Validating and parsing engine for system configuration and support command messages
First Claim
1. A method of configuring and supporting command messages in a network that responds to command requests from a plurality of network elements each having an interface that communicates with an operations support system of the network, comprising the steps of:
- receiving at one of the plural network elements from the operations support system, through the interface of the one network element, a set of data that comprises a set of allowed parameters that will make up a potential command message;
storing the received set of data in a memory at the one network element;
generating at the one network element from the received set of data a potential command message which comprises a set of constituent parameters;
parsing the potential command message generated at the network element into its constituent parameters;
comparing each of the constituent parameters from the parsed potential command message to the set of allowed parameters in the memory and determining from said comparison whether each said constituent parameter is an allowed parameter; and
populating a data structure at the one network element with all of the constituent parameters that have been determined to be allowed parameters.
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Abstract
Methods for parsing and validating a command message produced by a network element in a network utilizes table-drive approach. The messages are parsed by a parsing engine in object code stored at the network element and which operatively breaks down each of the messages into its constituent parameters. As each parameter is parsed, it is compared to a set of allowed values in object code stored in tables at the network element. Each validated parameter is entered into a data structure so that a valid message is populated. The methods allow for quick parsing and validation of existing messages and simple updating of the tables to allow for validation of new messages.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of configuring and supporting command messages in a network that responds to command requests from a plurality of network elements each having an interface that communicates with an operations support system of the network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving at one of the plural network elements from the operations support system, through the interface of the one network element, a set of data that comprises a set of allowed parameters that will make up a potential command message;
storing the received set of data in a memory at the one network element;
generating at the one network element from the received set of data a potential command message which comprises a set of constituent parameters;
parsing the potential command message generated at the network element into its constituent parameters;
comparing each of the constituent parameters from the parsed potential command message to the set of allowed parameters in the memory and determining from said comparison whether each said constituent parameter is an allowed parameter; and
populating a data structure at the one network element with all of the constituent parameters that have been determined to be allowed parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of parsing and validating a message that is generated by a network element in a network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving from the network element a data string comprising a potentially valid command message, and storing the received data string in a format in a buffer;
parsing the data string by separating the data string into constituent parts which comprise a set of potentially allowed parameters;
validating each of the potentially allowed parameters from the parsed data string by comparing said each potentially allowable parameter to a set of allowable parameters stored in a table; and
populating a data structure with all of the validated parameters. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification