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March 1, 2004

IN THIS ISSUE:

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
Roger Ward Reports on the MSF Technical Committee Meeting in Singapore (January 2004)

Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Having thought I was finished with celebrating Christmas & New Year at the beginning of January, it came as quite a shock to be thrown into the festivities of the Chinese New Year in Singapore some three weeks later! Together with the very hot and humid climate (Le Meridian Hotel being the only place I have stayed where the condensation was on the outside of the windows!), Singapore felt very different from the outset. However, as soon as the MSF meeting got underway and I was back in more familiar territory, I realised that we had indeed chosen a good location for our meeting. Against a backdrop of fast growing SE Asian telecommunication markets and the recognition of the high profile that this region has in the implementation of Multi-service Next Generation Networks, Singapore was indeed a great place to be (Gong Xi Fa Cai means "Happy New Year")!

Meeting Highlights
The meeting was well attended with a full programme of discussion around member contributions in the following key areas: IAs; Test Plans; Collaborative events (SIP forum, MPLS & FR Alliance, TMF); GMI2004. In addition, the MSF is already starting to consider the focus for its longer programme beyond GMI2004. Discussion is at a very early stage, however there already indications that members would like to include work on IPv6, peer-to-peer video services and further developments of QoS solutions. As well as good progress in the technical work of this meeting, it was particularly gratifying to enjoy the members hospitality events sponsored by Navtel and Spirent and also to be able to welcome Ericsson back into membership - with their principal representative (Arthur Hiett) contributing heavily from the outset!

GMI2004
Given our focus this year on this major interoperability event hosted by four major carriers (BT, NTT, Qwest, KT) it was great to welcome our recently appointed GMI2004 Technical Coordinator, Brian Tolly, to this his first "face to face" meeting with the MSF membership. It is always the people who make the difference and I am sure we are going to see great things from Brian over the coming months. Already, those of us who have worked with him have been impressed by his grasp of detail and energy for driving this project to a successful conclusion.

Another equally important "new face" was Spirent's Andy Huckridge, who has stepped up to the challenge of leading the very important work on "Test Case" development as the MSF’s new Interoperability WG Vice-Chair.

A Final Plea!
Do remember that in a forum as diverse as the MSF, good communication is everything. So do please forward this and other information about the MSF to anybody in your company who might benefit from getting more involved in our work. As they say, if you like what we do, tell your friends - if there are things we could do better, tell me!

I look forward to seeing you all in Toronto April 27 - 29. Remember, we have a very special meeting planned in co-location with the MPLS/ Frame Relay Alliance and we hope that you will all be able to be there.

Roger Ward - MSF President, BT

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TC CHAIR'S NOTEBOOK
Avri Doria and Rich Seager Summarize the Technical Committee’s Noteworthy Efforts and Progress from the Singapore TC Meeting

With the conclusion of the first quarterly TC meeting in Singapore, we succeeded in furthering the efforts of the MSF in support of the GMI2004 event and making strides in continuing the important work of the MSF.

GMI 2004 Planning In Full Swing
Plans for GMI2004 are moving forward. One very important note - the GMI2004 event has been rescheduled for 4-16 October 2004 to avoid conflicting with a national holiday for one of our hosts. Participants are already signing up and everything points to this being an exciting and worthwhile event. As was previously announced, the sites have been chosen and the hosts and member of the leadership are currently working to resolve the many details involved in staging this exciting event. The Singapore meeting saw the introduction of Brian Tolly, the Technical Coordinator, to the MSF. Mr. Tolly is responsible for the coordination of the GMI2004 event and is currently working with the site representatives, the TC leadership and the GMI Team to bring GMI 2004 into focus.

Working Group Updates
The Architecture WG met its goal for the meeting by nearing the completion of its contribution to this GMI cycle. The work on the GMI Scenarios (MSF2003-141) is complete and will be going for Final Ballot. The first draft of the Release 2 Architecture document, now aligned with the GMI scenarios, was reviewed and will be ready for Straw Ballot soon. This document will be the basis of the Supports MSF Release 2 program.

Now that the Architecture WG has nearly completed its required items for GMI2004, it is time to start work on the items that members find necessary to cover in the coming year and are critical to evolving the MSF Architecture in support of a multi-services environment. These early contributions will be the sparks for a future GMI cycle. As always, the MSF is contribution driven and the work items for the next cycle will be the result of contributions brought into the upcoming MSF Technical Committee meetings. An initial list of interest items was proposed by attendees at the Ottawa TC meeting. The list of suggestions can be found on the MSF contribution site as contribution number MSF2003.129. While new contributions are not limited to the topics in this list, the list does provide a good starting point. We encourage members to begin initiating new contributions in order to continue and to expand the role of the MSF as a defining force behind new communication infrastructures.

The Protocol and Control WG also succeeded in meeting their goals for the meeting. Progress was made on nearly all the IAs for GMI 2004, there were resolutions to the comments of several straw balloted documents and several more are moving close to Straw Ballot. Members should be on the look out for P&C email ballots over the next months as there will be a steady stream of them as the group works its way through a very long list of IAs 20 of them in all; we encourage all members to vote on these critical IA’s. An extensive amount of work was also done during the meeting on discussing and working toward a resolution of the MPLS model(s) that may be used in GMI2004 and that will be supported by the MSF in its continuing work beyond this GMI cycle.

This was the first full meeting of the Interoperability WG in the GMI20004 cycle. The first order of business was the unanimous election of Andy Huckridge of Spirent as Vice-chair of the working group. Andy is a wonderful addition to the TC leadership team and brings both extensive experience and enthusiasm to the work. The work is has begun on the test plans for GMI2004; we have volunteers to begin drafting test plans and information will be coming out over the next weeks on some of the particular requirements for these ongoing efforts. Additionally, prospective participants who do not see a test plan in progress that they believe is important to their participation in the event, and which is within the charter of GMI2004 should contribute test plans according to the templates provided by the WG.

The Management Advisory Committee is working hard to push through the many obstacles that can be found in supporting the MSF Architecture. While the GMI2004 event lists Management as a critical component and while talks are ongoing with the other industry fora for potential collaboration in the event, contributions from the membership are still lacking. The TC leadership would like to get your management experts involved to further the work done in defining a solution in support of operational a management, provisioning and accounting initiatives.

Contributors Wanted
Contributions by the member companies and their talented employees are the key to MSF achieving its important goals. The MSF is always looking for more contributors and anyone willing to contribute can consult with the TC leadership to find a way to contribute.

There are many opportunities for members to contribute in all of the working areas:
  • Creators and reviewers of test plans
  • (Co)Authors for some P&C IAs and active reviewers for the IAs in straw and final ballot
  • Architecture contributors who will help define the course of the next GMI cycle
  • Management contributors who can work with the other groups and with MSF partners in solving the MSF management puzzle.
TC Election News
Election for leadership roles in the TC will be held by email ballot in April. Nominations (self-nominations are allowed) will be accepted from 9 March until 6 April, with email ballots being issued on 7 April which are due by 21 April.

The open positions in the TC leadership are the following:
  • TC Chair
  • TC Vice-Chair
  • Architecture WG Chair
  • Management Advisory Chair
The leadership role of Architecture Vice-chair is also open, but the election for this position will be held during the TC Architecture meeting in Toronto.

We have a had an exciting 2003 and the TC Leadership appreciates all of the hard work put forth by the members in support of the many critical issues that needed to be covered. We look forward to another very successful GMI event in October along with laying the architectural groundwork down for future opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who participated in and contributed to the meeting in Singapore and warm encouragement to all who are now or will soon be working to contribute to the MSF’s continuing efforts.

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GMI 2004 UPDATE - http://www.gmi2004.com

GMI2004 will provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate to the industry that your systems interoperate with the systems of other suppliers according the MSF implementation agreements in a real network that spans 3 continents. GMI2004 will take place right in the labs of major carriers including BT, KT, NTT, and Qwest. This opportunity provides unprecedented reach into North American, Asian, and European markets at a very affordable cost.

Dozens of highly skilled engineers will come together to achieve success in GMI2004. A sophisticated multimillion-dollar network will be built to demonstrate global interoperability in a real-world setting. No individual organization (service provider or vendor) could afford to build such a network for test purposes. Nor could they afford to deploy the number of human resources so skilled in all the different systems required to conduct such a test.

The bottom line - GMI2004 will offer tangible evidence of proof that carriers can purchase your products with confidence they meet the interoperability standards set forth by the MSF implementation agreements.

Be part of this historic event! Register now by going to http://www.gmi2004.com.

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MSF CO-SPONSORS SUCCESSFUL SIP EVENT

MSF, along with the SIP Forum and the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC), co-sponsored the International SIP 2004 Showcase in Paris (January 21-22, 2004). The event demonstrated general usage of carrier-oriented VoIP services and applications using SIP in a multi-vendor environment. The showcase was based on two of MSF’s SIP IAs addressing SIP-T profile for media gateway controllers and SIP profile for VoIP (MSF-IA-SIP-T.001 and MSF-IA-SIP.001). The showcase was presented visitors who attended the conference International SIP Conference. The results of the event are summarized in a white paper, available on the web at: http://www.eantc.de/support/events/upperside/sip2004/pdf/SIP2004-WhitePaper-Final.pdf

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MSF TO HOLD LEADERSHIP POSITION ELECTIONS

The following leadership positions are up for re-election:
  • Board of Directors 3 seats open (2-year term)
  • TC Chair and Vice Chair (1-year term)
  • MA&E Chair and Vice Chair (1-year term)
  • Architecture Working Group Chair (2-year term)
  • Management Advisory Chair (2-year term)
Please note these important election dates:
  • March 9 - Call for nominations
  • April 6 - Nominations due
  • April 7 - Ballots issued
  • April 21 - Ballots due
  • April 22 - Results announced

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MSF ANNOUNCES TC MEETING, APRIL 27-29 IN TORONTO, CANADA

MSF will hold the Q204 Technical Committee and Annual Meeting at Toronto’s Marriott Bloor Yorkville.

Register Now! Go to: http://www.msforum.org/events/upcoming.shtml
The registration fee is $325 USD if you register before Tuesday, April 13, 2004 and $450 USD after that date.

Important Dates:
- Room Reservations Deadline: Friday, April 9, 2004
- Meeting Registration and Contribution Deadline: Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Hotel Info:
Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville
90 Bloor Street E.
Toronto, ON M4W 1A7, Canada
Phone: +1-416-961-8000 or 1-800-859-7180
Fax: +1-416-961-4635
Web: http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage.mi?marshaCode=YYZMC

The MSF room rate is $175 CAD (approx. $130 USD) per night.
You must specify that you are with the MSF to secure the negotiated room rate.

For information about travel to Toronto, please visit http://www.msforum.org/events/travel.shtml.

Bring A Friend!
Don't forget to invite your friends or colleagues! If you know someone who may be interested in joining MSF, bring them as your guest to the MSF Technical Committee Meeting. If you bring a guest, a Board member or a member of the TC leadership will roll out the welcome wagon, answer any questions and show them the ropes. Guests of MSF members can register easily by contacting Cindy Morgan at cmorgan@msforum.org or +1.510-608-5925.

Membership participation is the driving force behind MSF's success. Join us in Toronto and continue to support MSF's mission.

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CONTACT US

Want to include something in the next issue? We want to hear from you! Send your comments and contributions for the next issue to Julianne Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@msforum.org.

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