Method and system for performing circuit upgrade

• US 20060133285A1
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Liu, Lisong, Bhardwaj, Amit, Yan, Ping, Lie, Andrew K., Tantsis, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,693,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/14 Monitoring arrangements for SDH/SONET rings H04J3/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/43 with synchronous transmission, e.g. time division multiplex [TDM], slotted rings

Abstract

A system and method for performing an upgrade in a communication network comprising network elements coupled together to form one or more circuits are disclosed. In one embodiment, the upgrade is generated at a node in communication with the circuits and the method generally comprises providing a list of circuits or spans available for the upgrade and receiving input from a user identifying at least one circuit to be upgraded or at least one span for the upgraded circuit and a type of upgrade to be performed. The method further comprises automatically performing the upgrade.

Claims

1. A method for performing a circuit upgrade in a communication network comprising network elements coupled together to form one or more circuits, the conversion being generated at a node in communication with the circuits, the method comprising:

providing at the node a list of circuits or spans available for the upgrade;

receiving input from a user identifying at least one circuit to be upgraded or at least one span for the upgraded circuit and a type of upgrade to be performed; and

automatically performing the circuit upgrade.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically performing the circuit upgrade comprises performing the upgrade without receiving input from the user on specific modifications for each of the nodes in the one or more circuits.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically performing the conversion comprises presenting a network view of the circuit prior to conversion and after conversion.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the upgrade is from an unprotected circuit to a UPSR.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein receiving input from a user comprises receiving information on spans selected for the UPSR.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the upgrade is from a UPSR to a BLSR.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the upgrade is from a UPSR to a 2F-BLSR.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein all UPSR circuits on a ring are converted to BLSR circuits.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an error during the upgrade and allowing the user to return the network to its original state.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving an error during the upgrade and allowing the user to complete the conversion.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising creating a topology upgrade object on one or more of the network elements within the circuits involved in the upgrade.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising utilizing said topology upgrade objects to convert a connection type at the network element.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising changing a state of said topology upgrade object during the upgrade.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising deleting said topology upgrade object from the network element after the upgrade is completed.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing a connection from one-way to two-way or from two-way to one-way during the upgrade.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising presenting a graphical user interface to the user for identifying the circuits or spans and the type of conversion.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising running a wizard for presenting options to the user.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically finding a shortest path for each of the circuits involved in the upgrade.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising automatically forcing traffic to the shortest path.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising instructing the user to check for alarms after traffic is forced to the shortest path.

21. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving input from the user identifying an alternate path.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the type of conversion to be performed, the spans for the new circuit, and the alternate path are the only input required by the user.

23. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing continuous service within the network during the upgrade process.

24. A system for performing a circuit upgrade in a communication network comprising network elements coupled together to form one or more circuits, the conversion being generated at a node in communication with the circuits, the system comprising:

a graphical user interface operable to provide to a user at the node a list of circuits or spans available for the upgrade and receive input from a user identifying at least one circuit to be upgraded or at least one span for the upgraded circuit and a type of upgrade to be performed; and

a processor operable to automatically perform the upgrade at a circuit level.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the processor is operable to automatically perform the upgrade without affecting service within the network.

26. The system of claim 24 wherein the graphical user interface is configured to present a network view of the circuit to the user to allow the user to track the conversion.

27. The system of claim 24 wherein the conversion is from an unprotected circuit to a UPSR.

28. The system of claim 24 wherein the conversion is from a UPSR to a BLSR.

29. The system of claim 24 further comprising an error recovery system configured to allow for completion of the upgrade following an error during the upgrade.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the error recovery system is operable to create topology upgrade objects on one or more of the network elements traversed by one or more circuits being upgraded to identify the state of the circuit throughout the upgrade.

31. The system of claim 24 further comprising a wizard for presenting options to the user.

32. A computer program product for performing an upgrade in a communication network comprising network elements coupled together to form one or more circuits, the conversion being generated at a node in communication with the circuits, the product comprising:

code for providing at the node a list of circuits or spans available for the upgrade;

code for receiving input from a user identifying at least one circuit to be upgraded or at least one span for an upgraded circuit and a type of upgrade to be performed;

code for automatically performing the upgrade; and

a computer readable medium that stores the computer codes.

33. The computer program product of claim 32 wherein the computer readable medium is selected from the group consisting of CD-ROM, floppy disk, zip disk, tape, flash memory, system memory, hard drive, and data signal embodied in a carrier wave.

34. The product of claim 32 wherein the upgrade is from an unprotected circuit to a UPSR.

35. The product of claim 32 wherein the upgrade is from a UPSR to a BLSR.

36. The product of claim 32 further comprising code that runs a wizard on the node for presenting options to the user.

37. The product of claim 32 further comprising code that presents a network view of the upgrade to the user at the node to allow the user to track the upgrade.

38. The product of claim 32 further comprising code that automatically finds a shortest path for each of the circuits involved in the upgrade.

39. The method of claim 38 further comprising code that automatically forces traffic to the shortest path.

40. A system for performing an upgrade in a communication network comprising network elements coupled together to form one or more circuits, the conversion being generated at a node in communication with the circuits, the system comprising:

means for providing at the node a list of circuits or spans available for the upgrade;

means for receiving input from a user identifying at least one circuit to be upgraded or at least one span for the upgraded circuit and a type of upgrade to be performed; and

means for automatically performing the upgrade

41. The system of claim 40 further comprising means for storing information on network elements and circuits containing the network elements.