Working with Services and Service Configurations

7 Working with Services and Service Configurations

Service entities and their service configurations represent how resources in your inventory are used to deliver products to customers.

Service entities store the basic information that is unlikely to change, such as the service name and description.
Service configurations capture the details about the resources used by the service. As the facts about a service change over time, new versions of the service configuration can be created.

Service entities share many of the same features as other entities. You can control the service life cycle, associate parties and places, and validate the service's content. See "Managing Entity Life Cycles", "Adding the First Version of a Configuration to an Entity", "Associating Places to Entities", and "Validating Entities and Entity Configurations" for more information. You can also assign conditions to services and reserve them.

UIM includes specialized functionality for network-oriented services that support packet connectivity. For example, UIM supports Carrier Ethernet services. See About Network-Oriented Services for more information.

See the following topics for more information about working with service entities and service configurations:

About Service Configurations

You can create configurations for Service entities. Using configurations enables you to create new versions as a service evolves over time.

Service configurations have the same features and functionality as other configurations. You can assign or reference resources and maintain characteristics. If auto-assignment rulesets have been defined for the service, you can automatically assign or reference required resources.

In some cases, service configurations can be created automatically. You can configure UIM so that when there is only a single Service Configuration specification associated with a Service specification, a configuration version is created automatically when you create a service. See UIM Concepts and UIM System Administration Guide for more information.

Unlike other types of configurations, service configurations include a topology diagram. Also, unlike other types of configurations, non-network services can have multiple pending configurations. See UIM Concepts for more information.

See the following topics for more information about working with service configurations:

About Service and Service Configuration Topology

You can view the topology of a service or a service configuration.

Note:

Network-oriented services do not use the service topology feature. Because network-oriented services are always associate with a service network, you view the topology of the network instead. See "About Network-Oriented Services" for more information.

If you view the topology of the service, it reflects the current configuration. If you view the topology of a specific configuration, it reflects the content of that configuration.

The topology is displayed graphically, with icons representing resources assigned to configuration items. The following resources are shown in the Topology page by default:

Custom object
Equipment
Logical device
Network
Physical device
Place (site or location only)

Physical ports and connectors in the service are represented by an icon for the equipment or physical device in which they are located. Device interfaces are represented by an icon for their parent logical devices. Pipes are represented by lines that connect resources.

Note:

In most cases, the Topological View page shows only resources that are included in the current service or service configuration. If one of the resources is the termination point of a pipe, however, the other termination point is also shown even if it is not part of the service or service configuration.

The service topology functionality can be extended to include additional entity types. See UIM Developer's Guide for more information about extending topology features.

The Topological View page includes a canvas area where the diagram is displayed. The page has a number of tools that enable you to control the topological display, including a toolbar, an overview section, and an information section. See "Topological View Page" for more information about the fields in this page.

Related Topics

About Service Configurations

Viewing the Service or Service Configuration Topology

You can view service and service configuration topologies to identify the resources assigned or referenced to configuration items.

To view the service or service configuration topology:

Open a Service Summary or Service Configuration Summary page.
From the Related Pages menu, select View in Topology. (This command is visible only for services with the Network Oriented Service Type set to None.)

The Topological View page appears. The canvas displays icons for assigned resources. If no resources have been assigned, the display is blank. See "Topological View Page" for more information about the fields in this page.
(Optional) Click Refresh.

You can refresh the diagram to include any changes made to the service after the diagram was opened.

Related Topics

About Service Configurations

About Service and Service Configuration Topology

Viewing Service and Service Configuration Information in Map View

You can view service and service configuration design in a map from the Map View page. The Map View page for a Service or Service Configuration uses the default settings present in topologyProcess.properties file.

To open the Map View page and view the service or service configuration design on a map:

Open the Summary page of the Service or Service Configuration entity for which you want to view the map view.
From the Related Pages menu, select Map View.

The Map View page appears.

Note:
Open the Topology page by selecting View Topology from the Related Pages menu before you open the Map View page, to view the Service and Service Configuration information in Map View.
Use the Map View page to view the end-to-end path and the corresponding details of the service or service configuration.

See "Map View Page" for more information.

Note:
You cannot make any changes to the service or service configuration from the Map View page, but you can use tools to control the map display.
Double-click on any location in the map to view the corresponding latitude and longitude coordinates.

Getting Information About Edges in the Map View

Working with Map Profiles

About Network-Oriented Services

UIM supports network-oriented services that include multipoint and point-to-point connectivity. For example, the Carrier Ethernet cartridge includes specifications for E-Line, E-LAN, and E-Tree services. Each of these Service specifications is accompanied by a matching Service Configuration specification.

Note:

Network service configurations have a different life cycle from those of other service configurations. They do not have to be complete before the creation of a new configuration.

Multipoint and rooted multipoint service arrangements, such as E-Tree services, comprise a parent or network service along with two or more member services. There is a separate member service for each service location. A service network, which specifies the devices and connectivities that fulfill the service, provides a unified view of the arrangement. This service network is automatically created when you create the service.

Point-to-point service arrangements do not require separate network and member services. A single service, such as an E-Line service, represents the entire arrangement. The service configuration includes items for service locations and other required resources.

See Configuring Network-Oriented Services for information about how you assign and reference the resources required for network-oriented services.

Configuring Network-Oriented Services

You specify the resources required for a network service by assigning and referencing them as configuration items in the service configuration. See "Working with Entity Configurations" for information about working with configurations in general.

UIM automates some configuration operations for network-oriented services under certain circumstances. This automation relies on the definition of specifications as Network Services and Member Services in Design Studio.

When you create an entity based on a Service specification that has been defined as a network service, UIM automatically creates a service network and assigns it to the Service configuration.
When you assign a member service to the service configuration, UIM automatically populates the service network configuration and topology with data from the member service. This information, including the service location and the PVN, is gathered from the Service connectivity. If no connectivity has been assigned, then the data is not added to the network configuration and topology. When the connectivity is assigned, however, the data is added automatically.
The service network assigned to the network service is updated automatically as you make configuration changes. For example, if you make a change to a member service assigned to the network service, that change is automatically reflected in the service network.

Service - New Page

You use the Service - New page to create new services.

Note:

The fields that appear on this page are determined by the specification used to create the entity. The specification is created in Design Studio. The fields in the following table are common to most specifications of this type.

Field	Description
Specification	Select a specification to use to define the new service.
Name	Enter the name of the new service.
ID	This field displays AUTOGENERATE and is read only. By default, most entity specifications are defined in Design Studio so that IDs are generated automatically.
Description	(Optional) Enter a description of the new service.

Related Topics

Service Summary Page

Creating Entities

Searching for Entities

Service - Information Page

You use the Service - Information page to edit the information that appears in the Summary page Information section. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the entity is created.

Note:

Field	Description
Specification	Displays the specification used to define the service. This field is read only.
Name	Edit the name of the new service.
ID	Displays the ID generated for the entity. This field is read only.
Description	Edit the description of the service.
Network Oriented Service Type	Displays the network oriented service type defined in the specification of this entity: None. (Default) This is not a network-oriented service or is a point-to-point network service. Network. This is the parent service in a network-oriented service arrangement. For example, in an E-LAN service arrangement, a service of this type represents the network as a whole. Member. This is a member service in a network-oriented service arrangement. A separate member service is created for each service location in the arrangement. All member services have a Network service parent and appear as configuration items in the parent Service configuration.
Arrangement	(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The cooperation model for the entity as defined by the parties or systems exchanging entity data.
Entity Name	(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The name of the entity in the context specified in the Other System field.
Entity ID	(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The identifier of the entity. This identifier is unique in the context specified in the Other System field.
Other System	(Visible only in data cooperation scenarios.) The external system or domain that is participating in the data cooperation.

Related Topics

Service Summary Page

Creating Entities

Searching for Entities

Service Summary Page

You use the Service Summary page to define the content for a service.

See the following topics for more information about summary pages:

Note:

The sections listed in the following table are specific to the Service Summary page. See "Entity Summary Page" for information about Summary page fields that are common among all entities.

Section	Description
Information	Displays basic information about the entity, most of which was defined when you created the entity. Click Edit to change this information. See "Service - New Page" and "Creating Entities" for more information.
Configurations	Displays the configurations defined for the Service entity. You can define configurations to version implementation details. For example, when you add a new VPN site to an MPLS VPN service, you can create a new version of the service configuration to reflect the change. The fields that appear in the Configurations section are common among multiple entities. See "Entity Summary Page" for more information. See "Adding the First Version of a Configuration to an Entity" and "Adding Additional Configuration Versions" for information about creating configurations.
Parties	Displays any parties that are associated with the Service entity. You can associate parties to services to identify related individuals or organizations. If the parties have roles assigned to them, you can specify the role that is relevant to the association. The fields that appear in the Parties section are common among multiple entities. See "Entity Summary Page" for more information. See "Associating Parties to Entities" and "Deleting Party Associations from Entities" for information about managing party associations.
Places	Displays any places that are associated to the service. The association can imply that the service is completed at the place or that there is some kind of relationship between the entities. The fields that appear in the Places section are common among multiple entities. See "Entity Summary Page" for more information. See "Associating Places to Entities" for information about creating new place associations.

Service Configuration Information - New Version Page

You use the Service Configuration Information - New Version page to create new service configurations.

Note:

Field	Description
Specification	Select a Service Configuration specification to use for the new configuration version. See UIM Concepts for more information about configuration specifications.
ID	Enter a unique ID for the configuration or accept the default. The default value is based on the ID of the parent service with an incremented version number.
Name	Enter a name for the configuration or accept the default. The default value is based on the name of the parent service with an incremented version number.
Previous Configuration	Displays the version number of the previous configuration, if any. If you are creating the first configuration version, this value is 0.
Version	Displays the sequential version number of the configuration you are creating.
Start Date	Enter the date and time at which the configuration will become active. If this Service Configuration is in the context of a business interaction, then the start date field is populated from the effective date value in the associated business interaction. Note: You can create multiple configurations on the same day with different timestamp values.

Related Topics

About Service Configurations

Working with Entity Configurations

Working with Multiple Pending Configurations

Service Configuration Page

You use the Service Configuration page to define the content for a service configuration.

See the following topics for more information about tasks you can complete in Service Configuration pages:

Note:

The sections listed in the following table are specific to the Service Configuration page. See "Entity Summary Page" for information about features that are common among all entities.

Section	Description
Information	Displays basic information about the configuration, most of which was defined when you created the entity. Click Edit to change this information. Some data elements, such as the ID, cannot be changed after the configuration is created. The Edit button is available only until the configuration is completed or canceled.
Configuration Items	Displays configuration items associated with the configuration. See "Adding Configuration Items" for information about adding new configuration items.
Business Interactions	Lists the business interactions that include the service configuration. See "Working with Business Interactions" for more information.

Service Configuration Information Page

You use the Service Configuration Information page to modify a service configuration. This page is available only before the configuration is completed.

Note:

Field	Description
Specification	Displays the name of the specification used to create the configuration. See UIM Concepts for more information about configuration specifications.
ID	Modify the ID for the configuration. The default value is based on the ID of the parent service with an incremented version number.
Name	Modify the name of the configuration. The default value is the same as the ID.
Previous Configuration	Displays the version number of the previous configuration, if any. If you are creating the first configuration version, this value is 0.
Version	Displays the sequential version number of the configuration you are creating.
Start Date	Modify the date and time at which the configuration will become active. If the configuration is associated to a business interaction then the start date must be the same date and time as the effective date on the business interaction. If you change the effective date and time the change is reflected automatically in the start date.

Related Topics

About Service Configurations

Working with Entity Configurations

Working with Multiple Pending Configurations