Information model
An information model is in the Information Technology an abstract illustration of objects with their properties and relationships . The information model supplements the data model with contextual information that enables a person to interpret and use data in a uniform manner. It provides the structures that make the knowledge required by a person or a group of people in a specific situation explicitly visible. In everyday language usage, there is often no clear distinction made between information and data models and the terms are used synonymously .
Information models in computer science
In computer science , the information model is often referred to as a conceptual or logical data model . It describes real objects in an environment (company, project, branch) by clearly defining their names, properties and relationships. In contrast to data models, it does not provide any information about the storage or management of the data in which the information is mapped.
The information model forms the communicative bridge between the specialist knowledge of the users and the data management knowledge of the computer scientists. The information modeling process describes how to map a section of the knowledge of a world in an information model.
Information models in telecommunications
Information models are used in the management of IT systems and telecommunications networks . In these applications, management objects are, for example, devices such as routers , hubs or their plug-in cards or the ports on these plug-in cards. With the help of these information models, the networks are remotely monitored, configured and controlled by the network management. The concept of the information models is defined in such a way that they do not require a specific implementation: this ensures that a uniform view of different devices of the same type is possible regardless of manufacturer-specific implementations.
To model real devices, information models usually first use a functional model , which is the management area
- Errors and faults (fault management)
- Configuration management
- Accounting management
- Quality and performance (performance management)
- Security management
includes. Based on this, management objects are defined, which in turn are assigned attributes. The first letters of the English names result in FCAPS, which is a common abbreviation for the tasks of the functional model.
In real implementations, information models consist of a Management Information Base (MIB), which maps the entirety of all data and information in a data structure, and a management protocol such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
The Distributed Management Task Force published a standardized set of information models called the Common Information Model .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Department of Information Science Saarbrücken: Definition of Information | Information Science Saarbrücken Archive. Retrieved on May 21, 2018 (German).
- ↑ vdf Hochschulverlag AG at the ETH Zurich: Information modeling through understanding for better software . Zurich, ISBN 978-3-7281-3761-6 .
