Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing – Processing architecture – Distributed processing system
Patent
1997-06-30
1999-08-24
Coleman, Eric
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: processing
Processing architecture
Distributed processing system
709201, 710 42, G06F 15173
Patent
active
059419784
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention in general relates to management systems of communication networks. More specifically, a method for selecting a target group for an operation applied to a network element of a communication network is provided.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The network management system of the present invention may in practice, be of the type illustrated in FIG. 1. Network operators, who are positioned at operation centers OC, use network management workstations WS, which are connected to a separate workstation network WSN, such as, for example, an Ethernet network. Typically, the management system is distributed in several computers of the workstation network, and have an access to a database DB, which includes the information required for the management of the network. Via a Q3 interface determined in international standards, the management system is connected, for instance, to a mobile network MN, which may comprise as network elements NE a mobile services switching center MSC, a base station controller BSC, a base station BTS, and a mobile station. The connection to the managed network is established by a data communication network DCN. The managed network may also be any communication network, for example, a combined SDH/PDH network.
A CMISE application service element (CMISE=Common Management Information Service Element), used in OSI communication of Q3 interface in network management, provides the application process with a SCOPE/FILTER function (cf., ISO/IEC-9596-1 Information Technology--Open Systems Interconnection--Common management information protocol--Part 1:Specification). The purpose of the function is to select a sub-group from among the managed object instances, to which a CMIP operation (CMIP=Common Management Information Protocol), such as a m-Get, is applied.
The managed objects in the network element form a tree-like hierarchical structure, which is stored in the memory of the network element, and whose nodes contain the object instance and attributes relating thereto. In SCOPE/FILTER function, the SCOPE condition is used for demarcating the CMIP operation to refer to a subtree in the tree (MIT, Managed Information Tree) of the managed object instances. This takes place by the name, i.e., DN (Distinguished Name), of the subtree root being given in the operation. The FILTER condition of the CMIP operation is applied separately to each object instance functioning as a node for the subtree. The values of the object instance attributes must fulfil this condition prior to applying the CMIP operation to the object instance. Following application of SCOPE and FILTER conditions, the group of those object instances to which the CMIP operation relates has been established.
In testing whether the values of the object instances meet the FILTER condition, a comparison is carried out in which the attribute values of the object instances are compared to specific reference values. Without a general-purpose testing mechanism, a separate, specific comparison function needs to be created for each type of attribute in the network element. To carry out this, the network element must have a large memory capacity. As far as large network elements are concerned, typically having hundreds or even thousands of managed objects, complicates and slows memory management because the overall memory capacity required to carry out the comparison increases tremendously. For small network elements, a memory requirement such as this is also emphasized in an economical sense because in a strive to implement small network elements (for example, mobile phones) as economically as possible, memory expansion of just one byte bears significance.
For the above reasons, in the implementation of the FILTER condition, a general purpose solution should be the goal, i.e., how to implement the testing of the FILTER condition in a network element by in general purpose manner. The object is to implement a function which is able to determine, based on the FILTER condition of the CMIP operation and the attrib
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Coleman Eric
Nokia Telecommunication Oy
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