Service Availability Forum
Encyclopedia
The Service Availability Forum (SAF or SA Forum) is a consortium
that develops, publishes, educates on and promotes open specifications for carrier-grade and mission-critical systems. SA Forum specifications enable faster development and deployment of commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) ecosystem
s for highly available platforms. It was formed in 2001.
Key principles of service availability:
The traditional definitions of high availability have their roots in hardware systems where redundancy of equipment was the primary mechanism for achieving uptime over a specific period. As software has come to dominate the landscape, the probability of failure is often much higher for applications than it is for hardware and so these concepts have been extended encompass an overall view of service availability where downtime, irrespective of its cause, is an exceptionally rare event. Services and applications should always be available, whether it is during abnormal system operation, scheduled maintenance, or software upgrade, for example.
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
that develops, publishes, educates on and promotes open specifications for carrier-grade and mission-critical systems. SA Forum specifications enable faster development and deployment of commercial off-the-shelf
Commercial off-the-shelf
In the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
(COTS) ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s for highly available platforms. It was formed in 2001.
Service availability
Service availability is an extension of high availability, referring to services that are available regardless of hardware, software or user fault.Key principles of service availability:
- Redundancy - "backup" capability in case of need to failoverFailoverIn computing, failover is automatic switching to a redundant or standby computer server, system, or network upon the failure or abnormal termination of the previously active application, server, system, or network...
due to a fault - Stateful and seamless recovery from failures
- Minimization of mean time to repair (MTTR) - time to restore service after an outage
- Fault prediction & avoidance - take action before something fails
The traditional definitions of high availability have their roots in hardware systems where redundancy of equipment was the primary mechanism for achieving uptime over a specific period. As software has come to dominate the landscape, the probability of failure is often much higher for applications than it is for hardware and so these concepts have been extended encompass an overall view of service availability where downtime, irrespective of its cause, is an exceptionally rare event. Services and applications should always be available, whether it is during abnormal system operation, scheduled maintenance, or software upgrade, for example.
COTS ecosystem
SA Forum supports a COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) business model for uninterrupted service availability, application portability and seamless integration. Collaborating industry organizations include the following:- CP-TA (Communications Platforms Trade AssociationCommunications Platforms Trade AssociationThe Communications Platforms Trade Association is a global organization of communications platform and building block providers dedicated to accelerating the adoption of SIG-governed, open specification-based communications platforms through interoperability certification...
): ensure interoperability on xTCA platforms. - PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group): develop open specifications that adapt PCI technology for use in high-performance telecommunications and industrial computing applications.
- SCOPE AllianceSCOPE AllianceThe SCOPE Alliance is a non-profit industry alliance aiming at accelerating the deployment of carrier grade base platforms for service provider applications...
: enable and promote the availability of open carrier grade base platforms based on COTS hardware / software and Free and open-source software (FOSS) building blocks, and to promote interoperability between such components. - The Linux Foundation: promote, protect, and standardize Linux by providing unified resources and services needed for open source to successfully compete with closed platforms.
Specifications
Specifications for carrier-grade service availability include:- Hardware Platform Interface (HPI)
- Application Interface Specification (AIS)
- Mapping Specifications
- Java Mapping Specifications
- HPI-to-AdvancedTCA Mapping Specifications
Educational resources
The SA Forum free educational materials enable self-guided training the SA Forum specifications:- Application Webcasts
- Tutorials
- Whitepapers
Members
Member companies represent all levels of the ecosystem:- Hardware vendors
- Firmware vendors
- Operating system vendors
- Middleware providers
- Application providers
- Network equipment providers
- Integrators
- Academic institutions
See also
- Service availabilityService availabilityService availability is an extension of high availability that implies a service is always available regardless of hardware, software or user fault.Key principles of service availability:...
- High availabilityHigh availabilityHigh availability is a system design approach and associated service implementation that ensures a prearranged level of operational performance will be met during a contractual measurement period....
- Commercial off-the-shelfCommercial off-the-shelfIn the United States, Commercially available Off-The-Shelf is a Federal Acquisition Regulation term defining a nondevelopmental item of supply that is both commercial and sold in substantial quantities in the commercial marketplace, and that can be procured or utilized under government contract...
- Advanced Telecommunications Computing ArchitectureAdvanced Telecommunications Computing ArchitectureAdvanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture is the largest specification effort in the history of the PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group , with more than 100 companies participating. Known as AdvancedTCA, the official specification designation PICMG 3.x was ratified by the PICMG...
(ATCA) - Communications Platforms Trade AssociationCommunications Platforms Trade AssociationThe Communications Platforms Trade Association is a global organization of communications platform and building block providers dedicated to accelerating the adoption of SIG-governed, open specification-based communications platforms through interoperability certification...
- PICMGPICMGThe PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group is a consortium of over 227 companies. The group, founded in 1994, was originally formed to adapt PCI technology for use in high-performance telecommunications, military and industrial computing applications but its work has now grown to include...
- SCOPE AllianceSCOPE AllianceThe SCOPE Alliance is a non-profit industry alliance aiming at accelerating the deployment of carrier grade base platforms for service provider applications...
- The Linux Foundation
- OpenSAFOpensafOpenSAF is an Open Source Project established to develop High Availability middleware consistent with specifications, under the LGPLv2.1 license. The OpenSAF Foundation was established by leading Communications and Enterprise Computing Companies to facilitate the OpenSAF Project and to accelerate...
- Hardware Platform InterfaceHardware Platform InterfaceThe Hardware Platform Interface is an open specification that defines an application programming interface for platform management of computer systems...
- Application Interface SpecificationApplication Interface SpecificationThe Application Interface Specification is a collection of open specifications that define application programming interfaces of the most required common functionality for building high availability applications. It is developed and published by the Service Availability Forum and made freely...