System and method for reporting telecommunication service conditions

• US 6,141,777 A
• Filed: 09/05/1997
• Issued: 10/31/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MCI Communications Corporation (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: O'Connor, Michael J., Healy, James, Maino, Dennis L., Cutrell, George M., Steiner, Milton A., Holford, William C.
• Primary Examiner(s): HUA, LY
• Application Number:
  US08/924,208
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 395/182.02, 395/184.01, 395/185.01, 395/185.02, 395/183.15, 395/200.53, 395/200.54, 379/1, 379/10, 379/13, 379/14, 379/26, 379/27, 379/32, 379/33, 379/34
• US Class Current: 714/47.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/327 Alarm or error message display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• 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 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0879 Manual configuration through operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/14 Network analysis or design
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/28 Restricting access to network management systems or functions, e.g. using authorisation function to access network configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5061 characterised by the interaction between service providers and their network customers, e.g. customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0075 Fault management techniques

Abstract

A system and method for reporting, directly to a customer, conditions of telecommunications services to which the customer subscribes. The system includes a server for collecting fault information from the telecommunications network management system and a customer workstation for viewing the information. The customer can use the workstation to define a view of the data he wishes to receive. The server builds reports using the view, and provides the reports to the customer.

Claims

1. A fault manager system for reporting events, said events describing conditions of telecommunication services including service types and facilities, comprising:

a server for receiving the events from a fault manager host and building an event report based on said events and an event view;

said server configured to build said report for a customer using only events related to a package of services leased by said customer; and

at least one workstation, coupled to said server, said workstation comprising;

means for defining said event view, said event view specifying events to be reported to a user;

means for sending said event view to said server;

means for receiving said event view to said server; and

means for displaying events in said event report on a monitor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said workstation further comprises:

means for storing each received event in an event queue.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said workstation further comprises:

means for sorting said events in said event queue in accordance with said event view.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said workstation further comprises:

means for sending an acknowledgment to said server after an event is acknowledged by a user.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said workstation further comprises:

means for displaying each of said events with a field for a user to acknowledge each of said events.

6. In a fault manager system for reporting events, said events describing conditions of telecommunication services including service types and facilities, said system including a server for receiving only events related to a package of services leased by a customer from a fault manager host and building an event report for said customer based on said events and an event view and at least one workstation, coupled to said server, a computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium for causing an application program to execute on said workstation, said computer readable program code means comprising:

a computer readable first program code means for causing said workstation to define said event view, said event view specifying events to be reported to a user;

a computer readable second program code means for causing said workstation to send said event view to said server;

a computer readable third program code means for causing said workstation to receive said event report from said server; and

a computer readable fourth program code means for causing said workstation to display said events in said event report on a monitor.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein said computer readable program code means further comprises:

a computer readable fifth program code means for causing said workstation to store each received event in an event queue.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said computer readable program code means further comprises:

a computer readable sixth program code means for causing said workstation to sort said events in said event queue in accordance with said event view.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein said computer readable program code means further comprises:

a computer readable further program code means for causing said workstation to send an acknowledgment to said server after an event is acknowledged by a user.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said computer readable program code means further comprises:

a computer readable further program code means for causing said workstation to display each of said events with a field for a user to acknowledge each of said events.

11. In a fault manager system for reporting events, said events describing conditions of telecommunication services including service types and facilities, said system including a server for receiving events, related to a package of services leased by a customer, from a fault manager host and building an event report for said customer based on said events and an event view and at least one workstation, coupled to said server, a method for reporting conditions of telecommunication services comprising the steps of:

(a) defining a view of events to be reported by the server to the workstation;

(b) sending said view to the server;

(c) at the server, building a report of events defined by said view;

(d) sending said report to said workstation; and

(e) displaying said events to a monitor.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

(f) storing each received event in an event queue.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of:

(g) sorting said events in said event queue in accordance with said view.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

(h) sending an acknowledgment to said server after an event is acknowledged by a user.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising the step of:

(i) displaying each of said events with a field for a user to acknowledge each of said events.