Network element diagnostic evaluation

• US 9,571,350 B2
• Filed: 01/23/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pandey, Vijoy A., Kamble, Keshav G., Peethambaram, Nandakumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): ISLAM, SM ZAKIRUL
• Application Number:
  US13/748,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20140207942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,483 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0253 using browsers or web-pages for accessing management information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/18 Delegation of network management function, e.g. customer network management [CNM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/18 Protocol analysers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2425 for supporting services specification, e.g. SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition

Abstract

A process of diagnosing and debugging a network element remotely may employ sending of performance data to a third party evaluator for processing of the data. A mobile device may interface with the network element and request evaluation of the performance by the third party evaluator. Large memory loads may be sent to the third party evaluator where intensive processing may be performed. The results of the processing by the third party evaluator may be sent to the mobile device for viewing by a user.

Claims

1. A computer program product for evaluating operating conditions of a network element, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code being configured to:

automatically, using a virtual operating system within a cloud computing environment, identify a network element, that provides resources to a client, based on underperformance of the network element, wherein the performance of the network element is representative of planning, fulfillment and pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement for resources is anticipated in accordance with a service level agreement, and wherein the service level agreement defines the resources to be provided to the client;

automatically scale in resources based on the resources provided by the identified underperforming network element;

interface remotely with the identified network element;

direct the identified network element to send performance data of the network element over a network to a third party evaluator, wherein the performance data is representative of a performance of the identified network element; and

receive, from the third party evaluator, results related to diagnosis of the performance data.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the interface is performed wirelessly.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the sending of performance data is performed through a cloud based network.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the computer program product is resident as an application on a mobile device.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the performance data include a core memory dump sent to the third party evaluator through a cloud based network.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the performance data include a packet capture of packet data passing through the network element to the third party evaluator through a cloud based network.

7. A system, comprising:

a mobile device configured to remotely transmit instructions to a network element; and

an application resident on the mobile device providing software as a service, wherein the application includes instructions configured to;

interface remotely with the network element within a cloud computing environment that includes a virtual abstraction layer for hardware and software, a virtual abstraction layer for virtualization entities including a virtual operating system, a virtual abstraction layer for management of procuring computing products, and a virtual abstraction layer for workload management;

direct the network element, using the mobile device, to send performance data of the network element over a network to multiple distributed computing machines associated with an evaluator, wherein the evaluator accomplishes intensive computing and processing tasks associated with memory dumps from the mobile device that would otherwise overload system resources on the mobile device;

cause the mobile device to provide at least a portion of the resources previously performed by the network element; and

receive on the mobile device, from the third party evaluator, results related to diagnosis of the performance data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the mobile device is configured to interface wirelessly with the network element.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the application is configured to direct the network element to send performance data to the third party evaluator through a cloud based network.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the application is configured to request that the performance data sent to the third party evaluator include a core memory dump sent through a cloud based network.

11. The mobile device of claim 7, wherein the application is configured to request that the performance data sent to the third party evaluator include a packet capture of packet data passing through the network element sent through a cloud based network.

12. A process of diagnosing performance in a network element, comprising:

identifying a network element, using a virtual operating system within a cloud computing environment,

wherein the process operates within a cloud computing environment that includes a virtual abstraction layer for hardware and software, a virtual abstraction layer for virtualization entities, a virtual abstraction layer for management of procuring computing products, and a virtual abstraction layer for workload management;

interfacing remotely with the identified network element;

automatically provision server time and network storage required to diagnose the identified network element;

directing the identified network element to send performance data over a network to a third party evaluator, wherein the performance data is representative of a performance of the identified network element; and

receiving, from the evaluator, results related to diagnosis of the performance data, wherein the diagnosis of the performance data is representative of routine maintenance of the identified network element and at least one reason that the identified network element is underperforming.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein the interface is performed wirelessly.

14. The process of claim 12, wherein the sending of performance data is performed through a cloud based network.

15. The process of claim 12, wherein the interfacing is performed on a mobile device.

16. The process of claim 12, wherein the performance data include a core memory dump sent to the third party evaluator through a cloud based network.

17. The process of claim 12, wherein the performance data include a packet capture of packet data passing through the network element to the third party evaluator through a cloud based network.