Service management system and method of executing a policy

• US 8,850,598 B2
• Filed: 11/21/2008
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: WSOU Investments, LLC (WSOU Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Palkot, Thomas A., Pelley, Edward S., Tacker, Bryan P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar, Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEJIA, FELICIANO S
• Application Number:
  US12/276,262
• Publication Number:
  US 20090133098A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,139 Days
• Field of Search: 726/1, 726 2- 6, 725/27, 709/225
• US Class Current: 726/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5054 Automatic deployment of services triggered by the service manager, e.g. service implementation by automatic configuration of network components
• 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 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles

Abstract

A service management system and a method of executing a policy. In one embodiment, the service management system includes: (1) a repository configured to contain device, system, subscriber and service descriptions that define services in terms of a set of systems and devices that assume roles based on at least one of capabilities and attributes thereof and (2) a policy engine coupled to the repository and configured to employ the repository to identify end points relevant to a policy, identify services in which any of the end points play a role, identify subscribers having an identified device of the end points and a subscription to an identified service and cause the policy to be executed with respect to identified devices of identified subscribers and identified systems.

Claims

1. A service management system, comprising:

a nontransitory storage medium having a repository configured to contain end points, subscriber and service descriptions that define services in terms of a set of said end points that assume roles based on at least one of capabilities and attributes thereof; and

a computing device configured to implement a policy engine that is coupled to said repository and configured to employ said repository to identify end points relevant to a policy, identify services in which any of identified end points play a role, identify subscribers having both at least one of said identified end points and a subscription to at least one of identified services, search for end points of identified subscribers having a key/value pair that has a characteristic that said policy regards and cause said policy to be executed with respect to searched end points.

2. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said policy engine causes said policy to be executed by invoking a computer program embodying said policy.

3. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said end points are selected from the group consisting of:

devices, and

systems.

4. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said policy engine is further configured to cause said policy to be executed with respect to systems that play a role in said services.

5. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said policy engine is further configured to identify said subscribers and other policies.

6. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said policy engine is further configured to cause said policy to be executed by passing a list of said identified devices of said identified subscribers and said identified systems to a computer program.

7. The service management system as recited in claim 1 wherein said policy is invoked without an end point or subscriber specificity.

8. A method of executing a policy, comprising:

configuring a nontransitory storage medium to store instructions implementing said policy, said instructions including;

evaluating an input to determine a starting scope;

identifying end points relevant to said policy;

identifying services in which any of identified end points play a role;

identifying subscribers having both of at least one of said identified end points and a subscription to at least one of identified services; and

searching for end points of said identified subscribers having a key/value pair that has a characteristic that said policy regards; and

configuring a computing device to execute said policy with respect to searched end points.

9. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said end points are selected from the group consisting of:

devices, and

systems.

10. The method as recited in claim 8 further comprising executing said policy with respect to systems that play a role in said services.

11. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said identifying said end points comprises further identifying said subscribers and other policies.

12. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said executing comprises passing a list of said identified devices of said identified subscribers and said identified systems to a computer program.

13. The method as recited in claim 8 wherein said policy is invoked without an end point or subscriber specificity.