The invention relates generally to network management systems and, more particularly, to an intuitive system and method of managing and diagnosing problems in a large wireless communications network.
Modern communication networks are composed of millions of functional elements, geographically dispersed across thousands of miles of service territory. To properly manage a network, provide for redundant call routing, and respond to local emergencies, a global, top-level view of the system is required. It is well known for a communications network to tightly monitor the individual phones, switch elements, relays, base station, and the like. Monitoring the communication network elements yields information concerning the health, maintenance, current activity, performance, and security of these elements. Such information is collected at the local levels in the network. Before such information can be passed on to the higher levels of management, it must first be summarized, as it would be impossible for a top-level systems administrator to handle such information in its raw form from thousands of network elements.
Additionally, the monitoring and diagnostic functions of communication network elements can be organized along specialized areas of focus, or network management tasks. For optimum performance, the information should efficiently summarize activity occurring at local levels in the network for use by administrators who manage the communications network from a regional or national perspective. It can be difficult to coordinate all the areas of narrowed focus into a comprehensive picture of network problems at the higher levels. The administrator has the difficult task of analyzing problems occurring to network elements (NE)s through whatever filtering or processing functions the network imposes between the administrator and the NEs.
The International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Telecommunications Management Network (TMN) suggests a five-layer management structure. At the lowest level is the Network Element Layer (NEL) including switches and transmission distribution equipment. Above the NEL is the Element Management layer (EML), which manages the lower-level elements, dealing with issues such as capacity and congestion. The Network Management Level (NML) is concerned with managing the communication network systems associated with the NEL and EML. The Service Management Layer (SML) manages the services that are offered to the customers of the network, while the Business Management Layer (BML) on top manages the business and sets goals with respect to the customer and government agencies.
Networks are typically composed of NEs from a large variety of different vendors. Therefore, there are a variety of Element Management Systems (EMS) to support communications with the NE types. The Network Management System (NMS) must interface with divergent EMS level equipment and protocols. It is the NMS system that is responsible for controlling the communications network and keeping it functioning on a day-to-day basis.
The ITU-T also divides management into five Operations Support Systems (OSS) areas of interest. They are Fault Management, Configurations Management, Account Management, Performance Management, and Security Management—collectively referred to as FCAPS. As is well understood in the art, Fault Management is concerned with detecting equipment problems, responding to detected problems, fixing the problems, and putting the network back into working order. Configuration Management is concerned with databases, backup systems, and provisioning and enablement of new network resources. Account Management bills customers for service. Performance Management is concerned with collecting and analyzing data that measures how well the system is working. Security Management controls and enables NE functions. Portions of each FCAPS function are performed at every layer of the TMN architecture.
The Fault Management System is one of the most critical systems in the network to control. Intelligent NEs, able to perform self-diagnosis, may provide a precise error message to the NMS. However, many NEs merely send an alarm when a problem occurs, such as switch failures, loss of power, line failure, and loss of RF coverage (for wireless systems). The NMS system collects the alarm data for analysis—for example, analysis of a common failure mode among NEs in close physical proximity. The NMS could then issue a repair directive in response to the analysis. Intruder detection and interlock switch detection are examples of some security management issues that could be reported to the NMS by NEs.
A number of problems can occur in the processing and analysis of network element status at management levels in the communications network. Some of the problems result from the summarization process that must occur if a large number of network elements are to be managed from a central node. Other problems result from the dispersal of network elements across large distances. Still other problems result in attempting to supervise across different network management functions. All these problems stem from judgments that must be based on abstracted status reports. Even if it were possible for a supervisor to know each and every rule-set used to summarize the problems represented at different layers of network management, different geographical areas, and different network issues, every abstraction necessarily filters out input data that could be of use in the analysis of a network problem.
It would be advantageous to have a method of representing network elements and their problems in such a manner as to provide a convenient summary to network management systems.
It would be advantageous to have an intuitive method of representing NE fault alarms in a communications network so as to provide an administrator at the NMS a clear picture of the condition of NEs.
It would be advantageous to have a method for an administrator to track the status of individual NEs from a summary report at the NMS.
It would be advantageous to have a method for supervising a network to view both an abstraction of network problems, where a plurality of elements and issues are represented, and detailed presentations of individual elements, to determine specific problems and locations.