IRTF NMRG - Netwwork Management Research Group

Scope

As stated in its charter [1], the Network Management Research Group (NMRG) provides a forum for researchers to explore new technologies for the management of the Internet. In particular, the NMRG focuses its work on solutions for problems that are not yet considered well understood enough for engineering work within the IETF. Within the last years the NMRG has established itself as a major contributor to emerging IETF standards that led to the evolution of the management architectures, models and protocols of the future Internet among which Netconf, evolutions of SNMP security and IPFIX.

Opportunities for UniverSelf

Several partners of UniverSelf are active participating members of the NMRG (INRIA and UT). Through its involvement in the NMRG activities UniverSelf will be able to better promote its achievements and facilitate their acceptance within the IETF community. Moreover, UniverSelf arrives at the right period where a wave is growing within the IETF, rethinking some major architectural elements of the Internet management plane. UniverSelf’s vision can influence this thinking and contribute the definition of a new management plane for the future Internet.

Timeline

As an IRTF entity, the NMRG has a mid-to long term activity vision. For a starting activity, first draft to be fed within the IETF can be envisioned in an 18 to 24 months period. Meanwhile, both UT and INRIA will contribute to the NMRG through their participation in dedicated workshops addressing the coupling of self-management features with IETF based protocols and practices.