Manager-Agent and Remote Operation: Two Key Patterns for Network Management
Interfaces

authors:

Jean Tessier, Rudolf K. Keller

contact:

Rudolf K. Keller

Département d'informatique et de recherche opérationnelle
Université de Montréal
C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Canada
voice: (514) 343-6782, fax: (514) 343-5834
e-mail: {tessier, keller}@iro.umontreal.ca
www: http://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~keller


Abstract

Developing network management interfaces (NMIs) is a challenging task
involving multiple software layers, application programming interfaces (APIs),
specification languages and tools. In order to ease the job of NMI developers,
we have developed Layla, a prototype application framework supporting Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) NMIs. Layla is based on a heterogeneous yet
coherent system of design patterns that includes previously published
patterns, new patterns projected from NMI standards and a couple of
Layla-specific patterns relevant in Layla's API. The paper gives a brief
overview of the pattern language underlying the Layla framework and details
and discusses two key patterns of the pattern language, the Manager-Agent and
the Remote Operation patterns. The former pattern captures the regrouping of
resources under the supervision and control of a responsible entity, whereas
the latter encompasses clients that need to invoke operations on remote
objects as if they were local.

Keywords: Network Management Interface, API (Application Programming
Interface), OSI (Open Systems Interconnection), Manager-Agent Pattern, Remote
Operation Pattern, Layla.