Device-health-based dynamic configuration of network management systems suited for network operations

• US 9,225,554 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2011
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gotesdyner, Rony, Bruins, Barry
• Primary Examiner(s): Algibhah, Hamza
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDWARDS, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US13/178,386
• Publication Number:
  US 20120191826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 709/221
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1254 Automatic configuration, e.g. by driver
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6418 Hybrid transport

Abstract

In an embodiment, in response to receiving an indication of a change in quality of services provided by a network device, collecting one or more performance measurements of the network device; by applying a network policy to the measurements, determining one or more operations capable of performing on the network device to enhance the quality of services; in response to determining that the network device is not configured for instrumentation, causing automatic self-configuration of the network device by execution of the one or more operations on the network device; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

Claims

1. A data processing method, comprising:

in response to receiving an indication of a change in quality of services provided by a network device, collecting one or more performance measurements of the network device;

by applying a network policy to the measurements, determining one or more operations capable of performing on the network device to enhance the quality of services;

in response to determining that the network device is not configured for instrumentation to execute the one or more operations, causing automatic self-configuration of the network device to enable execution of the one or more operations on the network device to enhance the quality of services provided by the network device, the operations comprising one or more of;

enabling a deep packet inspection (DPI) analysis on the network device, disabling the DPI analysis, enabling a network based application recognition (NBAR) capability, disabling the NBAR capability, enabling a device configuration analysis (DCA), disabling the DCA, enabling an application execution monitoring (AEM) capability, disabling the AEM capability, enabling a network communication support (NCS), or disabling the NCS;

wherein the execution of the one or more operations on the network device causes modifying, by the network device, a type of a quality of services class assigned to a particular application executed on the network device;

wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a network device health model and adding the device health model to a configuration of the network device, and selecting the network policy based on a type and function of the network device.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, based on the performance measurements, whether the network device has sufficient processing resources then-currently available to execute the one or more operations;

wherein the performance measurements of the network device comprise health and utilization measurements, including any of;

central processing unit (CPU) utilization status, memory utilization status, bandwidth status, load of the network device, a list of applications executed on the network device, an application response time, a link fault, a port fault, information communicated by applications launched on the network device, or information communicated in data packets sent from and to the network device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication of a change in quality of services is received from a system administrator, a program application or a user.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a policy unit of the network device and a performance agent that specifies utilization thresholds for the network device to determine the one or more operations;

wherein the one or more operations comprise any of the following;

turning on a disabled feature on the network device for a particular period of time, turning off an enabled feature on the network device, enabling communications support, enabling a port on the network device, disabling a port on the network device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising using a trusted logic that is embedded in a network management module to determine the one or more operations.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing displaying, based, at least in part, on the measurements, a graphical user interface that comprises an indicator of whether the network device then-currently has sufficient processing resources available to perform the one or more operations, and comprises one or more graphical user interface widgets that identify the one or more operations;

receiving user input requesting activation of the one or more operations.

8. An internetworking device, comprising:

one or more processors;

a device health unit coupled to the one or more processors and configured to perform, in response to receiving an indication of a change in quality of services provided by a network device, collecting one or more performance measurements of the network device;

a policy unit configured to perform, by applying a network policy to the measurements, determining one or more operations capable of performing on the network device to enhance the quality of services;

an automatic self-configuration unit configured to perform, in response to determining that the network device is not configured for instrumentation to execute the one or more operations, causing automatic self-configuration of the network device to enable execution of the one or more operations on the network device to enhance the quality of services provided by the network device, the operations comprising one or more of;

enabling a deep packet inspection (DPI) analysis on the network device, disabling the DPI analysis, enabling a network based application recognition (NBAR) capability, disabling the NBAR capability, enabling a device configuration analysis (DCA), disabling the DCA, enabling an application execution monitoring (AEM) capability, disabling the AEM capability, enabling a network communication support (NCS), or disabling the NCS;

wherein the execution of the one or more operations on the network device causes modifying, by the network device, a type of a quality of services class assigned to a particular application executed on the network device.

9. The internetworking device of claim 8, wherein the policy unit is further configured to perform generating a network device health model and adding the device health model to a configuration of the network device, and selecting the network policy based on a type and function of the network device.

10. The internetworking device of claim 8, wherein the policy unit is further configured to perform determining, based on the performance measurements, whether the network device has sufficient processing resources then-currently available to execute the one or more operations;

wherein the performance measurements of the network device comprise health and utilization measurements, including any of;

central processing unit (CPU) utilization status, memory utilization status, bandwidth status, load of the network device, a list of applications executed on the network device, an application response time, a link fault, a port fault, information communicated by applications launched on the network device, or information communicated in data packets sent from and to the network device.

11. The internetworking device of claim 8, wherein the indication of a change in quality of services is received from a system administrator, a program application or a user.

12. The internetworking device of claim 8, wherein the policy unit is part of the network device and utilizes a performance agent that specifies utilization thresholds for the network device to determine the one or more operations;

wherein the one or more operations comprise any of the following;

turning on a disabled feature on the network device for a particular period of time, turning off an enabled feature on the network device, enabling communications support, enabling a port on the network device, disabling a port on the network device.

13. The internetworking device of claim 8, wherein the policy unit is part of a trusted logic that is embedded in a network management module to determine the one or more operations.

14. The internetworking device of claim 8, further comprising a user interface unit configured to perform:

causing displaying, based, at least in part, on the measurements, a graphical user interface that comprises an indicator of whether the network device then-currently has sufficient processing resources available to perform the one or more operations, and comprises one or more graphical user interface widgets that identify the one or more operations;

receiving user input requesting activation of the one or more operations.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform:

in response to receiving an indication of a change in quality of services provided by a network device, collecting one or more performance measurements of the network device;

by applying a network policy to the measurements, determining one or more operations capable of performing on the network device to enhance the quality of services;

in response to determining that the network device is not configured to execute the one or more operations, causing automatic self-configuration of the network device to enable execution of and execute the one or more operations on the network device to enhance the quality of services provided by the network device, the operations comprising one or more of;

enabling a deep packet inspection (DPI) analysis on the network device, disabling the DPI analysis, enabling a network based application recognition (NBAR) capability, disabling the NBAR capability, enabling a device configuration analysis (DCA), disabling the DCA, enabling an application execution monitoring (AEM) capability, disabling the AEM capability, enabling a network communication support (NCS), or disabling the NCS;

wherein the execution of the one or more operations on the network device causes modifying, by the network device, a type of a quality of services class assigned to a particular application executed on the network device.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform:

generating a network device health model and adding the device health model to a configuration of the network device, and selecting the network policy based on a type and function of the network device.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform:

determining, based on the performance measurements, whether the network device has sufficient processing resources then-currently available to execute the one or more operations;

wherein the performance measurements of the network device comprise health and utilization measurements, including any of;

central processing unit (CPU) utilization status, memory utilization status, bandwidth status, load of the network device, a list of applications executed on the network device, an application response time, a link fault, a port fault, information communicated by applications launched on the network device, or information communicated in data packets sent from and to the network device.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15,

wherein the indication of a change in quality of services is received from a system administrator, a program application or a user.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform:

using a policy unit of the network device and a performance agent that specifies utilization thresholds for the network device to determine the one or more operations;

wherein the one or more operations comprise any of the following;

turning on a disabled feature on the network device for a particular period of time, turning off an enabled feature on the network device, enabling communications support, enabling a port on the network device, disabling a port on the network device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, further storing instructions which, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform:

using a trusted logic that is embedded in a network management module to determine the one or more operations;

causing displaying, based, at least in part, on the measurements, a graphical user interface that comprises an indicator of whether the network device then-currently has sufficient processing resources available to perform the one or more operations, and comprises one or more graphical user interface widgets that identify the one or more operations;

receiving user input requesting activation of the one or more operations.