FAME is a cluster of complementary research groups from Irish academic institutions (WIT, TCD, UCC, NUIM, UCD) addressing the need for federation between different types of networks, (e.g. operators, ISPs, enterprise networks or home area networks), to enable end to end communication services. The cluster is developing federation enabling technologies such as end-to-end performance monitoring, relationship management, capability sharing management, trust management and policy driven self organisation of networks and services.

To effectively deliver and manage end-to-end communications services over an interconnected, but heterogeneous, networking infrastructure, a greater degree of coordination and cooperation is required between communication resources, the software that manages them, and the actors who direct such management. This requires a degree of dynamic interoperability and adaptive behaviour that today's network management and operational support systems, developed for static telecoms value chains, are not able to provide. Current research into autonomic communications and autonomic network management emphasise the automation of decision-making to reduce operational costs of service providers. However, without addressing the highly dynamic and federated nature of modern service provisioning, this research runs the risk of simply replacing today's network management silos with autonomic network silos.

To meet the challenge, the FAME SRC structures its research into three research strands that collaboratively define solutions that address the challenge in a commercially viable manner, guided by the cluster's industrial partners (Cisco, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, IBM, HP, Telefonica).

The three research strands are designed to foster innovations in the areas identified above, and are: Federated Communications Service Management ('Federation'), Service Monitoring and Configuration ('Autonomic') and Network Infrastructure Coordinated Self-Management ('Management' and 'End-to-End'). These strands were identified from discussions between the researchers and industry practitioners in the consortium, and represent the best opportunities for innovation.