9 Using Services, Policies, and Rules

This section describes services, policies, and rules in Oracle Communications Network Intelligence. A service is defined as a product or service that is carried by one or more trails in the network to supply one or more customers, or an internal network service such as a transport path or link (a trail must reference a service).

A policy defines a set of routing constraints, or rules, that are applied when looking for a path between two points in the network. So, for example, policies specify class of service, or quality of service constraints when looking for suitable network resources to satisfy service demand requirements on a service level agreement (SLA).

Using the Services Tree Browser

The services tree browser displays all services and service definitions currently modeled in Network Intelligence.

Services are separated into predefined folders or groups for ease of navigation. Double-click the folder to expand the selection.

The following sections describe how to use services in Network Intelligence:

• Creating a Service

• Creating a Policy for a Service

• Assigning a Policy to a Service

• Designing and Assigning a Service Demand

• Working with Service Views

• Working with Service Object Group Views

• Using Routing Rules

• Using Weightings

• Using Associations

Creating a Service

Each service requires a service definition, so before creating a service, you must first create a service definition.

To create a service definition:

1. Click Service on the context toolbar.

2. Click the Create icon to display the following options:

   • New Service

   • New Service Definition

3. Select New Service Definition to display the New Service Definition window.

4. Configure the service definition using the following values:

   • Name: The name of the new service definition. The name must be unique.

   • Policy: Select from the list of available policies. This step is optional.

   • Description: Add a description of the service definition. This step is optional.

   • Connectivity Type: Select from the list of available connectivity types; for example: point to point, multipoint to multipoint.

5. Click Save.

Having created a service definition, you can create the service.

To create a service:

1. Click Service on the context toolbar.

2. Click the Create icon to display the following options:

   • New Service

   • New Service Definition

3. Select New Service to display the New Service window.

4. Configure the service using the following values:

   • Name: The name of the new service. The name must be unique.

   • Status: Select a status.

   • Service Definition: Select a service definition.

   • Group: Select a group to which the service belongs.

   • Description: Add a description of the service. This step is optional.

5. Click Save.

Creating a Policy for a Service

If a service requires a trail path connection that must be routed over carrying trails, you must assign a policy to the service definition to define routing constraint rules.

A policy holds one or more rules that define the pathfinding criteria used to discover end to end trail connections when fulfilling a service.

To create a policy:

1. Click Policy on the context toolbar.

2. Click the Create icon to display the New Policy window:

3. Configure the policy definition using the following values:

   • Name: The name of the new policy. The name must be unique.

   • Description: Add a description of the policy. This step is optional.

   • Type: Policy types are used for reporting and filtering, and for sorting policies in the Policy tree browser.

     Select from the list of available policy types:

     • Service: Used to create a policy for a service.

     • Network: Used to create a policy to be used by a specific network.

     • Service Demand: Used if a policy is created by a plan.

     • Exploratory: Used if a policy is intended for study purposes.

4. Click Save.

Assigning a Policy to a Service

Having created a policy, you can assign the policy to a service by editing the service definition, and selecting the required policy.

To assign a policy to a service:

1. Click Services on the context toolbar.

2. Click the Definitions tab on the top of the Services panel.

3. Select the required service definition to display a Service Definition window.

4. Click Edit.

5. Select the policy to assign to the service definition.

6. Click Save.

Adding a Rule to a Policy

A policy holds rules, or other policies. You can add rules to a policy by selecting one of the views associated with the policy.

To add a rule to a policy:

1. Click Policy on the context toolbar.

2. Select the required policy to display a Policy window.

3. From the Views section, select Policy and Rule List.

4. Click Add Rule to display the Rule Configuration Wizard window.

5. Select the rule type associated with the rule, and click Next.

6. Complete the rule details by specifying a rule name and at least one service trail definition, and by adding enabling trail definitions, or routing trails for aggregation purposes, if required.

   Enabling trail definitions are trail definitions available for routing this service. All instance trails that match the trail definitions in the Enabling trail definitions list are candidates for pathfinding unless they are ruled out by other policy rules.

   Aggregation is used to set concatenation rules for aggregated service demands.

   Click Next.

7. Check the Display new Rule box to list the rule in the policy and rule list view, or deselect the check box if you do not want to display it.

   Note:

   The order in which rules and policies appear in the table in the policy and rule list view defines the precedence of the rules; that is, the order in which they are implemented.

8. Click Save.

Adding a Policy to a Policy

Adding a policy to another policy is useful for grouping common rules for routing use.

To add a policy to a policy:

1. Click Policy on the context toolbar.

2. Select the required policy to display a Policy window.

3. From the Views section, select Policy and Rule List.

4. Click Add Policy to display the Policy window.

5. Search for and select the required policy, and click Select to list the rule in the policy and rule list view.

   Note:

   The order in which rules and policies appear in the table in the policy and rule list view defines the precedence of the rules; that is, the order in which they are implemented.

Designing and Assigning a Service Demand

A service demand is a request from a customer for a particular service over a particular route; for example: Customer A requires a business data service between Site A4 and Site A5.

To design a service demand, you perform the following tasks:

• Use the Trail Configuration Wizard to create a service trail. See "Creating Trails to Define the Network Connectivity of a Service".

• Use the Trail Routing Manager to determine path routing between Site A4 and Site A5. See "Using Trail Routing Manager to Determine Path Routing".

• Apply the required policies and rules to the service. See "Applying Policies and Rules to a Service".

• Select a valid routing solution. See "Selecting a Solution Displayed by Trail Routing Manager".

• Create and save the new service trail.

Creating Trails to Define the Network Connectivity of a Service

A service requires one or more trails to define its network connectivity. As with services and service definitions, each trail also requires a trail definition to define the type of trail to be built, principally whether the trail is structured or unstructured. If it is structured, a signal structure hierarchy can be defined.

To create trails, use the Trail Configuration Wizard. See "Creating a Trail".

Using Trail Routing Manager to Determine Path Routing

When using the Trail Configuration Wizard, use the trail routing step to find a path routing for the service between the specified sites.

This invokes the Trail Routing Manager. See "Routing Trails" for information on trail routing.

Applying Policies and Rules to a Service

When using the Trail Routing Manager, note the following options used to apply policies and rules to the service:

• Click View Policy to view, or edit the policy that is set for the service.

• Click Analyze to search for routed path solutions. The Trail Routing Manager takes the service demand and applies its policy to look for available solution paths between Site A4 and Site A5.

The Trail Routing Manager displays valid solutions for inspection.

Selecting a Solution Displayed by Trail Routing Manager

From the list of valid solutions displayed by Trail Routing Manager, you can choose one of the valid path routing options for the service trail.

See "Choosing the Routing Method" for information on selecting a routing solution.

Creating and Saving the New Service Trail

To create and save the new service trail, complete the trail details in the final step of the Trail Configuration Wizard.

Select Parent Hierarchy View to check that the trail was created with the correct parent trails. The parent trails have trail definitions that match the policy rule that was set.

Working with Service Views

The service object offers the following views:

• Customer Bandwidth View

• Child Trails

• Network Mesh View

• Service Definition

• Service Topology List

Using the Customer Bandwidth View

The Customer Bandwidth View lists each customer of this service, and the amount and type of bandwidth being used by each customer.

To generate the Customer Bandwidth View:

1. Click the Date Range tab.

2. Enter the dates for which the bandwidth view applies.

3. Click Apply to generate the report.

Displaying a Customer View

Double-click any customer in the generated report to display a customer view.

Using the Child Trails View

The Child Trails view is common to many supported objects in Network Intelligence. See "Using Object Type Trail Views" for information about this view.

Using the Network Mesh View

The Network Mesh View displays a logical topology view of all of the trails of the service with node connectivity.

There are two parts to this view, the mesh view and the trail list. The trail search filter is used by the Network Mesh View. See "Filtering View Data".

Using the Service Definition View

Use this view to see what service definition this service references.

You can use the service definition to view the policy and the set of rules constraints for the service.

Using the Service Topology List

The Service Topology List view displays a table of all topologies associated with this service.

Working with Service Object Group Views

To display the service object group view:

1. Click the object group view icon.

   A menu is displayed.

2. Select Service Network Mesh Report.

Using the Service Network Mesh Report

The Service Network Mesh Report displays a mesh view of the service network.

There are two parts to this view, the mesh view and the trail list. The trail search filter is used by the Network Mesh Report. See "Filtering View Data".

Using Routing Rules

A service policy is made up of one or more routing rules. A routing rule is a conditional constraint applied to Trail Routing Manager when looking for route solutions for a service demand.

Rules may be used; for example:

• To limit the scope of a search to specific network entities, such as a particular network equipment provider, or particular topology

• To define requirements such as the maximum number of hops a solution completes, or the use of physical strapping to build out the network

• To generate costs associated with routing solutions

Table 9-1 describes each rule, defines user options (whether the Enable check box is selected or deselected, for example), specifies whether the rule is mandatory for routing, and lists the defaults.

For further information on an using routing rules, see Network Intelligence Concepts.

Table 9-1 Routing Rule Definitions and Default Values

Rule Type	Rule Description	Mandatory for Routing?	Default
Service Trail Definitions Rule	Used to define the trail definitions used for a service and the capacity required. Also specifies the enabling trail definitions for the service trail definitions. Also enables aggregation configurations.	Yes	None, but this rule must be created for routing.
Start Termination Rule	Used to specify what type of start equipment, or card, or port, to use when looking for a path solution.	No	None
End Termination Rule	Used to specify what type of end equipment, or card, or port, to use when looking for a path solution.	No	None
Limit Rule	Used to limit the entities used in the routing solution.	No	None
Exclude Rule	Used to exclude entities from routing solutions.	No	None
Hub Rule	Defines a list of entities, at least one of which must be a transiting part of the routing solution.	No	None
Use Internal Hub Hops Rule	Used to allow the path solution to have at least one internal hop at any hub site.	No	Off
Path Routing Rule	Used to look for path routing. It should be set to On (the default) if path routing is required.	Yes, has a default value of On if the rule is not created.	On
Path Protection Rule	Used to look for a set of protected paths. If set, all valid paths can be displayed.	No	Off
Diversity Type Rule	Used to find a unique set of diverse paths between the start and end sites in a routing solution. The diversity may be for a trail (no two paths can share the same trail), or path (no two paths can be the same, that is, contain the same set of trails end to end). The Diversity Type Rule is always set when path protection is required.	Not Required Full Path Trail	Not Required
Comparison Operator Rules	Used to specify a constraint on a equipment or trail attribute.	No	None
Statistical Rule	Used to specify a constraint rule on an trail or equipment attribute. Statistical rules may be sum or average.	MEAN AVE SUM MAX MIN	None
Service Overbooking Rule	Used to specify the allowed rate of overbooking for a given service allowed when using network resources. This is used to model contention ratios and bandwidth reservation.	No	None
Physical Strapping Rule	Used to specify whether physical strapping is permitted in the route solution, and optionally, specifies the maximum numbers of straps.	No	Off
Topology Based Routing Rule	Used to find path solutions using topologies rather than trails.	No	Off
Display Failure Solutions Last Rule	Used to display failure solutions (if any) last on the list of solutions. A failure solution is a solution that has one or more parent trails that do not have enough bandwidth for the service demand.	No	Off
Consider Optimal Feasible Solution Only Rule	Used to return the optimal solution that satisfies the service demand.	No	On
Calculate Costs Rule	Used to calculate costs to be included in solutions. If Enable is not set, costs are not included, and default to zero. This setting affects any comparison rules, statistical rules, and weightings that contain costs.	No	Off
Maximum number of Solutions Rule	Used to specify the maximum number of solutions to return.	Yes. Has a default if this rule is not created.	200 (if the rule is not created).
Maximum Number of Possible Solutions During Processing Rule	Used to set the number of potential path solutions before processing and sorting.	Yes. Has a default if this rule is not created.	10000
Solution Search Timeout Rule	Used to specify the time in milliseconds that the path analysis process looks for path solutions for the parent policy (service).	No	120 seconds
Maximum number of Equipment hops Rule	Used to limit the number of equipment node hops used in the path solution process.	No	5
Maximum number of Site hops Rule	Used to limit the number of site hops used in the path solution process (a hop is a trail connection between two sites).	No	5
Maximum number of internal hops end Site Rule	Used to set the maximum number of hops allowed within the end site in a path solution. This allows all of the different terminating equipment options (that result from having internal trails in the end site) to be considered by Trail Routing Manager.	No	0
Maximum number of internal hops start Site Rule	Used to set the maximum number of hops allowed within the start site. This allows all different terminating equipment options (that result from having internal trails in the start site) to be considered by Trail Routing Manager.	No	0
Use Network Policies	Used for network policy routing, that is, applying separate policies to individual networks.	No	Off
Require Cross Connect Routing Rule	Used when trail routing solutions on the network are required to take account of cross connects. You can eliminate service routing solutions that cannot be implemented in the network due to equipment constraints, thereby improving plan implementation success rates.	No	Off

Assigning Precedence to Rules

If multiple rules of a particular type are assigned to a policy, the rule precedence is that the rule nearest the top of the list is executed first. You can change the order in which the rules are executed by using the up and down arrows at the bottom of the Policy and Rule List window.

Using Weightings

Weightings are used in Network Intelligence to assign relative importance to particular attributes.

Creating a Weighting

To create a weighting:

1. From the Policies and Rules panel of a policy, click Weightings.

2. Click Add to display the Constraint Detail window.

3. In the Constraint field, click the ellipsis button to display the Attribute screen.

   Perform the following steps to define the attribute:

   1. Enter the name of the attribute, or click Search to find it. Among the supported attributes are: fill, kilometer length, sequence number, total fixed costs, total number of equipment hops, total number of internal hops, total number of site hops, total number of straps, total recurring costs, jitter, maximum delay, and any extensible attributes that have been created in Network Intelligence.

      Extensible attributes exist only if they have been created as custom attributes as part of a telecom domain, or during implementation, as for example, when creating an equipment. See "Creating an Equipment".

      See Network Intelligence Developer's Guide for further information on creating and configuring extensible attributes.

   2. Select the attribute type: double, or integer.

   3. Choose from the associated entities: EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT and TRAIL; ROUTE_SOLUTION, or TRAIL.

4. Assign best and worst values to the constraint.

5. Select SUM or AVERAGE to determine how the weighting is calculated.

6. Use the slider to set the relative weight.

7. Click Save.

The weighting is added to the Weightings table. Double-click the weighting to edit it.

Using Associations

From the policy, you can view and select the following entities:

• Associated Service Definitions

• Associated Service Demands

• Associated Networks

Viewing an Association

To view an association; for example: an associated service definition:

1. From the Policies and Rules panel of a policy, click Associated Service Definitions to display the service definitions associated with the policy.

   Service definitions, service demands, and networks are defined by name and association type.

2. Double-click the associated entity to display its details.

   Click Edit to configure the entity, or click Delete to remove it from the application.