Service Modeling Language (SML) and Service Modeling Language Interchange Format (SML-IF) are a pair of XML-based specifications created by leading information technology companies that define a set of XML instance document extensions for expressing links between elements, a set of XML Schema extensions for constraining those links, and a way to associate Schematron rules with global element declarations, global complex type definitions, and/or model documents.
The submission was from an industry group consisting of representatives from BEA Systems, BMC, CA, Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems.
SML is seen as a successor/replacement for earlier developed standards like DCML and Microsoft's (in hindsight) proprietary System Definition Model or SDM.
SML is a language for building a rich set of constructs for creating and constraining models of complex IT services and systems.
SML-based models could include information about configuration, deployment, monitoring, policy, health, capacity planning, target operating range, service level agreements, and so on.