NAKINA NI-Framework
How can a service provider balance agility with security? Moving OA&M activities onto a secure, scalable, and robust platform eliminates many of the common sources of security problems and configuration errors.
The NI-Framework is Nakina's platform for element abstraction. A full suite of management applications that have been field proven with some of the world's largest carriers ensure that NI Framework can provide consistent, accurate, and secure support for applications such as:
- NI-Guardian - Centralized Identity Management and Single Sign On
- NI-Collector - Inventory Discovery and Reconciliation
- NI-Controller - Gold Standard Configuration Audits
- As well as a full suite of FCAPS applications: Equipment configuration, Fault Management, Performance data collection, configuration backup and restore, Software upgrade, etc.
- A full Network Operations console integrating visualizations for Fault in the context of topology as well as Shelf level Graphics capabilities.
Each of these applications requires access to NE data, as well as workflow, logging, reporting, data abstraction, and application development support that is:
- Secure: The people and systems who are working on the network get access to only the resources the are entitled to.
- Agile: New capabilities need be brought online at any time.
- Scalable: On an all IP network, any unmanaged device is a potential security threat.
- Robust: The system has to provide ubiquitous access. High availability ensures that the carrier is able to work without alternative access strategies
Nakina's NI-Framework has a full set of application development API's that allow specific management applications to leverage these platform capabilities quickly. NI-Framework has been used by Nakina's development partners to address applications as diverse as:
- fully automated commissioning and provisioning
- software installation and application distribution
- full FCAPS management
NI-Framework also supports standards based integration interfaces including SQL, Java, Web Services, SNMP and MTOSI. This means that NI-Framework can exchange data with other OSS and BSS applications using whatever interfaces are required.
Network Element support can be added at run time to the NI-Framework. This is done by using the wizard based adapter SDK to model device capabilities and create a hot-pluggable adapter that makes these capabilities available without requiring system maintenance windows or restarts. That means adding support for new Network Element types can be done anytime, now or in the future with new network element types that may not be currently being deployed.
The Network Operations console portion of the NI-Framework is an integrated launch facility for direct network element access through native interfaces, for any form of Craft Interface GUI (Client or web Client) or for other Element Management or OSS systems. Nakina's security capabilities ensure that a given user is only allowed to access devices and systems if authorized and all authorized sessions are fully logged.
NI-Framework ensures that managed elements are available to the appropriate systems and operators with in a highly available, secure, scalable environment.
More details on Nakina's NI-Framework optional subcomponents: