SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SERVICE LEVEL MANAGEMENT

• US 20120041858A1
• Filed: 10/28/2011
• Published: 02/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Computer Associates Think Inc. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Lundy
• Granted Patent: US 9,509,524 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/024 using relational databases for representation of network management data, e.g. managing via structured query language [SQL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/042 comprising distributed management centres cooperatively managing the network
• 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 41/16 using machine learning or artificial intelligence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5032 Generating service level reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0847 Transmission error
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 : Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 : Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 : Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 : Network monitoring probes

Abstract

The system and method described herein may provide service level management, wherein business processes may be composed of services. A state of the service may be defined by one or more service parameters, which depend upon performance of network components that support the service (e.g., component parameters). The state of the service may depend, for example, on a collection of service parameter values for availability, reliability, security, integrity, and response time. A service level agreement is a contract between a supplier and a customer that identifies services supported by a network, service parameters for the service, and service levels (e.g., acceptable levels for each service parameter).

Claims

1. An integrated management system, comprising:

(a) service level management (SLM) for managing one or more services;

(b) component management (CM) for managing network components, wherein a business process is composed of the one or more services, and the services are composed of the network components.

2. The system of claim 1, comprising:

(c) business process management (BPM) for managing the business process.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the CM transmits component performance information to the SLM.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the SLM maps the component performance information to service parameter information which defines the one or more services.

5. A service level management system wherein a service depends on at least one network component, the system comprising:

one or more agents for receiving component parameters and mapping the component parameters into service parameters;

a user interface for generating service level reports which include the mapped service parameters;

wherein the component parameters represent a state of at least one network component.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the state of the at least one network component comprises one or more of availability, reliability, usability, integrity, and security.

7. In a system associated with a network, a method of providing service level management in the network, the method comprising steps of:

receiving at an interface of the system input from a user identifying network related services required by a business process, the services being composed of a plurality of network components;

receiving at the interface of the system input from the user identifying service parameters marked by service levels for each service, each of the service parameters is a variable whose value is an index representative of an operational characteristic of an associated service; and

receiving at the interface of the system a request from the user to evaluate the service parameters to monitor the service levels of each service to provide service level management.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising a step of, receiving at the interface of the system input from the user identifying component parameters for each component.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising steps of,

receiving a plurality of values for the component parameters;

and

outputting a value of at least one service parameter.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising a step of, receiving input from the user identifying one or more agents to monitor each of the component parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising a step of, integrating management of the components with management of the services.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising steps of,

measuring component parameters, and

mapping the measured component parameters to the service parameters.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the service parameters and service levels are provided in a service level agreement.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the service parameters are measured for a designated time and compared to the service levels in the service level agreement.

15. A service level management method, comprising:

providing a service over a network having one or more network components to support the service, wherein a service parameter that represents performance associated with the service depends on values associated with one or more component parameters that measure performances associated with the one or more network components that support the service;

monitoring, on a computing device, the values associated with the one or more component parameters that measure the performances associated with the one or more network components that support the service;

mapping, on the computing device, the monitored values associated with the one or more component parameters to the service parameter that depends on the values associated with one or more component parameters that measure the performances associated with the one or more network components that support the service;

comparing, on the computing device, a value associated with the service parameter mapped to the monitored values associated with the one or more component parameters to a service level agreed upon in a service level agreement between a supplier associated with the service and a customer associated with the service; and

generating a service level report that indicates whether the value associated with the service parameter conforms to the agreed upon service level.

16. The service level management method of claim 15, wherein the service level report describes a regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier in exchange for the supplier providing the service over a certain time period.

17. The service level management method of claim 16, wherein comparing the value associated with the service parameter to the agreed upon service level includes:

adding a financial reward to the regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier if the value associated with the service parameter exceeds the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement over the certain time period; and

deducting a financial penalty from the regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier if the value associated with the service parameter fails to meet the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement over the certain time period.

18. The service level management method of claim 17, further comprising generating a bill that describes an amount that the customer owes to the supplier in exchange for the supplier providing the service over the certain time period, wherein the amount described in the bill equals the regular fee, the regular fee with the financial reward added thereto, or the regular fee with the financial penalty subtracted therefrom depending on whether the value associated with the service parameter meets, exceeds, or fails to meet the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement.

19. A service level management system, comprising:

a network having one or more network devices to support a service provided over the network, wherein a service parameter that represents performance associated with the service depends on values associated with one or more component parameters that measure performances associated with the one or more network devices that support the service; and

a service analysis system having one or more processors configured to;

monitor the values associated with the one or more component parameters that measure the performances associated with the one or more network devices that support the service;

map the monitored values associated with the one or more component parameters to the service parameter that depends on the values associated with one or more component parameters that measure the performances associated with the one or more network devices that support the service;

compare a value associated with the service parameter mapped to the monitored values associated with the one or more component parameters to a service level agreed upon in a service level agreement between a supplier associated with the service and a customer associated with the service; and

generate a service level report that indicates whether the value associated with the service parameter conforms to the agreed upon service level, wherein the service level report describes a regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier in exchange for the supplier providing the service over a certain time period.

20. The service level management system of claim 19, wherein the one or more processors associated with the service analysis system are further configured to:

add a financial reward to the regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier if the value associated with the service parameter exceeds the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement over the certain time period;

deduct a financial penalty from the regular fee that the customer owes to the supplier if the value associated with the service parameter fails to meet the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement over the certain time period; and

generate a bill that describes an amount that the customer owes to the supplier in exchange for the supplier providing the service over the certain time period, wherein the amount described in the bill equals the regular fee, the regular fee with the financial reward added thereto, or the regular fee with the financial penalty subtracted therefrom depending on whether the value associated with the service parameter meets, exceeds, or fails to meet the service level agreed upon in the service level agreement.