Progressive network recovery

• US 8,935,561 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Issued: 01/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
• Original Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
• Inventors: Wang, Jianping
• Primary Examiner(s): Riad, Amine
• Application Number:
  US13/403,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20130227334A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,055 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4.1
• US Class Current: 714/4.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0654 using network fault recovery ring fault isolation or reconfiguration in loop networks without recovery actions by a network management system H04L12/437
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network

Abstract

Technologies are generally described for systems and methods effective to schedule repair (e.g., allocate repair resources, determine a repair sequence, etc.) of a system effected by a large-scale failure caused by a natural disaster, malicious attack, faulty components, or the like. In an example, the system can generate a schedule that indicates amounts of repair resources allocated for repair of specific components of a disrupted system as well as a time or sequence in which the components are to be repaired. The schedule, in some instance, can operate to maximize an amount of restoration, at each stage of a recovery process, relative to the characteristic of the disrupted system. For example, with a communications network as the disrupted system, the schedule can maximize the amount of total traffic flow capacity recovered after respective steps of the recovery process.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

identifying, a device comprising a processor, a subset of network links, of a set of network links of a communications network, having reduced capacity due to impairment;

determining a set of resources available, for allocation at a given time, for repair of the subset of network links; and

selecting a recovery sequence, from a set of recovery sequences, for the repair of the subset of network links, wherein the recovery sequences of the set differ based on respective selected amounts of traffic flow increase between the network links applicable to respective defined amounts of time after initiation of the respective recovery sequences,

wherein the recovery sequence comprises a first sequence based on a first defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a first amount of time after the initiation of the recovery sequence and

wherein the recovery sequence further comprises a second sequence based on a second defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a second amount of time after the initiation of the recovery sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, for the network link of the subset of network links, the repair cost, which represents an amount of resources from the set of resources to recuperate a defined capacity of the network link; and

determining, based on the defined capacity of the network link, the amount of total capacity of the communications network regained by recuperating the defined capacity of the network link.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning higher priority to the set of network links from the subset of network links having a higher utility gain.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first amount of time and the second amount of time are different.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first defined amount of traffic flow increase and the second defined amount of traffic flow increase are different.

6. A system, comprising:

a processor that facilitates execution of executable modules, the executable modules comprising;

a fault detection module configured to identify a disruption of a computing network, wherein the disruption results in reduced traffic flow capacity for a set of network nodes and a set of network links of the computing network; and

a recovery module configured to select a recovery sequence, from a set of recovery sequences, for repair of a subset of the set of network links, wherein the recovery sequences of the set differ based on respective selected amounts of traffic flow increase between the network links applicable to respective defined amounts of time after initiation of the respective recovery sequences,

wherein the recovery sequence comprises a first sequence based on a first defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a first amount of time after the initiation of the recovery sequence,

wherein the recovery sequence further comprises a second sequence based on a second defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a second amount of time after the initiation of the recovery sequence,

wherein the first amount of time and the second amount of time are different, and

wherein the first defined amount of traffic flow increase and the second defined amount of traffic flow increase are different.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the repair is facilitated via at least one of manpower, equipment, or parts available at a defined time.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the recovery module is further configured to select the recovery sequence in accordance with an optimization condition.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the optimization condition specifies a total traffic flow capacity of the computing network.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the recovery module is further configured to:

determine, for the network link of the subset of network links, the repair cost, which represents an amount of resources from the set of resources to recuperate a defined capacity of the network link.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the recovery module is further configured to:

determine, based on the defined capacity of the network link, the amount of total capacity of the communications network regained by recuperating the defined capacity of the network link.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein the recovery module is further configured to:

assign higher priority to the set of network links from the subset of network links having a higher utility gain.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a device to perform operations, comprising:

identifying a subset of network links, of a set of network links of a communications network, having reduced capacity due to impairment;

determining a set of resources available, for allocation at a given time, for repair of the subset of network links; and

selecting a recovery sequence, from a set of recovery sequences, for the repair of the subset of network links, wherein the recovery sequences of the set differ based on respective selected amounts of traffic flow increase between the network links applicable to respective defined amounts of time after commencement of the respective recovery sequences,

wherein the recovery sequence comprises a first sequence based on a first defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a first amount of time after the commencement of the recovery sequence, and

wherein the recovery sequence further comprises a second sequence based on a second defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a second amount of time after the commencement of the recovery sequence.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the

identifying comprises identifying the subset of network links having reduced capacity based upon a set of designed capacities respectively corresponding to the subset of network links having reduced capacity and a set of measured capacities respectively corresponding to the subset of network links having reduced capacity.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining a total weighted traffic flow capacity as a function of,

a set of weights assigned to respective network links of the subset of disrupted network links having reduced capacity, wherein respective weights of the set of weights correspond to respective stages of the recovery sequence.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, for the network link of the subset of network links, the repair cost, which represents an amount of resources from the set of resources to recuperate a defined capacity of the network link.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining, based on the defined capacity of the network link, the amount of total capacity of the communications network regained by recuperating the defined capacity of the network link.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

assigning higher priority to the set of network links from the subset of network links having a higher utility gain.

19. A system, comprising:

means for detecting a subset of network links, of a communications network, exhibiting reduced traffic flow capacity due to a disruption;

means for determining a set of resources available, for allocation at a given time, for repair of the subset of network links; and

means for selecting a recovery sequence, from a set of recovery sequences, for the repair of the subset of network links, wherein recovery sequences of the set differ based on respective selected amounts of traffic flow increase between the network links applicable to respective defined amounts of time after commencement of the respective recovery sequences,

wherein the recovery sequence comprises a first sequence based on a first defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a first amount of time after the commencement of the recovery sequence, and

wherein the recovery sequence further comprises a second sequence based on a second defined amount of traffic flow increase applicable to a second amount of time after the commencement of the recovery sequence.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for determining, for the network link of the subset of network links, the repair cost, which represents an amount of resources from the set of resources to recuperate a defined capacity of the network link.