Abstract
LSO is an agile approach to streamlining and automating the service lifecycle in a sustainable fashion for coordinated management and control across all network domains responsible for delivering an end-to-end Connectivity Service (e.g., Carrier Ethernet, IP VPN, MPLS, etc.). This document describes a Reference Architecture and Framework for orchestrating the service lifecycle. It includes a set of functional management entities that enable cooperative service lifecycle orchestration for Third Network Connectivity Services. The framework also provides high level functional requirements and outlines high level operational threads describing orchestrated Connectivity Service behavior as well as interactions among management and control entities. The Management Interface Reference Points that characterize interactions between LSO functional management entities are identified in the reference architecture. These Management Interface Reference Points are described such that they can be realized by Interface Profiles and further by APIs, which can be used to enable automated and orchestrated Connectivity Services.