Broadband communications

• US 20040261116A1
• Filed: 06/21/2004
• Published: 12/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Mckeown, Jean Christophe, Chabrier, Henri
• Granted Patent: US 7,987,228 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/109
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2874 Processing of data for distribution to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0631 using root cause analysis; using analysis of correlation between notifications, alarms or events based on decision criteria, e.g. hierarchy, tree or time analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0843 based on generic templates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0859 by keeping history of different configuration generations or by rolling back to previous configuration versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0869 Validating the configuration within one network element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0889 Techniques to speed-up the configuration process
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/122 of virtualised topologies, e.g. software-defined networks [SDN] or network function virtualisation [NFV]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 : Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 : Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 : Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 : Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 : Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/20 : the monitoring system or the monitored elements being virtualised, abstracted or software-defined entities, e.g. SDN or NFV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 : using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 : Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 : Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• 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 communications, particularly but not exclusively broadband communications. One facet of the present invention relates to provisioning of services in a communications network and finds particular, but not exclusive, application in a broadband network environment or other environment where services are provisioned. The provisioning of services will now be discussed in more detail.

Claims

1-265. -265 (Cancel)

266. A method of providing an assured service to a user via a virtual private connection in a distributed network, the method comprising providing an agent in the network and configuring the agent to monitor the virtual private connection by simulating communication over the connection.

267. A method according to claim 266 wherein the agent is arranged to reside on a node of the network other than the user'"'"'s end node.

268. A method according to claim 266 wherein the agent is arranged to receive configuration information identifying a connection to monitor.

269. A method according to claim 266 wherein a single agent is arranged to receive configuration information identifying a plurality of independent connections to monitor.

270. A method according to claim 266 wherein the method further comprises configuring the agent to pass a fault report to a remote network monitoring component in the event that a fault is detected in the provisioned virtual private connection.

271. A method according to claim 266 further comprising provisioning a virtual private connection based on provisioning information.

272. A method according to claim 271 wherein configuration information is sent to a pre-existing agent.

273. A method according to claim 271 wherein an agent is launched if no pre-existing agent is available to monitor the provisioned connection.

274. A communications network management system, which system comprises:

a. an input for receiving fault reports in respect of a network and/or one or more services supported by a network,

b. a data store for storing data in respect of said network and/or services,

c. a fault processor for processing fault reports received via the input, using data stored in the data store, to generate corrective solutions, and

d. a simulator for triggering a service provision response by the network wherein the simulator has an output to the network to trigger a service provision response, such that a fault report in respect of said response will be received at the input and processed by the fault processor.

275. A communications network management system according to claim 274 which further comprises means to apply a generated corrective solution to the network and to trigger a service provision response by use of the simulator such as to validate the applied corrective solution.

276. A communications network management system according to claim 274, wherein said input for receiving fault reports is adapted to receive both fault reports in respect of services provided by said network and component alarms from components of said network, and said fault processor comprises a correlation engine for correlating received fault reports in respect of one or more services with received component alarms.

277. A communications network management system according to claim 274 wherein the data store is structured to hold one or more problem descriptions in addition to one or more fault reports and/or one or more component alarms, at least one stored problem description comprising data received in respect of historic component behaviour, said fault processor being adapted to access data received in respect of historic component behaviour for use in processing fault reports to generate one or more corrective solutions.

278. A communications network management system according to claim 274 wherein the data store is further structured to store customer data in relation to services and the fault processor comprises a correlation engine for correlating received fault reports in respect of one or more services with customer data, and wherein the fault processor further comprises sorting apparatus for sorting fault reports in an order determined by correlated customer data.

279. A communications network management system comprising a fault detector and fault processor for detecting faults in the network or services provided over the network, and for analysing detected faults with the purpose of generating solutions to the faults, wherein the system further comprises means for providing context sensitive help for providing information to the user in relation to one or more faults being analysed.

280. A system according to claim 279 wherein said means for providing context sensitive help comprises a knowledge management system having a search engine, the search engine being arranged to run a search on data stored for the knowledge management system, said search being based on the one or more faults being analysed.

281. A system according to claim 279 wherein the system is provided with a data store for storing data in respect of said network and/or services and processes fault reports in the light of stored data to generate corrective solutions to received fault reports, wherein the system is further provided with at least one simulator for requesting service provision over the network such that the network and one or more services can be proactively tested.

282. A system according to claim 281 further comprising means for adjusting at least one service provisioning parameter for at least one user.

283. A system according to claim 281 wherein the simulator simulates user activity.

284. A system according to claim 281 wherein the network is a broadband communications network.

285. A system according to claim 281 wherein the simulator is provided by an agent associated with a network component.