Network Element Version Identification via Publication Identifiers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In complex communication networks, managing network elements with different standard publication versions poses challenges as Network Management Systems (NMS) and Domain Managers (DM) may use different class definitions, leading to network management errors if not properly synchronized.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for determining the version of standard publications supported by network elements, where the NMS requests a version map from the DM to identify publication identifiers and class definitions for IOC instances, allowing the NMS to update its MIB and ensure compatibility, using operations like getIRPVersionMap to build and interpret version maps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the NMS and DM use different class definitions from different standard publications, then each can independently manage network elements according to their own versions, but this leads to network management errors and incompatibility
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary version identification by including a publication identifier in the attribute list of each managed object. When the NMS retrieves object attributes, it simultaneously obtains the publication version information, allowing the NMS to proactively identify version differences and handle them appropriately before management operations cause errors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new parameter (publication identifier) to the managed object attribute set. This parameter enables the system to distinguish between different standard versions, allowing the NMS to adapt its management operations based on the specific version of the class definition being used by each network element.
2Measurement precision
If the NMS maintains detailed version information for all managed objects, then version control accuracy is improved, but the complexity of the MIB and version management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy of version information by storing only the publication identifier in the MIB, rather than maintaining complete copies of all class definitions. This allows the NMS to identify version differences accurately while keeping the MIB structure relatively simple and manageable.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the system implements comprehensive version tracking for all managed objects, then synchronization accuracy is improved, but the overhead of version management operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential version identification information (publication identifier) from the complete class definition, separating version tracking from the main management operations. This allows the system to maintain class definition consistency while minimizing the overhead of version management, as the NMS only needs to handle compact identifier data rather than complete class definitions.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for determining a version of a standard publication that is supported by a network element are provided. Version map information is requested and received from an external node in a managed network, including publication identifiers for at least one of the network elements. Each network element identified in the version map has an associated publication version and an indication of if the publication can be applicable to its directly or indirectly inferior nodes in the hierarchical instance tree. If a particular network element does not have a corresponding publication identifier in the received version map information, it can be determined if the network element can use the publication identifiers of a superior network element in the hierarchy.