Control system and operations system interface for a network element in an access system

• US 5,608,720 A
• Filed: 06/10/1994
• Issued: 03/04/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pulse Communications, Inc. (Enginuity Communications Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hubbell, Inc.
• Inventors: Rabenko, Theodore F., Turvene, David S., Biegel, Charles H., Desai, Mahesh P., Tomassone, John R., Klonsky, Steven M., Missett, Shaun, Carter, Nicholas J., Christofferson, Michael, Eberhart, Rita A., Chen, Chung
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Wellington
• Assistant Examiner(s): VU, HUY DUY
• Application Number:
  US08/258,411
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 370/79, 370/85.13, 370/60, 370/68.1, 370/60.1, 370/58.1, 370/58.2, 370/58.3, 370/110.1, 370/94.1, 370/94.2, 370/13, 370/17, 395/200.06, 395/427, 395/600, 395/650, 395/700, 395/775, 395/200.09, 395/200.03, 395/200.2, 364/DIG. 1, 379/90, 379/201
• US Class Current: 370/249
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0028 Local loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0041 Star, e.g. cross-connect, concentrator, subscriber group equipment, remote electronics
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0046 User Network Interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0048 Network termination, e.g. NT1, NT2, PBX
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/006 Fault tolerance and recovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1611 Synchronous digital hierarchy [SDH] or SONET H04J3/1664 takes precedence for interactions with OTN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0226 Mapping or translating multiple network management protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0407 using a stored programme control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13003 Constructional details of switching devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1301 Optical transmission, optical switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13106 Microprocessor, CPU
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13176 Common channel signaling, CCS7
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13209 ISDN
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13292 Time division multiplexing, TDM
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/1332 Logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13367 Hierarchical multiplexing, add-drop multiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13381 Pair-gain system, digital loop carriers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0095 Specification, development or application of network management software, e.g. software re-use

Abstract

A control system for a network element (NE) such as a remote digital terminal (RDT) in an integrated digital loop carrier (DLC) system is provided which comprises subsystems for operating circuit packs and for providing functions that are common to the circuit packs. Each subsystem has a subagent residing on a network processor circuit pack. The subagents communicate via a common subagent interface. A NE which supports both OSI and non-OSI interfaces such as Transaction Language 1 (TL1) and Common Management Services Element (CMISE) interfaces is provided, along with a method for mapping TL1 commands to CMISE messages using TL1 proxy objects.

Claims

1. Network management apparatus for interfacing a network element in an access system with at least two operations systems employed in an open system interconnection or OSI architecture, and a non-OSI architecture, respectively, the network management apparatus comprising:

a first interface for interfacing said network element to said OSI operations system;

a second interface for interfacing said network element to said non-OSI operations system;

a control device coupled to the said first interface and said second interface for receiving OSI and non-OSI operations system commands from said first interface and said second interface, respectively; and

a memory device coupled to said control device for storing a database of managed OSI-based object instances organized into object classes, and at least one table of data comprising an access identifier, at least one of said object classes and an object instance identifier corresponding to a non-OSI command;

wherein said control device being programmable to process said OSI commands using said database and said non-OSI operations system commands using said table to create messages for requesting services on said object instances.

2. The network management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first interface is a Common Management Information Service or CMIS interface, and said second interface is a Transaction Language 1 or TL1 interface.

3. A method of generically mapping a Transaction Language 1 or TL1 command into a Common Management Information Service or CMIS-type service, comprising the steps of:

generating TL1 proxy objects corresponding to at least one of a plurality of CMIS-type services requested in said TL1 command;

generating a service message for delivery to a memory device which stores object instances organized into classes;

retrieving object classes stored in said memory device to which said service message is directed and saving said classes until corresponding ones of said plurality of services are complete;

performing said generating TL1 proxy objects step, said generating a service message step and said retrieving step to complete each of said plurality of services and correspondingly modify respective ones of said saved classes from a first state in said memory device;

generating a success message after said plurality of services are all complete; and

generating a failure message if any one of said plurality of services fails to be completed, and restoring said object class to which said failed service was directed back to said first state.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of translating said failed service into a TL1 error code.

5. A control system for a network element apparatus in an access system, the network element comprising common equipment for supporting a plurality of different subscriber systems, the common equipment having a number of circuit packs for performing functions common to all of the subscriber systems, and the subscriber systems each also having at least one circuit pack for performing functions associated with that subscriber system, the control system comprising:

at least one processor in each of said plurality of subscriber systems, said plurality of subscriber systems being connected to at least one of said common equipment circuit packs and operable in accordance with at least one of a plurality of application subsystems;

at least one processor in said common equipment for controlling the operation of the circuit packs therein and for communicating with said at least one of subscriber system processors; and

at least one memory device connected to and accessed by said common equipment processor, said memory device comprising;

a collection of objects, subsets of said collection of objects corresponding to respective ones of said application subsystems; and

at least one subagent stored therein and used by said common equipment processor for supporting each of said application subsystems;

said common equipment processor being programmed to operate a common subagent interface along which each of said subagents can generate and transmit messages to other ones of said subagents and receive messages therefrom.

6. A network element control system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said subagents are configured to send messages to at least one object from said collection of objects that is associated with a destination application subsystem, said common equipment processor being operable to route said messages to said destination application subsystems transparently with respect to said originating subagents using said object such that the organization of said collection of objects and said subsystems is concealed from said originating subagents.

7. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of application subsystems is an administrative subsystem for performing at least one of a group of functions consisting of creating and maintaining virtual network elements with respect to said network element, alarm and event reporting to a management system external to said network element, and database synchronization, back-up and restoration, and said collection of objects comprises an administrative subagent object class defining services available in said memory device corresponding to said administrative subsystem.

8. A network element control system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said collection of objects comprises a virtual network element object class defining services available in said memory device for accessing and operating on one of said virtual network elements created by said administrative subsystem.

9. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of application subsystems is a network management subsystem for providing protocol stacks to interface said network element with different management systems external to said network element, and said collection of objects comprises a network management subagent object class defining services available in said memory device corresponding to said network management subsystem.

10. A network element control system as claimed in claim 9, wherein said collection of objects comprises a session object class defining messages to validate commands from one of said external management systems and to inhibit and allow messages during a session initiated by a user of said external management system.

11. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of application subsystems is a turnup subsystem for performing at least one of a group of functions consisting of coordinating the start-up functions of said circuit packs, downloading software to said circuit packs and verifying the correct software load is present on said circuit packs, and said collection of objects comprises a turnup subagent object class defining messages to control the advancement of said turnup subsystem through a state model.

12. A network element control system as claimed in claim 11, wherein said collection of objects comprises a list of said circuit packs supported by said turnup subsystem.

13. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of said common equipment circuit packs processes signals from a synchronous optical network connected to said network element, at least one of said plurality of application subsystems is a transport access subsystem for managing equipment and terminations associated with said synchronous optical network, and said collection of objects comprises a transport access subagent object class defining services available in said memory device corresponding to said transport access subsystem.

14. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of said plurality of application subsystems is a call processing subsystem for controlling the assignment of channels associated with said network element among said subscriber systems, and said collection of objects comprises a call processing subagent object class defining messages to control the advancement of said call processing subsystem through a state model.

15. A network element control system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said subagents are each configured to place at least one of a plurality of subagent object instance identifiers in each of said messages to identify an object from said collection of objects, each of said plurality of subagent object instance identifiers corresponding to one of said objects and one of said application subsystems which operates on said object.

16. A method of controlling a network element apparatus in an access system comprising a plurality of different subscriber systems, each subscriber system having at least one circuit pack and a software subsystem to manage the circuit pack, and common equipment for supporting the subscriber systems having a number of circuit packs and software subsystems for performing functions common to all of the subscriber systems, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a collection of objects in a memory device connected to said common equipment, subsets of said collection of objects corresponding to respective ones of said software subsystems;

generating and storing an object identifier uniquely mapping one of said collection of objects to one of said software subsystems; and

transmitting a message which comprises said object identifier to one of said collection of objects from one of said subsystems.

17. A method for controlling a network element apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein said transmitting step comprises the steps of each of said subsystems transmitting messages comprising one of a plurality of said object identifiers to other said subsystems along a common interface provided by a central processor in said common equipment, and further comprising the steps of:

receiving messages comprising one of said plurality of object identifiers along said common interface; and

determining from said object identifier one of said subsystems and a transaction to be performed thereby, said object identifier in each of said messages being useful to conceal the objects and subsystems of said receiving subsystems from said transmitting subsystems.

18. A control system for a network element apparatus in an access system comprising a plurality of different subscriber systems, each subscriber system having at least one circuit pack and a software subsystem to manage the circuit pack, and common equipment for supporting the subscriber systems and having a number of circuit packs and software subsystems for performing functions common to all of the subscriber systems, the control system comprising:

a communications network associated with said common equipment and connected to a plurality of said circuit packs associated with said common equipment and said plurality of subscriber systems to transport messages therebetween, said circuits packs and said software subsystems being characterized as applications, said messages comprising circuit pack identifiers corresponding to source and destination circuit packs, respectively, and application class identifiers specifying at least one of a plurality of tasks that can be performed by said source and destination circuit packs, and a message payload, said communications network being configured to transport messages between applications using application class identifiers while concealing physical board addresses from said source and destination circuit packs.

19. A control system as claimed in claim 18, wherein said messages each further comprise an inter-process message header, said inter-process message header comprising a message class that is defined for each of said subsystems and for messages that are not part of one of said subsystems.

20. A control system as claimed in claim 19, wherein said message class specifies the manner in which said message payload is to be de-coupled and delivered via said communication network, said communication network being operable to transport messages between said subsystems when said subsystems employ different protocols.

21. A control system as claimed in claim 19, further comprising a memory device accessible by said common equipment for storing a collection of objects, said communications network being configured to transport messages between said software subsystems, said software subsystems being operable to communicate with other ones of said software subsystems by sending messages to selected objects in said collection of objects, said messages each comprising an object identifier which uniquely maps an object in said collection of objects to one of said subsystems.

22. A control system as claimed in claim 21, wherein said message class is operable to decouple different message formats used between said circuit packs and between subsystems.

23. A control system as claimed in claim 22, wherein said communication network is approximately an open system interconnect-type protocol stack having a plurality of communication layers comprising at least a low level layer for messaging between said circuit packs, and a high level layer for messaging between said subsystems using said collection of objects.

24. A control system as claimed in claim 19, wherein communications network is configured to support a plurality of delivery services for the transport of said messages, said inter-process message header comprising data indicating which of said delivery services is to be used when transporting said message or a response thereto.

25. A control system as claimed in claim 24, wherein said plurality of delivery services comprises services selected from a group of services consisting of:

single and multiple attempts to deliver a message, transmission service, error recovery service, post back signal generation circuit upon delivery failure, and route diversity when delivery by a first route fails.

26. A method of controlling a network element apparatus in an access system comprising a plurality of different subscriber systems, each subscriber system having at least one circuit pack and a software subsystem to manage the circuit pack, and common equipment for supporting the subscriber systems and having a number of circuit packs and software subsystems for performing functions common to all of the subscriber systems, the method comprising the steps of:

defining a plurality of applications corresponding to different ones of said circuit packs and said software subsystems, said applications each being characterized by a plurality of application tasks that are performed by respective ones of said circuit packs and said software subsystems;

generating a message from one of said applications for delivery to another one of said applications, said message comprising a communications network header and an inter-process message header, said communications network header comprising a circuit pack identifier and an application class identifier, wherein said application class identifiers are assigned to corresponding tasks that can be performed by a circuit pack; and

de-coupling said message to ascertain said circuit pack and said application task on said circuit pack to which said message is directed.

27. A method as claimed in claim 26, wherein said message further comprises an application header, and said inter-process message header comprises a message class, said de-coupling step further comprising the step of determining from said message class which of a number of formats is employed for said application header.

28. A method as claimed in claim 27, wherein said application header specifies one of a group of delivery services consisting of:

single and multiple attempts to deliver a message, transmission service, error recovery service, post back signal generation circuit upon delivery failure, and route diversity when delivery by a first route fails.

29. A method as claimed in claim 26, further comprising the steps of:

generating a collection of objects representing said application tasks that can be performed by each subsystem;

generating a message comprising an object identifier for delivery between at least two of said software subsystems;

allocating a buffer associated with said communications network for transmitting said message;

determining from said object identifier which of said subsystems and the target application class identifier to send said message to via said communications network;

transmitting said message to said target application class identifiers via the communications network;

determining message type and accessing message payload in said inter-process message header using a message class library associated with said applications.

30. A method for mapping a command received from an external manager by a network element apparatus in an access system into a message having a format which can be processed by the network element apparatus, comprising the steps of:

generating at least one table of data in a memory device within the network element apparatus relating the command and parameters associated with the command to a message identifier;

converting said message identifier to a binary value within a predetermined range of values using a look-up table stored in said memory device, said look-up table relating said message identifier to one of said range of values, to a service provided on a communications network within said network element apparatus, and to at least one of a plurality of object classes which relate a plurality of objects stored in said memory device to each other;

generating an object class identifier using an address identifier within said command in combination with said object class;

converting said parameters in the command to message attributes; and

generating a message from said object identifier, said message identifier and said attributes to invoke a service on at least one of said objects.