OSS / BSS Futures: Preparing the Future Mode of Operation R14.5.1 (IG1118)

This exploratory report provides a view of the TM Forum vision of the operations architecture necessary to enable the delivery and Future Mode of Operation (FMO) of both physical and virtualized networks and services, while enabling both low cost agile operations and rapid portfolio innovation. The material in this document is drawn from work in progress and provides an initial step towards a vision of a more coherent Management-Control architecture for the industry.

This document introduces the notion of a modular architectural continuum that includes all components that have traditionally been separated out and classified as either management or control components. This Management-Control Continuum (MCC) stretches across e.g. BSS/OSS, NMS/EMS, ETSI NFV MANO and SDN controllers down into physical and virtualized networks to embedded OAM, signalling, flow, policy and other network-level control components. This document refers to all such components as Management-Control Continuum (MCC) Components which together enable the delivery and management/control of services. In the end, service and network management and network control components are just different contributors to the continuum of functions.