Dynamic Alarm Prioritization via Real-Time Service Degradation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current alarm management systems in communication networks are inadequate as they provide static alarm severities, lack real-time data, and prioritize alarms based solely on initial assessments, leading to operators resolving non-critical issues over more severe ones due to the absence of dynamic re-evaluation and consideration of additional network information.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic alarm management system that continuously evaluates and re-ranks alarm conditions based on real-time factors, including device and peer device status, resource demand, and past performance, to provide accurate and up-to-date prioritization for operators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If static alarm severity levels are used for alarm prioritization, then the alarm management system is simple to operate, but the alarm prioritization becomes inaccurate over time as conditions change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic alarm severity assignment by continuously monitoring real-time network conditions and automatically adjusting alarm priorities based on current service degradation levels. Instead of fixed severity levels, the system adapts severity assignments dynamically, allowing alarm prioritization to reflect changing network conditions while maintaining automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor network performance metrics and service degradation levels. This feedback is used to automatically re-evaluate and re-prioritize alarms in real-time, ensuring that the most critical alarms are always presented to operators first based on current conditions rather than static initial assessments.
2Use of energy by moving object
If alarms are prioritized based solely on initial assessment, then the alarm management system requires minimal processing resources, but operators cannot identify the most critical current issues
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs periodic re-evaluation of alarm priorities at scheduled intervals and triggered by significant network condition changes. This periodic processing allows the system to maintain accurate alarm prioritization without requiring continuous high-resource processing, balancing computational efficiency with information accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes priority parameters dynamically based on real-time network conditions. When network degradation is detected, the system adjusts alarm priority parameters accordingly, ensuring that the most current critical issues are identified without requiring complete continuous re-processing of all alarm data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If operators manually sort and prioritize alarms, then the alarm display can be customized, but the alarm management system increases operator workload
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service alarm prioritization by automatically sorting and ranking alarms based on real-time severity assessments. The alarm management system performs the sorting function itself without requiring operator intervention, thereby reducing operator workload while maintaining adaptable and customizable alarm display configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary sorting and prioritization of alarms automatically before presentation to operators. By pre-processing alarm data and organizing it by current severity levels, the system eliminates the need for operators to manually sort alarms while still providing customizable display options for different operational contexts.
4Quantity of substance
If critical alarms are buried within other alarm data, then the alarm notification mechanism can display all alarms, but critical alarms become difficult to find
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality differentiation by visually distinguishing critical alarms from less severe ones through enhanced display characteristics such as color coding, positioning, or highlighting. This allows critical alarms to be easily identified within the complete alarm data set without requiring separate display mechanisms, maintaining full alarm visibility while improving critical alarm detectability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus of an alarm management system (114) for dynamically prioritizing network conditions for a communication system (100) is disclosed. The alarm management system includes a receiver (116) and processor (118) for receiving one of a plurality of alarm conditions indicating a fault in a device within the communication system and classifying the alarm condition. The alarm management system also determines a status of the device and rates the alarm by comparing the classification of the alarm condition with the status of the device. The rated alarm condition can then be ranked against another of the plurality of alarms. The alarm management system then re-evaluates the ranking of alarm condition by repeating the determining and rating steps and then ranks the re-evaluated rated alarm condition against other alarm conditions.