Terms of Reference (ToR) for
 ETSI TC M2M Functional Architecture (WG2)

Text under discussion – to be approved at M2M#15bis

TCM2M|M2MWG1|M2MWG2|M2MWG3|M2MWG4|M2MWG5

Responsibility

• Standards development activities related to an end to end high level and detailed architecture for M2M and its evolution.

•  Identifying gaps where existing standards do not fulfill the requirements and develop specifications and standards to
   fill these gaps, without duplication of work in other ETSI committees and partnership projects.

• Coordinate ETSI’s M2M architecture activity with that of other TC M2M WGs as well as other standardization groups
  and fora.

• Conduct studies leading to deliverables pertaining to M2M services and applications and related evolutions.

• Advise and coordinate with other ETSI TC's and ETSI TC WGs on any aspects related to the areas of activity and
  expertise of the WG.

Tasks

• Service and operational aspects of M2M solutions.

• End-to-end high level architecture and detailed architecture for M2M including:

  • Interconnection and integration of wireless capillary networks and their devices with wide area networks.

  • Interconnection and integration of telecoms networks.

• M2M device identification and naming, addressing and location.

• M2M QoS considerations.

• M2M Security and Privacy.

• M2M charging.

• M2M management and provisioning.

• Application interfaces to the M2M system components (management entities, network elements, application components etc.).

• Hardware interface standardization considerations.

• Mapping of existing components or sub-systems to the ETSI M2M architecture.

• Interoperability for end-to-end M2M solutions.

• Provision of the ETSI main centre of expertise in the area of Machine to Machine system specification and be able to offer advice to ETSI Technical Bodies, the ETSI Board and the General Assembly.

• Organization of regular meetings/workshops with appropriate stakeholders.

• Liaison with relevant external organizations such as SDOs.

• Establishment of external relationships (and joint working groups) where and when ever needed.  Formal relationships will be established using the normal processes via the ETSI Secretariat (NIM/Partnerships).

• Study the evolution of the M2M Service Layer architecture, motivated by new market requirements and considering new and emerging technologies.

• Identification of generic functional capabilities required to develop a service independent architecture and definition of appropriate terminology.

• Definition of functional architectures, taking into account related developments in standards for fixed and mobile networks to enable service and network convergence, as appropriate.

• Definition and analysis of Functional Entities, Message Flows and Information Elements Identification of the need for reference points and standardized interfaces.

• Analysis and comparison of interface requirements, including the impact on already standardized interfaces.

• Coordination and development of requirements (M2M WG1) in the areas of work, including:

  • Use Cases and architectural work, quality guarantees, network interworking aspects.

  • Protocols & Interfaces (coordinated with M2M WG3).

  • Security (coordinated with M2M WG4).

  • Management (coordinated with M2M WG5).

• Study of the impact of inter-working between similar and dissimilar M2M Services that are evolving independently. Identification of the need for functional entities and reference points to support needed interfaces and protocols.

• Consideration of mechanisms necessary to ensure proper interaction between services.

• Monitor, support, and influence the work on services and architectures in other bodies.

Organization and working methods

• TC M2M WG2 shall work in accordance with the ETSI Directives and, in particular, the Technical Working Procedures.

•  TC M2M WG2 shall provide progress reports to the ETSI Board and OCG from time to time.

• TC M2M WG2 will liaise with ETSI TC ITS for transport-related M2M issues, and with other ETSI TBs as appropriate (e.g. ETSI TISPAN, ITS, SCP, 3GPP, ERM).

• TC M2M WG2 will liaise with other SDO/Fora as appropriate.  Groups which TC M2M might need to liaise with include OMA, GSMA, ZigBee Alliance, WOSA, ISA, IEEE, IETF, IPSO Alliance, ISO, ITU-T, TIA, OSG‑I, W3C, Open Geospatial Consortium.

•  TC M2M WG2 will support the recognized 3-stage standardization method, identifying first the requirements, then developing architecture and information flows, and then performing detailed specification.  Use-cases will be used as part of the requirements development process. TC M2M WG2 will also explore the use of APIs to provide interfaces to the M2M system components.

• TC M2M WG2 will aim to refer to existing work done elsewhere, or encourage existing groups to fulfill its requirements, and only where such work does not meet TC M2M’s requirements will it perform detailed specification work itself.

Participation

• Participation in TC M2M WG2 is open to all ETSI members in accordance with the Technical Working Procedures.  Observers and non-members may participate at the discretion of the Chairman in line with clause 1.4 of the Technical Working Procedures.

Collaboration with other bodies (both inside and outside ETSI)

• Cooperation with other ETSI Technical Bodies and Working Groups.

• Cooperation with other appropriate bodies, taking into account the status of ETSI's external relations.