Method for deploying a service and a method for configuring a network element in a communication network

• US 20020194323A1
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Published: 12/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Trappeniers, Lieven, Focant, Stephane, Van Ackere, Michel, Batsleer, Claudine, Chantrain, Dominique, Pham, Hien Thong, Vanderstraeten, Hans, De Moerloose, Jan
• Granted Patent: US 7,117,195 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5048 Automatic or semi-automatic definitions, e.g. definition templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/029 Firewall traversal, e.g. tunnelling or, creating pinholes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/567 Integrating service provisioning from a plurality of service providers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/966 Distributed
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for deploying a service in a communication network by performing the steps of:

invoking a service deployment engine by a request for the service,

retrieval of deployment templates,

retrieval of service deployment policies,

determination of a current configuration of at least one network element involved in providing the service,

selection of a deployment template from the retrieved deployment templates based on the service deployment policies and configuration.

Further a method for configuring a network element by means of a network element controller through the intermediary of a network element proxy is devised by the present invention. In particular this has the advantage of seemless integration into the IETF policy framework.

Claims

1. A method for deploying a service in a communication network, the method comprising the steps of:

invoking a service deployment engine by a request for the service,

retrieval of deployment templates by the service deployment engine,

selection of a deployment template from the retrieved deployment templates by the service deployment engine,

deploying the service by means of the selected deployment template.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

retrieval of service deployment policies,

determination of a current property of at least one network element involved in providing the service,

whereby the selection of the deployment template is performed based on the retrieved service deployment policies and the current property.

3. The method of claim 2 the current property being the current configuration of the at least one network element.

4. The method of anyone of claims 1, 2 or 3, whereby the request for the services is triggered by a user'"'"'s connection to a web-site.

5. The method of anyone of the preceeding claims 1 to 4, whereby the request for the service is triggered by a protocol interceptor (PI).

6. The method of claim 5 the protocol interceptor performing the steps of monitoring protocol messages send by a network element of the communication network for events of a predefined type and, upon occurrence of an event of this type, generating the trigger.

7. The method of anyone of the preceeding claims 1 to 6 whereby each of the deployment templates contains configuration data for a specific type of network element.

8. The method according to anyone of the preceeding claims 2 to 7, whereby the service deployment policies comprise policy information in the form of an object-oriented information model.

9. The method of anyone of the preceeding claims 2 to 8, whereby the determination of the current property is performed by retrieving information descriptive of the property from a configuration data base or by interrogation of the network element itself.

10. The method in accordance with anyone of the preceeding claims 2 to 9, whereby the selection of the deployment template is performed by identifying a deployment template within the retrieved set of deployment templates which matches the retrieved service deployment policies and the property of the at least one network element.

11. The method of anyone of the preceeding claims 1 to 10, whereby the service deployment engine interacts with at least one network element controller for deployment of the service in accordance with the selected deployment template.

12. The method of claim 11, whereby a separate network element controller is used for each type of network element, such as a customer premises gateway controller, a digital subscriber line equipment controller, a broadband access server controller.

14. The service deployment engine of claim 13, wherein the means for selecting of the deployment template are adapted to perform the selection such that the selected deployment template matches the deployment policies and a property of a configuration of the at least one network element.

15. A computer system comprising a service deployment engine (6) in accordance with claim 13 or 14 and at least one network element controller (10) for effecting the deployment of the requested service.

17. The method of claim 16 the step of translating comprising a step of accessing a database within the network element proxy for mapping the configuration command onto the lower level format, the lower level format preferably comprising a low-level handle, parameter and/or method.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, whereby the network element proxy is provided as an integral part of a corresponding network element controller or as a separate entity interposed between the network element controller and its corresponding network element or as an integral part of the network element itself.

20. A distributed computer system comprising means adapted for carrying out the steps of anyone of the preceeding claims 1 to 12 and/or 16 to 19.

21. A computer program product stored on a computer usable medium, such as on a data file for transmission over the internet, comprising computer readable program means for causing a distributed computer system, such as a computer system comprising at least one network element, a web-site or protocol interceptor, a service deployment engine and at least one network element controller, to perform a method according to anyone of the preceeding claims 1 to 12 and/or 16 to 19 when the program is run on the distributed computer system.

13. A service deployment engine comprising

means (7) for retrieval of deployment templates in response to a request for a service in a communication network,

means (8) for retrieval of service deployment policies,

means (9) for determination of a current property of at least one network element involved in providing the service,

means (6) for selection of a deployment template based on the service deployment policies and the determined property.

16. A method for configuring a network element having a network element type being comprised in a set of network element types, the method comprising the steps of:

providing for each network element type a network element proxy being located between network elements of the same type and a network element controller,

sending a configuration command from the network element controller to the network element proxy of the network element to be configured,

translating the configuration command into a lower level format for the configuration of the network element,

providing the lower level format of the configuration command to the network element.

19. A method in accordance with claims 16, 17 or 18 further comprising the steps of:

determining a deployment policy from a policy decision point, such as a service deployment engine, by the network element controller,

assigning the role of a policy enforcement point to the network element controller,

approving the requested configuration by the network element controller,

assigning the role of a policy enforcement point to the network element and assigning the role of a policy decision point to the network element controller after the configuration of the network element has been effected.