SONET configuration management with OpenPM

SONET (Synchronous Optical NETwork) has been proposed as the backbone of future information superhighway infrastructure. SONET network management, however, is a complex process that involves many heterogeneous systems and applications, as well as human interactions. In this paper, we describe a prototype system developed at Hewlett-Packard (HP) that provides a service for configuring large SONET networks. The prototype differs from the existing systems in that it employs the HP OpenPM (Open Process Management) workflow system to define, execute and monitor network management processes. Using OpenPM (a middleware service that enables the automation of activities supporting complex enterprise business processes in a distributed heterogeneous computing environment) as a reliable and efficient workflow execution engine, this prototype supports efficient distributed network management and easy integration of legacy applications. The paper describes how an example network configuration management process is modeled, executed and monitored using OpenPM