Technique for providing automatic event notification of changing network conditions to network elements in an adaptive, feedback-based data network

• US 6,584,502 B1
• Filed: 06/29/1999
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rawat, Vipin, Harvey, Andrew G., Lee, Hsuan-Chung, Pereira, Leo, Natarajan, Shankar
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US09/342,744
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/223
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0233 Object-oriented techniques, for representation of network management data, e.g. common object request broker architecture [CORBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

A feedback-based adaptive network is described wherein at least a portion of the network elements report operating information relating to network conditions to a centralized data store. The information which is reported to the data store is analyzed by a policy engine which includes a plurality of application specific plug-in policies for analyzing selected information from the data store and for computing updated control information based upon the analysis of the information. The updated control information is fed back to selected network elements to thereby affect operation of the selected elements. Typically, when the operation of a network element has been affected, its corresponding operating information will change. The new or changed network element operating information is then reported to the data store and analyzed by the policy engine. The policy engine may then generate new or updated control information for affecting the operation of selected elements in the network. In this way, the dynamic and automatic feedback control of network elements is provided in order to allow the network to adapt to changing conditions. Events relating to changing conditions in the network may be reported to selected elements in the network using an event notification service. Additionally the adaptive, feedback-based network of the present invention may include a network quality monitoring system for evaluating performance characteristics or other aspects of the network based upon predetermined standards or criteria. If it is determined that a particular characteristic of the network does not conform with the standards established for that characteristic, the policy which controls that particular characteristic of the network may be automatically and dynamically modified to thereby affect the network performance.

Claims

1. An event notification system for providing event notification of dynamic feedback control data to network elements in a data network, the data network including a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith, said operating parameters being related to at least one control parameter of said element, said event notification system comprising:

at least one event supplier entity for monitoring at least one data source for desired information relating to updated network conditions;

at least one event handler for notifying an associated network element of an event relating to said updated network conditions;

an event server operable to receive information from said event supplier entity relating to said desired information, said event server being further operable to communicate with said event handler to cause said event handler to alert said associated element of an event relating to said updated network conditions.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said desired information relates to updated control information generated in response to changing conditions in the network.

3. The event notification system of claim 2 wherein said event handler is operable to cause said associated element to retrieve said updated control information.

4. The event notification system of claim 1 wherein said event server is further operable to communicate with said event handler to register said associated network element with event notification service in order to provide notification of desired events to said network element.

5. The event notification system of claim 1 wherein said event handler resides at said associated network element.

6. The event notification system of claim 1 wherein a plurality of network element each include a respective event handler which communicates with said event server.

7. The event notification system of claim 1 wherein said at least one data source is a centralized data store, and wherein said event supplier entity resides at said data store.

8. The event notification system of claim 1 wherein said event notification server is implemented using a common object request broker architecture (CORBA).

9. The system of claim 1 wherein said data network is a frame relay network.

10. A method for providing event notification of dynamic feedback control data to network elements in a data network, the data network including a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith, said operating parameters being related to at least one control parameter of said element, said method comprising:

registering at least one network element with an event notification service in order to provide notification of desired events to said network element;

monitoring at least one source for an event relating to changes in network characteristics; and

notifying the at least one network element of the event relating to said changes in network characteristics.

11. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium having computer code embodied therein for implementing the method of claim 10.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said changes in network characteristics relates to updated control parameters to be implemented by the at least one network in response to detection of the changes in network characteristics.

13. The method of claim 12 further including causing the at least one network element to retrieve said updated control parameters in response to said event notification.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein said event notification service is implemented using a common object request broker architecture (CORBA).

15. The method of claim 10 wherein said at least one source is a centralized data store.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the data network is a frame relay network.

17. The system of claim 10 wherein said changes in network characteristics relates to updated control parameters to be implemented by the at least one network in response to detection of the changes in network characteristics.

18. An event notification system for providing event notification of network conditions to network elements in a data network, said event notification system comprising:

a plurality of event handler entities, each event handler being associated with a respective network element; and

an event notification server operable to receive information from each of said event handler entities relating to a condition of said respective network element, said event server being further operable to report event information relating to a condition of at least one of said network elements to selected event handler entities;

each of said event handler entities being operable to receive event notification messages from said event notification server, and further operable to report information relating to a condition of said respective network element to said event notification server.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein said data network is a frame relay network.

20. A system for providing event notification of dynamic feedback control data to network elements in a data network, the data network including a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith, said operating parameters being related to at least one control parameter of said element, said method comprising:

means for registering at least one network element with an event notification service in order to provide notification of desired events to said network element;

means for monitoring at least one source for an event relating to changes in network characteristics; and

means for notifying the at least one network element of the event relating to said changes in network characteristics.