Guidelines for the Use of the "OAM" Acronym in the IETF
RFC 6291

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                      L. Andersson
Request for Comments: 6291                                      Ericsson
BCP: 161                                                 H. van Helvoort
Category: Best Current Practice                      Huawei Technologies
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                R. Bonica
                                                        Juniper Networks
                                                            D. Romascanu
                                                                   Avaya
                                                            S. Mansfield
                                                                Ericsson
                                                               June 2011

        Guidelines for the Use of the "OAM" Acronym in the IETF

Abstract

   At first glance, the acronym "OAM" seems to be well-known and well-
   understood.  Looking at the acronym a bit more closely reveals a set
   of recurring problems that are revisited time and again.

   This document provides a definition of the acronym "OAM" (Operations,
   Administration, and Maintenance) for use in all future IETF documents
   that refer to OAM.  There are other definitions and acronyms that
   will be discussed while exploring the definition of the constituent
   parts of the "OAM" term.

Status of This Memo

   This memo documents an Internet Best Current Practice.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   BCPs is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6291.

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Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2011 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
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   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
     1.1.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   2.  Pre-Existing Uses of OAM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
     2.1.  Uses of OAM in Other SDOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
       2.1.1.  The "O" in OAM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
       2.1.2.  The "A" in OAM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
       2.1.3.  The "M" in OAM  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
     2.2.  Uses of OAM in the IETF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
   3.  Recommendations on the Use of the "OAM" Acronym . . . . . . . . 5
   4.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
   5.  Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
   6.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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1.  Introduction

   The main purpose of this document is to provide a definition of the
   acronym "OAM" (Operations, Administration, and Maintenance) for use
   in all future IETF documents that refer to OAM.

   The acronym "OAM" is frequently used in the data and
   telecommunication industry.  One would assume that something that is
   so widely used is very clearly defined.  However, a closer look
   reveals some points that need to be clarified.

   If such an important piece of our technology is so poorly defined, or
   if there are dialects of the technology with different understandings
   of such a key concept, this will eventually cause problems.

   Trying to understand the use of an acronym that is as "content-rich"
   as OAM reveals two levels of complexity.  First, each letter in the
   acronym represents an integrated piece of functionality.  Second, the
   acronym, as such, represents something that is more than just the sum
   of its parts.

   There is also the issue of how each piece of the acronym is defined.
   This document provides an analysis of what each initial of the
   initialism represents and provides possible interpretations of the
   acronym.  Finally, a recommendation for the interpretation of the
   "OAM" acronym is provided.

   Another useful document to make the "OAM" term understandable in a
   wider scope is found in "An Overview of Operations, Administration,
   and Maintenance (OAM) Mechanisms" [OAM-OVERVIEW].

1.1.  Terminology

   o  "Mgmt" - Management

   o  O&M - OAM and Management

   o  OAM - Operations, Administration, and Maintenance

   o  SDO - Standards Development Organization

2.  Pre-Existing Uses of OAM

   This section provides information on how OAM is used in other SDOs
   (Standards Development Organizations) and provides the background
   necessary to understand the how the term is used in the IETF.

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2.1.  Uses of OAM in Other SDOs

   Operations And Maintenance (OAM): A group of network management
   functions that provide network fault indication, performance
   information, and data and diagnosis functions.  ATM OAM ITU-T I.610
   [ITU-T-I.610] is an example specification that uses this expansion of
   the "OAM" acronym.

   Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM): A group of network
   management functions that provide network fault indication, fault
   localization, performance information, and data and diagnosis
   functions.  Examples where this acronym is used are Clause 57 of IEEE
   802.3-2008 [IEEE.802.3-2008] and ITU-T Y.1731 [ITU-T-Y.1731].

   The ITU-T M.3010 [ITU-T-M.3010] Recommendation defines operations
   systems function as a function block that processes information
   related to the telecommunications management for the purpose of
   monitoring/coordinating and/or controlling telecommunication
   functions including management functions (i.e., the TMN
   (Telecommunications Management Network) itself).

   The Metro Ethernet Forum refers to OAM as the tools and utilities to
   install, monitor, and troubleshoot a network, helping carriers run
   their networks more effectively MEF 17 [MEF-17].

2.1.1.  The "O" in OAM

   The "O" in OAM invariably stands for "Operations".  However, there is
   some ambivalence in the definition and scope of the term "Operation".

   Examples of tools related to "operations" are performance monitoring
   tools used for service level agreement (SLA) measurement, fault
   management tools used to monitor the health of nodes and links in the
   network, and network provisioning tools.

2.1.2.  The "A" in OAM

   The "A" in OAM stands for "Administration".

   Examples of "administration" tools are network discovery and planning
   tools.

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2.1.3.  The "M" in OAM

   The "M" in OAM stands for "Maintenance" or "Management".

   Examples of "maintenance" tools are implementations of connectivity
   check, loopback, link trace, and other tools that can be used to
   monitor and diagnose failures in a network or network element.

   The Recommendation ITU-T M.20 [ITU-T-M.20] defines maintenance as the
   whole of operations required for setting up and maintaining, within
   prescribed limits, any element involved in the setting up of a
   connection (see the ITU-T M.60 [ITU-T-M.60] Recommendation).  The
   purpose is to properly plan and program the maintenance operations
   required to establish and maintain a network.

   A major aim of the concept of maintenance is to minimize both the
   occurrence and the impact of failures and to ensure that in case of a
   failure the correct actions are taken.

2.2.  Uses of OAM in the IETF

   The examples below show a number of different ways that the "OAM"
   acronym has been expanded in IETF RFCs.  The reference list is not
   exhaustive.

   o  OAM = Operations, Administration, and Maintenance in RFC 5586
      [RFC5586]

   o  OAM = Operations and Maintenance in RFC 3429 [RFC3429]

   o  OAM = Operations and Management in RFC 4377 [RFC4377]

   o  O&M = OAM and Maintenance in RFC 1812 [RFC1812]

   Sometimes there is a fourth letter added to the acronym:

   o  OAM&P = Operations, Administration, Maintenance and Provisioning
      in RFC 4594 [RFC4594]

3.  Recommendations on the Use of the "OAM" Acronym

   The IETF-recommended expansion of the "OAM" acronym is given below.
   In addition to the "OAM" acronym, two other recommendations are made
   in this section.

   o  OAM - Operations, Administration, and Maintenance

   o  O&M - OAM and Management

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   o  "Mgmt" - Management

   The components of the "OAM" acronym (and provisioning) are defined as
   follows:

   o  Operations - Operation activities are undertaken to keep the
      network (and the services that the network provides) up and
      running.  It includes monitoring the network and finding problems.
      Ideally these problems should be found before users are affected.

   o  Administration - Administration activities involve keeping track
      of resources in the network and how they are used.  It includes
      all the bookkeeping that is necessary to track networking
      resources and the network under control.

   o  Maintenance - Maintenance activities are focused on facilitating
      repairs and upgrades -- for example, when equipment must be
      replaced, when a router needs a patch for an operating system
      image, or when a new switch is added to a network.  Maintenance
      also involves corrective and preventive measures to make the
      managed network run more effectively, e.g., adjusting device
      configuration and parameters.

   "Provisioning" is outside the scope of this document, but the
   following definition is provided for completeness.

   o  Provisioning - Provisioning activities involve configuring
      resources in the network to support the offered services.  This
      might include setting up the network so that a new customer can
      receive an Internet access service.

   In general, Provisioning is used to configure the network to provide
   new services, whereas OAM is used to keep the network in a state that
   it can support already existing services.

   Sometimes it is necessary to talk about the combination of functions
   and tools supplied by OAM and Management, it is preferred that this
   is spelled out as "OAM and Management".  In cases where an acronym is
   needed, O&M should be used.

   "Mgmt" will be used if an abbreviation for "Management" is needed.
   This document does not define Management.

4.  Security Considerations

   This document provides guidance for the use of the "OAM" acronym in
   other documents.  This document does not have direct security
   implications.

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   The misunderstanding of an acronym may lead to incorrect
   specification or implementation which may, in turn, open up security
   concerns with protocols or deployed networks.  Clarifying the meaning
   of OAM is, therefore, a benefit for future stability of
   specifications.

5.  Acknowledgments

   The following individuals significantly contributed to this document.

   o  Malcolm Betts from M. C. Betts Consulting, Ltd.

   o  Kam Lam from Alcatel Lucent

   o  Dieter Beller from Alcatel Lucent

   o  David Harrington from Huawei Technologies

   Thanks to the experts of ITU-T SG 15 for their review and comments.

6.  Informative References

   [IEEE.802.3-2008]  IEEE, "Information technology - Telecommunications
                      and information exchange between systems - Local
                      and metropolitan area networks - Specific
                      requirements - Part 3: Carrier sense multiple
                      access with collision detection (CSMA/CD) access
                      method and physical layer specifications",
                      IEEE Standard 802.3, December 2008.

   [ITU-T-I.610]      International Telecommunication Union, "B-ISDN
                      operation and maintenance principles and
                      functions", ITU-T Recommendation I.610,
                      February 1999.

   [ITU-T-M.20]       International Telecommunication Union,
                      "Maintenance philosophy for telecommunication
                      networks", ITU-T Recommendation M.20,
                      October 1992.

   [ITU-T-M.3010]     International Telecommunication Union, "Principles
                      for a telecommunications management network", ITU-
                      T Recommendation M.3010, February 2000.

   [ITU-T-M.60]       International Telecommunication Union,
                      "Maintenance terminology and definitions", ITU-
                      T Recommendation M.60, March 1993.

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   [ITU-T-Y.1731]     International Telecommunication Union, "OAM
                      functions and mechanisms for Ethernet based
                      networks", ITU-T Recommendation Y.1731,
                      February 2008.

   [MEF-17]           Metro Ethernet Forum, "Service OAM Requirements &
                      Framework - Phase 1", MEF Technical Specification
                      MEF 17, April 2007.

   [OAM-OVERVIEW]     Mizrahi, T., Sprecher, N., Bellagamba, E., and Y.
                      Weingarten, "An Overview of Operations,
                      Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) Mechanisms",
                      Work in Progress, March 2011.

   [RFC1812]          Baker, F., "Requirements for IP Version 4
                      Routers", RFC 1812, June 1995.

   [RFC3429]          Ohta, H., "Assignment of the 'OAM Alert Label' for
                      Multiprotocol Label Switching Architecture (MPLS)
                      Operation and Maintenance (OAM) Functions",
                      RFC 3429, November 2002.

   [RFC4377]          Nadeau, T., Morrow, M., Swallow, G., Allan, D.,
                      and S. Matsushima, "Operations and Management
                      (OAM) Requirements for Multi-Protocol Label
                      Switched (MPLS) Networks", RFC 4377,
                      February 2006.

   [RFC4594]          Babiarz, J., Chan, K., and F. Baker,
                      "Configuration Guidelines for DiffServ Service
                      Classes", RFC 4594, August 2006.

   [RFC5586]          Bocci, M., Vigoureux, M., and S. Bryant, "MPLS
                      Generic Associated Channel", RFC 5586, June 2009.

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Authors' Addresses

   Loa Andersson
   Ericsson

   EMail: loa.andersson@ericsson.com

   Huub van Helvoort
   Huawei Technologies

   EMail: huub.van.helvoort@huawei.com

   Ron Bonica
   Juniper Networks

   EMail: rbonica@juniper.net

   Dan Romascanu
   Avaya

   EMail: dromasca@avaya.com

   Scott Mansfield
   Ericsson

   EMail: scott.mansfield@ericsson.com

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