Summary

IISOMI (Informal Inter-SDO Open Model Initiative) is an open source project founded by UML model designers from various SDOs like ETSI NFV, ITU-T, MEF, ONF and TM Forum.

The goal is to develop guidelines and tools for a harmonized modeling infrastructure that is not specific to any SDO, technology or management protocol and can then be used by all SDOs.

The deliverables are developed in an open source community under the “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License”.

Purpose

This community has been set up to further both the promotion of and the development of coherent information models relevant to the management-control of telecommunications and of infrastructure, including tooling, used to support the model development , support interface generation and maintain the integrity of the models.

It is recognized that this community will be working with others to converge and consolidate existing work with the aim of improving the efficiency of the industry by removing unnecessary variety whilst enabling and promoting innovation.

Background

The work input at the formation of this community was a result of many years of collaborative work in ITU-T, TMF, ONF, MEF, TSI-NFV etc. There will be an ongoing feed of input from those bodies as this community and the standardization environment evolve.

Mode of Development

The intention is to use an Agile Architecture approach that incorporates in the agile development cycle the development of theory and enabling constraints that increasingly govern the development of future models and implementation. An analogous example of enabling constraints are the shoulders of a road.

Underpinning Rationale

Insights resulting from lessons from the past can inform future development so as to avoid making the same mistakes over and over. Years of experience in the industry can lead to a recognition of governing principles and patterns applicable across a broad space where these principles/patterns are simply not apparent on first encounter or when taking a narrow view. These principles and patterns can also help avoid yet to be encountered problems and lead to a single elegant recursive solution to what initially appeared to be many quite different problems.

It is recognized that over many years valuable insight has been squandered. Key insights are often lost as individuals leave roles or leave the industry. A major challenge is the capturing of these insights. Often the insights are abstract and apparently removed from the current understanding of the day to day problems. A major challenge is applying the insights. This community aim to capture insights in models, techniques and tooling using approaches that relate the insights to the day to day problems and that provide solutions that are practical, relevant and applicable. 

A foundational principle of the work in Eagle is that to make real progress there needs to both an evolving vision of a target future and guiding structure that then enables and speed progression towards that vision. This will lead to ongoing improvements in consistency, reduction in integration cost, reduction of the need for specific code development and hence reduction in the need for retrofit and patching, 

Implications

• Benefit of architecture and patterns
• Benefit of tooling
• The canonical model

Vision

• Automation of  (code production (at least interface code) driven by models and tooling
• Consistent forms of model to drive the tooling
• Normalization of the representation of all telecommunications protocols
• Support for ongoing innovation and change at any level and in any aspect

Focus

Initial focus

• Consistent use of UML to generate models using the Papyrus UML modeling too
• Enhancements to the tooling to improve model construction and model mapping
• Interface schema and code generators driven by the consistent models

Longer term focus

• Joint development of industry wide models forkey domains

Infrastructure Work

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Domain Model Work

The first domain is likely to be that of network resource but it is intended that this not be yet another network resource model initiative so a number of convergences need to have occurred before development work can start on this area in Eagle.

Prior to embarking on actual model work it is intended that some of the key patterns, principles and architectures be shared and discussed. This will be based upon the ONF model work which provides the most coherent capture to date.

More Detail on the Origins of the Work

• Reference the standard evolution slide
• Explain key underpinning insights