Network information models and onevision® architecture

Network information models play an essential role in network management systems. A network information model is an abstraction of network resources. When well defined, a network information model facilitates delivery of various customer services by ensuring proper interactions among users, applications, and the managed networking resources in a network management system. A standards-based network information model is the keystone that enables a network management system to operate with other network management systems in an 'open' manner. Historically, 'standard' network information models have been developed by two camps of standards organizations - the telecommunications management network (TMN) camp, and the Internet protocol (IP) camp. Standards from the TMN camp, designed for operations support systems in telecommunications carrier networks, are endorsed by organizations such as the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Standards from the IP camp, designed for management systems in enterprise networks, are supported by groups such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Desktop Management Task Force (DMTF). In both camps, information within a network information model can be examined from the viewpoint of a network element or the network. This paper presents an overview and a comparison of different network information models from both camps and discusses the architectural role of the network information model in OneVision® Network Management solutions. It also presents a high-level description of a network information model in the OneVision enterprise solutions.