Network Element Alarm Synchronization and Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern communication networks face challenges in efficiently managing alarm conditions due to uncoordinated alarm reporting from network elements, leading to a flood of alarms that are difficult to prioritize and process in a timely manner, resulting in sub-optimal failure management.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a network element and management component configuration that detects alarm conditions, sets timers for clearance and grouping, and determines performance indicators for specific periods, allowing for synchronized reporting and prioritization based on alarm impact indicators.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network elements report alarm conditions in an uncoordinated manner, then all alarm conditions are captured, but the central management component becomes flooded with alarms making prioritization difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The network element performs preliminary actions by determining performance indicator values for specific time periods (before, during, and after alarm conditions) and calculating alarm impact indicators before reporting to the central management component. This pre-processing reduces the burden on the central component by providing pre-analyzed data with inherent prioritization information.
Solution Approach 2:
Performance indicator values and alarm impact indicators serve as intermediaries between the raw alarm conditions and the central management component. These intermediaries carry temporal and severity information that enables automated prioritization without requiring the central component to analyze all raw alarm data manually.
2Reliability
If multiple alarms are reported for the same root cause, then comprehensive monitoring is achieved, but alarm flood increases making timely processing difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple alarm conditions that occur during the same time period and relate to the same root cause are merged into a single alarm report. The network element aggregates alarm information within defined time windows and reports consolidated data, reducing the number of individual alarm messages while preserving comprehensive monitoring capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The network element performs preliminary grouping and correlation of alarms with the same root cause before reporting. By analyzing temporal relationships and calculating alarm impact indicators in advance, the system consolidates multiple related alarms into prioritized reports, enabling faster processing at the central management component.
3Adaptability or versatility
If performance indicators are calculated with fixed aggregation periods, then standardization is achieved, but synchronization with alarm condition lifespans is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts performance indicator calculation periods to match the actual lifespan of alarm conditions. Instead of using only fixed aggregation periods, the network element adjusts the time windows for performance indicator determination based on when alarms occur and how long they persist, ensuring synchronization between performance data and alarm events.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the temporal parameters of performance indicator calculations based on alarm condition characteristics. Different time periods are selected for calculating performance indicators depending on the alarm type, severity, and duration, allowing optimal alignment between performance data and alarm lifecycles while maintaining standardized measurement approaches.
4Loss of information
If alarm conditions are reported without filtering and aggregation, then data completeness is maintained, but data processing burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network element performs preliminary filtering, aggregation, and analysis of alarm data before reporting to the central management component. This includes determining performance indicator values for specific time periods, calculating alarm impact indicators, and consolidating multiple related alarms, while preserving all essential information for complete failure analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The network element extracts and reports only the most relevant alarm information that has been pre-processed and prioritized. By taking out essential performance indicator values and alarm impact indicators from the complete raw alarm data, the system reduces the reporting burden on the central management component while maintaining data completeness for failure management.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for reporting and processing alarm conditions in a communication network is disclosed. In one variant, a network element is presented that comprises a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory, wherein the memory stores program code that configures the at least one processor to detect, as a first event, at least one alarm condition and to start, in response to detecting the first event, an alarm clearance timer. The program code further configures the at least one processor to detect, as a second event, at least one of expiry of the alarm clearance timer and clearance of the at least one alarm condition and to determine, after detecting the second event, a first performance indicator value of a performance indicator for a first period of time between the first event and the second event. The at least one alarm condition and the first performance indicator value (or information derived from the first performance indicator value) are then reported to a central network management component.