Method of controlling a network element to aggregate alarms and faults of a communications network

• US 6,816,461 B1
• Filed: 07/27/2000
• Issued: 11/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ciena Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ciena Corporation
• Inventors: Hebbar, Srinivasa, Dunbar, Martha, Scrandis, Clark, Kapur, Rajan, Peters-Rodbell, Michael B.
• Primary Examiner(s): VANDERPUYE, KENNETH N
• Application Number:
  US09/626,184
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 370/242, 370/241, 370/244, 340/506, 340/3.43, 340/525, 714/47
• US Class Current: 370/242
• 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 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/16 using machine learning or artificial intelligence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

A distributed method and system of controlling a communications network having a plurality of spans of interconnected network elements some of which include a network element processor distributes network topology information to respective span databases; stores original fault objects in the respective span databases; advertises fault objects to other network element processors in a local span when the original fault affects network elements other than a network element in which the fault occurred; advertises alarm objects to other network element processors that are respectively associated with a circuit affected by the original faults; stores the advertised fault and alarm objects in the respective span databases; and performs distributed processing of the advertised fault and alarm objects with the other network element processors and the respective span databases. Aggregation of other faults and alarms that may be occurring on the communications network due to other faults other than the received fault aids in determining causality of the fault. Causality may be determined by correlating other faults and alarms with the received fault. If not a root cause of another fault or alarm, the received fault is sympathetic to another fault or alarm. Sympathetic faults are suppressed while root cause faults are promoted to an alarm and reported to affected network elements. The number of alarms viewed by a network manager as well as the reporting of alarms and underlying faults are reduced by performing such distributed alarm correlation and fault reporting suppression.

Claims

1. A method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network having at least one span, comprising:

receiving a fault;

aggregating other faults, one or more alarms associated with the fault and one or more alarms that may occur on the communications network due to other faults other than the received fault; and

correlating the one or more alarms associated with the received fault and the other faults with the received fault to determine if the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the one or more alarms associated with the received fault or the other faults.

2. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 1,

said aggregating step aggregating alarms and other faults by delaying operation of said correlating step.

3. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 2,

said aggregating step introducing a delay related to a number of network elements in the communications network.

4. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network according to claim 1, further comprising:

suppressing reporting of the received fault to a network monitoring interface if said determining step determines that the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the alarms or at least one of the other faults.

5. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network according to claim 1,

wherein the communications network includes multiple spans,

said correlating step including:

multispan aggregating one or more multispan alarms associated with the received fault and one or more multispan alarms that may be occurring on the communications network due to the other faults;

multispan correlating the one or more multispan alarms with the received fault to determine if the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the other faults or at least one of the multispan alarms.

6. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network according to claim 5,

said multispan aggregating step aggregating the multispan alarms by delaying operation of said multispan correlating step.

7. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network according to claim 6,

said multispan aggregating step introducing a delay related to a number of network elements in the multispan communications network.

8. The method of controlling a network element to perform distributed management of a communications network according to claim 1, further comprising:

suppressing reporting of the received fault if said determining step determines that the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the multispan alarms or at least one of the other faults.

9. A network element of a communications network having at least one span, comprising:

a span database; and

a controller operatively connected to said span database and to other network elements of the communications network,

said span database receiving a fault;

said controller aggregating other faults, one or more alarms associated with the fault and one or more alarms that may occur on the communications network due to other faults other than the received fault in said span database; and

said controller correlating the one or more alarms associated with the received fault and the other faults with the received fault to determine if the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the one or more alarms associated with the received fault or the other faults.

10. The network element of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 9,

said controller aggregating alarms and other faults by delaying execution of said correlating step.

11. The network element of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 10,

said controller delaying correlating by a delay related to a number of other network elements in the communications network.

12. The network element of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 9,

said controller suppressing reporting of the received fault to a network monitoring interface if said controller determines that the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the alarms or at least one of the other faults.

13. The network element of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 9,

wherein the communications network includes multiple spans,

said controller multispan aggregating one or more multispan alarms associated with the received fault and one or more multispan alarms that may be occurring on the communications network due to the other faults;

said controller multispan correlating the one or more multispan alarms with the received fault to determine it the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the other faults or at least one of the multispan alarms.

14. The network element of a communications network having multiple spans according to claim 13,

said controller multispan aggregating the multispan alarms by delaying execution of multispan correlating.

15. The network element of a communications network having multiple spans according to claim 14,

said controller delaying multispan correlating by a delay related to a number of other network elements in the communications network.

16. The network element of a communications network having at least one span according to claim 13,

said controller suppressing reporting of the received fault if said controller determines that the received fault is sympathetic to at least one of the multispan alarms or at least one of the other faults.

17. A system of network elements of a communications network wherein at least two network elements are configured according to claim 9.