number assignments through an available TN
(Telephone Number) file.
Service Order Preparation:
Provides SAG data.
Provides correct address spelling.
PREMIS, as far as I know, does not have any direct dialups so don't get
your hopes up high. There may be other ways to access information in PREMIS
however.
SOAC
----
The SOAC system is what interfaces FACS with the BOC SOP (Service Order
Processor). The SOP is what the service reps enter SO information into and
the SOP sends the data entered to the SOAC system. The SOAC system interprets
and validates this input data.
SOAC generates Assignment Requests (ARs) which are sent to LFACS and
COSMOS (see respective sections of this file) to request outside plant (OSP)
and CO facility assignments, respectively.
SOAC receives AR Responses (ARRs) from LFACS and WM/COSMOS and merges this
data and formats the output into a Universal Service Order (USO) assignment
section. This USO is returned to the SOP after SOAC has processed it.
SOAC returns status information and error notification to the SOP. Status
information is what tells the service rep who entered the data into the SOP
whether or not FACS can process that Service Order. Error notifiers are sent
back to the SOP when part of the SO is in error.
SOAC keeps record of status and control information on all SO requests, as
well as the input image and specific data that came from processing. This
information, along with the input image and processing results are referred to
as the pending assignment data.
SOs do not automatically flow through SOAC in all cases. SOAC can analyze
an order to determine if manual assistance is required, and if it is, a
Request for Manual Assistance (RMA) notice is sent to the LAC. LAC personnel
will use SOAC, and possibly other systems in FACS, such as COSMOS/WM and
LFACS, to complete the assignment on that SO.
SOAC also may receive COSMOS system output from certain commands. One
such command may be the IJR command, which sets up a circuit for jeopardy
status. Jeopardy status means that the assignment looks as if it will be (or
already is) behind schedule for completion. An example of this is as follows
(showing COSMOS messages).
WC% IJR
H ORD nxxxxxxxx/TN nxx-xxxx/JR nx
RMK NEED TIE PR FOR nxx
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