Method and system for implementing supervision in a telecommunication system

• US 7,197,551 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 03/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Telecommunications Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Ketola, Antti, Liuhto, Anssi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wiley; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): JEAN GILLES, JUDE
• Application Number:
  US09/998,324
• Publication Number:
  US 20020038361A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,944 Days
• Field of Search: 709220-226, 370/278, 370/396, 379/265.03, 379/26, 379/34, 379/85, 379/133, 379/88, 379/112, 705/7, 701/35, 455/2
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/54591 Supervision, e.g. fault localisation, traffic measurements, avoiding errors, failure recovery, monitoring, statistical analysis

Abstract

Method and system for automatically configuring supervision and performing supervision in a supervision system comprising a supervision center; and a supervision block which contains processes performing supervision tasks. The supervision system is preferably a telephone switching system. In the method, the supervision block performing supervision functions is monitored and/or controlled via the supervision center. Furthermore, the objects monitored by a supervision block process performing supervision tasks are automatically registered in the supervision center as the supervision block processes become ready for operation, and information about the supervision block processes and/or about the services produced by them and/or about the objects being monitored is stored in the supervision center.

Claims

1. Method for automatically configuring supervision and performing supervision in a supervision system comprising

a supervision center;

a supervision block which contains processes performing supervision tasks,

said method comprising the steps of;

monitoring and/or controlling via the supervision center the supervision block processes performing supervision tasks,

wherein the method comprises the following steps;

the processes performing supervision tasks in the supervision block of the supervision system and/or the objects monitored by them are registered in the supervision center automatically as the processes in the supervision block become ready for operation; and

information about the processes in the supervision block and/or about the services produced by them and/or about the objects monitored is saved in the supervision center in conjunction with the registration, and

wherein the supervision block process performing a supervision task determines the address of the supervision center via a name service.

2. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the supervision system is a telephone switching system.

3. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein a supervision block process performing supervision tasks comprises a communication interface through which operational commands are received from the supervision center.

4. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the state of a registered supervision block process performing a supervision task is checked before an action request is sent to it.

5. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the supervision center comprises a user interface via which the supervision center and/or the supervision block processes performing supervision tasks are controlled.

6. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the supervision center comprises an interface for receiving the registration data when supervision block processes performing supervision tasks are registered in the supervision center.

7. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the result of the supervision block process performing a supervision task is sent to the supervision center.

8. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the registrations of the supervision block processes are stored in a supervision file in the supervision center.

9. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the operation of the supervision block process performing a supervision task is verified in conjunction with the registration and an alarm is issued if

the supervision block process performing a supervision task does not produce a response to a test command.

10. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein an alarm is issued if

the response produced by the supervision block process performing a supervision task is inaccurate;

and/or

no supervision block processes performing supervision tasks are registered at all; and

/or

the number of test cases in the supervision file is lower after a restart of the system.

11. Method as defined claim 1, wherein the supervision file contains the address and/or identifier and/or test parameters and/or initial values of test parameters of the supervision block process performing a supervision task and/or other information.

12. Method as defined claim 1, wherein a registering supervision block process performing a supervision task contains one or more objects of monitoring.

13. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein a supervision block process performing a supervision task that impairs the normal operation of the telephone switching center shall not register in the supervision center.

14. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the supervision system comprises one or more supervision centers in operation.

15. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the supervision block process performing a supervision task and/or the maintenance of the monitoring object of the process are/is discontinued and the respective entry is deleted from the supervision file.

28. Method as defined in claim 1, wherein the performing supervision tasks comprises performing testing of a system that the supervision system supervises.

16. System for automatically configuring supervision and performing supervision in a supervision system comprising

a supervision center;

a supervision block which contains processes performing supervision tasks,

which method comprises the steps of;

monitoring and/or controlling via the supervision center the supervision block processes performing supervision tasks,

wherein the system comprises;

means for automatically registering in the supervision center the objects monitored by the supervision block processes performing tasks of supervision of the operation of the supervision system;

means for saving information relating to the processes performing supervision tasks and/or to the services produced by them in the supervision center in conjunction with registration; and

means for determining the address of the supervision center via a name service.

17. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the supervision system is a telephone switching system.

18. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for receiving operational commands via the communication interface of the supervision block process performing supervision tasks.

19. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for checking the state of a registered supervision block process performing a supervision task before an action request is sent to it.

20. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for controlling the supervision center and/or the supervision block processes performing supervision tasks via the user interface of the supervision center.

21. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for receiving the registrations of supervision block processes performing supervision tasks via an interface.

22. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for sending the result of the supervision block process performing a supervision task to the supervision center.

23. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for storing the registrations of the supervision block processes in a supervision file in the supervision center.

24. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises:

means for verifying the operation of the supervision block process performing a supervision task; and

means for issuing an alarm.

25. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for analyzing the results associated with the processes performing supervision tasks.

26. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises one or more supervision centers in operation.

27. System as defined in claim 16, wherein the system comprises means for discontinuing a supervision block process performing a supervision task and/or the maintenance of an object monitored by the process and for deleting the respective entry from the supervision file.

29. System as defined in claim 16, wherein at least one of the processes in the supervision block is configured to test a system that the supervision supervises.