System and method for policy-enabled, contract-based management of network operational support systems

• US 7,065,565 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2002
• Issued: 06/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dini, Petre
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): MADAMBA, GLENFORD J
• Application Number:
  US10/085,362
• Publication Number:
  US 20030163559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,574 Days
• Field of Search: 709/222, 709/220, 709/221, 709/223, 709/226, 709/227, 709/229, 370/229, 370/230, 370/231, 370/232
• US Class Current: 709/222
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management

Abstract

A method and apparatus is disclosed for policy-enabled, contract-based management of network operational support systems. A policy kernel utilizes multiple policy access points for interfacing to dedicated policy management systems. The policy kernel uses policy views, containing a set of required policies, to request the policy view from the policy management system. The policy view initiates a contract for regulating the selection and import of executable policies to the policy kernel. The contract applies running components to the executable policies to enable them to run on the policy kernel and resolves any potential conflicts by applying a set of policy dependency rules to any executable policies that are in variance with one another. The executable policies are imported into the policy kernel through the policy access point. The policy kernel may then implement the requested policy view by executing the executable policies thus imported.

Claims

1. A method for policy-enabled, contract-based management of a network operational support system that comprises a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, comprising the steps of:

in response to a network system state change, receiving one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

determining whether native policies within the operational support system address the one or more conditions;

in response to determining that the native policies do not address the one or more conditions,

comparing the one or more conditions to one or more conditions addressed by one or more policy views of respective one or more policy management systems that are logically separate from the operational support system;

based on comparing, determining at least one particular policy management system that addresses the one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

requesting a policy view from the at least one particular policy management system, wherein the policy view comprises a set of required policies that address one or more of the conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

receiving one or more executable policies, from the at least one particular policy management system, capable of supporting the required policies of the requested policy view, wherein selection of the one or more executable policies is based on a contract that defines one or more criteria that the selected executable policies must satisfy; and

implementing the requested policy view by executing the selected executable policies.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the operational support system comprises a set of native policies indigenous to the operational support system, and further comprising the step of identifying a behavioral exception when none of the native policies is capable of supporting the requested policy view.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the requesting step is carried out only in response to a behavioral exception in the operational support system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the requesting step further comprises the step of inventorying the available policy views of the policy management system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the policy management system comprises an external policy engine, further comprising the step of causing the policy view to initiate the contract for the selection and importation of the executable policies from the external policy engine.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the contract comprises one or more pre-conditions, one or more post-conditions, one or more environmental requirements and one or more policy dependency rules.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of causing the contract to apply the environmental requirements to the selected executable policies to enable the selected executable policies to run on the operational support system.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of causing the contract to apply the policy dependency rules to two or more of the selected executable policies when the behaviors of the two or more selected executable policies are in conflict with one another.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the policy management system comprises a policy export engine, and the receiving step further comprises the step of importing the selected executable policies from the policy export engine.

10. A method for policy-enabled, contract-based management of an operational support system that comprises a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, the method implemented by a policy kernel in the operational support system that is communicatively coupled to one or more policy management systems, comprising the steps of:

in response to a network system state change, receiving one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

determining whether native policies within the operational support system address the one or more conditions;

in response to determining that the native policies do not address the one or more conditions,

comparing the one or more conditions to one or more conditions addressed by one or more policy views of respective one or more policy management systems that are logically separate from the operational support system;

based on comparing, determining at least one particular policy management system that addresses the one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

requesting a policy view from the at least one particular management system, wherein the policy view comprises a set of required policies that address one or more of the conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

receiving one or more executable policies, from the at least one particular policy management system, capable of supporting the required policies of the requested policy view, wherein selection of the one or more executable policies is based on a contract that defines one or more criteria that the selected executable policies must satisfy; and

implementing the requested policy view by executing the selected executable policies.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the policy kernel comprises a set of native policies indigenous to the policy kernel, and further comprising the step of identifying a behavioral exception when none of the native policies is capable of supporting the requested policy view.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the requesting step is carried out only in response to a behavioral exception in the policy kernel.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the requesting step further comprises the step of inventorying the available policy views of the policy management system.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the policy kernel comprises one or more policy access points, and further comprising the step of enabling the policy access points to provide an interface between the policy kernel and the policy management system.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of inventorying the available policy access points of the policy kernel.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the policy access point is associated with a particular policy management system among a plurality of policy management systems.

17. The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of disabling the policy access point to terminate the interface between the policy kernel and the policy management system.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the policy management system comprises an external policy engine, further comprising the step of causing the policy view to initiate the contract for the selection and importation of the executable policies from the external policy engine.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the contract comprises one or more pre-conditions, one or more post-conditions, one or more environmental requirements and one or more policy dependency rules.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of causing the contract to apply the environmental requirements to the selected executable policies to enable the selected executable policies to run on the policy kernel.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of causing the contract to apply the policy dependency rules to two or more of the selected executable policies when the behaviors of the two or more selected executable policies are in conflict with one another.

22. The method of claim 10 wherein the policy management system comprises a policy export engine, and the receiving step further comprises the step of importing the selected executable policies from the policy export engine.

23. A method for policy-enabled, contract-based management of an operational support system that comprises a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, the method implemented by a policy kernel, wherein the policy kernel comprises one or more policy access points and each policy access point is associated with a particular policy management system, the method comprising the steps of:

inventorying the policy access points of the policy kernel;

inventorying one or more policy views from one or more of the policy management systems, wherein the policy view comprises a set of required policies that address one or more conditions that represent the state of a network system;

requesting one of the policy views from the inventory of policy views based on which policy view comprises one or more policies that address the current state of the network system being supported by the operational support system;

enabling the policy access point corresponding to the associated policy management system capable of supporting the requested policy view;

causing a contract of the requested policy view to be initiated for the selection of executable policies from an external policy engine of the policy management system;

causing the contract to apply environmental requirements to the selected executable policies to enable the selected executable policies to execute on the policy kernel;

causing the contract to apply dependency rules to two or more of the selected executable policies when the behaviors of the two or more selected executable policies are in conflict with one another;

importing the selected executable policies from a policy export engine of the policy management system; and

implementing the requested policy view by executing the selected executable policies.

24. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for policy-enabled, contract-based management of a network operational support system that comprises a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

in response to a network system state change, receiving one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

determining whether native policies within the operational support system address the one or more conditions;

in response to determining that the native policies do not address the one or more conditions,

comparing the one or more conditions to one or more conditions addressed by one or more policy views of respective one or more policy management systems that are logically separate from the operational support system;

based on comparing, determining at least one particular policy management system that addresses the one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

requesting a policy view from the at least one particular policy management system, wherein the policy view comprises a set of required policies that address one or more of the conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

receiving one or more executable policies, from the at least one particular policy management system, capable of supporting the required policies of the requested policy view, wherein selection of the one or more executable policies is based on a contract that defines one or more criteria that the selected executable policies must satisfy; and

implementing the requested policy view by executing the selected executable policies.

25. A system for policy-enabled, contract-based management of operational support systems that comprise a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, comprising:

means for receiving, in response to a network system state change, one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

means for determining whether native policies within the operational support system address the one or more conditions;

means for comparing the one or more conditions to one or more conditions addressed by one or more policy views of respective one or more policy management systems that are logically separate from the operational support system;

means for determining at least one particular policy management system that addresses the one or more conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

means for requesting a policy view from the at least one particular policy management system, wherein the policy view comprises a set of required policies that address one or more of the conditions that represent the current state of the network system;

means for receiving one or more executable policies, from the at least one particular policy management system, capable of supporting the required policies of the requested policy view, wherein selection of the one or more executable policies is based on a contract that defines one or more criteria that the selected executable policies must satisfy; and

means for implementing the requested policy view by executing the selected executable policies.

26. A system for policy-enabled, contract-based management of operational support systems that comprise a set of programs designed to support various network management functions, comprising:

a policy kernel for executing policies of a policy view on the operational support system; and

one or more policy access points that are communicatively coupled to one or more policy management systems, the policy management system including one or more executable policies and one or more policy views, the policy views containing a set of required policies and a contract that defines one or more criteria that the executable policies must satisfy.