N-1-3-040.50, "Problem Tracking Systems - Home-grown or Off-the-Shelf", by Elise Gerich*, Network Operations Centers (NOC) continue to work closely with each other as the Internet has grown and has many more component networks. With the growth and the added complexity of solving network problems, it has become evident that network operations centers must document actions taken to resolve problems. The User Connectivity Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is one example of a forum where discussions between network operators have taken place on the topic of the format of trouble ticket systems and the availability of public domain systems. Discussions in working groups such as this one have led to documents such as RFC 1297. RFC 1297, "NOC Internal Integrated Trouble Ticket System Functional Specification Wishlist", by Dale Johnson of Merit Network Inc., explores desirable features of trouble ticket systems for network operations centers. After the publication of RFC 1297, several organizations announced the availability of trouble ticket systems in the public domain which implement some of the features that are described in the RFC and which help to automate the maintenance and distribution of information pertaining to network problems. In April of 1992, the NEARnet technical committee announced the availability of the code for the trouble ticket system that was developed by the NEARnet technical staff. This trouble ticket system is based on the Informix Relational Database and allows problems and the related notes to be maintained in a coordinated fashion. It is also possible to distribute trouble ticket information via electronic mail to other network operations centers or interested parties. The current release package was prepared by Leo Dopson and John Curran and contains several descriptive documents and an easy-to-use installation script for customizing the system. The system is available via anonymous FTP on nic.near.net, in the file: pub/nearnet-ticket-system-v1.2.tar. This system is currently used by NEARnet and has helped NEARnet build the reputation for thorough problem resolution. Bug reports, discussions, fixes, improvements, and questions about this system should be addressed to: tt@nic.near.net. A second publically available Help Desk Management System (HDMS) is available from Delmarva Power & Light Company. This system requires the Unify relational database and has a character-based interface. It is inherently multi-user, and supports problem escalation, email interface, and remote ticket printers. For further information about HDMS, address mail to: hdms-request@delmarva.com. A third system has been announced by JVNCnet in May 1992. NETLOG v2.0 is available via anonymous FTP on ftp.jvnc.net, in the file: pub/netlog-tt.tar.Z. Unlike the previous two systems, this software is not based on an off-the-shelf database. It runs on Unix systems and has been used by JVNCnet since 1990. This software is part of the NOCOL (Network Operation Center On Line) package developed at JVNCnet. This software was developed prior to the publication of RFC 1297. Some of the features like alarms which are mentioned in the RFC are not part of NETLOG, but may be implemented sometime in the future. The functions that are supported include: Create Entry Edit Log Read Log List Open Tickets Search Logs Process Tickets All bug reports, comments, and suggestions should be sent to: netlog-bugs@jvnc.net. To be advised of updates to this software, send mail to: netlog-users@jvnc.net. A fourth system, which will be based on RFC 1297, is being developed by Tom Sandoski at Concert Network. This system will be based on the postgres database system which is publically available from postgres.berkeley.edu. When this is publically available, there will be an announcement to the User Connectivity Problems Working Group and Network Joint Management Working Group of the IETF. There may be more publically available systems. These are just four that have been shared on IETF mailing lists. The network operations centers have cooperated in working together to resolve network problems and continue the cooperation by collaborating to develop criteria for basic trouble ticket systems which improve operator efficiency and accuracy. This collaboration has translated into publically available problem tracking systems which ultimately lead to better service to network users. *Merit Network Inc.