Translating network data into customer availability

• US 7,904,553 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2008
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Lushear, Brian, Lobo, Shane A., Szymanski, Todd M., Ham, David M., Mariscal, Matthew, Parrott, Steve D., Shinholster, Drew
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang; Liangche A
• Application Number:
  US12/273,537
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/218, 709/219, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/238
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/069 using logs of notifications; Post-processing of notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5061 characterised by the interaction between service providers and their network customers, e.g. customer relationship management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning

Abstract

A system is provided for translating network data into customer availability. The system includes a processor, a user interface, and a database manager. The database manager, when executed by the processor, parses router configurations to determine port data for each port on each router in a network, and integrates the port data with customer data to create an integrated database. The database manager also determines a planned port availability for the customer based on the integrated database and port state data, and determines port outages based on port outage data, card outage data, and router outage data. Additionally, the database manager determines an actual port availability for a customer based on the integrated database and concurrent outages identified for the port outages, and outputs a customer availability to the user interface, wherein the customer availability is based on the actual port availability and the planned port availability.

Claims

1. A system for translating network data into customer availability, comprising:

a processor;

a user interface; and

a database manager, when executed by the processor, to parse router configurations to determine port data for each port on each router in a network,

to integrate the port data with customer data to create an integrated database,

to determine a planned port availability for a customer based on the integrated database and port state data,

to determine port outages based on port outage data, card outage data, and router outage data,

to determine an actual port availability for the customer that accesses a plurality of ports on a plurality of cards on a plurality of routers based on the integrated database and concurrent outages identified for the port outages, and

to output a customer availability to the user interface, wherein the customer availability is based on the actual port availability and the planned port availability.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the database manager parses router configurations to determine the port data for each port on each router in a plurality of networks.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data retriever to retrieve the router configurations from each data store for each router.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the data retriever polls each router to determine the port outage data, the card outage data, and the router outage data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the port outage data, the card outage data, and the router outage data are based on the database manager processing a network event.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the concurrent outages are identified based on a router outage for a router that coincides with a port outage for a port associated with the router and a card outage for a card that coincides with a port outage for a port associated with the card.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer availability is further based on customer availability for ports designated as critical and customer availability for ports designated as non-critical.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer availability is further based on maintenance outages and unplanned outages.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the customer availability is further based on ports assigned to a group by a set of user defined rules.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the set of user defined rules is based on at least one of a user identification of individual ports, a customer full name, a customer short name, a remote side Internet protocol address, a network address number, a private line number, an interface description, a remote border gateway protocol autonomous system number, a router and interface name, a support office indicator code, and a multiprotocol label switching virtual routing and forwarding number.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the database manager compares the customer availability to a service level agreement to determine a recommendation for a management action to output.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the management action is rescheduling a maintenance activity.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the service level agreement specifies a maintenance outage level.

14. A computer implemented method for translating network data into customer availability, comprising:

parsing router configurations to determine port data for each port on each router in a network;

integrating the port data with customer data to create an integrated database;

determining a planned port availability for a customer that accesses a plurality of ports on a plurality of cards on a plurality of routers based on the integrated database and port state data;

determining port outages based on port outage data, card outage data, and router outage data;

determining an actual port availability for the customer based on the integrated database and concurrent outages identified for the port outages; and

outputting a customer availability to a user interface, wherein the customer availability is based on the actual port availability and the planned port availability.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein determining the planned port availability for the customer comprises identifying each port for the customer in the integrated database, identifying the state of each port for the customer over time based on the port state data, determining an amount of time that each port for the customer is in an operational state, and compiling a total port availability based on the amount of time that each port for the customer is in the operational state.

16. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein determining the actual port availability for the customer comprises identifying each port for the customer in the integrated database, identifying an amount of time that each port for the customer is associated with the port outages, identifying an amount of time that each port for the customer is associated with the concurrent outages, subtracting the amount of time that each port for the customer is associated with the concurrent outages from the amount of time that each port for the customer is associated with the port outages to determine a customer port outage time, and subtracting the customer port outage time from an amount of time associated with the planned port availability.

17. The computer implemented method of claim 14, wherein the customer availability is based on dividing the actual port availability by the planned port availability.

18. The computer implemented method of claim 14, further comprising reassigning a customer port to increase the customer availability.

19. A computer implemented method for planning maintenance, comprising:

parsing router configurations to determine port connectivity information for each port on each router in a network;

integrating the port connectivity information with customer data to create an integrated database;

projecting a planned port availability for a customer that accesses a plurality of ports on a plurality of cards on a plurality of routers based on the integrated database and projected port state data;

projecting port outages based on projected port outage data, projected card outage data, and projected router outage data;

projecting an actual port availability for the customer based on the integrated database and concurrent outages identified for the projected port outages;

comparing a projected customer availability to an availability specified in a service level agreement, wherein the projected customer availability is based on the actual port availability and the planned port availability; and

outputting a maintenance recommendation to a user interface to promote a management action to address the maintenance recommendation, wherein the maintenance recommendation is based on comparing the projected customer availability to the availability specified in the service level agreement.

20. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein the projected customer availability is adjusted for a historical estimate of unplanned outages.