This chapter describes how to use custom network addresses and custom objects in Oracle Communications Unified Inventory Management (UIM). These entities enable you to model different kinds of resources without having to write custom code.
A network address is a name, label, or number identifying a location in storage or a device in a system or network. Several kinds of network addresses are modeled by default in UIM: telephone numbers, logical device accounts, and IP addresses.
You can create Custom Network Address entities in UIM to model network addresses that are not included by default in UIM. For example, you may need to include Custom Network Address entities for Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) or VPN IDs.
Custom network addresses are externally-enabled. As a result, UIM allows another application to own the entity; UIM creates a reference to the external application. For more information on the federation topic, see UIM Developer's Guide.
You can build your own custom objects in UIM to represent entities that do not fit into any of the predefined categories. Using custom objects enables you to create solutions for specific business requirements. For example, you can create a custom object to define a protocol or policy such as quality of service standards or static routes. Custom objects are used to model quality of service requirements and bandwidth profiles in the Carrier Ethernet and Packet sample cartridges.
You can define characteristics to describe a custom object, you can create involvements with other entities, you can create consumption concepts such as assignments, you can include it in a business interaction, and you can create behaviors using rulesets and extension points.
You can create a custom object with or without a specification. To further describe the object with characteristics, you must define a Custom Object specification in Design Studio. Creating custom objects in UIM enables you to extend the inventory model without having to create a custom schema or redeploy UIM. All the standard features are available for custom objects. UIM manages the life cycle of custom objects the same way it manages other entities.
Custom objects are externally-enabled. As a result, UIM allows another application to own the entity; UIM creates a reference to the external application. For more information on the federation topic, see UIM Developer's Guide.