Computer Communications Group

Universidade do Minho - Escola de Engenharia
University of Minho - School of Engeneering
Departamento de Informática
Department of Informatics
COMPUTER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP

Internet Network Services Management Framework
NSMF Project Area

* UNDER CONSTRUCTION *

The Internet Network Services Management Framework (NSMF) conceptualization tries to overcome the most important limitations of the most widely supported network management framework of our days, the Internet-standard Network Management Framework (INMF), also known as the SNMP framework, by defining a complete network services management distributed architecture that provides services management functions with any desired level of functionality. This framework evolved from an initial effort that defined a partial, or complementary, framework to the Internet Network management Framework, to a new version, which is intended to be a reference management framework, capable of been deployed on almost any computer network services platform.

This site is dedicated to the NSMF and its three main components: the Entity Access Control Model (EACM), the Management Communications Services and the Service Management Function (SMF) concept.

So, this new framework is supported by a generic Network Services Management Entity Access Control Model, supporting entity and network resources control, a broad range of security mechanisms (including data authentication, content verification, confidentiality, data compression, non-repudiation assurance and a complete key management system), entity and domain naming and addressing, and a Management Domain Registration and Information Service. It also relies on the definition of two types of Management Communication Services that use the same Protocol Data Unit – these methods include a Management Message connectionless service and a Management Session connection-oriented. Furthermore, the framework is based on the new paradigm of the Services Management Function – being this the most important single concept of this new management model – which is a procedure implementing a group of well defined services management actions/functions, including the re-use of other services management functions.

The correctness and effectiveness of this new network management framework are assessed by means of an evaluation analysis using a newly created evaluation system for network management frameworks. To contextualize the framework evaluation, the results are compared to evaluation results from the INMF. This site will also convey the definition of this evaluation system, complemented with some evaluation reports.

At this moment, the NSMF formal definition is depicted on a submitted PhD Thesis from Bruno Dias and, in the next weeks, this site will be used mainly to support that document through the following link:

APPENDIX
from
Gestão de Redes Internet
Network Services Management Framework
by
Bruno Dias
Dissertação apresentada à Universidade do Minho para
obtenção do grau de Doutor em Informática
Orientadores:
Alexandre Santos
Fernando Fernandes