Group Type: Working Group

Group Chair(s): Guy Roberts, Tomohiro Kudoh, inder monga

Group Email: nsi-wg@ogf.org (Subscribe) (Archive by date)

High performance networks offer advanced network services to end users with differing requirements. The user/application/middleware may request network services from one or more network service providers through a network service interface. The network service setup then requires configuration, monitoring and orchestration of network resources under particular agreements and policies. Provisioning mechanisms support allocating, configuring, and maintaining network internal resources.
The Network Service Interface (NSI) Working Group (WG) will provide the recommendation for a generic network service interface that can be called by a network external entity such as end users, middleware, and other network service providers. The recommendation will define the information exchange, the required messages and protocols, operational environment, and other relevant aspects.
The scope of the NSI WG includes, in particular, the interface between Grid middleware and the network infrastructure as well as the interface between network domains in order to provide interoperability in a heterogeneous multi-domain environment. The WG will consider user authentication/authorization, service negotiation agreements, and information exchange to describe advanced network services.

The main purpose of the NSI WG is to facilitate interoperation between Grid users, applications and network infrastructures spanning different service domains, via the development of abstract messaging and protocols.
The NSI WG must provide a general and open definition independent of implementation of provisioning systems (e.g., Grid and network). It should be sufficiently flexible, modular and scalable to facilitate future enhancements. The NSI WG recommendation will allow any user and network service to interoperate by using a common naming and message definition.
The NSI WG will also focus on identifying existing standardization activities/documents, understand their relevance and specify the relationships with regards to NSI (e.g., OGF (NM-WG, NML-WG) IETF, OIF).

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Group's Gridforge Project