Goal-based service creation using autonomic entities

Abstract

This paper presents an approach for facilitating the setting-up and management of new multi-organizational telecom services. We are addressing factors that currently impede the development of new complex telecom services. One factor is the gap between high-level business goals and low-level network management policies making it hard for business managers to quickly implement new business ideas. A second factor, due to the trends towards outsourcing and multi-organizational structures, is the increasing complexity of the services which leads to high demands on the management environments. These factors translate into high costs and long time-to-market for the introduction of new complex telecom services. As a suggestion for a solution to these issues, we propose a goal-based approach towards self-management of complex telecom services. In our suggestion lies a new breed of network devices called Autonomic Entities which should be able both to orchestrate services fulfilling given goals, and to refine and combine goals for the purpose of self-management. This paper focuses on how Autonomic Entities can be combined via a goal combining method for the creation of new services. Our approach is illustrated with examples and an application to a scenario.