In the domain of information technology, an ontology is a set of concepts - things, events, and relations - that are specified in order to create an agreed-upon vocabulary for exchanging information. Ontologies have already made a valuable contribution to various areas of science: however up to now no ontology has been defined for IP packet measurement and monitoring systems.
IP traffic monitoring is vital for network management and for the implementation of future Internet services. Operators and various research groups have been developing systems and measurement tools that offer partial views on how applications use network resources. Their results are stored in different structures, expressed in different units and sometimes they are calculated by different algorithms, reflecting the diversity of concepts that have been developed. The creation of a common information model of measurement parameters and units is imperative, both to provide a unified context for information exchange and for business reasons, such as clarifying service level agreement parameters.
The Industry Specification Group (known as ISG MOI) is therefore tasked with defining an ontology for IP traffic measurement. This will take the form of an information model for all the parameters that can be measured. To support that model, the group will develop a vocabulary of classes and relations of these parameters and establish a semantic definition of the information that network monitoring systems deal with. The group will also devise a standard approach in compiling and releasing acceptable use policies in order to assist parties producing and consuming the data.
Dr Walter Weigel, ETSI Director-General, said: "ETSI recognizes the great importance for network operators to be able to measure all relevant parameters of their IP traffic in a standardized way. Only this approach will enable them to optimize IP traffic in a way that reductions in power consumption can be assured, thus contributing to the Green Agenda as required by the European Commission."
The group intends to use existing specifications and standards where relevant, including those from the Open Grid Forum (OGF), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and aims to collaborate with these and other organizations in its tasks.
The first meeting of ISG MOI will take place in ETSI's premises in Sophia Antipolis, southern France, from 16 to 18 September. Participation is open to all ETSI members, as well as to non-members subject to signature of a participation agreement.
