Content for TS 32.102 Word version: 17.0.0

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14 Mediation/Integration p. 38

The increase in the need to incorporate a hybrid set of technologies, multiple protocols and heterogeneous resources requires the availability of open management interfaces between the management systems and the different network resources. These interfaces require an underlying mechanism to mediate - interpret, translate, and handle data - between the various data representations and protocols. A set of Technology Integration Points [10] can be identified.

Software components on the open market as automatic conversion applications, gateways, mediation applications will be valuable products to fulfil the challenging task to incorporate multiple protocols and heterogeneous resources.

Figure 14.1 summarises Technology Integration Points for some example technologies:

Copy of original 3GPP image for 3GPP TS 32.102, Fig. 14.1: Example of Technology Integration Points [10]

Figure 14.1: Example of Technology Integration Points [10]
(⇒ copy of original 3GPP image)

Essentially, Figure 14.1 indicates that from the technologies selected, a number of technology areas will need to be integrated. These are:

Internet/Web based services;
Object Request Broker (CORBA) based services;
Telecom based Manager/Agent services (e.g. CMIP/GDMO and SNMP/SMI).

In order to provide adequate points of integration between these areas of technology, a number of Integration Points (IPs) have been identified - as outlined in Table 14.1:

Table 14.1: Example Technology Integration Points [10]

	Managed Objects (GDMO/SMI)	Management Services (CMISE/SNMP)	Java Objects	Web Browser (HTTP/HTML)	TMN Agent
CORBA Objects	IP1		IP4	IP3
CORBA Services		IP2
TMN Manager					IP5

IP1

Provides mapping of objects defined in CORBA/IDL to managed objects defined in GDMO or SMI.

IP2

Provides mapping of appropriate CORBA Services to CMIS and SNMP services.

IP3

Provides a mapping of Web Browser technology access to CORBA objects (for situations where this may be needed as an addition to/replacement of Browser access to a database).

IP4

Provides a mapping between Java based objects and CORBA objects.

IP5

Provides a high level convenient programming interface for the rapid development of TMN based manager/agent interactions. It also provides a convenient point of integration if it is necessary to separate out the two sides of the manager/agent interface from the point of view of technology selection. For example, allowing the manager role to perhaps be supported in a Web-based environment, but giving a good point of integration with a TMN based agent.