The Cisco ONS 15454 advanced Alarm Interface Controller Card (AIC-I) further advances the capabilities of the Cisco ONS 15454 SONET multiservice provisioning platforms, enabling greater network monitoring for improved network reliability. The new AIC-I card allows network administrators to better monitor the health of the network, with additional visibility to the operations in remote, unstaffed facilities. The AIC-I card extends the capability of the Cisco ONS 15454 to retrieve environmental alarms and monitor the health of the system's power source. The AIC-I card supports standard orderwire capabilities as well as SONET overhead-based data channels, lowering the user's need for ancillary leased lines to support inter-central office and management connectivity. These features help reduce the overall costs of operating a network, resulting in improved return on investment (ROI).