Operation and maintenance control point and method of managing a self-engineering telecommunications network

• US 6,233,449 B1
• Filed: 08/24/1998
• Issued: 05/15/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Optis Wireless Technology, LLC (Brevet Capital)
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Svensson, Bo, Glitho, Roch
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gesesse, Tilahun
• Application Number:
  US09/138,719
• Time in Patent Office: 995 Days
• Field of Search: 455/446, 455/453, 455/422, 455/423, 455/424, 455/445, 455/501, 455/560, 455/67.1
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0075 Fault management techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition

Abstract

An operation and maintenance control point (OMCP) operates at an intermediate level in a telecommunications network between the network elements and the network management system (NMS). The OMCP reduces the processing load on the NMS, and rather than reporting symptoms, provides the NMS with suggested corrective actions to correct reported problems. The NMS executes the suggested corrective actions and compares the actual results in the network with predicted results. Feedback on the results is then provided to the OMCP to improve its analysis and provide more effective corrective actions are suggested if the problem recurs. By automatically interfacing with the NMS, which analyzes and executes the suggested corrective actions, the OMCP creates a self-engineering telecommunications network.

Claims

1. An operation and maintenance control point (OMCP) in a telecommunications network having a plurality of network elements that report to the OMCP and a network management system (NMS) to which the OMCP reports, said OMCP comprising:

a performance monitoring function that receives preprocessed traffic and exchange data from the network elements, monitors performance of the network elements and determines quality of service (QoS) in the network;

a trouble sniffer that receives performance and QoS data from the performance monitoring function and detects faults within the network; and

an action proposal agent comprising;

means for receiving performance and QoS data from the performance monitoring function and fault data from the trouble sniffer;

means for determining suggested corrective actions;

means for providing suggested corrective actions to the NMS;

means for receiving feedback from the NMS regarding the actual results of executing the suggested corrective actions; and

means for utilizing the feedback to provide better suggestive corrective actions.

2. A self-engineering telecommunications network comprising:

a plurality of network elements (NEs), each of said NEs including;

means for collecting raw traffic data and exchange data; and

means for preprocessing the raw data;

an operation and maintenance control point (OMCP) that receives the preprocessed data from the NEs, said OMCP including;

a performance monitoring function that monitors performance of the NEs and determines quality of service (QoS) in the network;

a trouble sniffer that receives performance and QoS data from the performance monitoring function and detects faults within the network; and

an action proposal agent that receives performance and QoS data from the performance monitoring finction and fault data from the trouble sniffer, and determines suggested corrective actions; and

a network management system (NMS) that receives the suggested corrective actions from the OMCP, said NMS including;

means for predicting results within the network of executing the suggested corrective actions;

means for executing the suggested corrective actions;

means for determining the actual results of executing the suggested corrective actions; and

means for providing feedback to the action proposal agent regarding the actual results, said action proposal agent including means for utilizing the feedback to provide better suggested corrective actions.

3. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein the means for preprocessing the raw data includes means for compressing the raw data and sorting the data into logical groups.

4. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein the NMS also includes means for performing trend analyses regarding performance of the NEs and quality of service (QoS) in the network.

5. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein the means for predicting results within the network of executing the suggested corrective actions also includes means for providing feedback to the action proposal agent if the predicted results are not satisfactory, and the action proposal agent includes means for revising the suggested corrective actions upon receiving feedback from the means for predicting results that the predicted results are unsatisfactory.

6. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein the network is a cellular radio telecommunications network, and the suggested corrective actions include automatically changing cell sizes to improve network performance.

7. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein the OMCP also includes means for interfacing with external systems to obtain network management information.

8. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 2 wherein:

one of the network elements is a mobile switching center (MSC) that collects traffic measurements from a plurality of cells in the MSC'"'"'s service area and sends the measurements to the OMCP;

the OMCP determines that there is adverse traffic loading in the cells that is adversely affecting network performance; and

the suggested corrective actions include changing cell sizes to correct the adverse traffic loading.

9. The self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 8 wherein the NMS simulates the resulting traffic in each cell resulting from changing the cell sizes to predict resulting signal strength levels and interference levels in the network.

10. A method of implementing a self-engineering telecommunications network comprising the steps of:

automatically collecting information about the network'"'"'s performance;

automatically detecting problems with the network'"'"'s performance utilizing the collected information;

automatically analyzing possible causes of the detected problems;

automatically determining suggested corrective actions to correct the causes;

automatically predicting results of executing the suggested actions;

automatically executing the actions;

automatically comparing actual results of executing the suggested actions with the predicted results; and

automatically learning from the comparing step so that improved corrective actions are suggested when problems recur.

11. The method of implementing a self-engineering telecommunications network of claim 10 further comprising, before the step of automatically executing the actions, the steps of:

automatically determining from the predicted results, whether the suggested corrective actions will correct the problems; and

automatically determining improved suggested corrective actions to correct the causes, upon determining that the suggested corrective actions will not correct the problems.

12. In a self-engineering telecommunications network, a method of configuring and testing a new hardware or software device, said method comprising the steps of:

installing the new device in the network to correct a reported problem;

detecting the new device by a network element;

generating, by the network element, an event indicating what type of device was installed and its predefined usage;

loading and configuring the device with predefined default parameters;

reporting to an operation and maintenance control point (OMCP) that the new device has been installed;

collecting raw exchange data and traffic data by the network element;

sending the collected data to the OMCP;

monitoring by the OMCP, performance of the new device and the quality of service in the network;

determining in the OMCP whether the new device fails;

performing fault analysis in the OMCP to determine why the new device failed, upon determining that it failed;

reporting a failure cause to a network management system (NMS) for corrective action;

reporting to the NMS that the new device has been installed and is working properly upon determining that the new device did not fail;

utilizing simulations by the NMS, to predict effects on network performance of utilizing the properly working new device to process traffic in the network;

utilizing the new device in traffic processing;

determining actual results of utilizing the new device in traffic processing;

comparing the actual results with the predicted effects; and

refining the simulations to increase the accuracy of the predicted effects.

13. In a self-engineering telecommunications network, a method of analyzing a reported fault from a hardware or software device in a network element, said method comprising the steps of:

collecting by the network element, a fault event from raw exchange data and traffic data;

determining in the network element whether the event has been previously discovered and reported;

sending the event to an operation and maintenance control point (OMCP) if the event is new;

determining in a performance monitoring function in the OMCP, whether a predefined performance threshold has been crossed;

passing information regarding the event and the crossed threshold to a trouble sniffer function in the OMCP;

determining a root cause of the fault event in the trouble sniffer function;

determining in an action proposal agent in the OMCP, suggested corrective actions to correct the fault event;

sending the suggested corrective actions to a network management system (NMS);

utilizing simulation programs in the NMS to predict results of executing the suggested corrective actions;

determining whether the predicted results are acceptable;

modifying the suggested corrective actions in the OMCP upon determining that the NMS'"'"'s predicted results are unacceptable;

executing the suggested corrective actions upon determining that the NMS'"'"'s predicted results are acceptable;

determining actual results of executing the suggested corrective actions;

comparing the actual results with the predicted results; and

sending feedback to the action proposal agent to enable the agent to improve the suggested corrective actions.