FI104032B - Method for telecommunications network fault management and telecommunication system - Google Patents

Description

104032 TELECOMMUNICATION PROBLEM MANAGEMENT METHOD AND TELEVISION SYSTEM

The present invention relates to a method, as defined in the preamble of claim 1, for handling error and / or error messages caused automatically by a malfunction of a network operating and monitored device. Further, the present invention relates to a fault management unit as defined in the preamble of claim 7.

It is known in the art that a variety of fault and error messages relating to the operation of a telecommunications network are provided in a telecommunications network comprising a plurality of nodes, such as exchanges and transmission paths between them, such as transmission links, for transmitting information between nodes. In practice, notifications are made as a result of a malfunction of the network component. The bearer comprises channeling groups to increase the data transfer capacity, and bearer systems, which may include optical systems, radio systems, and conventional copper cable systems. Mainly notifications are made by telecommunication centers and transmission lines. Panel-triggered: A fault usually results in one error message or in a series of successive error messages of the same type, 25 which can be used to determine whether corrective action is required. Instead, the failure caused by the · · · link usually results in two error messages. ' FINANCING; most of the switches between which the transmission • · · V · link is connected, the transmission also receives fault messages even in this case. In addition: Multiplexer multiplexers may malfunction and cause error messages, which will then come from both the exchanges and other multiplexers connected to the faulty multiplexer • «· '···'.

• · · 35 Still, one telecommunications network may have r.t> several different bug tracking systems: digital. control panels, analogue switchboards and transmission 104032 2 lines. However, the problem is that error messages from different bug tracking systems are received, tracked, and analyzed at various locations, often at the exchange, whereby a service technician must go to the exchange to analyze the error message from the central computer or similar device that reports the actual cause of the problem. A further problem is that in the solution described, the operator responsible for network operation and customer service does not receive more detailed information about the failure until the service technician has visited the site to identify the cause of the fault. In addition, known systems may generate error messages that do not require immediate repair, but still cause the site to visit. On the other hand, one and the same failure can result in error messages in different formats and on different devices. In the current system, error messages cannot be filtered and interpreted efficiently enough.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel type of fault management method that enables a telecommunication operator to quickly and flexibly obtain reliable information about the condition of the telecommunications network and any errors or interruptions in the telecommunications network.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an effective system for receiving and processing error messages in a telecommunications network. It is a further object of the invention to provide. . ·. • a flexible and workable * * * system and system for filtering error messages and accelerating and improving telecommunication network maintenance.

: 35 With respect to the features of the present invention, reference is made to the claims.

• · · • 3 104032

In the method of the present invention, the fault management is performed on the basis of error messages in the telecommunication network, which includes a plurality of interconnected telephone exchanges in the transmission network and which provides an error message based on the malfunction and / or failure detected in the telecommunication component. Generally speaking, in this application, a telecommunications network refers to a public fixed telephone network or a mobile communication network, but the invention may be applied accordingly to other types of telecommunications networks as well. For example, an error message from a transmission device may include code indicating the severity of the fault, information about the fault, a rack location at the device, information about the group system associated with the main system 15 including the transmitting stations and channel level, device type, any previous address management system. , alarm / fault time, fault acknowledgment acknowledgment information, acknowledgment point, information on another fault management system device to which the alarm device may have been connected, repair liability, urgency required for repair, fault code and fault text such as incoming 8 Mbit / s signal missing.

According to the invention, every error message is received in a fault management unit connected to a telecommunications network. Advantageously, the handling of the error message proceeds as follows. Initially, the received error * * ·: message is identified by examining whether a particular field is the same in the message as in the fault management system memory.

, Preferably, the management system has collected rules for identifying * i «(relevant error messages f * ·. Once the event has been identified, pre-defined fields are extracted from the bug report, such as device type, location identifier, and so on: ·. The rules have '.t:' defined by the 4 4404032 note that delimits the field to be extracted. The event is mapped to the corresponding entity corresponding to the notifying device based on the extracted identifier. The following analysis is performed on the identified event. events, or other events and faults associated with another object associated with this, these checks generate the desired bug reports for presentation to the user, or, if necessary, delete earlier generated bug reports or correlate, i.e. attachments than the transaction to a previous error message.

Further preferably, the error messages can be stored in an archive file where the original messages are available when needed. However, all notifications using a known message format structure are identified. Based on the content of the error message, the received message is associated with a predefined event. Further processing of the error message 20 is based on the event name. Authentication is performed by looking for key strings in the error message. In addition, one can search for different key brands; leaning on different notification lines. If the authentication tests assigned to a particular pre-named event occur for the received notification, it is recognized as that event. All messages following the defined message form structures are identified. Unrecognized messages are filtered * m ': they are not processed after failed recognition, but are left, for example, in the archive. list for future reference.

«* ·. ·; ·. After the event has been identified, the information relevant to the event is extracted from the received string and placed in the attributes of the event • i · 35 that contain the network element ti- ·. or configuration information. Information relevant to the particular event of the sports w <t • 5104032 data is stored in the attributes of the event, the value of which can be read later and utilized in the analysis of that or any subsequent event. The extraction of information from the received notification 5 is based on the position of the information in the string, as well as the precursor and subsequent identifier characters or strings.

For example, in Event Analysis, you can examine attribute-10s for that or another event. Event analysis can generate bug reports. It is still possible to determine that several conditions are fulfilled simultaneously. Multiple conditions or events can also be combined into a specific bug report.

Further analysis of the event or error message follows. If the analysis concludes that the processed event is not associated with an earlier event, the new event will be attached as a bug report as such. If the event is updated to be more likely to be caused by a problem other than the one previously reported in the bug report, the updated event will be associated with the new bug report. Events are stored, a new fault / alarm is generated, to which all events are associated, and the previous fault / alarm is deleted. If there are 25 new events associated with that event, the decision will be taken as a follow-up. . this can be postponed.

Preferably, based on the analysis, a short message can be generated, comprising at least »* · · 'information about the network component that caused the error, the type of fault, the location of the fault in the telecommunications network, and! and sending a message in a predetermined format to a predetermined medium, such as a mobile phone of a particular service person.

f r I

In this context, it is noted that there are a number of other means of communication that can be used to alert a service technician to a failure in a telecommunications network.

: One example mentioned is sending an email message instead of a short message or alongside a short message.

The major advantages of the method of the present invention are its transparency, cost-effectiveness, open interfaces, and system usability in a telecommunications network with network components provided by several manufacturers. Further, with the present invention, the operator receives information centrally on the operation of various elements of the telecommunications network.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system detects active events, correlates events to correct error messages, and only informs the user of predetermined error messages. The advantage of this embodiment over the prior art is that the operator does not receive error messages that cause additional and unnecessary action. Preferably, the error messages are processed in ASCII format.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the error message is processed in a fault management unit in a stepwise manner such that an error message event is first received and identified, thereby informing that a component is operating undesirably. Then, the error message fields containing «* '· more detailed information about the fault, such as the urgency level of the fault, its location and the type of fault, are extracted and parsed. Further, based on the fields of the error message H · ·, an error message event is associated with one of the entities * stored in the fault management unit, which preferably contains information, in the network «Il t * 5 '. components, maintenance personnel and the like, and * stored in a predefined object database.

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Objects do not contain rules, but the identification, retrieval, and analysis rules are stored separately, and there are no references between them and object instances.

I 9 v 104032

Further, the error management unit according to the present invention for managing the fault of a telecommunications network including a plurality of interconnected nodes in the transmission path is arranged according to the invention to centrally receive all error messages issued in the network regardless of which fault tracking system is generated. Still further, according to the invention, the defect management unit comprises database means for storing predetermined information about nodes and paths belonging to the telecommunications network and the configuration between them. The database can advantageously be created by means of a computer, a program and a database file stored on a storage medium. Thus, when necessary, system performance 15 can be flexibly improved by increasing the database and computer performance. Further, according to the invention, the defect management unit comprises analysis means for receiving and analyzing error messages to be transmitted in the telecommunications network based on the information stored in the database. Analysis tools can also be implemented with the help of computer and software.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the defect management unit comprises an adaptation system 25 arranged between the defect monitoring systems of the telecommunications network and the defect management unit.

• · ·

Preferably, the adaptation system uses the TCP / IP-O protocol.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying silicon, in which Figure 1 schematically shows a telecommunications network in accordance with the present invention and in connection therewith. implemented fault management system; and FIG. 2 illustrates a channelization arrangement in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. telecommunications network.

• · * * • i> 4 · s 104032

Figure 1 shows a telecommunication network 1 to which a fault management system according to the present invention is connected. The fault management system may include monitoring systems 6, 7 and 8 for monitoring various components and components. On the other hand, the fault management system may have a direct connection to each control panel. For monitoring the analogue switches, a monitoring system 6 is connected to the telecommunications network, from which the messages 10 are forwarded to the defect management unit, as shown in Figure 1. Further, Fig. 1 shows a monitoring unit 7 for monitoring the digital exchanges in the telecommunications network connected to the telecommunication network 1, by means of which the error messages caused by the digital centers are transmitted to the fault management unit 2. Similar arrangements for the transmission paths in Figure 1 are performed by the transmission line monitoring system 8. Further, the exemplary defect management system shown in Fig. 1 includes an adaptation system 5 arranged between the tracking systems 6, 7 and 8 connected to the telecommunication network 1 and the defect management unit 2. Preferably, the matching system 5 is arranged in connection with the defect management unit 2. In one embodiment, error messages are transmitted using the TCP / IP protocol. Further, preferably, the fitting system 5 may be subdivided into each. . ; with a separate bug tracking system (not pre-

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· 1 tetty). In addition, in Fig. 1, a terminal 9 is connected to the defect management unit 2, which may be located in a telecommunication operator's room in different areas of the telecommunications network 1. Main · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Edulli- * 1 1 V :. Thus, the terminal 9 is a computer consisting of a central processing unit with processors and memory, a keypad, a display and other necessary peripheral devices 35. The terminal device can be used to view a model of the different levels of the telecommunications network in diagrammatic or similar form, such as a nationwide telecommunications network, a remote network of 10 104032 Punges, and further in detail, depending on the particular case. need. The broader the model of the telecommunications network, the less detailed information about the components of the telecommunications network is presented.

5 For example, when looking at a nationwide network, only the largest so-called headquarters and their transmission links are shown.

Referring further to Figure 1, there is further shown a fault management unit 10 according to the present invention, including database means 3 for storing predetermined information about nodes and paths belonging to a telecommunications network and the configuration between them. Figure 1 illustrates a preferred data model in which various basic information is stored in the database, such as network configuration information, a list of devices, device locations and device relationships; this information is illustrated in block 3a. Block 3b shows the rules stored in the database for the urgency of error messages, the merging of 20 messages, and other processing. Block 3c shows symbols stored in the database, various block diagrams, maps and network templates used to represent data on the terminal. Further, in block 3d, it is shown that a data table is stored in the data-base which can be read. . Fault names are used to harmonize faults from different manufacturers, for example • · ·. By way of example, a list may be stored of each component of the lever • • · · y · 'leverko in different sections of the database: a list of urgent fault V;.: Fault codes, device information, device type; · · V: pi, rack location, group ID associated with the main system, stations between which signals are being transmitted, channelization level, possible address information defined by the previous 35 systems, computer information of the second system indicating which computer this device is connected to, 10104032 sensing groups, a network model and logic that rules error messages are processed, and Figure 1 shows analysis means 4, which may include a memory device such as RAM and a central processing unit, for receiving error messages in the te-5 leverbox 1 and for analysis based on the data stored in the database the sensing means 4 is further connected to the matching system 5 and thereby to the vi tracking systems 6, 7, 8 (Fig. 1). In addition, 10 of the analysis means 4 are provided with a direct connection to the database means 3 for reading the data stored therein.

The following is a preferred example of operation of the system of the present invention. In a telecommunication network 1, a digital exchange has a switch field malfunction caused by a thunderstorm within the exchange. The center will not be able to recover from a malfunction without the assistance of a service technician. It should be noted in this context that the urgency of the fault 20 can be represented in at least five preferred ways: requires immediate action, requires action during working hours, can be handled in the normal order, a defect that can cause service degradation or a defect that can cause temporary changes in service. . . lussa. Further, the telecommunication system may be represented by a control terminal by means of block diagrams, icons and maps. In addition, using appropriate colors, • · * t * 'can be used. illustrates the bug component, the bug level • 30, and other similar information about the bug. In the event of bug 1 * ', the digital bug management system 7 hides it and issues a notification 10 containing the bug information listed above , to the error management unit 2, where the error message is received, the error message 10 of this residual • «· 35 is detected and a fault is detected by the control panel. 104032, for example, caused by the same thunderstorm The error message generated in the event of a signal failure may, for example, be as follows: In a transmission path between two telephone exchanges, If no synchronization pattern is found, the center will know that the connection is broken. An error message, which can be freely chosen or standard in form, is associated with a particular object by computer methods known per se. Thereafter, the object determines the actions that the error message will cause 15, that is, possibly sending information about the error message to the operator or service person, and in addition, programming information to be automatically communicated to the users of the telecommunication network.

Referring again to Figure 2, an exemplary example of a fault in a telecommunications network and its control panel is illustrated by means of an exemplary system of the present invention. The figure shows the channeling of the transmission line from the exchange 11 by means of the multiplexers. Channeling connects several simultaneous transmission links to the same 25 transmission lines to increase data transmission capacity. In Figure 3, the four 2 Mbit / s transmission lines from the exchange are channelized by the multiplexer 2/8 to 8 Mbit / s. Further, the 8/34 multiplexer channels four 8 30 Mbps for 34 Mbps and the multiplexer: * · '34/140 further for 140 Mbps. Now, if one of the multiplexers, for example 8/34, does not work, the * * ♦ navigation device 2/8 will indicate that the incoming 8 Mbit / s signal is missing. Further, the 34/140 multiplexer announces that the incoming 34 Mbit / s signal is missing from a subsystem having a specific code (the 34/140 multiplexer receives four 34 Mbit / s signals, so that 12 104032 knows which signal is missing). In addition, the exchange 11 reports a fault detected on the transmission link. By combining the error messages provided by the components, a faulty multiplexer can be located. Thus, as described above, messages from the same failure can be filtered into a single unified informational message.

In summary, a solution of the present invention is as follows. The NetExpert ™ defect management system of the OSI (Objective Systems Integrators), for example, of the present ® 10, consists of program modules that control the system. Functions and modules of program modules include: modeling a telephone network or parts thereof into a database, grouping central and transmission components according to functions, rules for combining various messages of the same urgency, combining the same type of bug reports into a single bug report, e.g. the devices give different messages for the same fault. In addition, the program modules include a module for coordinating the aforementioned components. The advantages and purpose of the present invention are based on the ability of the invention to automatically filter out faults detecting the same fault, leaving only the network-relevant faults for further processing.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiments only, but many variations are possible while remaining within the scope of the inventive idea defined in the claims.

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Claims (10)

104032 13 A method for managing a telecommunication network (1) having a plurality of interconnected nodes on a transmission path based on error messages in the telecommunication network, wherein the telecommunication network issues an error message and / or failure detected on a telecommunication component, each error message is received in the (1), each received error message is identified according to rules stored in the fault management unit and the content of each error message is analyzed, characterized by: detecting active events in the system; correlating events to failures; and performing predetermined steps based on analysis and correlation to control and / or correct the error and / or failure. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, based on the analysis and correlation, at least S 'causing the error message is determined; network component, type of fault, location on the telecommunications network, and • # i the urgency level of the fault and that the user will be notified · predefined fault messages. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by generating a short message message comprising at least information about the network component that caused the error message, the type of fault, and the location of the fault in the telecommunications network. and the urgency level of the fault; and «.j ·. transmitting the short message message in a predetermined format to a predetermined medium, such as the mobile station of a particular • 1 · · '·· service technician. • · · »• · • i • 1 · • 11» • • '> · • · 14 104032 Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 3, characterized in that objects containing information on error message generation rules, network components, maintenance personnel and the like are stored in a predefined object database. Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the error message is processed in the fault management unit (2) in a stepwise manner as follows: receiving and identifying an error message event; extracting and parsing the error message fields, pasting the error message event into one of the objects stored in the bug management unit; and analyzing the error message event by comparing the event with other received error messages. Method according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the error messages are processed in ASCII format. A fault management unit (2) for faulting a telecommunication network (1) comprising: a plurality of nodes connected to each other on the transmission paths; for controlling, which fault management unit (2) is "configured to receive all error messages provided on the network". notifications; and a defect management unit comprising: • · · · · / database means (3) for storing predetermined information about · · · * · * nodes belonging to the telecommunications network and the configuration between them; and analyzing means (4) for receiving and analyzing error messages in the telecommunication network (1) on the basis of information stored in the database, characterized in that it further comprises means (9) for detecting and correlating active events of the system. · Means (9) for correlating active events with <faults. 15 104032 A fault management unit according to claim 7, characterized by a matching system (5) arranged between the tracking systems (6, 7, 8) of the telecommunication network (1) and the fault management unit. A defect management unit according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the defect management unit (2) comprises a display device for presenting information describing the state of the telecommunications network in a predetermined form. The defect management unit according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the defect management unit (2) is a computer comprising a central processing unit and storage media. · • ♦ ♦ • m m 10 10 40 40 40 104032 16