Integration with OSS Layers: Northbound Interface (NBI)

Integration with OSS Layers : Northbound Interface (NBI)

Communication between the OSS and NMS is crucial to the successful management of large SP networks. In the same way as NMS needs to communicate with EMS, the OSS needs to be able to communicate with the NMS. The latter is facilitated using the NBI. Broadly speaking, there are two ways of implementing an NBI layer:

• Put software in the OSS layer

• Put software in the NMS

A recurring theme in this book is the need to keep software layers as thin as possible. This applies to all layers, including the section of the OSS that interacts with the NMS. To this end, the ideal arrangement is for the NMS and OSS to use the same code. If no OSS is present, as would be the case for an enterprise network, then the user interface is the NMS GUI or a scripting tool. If an OSS is present, then the user interface is the NBI. The key point is that the underlying code is the same in both cases. This is illustrated in Figure 9-4.

Figure 9-4. Code sharing between OSS and NMS layers.

The investment required in introducing the NBI layer in Figure 9-4 is worthwhile because of the ease with which OSS integration can occur.