Network infrastructure circuit management system and method

• US 20040221027A1
• Filed: 05/01/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Parrott, Scott T.
• Application Number:
  US10/427,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20040221027A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies

Abstract

A method and system for managing network infrastructure circuits is provided. The method includes selecting a primary circuit having terminations assigned to the end points of the overall network connection and interconnecting the primary circuit to at least one secondary circuit according to predetermined linkage rules. A circuit manage system is configured to cross correlate the primary circuit and the at least one secondary circuit according to linkage relationships stored in a management database. In another embodiment, a computer readable media including computer executable instructions for maintaining circuit identifiers, managing endpoint location information and tracking circuit linkage relationships is provided.

Claims

1. A method for managing communication circuits in a network comprising a first endpoint and a second endpoint, the method comprising:

selecting a primary circuit having a first termination and a second termination;

assigning the first termination to the first endpoint and the second termination to the second endpoint; and

interconnecting the primary circuit to at least one secondary circuit according to predetermined linkage rules.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein interconnecting the primary circuit to the at least one secondary circuit comprises terminating the primary circuit through the at least one secondary circuit.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising relating the primary circuit and each of the at least one secondary circuit to a circuit type selected from a plurality of circuit types.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising, for each of the plurality of circuit types, creating the linkage rules by defining permissible circuit linkage relationships for the circuit type.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein defining the permissible circuit linkage relationships comprises selecting a relationship from the group comprising a peer linkage, a parent/child linkage, and a parallel linkage.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising defining a permissible communication equipment linkage.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising, for each of the plurality of circuit types, creating the linkage rules by relating the primary circuit to a service category.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising, for each of the plurality of circuit types, creating the linkage rules by relating the primary circuit and each of the at least one secondary circuit to a topological category.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising correlating billing and physical link information from each of the at least one secondary circuit with at least the first endpoint.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising tracking the billing and physical link information selected from a group comprising geographical termination information, demark information, equipment identification information, circuit identification information, order information, trunk group information, and toll free and dial plan information.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the primary circuit comprises entering a master circuit identifier into a management database.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein assigning the first termination and the second termination comprises:

entering the first termination into the management database as the first endpoint; and

entering the second termination into the management database as the second endpoint.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

entering a third termination corresponding to the at least one secondary circuit into the management database; and

entering a fourth termination corresponding to the at least one secondary circuit into the management database.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein interconnecting the primary circuit to the at least one secondary circuit comprises entering at least one secondary circuit identifier into the management database.

15. A network infrastructure circuit management system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable media comprising;

a management database; and

computer executable code for;

selecting a primary circuit from the management database;

selecting at least one secondary circuit from the management database, wherein the at least one secondary circuit is hierarchically linked to the primary circuit;

correlating terminations of the primary circuit with overall network endpoints as defined in the management database; and

cross-correlating the primary circuit and the at least one secondary circuit according to linkage relationships stored in the management database.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a circuit segment information means configured to provide selected billing and physical link information from a communication network to the circuit management system.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein selecting the primary circuit comprises selecting a master circuit configured to control service to the overall network endpoints.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein cross-correlating comprises tracking nodes of the at least one secondary circuit to the overall network endpoints as defined by the hierarchically linked relationships.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the computer executable code is further configured for predefining the allowed linkage relationships for the primary circuit and each of the at least one secondary circuit.

20. The system of claim 15, further comprising:

an input device;

an output device; and

a data storage device.

21. Computer readable media including computer executable instructions for performing:

maintaining circuit identifiers for a plurality of interconnected communication circuits;

managing endpoint location information for each of the plurality of interconnected communication circuits; and

tracking circuit linkage relationships between each of the plurality of interconnected communication circuits.

22. The computer readable media of claim 21, wherein managing endpoint location information comprises tracking a physical address for each endpoint.

23. The computer readable media of claim 22, wherein managing endpoint location information further comprises tracking demark information for at least a portion of the endpoints.

24. The computer readable media of claim 21, wherein tracking circuit linkage relationships comprises maintaining circuit linkages selected from the group comprising a peer linkage, a parent/child linkage and a parallel linkage.

25. The computer readable media of claim 24, further comprising tracking an equipment linkage to a predefined endpoint of a primary circuit selected from the plurality of interconnected communication circuits.

26. The computer readable media of claim 24, further comprising:

selecting at least one circuit from the plurality of interconnected communication circuits corresponding to a dedicated voice trunk group;

mapping the at least one circuit to the voice trunk group; and

linking the voice trunk group to a toll free termination.

27. The computer readable media of claim 26, further comprising linking the voice trunk group to at least one dial plan range.

28. The computer readable media of claim 24, further comprising linking at least one circuit from the plurality of interconnected communication circuits to associated order information.

29. A communication system comprising:

a first network endpoint;

a second network endpoint;

a primary circuit comprising a first physical endpoint and a second physical endpoint, wherein the first physical endpoint is correlated to the first network endpoint and the second physical endpoint is correlated to the second network endpoint; and

a secondary circuit configured to interconnect with the primary circuit according to predetermined linkage rules.