Maintenance Entity Alarm Routing for Packet Network Fault Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The Ethernet protocol's non-synchronous nature makes it difficult to determine and communicate performance statistics and alarms for each segment of a connection or specific devices, leading to challenges in fault detection and isolation in packet networks.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for communicating alarms between maintenance entities in packet networks, where a failure is detected, an alarm is generated at the nearest maintenance entity, indicating the failure location and associated service provider, and routed back through the network to the appropriate service provider for diagnosis and resolution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If Ethernet protocol is used for communications, then adaptability and versatility are improved, but difficulty of detecting and measuring performance statistics and alarms worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary alarm communication mechanism that operates independently of the Ethernet protocol's non-synchronous nature. This intermediary system uses dedicated alarm indication signals and maintenance entity protocols to transport alarm information, thereby resolving the difficulty of detecting and measuring performance statistics while maintaining Ethernet's adaptability for general communications.
2Reliability
If alarm indication signal is used in T1 protocol, then reliability of fault detection is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal alarm communication framework that can operate across different protocol domains (Ethernet, T1, etc.) without requiring protocol-specific complex implementations. The maintenance entity architecture provides a unified, multi-functional approach to alarm detection and communication that reduces device complexity while maintaining high reliability across diverse network technologies.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for communicating alarms. Packets are communicated through multiple maintenance entities in one or more networks. A determination is made that there is a failure between or at one of the multiple maintenance entities in the one or more networks. An alarm is generated at a maintenance entity nearest the failure in response to determining there is a failure. The alarm indicates a location of the failure and an identification of a communications service provider associated with the failure. The alarm is communicated back through one or more of the multiple maintenance entities to a maintenance end point. The alarm is routed to at least a communications service provider determined to be associated with the failure.