Method and apparatus providing programmable network intelligence

• US 7,721,304 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2005
• Issued: 05/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thunuguntlu, Muni, Manubothu, Chandrareddy, Guntakala, Chandrasekhar, Vengalam, Praveen, Datla, Krishnam Raju, Beereddy, Srinivasa, Venkatavaradhan, Parthasarathy
• Primary Examiner(s): Zhen; Li B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Anya; Charles E
• Application Number:
  US11/148,725
• Publication Number:
  US 20060013217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: 709201-207, 709217-225, 710 8- 10, 719/318, 719/328, 719/330, 706/21, 717/104
• US Class Current: 719/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0266 using meta-data, objects or commands for formatting management information, e.g. using eXtensible markup language [XML]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour

Abstract

Programmable network intelligence approaches as disclosed herein provide apparatus, methods and tools to achieve programmable interfaces to a device, or group of devices or a network where native programmable interfaces are not available.

Claims

1. A method, comprising the machine-implemented steps of:

receiving one or more command line interface commands associated with a network device that does not natively provide a programmable management interface;

creating and storing a knowledge base comprising a representation of a syntax and semantics of the one or more command line interface commands;

receiving from the knowledge base a data structure representing a particular configuration command among the one or more command line interface commands;

creating and storing an intermediate data model that represents the configuration command, wherein creating the intermediate data model includes predicting one or more attributes of the configuration command;

based on the intermediate data model, creating and storing a file defining an application programming interface for the network device;

wherein the application programming interface is generated at least in part based upon a capability matrix containing information about capabilities of the network device;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predicting is performed at least in part based upon device capabilities that are derived from the capability matrix.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein an application request is received at the application programming interface, and in response thereto, the intermediate data model is selectively transformed into a text representation of the particular configuration command or into a structured document representation of the particular configuration command.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the knowledge base is created and stored in an automatic command learning process based on receiving and interpreting a plurality of the commands as the commands are provided to the network device.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the predicting includes predicting one or more names of one or more parameters to the particular configuration command.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the predicting includes predicting whether a particular parameter is mandatory or optional to complete the particular command.

7. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the predicting includes predicting data types of the parameters.

8. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the predicting includes predicting a cardinality attribute of the particular configuration command.

9. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the predicting includes predicting an order of the parameters.

10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the intermediate data model represents a command using one or more container objects and one or more properties objects.

11. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the knowledge base is created based on receiving information from one or more command line interface (CLI) management information bases (MIBs) and one or more simple network management protocol (SNMP) MIBs supported on the device.

12. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein selectively transforming includes selectively transforming the intermediate data model into an extensible markup language (XML) representation of the particular configuration command.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the XML representation conforms to the NETCONF device configuration protocol (NETCONF protocol) and is transformed in response to receiving one or more NETCONF XML requests.

14. An apparatus for providing a programmable interface to a network device, comprising:

one or more processors;

means for receiving one or more command line interface commands associated with a network device that does not natively provide a programmable management interface;

means for creating and storing a knowledge base comprising a representation of a syntax and semantics of the one or more command line interface commands;

means for receiving from the knowledge base a data structure representing a particular configuration command among the one or more command line interface commands;

means for creating and storing an intermediate data model that represents the configuration command, wherein creating the intermediate data model includes predicting one or more attributes of the configuration command;

means for creating and storing a file defining an application programming interface for the network device, based on the intermediate data model;

means for generating an application programming interface, at least in part based upon a capability matrix containing information about capabilities of the network device.

15. An apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the knowledge base is created and stored in an automatic command learning process based on receiving and interpreting a plurality of the commands as the commands are provided to the network device.

16. An apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein the predicting means includes means for predicting one or more names of one or more parameters to the particular configuration command.

17. An apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein the predicting means includes means for predicting whether a particular parameter is mandatory or optional to complete the particular command.

18. An apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein the predicting means includes means for predicting data types of the parameters.

19. An apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein the predicting means includes means for predicting a cardinality attribute of the particular configuration command.

20. An apparatus as recited in claim 16, wherein the predicting means includes means for predicting an order of the parameters.

21. An apparatus as recited in claim 14, wherein selectively transforming includes selectively transforming the intermediate data model into an extensible markup language (XML) representation of the particular configuration command, wherein the XML representation conforms to the NETCONF device configuration protocol (NETCONF protocol) and is transformed in response to receiving one or more NETCONF XML requests.

22. An apparatus for creating providing a programmable interface to a network device, comprising:

a network interface that is coupled to the data network for receiving one or more packet flows therefrom;

a processor;

one or more stored sequences of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of;

receiving one or more command line interface commands associated with a network device that does not natively provide a programmable management interface;

creating and storing a knowledge base comprising a representation of a syntax and semantics of the one or more command line interface commands;

receiving from the knowledge base a data structure representing a particular configuration command among the one or more command line interface commands;

creating and storing an intermediate data model that represents the configuration command, wherein creating the intermediate data model includes predicting one or more attributes of the configuration command;

based on the intermediate data model, creating and storing a file defining an application programming interface for the network device;

wherein the application programming interface is generated at least in part based upon a capability matrix containing information about capabilities of the network device.

23. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the knowledge base is created and stored in an automatic command learning process based on receiving and interpreting a plurality of the commands as the commands are provided to the network device.

24. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the predicting includes predicting one or more names of one or more parameters to the particular configuration command.

25. An apparatus as recited in claim 24, wherein the predicting includes predicting whether a particular parameter is mandatory or optional to complete the particular command.

26. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the predicting includes predicting data types of the parameters.

27. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the predicting includes predicting a cardinality attribute of the particular configuration command.

28. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein the predicting includes predicting an order of the parameters.

29. An apparatus as recited in claim 22, wherein selectively transforming includes selectively transforming the intermediate data model into an extensible markup language (XML) representation of the particular configuration command, wherein the XML representation conforms to the NETCONF device configuration protocol (NETCONF protocol) and is transformed in response to receiving one or more NETCONF XML requests.

30. A computer-readable volatile or non-volatile medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for providing a programmable interface for a network device, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of:

receiving one or more command line interface commands associated with a network device that does not natively provide a programmable management interface;

creating and storing a knowledge base comprising a representation of a syntax and semantics of the one or more command line interface commands;

receiving from the knowledge base a data structure representing a particular configuration command among the one or more command line interface commands;

creating and storing an intermediate data model that represents the configuration command, wherein creating the intermediate data model includes predicting one or more attributes of the configuration command;

based on the intermediate data model, creating and storing a file defining an application programming interface for the network device;

wherein the application programming interface is generated at least in part based upon a capability matrix containing information about capabilities of the network device.

31. A computer-readable volatile or non-volatile medium as recited in claim 30, wherein the predicting is performed at least in part based upon device capabilities that are derived from the capability matrix.

32. A computer-readable volatile or non-volatile medium as recited in claim 30, wherein the knowledge base is created and stored in an automatic command learning process based on receiving and interpreting a plurality of the commands as the commands are provided to the network device.

33. A computer-readable volatile or non-volatile medium as recited in claim 30, wherein the predicting includes predicting one or more names of one or more parameters to the particular configuration command.