Communication network management device, method, and program

Abstract

In one aspect of the present invention: stored, in a first storage unit, is information indicating a relationship between a communication device and a communication path connecting communication devices and indicating specifications; and stored, in a second storage unit, are a reference path count which was set in accordance with the number of paths of a switching candidate for ensuring redundancy of a communication network when a failure occurs, and a determination cost value which was set in order to determine the cost value of the switching candidate paths. In this state, when a failure occurs, a determination is made, on the basis of facility information, as to whether or not selection is possible regarding determination target paths corresponding to the reference path count, in descending order of cost value, from among communication paths that do not pass through the location of the failure occurrence, among the communication paths connecting communication devices serving as end points for each communication service. Further, the magnitude relationship between the cost value of the determination target paths and the determined cost values is determined. Whether the failure has impacted the communication service is determined on the basis of the determination result as to whether selection is possible regarding the determination target paths and the determination result as to the magnitude relationship.

Description

Communication network management device, method, and program

[0001] One aspect of the present invention relates to a communication network management device, method, and program having a function of determining the extent to which a communication service will be affected when a failure occurs in a network, for example.

[0002] In a communication network, for example, when an earthquake disaster occurs, the communication devices and transmission paths that make up the communication network may experience failures such as breakdowns or disconnections. When such a failure occurs, for example, in order to maintain the communication services currently being provided, work is performed to identify the location of the failure and switch the communication path to bypass the location of the failure. However, in order to perform such recovery work, it is necessary to identify in advance the extent to which the impact of the failure will extend.

[0003] Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a model in which information about users is stored in association with an information object related to the logical layer, and information about subscribers associated with the acquired information object related to the location of the failure is identified as information about subscribers affected by the failure. Furthermore, Patent Documents 2 to 5 describe techniques for understanding the impact on communication services based on network facility information.

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 6655524 Japanese Patent No. 7107158 International Publication No. 2020 / 240706 International Publication No. 2021 / 131002 International Publication No. 2021 / 166228

[0005] However, the technology described in the prior art documents is targeted at grasping the impact in a tree-type hierarchical structure, and uses logic that determines that a failure in a higher-level device will affect lower-level devices. Therefore, when applied to a mesh-type network that can maintain multiple routes, the impact of the failure will spread over a wide area, even if service can continue while maintaining multiple detour route options in the event of a failure.

[0006] In other words, the technology described in the prior art documents is effective for networks with few communication paths connecting end points (end to end), such as tree-shaped networks. However, in the case of networks configured in a mesh pattern across the country, such as mobile communication networks, it is possible to set up a large number of communication paths connecting any desired end points, making it difficult to properly determine the extent of the impact of a failure in the network.

[0007] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a technique that enables a more appropriate determination of the extent of the influence of a failure that occurs within a network.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of a communication network management device or management method according to the present invention stores, in a first storage unit, facility information representing the relationships and specifications between multiple communication devices constituting a communication network to be managed and the communication paths connecting these communication devices, and stores, in a second storage unit, a reference path number set corresponding to the number of candidate paths for switching that ensure redundancy in the communication network in the event of a failure, and a determination cost value set for determining the cost value of the candidate paths for switching. In this state, when a failure occurs, based on the facility information, it is determined whether a determination target path corresponding to the reference path number can be selected from communication paths connecting communication devices that serve as endpoints for each communication service, in ascending order of cost value, from communication paths that do not pass through the point where the failure occurred, and it determines the magnitude relationship between the cost value of the determination target path and the determination cost value. Then, based on the result of the determination of whether the determination target path can be selected and the result of the magnitude relationship, it is determined whether the failure has an impact on the communication service.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, a target path is selected from among multiple communication paths between endpoints, excluding the failed section, with the number of reference paths as the upper limit, and the presence or absence of the impact of a failure is determined for the selected target path. This makes it possible to more appropriately determine the extent of the impact of a failure that occurs within a mesh network, even in a mesh network. Furthermore, compared to determining the presence or absence of a failure for all communication paths connecting endpoints, it is possible to reduce the processing load and shorten the processing time required for the above determination process in the communication network management device.

[0010] That is, according to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a technique that enables a more appropriate determination of the extent of the influence of a failure that occurs within a network.

[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication network management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a communication network management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the software configuration of a communication network management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and processing content of a service impact determination process executed by a control unit of the communication network management device shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure and processing content of an impact determination process among the procedures shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of cost values ​​set for each section of multiple communication paths that can connect communication devices R1 and R2. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the number of reference paths K and the cost value F and whether or not a failure has an impact on a communication service. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a first example of the impact of a failure on a communication service when the failure occurs in a partial section between communication devices R1 and R2 shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating a second example of the impact of a failure on a communication service when the failure occurs in a partial section between communication devices R1 and R2 shown in FIG. 6. Fig. 8C is a diagram illustrating a third example of the impact on communication services when a failure occurs in a partial section between communication devices R1 and R2 shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8D is a diagram illustrating a fourth example of the impact on communication services when a failure occurs in a partial section between communication devices R1 and R2 shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 8E is a diagram illustrating a fifth example of the impact on communication services when a failure occurs in a partial section between communication devices R1 and R2 shown in Fig. 6.

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] [One Embodiment] (Configuration Example) (1) System FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication network system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] A communication network system according to one embodiment includes a communication network NW (hereinafter referred to as a mesh network) configured in a mesh pattern, such as a mobile communication network, and a communication network management device CS is connected to this mesh network NW. Note that a TM is an administrator terminal used by a system administrator, and is connected to the communication network management device CS directly or via the mesh network NW.

[0015] The mesh network NW is composed of communication devices R1-Rn that are distributed in each service area and accommodate multiple user terminals UT1-UTn in the service area, and a large number of communication devices (not shown) that relay connections between these communication devices R1-Rn in a mesh pattern. The communication devices R1-Rn and each communication device for relay connections are, for example, gateways or routers, and form communication paths on the mesh network to provide communication services to users.

[0016] (2) Communication Network Management Device CS The communication network management device CS is configured by, for example, a server computer located in a management center. Note that the communication network management device CS may also be configured by, for example, a personal computer used by a system administrator or the like.

[0017] 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing an example of the hardware and software configurations of the communication network management device CS according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] The communication network management device CS includes a control unit 1 that uses a hardware processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). A storage unit having a program storage unit 2 and a data storage unit 3, and a communication interface unit (hereinafter referred to as a communication I / F unit) 4 are connected to the control unit 1 via a bus 5.

[0019] The communication I / F unit 4 transmits and receives various data necessary for network management between the communication devices R1 to Rn and each communication device for relay connection, using a communication protocol defined by the Internet, for example, under the control of the control unit 1. An administrator terminal TM is also connected to the communication I / F unit 4. The communication I / F unit 4 receives definition information and control commands entered by the administrator from the administrator terminal TM, and transmits service impact determination information and the like generated by the communication network management device CS to the administrator terminal TM.

[0020] The program storage unit 2 is configured by combining, for example, a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) as a storage medium that can be written to and read at any time, and a non-volatile memory such as a read only memory (ROM), and stores application programs necessary for executing various control processes according to one embodiment of the present invention, in addition to middleware such as an operating system (OS).

[0021] The data storage unit 3 is, for example, a combination of a non-volatile memory such as an HDD or SSD as a storage medium that can be written to and read from at any time, and a volatile memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), and its storage area includes a definition information storage unit 31, an Entity database 32, and a Spec database 33.

[0022] The definition information storage unit 31 is used to store definition information used to determine the impact of a failure on communication services when a failure occurs within the mesh network NW. The definition information will be described in detail later.

[0023] The entity database 32 stores facility information representing entities (substances) of the mesh network NW. This facility information defines, for example, the relationship between objects in the physical layer and the logical layer, and the relationship between objects in the physical layer and objects in the logical layer.

[0024] The Spec database 33 stores facility information representing the Spec (specifications) of the mesh network NW. This facility information defines attributes, such as unique information on the physical layer, such as the communication device name and cable type, and information representing attributes on the logical layer, such as unique VLAN IDs, IP addresses, and wavelength numbers, and these attributes are stored as instantiated information in the Spec database 33. The attributes include costs assigned within each communication device and to sections connecting communication devices.

[0025] The control unit 1 includes, as processing units according to one embodiment of the present invention, a definition information acquisition processing unit 11, a basic route information generation processing unit 12, a route selection processing unit 13 to be judged, an influence judgment processing unit 14, and a judgment information output processing unit 15.

[0026] The processing units 11 to 15 are all realized by causing a hardware processor in the control unit 1 to execute an application program stored in the program storage unit 2. Note that some or all of the processing units 11 to 15 may be realized using hardware such as an LSI (Large Scale Integration) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0027] The definition information acquisition processing unit 11 acquires definition information used to determine the impact of a failure on a communication service, which is sent from the administrator terminal TM, via the communication I / F unit 4, and stores the acquired definition information in the definition information storage unit 31.

[0028] When a failure occurs within the mesh network NW, the basic route information generation processing unit 12 selects all communication routes that do not include the failed section from among the communication routes that can connect any end points (end to end) within the mesh network NW, i.e., between communication devices R1 to Rn, based on the entities of the equipment information stored in the entity database 32, and generates a list of the selected communication routes as basic route information.

[0029] The route selection processing unit 13 for determining the target route selects, for each of the above endpoints, from the basic route information, the number of communication routes specified by the definition information in order of lowest cost value on the route based on the cost value defined as part of the Spec in the equipment information stored in the Spec database 33, and sets the selected communication routes as the routes for determination.

[0030] The impact determination processing unit 14 selects the route with the largest cost value from the routes to be determined for each of the endpoints, and determines whether the failure has an impact on the communication service by comparing the cost value of the selected route with the determination threshold value specified by the definition information.

[0031] The determination information output processing unit 15 transmits information representing the determination result of the presence or absence of the influence of the failure determined by the influence presence determination processing unit 14 for each of the above-mentioned endpoints from the communication I / F unit 4 to the administrator terminal TM.

[0032] (Example of Operation) Next, the operation of the communication network control device CS configured as above will be described.

[0033] Here, as shown in Figure 6, we will take as an example a mesh network in which communication devices R1 and R2 as endpoints are connected via communication devices a to e, and explain the network assuming that cost values ​​of "10", "20", and "30" are pre-set for each section connecting the communication devices R1, R2, and a to e of this mesh network, as shown in Figure 6.

[0034] 6, a low cost value of "10" is set for the sections between communication devices R1 and R2, to which user terminals UT1 and UT2 are connected, and adjacent communication devices a to e. A cost value of "20" is set for each section between communication devices a to e that are located relatively close to each other, and a high cost value of "30" is set for each section between communication devices a to e that are located far away from each other.

[0035] The Entity and Spec of the facility information relating to the configuration of the mesh network are stored in advance in the Entity database 32 and Spec database 33 of the communication network management device CS, respectively, and the cost value set for each section is stored as part of the Spec in the Spec database 33. It goes without saying that each piece of facility information is updated when the network configuration is changed.

[0036] (1) Setting of definition information The definition information consists of the number K of communication paths to be subjected to judgment of the impact of a failure and a judgment cost value F for judging the cost value of the communication path, and is set in advance by the system administrator, for example, as follows:

[0037] That is, let us assume that in a normal state where no failure occurs in the mesh network NW, the maximum number of communication paths that can be set between any two endpoints R1 and R2 within the mesh network NW is N. Under these conditions, a necessary and sufficient number of switch paths is set to ensure the desired redundancy between the endpoints in preparation for a failure, and this value is defined as the number of paths K. The number of reference paths K can be set to any value as long as it is smaller than the total number of paths N between the endpoints and equal to or greater than the minimum number of paths required to ensure the redundancy. For example, if there are 10 options for detour paths in the mesh network, the number K is set to 3.

[0038] Furthermore, when communication routes equivalent to the reference route number K are selected from the N communication routes, the highest cost value among the cost values ​​of the selected K communication routes is defined as the judgment threshold value F. Note that the judgment threshold value F can be set arbitrarily as long as it is within a range of a value equal to or less than the largest cost value among the K communication routes and greater than the smallest cost value among the K communication routes.

[0039] For example, the lower limit of F is set to K=3, which is the maximum value among routes that can be normally obtained. In this case, if the cost values ​​are 50, 60, and 70, respectively, the lower limit of F is set to 70. On the other hand, the upper limit of F is set to the maximum value that a route within an acceptable range for "no impact" can take. For example, even when K=3, if the cost values ​​of routes that can take normal values ​​are 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, ..., 300, and if values ​​up to 90 are deemed to have no impact on service, the upper limit of F is set to 100.

[0040] (2) Operation of the Communication Network Management Device CS FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the service effect determination processing executed by the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS.

[0041] (2-1) Acquisition of Definition Information It is assumed that a request to register the definition information is transmitted from the administrator terminal TM and this registration request is detected in step S10. In this case, under the control of the definition information acquisition processing unit 11, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS first receives the number of reference routes K transmitted from the administrator terminal TM via the communication I / F unit 4 in step S11, and stores the received number of reference routes K in the definition information storage unit 31.

[0042] Next, in step S12, the definition information acquisition processing unit 11 receives the judgment cost value F sent from the administrator terminal TM via the communication I / F unit 4 and stores the received judgment cost value F in the definition information storage unit 31.

[0043] (2-2) Selection of Communication Path to be Determined In the mesh network, for example, it is assumed that an earthquake occurs and a fault such as a disconnection occurs in a section, and the administrator terminal TM notifies the same.

[0044] In this case, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS first selects one of the communication services being provided to the user in step S13 under the control of the basic route information generation processing unit 12. Subsequently, in step S14, the basic route information generation processing unit 12 selects the communication devices R1 and R2 that are providing the communication service based on the Entity of the equipment information stored in the Entity database 32, and selects all communication routes that do not include the failed section from among the communication routes that can connect between these communication devices R1 and R2, and generates a list of the selected communication routes as basic route information.

[0045] Next, in step S15, under the control of the determination target route selection processing unit 13, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS selects up to K communication routes, the number of which is the reference route number, from the basic route information in ascending order of the total cost value on the communication route, based on the Spec of the facility information stored in the Spec database 33. The determination target route selection processing unit 13 passes a list of the K selected communication routes to the influence determination processing unit 14 as determination target route information.

[0046] (2-3) Determining whether or not there is an impact on the communication service Next, in step S16, under the control of the impact determination processing unit 14, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS determines whether or not there is an impact on the communication service as follows, using the determination threshold value F set as one of the definition information, with the K communication routes acquired from the determination target route selection processing unit 13 as the targets for determination.

[0047] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure and processing content of the impact determination processing executed by the impact determination processing unit 14. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the number of reference paths K and the determination cost value F used by the impact determination processing unit 14 for determination and the presence or absence of an impact of a failure on a communication service.

[0048] That is, first, in step S20, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines whether or not there are K communication routes to be determined, acquired from the determination target route selection processing unit 13. If the result of this determination is that there are K communication routes to be determined, then in step S21, the influence determination processing unit 14 selects the communication route with the largest cost value from the determination target routes, compares the cost value with a determination threshold value F, and determines whether or not the cost value is equal to or less than the determination threshold value F. If it is determined that the cost value is equal to or less than the determination threshold value F, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines in step S22 that there is "no influence on the communication service."

[0049] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 that the cost value exceeds the determination threshold F, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines in step S24 that "there is an influence on the communication service."

[0050] On the other hand, suppose that it is determined in step S20 that the number of communication routes to be determined is less than K. In this case, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines in step S23 whether the number of communication routes to be determined is zero. If the result of this determination is that the number of routes to be determined is not zero but is less than K, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines in step S24 that "there is an influence on the communication service." On the other hand, if the number of communication routes to be determined is zero, the influence determination processing unit 14 determines in step S25 that there is not even one switchable communication route and therefore that there is a "total disruption."

[0051] When the process of determining whether or not one communication service is affected is completed, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS determines in step S17 whether or not the process of determining whether or not all communication services being provided are affected is completed. If there are any communication services that have not yet been determined, the control unit 1 returns to step S13, selects the next communication service, and executes the series of processes from step S14 to step S17. Similarly, the control unit 1 repeatedly executes the series of processes from step S14 to step S17 for all communication services being provided.

[0052] (2-4) Output of Determination Results When it is determined in step S17 that the determination process for all communication services has been completed, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS finally generates determination information for displaying the determination result of whether or not each of the communication services is affected by the failure in step S18 under the control of the determination information output processing unit 15. Then, the determination information output processing unit 15 transmits the generated determination information from the communication I / F unit 4 to, for example, the administrator terminal TM.

[0053] (Examples) Next, the above-mentioned influence determination process will be described with reference to several examples.

[0054] (1) Setting the Number of Reference Routes K and the Determination Cost Value F First, the number of reference routes K is set to, for example, K=3 based on the number of candidate routes for switching that is necessary and sufficient to ensure network redundancy when a failure occurs.

[0055] Next, the determination cost value F is set to the cost value of the route with the highest cost value among K communication routes that are selectable in the mesh network NW in a normal state and selected in order of lowest route cost value. For example, in the mesh network NW shown in Figure 6, the following communication routes are selected as the three communication routes with the lowest route cost values ​​from among the many communication routes connecting the communication devices R1 and R2 that are the endpoints. Here, the cost values ​​of each section are set as shown in Figure 6. The last number indicates the cost value.

[0056] R1-a-R2; 20 R1-a-e-R2; 40 R1-b-a-R2; 40 or R1-c-d-R2; 40 Then, of the three selected communication routes, the route with the largest cost value, in this example "40", is set as the judgment cost value F.

[0057] (2) When a failure occurs between communication devices e-R2, the state of the mesh network NW in this case is shown in Figure 8A. In this example, the following number of reference routes K is selected from among the communication routes that do not pass through the failed section e-R2.

[0058] R1-a-R2: 20 R1-b-a-R2: 40 R1-c-d-R2: 40 In this case, the cost values ​​of the three selected communication routes are all less than the judgment cost value of 40. Therefore, it is determined that there is no impact from the failure.

[0059] (3) When a failure occurs between communication devices a-R2 and e-R2, the state of the mesh network NW in this case is shown in Figure 8B. In this example, the following number of reference routes K is selected from among the communication routes that do not pass through the failed sections a-R2 and e-R2.

[0060] R1-c-d-R2; 40 R1-b-d-R2; 50 R1-b-c-d-R2; 60 In this example, the maximum cost value of the three selected communication routes is "60", which is greater than the judgment cost value of 40. Therefore, it is judged that "there is an impact from a fault."

[0061] (4) When a failure occurs between communication devices a-R2, e-R2, and d-R2, the state of the mesh network NW in this case is shown in Figure 8C. In this example, there is no communication path connecting the endpoints R1 and R2 without passing through the failed sections a-R2, e-R2, and d-R2. Therefore, it is determined to be a "total failure."

[0062] (5) When a failure occurs between communication devices a-e, a-d, b-e, b-d, c-e, c-d, and d-e, the state of the mesh network NW in this case is shown in Figure 8D. In this example, the following communication paths are selected as communication paths that do not pass through the failed sections a-e, a-d, b-e, b-d, c-e, c-d, and d-e.

[0063] R1-a-R2: 20 R1-b-a-R2: 40 In this example, it is not possible to select the K number of communication routes required to ensure network redundancy. For this reason, it is determined that there is an impact from a failure.

[0064] (5) When a failure occurs between communication devices a-e, b-e, or c-e, the state of the mesh network NW in this case is shown in Figure 8E. In this example, the following number of reference paths, K, is selected from the communication paths that do not pass through the failed sections a-e, b-e, or c-e.

[0065] R1-a-R2; 20 R1-b-a-R2; 40 R1-b-d-R2; 50 or R1-c-a-R2; 50 In this example, the maximum cost value of the three selected communication routes is "50", which is greater than the judgment cost value of 40. Therefore, it is judged that "there is an impact from a fault."

[0066] (Effect) As described above, in one embodiment, the number K of reference routes and the judgment cost value F set in advance by the system administrator are acquired from the administrator terminal TM and stored in the definition information storage unit 31. In this state, if a failure occurs, first, for each communication service, from among multiple communication routes between any endpoints that do not pass through the section where the failure occurred, an attempt is made to select communication routes equal to the number K of reference routes in ascending order of total cost on the communication routes, and it is determined whether or not K communication routes have been selected. Next, the cost values ​​of the selected communication routes are compared with the judgment cost value F, and it is determined whether or not there is a communication route whose cost value exceeds the judgment cost value F. Then, based on the determination result of whether or not the K communication routes have been selected and the determination result of whether or not the largest cost value of the selected communication routes exceeds the judgment cost value F, it is determined whether or not there is an impact of the failure.

[0067] Therefore, among the multiple communication paths between the endpoints, excluding the failed section, up to K paths are selected as the target paths, and the presence or absence of the influence of the failure is determined for the selected target paths. This makes it possible to reduce the processing load required for the above-mentioned determination process in the communication network management device CS and shorten the processing time, compared to when the presence or absence of the occurrence of a failure is determined for all communication paths connecting the endpoints.

[0068] Other Embodiments (1) In the embodiment, the presence or absence of the influence of a failure in a communication path is described as an example. However, in addition to that, the presence or absence of the influence of a failure in each communication device constituting the mesh network NW may also be determined.

[0069] In this case, the control unit 1 of the communication network management device CS acquires information indicating the determination result of the presence or absence of the influence of a failure on the K determination target paths from the influence presence determination processing unit 14, and determines the presence or absence of the influence of a failure on each communication device based on the acquired determination result and the cost value set for each communication device. Note that the process of determining the presence or absence of the influence of a failure on this communication device is described in detail in Patent Document 5 (WO 2021 / 166228), so a description thereof will be omitted here.

[0070] (2) In the embodiment, the case where only the presence or absence of the impact of a failure on a communication service is determined has been described as an example, but, for example, if it is determined that there is an impact of a failure, the degree of the impact may be calculated, and the calculated degree of impact may be notified to a system administrator together with the determination result of the presence or absence of the impact. The degree of impact may be calculated, for example, as the ratio of the number of paths having a cost value equal to or less than the determination cost value F to the number of selected communication paths (maximum K paths).

[0071] (3) In addition, the configuration of each processing function of the communication network management device CS, the processing procedure and processing content of the influence determination process, the number of reference paths K and the value of the determination cost value F, etc. can be modified and implemented in various ways within the scope of the gist of this invention.

[0072] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the above description is merely an example of the present invention in every respect. It goes without saying that various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. In other words, when implementing the present invention, specific configurations according to the embodiments may be appropriately adopted.

[0073] In short, this invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and in the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be omitted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components from different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

[0074] CS...Communication network management device NW...Communication network TM...Administrator terminal R1 to Rn, a to e...Communication devices (nodes) UT1 to UTn...User terminal 1...Control unit 2...Program storage unit 3...Data storage unit 4...Communication I / F unit 5...Bus 11...Definition information acquisition processing unit 12...Basic route information generation processing unit 13...Determination target route selection processing unit 14...Influence determination processing unit 15...Determination information output processing unit 31...Definition information storage unit 32...Entity database 33...Spec database

Claims

1. A first storage unit that stores facility information representing the relationship and specifications between a plurality of communication devices constituting a communication network to be managed and communication paths connecting these communication devices; a reference number of paths set corresponding to the number of paths of switching candidates that ensure the redundancy of the communication network at the time of a failure; and a second storage unit that stores a determination cost value set for determining the cost value of the paths of the switching candidates; when a failure occurs, based on the facility information, from among the communication paths that do not pass through the location where the failure occurred among the communication paths connecting the communication devices that are the endpoints for each communication service, a first processing unit that determines whether it is possible to select determination target paths corresponding to the reference number of paths in ascending order of cost value; a second processing unit that determines the magnitude relationship between the cost value of the determination target paths and the determination cost value; and a third processing unit that determines whether there is an impact of the failure on the communication service based on the determination result by the first processing unit and the determination result by the second processing unit. A communication network management device comprising:

2. The communication network management device according to claim 1, wherein the reference number of paths is set to a value that is smaller than the total number of all communication paths connecting the communication devices that are the endpoints and larger than the minimum value of the number of paths that are switching candidates required to ensure the redundancy.

3. The communication network management device according to claim 1, wherein the determination cost value is set to the maximum cost value among the cost values of the determination target paths selected from among the communication paths connecting the communication devices that are the endpoints in the communication network in a normal state.

4. When the determination target paths corresponding to the reference number of paths are selected by the first processing unit, the third processing unit according to claim 1 determines that there is no impact of the failure on the communication service when it is determined by the second processing unit that all of the cost values of the determination target paths are equal to or less than the determination cost value, and determines that there is an impact of the failure on the communication service when it is determined that at least one of the cost values of the determination target paths exceeds the determination cost value. The communication network management device according to claim 1.

5. The communication network management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the determination target path corresponding to the reference path number is not selected by the first processing unit, the third processing unit determines that the communication paths connecting the communication apparatuses serving as the endpoints are in a completely disconnected state.

6. The communication network management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the number of determination target paths selected by the first processing unit is determined to be greater than 0 and less than the reference path number, the third processing unit determines that there is an impact of the failure on the communication service.

7. A communication network management method executed by an information processing apparatus, the method including: obtaining facility information representing a relationship and specifications between a plurality of communication apparatuses constituting a communication network to be managed and communication paths connecting these communication apparatuses, and storing the facility information in a first storage unit; obtaining a reference path number set corresponding to the number of paths of switching candidates for ensuring redundancy of the communication network at the time of a failure and a determination cost value set for determining a cost value of the paths of the switching candidates, and storing the obtained values in a second storage unit; when a failure occurs, determining, based on the facility information, whether it is possible to select determination target paths corresponding to the reference path number in ascending order of cost value from among the communication paths that do not pass through the failure location among the communication paths connecting the communication apparatuses serving as endpoints for each communication service; determining a magnitude relationship between the cost value of the determination target paths and the determination cost value; and determining whether there is an impact of the failure on the communication service based on the determination result of whether the determination target paths can be selected and the determination result of the magnitude relationship.

8. A program for causing a processor included in the communication network management apparatus to execute at least one of the processes performed by the first processing unit, the second processing unit, and the third processing unit included in the communication network management apparatus according to claim 1.

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