Network management system using web services and service oriented architecture - A case study

This paper presents the design and implementation of a north bound interface framework for a network management system using the Web services (WS) and service oriented architecture (SOA) technologies. The primary goal of this project is to build a consistent programmatic interface for the operations supported by individual network management stations in the network. By using the recommended framework, a unified, consistent configuration control across devices can be obtained. The framework would also allow development of intelligent service oriented network configuration systems. This paper provides the architecture and design of the system and tries to present the lessons learnt during the process of developing the architecture. It also attempts to provide directions on applicability of Web services for managing network devices. The authors have ascertained that Web services using SOAP/XML is suitable for building distributed network management applications. Once network equipment vendors start implementing the basic NETCONF specification and other similar standards using the Web service/service oriented architecture, more robust and consistent systems can be built - this paves the way for future research and implementation of advanced management systems