The Fine Grain Phase One Catalyst successfully demonstrated the ability to use Jini and a highly distributed, componentized architecture to help build smarter networks that can allocate network and system resources based upon business policies.  Even more importantly, the Fine Grain Catalyst project has demonstrated the ability to build smarter, more scalable and more distributed Operational Support Systems (OSSs) and Business Support Systems (BSSs) to be able to allocate and manage network and system resources according to business policies.

The Fine Grain NGOSS catalyst project was predicated on the principle of integrating state-of-the art distributed computing technology with information technology (specifically, the new DEN-ng common information model). This integration will help produce a new generation of OSSs and BSSs, as well as enhance NMSs and EMSs.

Fine Grain is a Java specific implementation that uses the facilities of mobile code and Jini spontaneous networking to fuse directories, rule engines, DEN-ng, XA transaction standards and non-Java applications.  Fine Grain is part of a general convergence movement of network technology and information technology aimed at distributing the intelligence of the network among all the component parts of the network.

The NGOSS for Enabling Fine Grain Services Interface Implementation Specification documents the results of the catalyst project shown at the Las Vegas 2001 TeleManagement World. The TeleManagement Forum (“TM Forum”) has made every effort to ensure that the contents of this document are accurate. However, no liability is accepted for any errors or omissions or for consequences of any use made of this document.

Fine Grain NGOSS seeks to adapt the state-of-the-art, advanced concepts from distributed computing and policy management to build a global application infrastructure suitable for delivering operation support systems for Next Generation Networks. Fine Grain is a Java specific implementation that uses the facilities of mobile code and Jini spontaneous networking to fuse directories, rules engines, DEN-ng, XA transaction standards and non-Java applications. It will deliver a re-usable set of services on which management applications are re-engineered with "out-of-the-box-thinking". Business goals are to achieve dramatic advances in RAS (reliability, availability, & survivability), scalability and efficiency of OSS while simplifying and speeding up new product introduction. Fine Grain is part of a general convergence movement of network technology and information technology aimed at distributing the intelligence of the network among all the component parts of the network.

This document covers the Fine Grain Interface Implementation. It is planned to have the following releases of this document:

• Release 1: Las Vegas 2001 TeleManagement World Catalyst Demonstration
• Release 2: Nice 2002 TeleManagement World Catalyst (This release)