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Created: September 29, 2004.
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OASIS Forms Four Technical Committees to Advance Data Center Markup Language (DCML).

Contents

The Data Center Markup Language (DCML) Organization recently transitioned its technical activities to OASIS under a new DCML Member Section and has now formed technical committees to continue work on the DCML specification. A Call for Participation and accompanying TC Proposal has been issued for each of the four new OASIS DCML technical committees.

Companies sponsoring the OASIS DCML TC proposals include BEA Systems, BMC, Blazent Inc, Computer Associates, Electronic Data Systems Corp, Etagon Inc, F5, Fujitsu-Siemens, Inkra Networks, Mercury Interactive, Micromuse, Opsware Inc, Qlusters, Rendition Networks, Tibco, and Voyence.

The Data Center Markup Language (DCML) is "an XML-based specification for representing the contents of data centers and information used in managing those contents. The goal of the OASIS DCML technical committees is to support the development of a holistic set of standards related to the automated management of data center infrastructure. The TCs will promote the use of utility computing by providing a standard way to represent the IT environment and enabling data center automation and system management solutions to easily exchange information about the environment under management."

A new OASIS DCML Framework TC has been chartered to "create a data model and format for exchanging information about the contents of data centers and other IT resources, and the information used in managing those contents. The OASIS DCML Framework TC will continue work on the DCML Framework specification produced by the DCML organization. The Framework specification will be used as the foundation by other OASIS DCML TCs in creating DCML sub-specifications aimed at representing specific types of information. The DCML Framework specification will define the overall approach, concepts and structures fundamental to DCML's description and manipulation of data center elements and the policies governing their management. The Framework TC will define the process by which other working groups extend DCML definitions to support specific classes of applications, for example, the servers, software, applications, networking and storage components, management policies and best practices in a data center."

The DCML Framework TC Convenor is Tim Howes of Opsware. Members of the TC will seek to collaborate with working groups producing related specifications, including the DMTF Common Information Model, OASIS WSDM TC's Web Services Distributed Management specification, GGF OGSA, and SNIA SMI.

An OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC has been formed to extend the [proposed] OASIS DCML Framework Specification by defining extensions to represent Applications and Services and the information necessary to manage these components. Applications encompass packaged applications as well as custom applications that are used within the data center to provide IT services. Services are the finished products of the amalgamation of environmental components (servers, storage, networking, etc.), blueprinting (configuration information), and policy governing components (applications and best practices/processes/guidelines) into IT or business services. The Applications and Services extensions will be designed so as to be able to represent both specific abstract application and services architectures and, if further extended, specific products or instantiations of a application or service." The DCML Applications and Services TC Convenor is J. Darrel Thomas of Electronic Data Systems Corp (EDS).

The new OASIS DCML Server TC has been chartered to "define extensions to the DCML Framework specification to facilitate the representation and management of information about servers. 'Server' refers to a logical or physical compute resource in the datacenter. In realizing this goal, the OASIS DCML Server TC supports the larger DCML goals of facilitating the interchange of descriptive information between multiple tools and devices, improving configuration and dynamic reconfiguration in the data center environment, enabling increased automation, and enabling machine processing of descriptive and policy information." The DCML Server TC Convenor is Moshe Bar of Qlusters.

An OASIS DCML Network TC has been chartered to "design a data model and XML-based format for the exchange of information about networking elements in a data center. The OASIS DCML Network TC will build on and support the DCML Framework specification produced by the OASIS DCML Framework TC while focusing on the specifics of network equipment and technology. The scope of the Network TC is large, covering all types of networking components. In the past, the definition of networking components was more straightforward; today, it ranges from 'simple' switching and routing elements to nodes providing advanced processing at all layers of the protocol stack." The Network TC Convenor is Dave Roberts of Inkra Networks.

Network components specifically in scope for the DCML Network TC include: Connectivity and cabling; Layer 2 MAC bridging and switching; Layer 2 VLANs; Layer 3 switching and routing; Firewalls; Intrusion detection systems; IPSec Virtual Private Networks (VPNs); Load balancing and traffic management; SSL VPNs; and SSL Acceleration.

The new technical committees of the OASIS DCML Member Section will hold initial meetings as teleconferences on November 15, 2004.

About the OASIS DCML Framework Technical Committee

Statement of Purpose

The Data Center Markup Language (DCML) is an XML-based specification for representing the contents of data centers and information used in managing those contents. The overall goal of the OASIS DCML TCs is to support the development of a holistic set of standards related to the automated management of data center infrastructure. This TC is part of the OASIS DCML Member Section.

The purpose of the OASIS DCML Framework TC is to create a data model and format for exchanging information about the contents of data centers and other IT resources, and the information used in managing those contents. The OASIS DCML Framework TC will continue work on the DCML Framework specification produced by the DCML organization. The Framework specification will be used as the foundation by other OASIS DCML TCs in creating DCML sub-specifications aimed at representing specific types of information. The DCML Framework specification will define the overall approach, concepts and structures fundamental to DCML's description and manipulation of data center elements and the policies governing their management. The Framework TC will define the process by which other working groups extend DCML definitions to support specific classes of applications, for example, the servers, software, applications, networking and storage components, management policies and best practices in a data center.

The goal of the OASIS DCML Framework TC is to enable the systems and people managing data center and other IT environments to exchange configuration, policy and operating information in a reliable, standardized manner that works across a wide variety of products, methods and topologies. An abstract, unified set of descriptions will allow data center managers to

  • enable communication among the many data center management systems
  • swap out and replace components
  • upgrade or augment functions, such as by adding servers or services
  • plan for and execute the configuration and reconfiguration of newly installed hardware and software

all using re-usable referents and methods across a data center as it grows and changes. Among other things, by cooperating in a common set of definitions and methods, vendors and users will facilitate improved management and visibility, and enable increased automation of data center management by describing environments in a format highly accessible to automated processing.

Scope of the TC

The scope of DCML Framework TC is limited to defining a data format for describing components and information used to manage those components, use cases driving the format, and the process by which the data format can be extended. The framework specification will define rules and conventions for naming, extensibility, representation in XML, security, processing of DCML documents, referencing and incorporating outside information, versioning, and other fundamental concepts. However, DCML will be designed to interoperate with a variety of other models and methods potentially useful to a described network or system.

To fully realize the goals described above, much more is needed. For example, data in DCML format must be transferred between systems using some kind of protocol; the data must be accessed using some kind of application program interface; and all this must happen within one or more implementation frameworks. In addition, successful implementation and adoption of the DCML standard may require the development of ancillary materials such as implementation guidelines and certification frameworks. Such things are important work areas for future TCs, but they are explicitly outside the scope of the OASIS DCML Framework TC.

List of Deliverables, with Completion Dates

The DCML Framework TC will produce the following deliverables:

  • DCML Framework Use Case document to be completed by January 2005
  • DCML Framework Specification v1.0 to be completed by March 2005
  • DCML Framework Specification Users Guide to be completed by March 2005

Audience

We anticipate the work of the OASIS DCML Framework TC will be used by a number of groups:

  • Other TCs defining DCML sub-specifications for particular DCML applications (e.g., applications and services, networking, servers)
  • Future TCs tackling the out-of-scope work items mentioned above
  • End users and vendors seeking to create bilaterally agreed upon DCML extensions for particular DCML applications
  • The general public with an interest in learning more about DCML

Non-charter information for the purpose of launching the TC:

Related Work

To the knowledge of the proposers, DCML is unique in its scope of problem and solution method. DCML will leverage standards developed by other groups as appropriate. The OASIS DCML Framework TC will actively seek out and collaborate with other groups doing complementary work, both inside and outside of OASIS, which may include the following:

  • DMTF Common Information Model
  • OASIS WSDM TC
  • GGF OGSA
  • SNIA SMI

Anticipated Contributions of Existing Work

The proposers intend that the OASIS DCML Framework TC use as its starting point the draft DCML Framework specification developed by the DCML Framework Working Group of the DCML Organization.

Proposers

TC Convener

Tim Howes, Opsware, howes@opsware.com

About the OASIS DCML Applications and Services Technical Committee

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC is to extend the OASIS DCML Framework Specification by defining extensions to represent Applications and Services and the information necessary to manage these components. Applications encompass packaged applications as well as custom applications that are used within the data center to provide IT services. Services are the finished products of the amalgamation of environmental components (servers, storage, networking, etc.), blueprinting (configuration information), and policy governing components (applications and best practices/processes/guidelines) into IT or business services. The Applications and Services extensions will be designed so as to be able to represent both specific abstract application and services architectures and, if further extended, specific products or instantiations of a application or service. As noted in the OASIS DCML Framework TC charter, the DCML specifications are expected to leverage existing, available standardized methods of management, endpoint reference, policy, etc. where appropriate and feasible.

The OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC will directly leverage the OASIS DCML Framework specification and provide feedback to the OASIS DCML Framework TC to integrate the cross-referencing components of the datacenter to ensure uniformity and compliance to the overall DCML structure and tenets. The TC will directly utilize the OASIS DCML Framework structure, rules, accompanying data model and meta-model, which every TC uses to produce extension OASIS DCML definitions, to support or constrain the described structure of specific classes of applications and services.

The goal of the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC is to create a uniform, heterogeneous, and comprehensive highly-extensible data model and interchange format that allows applications (packaged and custom developed), application components (e.g., web services, etc.), and IT Services of all types to be referenced and managed along with the other components of existing and future IT environments. Using the interchange format, heterogeneous management systems will be able to incorporate the standardized and cross-elemental management packages

Scope of the TC

The scope of the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC is the definition and creation of a data format and associated elements, structured hierarchy outlining the format, and specification outlining the proper usage of the data format, describing particular Applications and Services in IT environments. The scope does not include the creation or definition of protocols, programmatic interfaces, or implementations that use the specification; this work will be developed separately from this TC. There will be likely other OASIS DCML TCs which uniformly provide implementation and protocol usage for DCML, but they are yet to be determined.

The initial scope of the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC will focus on the use cases provided in the OASIS DCML Framework TC. Using base format and structure of the OASIS DCML Framework, the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC will integrate the particular aspects of the structure and format of Applications and Services as extensions to the OASIS DCML Framework. Due to the complementary nature of these extensions to the Framework, the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC work is expected to be able to create much of its work in parallel to that of the OASIS DCML Framework TC

It is anticipated that the elements addressed by the Applications & Services specification will exclude items addressed by the OASIS DCML Networks TC. But the TC may elect to address some or all of those elements in consultation with the DCML Networks TC if it facilitates unification of the model.

List of Deliverables, with Completion Dates

  • Apps/Services Hierarchy and Extension Data Model v1.0 - 2Q 2005
  • Apps/Services Specification v1.0 - 3Q, 2005
  • Apps/Services Reference and Users Guide v1.0 - 3Q, 2005
  • Apps/Services Specification, Reference and Users Guide v1.1 - 4Q, 2005
  • Apps/Services Specification, Reference and Users Guide v2.0 - 1H, 2006
  • Apps/Services Specification, Reference and Users Guide v2.1 - 2H, 2006

Audience

Generally speaking, the OASIS DCML Applications/Services TC work will be used by the same groups that will use other OASIS DCML specifications, with a particular interest in the standardization of the management of Applications and Services throughout the IT enterprise and software management landscape, including the following groups:

  • Future TCs tackling the out-of-scope work items mentioned above
  • End users seeking to achieve standardized data exchange using DCML for particular applications/services
  • Vendors and end-users seeking to implement DCML as a means of better managing applications/services
  • The general public with an interest in learning more about DCML, particularly those interested in its application to managing applications/services

Similar/Related Work

Based on industry consensus, there is no other similar body of work that is synonymous with that of the OASIS DCML TCs. DCML is unique in the scope of problem solved and the method by which the problem is solved. The OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC will actively collaborate with and leverage other organizations and groups creating complementary work to DCML, both inside and outside of OASIS, where appropriate, as described in the OASIS DCML Framework TC charter. These may include the following:

  • OASIS DCML Framework TC
  • OASIS DCML Network TC
  • OASIS DCML Server TC
  • DMTF Common Information Model
  • OASIS WSDM TC and other OASIS Web Services TCs
  • OASIS ebXML-related TCs
  • GGF OGSA/OGSI
  • W3C WSDL
  • SNIA SMI-S
  • OMG MDA

Anticipated Contributions of Existing Work

The proposers intend that the OASIS DCML Applications and Services TC use as its starting point the pre-existing specification components developed by the DCML Framework and Applications/Services Working Groups within the pre-merged DCML Organization.

Proposers

TC Convener

J. Darrel Thomas, EDS, Darrel.Thomas@EDS.Com

TC Co-Chair Nominees

J. Darrel Thomas, EDS, Darrel.Thomas@EDS.Com
Mark Darbyshire, Tibco, Markd@Tibco.Com

About the OASIS DCML Server Technical Committee

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the OASIS DCML Server TC is to define extensions to the DCML Framework specification to facilitate the representation and management of information about servers. "Server" refers to a logical or physical compute resource in the datacenter. In realizing this goal, the OASIS DCML Server TC supports the larger DCML goals of facilitating the interchange of descriptive information between multiple tools and devices, improving configuration and dynamic reconfiguration in the data center environment, enabling increased automation, and enabling machine processing of descriptive and policy information.

Scope of the TC

The OASIS DCML Server TC will develop a DCML data format to represent servers based on the approach, concepts, and structures defined by the OASIS DCML Framework TC. The Server TC will also produce a "user's guide" to these extensions, explaining how implementers are expected to make use of the extension. The OASIS DCML Server TC will base its work on use cases defined by the OASIS DCML Framework TC. The Server TC will provide feedback to the Framework TC on the use of the Framework specification in accomplishing these tasks, so that the Framework specification may be improved.

The scope of the DCML Server TC will specifically not include defining protocols, APIs, implementation frameworks, or other work items not mentioned above.

List of Deliverables, with Completion Dates

The Server TC will produce the following deliverables:

  • DCML Server Extensions Specification - v1.0: March 2005
  • DCML Server Extensions User's Guide - v1.0: March 2005
  • DCML Server Extensions Specification - v2.0: October 2005
  • DCML Server Extensions User's Guide - v2.0: October 2005

Audience

We anticipate the DCML Server TC work will be used by a number of groups:

  • Future TCs tackling the out-of-scope work items mentioned above
  • End users seeking to achieve standardized data exchange using DCML for particular server management applications
  • Vendors seeking to implement DCML as a means of better managing servers
  • The general public with an interest in learning more about DCML, particularly those interested in its application to managing servers

Related Work

The OASIS DCML Server TC will actively collaborate with and leverage complementary work being done by other groups, both inside and outside of OASIS, as described in the charter of the DCML Framework TC. These groups and existing works may include the following:

  • OASIS DCML Framework TC
  • OASIS WSDM TC
  • DMTF Common Information Model
  • GGF OGSA
  • IPMI, PXE, DHCP

Anticipated Contributions of Existing Work

The proposers intend that the OASIS DCML Server TC use as its starting point the work developed by the DCML [Organization] Server Working Group.

Proposers

TC Convener

Moshe Bar <moshe@qlusters.com> of Qlusters

About the OASIS DCML Network Technical Committee

Statement of Purpose

The purpose of the OASIS DCML Network TC is to design a data model and XML-based format for the exchange of information about networking elements in a data center. The OASIS DCML Network TC builds on and supports the DCML Framework specification produced by the OASIS DCML Framework TC while focusing on the specifics of network equipment and technology.

Scope of the TC

The OASIS DCML Network TC will develop the DCML data model and format based on the approach, concepts, and structures defined by the OASIS DCML Framework TC. The scope of the Network TC is large, covering all types of networking components. In the past, the definition of networking components was more straightforward; today, it ranges from "simple" switching and routing elements to nodes providing advanced processing at all layers of the protocol stack. Further, the distinction between networking and compute elements blurs when one considers either common appliances, which are often built from standard server-like components and software, or software that may run on a standard server platform (routing or firewall software, for instance).

In spite of the fuzzy definition of "network component," the following are specifically in scope:

  • Connectivity and cabling
  • Layer 2 MAC bridging and switching
  • Layer 2 VLANs
  • Layer 3 switching and routing
  • Firewalls
  • Intrusion detection systems
  • IPSec Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)
  • Load balancing and traffic management
  • SSL VPNs
  • SSL Acceleration
  • Other appliances providing specific application security or performance services, delivered at the network layer. Note that this item has the most opportunity to create confusion since such appliances are often built from standard server CPU designs and may be based on embedded versions of standard operating systems (Linux or FreeBSD, for instance). The general distinction here is that such platforms are "single purpose" and are not designed to run general applications software added to the system at a later date, even if the subcomponents are similar to general purpose technology.

It is anticipated that the elements addressed by the DCML Network specification will exclude items addressed by the OASIS DCML Applications & Services TC, including:

  • General purpose servers running standard operating systems
  • Applications related to application-level processing

However, the TC may elect to address some or all of those elements in consultation with the OASIS DCML Applications & Services TC if it facilitates unification of the model.

List of Deliverables

The OASIS DCML Network TC will produce the following deliverables:

  • DCML Network Use Cases: January 2005
  • DCML Network Switching Specification: 1H05
  • DCML Network Routing Specification: 1H05
  • DCML Network Security Specification: 2H05
  • DCML Network Performance Management Specification: 2H05

Audience

The OASIS DCML Network TC output will be used by roughly the same groups of people using other DCML specifications, including:

  • Vendors of management toolsets building products to automate or manage data center infrastructure
  • Vendors of networking infrastructure building products that can be managed and automated by tools implementing DCML
  • End-users building custom DCML-compatible tools or inspecting the DCML-related interactions between
  • Future TCs working on additional network-related work items beyond the scope given above
  • End-users and vendors seeking to create bilaterally agreed upon DCML extensions
  • The general public with an interest in learning more about DCML

Related Work

The TC will leverage standards developed by other organizations where appropriate for the DCML Network specification. The OASIS DCML Network TC will actively seek to collaborate with other groups doing complementary work, both inside and outside of OASIS, which may include the following:

  • OASIS DCML Framework TC
  • OASIS WSDM TC
  • DMTF Common Information Model
  • GGF OGSA
  • IETF SNMP

Anticipated Contributions of Existing Work

The proposers intend that the OASIS DCML Network TC use as its starting point some preliminary work developed by the DCML Organization. This includes a set of basic DCML network use cases.

Proposers

TC Convener

Dave Roberts, Inkra, dave@inkra.com

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