Capacity management for data networks

• US 8,208,490 B2
• Filed: 05/26/2010
• Issued: 06/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amdocs Development Limited (Amdocs Ltd.), Amdocs Systems Limited (Amdocs Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Cramer Systems Limited
• Inventors: Briscoe, Peter John, Tector, Elizabeth Graves
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US12/788,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 762 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/468, 370/477, 370/431, 370/437, 370/252, 370/230.1, 370/235, 370/395.4, 709/226
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service

Abstract

A method of processing capacity information is disclosed. The capacity information relates to data capacity in a data network in which a consumer circuit is carried on, and consumes bandwidth made available by, a bearer circuit. The method comprises storing, in a network information database, an entity representing the bearer circuit, and associating capacity information with the bearer circuit entity specifying a first bandwidth quantity defining a quantity of bandwidth made available by the bearer circuit. Also stored is an entity representing the consumer circuit, and capacity information is associated with the consumer circuit entity specifying a second bandwidth quantity defining a quantity of bandwidth allocated to the consumer circuit. The consumer capacity information is then associated with the bearer capacity information in the database to indicate that the second bandwidth quantity allocated to the consumer circuit is to be consumed from the first bandwidth quantity made available by the bearer circuit. The resulting capacity model can be used to support service provisioning, service assurance and SLA management, network engineering and network planning processes.

Claims

1. A method of processing capacity information relating to data capacity in a network, comprising:

storing in a capacity information database information defining network circuits and bandwidth partition entities representing bandwidth allocations associated with the network circuits, utilizing computer;

storing a bandwidth partition template; and

creating an additional bandwidth partition entity in the capacity information database in accordance with the stored bandwidth partition template in association with the stored information defining the network circuits and the bandwidth partition entities.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein creating the additional bandwidth partition entity comprises copying one or more of attribute values and a partition hierarchy from the bandwidth partition template.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the additional bandwidth partition entity once created is independent of the partition template.

4. A method according to claim 1, comprising associating the created additional bandwidth partition entity with the partition template, and updating the additional bandwidth partition entity in response to changes to the partition template occurring after creation of the additional bandwidth partition entity from the partition template.