System and method for synchronizing the configuration of distributed network management applications

• US 20040128370A1
• Filed: 06/06/2003
• Published: 07/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Cable Inc. (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Kortright, Kris
• Granted Patent: US 7,523,184 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/082 the condition being updates or upgrades of network functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• 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 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

A change management system to synchronize the configuration of network management applications. Traditional network management systems are maintained by hand-entering device lists into individual network management applications with no common-ties between the different applications. Whenever a network management application is changed or upgraded, it frequently becomes necessary to insure that the upgrade is populated throughout the network in order for devices to talk to one another in an error free way. The present invention is a system and method that automates the change management process in a real-time using a two-way communications model that permits a central database to affect changes on all or some network management applications/systems in the field, while also allowing those same field systems to affect the central database thereby reducing the time required for updating and monitoring a system when device changes take place.

Claims

1. A change management system comprising:

an object connected to a network, wherein the object is associated with object configuration information; and

a change management server connected to the network, the change management server having a change management processor adapted to;

obtain current object configuration information;

make a determination of whether the current object configuration information is different from last known object configuration information;

in the event the current object configuration information is different from the last known object configuration information, create an object configuration file from the current object configuration information; and

update an application with the object configuration file.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a configurable device.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a switch, a modem, and a server.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the object comprises a configurable application.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the configurable application is selected from the group consisting of a poller, a reporting engine, a network portal, and an access control server.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the change management processor is further adapted to update a central database with the current object configuration information of the object.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the object has no last known configuration information.

8. The system of claim 1 further comprising a network application server, the network application server having an application processor adapted to operate one or more applications, wherein each application comprises software instructions for managing the object, and wherein each application receives the object configuration file.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a controller server associated with the network application server and connected to the network, the controller server having a controller processor adapted to:

receive the object configuration file;

convert the object configuration file into a format accepted by each application operated by the network application server;

update a configuration of each application with an appropriate converted configuration;

stop each application; and

restart each application.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller processor is further adapted to enable the controller processor to:

monitor connectivity between the network application server and a buddy application server;

if the connectivity between the network application server and the buddy network application server is lost, launch on the network application server a backup instance of each application operated by the buddy network application server;

perform the tasks of the buddy network application server;

monitor the connectivity between the network application server and the buddy network application server; and

shut down each backup instance of each application operated by the buddy network application server operated by the network application server if connectivity is restored.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a hybrid fiber network.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is the Internet.

13. The sytem of claim 1, wherein the network is an intranet.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a wired network.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is a wireless network.

16. A change management system comprising:

an object connected to a network, wherein the object is associated with object configuration information;

a network application server, the network application server having an application processor adapted to operate one or more applications, wherein each application comprises software instructions for managing the object, and wherein each application makes use of the object configuration information;

a change management server connected to the network, the change management server having a change management processor adapted to;

obtain current object configuration information;

make a determination of whether the current object configuration information is different from last known object configuration information;

in the event the current object configuration information is different from the last known object configuration information, create an object configuration file from the current object configuration information;

update an application with the object configuration file; and

update a central database with the current object configuration information; and

a controller server associated with the network application server and connected to the network, the controller server having a controller processor adapted to;

receive the object configuration file;

convert the object configuration file into a format accepted by each application operated by the network application server;

update the configuration of each application with the appropriate converted configuration;

stop each application; and

restart each application.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller server processor is further adapted to enable the controller server processor to:

monitor the connectivity between the network application server and a buddy network application server;

if the connectivity between the network application server and the buddy network application server is lost, launch on the network application server a backup instance of each application operated by the buddy network application server;

perform the tasks of the buddy network application server;

monitor the connectivity between the network application server and the buddy network application server; and

shut down each backup instance of each application operated by the buddy application server operated by the network application server if connectivity is restored.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the object comprises a configurable device.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a switch, a modem, and a server.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein the object comprises a configurable application.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the configurable application is selected from the group consisting of a poller, a reporting engine, a network portal, and an access control server.

22. The system of claim 16, wherein the network is a wired network.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the network is a wireless network.

24. The system of claim 16, wherein the network is the Internet.

25. The system of claim 16, wherein the network is an intranet.

26. The system of claim 16, wherein the network is a hybrid fiber network.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein the object has no last known configuration information.

28. A method for managing change on a network, the method comprising:

obtaining current object configuration information for an object connected to the network;

determining whether the object current configuration information is different from last known object configuration information;

in the event the current object configuration information is different from the last known object configuration information, creating an object configuration file for the object from the current object configuration information; and

updating the application with the object configuration file.

29. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the network is a wired network.

30. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the network is a wireless network.

31. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the network is a hybrid fiber network.

32. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the network is the Internet.

33. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the network is an intranet.

34. The method for managing change on a network of claim 28, wherein the object has no last known object configuration information.

35. A method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network, the method comprising:

detecting the connectivity between a first network monitoring application and a second network monitoring application;

if the connectivity between the first network monitoring application and the second network monitoring application is lost, using the first network monitoring application to launch a backup instance of the second network monitoring application;

assigning the backup instance of the second network monitoring application the network management functions of the second network monitoring application;

detecting at the first network monitoring application restoration of the connectivity between the first network monitoring application and the second network monitoring application;

in the event connectivity between the first network monitoring application and the second network monitoring application is restored, assigning the second network monitoring application the network management functions of the backup instance of the second network monitoring application; and

shutting down the backup instance of the second network monitoring application.

36. The method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network of claim 35, wherein the network is a wired network.

37. The method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network of claim 35, wherein the network is a wireless network.

38. The method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network of claim 35, wherein the network is the Internet.

39. The method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network of claim 35, wherein the network is an intranet.

40. The method for reassigning network management functions of a network monitoring application running on a network of claim 35, wherein the network is a hybrid fiber network.