Technology Leaders Release Service Modeling Language (SML)

Technology Leaders Release New Specification to Simplify IT Management

Common Goal to Provide Standard for Describing System Information in XML Format

BEA, BMC, Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Sun today announced they have published a draft of a new specification that defines a consistent way to express how computer networks, applications, servers and other IT resources are described -- or modeled - in extensible markup language (XML) so businesses can more easily manage the services which are built on these resources.

As a result of joint collaboration, the open, industry-wide specification defines a common language for expressing information about IT resources and services. Called the Service Modeling Language (SML), the specification enables a hierarchy of IT resource models to be created from reusable building blocks, rather than requiring custom descriptions of every service - reducing costs and system complexity for customers. The group plans to submit the draft specification to an industry standards organization later this year.

SML addresses a growing industry need as a result of the numerous ways to represent the same IT resource. Besides being inefficient, the use of different formats leads to two problems. First, because the tools and management applications use different formats, they don't speak the same language. Therefore, the information must be translated, which can lead to technical details being lost or misinterpreted. Second, the use of different formats may require IT architects to use written descriptions or sketches to convey information about resources. Such descriptions must then be translated into a form that tools and management applications can consume, which is a manual, error-prone process.

SML has two unique properties that make it well-suited for modeling IT resources and services: support for rich constraints and alignment with XML message exchange architectures. SML allows developers to build modeling information for applications, devices and services that can be used during all stages of the application or service lifecycle including configuration, problem, change and release management. They are also useful for tactical processes such as service level, availability and capacity management. The SML specification will provide simplicity, integration and compatibility throughout this lifecycle for all components of an IT environment.

This common modeling language is an important step in simplifying IT management in multi-vendor environments, providing a way for information to be shared across diverse tools and applications. Constructing a complete picture of the IT environment out of a series of reusable building blocks, rather than requiring a fully custom description of every service, is key. It reduces both the cost and complexity associated with delivering the levels of service and responsiveness businesses need from IT today while increasing a business' IT agility: its ability to adapt its IT in time to meet changing needs.

In addition to the publication of the SML specifications, the companies also announced their intent to explore development of a library of core models to describe generic resources such as network elements, operating systems, storage devices, desktops, server systems, web servers, a directory service and more. With an agreed standard library of definition for this core set of resources and services, every vendor would be able to establish the generic nature of, and relationship between, every component comprising a specific IT service without prior knowledge of the objects that make up that service.