Page 380 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Management and Administration 3-171

Management Applications

APIs Development APIs
Management Services Implementation
Tools

Basic Infrastructure

FIGu RE 3.7.2 Architecture of management frameworks.
3.7.2.1.1 Hardware Platform
The hardware platform is considered a commodity. Both operating systems and management applica-
tions are expected to run on a wide variety of processors.

3.7.2.1.2 Operating Systems
There should be a healthy combination of proprietary and open-source software for the operating sys-
tems supporting service providers’ principal business processes.

3.7.2.1.3 Directory Services
Management frameworks deal with a great variety of entities and a large number of resources. Allocation
of human-readable names to each managed resource (object) is the goal of directory services. Directory
services are based on commonly agreed upon standards that model the naming paradigm, provide nam-
ing notations, allocate identifiable names to managed resources, translate names into physical addresses
of resources, and ultimately provide location transparency for the resource in the system. All of these
considerations are valid for network and systems management frameworks. Framework management
services and management applications use naming information from directory services to perform
their functions in relationship to managed resources and other management frameworks. The principal
directory service requirements are as follows (MORR00):
• Global information directory service and universal access to directory information
• Separation between the names of managed objects and the underlying physical networks
• Translation capabilities between various directory systems
• Translation between logical addresses and network addresses or routing addresses
• Storage of directory information and access to directory information, including metadata
• APIs in order to easily incorporate directory services into applications

In terms of directory service capabilities, the following components are examples (MORR00).
• Directory service users: people, management applications, electronic messaging, routers/servers,
other management framework services
• Resources requiring naming: people, organizations, computers, processes, files, mail boxes, net-
work devices, printers, object class abstractions, object instances, management applications,
management services, management agents
• Directory system types: centralized, distributed, standard, proprietary, interpersonal communica-
tions directory (human), intersystem communications directory (computers and software systems)
• Directory service generic operations: query (read, list, search, compare), modification (add/remove
entry, modify entry, modify naming space, quit), binding/unbinding (security authentication)