Network configuration predictive analytics engine

• US 9,923,787 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2012
• Issued: 03/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ngoo, Yik Shaw, How, Hee Thong
• Primary Examiner(s): Zele, Krista
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chambers, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US13/458,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20130290512A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,153 Days
• Field of Search: 370356, 706 12, 709224, 711114, 714 47
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0645 by additionally acting on or stimulating the network after receiving notifications
• 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 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0873 Checking configuration conflicts between network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/149 for prediction of maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/04 Processing captured monitoring data, e.g. for logfile generation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/065 related to network devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/02 Topology update or discovery
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/028 Dynamic adaptation of the update intervals, e.g. event-triggered updates

Abstract

A mechanism associated with a network management system (NMS) interprets and predicts the impact on a network of a network configuration change proactively. By providing pre-configuration analysis in this manner, a network administrator can determine the potential effect of the proposed configuration change in advance of actually inserting a configuration command in the network that might otherwise have unforeseen and damaging consequences. The technique is implemented using a predictive analytics engine that receives a proposed network command and, using a current network topology, executes the command against one or more NMS algorithms to verify that the command can be implemented safely.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

computer memory holding computer program instructions executed by the processor perform network management in association with a network management system, the computer program instructions operative to;

generate and maintain a substantially real-time view of a network topology by continuously receiving status updates from network devices in a network being managed, at least one status update received in response to a programmatic command line interface query to a given one of the network devices;

receive a corrective command, the corrective command having been automatically generated by the network management system in response to a fault occurrence in the network and that is proposed by the network management system to address the fault occurrence;

select an algorithm from a set of algorithms associated with network management system (NMS) functions, each of the algorithms providing a distinct context-specific NMS operation, and wherein the algorithm selected is determined based on a type of the fault occurrence and the corrective command that has been generated; and

analyze, using the algorithm so selected, the corrective command so received against the substantially real-time view of the network topology prior to the corrective command being deployed to address the fault occurrence to simulate a network response to executing the corrective command in the network.

2. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the status updates are received one of:

periodically, and asynchronously.

3. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the corrective command is a network configuration command that is generated in response to an alarm in the network.

4. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the computer program instructions are further operative to generate an alarm when the network response that is simulated is a subsequent incident.

5. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein the computer program instructions are further operative to pass the corrective command to the network when the network response that is simulated is that the corrective command will execute successfully.

6. The apparatus as described in claim 5 wherein the corrective command is passed to the network when the network response that is simulated exceeds a configurable threshold of validity.

7. The apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein, in addition to the network topology, the corrective command also is analyzed against one of:

a command history, and data indicative of a network operating state.

8. A computer program product in a non-transitory computer readable medium for use in a data processing system, the computer program product holding computer program instructions which, when executed by the data processing system, perform a method of network management in association with a network management system, comprising:

generating and maintaining a substantially real-time view of a network topology by continuously receiving status updates from network devices in a network being managed at least one status update received in response to a programmatic command line interface query to a given one of the network devices;

receiving a corrective command, the corrective command having been automatically generated by the network management system in response to a fault occurrence in the network and that is proposed by the network management system to address the fault occurrence;

selecting an algorithm from a set of algorithms associated with network management system (NMS) functions, each of the algorithms providing a distinct context-specific NMS operation, and wherein the algorithm selected is determined based on a type of the fault occurrence and the corrective command that has been generated;

analyzing, using the algorithm so selected, the corrective command so received against the substantially real-time view of the network topology prior to the corrective command being deployed to address the fault occurrence to simulate a network response to executing the command in the network.

9. The computer program product as described in claim 8 wherein the status updates are received one of:

periodically, and asynchronously.

10. The computer program product as described in claim 8 wherein the corrective command is a network configuration command that is generated in response to an alarm in the network.

11. The computer program product as described in claim 8 wherein the method further includes generating an alarm when the network response that is simulated is a subsequent incident.

12. The computer program product as described in claim 8 wherein the method further includes passing the corrective command to the network when the network response that is simulated is that the corrective command will execute successfully.

13. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein corrective command is passed to the network when the network response that is simulated exceeds a configurable threshold of validity.

14. The computer program product as described in claim 8 wherein, in addition to the network topology, the corrective command also is analyzed against one of:

a command history, and data indicative of a network operating state.