Beatriz Fuentes

A Flexible Architecture for Service Management in the Cloud

Cloud computing is a style of computing where different capabilities are provided as a service to customers using Internet technologies. The most common offered services are Infrastructure (IasS), Software (SaaS) and Platform (PaaS). This work integrates the service management into the cloud computing concept and shows how management can be provided as a service in the cloud. Nowadays, services need to adapt their functionalities across heterogeneous environments with different technological and administrative domains. The implied complexity of this situation can be simplified by a service management architecture in the cloud. This paper focuses on this architecture, taking into account specific service management functionalities, like incident management or KPI/SLA management, and provides a complete solution. The proposed architecture is based on a distributed set of agents, using semantic-based techniques: a Shared Knowledge Plane, instantiated in the cloud, has been introduced to ensure communication between agents.

Information Model for Managing Autonomic Functions in Future Networks

Future Internet (FI), a dynamic and complex environment, imposes management requirements, complexity and volume of data which can hardly be handled by traditional management schemes. Autonomic network and service management can be a powerful vision; a promising solution paving the way towards fully autonomic systems provides a three-level management approach and develops Information Modelling extensions for semantic continuity. This paper aims at proposing an Information Model for abstracting autonomic mechanisms for network management tasks and convincing on the relevance of using/extending standardized information models for system specification.

A policy based framework for governing Future networks

Future Internet will constitute a complex and dynamic environment, the requirements of which cannot be handled by traditional management schemes. The alternative is the approach of autonomic service and network management, which targets at guidance and orchestration of the behavior of autonomic and contemporary network entities based on specific service requirements and business goals. In this context, policies can constitute a means for accomplishing the desired high level control in autonomic management. In order to achieve this objective, an advanced policy framework, confronting the challenges of the highly miscellaneous, decentralized and dynamic Future Internet, is needed. To this effect, this paper presents the main challenges of policy-based management in the context of governing the autonomic Future Internet, and based on their elaboration, the focus is placed on existing concepts that can constitute the basis for the design of a proper policy management framework. The paper also describes the functional specification of the policy management framework, deriving from the presented challenges, and instantiation of the policy framework on an illustrative scenario.

G-SLAM – The Anatomy of the Generic SLA Manager

The Generic SLA Manager, also known as the G-SLAM, provides a generic architecture that can be used across different domains and use cases to manage the entire SLA life cycle, including activities such as negotiating SLAs, provisioning resources, monitoring and adjustment. A first approach to this architecture is described in [7]. The key feature of this approach is the high degree of flexibility provided for dynamic behavior (assisted by OSGi), customisable system deployment, and the ability to reconfigure individual pieces comprising the G-SLAM. Each concrete SLAM implementation can customise or reuse components, integrate new components or replace others with minimal effort, and even swap components at runtime.

Multi-domain fault management architecture based on a shared ontology-based knowledge plane

Nowadays the number of services whose functionalities need to adapt across heterogeneous networks with different technological and administrative domains has substantially increased. Each domain involves different management procedures; therefore the comprehensive management of multi-domain services presents serious problems. This paper is focused in fault management aspects and presents a novel management architecture for multi-domain environments. The architecture is based on a distributed set of agents, using semantic techniques. A Shared Knowledge Plane has been implemented to ensure communication between agents.

Human operator trust in autonomic functionalities

Motivation -- To shed light on the conceptions of human network operators about autonomic functionalities and the determinants of trust regarding future autonomic networks. Research approach -- An interview study with 33 human operators at non-managerial level was performed. The interview consisted of 19 questions related to various aspects of autonomic functionalities. Findings/Design -- Several components of trust and distrust for autonomic functionalities were found. Distrust based on assumed failure of the functionalities was the most prominent negative feature. The possibility to concentrate on more demanding tasks was the most surprising positive feature. Research limitations/Implications -- Only 33 human operators from two telecom companies participated in the study, which limits the possible generalisation of the findings. Originality/Value -- The research makes a contribution to the scarce amount of publications on human aspect in telecommunication domain. Take away message -- Trust-related factors can be used for identifying and extracting general requirements for future tools from the user point of view.

Coping with the demands of network management by autonomic functionalities and training

Telecommunication has experienced a rapid expansion with a huge increase in the amount of users, content, and utilized technologies. Consequently, the management of telecom networks has become more challenging. In this study, we have investigated what the demands of the domain are from the perspective of the professionals managing the network. Specifically, we have studied how the demands could be coped with by introducing autonomic network management functionalities or advanced training. The study is based on an extensive interview material about the demands of the telecom network management domain. We conclude that the challenges of the domain are originating both from humans and technology and the remedies vary accordingly. Autonomic functionalities and training could, however, mitigate several challenges found in the domain.