Customer link diversity monitoring

• US 7,751,392 B1
• Filed: 01/05/2007
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Gonzalez, Jose, Rubin, Jonathan, Shinholster, Drew, Szymanski, Todd, Lobo, Shane, Ham, David, Parrott, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Chirag G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zhou; Yong
• Application Number:
  US11/620,140
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

A system having a data retriever and a database manager is provided. The data retriever retrieves router configurations from data stores for routers. The database manager parses the router configurations to determine port data for each port on each router, and integrates the port data with customer data to create an integrated database. The database manager also determines a customer link diversity based on the integrated database and displays the customer link diversity. The database manager can recommend reassignment of a customer link when the customer link diversity is less than a corresponding target customer link diversity. The database manager can also determine the customer link diversity when adding a card and determine the customer link diversity when adding a customer link.

Claims

1. A network monitoring method, comprising:

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to parse router configurations to determine port connectivity information for each port on each router in a network, wherein the port connectivity information comprises information that specifies which ports on which cards on which routers are connected by which of a plurality of customer links of a customer to which of a plurality of customer locations of the customer;

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to integrate the port connectivity information with customer data, the customer data comprising customer account information of the customer, to create an integrated database, wherein the integrated database identifies the port connectivity information that corresponds to the customer account information of the customer;

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to determine a customer link diversity for the customer based on the integrated database, wherein the customer link diversity is calculated based on a total number of selected customer links of the customer relative to a number of the total number of selected customer links of the customer determined to be diverse links and wherein a particular customer link is considered diverse when the particular customer link comprises a particular collection of circuits and

ports that is unique relative to the other customer links of the customer; and

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to display the customer link diversity;

wherein each customer link is a collection of circuits and ports that are needed to terminate on a particular router and card in order to provide a service to the customer, wherein each customer link provides at least one service to the customer, and wherein each customer link terminates at a different access point of the customer to provide access to the at least one service.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising recommending reassignment of a customer link when the customer link diversity is less than a corresponding target customer link diversity.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router to each location.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card to each location.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the customer link diversity when adding a card and determining the customer link diversity when adding a customer link.

8. A system having an integrated network and customer database, comprising:

a data retriever stored on a memory and executed by a processor to retrieve router configurations from data stores for routers; and

a database manager stored on a memory and executed by a processor to parse the router configurations to determine port data for each port on each router, wherein the port data comprises information that specifies which ports on which cards on which routers are connected by which of a plurality of customer links of a customer to which of a plurality of customer locations of the customer, to integrate the port data with customer data of the customer to create an integrated database, wherein the integrated database identifies the port data that corresponds to the customer, to determine a customer link diversity based on the integrated database, wherein the customer link diversity is calculated based on a total number of selected customer links of the customer relative to a number of the total number of selected customer links of the customer determined to be diverse links, and to display the customer link diversity on a user interface;

wherein a particular customer link is considered diverse when the particular customer link comprises a particular collection of circuits and ports that is unique relative to the other customer links of the customer, wherein each customer link is a collection of circuits and ports that are needed to terminate on a particular router and card in order to provide a service to the customer, wherein each customer link provides at least one service to the customer, and wherein each customer link terminates at a different access point of the customer to provide access to the at least one service.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the database manager is further operable to recommend a reassignment of a customer link when the customer link diversity is less than a corresponding target customer link diversity.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router or wherein the customer link diversity comprises a card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router to each location.

12. The system of claim 8 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card to each location.

13. The system of claim 8 wherein the database manager is further operable to determine the customer link diversity when adding a card and determine the customer link diversity when adding a customer link.

14. A network monitoring method, comprising:

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to determine a customer link diversity for a customer linked to a network, wherein the customer link diversity is calculated based on a total number of selected customer links of the customer relative to a number of the total number selected customer links of the customer determined to be diverse links, wherein a particular customer link is considered diverse when the particular customer link comprises a particular collection of circuits and ports that is unique relative to the other customer links of the customer;

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to compare the customer link diversity for the customer to a target customer link diversity for the customer; and

operating a component stored on a memory and executed by a processor to recommend reassignment of a customer link for the customer when the customer link diversity is less than the target customer link diversity;

wherein each customer link is a collection of circuits and ports that are needed to terminate on a particular router and card in order to provide a service to the customer, wherein each customer link provides at least one service to the customer, and wherein each customer link terminates at a different access point of the customer to provide access to the at least one service.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations router diversity based on a number of customer links on each router to each location.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the customer link diversity comprises a customer locations card diversity based on a number of customer links on each card to each location.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising determining the customer link diversity when adding a card and determining the customer link diversity when adding a customer link.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the customer link diversity is calculated based on a total number of selected customer links relative to a number of the total number of selected customer links determined to be diverse links.