A system comprising software, firmware, and hardware used to manage a large and complex network. An NMS, also known as a manager of managers (MOM), may receive alarms and alerts from multiple element management systems (EMSs), each of which manages one or more specific intelligent network elements (NEs), i.e., devices of the same type (e.g., modems or multiplexers) and generally of the same manufacturer. See also EMS, firmware, hardware, MOM, NE, network management, and software.