Implementing Interoperable Military Communications Systems using the DMTF Common Information Model

The success of the future force transformation depends on the effective integration and interoperability of disparate military information and communications systems, a top priority with the Department of Defense. In many cases, the components that comprise these systems were vendor specific implementations, developed independently, and do not allow for seamless interoperability due to inconsistencies in data models and definitions across systems. The Distributed Management Task Force's (DMTF) Common Information Model (CIM) provides a basis for data modeling that alleviates the interoperability issues of stovepipe applications and data models through standardized, object oriented definition of managed components, interfaces and relationships between the components. The CIM standard object model is independent of specific system implementation and provides core component definitions that provide necessary functionality to any system, and can be extended to allow new components to be designed. This paper presents a discussion of data modeling using the CIM standard object model as a basis for development of an information infrastructure for emerging, current and legacy systems