update

There are various portals offering UI friendly access to users acting as Service Providers:

* The Services portal allows Service Providers to design and expose services.

* The Resoruce portal allows users to access resource specifications and running resources in resource inventory.

* The Resource portal allows users to access resource specifications and running resources in resource inventory.

* The NFV portal allows users to manage NFV artifacts and onboard them to a target MANO/NFV Orchestrator.

* The teting portal allows Service Providers to manage test artifacts

* The Testing portal allows Service Providers to manage test artifacts

* The Products portal allows Service Providers to expose services as products

### OpenSlice for Service Consumers

There are various portals offering UI friendly access to users acting as Service Consumers:

* The Services portal allows Service Consumers to select and order predefined services.

* The Resoruce portal allows users to access running resources in resource inventory.

* The Resource portal allows users to access running resources in resource inventory.

* The NFV portal allows users to self-manage NFV artifacts and onboard them to a target MANO/NFV Orchestrator.

* The testing portal allows Service Consumers to manage test artifacts

* The Testing portal allows Service Consumers to manage test artifacts

* The Products portal allows Service Consumers to expose services as products

3rd party applications can use OpenSlice through TMForum Open APIs.

# Network as a Service (NaaS)

This section describes some core concepts for Delivering Network as a Service in OpenSlice. There are many articles and reports on the subject like 

* TMF909 API Suite Specification for NaaS

* TMF926A Connectivity_as_a_Service 

* TMF931-Open_Gateway_Onboarding_and_Ordering_Component_Suite

* GSMA Open Gatewy initiative

In general Network as a Service (NaaS) is a  service model that allows users to consume network infrastructure and services , similar to how they would consume other cloud services like Software as a Service (SaaS) or Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). NaaS abstracts the complexity of managing physical network infrastructure, providing users with virtualized network resources that can be dynamically allocated and managed through software.

# OpenSlice and NaaS

OpenSlice makes extensive use of TMFORUM's models and APIs. Therefore if one is familiar with TMF APIs the terminology and ideas are the same.

To deliver NaaS we need to incorporate various APIs (see TMF909 API Suite Specification for NaaS). OpenSlice implements various TMF APIs to deliver NaaS and support the  lifecycle functions required to manage the network capabilities exposed as Network as a Service and managed by operational domains.

For a complete list of supported APIs, see [Supported APIs](exposed_apis.md)

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#OpenSlice Resource Catalog:

    * Resource Specifications: Defines the underlying resources required to deliver services, such as network components, servers, and software.

    * Resource Availability: Tracks the availability and status of resources to ensure efficient service delivery.

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# OpenSlice Service Catalogs

OpenSlice offers complete management of  Service Catalogs which offer to end users:

* Service categories: Lists the available services, including their specifications and performance metrics.

* Service Bundles: Combines multiple services into a single offering to provide added value to customers.

Service Catalogs contain Service Specifications exposed to users for Service Orders.

In the UI this looks like this

## Example Use Case

Scenario: A service provider wants to offer a new managed XXXX service to enterprise customers.

  * Service Definition:  Service Template thus create a template for the XXXX service, including specifications for bandwidth, network features, and performance metrics.

  * Service Catalog Integration: Add to Service Catalog the XXXX service  with all relevant details.

  * Service Delivery/Order: Provision Service by Using the orchestration system to provision and configure the XXXX service based on customer orders.

# Service Design in OpenSlice

This section offers details on how to design Service Specifications and expose them in Service Catalogs

## Intended Audience: Service Designers

Service Designers create detailed service specifications, which are then managed and exposed in service catalogs. These services are integrated into OpenSlice E2E service orchestration framework to automate and optimize the delivery of network services.

OpenSlice can be used to design service specifications for various services, even not networking related services. Here we cover how service designers can expose services related to the NFV world and the containerized world.

## What's next

* [Design and expose services based on containerized resources via the Kubernetes Operator pattern](ExposingKubernetesResources.md)

* [Design and expose services based on NFV artifacts](./nfv/design_nfv_services.md)