Ciena Corporation

Srinivasa Hebbar

Rajan Kapur

Michael B Peters-Rodbell

Clark Scrandis

Martha Dunbar

Greg M Bernstein

Robert McNamara

Robert A Levin

A distributed method and system of controlling a communications network having a plurality of spans of interconnected network elements some of which include a network element processor distributes network topology information to respective span databases; stores original fault objects in the respective span databases; advertises fault objects to other network element processors in a local span when the original fault affects network elements other than a network element in which the fault occurred; advertises alarm objects to other network element processors that are respectively associated with a circuit affected by the original faults; stores the advertised fault and alarm objects in the respective span databases; and performs distributed processing of the advertised fault and alarm objects with the other network element processors and the respective span databases. Aggregation of other faults and alarms that may be occurring on the communications network due to other faults other than the received fault aids in determining causality of the fault. Causality may be determined by correlating other faults and alarms with the received fault. If not a root cause of another fault or alarm, the received fault is sympathetic to another fault or alarm. Sympathetic faults are suppressed while root cause faults are promoted to an alarm and reported to affected network elements. The number of alarms viewed by a network manager as well as the reporting of alarms and underlying faults are reduced by performing such distributed alarm correlation and fault reporting suppression.

Method and apparatus for aggregating alarms and faults of a communications network

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a network element in an optical communications network. The network element includes a data collection application program interface (API) for receiving a request from a client for network topology information along with a topology gatherer module, a topology change module and a gateway node module, each in communication with the data collection API. One of the topology gatherer module, topology change module and gateway node module provides the network topology information requested by the client to the data collection API. The data collection API then provides the network topology information to the client. Alternate embodiments include a method of collecting optical communications network.

Method and system for collecting network topology in an optical communications network

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is a method of detecting network elements in an optical communications network. The method includes an initiating network element generating a neighbor discovery message including a requested hierarchy level at which neighbor discovery is requested and transmitting the neighbor discovery message downstream along the optical communications network. A downstream network element receives the neighbor discovery message, determines if the downstream network element operates at the requested hierarchy level. The downstream network element generates a responding neighbor discovery message if the downstream network element operates at the requested hierarchy level and transmits the responding neighbor discovery message to the initiating network element. Alternate embodiments include a system and storage medium for implementing the method.

Method and system for detecting network elements in an optical communications network

Method of controlling a network element to aggregate alarms and faults of a communications network

Method and system for determining and suppressing sympathetic faults of a communications network

A distributed method and system of controlling a communications network having spans of interconnected network elements that distribute network topology information to respective span databases; advertise fault objects to other network elements in a local span when the original fault affects network elements; advertise alarm objects to other network elements that are respectively associated with a circuit affected by the original fault; and perform distributed processing of the advertised fault and alarm objects with the other network elements and the respective span databases. Other faults and alarms that may exist on the network are aggregated. Causality may be determined by correlating other faults and alarms with the received fault. Sympathetic faults are suppressed while root cause faults are promoted to an alarm and reported to affected network elements. The number of alarms viewed by a network manager are reduced by performing such distributed alarm correlation and fault reporting suppression.

Communications network and method performing distributed processing of fault and alarm objects

Method and system for processing alarm objects in a communications network

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Columbia, MD, United States of America

Srinivasa Hebbar