Subject: Use of TINA for IP and of the Service Session in IETF'PINT

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 98 10:22:55 +0200

Hi Gilles,
     I very much appreciated your submission to the PINT Group.
     I would like to give a help to it if it is not too late.
     Could you contact me and discuss it? - see coordinates at the end of 
     the mail.
     
     I read a lot of now-old informations in the comments to your TINA 
     proposal issued by your colleagues. I understand the TINA concepts 
     generated some kind of hot counter-reaction.
     
     Let me correct a few items of discussion:
     TINA is not a "all or nothing" approach; it is a library of 
     specifications out of which one chooses and profiles a sub-part, 
     according to one's own needs.
     A lot of scattered usage has been done, and publicity remains 
     unsufficient, I agree.
     
     You know that SPRINT has applied a part of TINA to its large VPN long 
     distance network. This is an operational large deployment. 
     
     As another example, SAFARI that should be visible in the Telecom 
     Geneva exhibition (is visible already at the SAFARI members sites), 
     demonstrates how the same service software can run, just changing 
     "stubs" from Internet into ATM and vice-versa; the services 
     "seamlessly" transfered from HTTP/IP sessions environment to ATM/calls 
     and connections are: classical Web, visioconference and chatting/mail 
     services. This meets a very hot challenge, which is how to re-use the 
     large library of telephony and mobile services into the new IP world. 
     
     May I stress the comparison of Sofware lines of code and of time to 
     develop for a client/server telecom application using TINA, or 
     applying a functional design with coding in C/Unix. Conclusion like in 
     the SPOT network was that this development by 2 telecom manufacturers 
     with the TINA based service software needed about 2 man month 
     development to be ready, compared to about 8 man month on the 
     functional approach. It is mainly due to the Object Orientation 
     paradygm with predefined templates. 
     
     No doubt the protocols like HTTP, SS7 and Q931 will remain for long as 
     they are on the functional approach; meanwhile, most application 
     developers use Object Orientation to design and code the services on 
     the terminals and servers above these protocol interfaces, either on 
     Web sites/IP routers, or on Telecom servers/switches. A good part of 
     the OO development cost efficiency and sturdyness comes from the IDL 
     automatic generation of Interfaces; Thus, CORBA/IDL is used whether 
     you need or not to distribute the server. This is why the TINA 
     GDMO-to-CORBA, SS7/INAP-to-CORBA... stack interworkings are so 
     popular, as well as for JAVA. The TINA information modelling concepts 
     and protocol mapping rules when ready have been adopted from TINA in 
     NMF, ATM-F, OMG and ITU-T. We have approached WWW and IETF as early as 
     94,and have been continuously involved in the MMUSIC group since the 
     start. We expect to get more TINA concepts introduced in standards by 
     98/99.
     
     This growing interest for TINA can be explained by the TINA profiling 
     effort, and by the OO/Corba awareness in most fora.
      -->> We propose to provide the lightweight Service Session following 
     your needs.
     
     ---------
     Early 98, TINA has changed from a Consortium to a Forum. The new Forum 
     is concentrating in the specs profiling for the typical IP and telecom 
     applications. There are more members, and the Forum is integrating 
     more and more universities and Internet oriented members.
     The specs are public, I apologize if you did not find everything on 
     the server. There is a review process to publish stabilized specs more 
     than drafts, so that there may be a delay between members knowledge, 
     and public knowledge for a few month.
     
     ------------ 
     
     I invite you and your colleagues from the IETF/PINT group to come to 
     the TINA week in Heidelberg on OCTOBER 26-30: at the Wednesday morning 
     Session on 
     "Best Signalling scheme over H323 and How to open the IP Routing 
     intelligence to external Service control " 
     (in short: how to make a fully featured voice telecom network, only 
     using Internet), 
     and at the "TINA for Dummies" session of the Wednesday afternoon.
     
     -------------
     All major telecom operators, vendors, and IT vendors should be 
     present.
     Attached is the invitation from Eurescom, which kindly hosts and 
     organizes the meeting.
     
     *As Giuseppe did an excellent publicity for Heidelberg, it may help 
     your decision...

     The rest of the week is open to members and to-become-members guests 
     only. 
     
     TINA Membership is not a financial burden: $5000 for companies and 
     $1000 for universities and institutes. Active members contribute to 
     the workgroups and architecture board. Less active members can get the 
     information,just reading the mails and attending the 3/year Technical 
     Fora.
     
     The yearly TINA Conference, that Giuseppe Ricagni attended in 
     Heidelberg in 97, is open to anyone. Next one is in Hawaii on April 
     12-16th, 1999. More information to be available on it from Deb Guha 
     end of this year.

     I would be happy to welcome new members-to-be, so please contact me, 
     or Hendrik Berndt, or Deb Guha, if you have some interest: I join 
     their e-mail and phone numbers for further discussions.
     
     --------
     
     Martine Lapierre
     TINA President
     [email-masked]
     tel + 33 1 30 77 00 32
     Alcatel Switching System Division 
     Product and Marketing Vice President.
     
     [email-masked]
     tel + 1 732 450 20 65
     TINA Chief Technical Officer
     
     [email-masked]
     tel + 1 732 450 20 61
     TINA Chief Executive Officer