Network management system, network, method and computer program product

• US 20030084149A1
• Filed: 10/07/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: De La Vallee-Poussin, Paloma, Cornelia Degrande, Natalie Maria, Van Hoey, Gert, Van Den Bosch, Sven Jozef Jeanne
• Granted Patent: US 8,868,714 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/20 Network management software packages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion

Abstract

Known network management systems for managing traffic signals in a network store node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals and calculate solutions defining intermediate nodes/links situated between sources and destinations for transporting said traffic signals from said sources to said destinations via said intermediate nodes/links and calculate route information per solution. By storing node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals for several situations (like several predictions in the future) and calculating solutions for each situation and then selecting a solution per situation, the network management system will manage the network more advantageously, especially when solutions are compared with each other, and when a solution is selected per situation in dependence of comparison results (comprising similarities/differences between solutions of different situations). Said route information may comprise link load parameters and/or resource consumption parameters and/or fairness parameters and/or throughput parameters.

Claims

1. Network management system for managing traffic signals in a network comprising nodes/links, which network management system comprises a memory for storing node/link parameter signals defining nodes/links and for storing traffic parameter signals defining said traffic signals to be transported via nodes/links and comprising a calculator coupled to said memory for calculating solutions defining intermediate nodes/links situated between sources and destinations for transporting said traffic signals from said sources to said destinations via said intermediate nodes/links and for calculating route information per solution, characterised in that said network management system comprises a selector, with said memory comprising node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals for several situations and with said calculator calculating solutions for each situation, and with said selector selecting a solution per situation.

2. Network management system according to claim 1, characterised in that said network management system comprises a comparator coupled to said calculator for comparing solutions with each other.

3. Network management system according to claim 2, characterised in that said selector is coupled to said comparator for selecting a solution per situation in dependence of at least one comparison result.

4. Network management system according to claim 3, characterised in that at least one comparison result comprises similarities/differences between solutions of different situations.

5. Network management system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterised in that said network management system comprises a processor which comprises said calculator and/or said selector and/or said comparator.

6. Network management system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, characterised in that said route information comprises link load parameters and/or resource consumption parameters and/or fairness parameters and/or throughput parameters.

7. Network management system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, characterised in that each situation corresponds with a prediction in the future.

8. Network comprising nodes/links and at least one network management system for managing traffic signals in said network, which network management system comprises a memory for storing node/link parameter signals defining nodes/links and for storing traffic parameter signals defining said traffic signals to be transported via nodes/links and comprising a calculator coupled to said memory for calculating solutions defining intermediate nodes/linkes situated between sources and destinations for transporting said traffic signals from said sources to said destinations via said intermediate nodes/links and for calculating route information per solution, characterised in that said network management system comprises a selector, with said memory comprising node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals for several situations and with said calculator calculating solutions for each situation, and with said selector selecting a solution per situation.

9. Method for managing traffic signals in a network comprising nodes/links, which method comprises a first step of calculating solutions defining intermediate nodes/links situated between sources and destinations for transporting said traffic signals from said sources to said destinations via said intermediate nodes/links and comprises a second step of calculating route information per solution, with node/link parameter signals defining nodes/links and traffic parameter signals defining said traffic signals to be transported via nodes/links being stored in a memory, characterised in that said method comprises a third step of selecting a solution per situation, with said memory comprising node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals for several situations, and with solutions being calculated for each situation.

10. Computer program product for managing traffic signals in a network comprising nodes/links, which computer program product is to be run via processor coupled to a memory for storing node/link parameter signals defining nodes/links and for storing traffic parameter signals defining said traffic signals to be transported via nodes/links, which computer program product comprises a first function of calculating solutions defining intermediate nodes/links situated between sources and destinations for transporting said traffic signals from said sources to said destinations via said intermediate nodes/links and comprises a second function of calculating route information per solution, characterised in that said computer program product comprises a third function of selecting a solution per situation, with said memory comprising node/link parameter signals and traffic parameter signals for several situations, and with solutions being calculated for each situation.