MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET

Mul t i -Tec hnol ogy Net wor k

Management Sol ut i on Set
NML-EML Interface Version 3.0










TMF 814

Member Approved Version 3.0 April 2004
TeleManagement Forum 2003
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
NOTICE
The TeleManagement Forum (TM Forum) has made every effort to ensure that the contents of this
document are accurate. However, due to the inherent complexity in the design and implementation of
software and systems, no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions or for consequences of any use
made of this document. Under no circumstances will the TM Forum be liable for direct or indirect
damages or any costs or losses resulting from the use of this specification. The risk of designing and
implementing products in accordance with this specification is borne solely by the user of this
specification.
This document may involve a claim of patent rights by one or more TM Forum members, pursuant to the
agreement on Intellectual Property Rights between TM Forum and its members, and by non-members of
TM Forum.
This document is a copyrighted document of TM Forum, and if reproduced in any manner shall clearly
acknowledge the authorship of TM Forum.
Direct inquiries to the TM Forum office:
89 Headquarters Plaza North - Suite 350
Morristown, NJ 07960 USA
Tel No. +1 973 292 1901
Fax No. +1 973 993 3131
TM Forum Web Page: www.tmforum.org

TMF814 V3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 ii
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Multi-Technology Network Management (MTNM) NML-EML Interface, Version 3.0 is a genuinely
collaborative effort. The TeleManagement Forum would like to thank the following people for contributing
their time and expertise to the production of this document. It is just not possible to recognize all the
organizations and individuals that have contributed or influenced the Multi-Technology Network
Management (MTNM) Solution Set. We apologize to any person or organization we inadvertently missed
in these acknowledgments.
Key individuals that reviewed, provided input, managed, edited and determined how to utilize inputs
coming from all over the world, and really made this document happen were:
Steve Arnott, Marconi Communications
Beau Atwater, Telcordia Technologies
Franois Bdard, Nortel Networks
Teddy Bezoza, AT&T
Alex Bojanic, Tellabs
Harrie Buiting, Lucent Technologies
Henri Campagno, France Telecom
Lee Chow, Tellabs
Merav Cohen-Sarussi, LightScape Networks
Nigel Davis, Nortel Networks
Keith Dorking, Ciena
Shane Edmonds, Alcatel
Felix Flemisch, Siemens AG
Marianne Franklin, Lucent
Steve Fratini, Telcordia Technologies
Salim Galou, Fujitsu
Elisabetta Gardelli, Siemens Mobile Communications
CB Genrich, Hitachi
Noam Goldberg, LightScape Networks
Alison Greig, Nortel Networks
Garry Grimes, Marconi Communications
Milton Hall, Telcordia Technologies
Dragan J ovanovic, Acterna
Roshan J oyce, Fujitsu
Ralf Kimmlingen, Deutsche Telekom
Nathan Kohn, Lucent Technologies
Hing-Kam Lam, Lucent Technologies
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 iv
Bertrand LeBorgne, Lucent Technologies
Franois Leroux, Fujitsu
Tom Ligda, Cisco Systems
Peter Litz, Siemens AG
Scott Mansfield, Marconi Communications
Andrea Mazzini, Alcatel
Srini Nangavaram, Lucent Technologies
Frank ORourke, Marconi Communications
Sandip Patel, Lucent Technologies
Noga Peled, LightScape Networks
Edgar Riemann, Siemens AG
J effrey Ross, Fujitsu
Victor Santos, Acterna
Horst Schukat, Siemens AG
Eric Seldner, Telcordia Technologies
Ajit Shah, Cisco Systems
Charles Sheridan, Nortel Networks
Sidney Shiba, Fujitsu
Graham Taylor, Nortel Networks
Wendy Teller, Tellabs
Niranjan Tripathy, Fujitsu
Alexander Tschersich, Siemens AG
Gerard Vila, Alcatel
Xuli Wu, Tellabs
Bernd Zeuner, Deutsche Telekom
Yakov Zimmerman, LightScape Networks

The MTNM team would specifically like to recognize the significant contribution made by Edgar
Riemann. Edgar who as the Team Leader for the majority of the Version 3.0 work was a key individual in
ensuring the successful completion of Version 3.0 of the MTNM interface.


Although not directly used within this document, access to documentation and work from standards
bodies and other forums have contributed to the evolution of the Multi-Technology Network Management
(MTNM) NML-EML Interface. This access was via public information or TM Forum member knowledge.
This list of standards bodies and forums is not exhaustive and does not imply review and concurrence by
these organizations or their representatives. It is important however to acknowledge the work and their
influence on the TeleManagement Forum work:
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 v
ATM Forum
DSL Forum
European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
International Telecommunications Union - Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF)
MPLS and Frame Relay Alliance
Object Management Group (OMG)
Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF)


MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 vii
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT
TM Forum Documents
The Multi-Technology Network Management (MTNM) NML-EML Interface Solution Set is being issued as
Member Approved Version 3.0. It can be considered valid until further noticed by the TeleManagement
Forum (TM Forum). At which time the TM Forum expects to update it to reflect comments from
implementation experience, as well as to reflect additional member comment.
The Multi-Technology Network Management (MTNM) NML-EML Interface Solution Set Version 3.0
supersedes the TM Forum Multi-Technology Network Management (MTNM) NML-EML Interface Solution
Set Version 2.1 in its entirety.
This document will continue under formal change control. Supporting work will be issued as revisions to
this document. A document of this type is a living document, capture and communicating current
knowledge and practices. Further inputs will be made because of detailed work ongoing in the TM Forum
and the industry.
The specification of the NML-EML interface is contained in a set of four documents:
TMF513 MTNM Business Agreement
TMF608 MTNM Information Agreement
TMF814 MTNM Solution Set (this document)
TMF814A MTNM Implementation Statement Template and Guidelines
In addition to these specification documents there are a number of supporting documents that are
provided as part of the NML-EML Interface specification. These supporting documents contain details on
various specific aspects of the NML-EML Interface and are intended to help clarify some of the specific
aspects of the interface.
The details of the NML-EML Interface are specified in the above mentioned documents and it is expected
that anyone wishing to understand the details of this interface be familar with these documents.
Specifically it is expected that TMF 513 which specifies the requirements and the use cases should be
considered as the entry point into the document set.
TMF 513 defines the requirements for the interface both in terms of the objects and operations that the
interface is required to support and the behavior of the interface. TMF 513 contains a mapping to TMF
608 this mapping links the requirements to the classes and operations specified in UML information
model.
TMF 608 specifies the details of the classes their relationships and their operations behavior that are
required to support the requirements of the NML-EML Interface. Hence TMF 513 and TMF 608 fully
define the NML-EML Interface.
TMF 814 specifies a CORBA IDL implementation of the NML-EML Interface. In defining a specific
implementationthat meets the specification defined in TMF 513 and TMF 608 it is necessary to consider
implementation specific issues such as efficiency, compatibility etc.
See Use and Extension of a TM Forum Solution Set below for further information
The NML-EML Interface specification addresses a wide range of technologies and applications. To
support this range the interface provides a rich set of capabilities and operations. A significant number of
additions have been made in Version 3.0 of the interface. As a result, even with the intensity of reviews
and assessments that have taken place it is recognised that there are likely to be discrepancies between
documents of the set. It therefore necessary to provide guidelines for those wishing to implement the
interface as to how these discrepancies should be handled.
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 viii
The interface is formally released for implementations using CORBA IDL. It is recognised that for certain
applications implementations using other technologies may also be relevant, but, as yet, have not been
addressed by MTNM.
Revision History

Version Date Purpose/Changes from Previous/Status
0.1 2000/11 Initial release
1.5 2001/07 Formatted for Member Evaluation Release
2.0 2001/08 Formatted for Public Evaluation Release
2.1 2002/05 Minor clarifications and corrections from 2.0
3.0 2002/08 Formatted for Member Evaluation Release

Time Stamp
This version of the MTNM NML-EML Interface Solution Set (CORBA IDL), can be considered valid until
further notice from TM Forum.
How to obtain a copy
An electronic copy of the MTNM MNL-EML Interface Solution Set can be downloaded at the TM Forum
Web Site (www.tmforum.org). Contact the TM Forum office (see previously for contact details, or via the
web site) for any further information.
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 ix
How to comment on the document
Comments must be in written form and addressed to the contacts identified in Appendix A.
Please be specific, since your comments will be dealt with by the team evaluating numerous inputs and
trying to produce a single text. Thus we appreciate significant specific input. We are looking for more
input than word-smith items, however editing and structural help are greatly appreciated where better
clarity is the result.
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 x
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TM Forum Documents..............................................................................................................................vii
Revision History.......................................................................................................................................viii
Time Stamp..............................................................................................................................................viii
How to obtain a copy...............................................................................................................................viii
How to comment on the document........................................................................................................... ix
About TeleManagement Forum................................................................................................................ xi
Role of a Catalyst Project......................................................................................................................... xi
TM Forum Interface Implementation Specifications................................................................................. xi
Use and Extension of a TM Forum Solution Set......................................................................................xii
1 How to get started using this solution set.............................................................................................13
1.1 Dealing with ambiguities and discrepancies between documents ................................................13
1.2 What makes an implementation version 3.0?................................................................................14
2 CHANGES IN VERSION 3.0................................................................................................................15
2.1 MTNM IDL......................................................................................................................................15
2.2 Supporting documentation.............................................................................................................15
2.3 OMG IDL........................................................................................................................................15
2.4 MTNM IDL HTML Documentation..................................................................................................15
Appendix A CONTACTS..........................................................................................................................16

MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 xi
PREFACE
About TeleManagement Forum
TeleManagement Forum is an international consortium of communications service providers and their
suppliers. Its mission is to help service providers and network operators automate their business
processes in a cost- and time-effective way. Specifically, the work of the TM Forum includes:
Establishing operational guidance on the shape of business processes.
Agreeing on information that needs to flow from one process activity to another.
Identifying a realistic systems environment to support the interconnection of operational support
systems.
Enabling the development of a market and real products for integrating and automating telecom
operations processes.

The members of TM Forum include service providers, network operators and suppliers of equipment and
software to the communications industry. With that combination of buyers and suppliers of operational
support systems, TM Forum is able to achieve results in a pragmatic way that leads to product offerings
(from member companies) as well as paper specifications.
Role of a Catalyst Project
The purpose of a Catalyst Project is to share implementation experiences needed to drive implementation
and products in the market.
The major output of the Catalyst project is the Interface Implementation Specification (IIS). The IIS also
provides feedback to Process Automation and Technology Integration project teams. Business
Agreements, Information Agreements, Solution Sets and other technical specifications are not considered
final until an implementation has been completed to prove the viability of the models.
The TM Forum Interface Implementation Specification (IIS) is a description of an implementation
experience resulting from either:
Implementing a specific solution based on an existing TM Forum Business Agreement,
Information Agreement or other technical specification to determine its viability; or
Implementing a solution or partial solution in an area where TM Forum has not yet initiated any
work, with the objective to determine whether work should be done by TM Forum.
The IIS addresses a specific business problem, including statements of the business requirements and
the associated Interface Information required for the solution.
TM Forum Interface Implementation Specifications
The IIS is written from an implementation specific perspective. The IIS contains a detailed description of
the Interface Information, a set of Business and Interface Information Requirement Statements, and a set
of Business and Interface Information Use Cases.
A number of the components of the IIS are produced using UML Diagrams. The TM Forum uses
Paradigm Plus UML to produce its Interface Agreements and associated Interface Implementation
Specifications. For a description of the relationship between the different documents produced by TMF
projects, please see TMF Process documentation, templates and guides.
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 xii
Use and Extension of a TM Forum Solution Set
A solution set (this document) provides the implementation specific solution (in the case of TMF814 it is
IDL) and supporting documents to describe the solution (in this case for an NML-EML interface). A
Business Agreement (for MTNM this is TMF513) is used to gain consensus on the business requirement
model. In strong draft form, it should feed the development of an Information Agreement (for MTNM this
is TMF 608) from which one or more interface implementations will be developed (in the case of MTNM
there is only one implementation - TMF814).
In general, while the Business Agreement contains sufficient information to be a stand alone document,
it is better read together with the Information Agreement document. Reviewing the two documents
together helps in gaining a full understanding of how the protocol neutral information model solution is
defined for this requirement model. It is acceptable for subsequent issues of the document to add
additional requirements not addressed by earlier releases of the BA. Business Agreements are the basis
for requirement traceability for information models.
It is expected that the Business Agreement will be used:
As the foundation for a TM Forum Information Agreement(s)
To facilitate requirement agreement between Service Providers and vendors
As input to a service Providers Request for Information / Request for Proposal (RFI/RFPRFX)
As input for vendors developing COTS products
As a source of requirements for other bodies working in this area.

MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 13
1 HOW TO GET STARTED USING THIS SOLUTION SET
Once the zip file is extracted a single folder TMF814_Version_3.0 is visible. Openning this folder will
reveal this document (TMF814InterfaceVersion3.0.pdf) and three folders TMF814_Documentation, idl
and supportingDocumentation.
An overview of the IDL is available in the folder supportingDocumentation. The filename of this
overview is overview_NML-EML_Interface.pdf. Simply open this file in a browser to see the overview.
The IDL can be viewed by opening the file index.html from a browser (this file is found in the folder
TMF814_Documentation\html). Links to other files, including the overview and all supporting
documentation, are provided through out the IDL. Text versions of the IDL modules are provided in the
folder idl. The OMG IDL files used in the interface are provided in the subfolder idl\OMGidl.
The details of the NML-EML Interface are specified in a number of documents and it is expected that
anyone wishing to understand the details of this interface be familar with these documents. Specifically it
is expected that TMF 513 which specifies the requirements and the use cases should be considered as
the entry point into the document set.
TMF 513 defines the requirements for the interface both in terms of the objects and operations that the
interface is required to support and the behavior of the interface. TMF 513 contains a mapping to TMF
608 this mapping links the requirements to the classes and operations specified in UML information
model.
TMF 608 specifies the details of the classes their relationships and their operations behavior that are
required to support the requirements of the NML-EML Interface. Hence TMF 513 and TMF 608 fully
define the NML-EML Interface.
TMF 814 specifies a CORBA IDL implementation of the NML-EML Interface. In defining a specific
implementationthat meets the specification defined in TMF 513 and TMF 608 it is necessary to consider
implementation specific issues such as efficiency, compatibility etc.
1.1 Dealing with ambiguities and discrepancies between documents
To enable implementers to resolve discrepancies and ambiguities the following precedence order should
be used.
For IDL implementations, TMF 814 is taken as the master. Where TMF 814 references a
supporting document, that document should be used for further clarification or detail as
appropriate.
o If the there is a discrepancy between TMF 814 IDL and the supporting document the
TMF 814 IDL definition should be used.
If there is a case that is not covered in TMF 814 IDL and not covered in any
directly referenced supporting document or is ambiguous in TMF 814 IDL that is
still not clarified in the referenced supporting document then the TMF 608 and
TMF 513 should be assessed for clarification.
the implementer should first reference TMF 608 looking for an
explanation within the scope of the ambiguous statement that does not
contradict the statement in TMF 814 IDL or the supporting documents.
o if TMF 608 does not clarify (provide an explanation that is within
the scope of the ambiguous statement in TMF 814 - i.e. provides
no data or if TMF 608 contradicts TMF 814 and/or supporting
documents) then the implementer should reference TMF 513
looking for an explanation within the scope of the ambiguous
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 14
statement that does not contradict the statement in TMF 814 or
the supporting documents
For any discrepancies the implementer should raise the issue with the MTNM
team via thenormal procedure, i.e., send email to mtnm@tmforum.org or contact
the MTNM team leader.
For implementers using a technology other than IDL, TMF 608 is taken as master. Where TMF
608 references a supporting document that document should be used for further clarification or
detail as appropriate.
o If the there is a discrepancy between TMF 608 and the supporting document the TMF
608 definition should be used.
If there is a case that is not covered in TMF 608 and not covered in any directly
referenced supporting document or is ambiguous in TMF 608 that is still not
clarified in the referenced supporting document then the TMF 814 IDL and TMF
513 should be assessed for clarification.
the implementer should first reference the TMF 814 IDL looking for an
explanation within the scope of the ambiguous statement that does not
contradict the statement in TMF 608 or the supporting documents
o if TMF 814 does not clarify (provide an explanation that is within
the scope of the ambiguous statement in TMF 608 - i.e. provides
no data or if TMF 814 contradicts TMF 608 and/or supporting
documents) then the implementer should reference TMF 513
looking for an explanation within the scope of the ambiguous
statement that does not contradict the statement in TMF 608 or
the supporting documents.
For any discrepancies the implementer should raise the issue with the MTNM
team via the normal procedure, i.e., send email to mtnm@tmforum.org or contact
the MTNM team leader.
1.2 What makes an implementation version 3.0?
An interface is considered as being a version 3.0 interface rather than a version 2.n interface if it
implements any one of the operations that are defined in version 3.0. It may be considered as version 3.0
even if it implements no capabilities of version 3.0 and only implements version 2.n capabilities but offers
an interface that responds to all operations defined in version 3.0 with appropriate exceptions. An
interface can not be considered as a version 3.0 if it throws a CORBA exception as the only means of
responding to one of the defined Version 3.0 operations.
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 15
2 CHANGES IN VERSION 3.0
TMF814 version 3.0 contains major feature enhancement to TMF814 version 2.1 see
FeatureSummaryVersion3.pdf and many improvements to documentation and presentation. IDL code
has been added but this has been done in such a way as to maintain backward compatibility with the
previous version.
All files have changed in some way in this version.
2.1 MTNM IDL
Many of the in-line comments have been upgraded and improved and operations and structures have
been added to many of the modules.
2.2 Supporting documentation
All documents are now released in the form of .pdf files to aid display and printing. Many of the
documents have been enhanced and many new documents have been added.
2.3 OMG IDL
The notification service has been upgraded to version 1.0.1 and some components of the telecoms log
service (at version 1.1) have been added.
2.4 MTNM IDL HTML Documentation
This has been produced with tools that provide more extensive navigability than those used in version
3.0.
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 16
APPENDIX A CONTACTS

MTNM Team Leader
Teddy Bezoza, AT&T
Phone: +1 732 420 1655
Fax: +1 732 368 1911
email: teddyb@att.com

MTNM Business Agreement Editor
Keith Dorking, Ciena Corporation
Phone: +1-678-867-5007
Fax: +1-678-867-3600
Email: kdorking@ciena.com

MTNM Information Agreement Editor
Bernd Zeuner, Deutsche Telekom
Phone: +49-6151-83-3709
Fax: +49-6151-83-19875
Email: bernd.zeuner@t-systems.com

MTNM Solution Set Editor
Nigel Davis, Nortel Networks
Phone: +44-1279-405978
Fax: +44-1279-405904
Email: nigeld@nortelnetworks.com

MTNM Implementation Statement Template and Guidelines Editor
Stephen Fratini, Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
Phone: +1-732-699-2226
Fax: +1-732-336-2423
email: sfratini@telcordia.com

TM Forum Staff Support
Debbie Burkett, TM Forum Director Market Collaboration
Phone: +1-813-672-2698
MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTION SET
TMF 814 v3.0 TeleManagement Forum 2003 17
Fax: +1-813-672-4272
email: dburkett@tmforum.org

MTNM email address: mtnm@tmforum.org