Method and apparatus for inter-domain alarm correlation

• US 6,430,712 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2001
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Aprisma Management Technologies Incorporated (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lewis, Lundy
• Primary Examiner(s): Baderman, Scott T.
• Application Number:
  US09/811,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20010013107A1
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 714/47, 714/43, 714/48, 714/4, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 714/47.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/044 comprising hierarchical management structures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13516 agents or brokers - user, terminal etc., also OSI agent/managers
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13521 fault management
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13533 multivendor and hybrid, e.g. public/private, networks, inc. international
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13535 distributed systems - also domains in service creation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13566 mediation
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0062 Provisions for network management
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0075 Fault management techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0095 Specification, development or application of network management software, e.g. software re-use

Abstract

A multi-domain network manager provides alarm correlation among a plurality of domains included in a communications network. Individual network management systems each monitor a single respective domain of the communications network, and provide intra-domain alarms indicative of status specific to the single respective domain. The multi-domain network manager receives the intra-domain alarms, and correlates them to provide inter-domain alarms as well as responses in the form of corrective actions. The multi-domain network manager thus provides a high level of correlation and response for the entire network while each network management system provides a lower level of correlation and response for an individual domain of the network.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium encoded with a program that, when executed on a computer system, performs a method for managing a plurality of resources, the method comprising steps of:

receiving a first alarm associated with a first resource of the plurality of resources, the first resource being associated with a first domain;

receiving a second alarm associated with a second resource of the plurality of resources, the second resource being associated with a second domain;

generating a third alarm based on the first and second alarms;

determining a corrective action based on the first and second alarms; and

providing the corrective action to at least one of the plurality of resources.

2. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein a first network management system provides the first alarm to the computer system.

3. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein a second network management system provides the first alarm to the computer system.

4. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the generating operation comprises correlating the first and second alarms to generate the third alarm.

5. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the first and second domains are determined based on one of the group comprising:

geographical location;

organization; and

functional characteristics.

6. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the operation of providing comprises providing a command to a network resource to implement the corrective action.

7. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, further comprising analyzing the third alarm to determine the corrective action.

8. The computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the correlating operation includes determining status information for adjacent domains.

9. The computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the correlating operation comprises determining a severity of a condition indicated by a combination of the first and second alarms, the third alarm comprising an indication of the severity of the condition.

10. The computer-readable medium according to claim 4, wherein the correlating operation comprises:

providing the first and second alarms to a state machine; and

receiving an output from the state machine indicative of a severity and a correlation of a combination of the first and second alarms.

11. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the first alarm is an intra-domain alarm.

12. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the second alarm is an intra-domain alarm.

13. The computer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the third alarm is an inter-domain alarm.