4.5 Management Function (MnF) concept

28.5333GPPArchitecture frameworkManagement and orchestrationRelease 17TS

A Management Function (MnF) is a logical entity playing the roles of MnS consumer and/or MnS producer.

A Management Service produced by MnF may have multiple consumers. The MnF may consume multiple Management Services from one or multiple Management Service producers. An example of a MnF playing both roles (Management Service producer and consumer) illustrated in the figure 4.5.1 below.

Figure 4.5.1: Example of Management Function and Management Services

Management Function can be deployed as a separate entity or embedded in Network Function to provide MnS(s). Following figure 4.5.2 shows an example (on the left) which MnF deployed as a separate entity to provide MnS(s) and another example (on the right) which MnF is embedded in Network Function to provide MnS(s):

Figure 4.5.2 Examples of MnS deployment scenario

Management Functions may interact by consuming Management Services produced by other Management Functions. The figure 4.6.2 below illustrates multiple scenarios:

– MnF1 produces Management Service MnS-a;

– MnF2 consumes Management Service MnS-a produced by MnF1 and produces Management Services MnS-b and MnS-c;

– MnF3 produces Management Service MnS-c;

– MnF4 consumes Management Service MnS-b produced by the MnF2;

– MnF5 consumes Management Services MnS-c produced by the MnF2 and MnF3, and in turn produces the same Management Service MnS-c. The behaviour of MnF5 may be seen as aggregation of Management Services MnS-c.

Figure 4.5.2: An example of interactions between Management Functions

NOTE: The specification of a MnF is out of scope of the present document.