Utility server

• US 20040019666A1
• Filed: 02/13/2003
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaufmann, Heinz-Peter, Daase, Detlef
• Application Number:
  US10/365,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20040019666A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/221
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0879 Manual configuration through operator
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

The invention relates to a process to support the installation of first program codes on network elements of one or more telecommunication networks, and a utility server and a network management server of a network management system for performance of the process. The utility server stores a set of first program codes intended to be integrated in second program codes installed on network elements. The utility server restricts access to the set of first program codes and allows the two or more network management systems access to first program codes of the set of first program codes after performance of an authentication procedure. One of the network management systems on access selects a first program code from the set of first program codes. The utility server transmits the selected first program code to the network management server of this network management system. The selected first program code is transmitted by the network management server to one or more network elements of the telecommunication network of this network management system and integrated in the second program code installed on the network element concerned.

Claims

1. Process to support the installation of first program codes on network elements of one or more telecommunication networks, where in the process

a utility server central for two or more network management systems stores a set of first program codes intended to be integrated in second program codes installed on network elements,

the utility server restricts access to the set of first program codes and after performance of an authentication procedure allows the two or more network management systems access to first program codes of the set of first codes,

one of the two or more network management systems on access selects a first program code from the set of first program codes,

the utility server then transmits this selected first program code to a network management server of this network management system, and

the selected first program code is transmitted to one or more network elements of the telecommunication network of this network management system and is integrated in the second program code installed on the respective network element.

2. Process according to claim 1, where in the process furthermore the selection of a first program code from the set of first program codes is controlled by an operator of this network management system.

3. Process according to claim 1, where in the process furthermore the selected first program code is transmitted to one or more network elements of the telecommunication network on an instruction from the operator of this network management system.

4. Process according to claim 1, where in the process furthermore two or more central utility servers each store a set of first program codes, where the sets are allocated to different groups of network elements.

5. Utility server to support the installation of first program codes on network elements of a telecommunication network, where

the utility server is equipped with a first memory unit in which is stored a set of first program codes intended to be integrated in second program codes installed on network elements,

the utility server is fitted with a control unit designed to restrict access to the set of first program codes and after performance of an authentication procedure allows one or more network management systems access to first program codes of the set of first program codes,

the control unit is further designed so that on access it allows the one or more network management systems to select a first program code from the set of first program codes, and

the control unit is further designed so that it sends the selected first program code to a network management server of this network management system which is suitable for transmitting the selected first program code to one or more network elements of the telecommunication network of the network management system for integration in the second program code installed on the network element concerned.

6. Utility server according to claim 5, where the control unit is further designed that it calculates a specific preselection from the set of first program codes for one or more of the network management systems and informs an accessing network management system of the specific preselection allocated to it from the set of first program codes.

7. Utility server according to claim 5, where the control unit is further designed so that it calculates a specific preselection from the set of first program codes for one or more of the network management systems and restricts access by an accessing network management system to the specific preselection allocated to it.

8. Utility server according to claim 6, where the control unit is further designed so that it determines the specific preselection by means of criteria transmitted to it by the respective network management system.

9. Utility server according to claim 6, where the control unit is further designed so that it calculates the specific preselection by means of data related to the network elements managed by the network management system concerned.

10. Utility server according to claim 5, where the control unit is further designed so that it receives from the network management systems data related to the network elements administered by the respective network management system and stores this in a second memory unit.

11. Utility server according to claim 5, where in the first memory unit are stored further description data related to the first program code and the control unit is further designed so that before selection it transmits such description data to the network management system to support the selection.

12. Utility server according to claim 5, where the control unit is further designed so that it sends a specific installation code for the selected first program code to the network management server.

13. Utility server according to claim 5, where the control unit is further designed so that it calculates a specific installation code for the selected first program code by means of data related to the network elements managed by the network management system.

14. Network management server of a network management system of a telecommunication network to support the installation of first program codes on network elements of the telecommunication network, where the network management server is fitted with a control unit designed to contact a utility server on which is stored a set of first program codes intended to be integrated in second program codes installed on the network elements, and that it performs an authentication procedure on access to the first program code of the set of first program codes,

the control unit is further designed so that on access to the utility server it selects a first program code from the set of first program codes,

the control unit is further designed that from the utility server it receives the first selected program code and stores this in a memory unit of the network management server, and

the control unit is further designed so that it transmits the selected first program code to one or more network elements of the telecommunication network for integration in the second program code installed on the respective network element.

15. Network management server according to claim 14, where the network management server is equipped with a second memory unit in which are stored data related to the network elements managed by the network management system and on the allocated utility servers, and that the control unit is further designed that it selects a utility server from the utility servers stored in the second memory unit and contacts the selected utility server.

16. Network management server according to claim 14, where the control unit is further designed so that it sends data related to the network elements managed by the network management system to the utility servers.