Method and system for handling fault messages in a network

• US 7,817,564 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 10/19/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Puttu, Sathyanarayana Nagendra, Kiran, Lakshmana Tirtha Katte Simha Vishnu, Shamanna, Aravind
• Primary Examiner(s): Mattis; Jason E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Clawson; Stephen J
• Application Number:
  US11/496,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20080025227A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,541 Days
• Field of Search: 370/242
• US Class Current: 370/242
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis

Abstract

A method and a system for handling fault messages in a network where a network device publishes fault messages related to the principal cause of the fault. The messages are received by a Network Management System (NMS) that identifies the source of the fault and sends a multicast message to other network devices managed by the NMS. The multicast message comprises information regarding the fault. In response to the multicast message, the other network devices determine whether to publish or drop related fault messages.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving fault messages in a network management station, NMS, the fault messages relating to a fault in a network coupled to the NMS, the network having a plurality of network devices, wherein the fault messages are generated by the network devices in response to detection of the fault in the network;

correlating the fault messages in the NMS to determine a principal cause of the fault; and

sending a multicast message from the NMS to each network device prior to termination of a selected period of time, the multicast message identifying the principal cause of the fault to network devices belonging to a multicast group, wherein the multicast message is used by each of the network devices in the multicast group to drop related fault messages for the fault in the network that would otherwise be sent after waiting for the selected period of time to elapse, thereby minimizing a number of fault messages received by the NMS.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining the multicast group to receive the multicast message in response to the fault occurring in the network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network devices receiving the multicast message drop the related fault messages if the related fault messages have a predetermined low severity level.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fault messages are Simple Network Management Protocol, SNMP, traps.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the fault messages comprise System Log, Syslog, messages.

6. A method, comprising:

receiving a multicast message from a network management station, NMS, in a network device that is part of a network with a plurality of network devices, the multicast message being sent by the NMS to each network device in a multicast group of network devices prior to termination of a selected period of time, the multicast message being sent by the NMS in response to fault messages relating to a fault in the network, the multicast message identifying a principal cause of the fault;

detecting in the network device, a network event caused by the fault in the network;

generating in the network device, a related fault message in response to the detected network event;

waiting in the network device, for the selected period of time to elapse; and

determining in the network device, an action to be performed on the related fault message in response to information about the fault from the received multicast message.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining the action further comprises dropping the related fault message if the related fault message has a predetermined low severity level.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining the action further comprises publishing the related fault message if the related fault message has a predetermined high severity level.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving the multicast message identifying the principal cause of the fault and dropping the related fault message if the multicast message is received during the selected period of time.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising publishing the related fault message if the multicast message is not received during the selected period of time.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the fault messages comprise System Log, Syslog, messages.

12. A method, comprising:

generating fault messages in a source network device, the fault messages relating to a fault in a network that has a plurality of network devices, wherein the fault messages are generated by the source network device in response to detection of the fault in the network;

sending the fault messages from the source network device to a network management station, NMS, wherein the NMS correlates the fault messages to determine a principal cause of the fault; and

receiving in the source network device, a multicast message from the NMS, the multicast message identifying a principal cause of the fault, the multicast message being sent by the NMS to each network device in a multicast group of network devices prior to termination of a selected period of time to cause each network device receiving the multicast message to drop related fault messages that would otherwise be sent after waiting for the selected period of time to elapse, thereby minimizing a number of fault messages sent to the NMS.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending redundant multicast messages to the multicast group.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising dynamically creating the multicast group.

15. A Network Management Station, NMS, the NMS being adapted for:

receiving fault messages related to a fault in a network coupled to the NMS, the network having a plurality of network devices, wherein the fault messages are generated by the network devices in response to detection of the fault in the network;

correlating the fault messages to determine a principal cause of the fault; and

sending, prior to termination of a selected period of time, a multicast message that identifies the principal cause of the fault to network devices belonging to a multicast group, wherein the multicast message is used by each of the network devices in the multicast group to suppress related fault messages for the fault in the network that would otherwise be sent after waiting for the selected period of time to elapse, thereby minimizing a number of fault messages received by the NMS.

16. The NMS of claim 15, being further adapted for defining the multicast group to receive the multicast message in response to the fault occurring in the network.

17. A system, comprising:

a plurality of network devices and a network management station, NMS, in a network, each of the network devices being adapted for;

receiving a multicast message from the NMS, the multicast message being sent by the NMS to each network device in a multicast group of network devices prior to termination of a selected period of time, the multicast message being sent by the NMS in response to fault messages relating to a fault in the network, the multicast message identifying a principal cause of the fault;

detecting in each network device, a network event caused by the fault in the network;

generating in each network device, a related fault message in response to the detected network event;

waiting in each network device, for the selected period of time to elapse; and

determining in each network device, an action to be performed on the related fault message in response to information about the fault from the received multicast message.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the network devices is further adapted for dropping the related fault message if the related fault message has a predetermined low severity level.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the network devices is further adapted for publishing the related fault message if the related fault messages has a predetermined high severity level.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the network devices is further adapted for publishing the related fault message if the multicast message is not received during the selected period of time.