Service-level Network ComponentsThroughout this book, we have seen a range of aggregate objects, including VPNs, VLANs, and LSPs. Aggregate objects combine base-level components to create some type of higher level service. An example is an NE that supports IEEE 802.1Q-based VLANs. Such an NE facilitates the creation of VLANs that span more than one device. In other words, several components in the network combine together into an aggregate object that provides a network-level service (in this case, a VLAN). Service providers now offer layer 3 VPNs (e.g., based on RFC 2547) as a revenue-generating service to corporate customers. Managing these complex services is a major challenge, and doing so in a scalable fashion remains one of the biggest problems faced by the industry. It is possible that new MIBs will be needed to represent these aggregate objects, and realizing them in the network may well require new signaling protocols. An example scenario might be when a service provider wants to add a customer site to a VPN. The steps might include the following:
The NMS will almost certainly be called upon to provide this type of multitechnology solution. |