Network Description Language
Computer networks form an important part of our daily lives. They enable you to see the page you are currently viewing. These networks are becoming more complex, and also faster. The Network Description Language (NDL) will help to reduce the complexity issues in computer networks. The goal of NDL is to allow applications to have a better understanding of the network so they can more easily adapt it to their needs.
The Network Description Language provides a way to describe computer networks in a meaningful way. Using the Resource Description Framework (RDF), we created an ontology for computer networks. With this ontology you can create a simple and clear description of a network. This may sound difficult, but we have created a simple generator which allows you to create a description within minutes.
The need of a shared common vocabulary that describes networks is particularly important in optical networking, and specifically in facilitating the multi-domain provisioning of lightpaths. Currently we cooperate with other researchers in the GLIF to promote NDL as the common language for the community.
Tools and Demonstrations
Tools and demonstrations are available at the NDL tools website. This includes Python and Perl tools for NDL generation, parsing, validation, visualization, path finding and monitoring.