Method and system for sharing information between network managers
First Claim
1. A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising:
- a sending machine including at leasta first network manager for managing a first network, said first network manager receiving event and trap information from agents associated with the first network;
an authorization list containing information indicating whether receiving machines are authorized to receive the event and trap information; and
a sender process, operatively coupled to said first network manager, for receiving the event and trap information received by said first network manager;
a receiving machine including at leasta second network manager for managing a second network;
a receiver process for receiving the event and trap information; and
a registration list for identifying sender machines to which said receiving machine is to connect to receive event and trap information; and
a communication link connecting said sending machine and said receiving machine,wherein said sender process forwards the event and trap information to said receiving machine if said authorization list authorizes said receiving machine to receive the event and trap information, andwherein said receiver process forwards the event and trap information received from the sender process to said second network manager for processing thereof.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A technique for managing a network by sharing information between distributed network managers which manage a different portion of a large network is disclosed. By sharing such network information, the network management performed by the distributed network managers can inform site managers not only local network conditions but also about network conditions on other remote networks. A filtering operation is used to determine that portion of the network information deemed important to forward to another network manager. A database synchronization operation is also optionally provided so that databases of each network manager, which store topology information concerning the particular portion of the network, can be automatically synchronized.
397 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising:
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a sending machine including at least a first network manager for managing a first network, said first network manager receiving event and trap information from agents associated with the first network; an authorization list containing information indicating whether receiving machines are authorized to receive the event and trap information; and a sender process, operatively coupled to said first network manager, for receiving the event and trap information received by said first network manager; a receiving machine including at least a second network manager for managing a second network; a receiver process for receiving the event and trap information; and a registration list for identifying sender machines to which said receiving machine is to connect to receive event and trap information; and a communication link connecting said sending machine and said receiving machine, wherein said sender process forwards the event and trap information to said receiving machine if said authorization list authorizes said receiving machine to receive the event and trap information, and wherein said receiver process forwards the event and trap information received from the sender process to said second network manager for processing thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising:
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a first network manager for managing a first network; a second network manager for managing a second network; information sharing means for sharing information between said first network manager and said second network manager; and an authorization list containing information indicating whether said second network manager is are authorized to receive the information from wherein said information sharing means operates to forwards the information to said second network manager if said authorization list authorizes said second network manager to receive the information. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A network management system for sharing information between a plurality of distributed network managers, said system comprising
a first network manager for managing a first network, a second network manager for managing a second network; - and information sharing means for sharing topology data between said first network manager and said second network manager, said first network manager maintains a first database of topology data for the first network and the second network manager maintains a second database of topology data for the second network, and said information sharing means automatically synchronizes topology data between said first and second databases.
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12. A computer-implemented method for sharing network management data between first and second network managers, the first network manager locally managing a first network, and the second network manager locally managing a second network, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) connecting a receiver process associated with the second network to a sender process associated with the first network; (b) receiving, at the sender process, network management data for the first network; (c) forwarding the network management data from the sender process to the receiver process; and (d) processing the network management data in the second network manager. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-implemented method for sharing network management data between first and second network managers, the first network manager locally managing a first network, and the second network manager locally managing a second network, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) connecting a receiver process associated with the second network to a sender process associated with the first network; (b) receiving, at the sender process, network management data for the first network; (c) filtering the network management data at the sender process to produce filtered data for the receiver process; (d) forwarding the filtered data from the sender process to the receiver process; and (e) processing the filtered data in the second network manager. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 36)
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26. A computer program product, comprising:
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a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein to implement sharing of network management data between first and second network managers, the first network manager locally manages a first network and the second network manager locally manages a second network, and wherein said computer readable code comprises; first computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect connecting a receiver process associated with the second network to a sender process associated with the first network; second computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect receiving, at the sender process, network management data for the first network; third computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect forwarding the network management data from the sender process to the receiver process; and fourth computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect processing the network management data in the second network manager. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 37)
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32. A computer-implemented method for synchronizing a first database of a first network management station to a second database of a second network management station, comprising the steps of:
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(a) sending a synchronization request from the second network management station to the first network management station to request synchronization of the second database to the first database; (b) generating, at the first network management station, database traps for the entire contents of the first database; (c) forwarding the database traps from the first network management station to the second network management station; and (d) updating the second database in accordance with the database traps. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A computer program product, comprising:
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a computer usable medium having computer readable code embodied therein to implement synchronization of a first database of a first network management station to a second database of a second network management station, and wherein said computer readable code comprises; first computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect sending a synchronization request from the second network management station to the first network management station to request synchronization of the second database to the first database; second computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect generating, at the first network management station, database traps for the entire contents of the first database; third computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect forwarding the database traps from the first network management station to the second network management station; and fourth computer readable program code devices configured to cause a computer to effect updating the second database in accordance with the database traps. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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Specification