Method, service agent and network management system for operating a telecommunications network

• US 7,254,627 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2002
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hain, Elke
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THU HA T
• Application Number:
  US10/216,779
• Publication Number:
  US 20030055960A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,820 Days
• Field of Search: 709/207, 709/220, 709223-224, 709/225, 719317-318, 719/316, 707/1, 707/104.1, 707/10, 370/254
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks

Abstract

A method for operating a telecommunications network, a service agent for the same and a network management system, equipped with the latter, particularly in the form of at least one computer of a network management system, or a user interface module, in which event messages concerning a network element of the telecommunications network are transmitted to the service agent for maintenance and/or monitoring and/or control service, and the event messages which are irrelevant to the service to be provided by the service agent are filtered out. The service agent determines a relationship between a first relevant event message and a second event message in respect of the service to be provided and instructs output means to output a first event message and a second event message according to the relationship.

Claims

1. A method for operating a telecommunications network, comprising:

transmitting event messages concerning at least one network element of the telecommunications network to a service agent for provision of at least one of a maintenance, monitoring or a control service to the at least one network element;

filtering out the event messages which are irrelevant to the service to be provided by means of the service agent;

determining, by the service agent, at least one relationship between at least one first relevant event message and at least one second relevant event message relating to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provide and

instructing an output means, via the service agent, to output at least one of the first and second relevant event messages according to the at least one relationship, the first and second relevant event message being output in dependence on their relevance to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided, and wherein instructing an output means to output at least one first relevant event message with priority over at least one second relevant event message, to provide a first output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is suppressed, and a second output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is output and only a particular portion of a relevant event message is output, which particular portion is relevant to the service to be provided.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first relevant event message and the second relevant event message are output in dependence on their relevance to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in determining the at least one relationship, the service agent determines that the at least one second relevant event message is dependent on the at least one first relevant event message.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first and second relevant event messages are essentially output in a tree-type hierarchical representation.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first relevant event message and the at least one second relevant event message are output according to the at least one relationship, in an output form based on the maintenance, monitoring or control service, and in the form of at least one of a list, a hierarchical representation, or a graphical representation.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein a group agent records the event messages concerning the at least one network element of the telecommunications network, and at least one of the service agent or a filter agent located prior to the group agent at least partially filters out the event messages which are irrelevant to the monitoring, maintenance and control service to be provided.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein, via a user interface, at least one event message is displayed which is relevant to the monitoring, maintenance or control service to be provided by means of the service agent, and the service agent is activated, upon an operator input, with respect to the at least one displayed event message.

8. A network management system, embodied in a computer readable storage medium and hardware, for provision of at least one of a maintenance, monitoring or control service to at least one network element of a telecommunications network, the system comprising:

receiving means for receiving event messages which concern the at least one network element;

filter means for filtering out event messages which are irrelevant to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided by the system; and

analysis and instruction means for determining at least one relationship between at least one first relevant event message and at least one second relevant event message relating to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided and for instructing output means to output at least one of the first and second relevant event messages according to the at least one relationship, the at least one first relevant event message and the at least one second relevant event message being output in dependence on their relevance to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided, and wherein instructing output means to output at least one first relevant event message with priority over at least one second relevant event message, to provide a first output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is suppressed, and a second output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is output and only a particular portion of a relevant event message is output, which particular portion is relevant to the service to be provided.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the filter means are designed for at least one of (i) application of at least one filter criterion by the system and (ii) sending at least one filter criterion to at least one of a filter agent located prior to the system or to a group agent, the group agent being provided to record event messages concerning the at least one network element.

10. A computer-readable storaae medium carrying program code executable by a computer for implementing a service agent for provision of at least one of a maintenance, monitoring or control service to .at least one network element of a telecommunications network, the computer performing the following functions on execution of said code:

receiving event messages which concern the at least one network element;

filtering out event messages which are irrelevant to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided by means of the service agent; and

determining at least one relationship between at least one first relevant event message and at least one second relevant event message relating to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided and instructing output means to output at least one of the first and second relevant event messages according to the at least one relationship, the at least one first relevant event message and the at least one second relevant event message being output in dependence on their relevance to the maintenance, monitoring or control service to be provided, and wherein instructing output means to output at least one first relevant event message with priority over at least one second relevant event message, to provide a first output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is suppressed. and a second output form in which the at least one second relevant event message is output and only a particular portion of a relevant event message is output, which particular portion is relevant to the service to be provided.