Technique for providing dynamic modification of application specific policies in a feedback-based, adaptive data network
First Claim
1. A system for providing dynamic feedback control of network elements in a data network, the system comprising:
- a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith;
a first network portion, the first network portion being administered by a first network service provider;
the first network portion including a first plurality of network elements;
a data store system operable to dynamically receive information related to a first subset of network elements, said first subset of network elements including at least one network element of the first plurality of network elements;
a policy engine system operable to dynamically analyze at least a portion of said received information based upon selected guidelines to determine whether a performance of at least a portion of said network conforms with a predetermined application specific performance criteria;
said policy engine system being further operable to automatically and dynamically report results of said analysis to an administration system for dynamically responding to said results when the performance of the portion of said network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria;
the administration system configured to automatically and dynamically alter a performance policy of the portion of the network to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria in response to a determination that the performance of the portion of the network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; and
wherein the reporting is dynamically triggered by the performance of the portion of said network failing to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria.
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Abstract
A feedback-based adaptive network is described wherein at least a portion of the network elements report operating information relating to network conditions to a centralized data store. The information is analyzed by a policy engine which includes a plurality of specific plug-in policies for analyzing selected information from the data store and for computing updated control information which is fed back to affect operation of selected network elements. In this way the dynamic and automatic feedback control of network elements is provided to allow the network to adapt to events relating to changing conditions. The adaptive, feedback based network may include a network quality monitoring system for evaluating performance characteristics based upon predetermined standard or criteria. If it is determined that a particular characteristic of the network does not conform, the policy which control that particular characteristic of the network may be automatically and dynamically modified to affect network performance.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A system for providing dynamic feedback control of network elements in a data network, the system comprising:
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a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith; a first network portion, the first network portion being administered by a first network service provider; the first network portion including a first plurality of network elements; a data store system operable to dynamically receive information related to a first subset of network elements, said first subset of network elements including at least one network element of the first plurality of network elements; a policy engine system operable to dynamically analyze at least a portion of said received information based upon selected guidelines to determine whether a performance of at least a portion of said network conforms with a predetermined application specific performance criteria; said policy engine system being further operable to automatically and dynamically report results of said analysis to an administration system for dynamically responding to said results when the performance of the portion of said network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; the administration system configured to automatically and dynamically alter a performance policy of the portion of the network to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria in response to a determination that the performance of the portion of the network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; and wherein the reporting is dynamically triggered by the performance of the portion of said network failing to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for providing dynamic feedback control of network elements in a data network, the data network including a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith, the data network further comprising a first network portion, the first network portion being administered by a first network service provider, the first network portion including a first plurality of network elements, the method comprising:
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dynamically receiving information related to a first subset of network elements, said first subset of network elements including at least one network element of the first plurality of network elements; dynamically analyzing at least a portion of said received information based upon selected guidelines to determine whether a performance of at least a portion of said network conforms with a predetermined application specific performance criteria; automatically and dynamically reporting results of said analysis to the administration system for dynamically responding to said results when the performance of the portion of said network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; automatically and dynamically altering a performance policy of the portion of the network to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria in response to a determination that the performance of the portion of the network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; wherein the reporting is dynamically triggered by the performance of the portion of said network failing to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; dynamically generating updated element control parameters used to affect at least one aspect of network performance; providing at least a portion of said updated element control parameters to said at least one network element; and automatically and dynamically adjusting at least one associated operating parameter at the at least one network element in response to receiving said updated element control parameters. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for providing dynamic feedback control of network elements in a data network, the data network including a plurality of network elements, each of said network elements having a plurality operating parameters associated therewith, the data network further comprising a first network portion, the first network portion being administered by a first network service provider, the first network portion including a first plurality of network elements, the system comprising:
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a hardware network device operable to dynamically receive information related to a first subset of network elements, said first subset of network elements including at least one network element of the first plurality of network elements; means for dynamically analyzing at least a portion of said received information based upon selected guidelines to determine whether a performance of at least a portion of said network conforms with a predetermined application specific performance criteria; means for automatically and dynamically reporting results of said analysis to the administration system for dynamically responding to said results when the performance of the portion of said network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; means for automatically and dynamically altering a performance policy of the portion of the network to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria in response to a determination that the performance of the portion of the network fails to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; wherein the reporting is dynamically triggered by the performance of the portion of said network failing to conform with the predetermined application specific performance criteria; means for dynamically generating updated element control parameters used to affect at least one aspect of network performance; means for providing at least a portion of said updated element control parameters to said at least one network element; and means for automatically and dynamically adjusting at least one associated operating parameter at the at least one network element in response to receiving said updated element control parameters. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification