Fault Diagnostics

• US 20080168018A1
• Filed: 03/03/2006
• Published: 07/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Original Assignee: British Telecommunications PLC (BT Group PLC)
• Inventors: Rohlfing, David M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,925,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 706/47
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/16 using machine learning or artificial intelligence

Abstract

A method of fault diagnostics in a case based reasoning system, wherein said case based reasoning system comprises a plurality of cases, each case having an associated solution and a case weight, said method comprising the steps of: receiving data associated with a fault; determining a case match indicative of the degree of matching between the received data and each of the plurality of cases; providing a solution associated with one of the plurality of cases in dependence on its case match and case weight; receiving an actual solution to the fault; increasing the case weight of the case associated with the provided solution if the actual solution is equal to the provided solution; and adding a new case to the plurality of cases if the actual solution is not equal to the provided solution, wherein the actual solution is associated with the new case.

Claims

1. A method of fault diagnostics in a case based reasoning system, wherein said case based reasoning system comprises a plurality of cases, each case having an associated solution and a case weight, said method comprising the steps of:

i) receiving data associated with a fault;

ii) determining a case match indicative of the degree of matching between the received data and each of the plurality of cases;

iii) providing a solution associated with one of the plurality of cases in dependence on its case match and case weight;

iv) receiving an actual solution to the fault;

v) increasing the case weight of the case associated with the provided solution if the actual solution is equal to the provided solution; and

vi) adding a new case to the plurality of cases if the actual solution is not equal to the provided solution, wherein the actual solution is associated with the new case.

2. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 1 wherein the case weights associated with each of the plurality of cases are decayed over time.

3. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 2, wherein the decay over time is periodic.

4. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 1, further comprising normalising the results from step ii).

5. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 4, further comprising determining a weighted case score based on the case match and the case weight for each of the plurality of cases, and wherein the solution provided in step iii) is in dependence on the weighted case score.

6. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 5, wherein the normalising comprises dividing the weighted case score for a case by the sum of the all case weights corresponding to the solution associated with said case.

7. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 1, wherein steps i) to vi) are repeated.

8. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 1, wherein the higher the weighted case score of a case, the better the match between the case and the fault.

9. A method of fault diagnostics according to claim 1, wherein the fault is in a telecommunications network.

10. A case based reasoning system for fault diagnostics comprising a processor, an input module adapted for receiving data associated with a fault, storage means storing a plurality of cases, each case having an associated solution and a case weight, wherein the processor is adapted for:

i) determining a case match indicative of the degree of matching between the received data and each of the plurality of cases;

ii) providing a solution associated with one of the plurality of cases in dependence on its case match;

iii) receiving an actual solution to the fault;

iv) increasing the case weight of the case associated with the provided solution if the actual solution is equal to the provided solution; and

v) adding a new case to the plurality of cases if the actual solution is not equal to the provided solution, wherein the actual solution is associated with the new case.