Network Analysis System for Configuration Change Impact Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network management systems lack the ability to provide a quick, high-level understanding of the impact of changes on computer network infrastructure, leading to instability and potential operational issues due to poorly executed changes.
Innovation Solution
A network analysis system that collects configuration and operational data, determines changes and operational issues, and displays this information in a visual format, including a timeline view, topology view, and table view, allowing IT professionals to understand the impact of changes on network infrastructure and policy compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If network management systems monitor and document all configuration changes and operational issues, then the completeness and accuracy of network information is improved, but the complexity of the system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments network information into distinct categories (configuration changes, operational issues, policy compliance) and presents them through multiple specialized views (timeline view, topology view, table view). Each view focuses on specific aspects of network data, allowing comprehensive monitoring without overwhelming complexity in a single interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces multiple dimensional perspectives for viewing network information simultaneously - temporal dimension (timeline view showing changes over time), spatial dimension (topology view showing network structure), and tabular dimension (table view showing detailed data). This multi-dimensional approach organizes complex information in manageable ways.
2Loss of information
If the system provides detailed visual presentations of all network changes and issues, then the understanding of network impact is improved, but the time required to process and display information increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts its information presentation based on user needs and context. The timeline view dynamically adjusts to show different time ranges and change frequencies, the topology view dynamically highlights affected network segments, and the table view dynamically filters relevant data. This dynamic adaptation provides comprehensive information without requiring excessive processing time for static displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary organization and categorization of network data in the background before presentation. Configuration changes are pre-categorized by type and severity, operational issues are pre-tagged with relevant metadata, and policy compliance status is pre-calculated. This preliminary processing enables rapid retrieval and display of comprehensive information when needed.
3Reliability
If the system monitors configuration changes across all network devices, then the detection of operational issues is improved, but the resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different monitoring intensities to different network devices and locations based on their importance and risk profiles. Critical network infrastructure receives continuous detailed monitoring, while less critical devices receive periodic or event-driven monitoring. The timeline view and topology view allow users to focus resources on specific high-priority network segments rather than uniformly monitoring entire networks.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from policy compliance monitoring and operational issue detection to dynamically adjust monitoring resource allocation. When policy violations or operational issues are detected, the system automatically increases monitoring intensity for affected devices and segments. The table view presents compliance data that feeds back into resource allocation decisions, ensuring reliable detection while optimizing resource consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
The impact of device configuration changes on operational issues and policy compliance in a computer network can be discerned from a visual data presentation that jointly shows representations of changes, issues, and policy compliance in a common view for a group of network devices. Configuration information is collected from devices in the computer network and processed to determine whether a change has occurred in a configuration of any of the devices, whether any operational issues exist for each of the devices, and whether any of the devices are not in compliance with any applicable operational policies. A display device displays the visual data presentation to allow an operator to see trends and relationships between device configuration changes and operational issues and incidents of policy non-compliance. The visual data presentation can be depicted as a graphical timeline view, a network topology view, or a table view of the information.