Open APIs

In TMF641, is it possible to create a service whose service characteristics self-reference a service in the same order?

An example, I want to wrap a VM + Disk creating through TMF641 in any existing virtual infrastructure manager, let's say OpenStack, Azure or AWS.

The sender of the request needs to send a Disk ID to create a VM, but, the Disk may be created in the same order as the VM. There is no parent/child relationship between VM and Disk. Disks can also be created independently. It is more an aggregation relationship. A disk may be associated to 1 or 0 VMs. A VMs must have a disk.

I wonder if in the request I could have a value which is a self-reference to a service id that is still going to be created.

Best regards,

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Romano Silva
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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Hi Romano
As a rule, we have a RefOrValue pattern, that allows a containing/referring entity (such as ServiceOrder) to refer to another entity (such as Service) by value or by reference.
However, we don't have this pattern everywhere, and certainly not in your example of relationship between characteristics or between services.
One way of dealing this in your implementation of TMF641 would be that service order creation also creates a Service in the inventory, thus giving it an ID, but not actually starting the service order. In this way you will be able to have IDs that you can then update in the Service, and only when you have finished the cross-references actually give the service order a signal to start. This would probably require you to extend the API to provide a Submit or Start task.
Maybe @Ludovic Robert - as the lead focal in this area - could make additional suggestions.
Hope it helps​

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Jonathan Goldberg
Amdocs Management Limited
Any opinions and statements made by me on this forum are purely personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the TM Forum or my employer.
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