Virtual Private Network Failure Impact Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current fault protection and failure reporting methods in network management require expensive and resource-intensive offline topological maps, which are difficult to maintain due to constant changes in network devices and paths, making it burdensome to identify and manage communication failures across Virtual Private Networks (VPNs).
Innovation Solution
A mechanism that interrogates network devices to determine the impact of failures without relying on offline topological maps, using gathering and identifying components to collect and analyze data on label information, IP addresses, and Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) instances, allowing for real-time identification of affected units and generation of error reports.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If offline topological maps are used for failure detection and impact analysis, then measurement precision and reliability of failure reporting are improved, but device complexity and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The network device performs self-diagnosis by autonomously gathering information about its own interfaces, VRFs, routes, and labels without requiring external topological maps. The device interrogates its own configuration data structures to determine failure impact, eliminating the need for separate map maintenance systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the necessary operational data (interface information, VRF instances, route details, label mappings) directly from the network device's active configuration. This extracted data is sufficient for failure analysis without requiring complete topological maps, reducing complexity while maintaining precision.
2Reliability
If offline topological maps are maintained to track network changes, then failure reporting accuracy is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to constant updates required
Solution Approach 1:
The network device automatically monitors and updates its own operational state by continuously gathering interface, VRF, route, and label information. This self-updating mechanism eliminates the manual maintenance burden while ensuring reliability through real-time data accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-gathers and stores operational information about interfaces, VRF instances, routes, and labels during normal operation. When a failure occurs, this pre-collected data is immediately available for rapid impact analysis without requiring time-consuming map updates.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive network topology tracking is implemented, then failure impact analysis precision is improved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the specific data elements necessary for failure analysis (interface status, VRF associations, route dependencies, label mappings) rather than processing complete topological information. This selective extraction reduces computational resources while maintaining analysis precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial information gathering focused specifically on failure-relevant data rather than comprehensive topology tracking. By gathering only the necessary subset of network information (affected interfaces, related VRFs, dependent routes), resource consumption is reduced while sufficient precision is maintained for impact analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
The specification provides information for determining any impacted customers, virtual private networks, circuits, and devices following a path failure. The specification uses an information-gathering component to find system information and uses the system information in determining any impacted units. A report is created that allows a network management system to process the impacted units. If any of the impacted units are customer devices, then the management system calculates the impact on the customer based on a Service Level Agreement.