# Running the system with NMS OAM

To be configured and started correctly, each board you install must have a separate set of configuration parameters and values entered into the NMS OAM configuration database. See NMS OAM for details. Parameters and their assigned values are expressed as a keyword name and value pair (for example, Encoding = MU_LAW).

These configuration settings are specified in two types of files:

File type | Description
--- | ---
Board keyword | NMS OAM board keyword files contain parameters to configure the board. These settings are expressed as keyword name and value pairs. See Creating board keyword files.
System configuration | NMS OAM system configuration files contain a list of boards in the system and the name of one or more board keyword files for each board. See Creating a system configuration file for oamsys.

After you create and edit these files, load them into the NMS OAM configuration database by running the oamsys utility. Running oamsys describes this step.

The following illustration shows the process by which configuration files are sent to oamsys to create the NMS OAM configuration database:

After oamsys creates records in the NMS OAM configuration database, it starts and configures boards in your system according to the information now present in the database.