System and method for testing automated provisioning and maintenance of Operations Support Systems

• US 7,330,722 B1
• Filed: 03/03/2004
• Issued: 02/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/03/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Lili, Kirtley, Rance A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah; Melur
• Application Number:
  US10/792,371
• Time in Patent Office: 1,441 Days
• Field of Search: 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 379/230, 379/201.01, 379/201.02, 379/201.03, 379/201.05, 709/223, 709/221, 709/224, 709/220
• US Class Current: 455/423
• 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 41/08 Configuration management of networks or network elements address allocation H04L61/50
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0895 Configuration of virtualised networks or elements, e.g. virtualised network function or OpenFlow elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/14 using software, i.e. software packages network security related monitoring H04L63/1408

Abstract

The present invention provides a complete virtual multi-vendor EMS based network that behaves identical to the network elements of the EMS clients. A virtual network simulator is built that has the ability to faithfully simulate the behavior of any vendor'"'"'s EMS to represent the data objects required by the TMF 814 specification. This allows automatic provisioning and maintenance of the Operation Support Systems to fully test new functionality against complete EMS based network without depending upon the availability of any physical equipment, thereby providing much quicker, low cost, extremely life-like testing environment.

Claims

1. In a telecommunications network, having a plurality of network elements of at least one EMS client, a method for producing a virtual network, the method comprising:

receiving an interface description language (IDL) supplied by the EMS client;

generating an EMS skeleton using said IDL and TMF standards specific information of the IDL, wherein said EMS skeleton is a framework of behavior of all the EMS;

extracting data from the EMS client when the EMS client is available, said data including interface specification of the client;

converting said data into XML templates;

generating a set of virtual network elements using said XML templates, wherein said virtual network elements simulate behavior of network elements of the EMS client; and

connecting said virtual network elements with each other, thereby creating the virtual network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

manually generating EMS data as XML templates using interface specification of the client when the EMS client is not available.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

creating a virtual subnetwork connection between said network elements, wherein said subnetwork connection includes a group of network elements internally connected in an artificial manner.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

modifying said XML templates based on variation in said data supplied by the EMS client.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of connection includes selecting physical terminal points of said network elements and generating control terminal points to create the connection between said network elements.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said data is extracted from the EMS client via a CORBA server.