TR255 Resource Function Activation and Configuration Suite R17.0.1

In Release 16.0, work started (in TR255) concerning requirements and detailed use cases for a activation and configuration interface covering hybrid (physical and/or virtualized) resources, e.g., firewalls, content server, applications. The work on TR255 progressed in 16.5. In Release 17.0, further details were added to TR255 and two additional documents were defined, i.e., TR255A concerning connectivity modeling and TR255B concerning requirements on the specifications (descriptors) for the resource functions defined TR255. These additions provided sufficient detail to allow for the definition of an associated API, i.e., TMF664 Resource Function Activation and Configuration.

TMF664 is a key component in the Hybrid Infrastructure Platform (HIP) defined in TMF070B. HIP, in turn, is based on principles defined in TR262 Hybrid Network Management Platform Blueprint R16.5.1. TR262 defines a platform-based model, supporting autonomic closed control loop resource managers. In order to support the principles in TR262, both intent-based and detailed-based options are defined in TR255 and realized in TMF664.

• TR255 includes use cases and requirements for the provisioning and life cycle management of Resource Functions (RF). Examples of RFs are VNFs and Network Services (as defined in ETSI NFV), Service Functions and Service Function Chains (as defined in IETF), and physical network functions such as routers and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). The use cases and requirements where used to drive the definition of an associated TM Forum API, i.e., TMF664 Resource Function Activation and Configuration.
• The use cases and requirements are divided into two basic kinds, i.e., intent-based and detailed-based. In the case of intent-based, the consumer does not have a view or the ability to directly affect the components of a given entity. For the detailed-based, the opposite is true.

There are several documents that support and further detail TR255, i.e.

• TR255A Connectivity Patterns for Virtualization Management (this was previously released as IG1147). This document provides an analysis of several Resource Function (RF) examples from the perspective of connectivity needs. Recommendations are made concerning how to represent the details of connectivity for an RF. Adjacency graphs are used to model connectivity among RFs. The main target for this representation is the Resource Function Activation and Configuration API in TMF664.
• TR255B Specification Requirements for Resource Functions. Using TR255 and TR255A as a basis, this document provides requirements for the specifications (descriptors) needed to support the provisioning of Resource Functions (RFs). The RF specification attributes are defined and a detailed example is provided (including a JSON representation).