An evaluation framework for data modeling languages in network management domain

With rapid development of next generation networks, it is expected that a separate effort to study data modeling languages in the interest of network management should be undertaken. Based on a good understanding of the requirements of data modeling in next generation network management domain, evaluation on management data modeling languages becomes an essential way for the purpose of standardization to replace proprietary data models in the near future. This paper establishes a framework for evaluation to measure the capabilities of management data modeling languages in meeting those requirements by a set of criteria, which are modeling approaches, interoperability, readability, conformance, data representation, extensibility and security considerations. Usability of the proposed framework is validated by its application to compare existing management data modeling languages and the result shows that, SMIng is the language with best implementation of most criteria, while SMI and MOF/CIM are near SMIng capabilities.