Specialist Task Force 570:
Information Model for NFV
Who we are:
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What we do
This STF is focused on maintaining the DGR/IFA015 NFV Information Model
specification in order to keep it aligned with the ongoing work on
related ETSI NFV releases. The Information Model provides a consolidated
view on all information elements present in the descriptors and
interface specifications. Such consolidated view enables a quick
identification of gaps and inconsistencies in the implementations of the
standard. The Information Model is an important tool for ensuring the
consistency among specifications. Within this STF, we will update the
NFV information model and publish a new version of the information model
in Papyrus and the associated GenDoc document. Additionally, the
accompanying UML® Modelling Guidelines and Papyrus Guidelines, i.e.
DGR/NFV-IFA016 and DGR/NFV-IFA017 will be maintained and updated as
necessary as well.
For more details, see our Terms
of Reference
Why we do it
Having a consolidated Information Model in a machine-readable format
eases the sharing of the model with external SDO’s. Using tools commonly
applied in the broader community, facilitates other SDOs and open source
projects to use ETSI NFV Information Model as a basis, as it is easy to
build on top of it.
There are more than 14 different NFV-IFA specifications that provide
input to the information model, and the size of the model has grown to
more than 160 classes, 200 datatypes and 200 associations. It is
expected that the number of entries to the model will increase in
Release 3 as new NFV features are specified. To continue to be useful,
the Information Model needs to be maintained and aligned with changes in
the related specifications. On the other, hand it also provides means to
check the consistency and validity of new features and changes added to
the related specifications.
The ETSI NFV specifications are referenced and/or used by operators,
vendors and open source communities involved in NFV deployments. The
availability of the ETSI NFV Information Model representation is
essential for the quick development of high-quality specifications and
for making ETSI NFV the industry reference for management and
orchestration standards. Furthermore, it also helps faster adoption of
ETSI specifications by other standards organizations and open source
projects as it offers a well-defined “entry point” to understand the
relationship among the different concepts, artefacts, functionality,
interfaces, etc specified by ETSI NFV.
How we do it
The work of the STF will be presented and discussed at NFV ISG meetings
and with a dedicated steering committee. Maintenance versions of IFA GSs
are typically revised and approved every six months. Therefore, several
draft versions of the Information Model will be provided and discussed
during IFA conference calls before publication, in order to identify
potential misalignments and be able to take timely corrective actions
and coordinate with the work on other related NFV-IFA specifications.
Relevant outcomes will be disseminated at workshops, conferences, and
other events.
ETSI GR NFV-IFA 016 v3.2.1 and ETSI GR NFV-IFA 017 v3.2.1 do not have a
pre-defined maintenance schedule. Maintenance of these specifications
will only be needed if there is any change in the guidelines. As those
guidelines are shared between ETSI NFV and other organizations, any
needed changes will be shared with those organizations as well.
Deliverables
The deliverables for the STF comprise an updates to GR NFV-IFA 015, as
well as GR NFV-IFA 016 and GR NFV-IFA 017:
ETSI GR NFV-IFA 015 v3.3.1 and v3.4.1 conduct NFV Release 3 maintenance,
correcting errors, ambiguities, misalignments, and applying editorial
modifications.
ETSI GR NFV-IFA 016 v3.2.1 and ETSI GR NFV-IFA 017 v3.2.1 build upon the
internal NFV Papyrus and UML modelling guidelines, respectively, aiming
at closer alignment with corresponding UML modelling guidelines from ONF
and may be influenced by other partners cooperating with NFV
(informative).
Time plan
The work of the STF is organised around two major milestones for
approval in October 2019 (ETSI GR NFV-IFA 015 v3.3.1) and February 2020
(ETSI GR NFV-IFA 015 v3.4.1).
Early drafts of the deliverables will be provided for discussion at two
additional interim milestones in June 2019 and November 2019.
For further details, or if you wish to be involved in the work of the
STF, please contact the STF Leader: Philip
Makedonski