PATENT ABSTRACT
A network management architecture referred to as the Control/Orchestration/Management/Policy/Analytics (COMPA) architecture (or COMPA for short). The COMPA architecture functions to simplify and automate the operations (both management and business process) of a network. In one aspect, the COMPA architecture addresses four use case categories: (1) Resource/Service Onboarding; (2) Automated Product Offerings; (3) Automated Management; and (4) Service Exposure. COMPA enables rapid service introduction into the network and lifecycle management; dynamic network governance via policy; and controlled access to functionality provided by different responsibility domains

PATENT DESCRIPTION
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    Aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods for network management. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The goal of increasing the degree to which a network is managed automatically is not new. Autonomic networks have been a subject of research over the last 15 years, and technologies for achieving network automation are evolving. Recently there have been advances in a few specific technologies that increase both the urgency to increase automation as well as the possibilities of doing so. For example, Network Function Virtualization (NFV) provides flexibility in how network functionality is deployed and where it is deployed, which is enabled by the increasing maturity of cloud execution environments to support large number of diverse workloads in either a centralized or distributed manner. Additionally, Software Defined Networking (SDN) enables networking flexibility and the means to provide connectivity (networking) to the deployed virtual or physical network functions. This is often referred to as programmable networking. Furthermore, analytics technologies have evolved to the state where they can provide advanced insights into the state of the network. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The increased flexibility provided by new technologies, such as SDN, has led to networks that are difficult to operate and require a high degree of manual intervention. Existing solutions to this problem tend to group together several functions to achieve a desired result. For example, existing solutions group together the means for producing insights (analytics), the means for selecting a recommended action based on insights (policy), and the means for executing the recommended actions. Some such existing solutions merely rely on a script to produce the insights, make the recommendations based on the insights, and then perform the recommended actions. Such scripts are rather inflexible and typically need to be manually modified in the event the recommended action does not produce the intended result or the inputs to the script change. Additionally, because such scripts tightly couple the implementation of the required functions it is very difficult to change one of the functions (e.g., analytics or policy) without a major impact. 
         [0004]    Described herein is a network management architecture referred to as the Control/Orchestration/Management/Policy/Analytics (COMPA) architecture (or COMPA for short). 
         [0005]    The COMPA architecture functions to simplify and automate the operations (both management and business process) of a network. In one aspect, the COMPA architecture addresses four use case categories: (1) Resource/Service Onboarding; (2) Automated Product Offerings; (3) Automated Management; and (4) Service Exposure. COMPA enables rapid service introduction into the network and lifecycle management; dynamic network governance via policy; and controlled access to functionality provided by different responsibility domains. 
         [0006]    In some embodiments, these results are achieved through the following: (1) an architectural pattern for advanced automated management called the “COMPA-Loop”—the architectural pattern comes with a set of COMPA agents that can be applied at various levels in the network architecture (it is expected that these agents can be implemented with re-usable components); (2) an enterprise wide policy framework for policy definition, deployment and execution of service and resource policies; (3) architectural patterns for a higher level of automation of resource onboarding and service onboarding, based on policy-driven workflow orchestration; and (4) Analytics based on a common architecture and interfaces. 
         [0007]    In one embodiment, the COMPA architecture includes four agents that each provide a unique set of functionality. These four agents are: (1) a Control, Orchestration and Management (COM) agent; (2) a policy agent; (3) an analytics agent; and (4) a Resource Domain Common Functions (RDCF) agent. 
         [0008]    The COM agent may be configured to perform requested actions, such as, for example, actions requested by a policy agent and actions for supporting resource and service onboarding requests. In some embodiments, the policy agent functions to request a COM agent to perform certain actions based on, for example, insights received from an analytics agent. An analytics agent may be configured to provide insights (i.e., reports), such as insights identifying current (and/or predicted) events or conditions within the network. In some embodiments, an RDCF agent provides service exposure, maintains catalogs (e.g., a service catalog and/or a resource catalog), and maintains inventories. 
         [0009]    In one specific aspect, a COMPA system is provided that includes a first analytics agent; a first policy agent, and a first COM agent. The first analytics agent is configured to: collect data from various data sources, process collected data into insights, and provide requested insights to a consuming agent (e.g., the first policy agent) in response to receiving from the consuming agent a report request identifying a requested insight type. The first policy agent is configured to request the first analytics agent to send to the first policy agent one or more insights. In some embodiments, the first policy agent is configured such that, in response to receiving a set of one or more insights from the first analytics agent, the first policy agent uses a policy and the one or more insights to determine whether a first action should be taken, and, as a result of determining the first action should be taken, transmits to the first COM agent a first action request message for identifying the first action, and the first COM agent is configured such that, in response to receiving the first action request message, the first COM agent performs the requested first action. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments, the COMPA system further includes a second analytics agent and a third analytics agent. The second analytics agent is configured to: collect data from various data sources, process collected data into insights, and provide requested insights to a consuming agent in response to receiving from the consuming agent a report request identifying a requested insight type. The third analytics agent configured to: 1) request the first analytics agent to send to the third analytics agent one or more insights generated by the first analytics agent, 2) request the second analytics agent to send to the third analytics agent one or more insights generated by the second analytics agent, and 3) generate at least one insight based at least in part on one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the first analytics agent and one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the second analytics agent. 
         [0011]    In some embodiments, the COMPA system further includes a second policy agent configured to request the third analytics agent to send to the second policy agent one or more insights generated by the third analytics agent based at least in part on one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the first analytics agent and one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the second analytics agent. 
         [0012]    In some embodiments, the COMPA system further includes a second COM agent. In such an embodiment, the second policy agent may be configured such that, in response to receiving a set of one or more insights from the third analytics agent, the second policy agent uses a policy and the one or more insights received from the third analytics agent to determine whether a second action should be taken. And, as a result of determining the second action should be taken, the second policy agent transmits to the second COM agent a second action request message for identifying the second action. The second COM agent is configured such that, in response to receiving the second action request message, the second COM agent performs the requested second action. 
         [0013]    In some embodiments, the COMPA system includes a plurality of responsibility domains (RDs) comprising a first RD and a second RD. In some embodiments, the first analytics agent, the first policy agent, and the first COM agent are part of the first RD but not part of the second RD, and the third analytics agent, the second policy agent, and the second COM agent are part of the second RD but not part of the first RD. The plurality of RDs may further include a third RD and the second analytics agent may be a part of the third RD but not a part of the first or second RD. 
         [0014]    In some embodiments, the first policy agent is configured to request the first analytics agent to send to the first policy agent one or more insights by transmitting to the first analytics agent a report request message. In some embodiments, the report request message includes: a report type identifier identifying a requested report type; and time interval information specifying the periodicity with which the first analytics agent should send to the first policy agent a report of the requested report type. The report request message may further include an object identifier specifying a target object. The target object may be one of: an identified subscriber, an identified group of subscribers, an identified service, and an identified network element. 
         [0015]    In some embodiments, the first analytics agent is configured to transmit to the first policy agent a real-time insight in response to detecting that a load on a service has met or exceeded a threshold. In such an embodiment, the first policy agent can be configured such that, after receiving the real-time insight, the first policy agent determines whether more resources should be added to the service. Additionally, the first policy agent can be configured such that, in response to determining that more resources should be added to the service, the first policy agent transmits to the first COM agent a message requesting that the first COM agent add more resources to the service. 
         [0016]    The above and other aspects and embodiments are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0017]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1  illustrates a high level resource domain (RD) architecture according to some embodiments. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates components of a COMPA system according to some embodiments. 
           [0020]      FIGS. 3-7  are message flow diagrams illustrating various processes according to some embodiments. 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating a process according to some embodiments. 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating a process according to some embodiments. 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a process according to some embodiments. 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a block diagram of an apparatus for implementing one or more agents. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]      FIG. 1  illustrates a high level network architecture diagram of an example network  100  according to some embodiments. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the network  100  may be segregated into a number of Responsibility Domains (RD) as a way to provide separation of concerns. An RD corresponds to a set of functions under the responsibility of an specific organization within a network operator&#39;s business structure. The division of functions for a given RD is subject to the network operator&#39;s internal organizational structure and may change from network operator to network operator. Each RD will typically contain all the necessary functionality for the related organization to execute on its responsibility, and the functionality may be shared/replicated with other RDs. Each RD has the capability to expose services that can be consumed by others; and in itself consumes services provided by other RDs, as explained herein. 
         [0026]    As further shown in  FIG. 1 , the example network  100  is divided into five RDs: an Access RD, a Network Functions RD, a Cloud Infrastructure RD, a Transports RD, and Business and cross-domain operations RD. As further shown, each RD may implement its own COMPA system. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary COMPA system  200 , which can be implemented in any one or more of the RDs shown in  FIG. 1  or other RDs not illustrated. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the exemplary COMPA system  200  includes the following agents: an analytics agent  204 , a policy agent  206 , a COM agent  208  and an RDCF agent  202 . Other COMPA system may consist of subsets of these agents and/or may include additional agents. 
         [0028]    In some embodiments, COM agent  208  is configured to perform requested actions, such as, for example, actions requested by a policy agent and actions for supporting resource and service onboarding requests. Thus, in some embodiments, COM agent  208  is configured to receive action request messages that request COM agent  208  to perform actions, such as, for example, onboarding of resources and/or services. 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, a resource can be any one of: a network function (e.g., Mobility Management Entity, Serving Gateway, etc.), switching/routing equipment, computing resources, storage resources, a COMPA agent. 
         [0030]    In some embodiments, policy agent  206  functions to request a COM agent, such as COM agent  208 , to perform certain actions based on, for example, a policy decision that policy agent makes based on, for example, insights received from an analytics agent, such as analytics agent  202  or an analytics agent in another COMPA system in another RD. Accordingly, policy agent may be configured to transmit insight request messages to an analytics agent and transmit action request messages to a COM agent. Additionally, policy agent  206  may be configured to receive from a COMPA system agent (e.g., a COM agent) or a non-COMPA system policy event messages that contain information for use by policy agent in making the policy decision. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, Analytics  204  agent is configured to provide insights (i.e., reports), such as insights identifying current (and/or predicted) events or conditions within the network. For example, in some embodiments, analytics agent  204  is configured such that, in response to receiving a historical insight request message, analytics agent  204  periodically transmits an historical insight to the requesting entity, which is typically a policy agent, and is further configured such that, in response to receiving a real-time insight request message, analytics agent  204  immediately transmits an insight to the requesting entity. 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, RDCF agent  202  provides service exposure, maintains catalogs (e.g., a service catalog and/or a resource catalog), and maintains inventories. 
       Analytics Agent  204  Messages 
       [0033]    As explained above, analytics agent  204 , in some embodiments, is configured to act on certain defined messages. In some embodiments, these messages include the following messages: 1) the historical insight request message; 2) the real-time insight request message; 3) an historical insight tuning message; and 4) an historical insight termination message. The below tables (Tables 1-4) illustrate the information elements that may be included in each of the messages: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 historical insight request message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Periodicity 
                 Specifies the time interval for reporting, i.e., how often 
               
               
                   
                 reports should be generated (e.g., at a certain time of day 
               
               
                   
                 or as soon as an insight repot is available). 
               
               
                 Report Type 
                 Continuous reporting or specific report (requested with 
               
               
                   
                 ID). A request for a specific report overrides periodicity. 
               
               
                 Delivery Type 
                 The requested type of delivery of the insight report: e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 guaranteed delivery (“Class1”), non-guaranteed delivery 
               
               
                   
                 (“Class4”), Error-detection delivery (“Class2”) 
               
               
                 Insight Object 
                 Specifies the target for the analytics, e.g. per subscriber, 
               
               
                   
                 group of subscribers, network element, etc. 
               
               
                 Requested Insight Type 
                 The requested type of analytics chosen from the list of 
               
               
                   
                 supported insight types e.g., the insights available e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 for security-analytics, roaming-analytics, transport 
               
               
                   
                 network analytics, churn analytics 
               
               
                 Request Insight Type Qualifier 
                 This parameter is a container and allows a consumer to 
               
               
                   
                 specify options available for a Requested Insight Type. 
               
               
                   
                 Examples are: “Insight Quality Selection” (High, 
               
               
                   
                 Medium, Low), “Insight Type Option Selection” (e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 roaming analytics with or without usage data). The 
               
               
                   
                 available options are obtained with the service Capability 
               
               
                   
                 discovery procedure. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 real-time insight request message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added). 
               
               
                 Delivery Type 
                 The requested type of delivery of the insight report: e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 guaranteed delivery (“Class1”), non-guaranteed delivery 
               
               
                   
                 (“Class4”), Error-detection delivery (“Class2”) 
               
               
                 Insight Object 
                 Specifies the target for the analytics, e.g., per 
               
               
                   
                 subscribers, a group of subscribers, network element, 
               
               
                   
                 etc. 
               
               
                 Requested Insight Type 
                 The requested type of analytics chosen from the list of 
               
               
                   
                 supported insight types e.g., the insights available e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 for security-analytics, roaming-analytics, transport 
               
               
                   
                 network analytics, churn analytics 
               
               
                 Requested Insight Type Qualifier 
                 This parameter is a container and allows a consumer to 
               
               
                   
                 specify options available for a Requested Insight Type. 
               
               
                   
                 Examples are: “Insight Quality Selection” (High, 
               
               
                   
                 Medium, Low), “Insight Type Option Selection” (e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 roaming analytics with or without usage data). The 
               
               
                   
                 available options are obtained with the Service 
               
               
                   
                 Capability discovery procedure. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 3 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 historical insight tuning message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added). 
               
               
                 Delivery ID 
                 Handle identifying the Analytics Insight Delivery 
               
               
                   
                 instance. 
               
               
                 Tune Historical 
                 A container for parameters specifying the historical 
               
               
                   
                 insight delivery also used in the “Request Historical 
               
               
                   
                 Analytics Insight Delivery” operation; e.g., Periodicity, 
               
               
                   
                 Report Type, Delivery Type, Insight Object, Requested 
               
               
                   
                 Insight Type and Requested Insight Type Qualifier. See 
               
               
                   
                 Request Historical Analytics Insight Delivery for further 
               
               
                   
                 information. 
               
               
                 Tune 
                 A container for parameters specifying the real-time 
               
               
                 Real-Time 
                 insight delivery also used in the “Request Real-Time 
               
               
                   
                 Analytics Insight Delivery” operation: e.g., Delivery 
               
               
                   
                 Type, Insight Object, Requested Insight Type Requested 
               
               
                   
                 and Insight Type Qualifier. See Request Real-Time 
               
               
                   
                 Analytics Insight Delivery for further information. This 
               
               
                   
                 parameter is used to add historic analytics (trend 
               
               
                   
                 insights) as input to the real-time analytics job. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 4 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 historical insight termination message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Delivery ID 
                 Handle identifying the Analytics Insight Delivery 
               
               
                   
                 Instance. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0034]    With respect to the historical insight request message, as a result of receiving this message, analytics agent  204  creates in a database a record storing information contained in the received message (e.g., the periodicity, report type, etc.) and transmits to the entity that transmitted the request an acknowledgement message containing a delivery identifier for use in later retrieving the database record from the database. Also, as a result of receiving the historical insight request message, analytics agent  204  will, based on the periodicity defined in the request, periodically transmit an historical insight delivery message comprising an insight. The transmitted historical insight delivery message may further include the identifier that was included in the acknowledgement message. The insight included in the historical insight delivery message may be formatted using a markup language (e.g., Extensible Markup Language (XML)) or using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON)) or otherwise formatted. 
         [0035]    With respect to the historical insight tuning message, as a result of receiving this message, analytics agent uses the delivery identifier included in the tuning message to update the database record based on the parameters included in the tuning message (e.g., the periodicity parameter). 
         [0036]    With respect to the historical insight termination message, as a result of receiving this message, analytics agent uses the delivery identifier included in the tuning message to delete the database record or update the database record to indicate that no further historical insights defined by the record should be sent. 
         [0037]    With respect to the real-time insight request message, as a result of receiving this message, analytics agent  204  generates a real-time insight and transmits a real-time insight delivery message comprising the generated real-time insight. In some embodiments, after the insight request message is received and before the delivery message is sent, analytics agent  204  transmits an acknowledgement message with a delivery identifier, and the delivery message includes the delivery identifier. The insight report may be formatted using XML or JSON and contains information (e.g., real-time information) requested in the real-time insight request message. 
       Policy Agent  206   
       [0038]    Policy agent  206 , in some embodiments, is configured to act on certain defined messages. In some embodiments, these messages include: 1) a policy data message; and 2) request policy decision message. The below tables (Tables 5 and 6) illustrate the information elements that may be included in each of the messages: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 5 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Policy Data Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version number of the message 
               
               
                 Event Report (required) 
                 Information that the policy agent may use in 
               
               
                   
                 making a policy decision 
               
               
                 Context 
                 Additional information that the policy agent 
               
               
                   
                 may use in making a policy decision 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 6 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Request Policy Decision Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version number of the message 
               
               
                 Policy Decision Input 
                 Parameters required for execution of a policy 
               
               
                   
                 statement (e.g., rule) by the policy agent. These 
               
               
                   
                 parameters may include a rule identifier to 
               
               
                   
                 identify a rule that the policy agent should 
               
               
                   
                 evaluate 
               
               
                 Context 
                 Additional information that the policy agent 
               
               
                   
                 may use in making a policy decision 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0039]    With respect to the policy data message, this message can be transmitted to the policy agent by any resource in the network. As a result of receiving this message, policy agent  206  may store the event report (or stores at least some of the information included in the event report) so that the information can be used at a later time as input to a policy statement executed by policy agent  206 , or policy agent may execute a policy statement based on the event report immediately after receiving the policy data message. As one example, a resource (e.g., a security system which may or may not follow COMPA principles) sends a policy data message to the policy agent with an event report containing information informing the policy agent about a detected denial of service attack, and the policy agent acts on this information immediately by, for example, determining based on a policy statement a set of or more actions that should occur. 
         [0040]    With respect to the request policy decision message, as a result of receiving this message, policy agent  206  uses the information contained in the Policy Decision Input IE (and possibly previously stored event report information) to execute a policy statement, and thereby make a policy decision. An identifier identifying the policy statement may be included in the Policy Decision Input IE together with parameters required by the policy statement. In some embodiments, the result of the policy decision is returned to the entity that transmitted the request policy decision message. 
         [0041]    In some embodiments, as a result of executing a policy statement, the policy agent may be triggered to send to a COM agent a Request Action message. 
       COM Agent  208   
       [0042]    COM agent  208 , in some embodiments, is configured to act on certain defined messages. In some embodiments, these messages include the message identified in TABLE 7. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 7 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Messages COM Agent is configured to Act On 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Message Name 
                 COM agent Response 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Request Action 
                 performs action identified in the request using action 
               
               
                   
                 parameters, if any, included in the request. COM agent, after 
               
               
                   
                 performing the action, may transmit to the entity sending the 
               
               
                   
                 request (usually a policy agent), a requested action outcome 
               
               
                   
                 report specifying the result of the action (e.g., Success or failure) 
               
               
                   
                 and an action ID for identifying the action 
               
               
                 Deploy Resource 
                 deploys the descriptions of the resource and the resource SW. 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 Delete Resource Specification 
                 deletes the descriptions of the resource and the resource SW. 
               
               
                 Deploy Service Specification 
                 deploys the descriptions of the service. 
               
               
                 Update Service Specification 
                 updates the descriptions of an already deployed service. 
               
               
                 Delete Service Specification 
                 deletes the descriptions of the service. 
               
               
                 Instantiate Resource 
                 instantiates a resource, or change an already instantiated 
               
               
                   
                 resource (e.g. deploy/activate the resource SW) 
               
               
                 Release Resource Instance 
                 releases a resource instance i.e. reducing the capacity of the 
               
               
                   
                 resource type. The request also includes how the potential used 
               
               
                   
                 sub-resources should be handled. 
               
               
                 Instantiate Service 
                 instantiates a service based on a deployed service i.e. 
               
               
                   
                 descriptions are already available including the descriptions of 
               
               
                   
                 the resources needed for the services type, hence applicable 
               
               
                   
                 resource instantiation will happen. Or request to change an 
               
               
                   
                 already instantiated service. 
               
               
                 Release Service Instance 
                 releases a service instance i.e. reducing the capacity of the 
               
               
                   
                 service type. The request also includes how the used resources 
               
               
                   
                 should be handled. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0043]    Tables 8 to 17 below illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the COM agent messages shown in table 7. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 8 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Request Action Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name 
               
               
                   
                 may be added) 
               
               
                 Action 
                 Specifies the action that the COM agent is being 
               
               
                   
                 asked to perform. 
               
               
                 Action parameters 
                 Additional parameters, depending on action. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 9 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Deploy Resource Specification Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Contains all aspects of the resource e.g. the description 
               
               
                 Descriptor 
                 of and the requirements of the resource. This should 
               
               
                   
                 either be the object or the reference to where the object 
               
               
                   
                 can be found. 
               
               
                 Resource SW 
                 The software package (SW), if any, for implementing 
               
               
                   
                 the resource or a pointer to the SW. The SW contains 
               
               
                   
                 executable software (e.g., scripts, executable binary 
               
               
                   
                 code (e.g., OVF image), etc.) 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 10 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Delete Resource Specification Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                   
                   
                 (RD name may be added) 
               
               
                   
                 Resource Specification ID 
                 The identity of the resource 
               
               
                   
                   
                 specification to be deleted. 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 11 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Deploy Service Specification Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Contains all aspects of the service e.g. the description of 
               
               
                 Descriptor 
                 and the requirements of the service e.g. needed 
               
               
                   
                 resources. This should either be the object or the 
               
               
                   
                 reference to where the object can be found. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 12 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Update Service Specification Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Service 
                 The identity of the service specification to be updated. 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Contains all aspects of the service e.g. the description of 
               
               
                 Descriptor 
                 and the requirements of the service e.g. needed 
               
               
                   
                 resources. This should either be the object or the 
               
               
                   
                 reference to where the object can be found. 
               
               
                 Instantiated 
                 Defines if the already instantiated services based on this 
               
               
                 Services 
                 Service Specification ID should be updated based on 
               
               
                 handling 
                 this service update 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 13 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Delete Service Specification Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Service 
                 The identity of the service specification to be delete. 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 14 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Instantiate Resource Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Identity 
                 Identity of the resource specification to be instantiated, 
               
               
                   
                 or the instantiated resource to be changed identified 
               
               
                   
                 with Resource Specification ID and Resource Instance 
               
               
                   
                 ID, respectively 
               
               
                 Context 
                 Contains the context in which a resource specification 
               
               
                   
                 should be instantiated e.g. capacity, affinity, 
               
               
                   
                 configuration including how, when and by who the 
               
               
                   
                 instantiated resource can be used, or the changed 
               
               
                   
                 context of an already instantiated resource. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 15 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Release Resource Instance Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 The identity of the instantiated resource to be released. 
               
               
                 Instance ID 
               
               
                 Sub 
                 Specifies how possible resources used by this 
               
               
                 resource 
                 instantiated resource should be handle e.g. released or 
               
               
                 management 
                 kept. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 16 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Instantiate Service Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Identity 
                 Identity of the service specification to be instantiated, or 
               
               
                   
                 the instantiated resource to be changed identified with 
               
               
                   
                 Service Specification ID and Service Instance ID, 
               
               
                   
                 respectively. 
               
               
                 Service 
                 parameters to tailor the service, these could be service 
               
               
                 Parameters 
                 level parameters such as addressing information, or it 
               
               
                   
                 could be parameters that influence the characteristics of 
               
               
                   
                 the service. 
               
               
                 Context 
                 Contains the context in which a service specification 
               
               
                   
                 should be instantiated e.g. capacity, affinity, 
               
               
                   
                 configuration including how, when and by who the 
               
               
                   
                 instantiated resource can be used, or the changed 
               
               
                   
                 context of an already instantiated service. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 17 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Release Service Message 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation (RD name may be 
               
               
                   
                 added) 
               
               
                 Service 
                 The identity of the instantiated service to be released. 
               
               
                 Instance ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies how the resources used by this instantiated 
               
               
                 management 
                 service should be handle e.g. released or kept. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       RDCF Agent  202   
       [0044]    RDCF agent  202 , in some embodiments, is configured to act on certain defined messages. In some embodiments, these messages include the message identified in table 18 below. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 18 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Message 
                 RDCF agent response 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 C_Service Capability 
                 Registers both specification and instances of 
               
               
                 Registration 
                 services/resources supplied by the invoker (e.g., A, P, and 
               
               
                   
                 COM) 
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Discovery 
                 Searches for a matching Service Capability and if found 
               
               
                   
                 transmits a C_Service Capability Discovery Response 
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Delete 
                 Removes a Service Capability identified in the message 
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Update 
                 Updates both specification and instances of the identified 
               
               
                   
                 service capability 
               
               
                 Service Specification 
                 Stores a service specification containing the service 
               
               
                 Registration 
                 description included in the message 
               
               
                 Service Specification Discovery 
                 Searches for requested service specification and if found 
               
               
                   
                 returns a reference to the matching registered service 
               
               
                   
                 specifications URI. 
               
               
                 Service Specification Delete 
                 Removes the identified service specification 
               
               
                 Service Specification Update 
                 Updates the identified service specification 
               
               
                 Services Instance Registration 
                 Registers the identified service instance (e.g., stores 
               
               
                   
                 information included in the message in a service instance 
               
               
                   
                 registration record). 
               
               
                 Service Instance Discovery 
                 Searches for an instance of the specified service type and if 
               
               
                   
                 found return an identifier for the instance (e.g., a reference to 
               
               
                   
                 the matching registered services, URI). 
               
               
                 Service Instance Delete 
                 Removes the identified service instance 
               
               
                 Service Instance Update 
                 Updates the identified service instance (e.g., updates the a 
               
               
                   
                 service instance registration record for the service) 
               
               
                 Resource Specification 
                 Stores a resource specification containing the resource 
               
               
                 Registration 
                 description included in the message 
               
               
                 Resource Specification 
                 Searches for requested resource specification and if found 
               
               
                 Discovery 
                 return a resource specification id. 
               
               
                 Resource Specification Delete 
                 Removes the identified resource specification 
               
               
                 Resource Specification Update 
                 Updates the identified resource specification 
               
               
                 Resource Instance Registration 
                 Registers the identified service instance (e.g., stores 
               
               
                   
                 information included in the message in a resource instance 
               
               
                   
                 registration record). 
               
               
                 Resource Instance Discovery 
                 Searches for an instance of the specified resource type and if 
               
               
                   
                 found return an identifier for the instance 
               
               
                 Resource Instance Delete 
                 Removes the identified resource instance 
               
               
                 Resource Instance Update 
                 Updates the identified resource instance (e.g., updates the a 
               
               
                   
                 resource instance registration record for the resource) 
               
               
                 Authentication Validation 
                 Validates the credentials included in the message 
               
               
                 Authorization Validation 
                 Verifies that an authenticated entity consumer has the 
               
               
                   
                 correct permissions and rights to access the requested 
               
               
                   
                 operation 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0045]    Tables 19-40 illustrate the information elements that may be included in each of the messages show in TABLE 18. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 19 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Registration 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Descriptions 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 C_Service  
                 Specifies the COMPA capability to be registered (e.g., 
               
               
                 Capability ID 
                 a Policy capability or an Analytics capability). 
               
               
                 Address 
                 Address for the service (e.g., IP address, server name, 
               
               
                   
                 URL, URI, URN). This address is used by a consumer 
               
               
                   
                 when requests a service e.g.-“Request Historical 
               
               
                   
                 Analytics Insight Delivery”. 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Identifies the type of service capability that is 
               
               
                 Description 
                 registered with a description of the service, e.g., 
               
               
                   
                 Service Operations, Service Parameters, Service Meta 
               
               
                   
                 data etc. Each of the interfaces has an address (URN) 
               
               
                   
                 for downloading interface specifications and a 
               
               
                   
                 procedural description in text. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 20 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Services Capability Discovery 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Requested 
                 Request to obtain COMPA service description for all 
               
               
                 Service 
                 registered services, or for a specific type of service such 
               
               
                   
                 as Analytics, Policy or COM 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 21 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Delete 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation. 
               
               
                 C_Service 
                 Specifies the key of COMPA capability to be Deleted. 
               
               
                 Capabilities 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 22 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Update Operation 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation. 
               
               
                 C_Service 
                 Specifies the key of COMPA capability to change state. 
               
               
                 Capabilities 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Identifies the attributes of service capability to be 
               
               
                 Description 
                 updated that is registered with description of the service, 
               
               
                   
                 e.g., Service Operations, Services Parameters, Service 
               
               
                   
                 Meta data etc. Each of the interfaces has an address 
               
               
                   
                 (URN) for downloading interface specification and a 
               
               
                   
                 procedural description in text. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 23 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Specification Registration 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of network service to be registered 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Identifies the types of network service that is registered 
               
               
                 Description 
                 with a description of the service. Describes the type, 
               
               
                   
                 operations, and parameters. These services are exposed 
               
               
                   
                 over the native interfaces. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g. Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 24 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Specification Discovery 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the ID of network service to be discovered 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 Services 
                 Describes the type of service to search for e.g., Describes 
               
               
                 Description 
                 service type, operations and parameters that matches. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired to be matched 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 25 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Specification Delete 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of network services to be Deleted 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 26 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Specification Update 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of network service 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Identifies the parameters of the specification to be 
               
               
                 Description 
                 updated and their new values. Describes service type, 
               
               
                   
                 operations and parameters. These services are exposed 
               
               
                   
                 over the native interface. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the new state in the lifecycle, e.g. Testing, 
               
               
                   
                 Staging, Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 27 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Instance Registration 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type (specification) of the instance of the 
               
               
                 Specification 
                 service to be registered. The specification must exist 
               
               
                 ID 
                 prior to registering the instance of it. 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the instance ID of service to be registered. 
               
               
                 Instance 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 Address 
                 URI for the service (This is in line with SOA architecture 
               
               
                   
                 and corresponds to the address of service access point, 
               
               
                   
                 targeting the service itself or a load balancer in front of 
               
               
                   
                 the service itself. It does not directly correspond to the 
               
               
                   
                 TMP SID information model where the service is 
               
               
                   
                 “virtual”(independent of the implementation in a 
               
               
                   
                 resource) and the actual “service access point” is found 
               
               
                   
                 in the resource layer, linked by the resource facing 
               
               
                   
                 service as a part of the service.) 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 28 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Instance Discovery 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of service to be searched for. 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 29 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Instance Delete 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of service instance to be Deleted. 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 30 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Service Instance Update 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Service 
                 Specifies the type of service instance to be updated. 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                 Service Instance ID 
                 Identifies the Service Instance to be updated. 
               
               
                 Service Instance 
                 identifies the parameters of the instance entity to be 
               
               
                   
                 updated in their new values. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the new state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, 
               
               
                   
                 Staging, Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 31 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Specification Registration 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of network Resource to be registered 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Contains all aspects of the resource e.g. the description of 
               
               
                 Descriptor 
                 and the requirements of the resource. This should either 
               
               
                   
                 be the object or the reference to where the object can be 
               
               
                   
                 found. 
               
               
                 Resource SW 
                 The software package (SW), if any, for implementing the 
               
               
                   
                 resource or a pointer to the SW. The SW contains 
               
               
                   
                 executable software (e.g., scripts, executable binary code 
               
               
                   
                 (e.g., OVF image), etc.) 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 32 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Specification Discovery 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of network Resource to be discovered 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Describes the type of Resource to search for, e.g., 
               
               
                 Description 
                 Resource Type, operations and parameters. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 33 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource specification Delete 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of network Resource to be Deleted 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 34 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Specification Update 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of network Resource 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Identifies the parameters of the specification to be 
               
               
                 Specification 
                 updated and their new values. Describes service type, 
               
               
                   
                 operations and parameters. These services are exposed 
               
               
                   
                 over the native interfaces. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the new state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, 
               
               
                   
                 Staging, Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 35 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Recourse Instance Registration 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type (specification) of the instance of the 
               
               
                 Specification 
                 resource to be registered. The specification must exist 
               
               
                 ID 
                 prior to registering the instance of it. 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the instance ID of Resource to be registered. 
               
               
                 Instance ID 
               
               
                 Address 
                 URI for the resource 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 36 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Instance Discovery 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of resource instance to be searched for. 
               
               
                 Specification 
               
               
                 ID 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, Staging, 
               
               
                   
                 Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 37 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Instance Delete 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of resource instance to be Deleted. 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 38 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Resource Instance Update 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Version 
                 Specifies the version of the operation 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of resource instance to be updated. 
               
               
                 Specification ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Specifies the type of resource instance to be updated. 
               
               
                 Instance ID 
               
               
                 Resource 
                 Identifies the parameters of the instance to be updated 
               
               
                 Instance 
                 and their new values. 
               
               
                 State 
                 Defines the new state in the lifecycle, e.g., Testing, 
               
               
                   
                 Staging, Operational, Phase out, Retired. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 39 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Authentication Validation 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Credentials 
                 A consumer must have a valid consumer account 
               
               
                   
                 configured by the administrator of the SAC database that 
               
               
                   
                 specifies the consumer&#39;s permissions and rights. 
               
               
                   
                 Consumer credentials must be associated with this 
               
               
                   
                 account. Credentials may include user name + password, 
               
               
                   
                 certificates, tokens, etc. 
               
               
                 Session ID 
                 Session ID 
               
               
                 Time (optional) 
                 This time validation against the timestamp that the SAC 
               
               
                   
                 has stored for this user and session 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 40 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Authorization Validation 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information Element 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 Authenticated 
                 The consumer identity is related to the consumer 
               
               
                 Consumer Identity 
                 credentials and are validated in the SAC. 
               
               
                 Server ID 
                 Server ID 
               
               
                 Operation 
                 This could be any of the operations provided by the 
               
               
                   
                 COMPA interfaces C1-C4 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0046]    Table 41 below illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the C_Service Capability Discover Response. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 41 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Service Capability Discover Response 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Information 
                   
               
               
                 Element 
                 Decscription 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 C_Service 
                 Specifies the ID of capability to be discovered. In 
               
               
                 Capability ID 
                 COMPA we have Analytic, Policy and COM but other 
               
               
                   
                 capabilities may also use the same capability registration. 
               
               
                 Address 
                 URN for a service. This address is used by consumers of 
               
               
                   
                 discovered services when these invoke a service, e.g.,- 
               
               
                   
                 “Request Historical Analytics Insight Delivery” 
               
               
                 Services 
                 Identifies the type of service capability that is registered 
               
               
                 Description 
                 with a description of the service, e.g. Service Operations, 
               
               
                   
                 Service Parameters, Service Meta data etc. Each of the 
               
               
                   
                 interfaces has an address (URN) for downloading 
               
               
                   
                 interface specifications and a procedural description in 
               
               
                   
                 text. Here the Service Description is used for finding 
               
               
                   
                 matching entities. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       Use Case Categories 
       [0047]    There are numerous possible uses cases for the COMPA system. In some embodiments, each use case can be categorized into one of the following four categories: Resource/Service Onboarding; Automated Product Offering (APO); Automated Management (AM); and Service Exposure (SE). 
       Resource/Service Onboarding 
       [0048]    In some embodiments, before a product (i.e., service) can be offered automatically using COMPA, the service and the resources required by the service must first be onboarded, which means that the specification for the service and the specification for each resource required by the service must be registered with an RDCF agent. This is referred to as Resource/Service Onboarding. Additionally, the resources required to instantiate the service must be instantiated (i.e., made operational) in response to a request to instantiate the service or must have been previously instantiated. That is, some resources will be instantiated when the service is instantiated (e.g. setting up a new network for a special type of service, how to setup the resources is not known before the service request is received), while other Resources that were instantiated before the request to instantiate the service is received may require a re-configuration for the service when the service is instantiated. Some resources will be also instantiated during operation to add more resources to cover an increase in load. 
         [0049]    Resource/Service Onboarding includes: the deployment of service and resource specifications and the deployment of some resource instances. A service specification describes the services offered by the service and the elements (e.g., resources) that are needed in order for the service to provide the services the service offers. Accordingly, in some embodiments, service specifications identify (e.g., contain links to) resource specifications. Accordingly, in some embodiments, before a particular service specification is deployed, the resource specification identified by the particular service specification should be deployed first, if they are described as required to be instantiated in order to later instantiate the service. During instantiation of resource instances the applicable resource specifications are used. The resource instances describe what has been instantiated, the description includes which service or resource instance it supports and which resource instances it uses. Instantiation of a service is part of Automatic Product Offerings (APO), which is described in the next section, and may imply the instantiation of more resources. 
       First Example Use Case—Deploy Service Specification 
       [0050]      FIG. 3  is a message flow diagram illustrating a process  300  for deploying a service specification according to some embodiments. In the example shown, process  300  beings with step  302 , wherein COM agent  208  receives a Deploy Service Specification (DSS) message transmitted by a management system  389  (e.g., an Operations Support System). As used herein the term “transmits” covers not only sending a message via a network but also covers sending the message using interprocess communication in the case of, for example, the sender (e.g., OSS or a COMPA agent) and the receiver (e.g., a COMPA agent) running on the same processing unit, as well as sending the message using a procedure call in the case of, for example, the sender and receiver being different modules of a single process. The DSS message includes a service specification that includes a service descriptor for a service. In this example, the service descriptor includes a set of two or more resource specification identifiers including a first and a second resource specification identifier (in other example the set of resource specification identifiers may consist of a single resource specification identifier). Each resource specification identifier included in the set of resource specification identifiers identifies a particular resource specification. In this example, the first resource specification identifier identifies a first resource specification that is maintained by a first RDCF  202 , and the second resource specification identifier identifies a second resource specification that is maintained by a second RDCF  392 . 
         [0051]    The service descriptor may also include information describing the relationships, if any, between the identified resource specifications. For example, the first resource specification identifier may identify a specification for a first type of network node (e.g., Serving Gateway (SGW)) and the second resource specification identifier may identifier a specification for a second type of network node (e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME)). In such a scenario, the service descriptor may include information indicating that SGW must be allocated in IP address and the MME must be configured with configuration information that identifies the IP address assigned to the SGW so that when the MME and SGW are instantiated the MME will be able to communicate with the SGW over an IP network. 
         [0052]    The COM agent  208  is configured such that, in response to receiving the DSS message, COM agent  208  determines, for each resource specification identifier included in the set, whether the resource specification identified by the resource specification identifier is maintained by at least one RDCF agent. Accordingly in step  304 , COM agent  208  transmits to RDCF agent  202  a first Resource Specification Discovery (RSD) message containing the first resource specification identifier, and in step  306  COM agent  208  transmits to RDCF agent  392  a second RSD message containing the second resource specification identifier. Assuming the identified resource specifications have been previously registered with RDCF agents  202 ,  392 , respectively, then the RDCF agents  202 ,  392  will respond to the respective RSD with a respective positive acknowledgement (e.g., a message comprising a pointer to the identified resource specification or comprising the resource specification itself). 
         [0053]    COM agent  208  is further configured that, once COM agent  208  determines that each resource specification identifier included in the set identifies a resource specification that is maintained by at least one RDCF agent, COM agent  208  registers the service specification included in the DSS received from OSS  389 . That is, in step  308 , COM agent  208  transmits to RDCF  202  a Service Specification Registration (SSR) message comprising the service specification obtained from OSS  208 . 
       Second Example Use Case—Instantiate a Resource 
       [0054]      FIG. 4  is a message flow diagram illustrating a process  400  for instantiating a resource. In the example shown, process  400  beings with step  402 , wherein COM agent  208  receives an Instantiate Resource (IR) message transmitted by OSS  389 . The IR message includes a resource specification identifier that identifies a particular resource specification. In step  404 , in response to receiving the IR message, COM agent  208  transmits to RDCF  202  a Resource Specification Discover (RSD) message that comprises the resource specification identifier included in the IR message. Assuming the identified resource specification has been previously registered with RDCF agent  202 , then the RDCF agent  202  will respond to the RSD message by transmitting to COM agent  208  a message comprising a pointer to the identified resource specification or comprising the resource specification itself and COM agent will performs step  408  (and optionally  406 ). 
         [0055]    After receiving the message, COM agent  208  obtains the resource specification (extracts it from the message or uses the pointer to download it) and then parses the specification to determine information about the resource specified by the resource specification. For example, the specification may indicate that the resource should be implemented as a tenant of a multi-tenant software application. Assuming that the specification indicates that the resource should be implemented as a tenant of a multi-tenant software application, COM agent  208 , in step  406 , sends to an RDCF agent (in this case RDCF agent  392 ) a Resource Instance Discovery (RID) message to determine whether an instance of the multi-tenant software application is operational. 
         [0056]    In step  408 , COM agent deploys the resource so that the resource will be operational. For example, in the case the resource is a tenant of a multi-tenant application, then in step  408  COM agent communicates with a controller of the multi-tenant application to instantiate a new tenant corresponding to the resource. This may include COM agent  208  transmitting one or more specific configuration files corresponding to the resource. As another example, in the case that the resource is a stand-alone application, then in step  408  COM agent  208  transmits to a platform for executing the resource information contained in the Resource SW information element of the resource specification corresponding to the resource (e.g., a binary executable file and/or configuration files). 
         [0057]    After deploying a resource, COM agent  208  may transmit to RDCF  392  a Resource Instance Registration (RIR) message or a Resource Instance Update (RIU) message (step  410 ). RIR/RIU message may contain information about the deployed resource. This information about the deployed resource may contain, among other things, a service identifier identifying a service that the resource is supporting. As described above, RDCF  392 , in response to an RIR message creates a resource instance registration records that includes information included in the RIR, including the service identifier. Similarly, RDCF  392 , in response to an RIU message, updates the resource instance registration record to include information included in the RIU, including the service identifier. In this way, if a resource supports one or more services, the resource instance registration record for the resource will identify each of the one or more services. This information linking a resource to each service that the resource supports can be used by an analytics agent and/or a policy agent. 
         [0058]    For example, an analytics agent (e.g., agent  202 ) may receive from an OSS a command to monitor a particular resource. In response, the analytics agent may send to the RDCF agent that maintains the resource instance registration record for the particular resource a request to provide the analytics agent with the information stored in the registration record (or a sub-set of the information, such as the list of services that the resource supports). By having knowledge of the services that the particular resource supports, the analytics agent can provide useful service information to a policy agent. For instance, if the analytics agent determines that the particular resource has become, or is on the threshold of becoming, overloaded, then the analytics agent can use the information obtained from the RDCF agent to determine the services that may be impacted by this event (i.e., the services that the particular resource supports) and then inform a policy agent not only that the particular resource is having a problem, but also can inform the policy agent that one or more identified services (i.e., the services supported by the resource) may be at risk of a performance degradation. 
         [0059]    Similarly, a policy agent that receives from an analytics agent (or other entity) a report indicating that a particular resource is having a problem (e.g., an overload problem), the policy agent itself may send to the RDCF agent that maintains the resource instance registration record for the particular resource a request to provide the policy agent with the information stored in the registration record (or a sub-set of the information, such as the list of services that the resource supports). By having knowledge of the services that the particular resource supports, the policy agent can take an appropriate action for each service, such as, for each impacted service, instruct a COM agent to instantiate an appropriate resource for the service. 
       Automated Product Offering (APO) 
       [0060]    APO is about automating the procedures required to instantiate a service into the network for a specific offering for specific (set of) users (this ranges from a service for an enterprise or services for a end-users). APO includes the instantiation of a service and instantiation/allocation of resources required for this service. The instantiated resources and services are registered in the resource and service inventory, respectively. 
       Third Example Use Case—Instantiate a Service 
       [0061]      FIG. 5  is a message flow diagram illustrating a process  500  for instantiating a service. In the example shown, process  500  beings with step  502 , wherein COM agent  208  receives an Instantiate Service (IS) message transmitted by OSS  389 . The IS message comprises a service specification identifier for identifying a service specification corresponding to the service. In step  504 , COM agent  208  transmits to RDCF agent  202  a Service Specification Discovery (SSD) message comprising the service specification identifier that was included in the IS message. In step  505 , COM agent  208  receives from RDCF  202  the requested service specification (SS). As discussed above, the service specification comprises a set of one or more resource specification identifiers. 
         [0062]    As a result of receiving the service specification, COM agent  208  determines, for reach resource specification identifier, whether the resource corresponding to the resource specification identifier has been instantiated (i.e., is operational for the service). This is accomplished by COM agent  208  sending to one or more RDCF agents one or more RID messages. Thus, for example, in step  506 , COM agent  208  transmits to an RDCF (in this example it is RDCF  392 ) a Resource Instance Discovery (RID) message to determine whether the corresponding resource has been instantiated. For any such resource that has not been instantiated, COM agent  208  instantiates the resource (step  508 ) (e.g., COM agent may perform steps  404 - 408 . 
         [0063]    After ensuring that all of the required resources have been instantiated (e.g., after determining that every resource identified by the one or more resource specification identifiers included in the service specification has been instantiated), COM agent  208  registers the service instance by transmitting to RDCF  208  a Service Instance Registration (SIR) message (step  510 ). 
       Automated Management (AM) 
       [0064]    AM (sometimes referred to as autonomic networks) is about automating the operational support of the network. The aim is to have a policy based control for managing the deployed and instantiated/assigned resources. 
       Fourth Example Use Case—Policy and Analytics Based Automatic Mgmt 
       [0065]      FIG. 6  is a message flow diagram illustrating a process  600  for automatic management of a network. In the example shown, process  600  beings with step  602 , wherein policy agent  206  transmits to analytics agent  204  a request for at least one insight (i.e., a report). The request may be a historical insight request message or a real-time insight request message. In step  604 , analytics agent  204  receives data from one or more data sources (e.g., one or more resources). In some embodiments, this data includes performance information such as: number of dropped packet; memory utilization; processor utilization; number of simultaneous users; etc. In other embodiments, the data received from a resource includes information pertaining to a possible security threat. Other examples of collected data include: alarms, events from networks such as PDP context establishments, call establishments, call data records, mobility management events (e.g. location update), handover event reporting, etc. 
         [0066]    In step  606 , analytics agent  204  process the data from the data sources to generate an insight  607  based on the data received from the one or more sources and transmits the insight to policy agent  206 , which receives the insight. In some embodiments, the step of transmitting the insight includes one of: transmitting an historical insight delivery message comprising the insight and transmitting a real-time insight delivery message comprising the insight. 
         [0067]    In step  608 , as a result of receiving the insight (which may include network performance information and/or security information), policy agent  206  determines whether an action is needed based on information included in the insight and a policy. For example, in step  608 , policy agent  206  may execute a rule contained in a policy and determine, based on the rule and information in one or more received insights, whether a certain condition has been satisfied (e.g., whether a certain processor utilization has stayed above a certain threshold for at least a certain amount of time). As a result of determining that a network management action should be undertaken, policy agent  206 , in step  610 , transmits to COM agent  208  an action request  612  (e.g., a “Request Action” message or an “Instantiate Resource” message, defined above) identifying at least one specific action. In step  612 , COM agent  208  performs the requested action(s). 
       Sixth Example Use Case—Cross-Domain Management 
       [0068]    This use case is used to illustrate that an analytics agent  704  (see  FIG. 7 ) in one RD may receive insights from other analytics agents (i.e., agents  702  and  204 ) each of which belongs to an RD different than the RD to which agent  704  belongs, and a policy agent  706  can use insights generated by agent  704  to determine whether an action should be undertaken. Additionally, agents  702  and  204  may belong to different RDs. 
         [0069]    Referring now to  FIG. 7 , which illustrates an example process  700 , in step  701 , policy agent  706  transmits to agent  704  a request for at least one insight. In step  702 , agent  704  transmits to agent  204  a request for at least one insight (the request may be a historical insight request message or a real-time insight request message). In step  704 , agent  704  transmits to agent  702  a request for at least one insight (the request may be a historical insight request message or a real-time insight request message). 
         [0070]    In step  706 , analytics agent  204  generates an insight based on data received from one or more resources and transmits the insight to analytics agent  704 , which receives the insight. In step  708 , analytics agent  702  generates an insight based on data received from one or more resources and transmits the insight to analytics agent  704 , which receives the insight. In step  710 , analytics agent  704  generates an insight based on the insights received in steps  706  and  708  and transmits the generated insight to policy agent  706 . 
         [0071]    In step  712 , as a result of receiving the insight transmitted by agent  704 , policy agent  706  determines whether an action is needed based on information in the insight and a policy. As a result of determining that an action should be undertaken, policy agent  706  transmits to COM agent  708  an action request identifying at least one specific action. 
         [0072]    In some embodiments, an analytics agent (e.g., agent  204 ) is configured to transmit to a policy agent (e.g., agent  206 ) a real-time insight delivery message in response to detecting that a certain condition or event has been detected. For example, in response to detecting that a performance parameter (e.g., a load on a service) has met or exceeded a threshold or in response to detecting some other event or condition. 
         [0073]    In some embodiments, policy agent  206  is configured such that, after receiving the real-time insight, the policy agent  206  determines whether more actions should be undertaken (e.g., policy agent execute a policy statement). For example, in response to receiving a real-time insight indicating that a load on a service has met or exceeded a threshold, policy agent  206  may be configured by a policy statement to determine whether resources should be added to the service and may further be configured such that, in response to determining that more resources should be added to the service, the policy agent  206  transmits to a COM agent (e.g., COM agent  208 ) a message requesting that the COM agent add more resources to the service (e.g., agent  206  transmits to agent  208  an Instantiate Resource message). As another example, in response to receiving a real-time insight indicating that a subscriber notification is required or that a subscriber should be blocked, policy agent  206  may be configured to send a message to a COM agent to cause the COM agent to provide a certain notification to the subscriber or block the subscriber. 
         [0074]      FIG. 8  is a flow chart illustrating a method  800  in COMPA system  200  comprising, a first analytics agent (e.g., analytics agent  204 ), a first policy agent (e.g., policy agent  206 ), and a first COM agent (e.g., COM agent  208 ). The first analytics agent is configured to collect data from various data sources, process the collected data to generate insights, and provide requested insights to a consuming agent (e.g., a policy agent  206 ) as a result of receiving from the consuming agent a report request identifying a requested insight type. Process  800  may begin in step  802 , where the first policy agent requests the first analytics agent to send to the first policy agent one or more insights. In step  804 , the first policy agent, in response to receiving a set of one or more insights from the first analytics agent, uses a policy statement and the set of one or more insights to determine whether a first action should be taken. In step  806 , as a result of determining the first action should be taken, the first policy agent transmits to the first COM agent a first action request message for identifying the first action, the first COM agent being configured such that, in response to receiving the first action request message, the first COM agent performs the requested first action. 
         [0075]    In some embodiments, method  800  includes additional steps (see e.g.,  FIG. 7 ). For example, method  800  may further include: a second analytics agent (e.g., analytics agent  702 ) collecting data from various data sources, processing the collected, and providing requested insights; and a third analytics agent (e.g., analytics agent  704 ) requesting the first analytics agent to send to the third analytics agent one or more insights generated by the first analytics agent and requesting the second analytics agent to send to the third analytics agent one or more insights generated by the second analytics agent. The method may further include the third analytics agent generating at least one insight based at least in part on one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the first analytics agent and one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the second analytics agent. 
         [0076]    In some embodiments, the method also includes a second policy agent (e.g., policy agent  706 ) requesting the third analytics agent to send to the second policy agent one or more insights generated by the third analytics agent based at least in part on one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the first analytics agent and one or more insights transmitted to the third analytics agent from the second analytics agent. The second policy agent, in response to receiving a set of one or more insights from the third analytics agent, may use a policy and the set of one or more insights received from the third analytics agent to determine whether a second action should be taken, and, as a result of determining the second action should be taken, transmits to a second COM agent (e.g. COM agent  708 ) a second action request message for identifying the second action, and the second COM agent is configured such that, in response to receiving the second action request message, the second COM agent performs the requested second action. 
         [0077]      FIG. 9  is a flow chart illustrating a process  900  for service onboarding, according to some embodiments. Process  900  may being with step  902 , in which a first COM agent (e.g., COM agent  208 ) receives from a support system a first request to deploy a service specification. The first request to deploy the service specification includes a service descriptor for the service, the service descriptor includes a set of one or more resource specification identifiers including a first resource specification identifier. Each resource specification identifier included in the set of resource specification identifiers identifies a particular resource specification. The first resource specification identifier identifies a first resource specification that is maintained by a first RDCF agent (e.g., RDCF agent  202 ). In step  904 , the first COM agent, in response to receiving the first request to deploy the service specification, selects a resource specification identifier (RSI) from the set of RSIs. In step  906 , the first COM agent, determines whether the resource specification identified by the selected RSI is maintained by at least one RDCF agent. If not, the process may proceed to step  910 , where the first COM agent transmits an error message to the support system, otherwise the process proceeds to step  908  in which the first COM agent determines whether it has selected each one of the RSIs included in the set of RSI. If one or more RSIs in the set have not yet been selected, the process goes back to step  904 . 
         [0078]      FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating a process  1000  for automatic product offering. Process  1000  may begin with step  1002  in which the first COM agent receives from a support system a first request to instantiate a service. The first request to instantiate the service includes a service specification identifier identifying a service specification that includes a list of required resources. In step  1004 , the first COM agent, in response to receiving the first request to instantiate the service, transmits to the RDCF agent a service specification discovery request that includes the service specification identifier. The RDCF agent is configured such that, in response to receiving the service specification discovery request comprising the service specification identifier, the RDCF agent uses the service specification identifier to retrieve the service specification identified by the service specification identifier and transmit the retrieved service specification to the first COM agent. In step  1006 , the first COM agent receives from the RDCF agent the retrieved service specification. In step  1008 , the first COM agent, in response to receiving the service specification from the RDCF agent, determines, for at least one of the required resources identified in the list of required resources included in the service specification, whether the at least one required resource has been instantiated. In step  1010  (optional), the COM agent instantiates one or more of the required resources that are not already instantiated (e.g., the COM agents performs steps  404 - 408 ). 
         [0079]      FIG. 11  is a block diagram of a computer system  1100  for implementing one or more of the above described agents. That is, in some embodiments, for each of the above described agents, the network  100  has a separate computer system  1100  for implementing the agent, but in other embodiments, one or more agents may be implemented using only a single computer system  1100 . As described below, computer system  1100  may consists of a single computer apparatus or set of computer apparatuses (i.e., computer system  1100  may be a cloud computing system). 
         [0080]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , computer system  1100  includes at least one computer apparatus (ca)  1102 , which may include one or more processors  1155  (e.g., one or more general purpose microprocessors and/or one or more data processing circuits, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), logic circuits, and the like). In some embodiments, computer system  1102  includes a plurality of CAs  1102 , which may or may not be co-located. Thus, the above described agents may be implemented in a cloud computing environment. In some embodiments, each agent may correspond to a virtual machine that hosted by computer system  1100 . Computer system  1100  further includes: a network interface  1105  for use in transmitting and receiving data via a communications link; and a data storage system  1108 , which may include one or more non-volatile storage devices and/or one or more volatile storage devices (e.g., random access memory (RAM)). In embodiments where computer apparatus  1102  includes a microprocessor, a computer program product (CPP)  1141  may be provided. CPP  1141  includes a computer readable medium (CRM)  1142  storing a computer program (CP)  1143  comprising computer readable instructions (CRI)  1144 . CRM  1142  may be a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as, but not limited, to magnetic media (e.g., a hard disk), optical media (e.g., a DVD), memory devices (e.g., random access memory), and the like, but not a signal. In some embodiments, the CRI of computer program  1143  is configured such that when executed by data processing system  1102 , the CRI causes the computer apparatus  1102  to perform steps described above. In other embodiments, apparatus  1102  may be configured to perform steps described herein without the need for code. That is, for example, apparatus  1102  may consist merely of one or more ASICs. Hence, the features of the embodiments described herein may be implemented in hardware and/or software. 
         [0081]    While various embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the disclosure unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. 
         [0082]    Additionally, while the processes described above and illustrated in the drawings are shown as a sequence of steps, this was done solely for the sake of illustration. Accordingly, it is contemplated that some steps may be added, some steps may be omitted, the order of the steps may be re-arranged, and some steps may be performed in parallel.